I recently had a discussion with someone who assumed I didn't use GEOS very often, and didn't like it. I do use GEOS, but I've never been "crazy" about it. Perhaps it's my ambiguity that spurred me to create my own GEOS environment, allowing me to get the most out of GEOS with the least amount of effort.

An Evolutionary Process

You might say that my GEOS environment has grown with me as I've added new hardware to my computer and acquired new GEOS software. I've learned a few lessons along the way. I started with a Commodore 64, a single 1541 disk drive, and the GEOS v1.5 accompanying my C64. I didn't have much use for GEOS v1.5 because I had only 1 disk drive and lacked computer savvy. I hadn't yet learned the importance of setting up both work and utility disks. About six months later, I picked up a second disk drive and it was easier the next time I tried working with GEOS. I had a few ideas for projects which worked out so well, I still use the text and paint files.

I'd heard that GEOS v2.0 was a vast improvement over the version which came with my C64. When the opportunity arose, I picked it up along with geoPublish, GEOS Power Pak and GEOS Power Pak II. It took me some time to adjust to the changes in the new version, and to sort through the other disks to discover programs and utilities I could make use of.

I don't know what first possessed me to organize my GEOS disks, but it's something I've never regretted doing. I suppose it was the old adage "out of chaos comes order." Prior to rearranging my disks, I had spent precious time searching through disks looking for applications that I needed and the files I knew I had saved but couldn't find. "There has got to be a better way!" I mumbled. And finally, I found it.

Cleaning the Closet

Like a mother sorting through a 6 year old's closet, I made piles (only ray GEOS piles were certainly neater and smelled better). I started with "Applications and Utilities". Any program I had that was meant to do something useful (besides entertain me), was copied to disks labeled as Applications and Utilities. Later, I further sorted the Applications so any intended for geoWrite files or for geoPaint were on separate disks. The rest of the utilities mainly fit a "miscellaneous" category and were labeled accordingly. I then made sure I had all of my own creations on disks labeled as data disks, and also divided by type (geoWrite/geoPublish or geoPaint). I specified in the Info Box of the data file geoWrite and geoPublish files needing specific fonts. When I use the file I can be sure I have the correct fonts on the disk before I begin.

I only needed one input driver and one printer driver, which were already on my boot disk, so I didn't bother sorting these. I left them on the original disks from whence they came (and suffered for it later!). When I bought a mouse, I had to search through several disks for the mouse drivers I had acquired. It wasn't as simple as finding the original GEOS disks and grabbing the mouse driver, because I'd started using a modem, and had downloaded GEOS files from Q-Link (may it rest in peace). So, I had other disks to dig through in search of the perfect mouse-driver. I suffered the same hunt for the right file when I bought a new printer, and to keep this from happening again, I added a new category, "drivers", to my organized GEOS files.

Still Evolving...

Finally, I had every possible GEOS file organized on different LABELED 5.25 inch disks. I could find everything I needed quickly and without hassle. Naturally, the next step in my GEOS evolution was to throw a monkey wrench into the works and change things. I bought a 1581 disk drive, and with it, came the ability to have more files on a disk (up to the GEOS limit of 144 files). I could have faster access to a larger number of GEOS files if I spent the time to copy them onto 3.5 inch disks. Because my original disks were already sorted by category, this was a much faster, much easier process.

With the increased speed of the 1581 disk drive, came the desire to boot GEOS from it. Since CMD hadn't yet come out with geoMakeBoot, I had to learn to use Maverick (a NON-GEOS utility program) to create a 1581 boot disk. I have a penchant for making things efficient, and tried over and over to put my most used application files onto my 1581 boot disk, only to discover with standard GEOS it isn't that simple. It's best to have a boot disk, and then change to a work disk.

The evolution continued when I bought my Commodore 128 and GEOS 128 v2.0, and again, with each new GEOS software addition I made. Things changed more dramatically with RAMLink and the purchase of gateWay (a replacement for the DeskTop in GEOS). Gateway uses the same input and printer drivers as standard GEOS does, but it also uses disk "drivers" so you can make use of the unique abilities that RAMLink. HD hard drives and FD drives offer. The other big difference with gateWay is the ability to create boot disks for each drive type. Several times in the gateWay manual it is mentioned that when your system changes (i.e., you add a new disk drive or RAM expansion, or even a new input driver), you will need to create a new boot disk. I thought this would create the need for a half a dozen or more boot disks. I wasn't far from wrong. I'd long since sold my mouse, and had been using a joystick, so when my new trackball arrived, I found myself keeping copies of boot disks labeled "trackball input driver" with the disk drive configuration it was made with listed on the label. I've learned the time spent in creating (and LABELING) boot disks is well spent if it later saves me time and frustration. I have more disk drives than I can use with GEOS, and have found that creating boot disks of different disk drive configurations for each input driver (trackball and joystick) means I can quickly boot from any of the drives on my system if needed. It also means I don't have to have my 1571 drive available for GEOS all the time, but can use it immediately if I receive new GEOS software on 5.25 inch disks and need to move it to my 3.5 inch disks (this only took me a year or so to figure out!).

Just because you don't have a device, doesn't mean you will never have it. You never know when the "perfect" deal will come along, or if by some stroke of luck, you will have a different disk drive type to use. I found myself, just this week, rummaging for my original gateWay disk to copy the HD drivers to my boot disks.

I used a utility to make organizing my GEOS collection easy. DIRMASTER by Kent Smotherman is a great tool for sorting GEOS and even non-GEOS style disks. It allows sorting of files on disk (CMD devices too) Alphabetically (backwards or forwards), by Date, or by File Type. Using the program makes it easy to first group types of files together and then alphabetize just the single group. It was also especially helpful for organizing my personal data disks by date of creation. The following is a list of Categories I used to organize my GEOS disks.

Applications/Utilities

Files on these disks include geoWrite, geoPaint. as well as the larger add-on applications such as geoPublish, geoFile, geoCalc, and geoChart. Supporting files (not including fonts) should be kept on the same disk with the application.

Write Specific

These include all the files needed for writing tasks, such as geoWrite. Text Grabber, WronglsWrite, geoSpell, geoDictionary, geoPublish, and Toolkit.

Paint Specific

This disk includes both geoPaint and geoCanvas, as well as other utilities for graphics manipulation such as Photo Manager. SCRAPGRAB, and MacAttack II+.

Fonts

I set aside a disk specifically for Font utilities such as Jim Collette's Font Editor and a couple of Fontviewers/printers. I probably have more GEOS fonts than I will ever use, and the fonts that I tend to use most often are on a separate disk from the rest. I used Font Editor to create 3 or 4 separate Font files which have all of my most used fonts incorporated within them. I wrote on a 3x5 index card which font each point size is, and keep it with the disk, saving time when creating newsletters and other documents.

Paint and Clip Art

Used for geoPaint data files. Since using Photo Albums is easier within geoPublish or geoWrite, I keep these on separate disks. They are organized by type, such as clip art originally from Print Shop graphics, or from The Newsroom.

Text

Data files for geowrite and geoPublish. These are "storage'' disks with my text files once I've finished with them.

DeskTop Accessories (DA's)

DeskTop Accessories are stored on separate disks, although I do keep a few that I use often on my work disks. I use the Text and Photo Managers most, along with ConvertDA.

Auto Execs

To be of use, most Auto Exec files have to be on your boot disk, however, some do run from GEOS as applications. I must be a pack rat, as I have a disk of these, too. My boot disk includes an Auto Exec called "DBGETFile1.1 by Jean F. Major which allows me to have access to more than the standard number of GEOS files whenever listing files in Applications. There are later versions of DBGETFILE, but v1.1 works fine in 128 mode and with gateWay.

Drivers

Includes all printer drivers, input drivers, and disk drivers for both GEOS and gateWay use.

Games

Some GEOS games are Desk Accessories while others are Applications. But, since the purpose of games isn't productivity orientated, I didn't bother adding these to the DA or Applications disks. I decided to keep them on a separate disk by themselves.

Wrap Up

Organizing all of these files won't do much good if they are all on separate disks. My 1581 work disk includes the geoWrite files mentioned above, the fonts I use, and a few other utilities. And of course, my two favorite games are also included on the work disk. Once booting GEOS, I can quickly import a text file I've written using another word processor, change the fonts and print, without breaking a sweat. Granted it took time to organize these disks, but it was well worth the time I now save when I have a project to complete. And that's how I "Get the Most" from GEOS.

Reference: "Cleaning out the GEOS Closet" by Gaelyne R. Gasson, Commodore World, Issue 17, October/November 1996, pp.26-27, https://archive.org/details/commodore-world-17 (Retrieved in May 2017)

Gaelyne R. Gasson
01.10.1996

Keywords: C64, Commodore, GEOS, Operating Systems, Software