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The third chapter of the book “Apple Lisa: A user-friendly handbook,”
pp. 15-33.
 |  Fig. 3-1. A photo of the entire Lisa computer, including the Profile (top), the monitor and disk drives, the keyboard, and the mouse. |
To say that the very first time you sit in front of Lisa you can actually begin
using it is only a slight exaggeration. Lisa’s user interface, the desk
top manager, is intuitive. It proves the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words.
As shown in Fig. 3-1, the main tools are the mouse and screen. By moving
the mouse on your desk, you move the arrow on the screen. You move the arrow to
the picture you want and then click the mouse button.
The desk top metaphor makes enormous sense. As shown in Fig. 3-2, Lisa’s
screen is your desk top. At the start of your work day, you open the files you
want, from the files you take out the documents you want; work with them; then
put them away. What’s more you can create new files and documents, copy
them, or throw them away. If your desk top becomes too cluttered, Lisa will
even straighten it out for you.
 | | Fig. 3-2. A screen dump of the Lisa desk top. |
I’m assuming that you are somewhat familiar with the basics of desk top
management, so I’ll briefly survey the main points. At the end of the
chapter, I’ll suggest some strategies for most effectively managing your desk top.
A brief tour of Lisa’s icons
The pictures on Lisa’s desk top are called icons. We can conveniently
divide all of Lisa’s icons into three kinds:
- Icons that you use to do your day to day work (such as Documents).
- Those that enable you to store and retrieve icons (such as Profile).
- Those that perform specific tasks (such as Wastebasket).
Lisa’s workhorse icons
There are three kinds of icons that you will use most in your day to day
work. They are documents, folders, and stationery. A few details about each are
discussed here.
 | | Fig. 3-3. A display of the six kinds of document icons. |
Documents. Figure 3-3 illustrates the six kinds of documents. You use
documents (such as the LisaWrite Document), to do your work. Want to type
a letter? Create a LisaWrite document. Want to prepare a graph? Create
a LisaGraph document. Once you have created a document you can edit it, print it,
save it, or throw it away.
 | | Fig. 3-4. Lisa provides folders, such as “Prospects,” to help you organize your documents. |
Folders. Lisa’s folders (such as the Prospects folder in Fig.
3-4) are like file folders. You put related documents in them to help you
organize your work. Let’s say that for the Dixon account you write a
letter, plan a project, and prepare a list. You have three documents for the
Dixon account – a LisaWrite document, a LisaProject document, and a LisaList
document. You put all three documents in a folder named Dixon.
You can also put folders in a folder. Let’s say that Dixon and Mason are
both prospective accounts. You put the Dixon folder and the Mason folder in
a folder named Prospects.
 | | Fig. 3-5. Lisa provides six Stationery Pads, one for each application. |
Stationery. Figure 3-5 illustrates the six kinds of Stationery
Pads. You use stationery pads to create documents. To create a LisaDraw document
you tear off a piece of LisaDraw stationery. To create a LisaCalc document you
tear off a piece of LisaCalc stationery.
You can also make your own stationery pads to use as templates. For example,
if you have a LisaCalc spreadsheet containing base information that you use
often, make it into a stationery pad. Then whenever you want to work with the base
information, tear off a piece of stationery.
Lisa’s storage icons
 | | Fig. 3-6. You use the storage icons, Profile and Diskette, to file away your documents and folders. |
There are two icons that enable you to store and retrieve documents, folders,
and stationery pads (as well as tools). Figure 3-6 shows Lisa’s
storage icons, Profile, and disks.
Profile. Profile is the hard disk and your main storage unit. As folders
are like file folders, Profile is like a very large filing cabinet. When
you want to work with a document, Open Profile; open the document, then
set aside the document on your desk top. When you are finished, put it
away (back into Profile).
Disks. Disks (such as Diskette 1 in Fig. 3-6) are smaller filing
cabinets. In most cases you use them to make room in Profile or to keep backup
copies of important documents for safe keeping.
Lisa’s job handling icons
 | | Fig. 3-7. Lisa provides five icons that perform tasks. They are the Wastebasket, Clipboard, Calculator, Clock, and Preferences. |
Finally, there are the icons that handle jobs for you. Figure 3-7 shows the
job handling icons I will discuss here.
Wastebasket. The wastebasket is used to get rid of a document or folder
that you no longer need. Just put it in the wastebasket and Lisa throws it
away. But what if you subsequently realize that you need it? Lisa is forgiving.
From the wastebasket you can retrieve the most recent document or folder that you
threw away.
Clipboard. The clipboard comes in handy when you are working with a
document. For example, when you Cut a paragraph, Lisa keeps a copy of
it on the clipboard so you can retrieve it later. For example let’s
say you Copy a paragraph from one LisaWrite document. Lisa places the copy
on the clipboard. You can then Paste the copied paragraph elsewhere in
the document, or paste it in a different document.
Lisa keeps only one item on the clipboard at a time. If you cut a second paragraph
you lose the first one.
Calculator. The calculator icon enables you to have a calculator on the
Lisa desk top. It’s really three calculators depending on whether you want
a “Four Function,” “Reverse Polish,” or “Adding
Machine” calculator.
Clock. The clock icon enables you to display a clock on your desk
top if you want a constant reminder of the time and date.
Preferences. This icon is to set up Lisa’s basic configurations such
as printer type, screen brightness, dim level, device connections, and so on.
About menus
Generally, after you select the icon you want to work with, you use a menu to
tell Lisa what you want to do with it. Lisa displays a list of available menus
at the top of the screen. The list of menus changes depending on the application
you are using. However, File/Print
and Edit are always available.
To display one of the menus, you place the arrow on it and hold down the
button. Lisa displays the list of options. It displays unavailable options in a
light type face. To select an option, you move the arrow down the list.
When you have highlighted the option you want, you release the button.
 | | Fig. 3-8. The File/Print Menu provides the option you use to open a document. |
Figure 3-8 illustrates how you open the LisaWrite Document. You select
the LisaWrite Document icon, then choose Open LisaWrite Document
from the File/Print menu.
I’ll have more to say about menus later in the chapter.
Using the desk top
Now that we have surveyed the icons on the desk top, let’s look at what
you can do with them. You can create new documents and folders, and work with
existing documents or folders. Let’s begin with a discussion of the
steps you use to create a new document or folder.
Creating a new document
 | | Fig. 3-9. To create a document you select a Stationery Pad then choose Tear Off Stationery from the File/Print menu. |
To create a new document or folder you tear off a piece of stationery. Lisa
creates a new document or folder named Untitled. You name it and then open it.
For example, let’s say you want to create a LisaWrite document named
Memo. First, as shown in Fig. 3-9, you open Profile, select the
stationery pad LisaWrite Paper, and choose Tear Off Stationery from
the File/Print menu.
 | | Fig. 3-10. When you tear off a piece of Stationery Lisa creates a new document named Untitled. |
As shown in Fig. 3-10 Lisa creates a new LisaWrite document named
Untitled, and automatically selects the new untitled document. To name it,
just type the name you want and Lisa replaces Untitled with the name you type.
Working with an existing folder
The steps for working with an existing icon (whether new or old) are remarkably
simple and always follow the same pattern. First, of course, you must display
the icon. Then you select the icon you want and choose an option from
the File/Print menu to tell Lisa what you want to do with it.
 | | Fig. 3-11. To open a folder, you select it and then choose Open from the File/Print Menu. |
Here is a simple example to illustrate the basic pattern. Let’s display a
letter (a LisaWrite document) stored in the Dixon file.
LisaWrite document is stored in the Dixon folder, so to display the document
you must open the Dixon folder. As shown in Fig. 3-11 to open
the Dixon folder you first select it by putting the arrow on the Dixon
icon and clicking the button. Lisa highlights the folder. Then you display the
File/Print menu, highlight the Open Dixon option, and release the button.
 | | Fig. 3-12. When you open a folder Lisa displays its contents. |
As shown in Fig. 3-12, when you release the button, Lisa opens the
Dixon folder and displays its
contents. To open the document within the folder, simply repeat the process.
What you can do with a selected icon
So, to work with a document or folder you first select its icon. After you
have selected a folder or document icon, here are some of the things
you can do with it.
Open It. As illustrated in Fig. 3-11, to view, revise, or print
a document, or to display the contents of a folder, you must open it.
 | | Fig. 3-13. An open LisaWrite document. |
As shown in Fig. 3-12 when you open a folder Lisa displays all the
icons it contains. You can continue opening the documents or folders within the folder.
When you open a document Lisa displays it on the screen. For example if
you open a LisaDraw document Lisa displays the drawing on the screen. If you
open a LisaGraph document, Lisa displays the graph on the screen. Figure 3-13
shows an opened LisaWrite document.
 | | Fig. 3-14. Choose Duplicate from the File/Print menu to make a copy of a selected document or folder. |
Duplicate it. As shown in Fig. 3-14, by choosing Duplicate from
the File/Print menu you can make a copy of the selected document or folder.
After you choose Duplicate Lisa displays a flashing copy of the icon. You place
the arrow on the flashing copy, hold down the button, and move the flashing
copy where you want it. You can move the duplicate to a folder or to a different
place on the desk top. When you release the button, Lisa makes a duplicate of
the flashing icon. Normally you type a new name for the duplicate.
Make it a Stationery Pad. By choosing Make Stationery Pad from
the File/Print menu you turn the selected document or folder into a stationery pad.
For example, let’s say that you often prepare an interoffice memo to your
staff. You create a LisaWrite document named Memo that contains the
standard information such as who it is to, who it is from, and so on. You
make Memo into a stationary pad. Then, to prepare memos you just tear off a
piece of Memo stationery.
Throw it Away. By moving a selected document or folder to the Wastebasket icon,
you can throw it away.
To move an icon, you place the arrow on it, hold down the button, and move the
icon where you want it.
You can retrieve the most recently disposed of document or folder from the
Wastebasket by selecting the Wastebasket icon and opening it.
For example, if you throw away the Dixon folder you can retrieve it. However,
if you throw away the Dixon folder and then throw away the Mason folder, you
can retrieve only the Mason folder; the Dixon folder is gone forever.
Refile it. You can move a folder or document to a different folder.
For example, let’s say you want to put the Dixon folder and the Mason
folder in a new folder named Prospects. You tear off a piece of Empty Folders
stationery, name it Prospects, and open it. Then move the two folders
to the new folder.
After you open a document or folder
 | | Fig. 3-15. These are the available File/Print options for an open document. |
Figure 3-15 illustrates the File/Print options available for an open
document. After you have opened a document or folder, the File/Print options
enable you to set it aside, save it and put it away, save it and continue to
work with it, revert to previous version of it, or print it.
Set Aside. When you choose Set Aside from the File/Print
menu Lisa does not file the opened document or folder away, it sets it
aside on the desk top. You set aside a document or folder when you want to
set it aside temporarily.
This is an extremely useful option and I’ll have more to say about it
when I discuss desk top strategies.
Save and Put Away. When you are finished with a document or folder
and do not plan to use it for a while, choose Save and Put Away. Lisa files the
folder or document away and removes it from the desk top.
Save and Continue. This option is not available for folders, only for
documents. It enables you to save the work you’ve done so far and continue working.
For example, let’s say you have opened a LisaWrite document and that you are
typing a long report. About every page or so you save and continue to
ensure that you don’t lose any text.
Revert to Previous Version. This option is not available for folders, only for
documents. Normally you use this option to cancel the revisions you have
made to a document. This option restores the document as it was the last
time you saved it. For example, let’s say you open a document and heavily
revise only to realize that it was better before. Revert to Previous Version restores
the original version. However, once you save the revised version, that’s
it. The revised version is now the original version.
Print. This option enables you to print the open document. This option
is not available for folders, only for documents.
Desk top shortcuts
So far we have relied on the File/Print menu to
open and save icons or to tear off a piece of stationery. But there are
shortcuts you can use to bypass the File/Print menu.
Open. To open a document or folder the best way is to position the arrow
on the icon and click twice.
Tear off Stationery. To tear off a piece of stationery the best way
is to position the arrow on the stationery pad and click twice.
 | | Fig. 3-16. To set aside an open folder quickly, click twice on the folder symbol in the Title Bar Icon. |
Set Aside a Folder. As shown in Fig. 3-16 you can set aside
an open folder by clicking twice on the Title Bar icon at the top left corner
of the open folder.
Select More Than One Icon. This is a very helpful shortcut. There are three
ways to select more than one icon. They are as follows:
1) SHIFT. Hold down the SHIFT key as you select each icon.
 | | Fig. 3-17. To select a group of icons, draw a box around them. |
2) Draw a box around a group of icons as shown in Fig. 3-17. First
position the arrow above and to the left of the group you want to select. Hold down
the button and move the arrow down and right. Lisa draws a box as you move the
arrow. When the box surrounds all the icons you want to select, release the button.
3) Select all the icons. Choose Select All Icons from the Edit menu.
Desk top strategies
Here are some ideas that will help you make the best use of your desk top
by saving time and extra steps.
1. Use folders to organize documents not by application but by work needs. Folders
enable you to keep your desk top organized and tidy. Most often when
you sit down in front of your Lisa you want to work on a particular project such
as the Dixon account. So, you should keep all the Dixon documents (LisaList,
LisaProject, LisaWrite, whatever) in one folder. The idea is
fairly obvious. As you would get a file and put it on your desk, you open a
Lisa file and set it aside on your desk top. That way all the documents are
there when you need them.
2. At the beginning of each day open and set aside all the folders and documents you
plan to use. I hate to break this to you, but Lisa has a shortcoming. It is
fairly slow at opening a document. But it counters this problem with an
alternative. Lisa opens a document more quickly if it has been previously
opened and set aside. So at the start of each day select all the document
icons you think you may need and choose
Open Icons from the File/Print menu. As Lisa opens them all, go
get a cup of coffee. When you return, choose Set Aside Everything from the
File/Print menu. Lisa sets aside all the opened icons on the desk
top. Now you can open a document quickly when you want it.
3. At the end of each day tidy up, but leave tomorrow’s folders and
documents on the desk top. Throw away folders and documents you will not
need again. If necessary create new folders or reorganize the contents of existing
folders. Save and put away folders and documents that you will not need tomorrow.
A typical day with Lisa
 | | Fig. 3-18. When you turn her on in the morning, Lisa displays the icons you left on your desk top yesterday. |
To give you a clearer idea of how these desk top strategies work, here is
how a typical day with Lisa might proceed.
1. Getting Ready For the Day.
When you arrive at the office, you switch Lisa on. As shown in Fig. 3-18 Lisa
displays the icons you left on your desk from the day before. You left the
Prospect folder and the Year End Report folder on the desk top.
Today you plan to work on the proposal for the Dixon account and your Year End
Report by calculating the return on investment for last year’s
budget. To get ready you open and set aside all the documents you plan to work with.
 | | Fig. 3-19. Open the dixon folder, select all the icons, and open them. |
You open the Prospect folder, which contains two folders, Dixon and Mason. As
shown in Fig. 3-19 you open the Dixon folder, select all the document
icons, and open them. When Lisa has opened all the documents you set them aside.
Next you open and set aside the ROI85 document from the Year End Report folder. Now
your screen looks like the one in Fig. 3-20. You are ready to work.
2. Getting Down to Business.
 | | Fig. 3-20. After you open and set aside all of the day’s icons your screen looks like this. |
First on the agenda is revising the plan for the Dixon project. You open the
DixonPlan document (click twice on the icon) and finish your revisions. You
print the schedule chart, and then set the document aside.
Next you work on the graph for the Dixon proposal – a graph to
demonstrate the potential earnings your service will offer. You open the DixonGraph
document and begin working. You cannot finish the graph today because you
need additional information from the media department. You save and continue
what you’ve done so far, then set aside the document. You’ll come back
to it later.
After lunch you get back to that Year End Report you must finish. You open
the LisaCalc document named ROI85 and enter the figures you need to calculate
return on investment. But as you are working you get an urgent call from
Personnel. The revised benefits letter is complete and must reach your staff
no later than tomorrow. You must prepare a covering memo.
 | | Fig. 3-21. You tear off a piece of stationery from the Memo Stationery Pad. |
You save and continue your work on ROI85. You then set it aside. Now you
must type the memo.
Your Memo stationery pad is in the Admin folder on Profile. As shown in Fig.
3-21 you open Profile. Open the Admin folder, and tear off a piece of Memo stationery.
You name the new untitled LisaWrite document Ben86, and open it. You
type the first draft of the memo then save and continue. You revise the memo,
save and continue, then print it. Finally you save and put away the memo.
3. Finishing Up.
 | | Fig. 3-22. At the end of the day your desk top looks like this one. |
By now it’s five o’clock. You clear your desk for the day. You put
away the icons you will not need, and leave those you plan to work with
on the desk top. Since you absolutely must finish the Year End Report tomorrow,
you put everything else away. You select all the Dixon icons, then choose
Put Away Icons from the File/Print menu. Now, as you can
see in Fig. 3-22, all that’s left on your desk top are the Year
End Report folder and the ROI85 document. Your desk top is ready for tomorrow.
You turn off Lisa.
Conclusion
As you can see the desk top manager provides a friendly and efficient way to do
business with Lisa. And in this chapter I have only scratched the surface. There
is much, much more you can do. For example, you can open several documents at
once and, by shrinking the windows, view them at the same time, even
move text and information among them.
The exercises will demonstrate some of these possibilities, and as you continue
to work with the desk top manager, Lisa makes it easy to explore its many
benefits. As the exercises will show, Lisa’s capabilities are virtually
inexhaustible. It’s nice to know that you will probably run out of
problems before Lisa runs out of solutions.
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