15 Hidden Workbench Tips
The Amiga Workbench has many tricks that never appeared in the manuals. Some save you time every day — others are simply cool. Here are 15 you should know.
Shortcuts Nobody Knows
1. Amiga + A = "Select All Icons"
Select all objects in the active window — the Amiga version of Ctrl+A.
2. Amiga + M = Screen Switch
Cycle through all open public screens. Indispensable when a game hides the Workbench.
3. Amiga + N = Back to Workbench
Instantly to the Workbench screen, no matter where you are. Handy for multi-screen setups.
4. Hold Shift When Double-Clicking = Multiple Launch
Select multiple programs, then Shift+double-click — they all start simultaneously.
5. Ctrl+\ in the Shell = Close Shell
Faster than endshell or endcli.
Tooltypes — The Invisible Configuration
6. Icon → Information (Right-Click)
Every icon has hidden Tooltypes — plain-text configuration variables like WINDOW=CON:0/0/640/200 or DONOTWAIT. Here you set window positions, colours, and program parameters without modifying the program.
7. Increase STACK= in the Icon
Program crashing with "stack overflow"? Set STACK=65536 in the icon. The default is only 4096 bytes — often too little.
Path Magic with ASSIGN
8. ASSIGN as a Lifesaver
Many Amiga programs rely on logical paths like C:, S:, LIBS:. With ASSIGN you mount any folder to these.
Example: ASSIGN GAMES: Work:Amiga/Games — from now on GAMES: exists as a drive.
9. ASSIGN ADD — Multiple Paths Simultaneously
With ADD you append further paths — handy when, e.g., fonts come from multiple sources.
Example: ASSIGN FONTS: Work:MagicWB/Fonts ADD
Startup & Commodities
10. WBStartup Drawer
Simply drag everything you want started automatically after boot into SYS:WBStartup/. Simpler than startup-sequence.
11. Disable Commodities Without Restart
The Commodities Exchange window (usually via Ctrl+Shift+Help) shows all running background tools. Here you can toggle them individually.
RAM Disk Tricks
12. RAM: Is a Full-Featured Hard Drive
Copy frequently used tools to RAM: — lightning-fast startup, zero disk latency. The size grows dynamically.
13. T: Is the RAM Temp Directory
Many programs use T: automatically. You can write anything there without worry — it gets cleared on reboot.
Hidden Quirks
14. Boing Ball Easter Egg
Hold both mouse buttons and both Amiga keys, click "About" in the Workbench menu. In some Workbench versions a Boing Ball or the developers' names appear.
15. Drag&Drop Between Two Workbench Windows
Drag a file from a drive window onto a program icon — the file is passed as a parameter. Classic: drag text onto the Edit icon.