VirtualAcorn Technical support:
FREE "VirtualRPC in Use" Supplements

Introduction

The revised and expanded `VirtualRPC In Use' compilation was published as an e-booklet on this site in early 2010, with the aim of producing an updated printed and bound version at a later date. In addition we decided to release a set of supplementary articles on-line, alongside the main e-booklet. The first of these supplements was published in January 2011 with further articles being published at monthly intervals.

Contrary to a very unfortunate misconception which has taken hold, this booklet (and the supplements) DO in large part apply equally to users of VirtualRPC for Macs, as well as the variants for Windows. The format of the supplements is the same as the e-booklet, i.e. a PDF file which can be read on any platform (!PDF is the recommended reader for RISC OS users), and they can of course be printed out.

URLs and other links are `live' and should work with most PDF readers, a known exception being GhostView for RISC OS. Cross-references to topics already addressed within the e-booklet are shown in the format, e.g. "[pp23-24]". Since the booklet was published, RISC OS 6 and Windows 7 have of course become increasingly popular and some of you are already using them. Regrettably it isn't practical to go into the detail differences between all possible system combinations in the supplementary articles. So unless specifically stated otherwise, they will in general assume the use of RISC OS 4.39 running under VirtualRPC-AdjustSA, and on a host PC running Windows XP with SP3. T.O.M.S.

Contacting the authors
To contact the authors please use the correct 'toms@ndirect.co.uk' e-mail address. This is the only e-mail address that will reach the authors and they guarantee to reply!

Readers of Archive magazine may have seen a 'toms@archivemag.co.uk' address published alongside printed articles (for example Archive:22 issue 12 page 6). This address is not valid and any e-mails sent to this address will not reach the authors.

Downloads

Full set of 12 Supplements

You can now download the complete set of 12 supplements arranged in one PDF file. This has the same contents as the 12 individual supplements.

Supplement 1 - January 2011

Supplement one covers the following:

• Filetypes, both Windows and RISC OS
• HostFS Extensions file
• Audio/Video Codecs
• Microsoft Word and Open Office
• Handling 'Scan to Word' files
• Thumbnails, Picasa and PDFs
• OCR for Windows

Supplement 2 - Febuary 2011

Supplement two covers the following:

• 'Photo-real' printing
• Optimising the Print Image
• Accessing the Printer Driver
• A Windows iconbar?
• Re-arranging folder contents

Supplement 3 - March 2011

Supplement three covers the following:

• Windows updates
• Manual updates for Windows
• If things don't work with Windows updates
• Re-positioning VirtualRPC, a warning!
• Paul Vigay's software

Supplement 4 - April 2011

Supplement four covers the following:

• A history of PDF
• Upgrades to RISC OS PDF handling applications
• PrintPDF's 'Queue' feature
• PrintPDF's 'Bookmark' feature
• Foxit's 'Links' feature

Supplement 5 - May 2011

Supplement five covers the following:

• A 'smart' VirtualRPC In Use e-booklet
• Viewing Bookmarks in !PDF
• Bookmarks Vs Contents pages
• Hyperlinks revisited
• Handling the select-drag boxes
• Further Foxit features
• Alternative application software
• Splitting, editing & merging PDF files

Supplement 6 - June 2011

Supplement five covers the following:

• Smart PDFs (concluded)
• Windows anti-malware revisited
• Anti-malware for Macs?
• Rick Maybury's bootcamp
• Save & restore the Windows desktop
• Window handling (under Windows)
• Closing multiple windows
• Keystroke for Windows?
• Printing problems fixed

Supplement 7 - July 2011

This article covers running VirtualRPC on a netbook, with the following sub-sections:

• Netbooks vs Laptops
• Typical netbook features
• Installing VirtualRPC & RISC OS
• Configuring VirtualRPC & RISC OS
• Comparative performance tests

Supplement 8 - August 2011

This article covers the following topics:

• VirtualRPC on a netbook (concluded)
• Using a scroll-wheel mouse
• RISC OS v4.02 Vs v4.39
• Multiple monitor displays
• Dismounting plug-in media
• Compressed folders revisited

Supplement 9 - September 2011

This article covers scanning and rendering large-format documents, with the following sub-sections:

• Scanning revisited
• Panorama software
• Large-page scanning
• Extra-large-format documents
• Scanning maps

Supplement 10 - October 2011

The tenth article in our series of 'VirtualRPC in Use' supplements covers:

• Re-installing Windows
• Safe start-up (Windows)
• Backing up Windows
• Selective back-up (Windows)
• Backing up VirtualRPC & RISC OS
• The VirtualRPC-xxx folder size
• Re-installing VirtualRPC
• Corrupt CMOS file

Supplement 11 - November 2011

This article covers vector graphics in general, with the following sub-sections:

• Draw for RISC OS
• Oak Draw for Windows
• Windows Metafiles
• Inkscape for Windows
• DrawPlus for Windows
• Exporting vector graphics from RISC OS as-is
• Exporting from RISC OS in SVG format
• Sundry image export considerations
• Exporting from RISC OS for re-editing

Supplement 12 - December 2011

This article revisits, updates and expands on various topics discussed in the booklet and earlier supplements:

• Handling large documents
• Large maps and satellite imagery
• AVG anti-virus/anti-spyware
• Printer properties
• Monochrome printing

The Small Print

The VirtualRPC in Use articles are copyright (c) T.O.M.S 2012. You may download, print and read these articles. You may not distribute any copies of these articles in any form, either electronic or printed without the express written consent of the copyright holder.