When you launch Montage, the main window that appears is called a Montage Desktop (not to be confused the Windows desktop, written in all lower case).  Any number of Montage Desktop windows can be open simultaneously, subject to the limitations of your computer's memory and screen space.  Each Desktop is associated with its own Montage metafile, and these can be opened and manipulated independently.

A Montage Desktop window is movable and resizable, and it includes standard optional elements, such as a title bar, a main menu, a background, and a status bar.  Some essential components that are not always visible are the Montage Options context menu and the built-in timer.  The interior of a Desktop contains an arrangement of user-defined Montage Shortcuts (with or without icons), each of which can launch virtually any sort of Windows application.  In addition to Shortcuts, a Desktop can contain any number of built-in viewers (not shown in the screen shot below).  Whatever options and arrangement of the view you construct is saved automatically (or manually), so you can later restore the same state simply by opening a montage.

The timer

Each Montage Desktop has its own internal timer, responsible for periodically monitoring and refreshing various dynamic elements, such as highlighting open Shortcuts, auto-detection, tracking external Shortcut properties, refreshing dynamic Explorer icons, and displaying Shortcut tips.  Options relating to timer settings are under the More, Timer Refresh and More, Advanced submenus, and Tips, Delay Time in the global Shortcuts dialog.  (It shouldn't be necessary to change these from their default settings, unless you have a very slow machine.)

Montage Options context menu

When you right-click over the background area of a Montage Desktop, a context menu appears.  This context menu allows you to perform most of the actions that can be done through the main menu, plus some additional ones.  (Menu options appearing in dark green apply only when built-in viewers are enabled.)

Tip: Don't be intimidated by the complexity of this menu - frequently used commands and options are readily accessible, and many are also provided through the main menu.  Since these "global" settings are assigned and preserved on a per-montage basis, it should not be necessary to adjust most settings more than once.  By employing a few template montages with your preferred settings, you can create new montages that are already configured to a convenient starting point.

• New Shortcut: creates a new Montage Shortcut to an external application.
  The new Shortcut is initially located at the current mouse position, and its Shortcut Properties dialog is opened so you can enter the required target specification, along with any other items of interest.  Also see File, New Shortcut, which is essentially the same, except as to the Shortcut's initial position.
• Open Viewer...: opens an existing file in its default type of built-in Montage viewer.
• Open With...: opens a file or web page with the built-in Montage viewer of your choice.
• Save Montage: saves the present Montage Desktop configuration.
  This command saves the entire state of this instance of Montage in its associated metafile, including the Desktop window layout, as well as the state of any external applications launched through its Shortcuts.  This command also is available under File, Save Montage in the main menu.  Use the Shortcut's Miscellaneous, Save Configuration command to operate on an individual Shortcut.
  Tip: Feel free to use Save Montage liberally, since it's generally very fast, and it protects you from losing your most recent changes.  (By default, the view is saved automatically upon closing a montage.)
• Restore View: restores the most recently saved Montage Desktop configuration.
  This command closes any open Shortcuts before reopening those that were open when the view was last saved.  The net effect of Restore View is simply to return to the last saved state of the entire montage.  This command also is available under View, Restore View.  Use the Shortcut's Miscellaneous, Restore Configuration command to operate on an individual Shortcut.
• Exit: quits from Montage with automatic state-saving, if enabled.
  By default, Montage saves the entire view upon termination.  You can override this default behavior through options in the More, Auto-Save submenu, or simply by using Abandon instead of choosing Exit.  This command also is available under File, Exit, or you can accomplish the same thing by simply clicking on the Desktop window's close box.
• Abandon: quits from Montage without saving the present configuration.
  This command closes all external applications launched by this instance of Montage, and then closes the Montage Desktop window, leaving the metafile untouched, i.e. as it was last saved.  Abandon is faster than Exit, because it doesn't need to perform the additional work of state saving.  This command also is available under File, Abandon.
• Shortcuts...: view / modify global Shortcut settings for this montage.
  This command also is available through the main menu under View, Shortcuts...
• Miscellaneous submenu - additional Montage commands and options used less frequently.
  • Analyze: reports on contents of this montage, including Internet fetchability of missing files.
    This command generates a text report summarizing any files that are missing, URLs from which files can be fetched, and additional information relating to all of the wallpapers and Shortcuts in this montage.  Detailed information is listed for each Shortcut, including its icon, target, description, and other properties.  Results are displayed in Montage's diagnostic message dialog, from which you can scroll through the text and copy/paste as desired.  This command also is available under Tools, Analyze.
    Tip: Try widening the resizable message window to see the organization of the results more clearly.  Also note that an editing context menu is available.
  • New Montage...: invokes a dialog to create one or more new montages.
    Launches or activates the New Montage Dialog.  This command also is available under File, New Montage....
  • Save As...: saves this Montage Desktop configuration to a new copy of the previous montage.
    Prompts for a new metafile name, copies the old metafile to that location, and saves the current view to the new montage.  This command, also available under File, Save As..., preserves everything in the previous Desktop, but closes the previous montage and associates this Desktop with the new metafile, adjusting the window title accordingly.
    Tip: Consider using New Montage... to copy a template montage and create a Shortcut to it in one step.
  • Save to Zip: saves this Montage and related files in a corresponding .ZIP archive.
    This command, also available as File, Save to Zip, saves the current view and stores the result as a compressed montage in the same directory, with the same file name, but using the "ZIP" filename extension.  In addition to the three primary component files of the Montage metafile, the resulting compressed montage also includes a selection of other files, not including other montages.  The additional files that are added to the resulting ZIP file are those directly referenced by this montage and residing in the same directory or one of its subdirectories.  Only those files which are not separately fetchable are included, i.e. files are included if there is no corresponding Internet shortcut through which they can be fetched.  Otherwise, if such a URL link does exist, it is added to the compressed montage, instead of adding the fetchable file itself.  In this way the Save to Zip command generates a compact, portable representation of the current montage and files to which it refers.
    Tip: It may be necessary to close certain files before issuing a Save to Zip command, if those files cannot be copied while they are open, and they need to be added to the ZIP file.
  • Refresh: refreshes everything in this Montage Desktop.
    Refreshes each Shortcut and every internal form that is open in the current view.  Explicit Refresh commands generally are not necessary, since this is handled automatically for all Shortcuts and Shortcut Properties dialogs, by Montage's timer.  This command also is available under View, Refresh (F5).  Also see the Miscellaneous, Refresh command for individual Shortcuts.
  • Flush: Saves metafile modifications to disk, and purges memory cached by programs and data.
    This command reduces the chances of losing any information due to system caching, e.g. in the event of a power outage, and it also may help to reduce memory consumption.  Under normal circumstances, unless your machine is feeble or unreliable, there's no need to explicitly Flush.
  • Pack: recovers free space in the metafile, to reduce its size.
    Compacts the montage by physically removing logically deleted records, which are generated when you save the view.  This manual operation is normally unnecessary if you use the default Pack on Closing option.
  • Pack on Closing: toggles whether to pack the metafile automatically upon closing, unless you Abandon.
    When this option is checked (the default), the montage is compacted when it is closed, which is generally a very fast operation.  If you turn the Pack on Closing option OFF, you should occasionally perform a manual Pack operation
  • Zap...: erases all metafile data for the prior saved state, to further reduce clutter.
    After prompting for confirmation, Zap deletes everything in the current metafile, so that when the view is next saved (e.g. automatically upon closing), it will only contain information relating to global settings and currently existing Shortcuts and internal forms.  This command eliminates any storage residue left by Shortcuts that have been logically deleted from the Montage Desktop, and it discards the configurations of any Shortcut Properties dialogs and built-in viewers that are not currently open.  Since external Shortcuts (i.e. Shortcuts to external applications) include the state of their target application window, this information will not be lost, so long as the Shortcut remains.
  • Standard Style: sets options for Montage Desktop appearance most like Windows Explorer.
    This command is provided as a convenience, to set a number of standard style options in one step, so you don't have to set them one at a time.  Specifically, it turns OFF the Display Wallpaper, Fit to Wallpaper, Transparent, and Mouseover Effect settings, turns ON Edit on Click, and selects Large Icons (32 pixels).  You can still adjust any of these settings individually, if you wish.  These settings are complementary to the Graphical Style.
  • Graphical Style: sets options for Montage Desktop with background image (wallpaper) and transparent Shortcuts.
    This command is provided as a convenience, to set a number of graphical montage style options in in one step, so you don't have to set them one at a time.  Specifically, it turns ON Display Wallpaper, Fit to Wallpaper, Transparent, and Mouseover Effect settings, turns OFF Edit on Click, and selects No Icons (i.e. 0 pixel size).  You can adjust any of these settings individually, and you will still need to select a wallpaper and Shortcut color separately.  These settings are complementary to the Standard Style.
  • Close All Forms: closes all internal form windows belonging to this montage.
    This command closes any Shortcut Properties dialogs, built-in viewers, and Command Processor windows that are currently open.  This command also is available under Window, Close All Forms.
  • Clear View: closes and removes all forms and Shortcuts from this Montage Desktop, without saving configurations.
    Causes the Desktop window to be emptied of its contents, but does not update any metafile data, so you can still issue a Restore View command to return to the last saved view.  (Use Delete Shortcut to delete just one Shortcut.)
• More submenu - assorted Montage commands and options that are used infrequently.
  • Auto-Save submenu - options for automatic state-saving upon exiting from Montage.
    By default, all of the following options are normally checked.  These options relate only to the cases of normal termination, either by the Exit command, by clicking on the Desktop window's close box, or by closing externally, e.g. via the Windows task bar or a parent Montage Shortcut.
    • Auto-save: saves configuration automatically upon termination.
      When this option is checked, Montage automatically saves the current view when you Exit or click on the Desktop window's close box.  However, if you terminate Montage via Abandon, the last saved state is never updated, i.e. the montage remains unchanged.  Turning OFF the Auto-save option implicitly turns OFF both the Prompt and Check for Error options, because these only apply when Auto-save is checked.
    • Prompt: automatically prompts whether to save configuration upon termination.
      Causes a confirmation dialog to be displayed in some or all cases of Exit (but never with Abandon).  If Check for Error is turned OFF, enabling the Prompt option always displays a confirmation dialog upon normal termination.  Otherwise, if Check for Error is ON, a confirmation dialog is presented only after a Desktop-level error, to confirm that it's OK to save despite the recent error (i.e. Check for Error suppresses the prompt for confirmation, except after unusual errors).  The Prompt option only applies to Auto-save mode, so checking Prompt implicitly turns ON Auto-save, and turning OFF Auto-save implicitly turns OFF the Prompt option.
    • Check for Error: handles error cases more conservatively, by prompting or not saving if prompt is disabled.
      If the Prompt option is enabled, the Check for Error option suppresses a confirmation dialog, except in those cases of a recent Desktop-level error.  If the Prompt option is turned OFF, turning ON the Check for Error option quietly suppresses automatic state-saving (instead of prompting) upon exit, but only if there was a prior error. This option only applies to Auto-save mode, so turning ON Check for Error implicitly turns ON Auto-save, and turning OFF Auto-save implicitly turns OFF Check for Error.
      Tip: Leave this option unchecked (in combination with Prompt enabled) if you always want to receive a confirmation dialog upon exit, even when there was no prior error.
  • Background submenu - background color, font, or wallpaper for this Montage Desktop.
    Choose an appropriate Shortcut color for adequate legibility of titles and borders against the selected wallpaper or Background Color.  Note that each wallpaper path may be expressed as either a relative path or an absolute path, according to the setting of the Relative Paths option when the wallpaper is specified.  (This has a bearing on portability.)  A numbered list of available wallpaper choices for this montage appears at the end of the Background submenu (also in the similar View, Wallpaper submenu).  The current wallpaper is checked, and you can use this portion of the menu to switch to another.
    Tip: Try using the Graphical Style command to initialize the usual default settings for transparent Shortcuts, which work best with graphical montages.
    • Background Color...: picks a solid background color for this Desktop window.
      This invokes a color-picker dialog, allowing you to customize the appearance of this montage with a distinctive solid background color.
      Tip: It may be necessary close and reopen the montage after changing its background color, to eliminate any transient Shortcut transparency artifacts (a minor display issue).
    • Background Font...: picks a font for messages displayed in background area of the Montage Desktop window.
      In normal use, Montage does not display any text directly in the Desktop background area, so this command would only be of interest to developers and advanced users.  The Command Processor and certain tracing features of the Diagnostic Message dialog can send text output directly to the Desktop background.  The Background Font... command invokes a dialog that displays the current background font and allows you to choose a different one.
    • Insert Wallpaper...: adds another background image as the currently selected wallpaper.
      The Open Picture dialog prompts you to choose a file (with optional preview) for the background image to become the current wallpaper.  The current and any following wallpapers are shifted upward by one, leaving the current wallpaper number unchanged.  If the maximum number (9) has already been reached, the wallpaper at the end of the list is dropped.  This command also is available under View, Wallpaper, Insert Wallpaper...  (Compare with Append Wallpaper...)
    • Append Wallpaper...: adds another background image as the last choice of wallpaper, and selects it.
      Like Insert Wallpaper..., this extends the list of available wallpapers (subject to the maximum of 9), but it places the choice at the end of the list.  The current wallpaper number then becomes the last entry.  This command also is available under View, Wallpaper, Append Wallpaper...
    • Change Wallpaper...: chooses a background image to substitute for the currently selected wallpaper.
      This prompts you to select a different picture to replace the current wallpaper.  If the wallpaper is missing and Fetch on Demand is enabled, Montage determines whether the file can be dynamically fetched, and automatically retrieves it (with optional prompt for confirmation).  If the wallpaper can not be found, an empty background is displayed using the currently selected background color.  This command also is available under View, Wallpaper, Change Wallpaper...
    • Remove Wallpaper: eliminates the currently selected wallpaper from the list of choices.
      Any additional wallpapers are shifted downward, leaving one fewer to choose from (or none left).  The image file itself is not deleted, just its entry in the list of available wallpapers for this montage.  The next available wallpaper then becomes the current one.  This command also is available under View, Wallpaper, Remove Wallpaper.
    • Show URL for Fetching Wallpaper: displays the source URL from which to fetch the currently selected wallpaper.
      The URL that the current wallpaper can be retrieved from is displayed in a wait window.  (Click the mouse or press a key to close the message window.)  This command option is displayed only if the wallpaper is fetchable, i.e. if a corresponding .URL file exists.
    • Copy URL for Fetching Wallpaper: places a copy on the Windows clipboard of the source URL from which to fetch the the current wallpaper.
      Instead of displaying anything, this simply puts a copy of original source URL on the clipboard, so you can then paste the text it into any application.  This command option only is displayed if the wallpaper is fetchable.
    • Fetch Wallpaper from URL: retrieves the image file for the current wallpaper from a known URL, across the Internet.
      This downloads a copy of the wallpaper image file from its original source to the designated local file path for this wallpaper.  If the destination file already exists, it is replaced by a fresh copy, which may have been obtained from Internet Explorer's cache (unless you deliberately clear the browser cache to prevent this).  A blank background will be displayed if the current wallpaper is missing, or if the Display Wallpaper option is not checked.  Also see related commands and options in the Internet Fetching submenu.
    • Display Wallpaper: toggles whether to show the currently selected background image for this Desktop window.
      This option allows you to turn the wallpaper ON or OFF without losing track of your current selection.  When you initially pick a wallpaper, this setting is automatically turned ON.  If the wallpaper display is turned OFF or the selected wallpaper file is missing, the background remains empty, but the Background Color applies.  A Graphical Style montage displays the wallpaper by default, whereas Standard Style has Display Wallpaper unchecked by default.  This option also is available under View, Wallpaper, Display Wallpaper.
    • Fit to Wallpaper: toggles whether to size this Desktop window to exactly fit the displayed wallpaper image.
      When this option is checked, Montage automatically sizes its main window to match the dimensions of the current wallpaper graphic (if displayed), and the border style is made non-resizable.  Otherwise, when Fit to Wallpaper is unchecked (turned OFF), the background image is either clipped (if too large) or tiled repeatedly (if too small), without altering the size of the Montage Desktop, and the border style is made resizable.  Also the Desktop window's maximize button is disabled in fit-to-wallpaper mode, but the minimize button remains enabled in either mode.  A Graphical Style montage defaults to fit-to-wallpaper mode, whereas Standard Style has Fit to Wallpaper unchecked by default.  This option also is available under View, Wallpaper, Fit to Wallpaper.
      Tip: Keep the Fit to Wallpaper option checked for more portable graphical montages, because this allows Montage to compensate automatically for variations in window border styles, display resolutions, and versions of Windows, ensuring that the window's interior always exactly fits the size of the wallpaper image.
  • Help submenu - selected help topics, samples, and other information about Montage.
    Note that Montage's integrated help facilities under this menu require the properly installed Montage help file and help runtime support.  (If the Montage Help file is missing, some of these commands will be disabled.)
    • Help Contents: displays a detailed outline of available Montage help topics.
      This command also is available under Help, Help Contents.
    • Help about the Desktop: displays help about the Montage Desktop window.
    • Help for this Menu: displays help about this context menu of Montage Desktop commands and options.
    • Samples: launches the main montage of portable samples.
      This command also is available under Help, Samples in the main menu, or click on the Samples pushbutton of the About Montage dialog.
      Tip: You must close the samples separately, since this menu-based method of invocation does not open them as a logical child of the current montage (because no Shortcut is involved).
    • Montage on the Web: navigates a browser window to the Montage home page on the World Wide Web.
      This command also is available under Help, Montage on the Web, or click on the Montage icon in the About Montage dialog.
    • Buy Online: opens a browser window to purchase SpaceTime Systems products securely online.
      This command also is available under Help, Buy Online, or click on the Buy pushbutton of the About Montage dialog.
    • Register: specifies registered user credentials for accessing password protected web sites.
      Activates the Registration / Authentication dialog, enabling you to download content that is restricted to registered subscribers.  This command also is available under Help, Register in the main menu, or click on the Register pushbutton of the About Montage dialog.
    • About Montage: displays a dialog that includes Montage version information.
      This opens the About Montage dialog, which displays the version of Montage, details about the currently open metafile, and additional information about your Windows system configuration.  This command also is available under Help, About Montage.
  • Internet Fetching submenu - options for retrieval of content across the Internet, based on URL links.
    These commands and options govern Montage's dynamic fetching features, which also can be controlled via the Shortcut context menu, or simply allowed to operate automatically.
    • Fetch All with Prompt: retrieves missing files referenced by this montage, with a prompt before each download.
      A confirmation dialog allows you to review and decide on each individual download, irrespective of the current Prompt Before Fetching global setting.  You can use the Escape key to skip downloading a single file or have the choice of canceling the entire operation.  A summary of files fetched is displayed upon completion, listing the URLs that were accessed and reporting any errors that were encountered, as well as providing timing statistics.  This command also is available under Tools, Fetch All with Prompt.  (Use Fetch All Immediately if you want to skip the prompts.)  Also see the Analyze command.
    • Fetch All Immediately: retrieves missing files referenced by this montage, without prompting, as fast as possible.
      This is essentially the same as Fetch All with Prompt, except that it omits the interaction of requesting a confirmation before each individual file download.  You can terminate this operation prematurely by pressing Escape.  If an error, such as a timeout or invalid result is obtained while attempting to download a file, this operation automatically continues at the next eligible file, and a summary of results will still be shown.  This command also is available under Tools, Fetch All Immediately.
    • Fetch on Demand: toggles whether to automatically retrieve missing files as needed, via corresponding .URL links.
      When checked, this option enables dynamic fetching.  Otherwise, no attempt is made to fetch missing files automatically, although you can still retrieve any fetchable files explicitly via Fetch All with Prompt or Fetch All Immediately, or by Internet, Fetch Target from URL for a single Shortcut.  If Fetch on Demand is turned OFF (the default), Montage will simply behave as if the file (wallpaper, icon, or target) is not found, even though it may be fetchable.  This option also is available under Tools, Fetch on Demand.
    • Prompt Before Fetching: toggles whether to ask for confirmation before automatically fetching missing files, if URL is available.
      Checking this option causes Montage to prompt for confirmation before dynamically fetching any files across the Internet.  If Prompt Before Fetching is un-checked, any missing but fetchable files are downloaded automatically as needed, without pause.  Note that Fetch on Demand must also be enabled for this option to have any effect, and this global setting only pertains to automatic fetching, not explicit fetching commands like Fetch All with Prompt, etc.  This option also is available under Tools, Prompt Before Fetching.
    • Authentication: specifies registered user credentials for accessing password protected web sites.
      Activates the Registration / Authentication dialog, enabling you to download content that is restricted to registered subscribers.  This command is equivalent to More, Help, Register, which also is available under Help, Register in the main menu, or click on the Register pushbutton of the About Montage dialog.
    • 1 Second Timeout: allows transmission delays of up to 1 second before aborting an Internet fetch.
      A checkmark appears before the current timeout setting, if that exact value applies.  While 1 second is probably too short a timeout in general, small values of timeout provide the highest degree of interruptibility, and assure that you won't be unduly delayed by a non-responsive URL.
    • 10 Second Timeout: allows transmission delays of up to 10 seconds before aborting an Internet fetch.
      This is Montage's default timeout setting, which works well with most normal web sites.  You may need to allow for a longer delay, however, for dynamic web sites that need to do a substantial amount of processing before returning a result.  Note that the timeout setting only applies to time spent waiting for a single response, not the aggregate time spent actually downloading data, which could be much longer for a large file.  There may be a noticeable delay in responding to an Escape (which cancels the download), but this delay generally will not exceed the timeout setting.
    • 30 Second Timeout: allows transmission delays of up to 30 seconds before aborting an Internet fetch.
    • 60 Second Timeout: allows transmission delays of up to 1 minute before aborting an Internet fetch.
    • No Timeout: waits indefinitely for responses when fetching across the Internet.
      Use this setting with care, because some web sites simply may hang rather than promptly produce an error result for invalid URLs.  In such cases, it may not be possible to interrupt the attempted retrieval by pressing Escape.
    • Reduce Timeout by 1 Second: decreases the Internet fetching timeout interval by one second.
    • Lengthen Timeout by 1 Second: increases the Internet fetching timeout interval by one second.
    • Reduce Timeout by 1 Minute: decreases the Internet fetching timeout interval by one minute.
    • Lengthen Timeout by 1 Minute: increases the Internet fetching timeout interval by one minute.
      The current timeout setting (in seconds) is indicated in the status bar prompt message for this and the preceding commands to lengthen or reduce the timeout value.
  • On Restoration submenu - final actions to perform at end of view restoration.
    • Bring Desktop Forward: toggles whether to bring the Montage Desktop window to the front upon state restoration.
      The default behavior when you open a montage is to open the Desktop window, followed by any external application windows that were previously opened, leaving the Desktop behind those other windows.  When the Bring Desktop Forward option is checked, the final step is to activate the Desktop window, causing it to be left in front.  This option is turned OFF by default.
    • Play Sound: toggles whether to play a sound upon view restoration.
      When this option is checked (the default), a sound is played as the last step in restoring the view, so you can tell that the operation has completed.  This is useful, since the Desktop window may not be visible unless you've selected the Bring Desktop Forward option.  Use Select Another Sound... to choose a different sound, or Use Default Sound to restore the original chimes sound.
    • Use Default Sound: specifies whether the default chimes sound should be used.
      This option only applies when Play Sound is checked.  The effect is similar to CHIMES.WAV.
    • Select Another Sound...: picks a custom .WAV file as the sound for this montage.
      This opens a dialog prompting you to select a sound, initially starting from the Windows Media directory or other previously specified directory, from which you can navigate to another directory to locate the desired Wave file.  The status bar prompt indicates the name of the currently selected sound.  After you pick a new sound, it is played once as a confirmation.  This option only applies when Play Sound is checked.  (The Wave file path for this montage will be stored as either a relative path or an absolute path, according to the current setting of the Relative Paths option, which has a bearing on portability.)
  • Timer Refresh submenu - settings for timer frequency and refresh interval.
    When all of the timer-related parameters are at their default values, Shortcut tips will be displayed by the next timer tick (within a half second), and Shortcut refreshes occur within 2 seconds (4 ticks).  The timer frequency determines the resolution (i.e. the limit of accuracy) of other timer settings.  (Note that an increase in frequency corresponds to a decrease in period or interval.)
    • Slower Refresh: adds 0.5 seconds to the timer period of refreshing Shortcuts.
      The default refresh interval is 1.9 seconds.  (See status bar prompt for current value.)
      Tip: If you have a very slow machine, it may be helpful to use a longer Refresh period to avoid a noticeable degradation in performance.
    • Faster Refresh: subtracts 0.5 seconds from the period of refreshing Shortcuts.
      Setting the refresh period to <= 0 disables automatic timer refreshes of Shortcut properties, including highlighting.
    • Reduce Timer Frequency: adds 0.1 second to the periodic timer interval.
      The default timer interval is 0.5 seconds.  (See status bar prompt for current value.)
    • Increase Timer Frequency: subtracts 0.1 second from the periodic timer interval.
      Setting the timer interval to <= 0 suppresses all timer activity, including both refreshes and display of Shortcut tips.
  • Window Type submenu - options affecting the appearance this Montage Desktop window.
    Note that the border style options listed at the end of this submenu are mutually exclusive, and the current style is checked.
    • Always On Top: toggles whether to keep this Montage Desktop in front of all other windows.
      The always-on-top option keeps this instance of Montage in the foreground, even when it loses the focus.  (You can still determine whether this is the active window by seeing if its title bar is highlighted.)  This command also is available under View, Always on Top.
    • Main Menu: turns the main menu at the top of the window ON or OFF.
      The main menu provides convenient access to the most frequently used commands and options.  When the main menu is turned off, its horizontal menu bar is eliminated, leaving more room to grow the window vertically.  The Montage Desktop context menu still allows you to perform most of the main menu functions (and more), even when the main menu is disabled.
    • Status Bar: turns the status bar prompt line at the bottom of the window ON or OFF.
      Helpful messages and prompts are normally displayed in the status bar, but you can turn this area OFF to reduce the window height or increase its vertical capacity.
    • Title Bar: displays or hides the Montage Desktop window's title bar.
      When the title bar is hidden, you can't move the window by dragging its title bar (nor can you move it by its control menu, which is connected to the title bar), but you may still be able to move the borders individually if the window is resizable.  Note that the No Border and 1-Pixel Fixed Border styles only apply when the title bar is OFF.
    • No Border: removes the border around this Montage Desktop window.
      This border style is available only when the Title Bar option is turned OFF (i.e. unchecked).
    • 1-Pixel Fixed Border: uses a thin (single pixel), fixed border around this Montage Desktop window.
      This border style is available only when the Title Bar option is turned OFF (i.e. unchecked).
    • Fixed Dialog Border: uses a fixed, dialog-style border around this Montage Desktop window.
      The window can be moved, but not resized in this style, whose border width is slightly thinner than the Resizable Border style.
    • Resizable Border: uses a movable border for this Montage Desktop window.
      When the window is resizable (the default), it has a slightly wider border, which can be dragged with the mouse to move the edges.  The Fit to Wallpaper option and Resizable Border style are mutually exclusive: when fit-to-wallpaper is turned ON, a resizable window reverts to Fixed Dialog Border style; conversely, checking the Resizable Border option automatically turns OFF the fit-to-wallpaper option.
  • Advanced submenu - Montage commands and options for developers and advanced users.
    • Diagnostics...: opens the Montage Desktop diagnostic dialog.
      The information that is displayed includes various global parameters, i.e. settings and internal variables pertaining to the montage as a whole.  Text displayed in the diagnostic dialog can be copied and pasted elsewhere.  This command also is available under Tools, Diagnostics (see additional notes there).
    • Command Processor: opens the diagnostic Command window for the Montage Desktop.
      This command processor operates in the context of the main global object that represents and controls this instance of Montage.  This command also is available under Tools, Command Processor (see additional notes there).
    • Auto-Yield: allows asynchronous processing of Windows events, e.g. for ActiveX controls.
      This option is turned ON by default, and it should normally be left this way.  Turning Auto-Yield OFF makes Montage less interruptible, but it may be useful in connection with Montage's built-in Web Browser viewer.
    • Background Refresh: enables/disables refreshing Shortcuts while this Montage Desktop is not active.
      When background refresh is enabled (the default), Montage's timer automatically monitors and refreshes the display Shortcut Properties, highlighting, and auto-detection.  Disabling background refreshes causes Montage to monitor only while it is the foreground application (with the current focus), so this may be done to speed up a slow machine.
    • Built-in Viewers: supports built-in Montage file viewers, in addition to basic external Shortcuts.
      Built-in viewers are disabled by default, because the implementation of this feature is still rather preliminary (i.e. significant changes and enhancements are planned in this area).
    • Check Off-Screen: enables or disables automatic avoidance of off-screen window placement.
      This option, enabled by default, prevents windows from being restored to a position that is entirely off-screen, i.e. out of view.  In such cases, Montage repositions the window to be clearly visible, unless the Check Off-Screen option is turned OFF.  Off-screen window positions can arise when a montage is opened on a machine or under a display mode that has less screen space than when the montage was originally created.  Leave this option ON to ensure portability across different display sizes and arrangements of the Windows workspace.
    • Relative Paths: toggles choice of relative (as opposed to absolute) paths for references to local files.
      This setting determines whether the pathnames of various file and directory references should be put into relative or absolute form, when they are initially specified.  It only affects the assignment of pathnames as they are picked, so you can change the current Relative Paths setting without altering the form of any previously assigned paths.  This setting applies to the choice of sound and wallpaper, as well as icons, targets, and initial directory specifications.  Note that it also affects the target and directory path of Shortcuts as they are created by dragging and dropping files, folders, and links into Montage.  Absolute paths are used, i.e. the Relative Paths option is OFF, by default to avoid confusion in common, basic usage, but this option would generally be turned ON for distributable montages.
      Tip: Enable the Relative Paths option to create a more portable montage, for example one that refers to files residing in the same directory as the montage itself.  This allows the montage and its associated files to be moved or copied as a unit to a different directory, regardless of location.
    • Save Command Processors: enables or disables saving of diagnostic Command Processor windows.
      This setting determines whether Montage remembers information about Command Processor windows, including their default sizing and placement, which ones were left open, and the command line text.  By default, Save Command Processors is OFF, in order to keep down the size of the metafile.  Turn this option ON only if persistent Command Processors are needed.
    • Timer Enabled: enables or disables the timer for automatically refreshing Shortcuts and displaying tips.
      The timer normally is enabled, but you can use this option to turn it off completely within this instance of Montage.  Disabling the timer can be useful if you have an extremely slow machine, or for debugging.  Also see the Timer Refresh submenu and Shortcut Tips submenu for related options.
    • Wait Limit: toggles enforcement of a timeout limit on the launching of Shortcuts.
      By default, Montage waits indefinitely for the expected window to appear when you open a Shortcut.  (A wait window is displayed during this period, and you can press Escape to cancel manually.)  The wait limit option allows you to enforce an automatic time limit, after which Montage will abort an attempted launch due to timeout.  The initial default value of this time limit (applicable only when Wait Limit is turned ON) is 60 seconds.  (There is no menu command to change this value, but it can be accomplished easily through the Command Processor, and this setting is saved and restored automatically.)