C64 OS for Desktop Designers

November 14, 2024#128 Software

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Desktop Designer

C64 OS v1.07 is currently in beta testing. It will hopefully be released soon, and is another free system update to all licensed users of Version 1.0 and up.

A whole pile of cool new things are coming in v1.07. However, today I wanted to talk about something a little less well known, but nonetheless I think is pretty cool. It’s a new Application that I created for C64 OS called Desktop Designer.

In the very first release of C64 OS, version 1.0, there was a handful of tools included for creating different types of image data that C64 OS consumes. For instance, there was (and still is) a set of two programs found in the //os/desktop/ directory for creating desktop backdrops. How they work is very basic. You load and run screenedit. It clears the screen and installs a very simple listener for PETSCII control characters. It supports one two invert the characters on the screen, one to reload the screen from a filename that you specify, and another to save the screen to that filename by invoking the second tool, screensave.

With these two simple tools, you can use the standard screen editor from the READY prompt to draw simple PETSCII pictures on the screen using the cursor keys and the PETSCII symbols on the keyboard. When you get a screen that you like, CONTROL+Z (if memory serves) writes the 1000 bytes of screen memory out to the file. This file can then be opened as a backdrop in App Launcher, in C64 OS.

This pair of tools works, kinda, but they’re very hacky and full of weird gotchas and my guess is that no one but me has ever bothered to try to use them to make a backdrop.

I wrote Desktop Designer because I wanted a simple Application, that can run within C64 OS itself, to be able to create these desktop backdrops. But… it evolved into something that is quite a bit more interesting and useful.

The Advantages of being a C64 OS Application

Desktop Designer is, at its heart, a PETSCII graphics editor. But it makes great use of several C64 OS technologies. Among these are included:

• A point and click UI with the mouse
• Pull down menu options
• Discoverable keyboard shortcuts
• Screen compositing, allowing for:
  • Non-destructive guides
  • Floating character palette
  • Transparent drawing and coloring
  • Overlaying menus
  • Use with Utilities
• Standard Open and Save dialog boxes
• Device agnostic storage
• Custom character sets
• Dynamic memory management
• Integration with Fast App Switching

I know you’ve heard it all before, but all of the above made writing an App like Desktop Designer fun and easy. Most of the hard work has already been done by C64 OS. You would never put as much effort into a stand-alone PETSCII graphics editor for the Commodore 64 as the effort that was put into C64 OS’s technologies that can be put profitably to use in an App like this.

For example, the File Open dialog; To pick a file to be opened in Desktop Designer, you get a movable Utility panel that you can interact with by mouse. You get all the device detection and the list of recently accessed files in a resizable left panel. You get sortable directories, and it works with all of the devices that C64 OS supports, like, 1541, 1571, 1581, FD-2000/4000, CMD HD, RAMLink, IDE64 and SD2IEC. This is exceptional, you would never put this level of effort into a stand alone app. But you get this all for free in an App for C64 OS.

Drawing with Desktop Designer

When you first open Desktop Designer you’re greeted by this cool looking splash screen.

Desktop Designer’s welcome splash screen

This splash screen was created in… you guessed it, Desktop Designer! So that’s fun. It gives you a little flavor of a few different types of things that can be created or edited with it.

From the menu bar, we have File, Options and Charset, top level menus. From the File menu you can create a new document or open an existing one.