HTML version of the iTidy 2 AmigaGuide documentation.
A Workbench Icon and Window Tidy Tool for AmigaOS 3.2+
Workbench drawers have a way of drifting into chaos over time, especially after big Aminet extractions, cover disks, or years of "I will sort it later" installs.
iTidy is a small utility I wrote to bring things back into shape. Point it at a folder or an entire volume and it will tidy icon layouts and drawer windows in a consistent, repeatable way, with optional recursion through subfolders.
Version 2.0 adds a Workbench 3.2 ReAction GUI plus DefIcons-based icon creation, so files without icons can be handled automatically. Where supported, it can also generate thumbnail-style icons for images. Backups are available so you can roll back a run if you change your mind.
C:iTidy focuses on a few areas that tend to cause friction once your disks and drawers start to grow.
Manual tidying gets tedious. Workbench's built-in "Clean Up" works one drawer at a time. iTidy can walk through entire directory trees (or a whole volume) in one go.
Layouts drift over time. Changing screen modes, fonts, or resolutions can leave icons overlapping or windows sized oddly. iTidy re-arranges icons into a grid, with adjustable spacing and proportions.
Missing and inconsistent icons. Large archive extractions often leave files sitting in drawers with no icons at all. Version 2.0 can create icons automatically using the DefIcons system, including thumbnail-style icons for images and preview icons for text files. If you enable it, iTidy can also refresh icons it previously generated.
Default tools go missing. Older archives often reference tools that are not present on a modern setup, resulting in "Unable to open your tool" errors. iTidy scans for missing tools and lets you fix them.
No safety net for large changes. iTidy includes an optional backup and restore system using LhA, so you can roll back icon and layout changes later if needed.
iTidy only works with Workbench metadata: .info files and drawer/window layout information. It does not modify the contents of your data files.
Double-click the iTidy icon to launch it. The main window opens.
Click the Folder to tidy gadget and choose the drawer (or whole partition) you want to process. The selected path appears in the field.
Choose how you want icons grouped using Grouping (Folders First is the default).
If you want iTidy to process everything underneath the chosen folder, enable Include Subfolders.
If you want backups before any changes are made, enable Back Up Layout Before Changes. LhA must be installed in C: for this to work.
If you want iTidy to create new icons for files and folders that don't already have them, enable Create Icons During Tidy. You can configure which file types get icons, thumbnail settings, and other creation options via Icon Creation....
For more control over layout and window sizing, click Advanced....
Click Start. A progress window shows what iTidy is doing. When it finishes, the Cancel button changes to Close.
Tip: For your first run, try a small test folder. If you enable backups, you can always restore afterwards if you want to undo the changes.
The main window is where you choose what to tidy and set the basic options. All other windows are opened from here.
SYS: when iTidy first launches.Grouping -- Sets how icons are grouped before sorting.
Note: When Grouped By Type is selected, the Sort By option is disabled because the group order is fixed. Icons within each group are still sorted by name.
Sort By -- Selects the sort key within the chosen grouping mode.
This option is disabled when Grouping is set to Grouped By Type.
Include Subfolders -- When enabled, iTidy also processes all subfolders under the selected folder. Useful for tidying a whole partition or a large folder tree in one pass. Default: Off.
Create Icons During Tidy -- When enabled, iTidy creates new .info files for files and folders that don't already have them, using the DefIcons system. Files that gain new icons are then included in the layout. Configure what gets icons using the Icon Creation... button, including thumbnail icons. Default: Off.
Back Up Layout Before Changes -- When enabled, iTidy creates an LhA backup of each folder's .info files before making any changes. Requires LhA in C:. If LhA is not found when you click Start with this enabled, iTidy will warn you and offer to continue without backups or cancel. Default: Off.
This checkbox is kept in sync with the menu item at Settings -> Backups -> Back Up Layout Before Changes.
Window Position -- Controls where drawer windows are placed after iTidy resizes them.
Advanced... -- Opens the Advanced Settings window for finer control over layout, density, limits, columns, grouping gaps, and filtering.
Fix Default Tools... -- Opens the Default Tool Analysis window, which scans icons for missing or invalid default tools. The scan targets the selected folder and respects the Include Subfolders setting.
Restore Backups... -- Opens the Restore Backups window. This restores icon/layout backups only. To undo default tool changes, use the Restore Default Tools feature inside the Fix Default Tools window.
Icon Creation... -- Opens the Icon Creation Settings window to configure thumbnail generation, text previews, folder icons, and DefIcons categories.
Start -- Begins processing using the current settings. All current settings are saved to the active preferences before processing starts. A progress window opens showing status during the run.
Exit -- Closes iTidy.
Reset To Defaults (Amiga+N) Resets all settings to their default values. The current log level is preserved.
Open Preset... (Amiga+O)
Loads a previously saved preferences file. The default location is PROGDIR:userdata/Settings/.
Save Preset (Amiga+S) Saves the current settings to the last-used file path. Behaves like Save Preset As if no file has been saved yet.
Save Preset As... (Amiga+A)
Opens a requester to choose where to save. Default filename is iTidy.prefs in PROGDIR:userdata/Settings/.
Quit (Amiga+Q) Closes iTidy.
Advanced Settings... Opens the Advanced Settings window.
DefIcons Categories... Opens the DefIcons category selection window.
Preview Icons... Opens the Text Templates window.
DefIcons Excluded Folders... Opens the Exclude Paths window.
Back Up Layout Before Changes? Toggle checkmark. Kept in sync with the checkbox on the main window.
Logging -- Disabled (Recommended) Turns off all logging. (Default)
Logging -- Debug Most verbose level, logs everything.
Logging -- Info Logs informational messages and above.
Logging -- Warning Logs warnings and errors only.
Logging -- Error Logs errors only.
Logging -- Open Log Folder
Opens PROGDIR:logs/ as a Workbench drawer.
The five logging level items are mutually exclusive.
Restore Layouts... Opens the Restore Backups window (same as the Restore Backups button).
Restore Default Tools... Opens the Restore Default Tools window for reverting default tool changes.
iTidy Guide...
Opens PROGDIR:iTidy2.guide using AmigaGuide.
About Shows a requester with the version number, description, and copyright notice.
Work:) to process everything on that volume in one pass.Open this window with Advanced... on the main window, or via the Settings menu. Settings are organised into five tabs. Changes are applied when you click OK, or discarded if you click Cancel or press Escape. To save settings permanently, use Presets -> Save on the main window.
Layout Aspect -- Sets the target width-to-height shape for drawer windows.
When Full -- Controls what iTidy does when a drawer has more icons than fit at the target proportions.
Align Vertically -- Sets how icons are aligned vertically when a row contains icons of different heights.
Icons Per Row: Min -- Minimum number of columns in a drawer window. Prevents drawers from collapsing to a single-column list. Range: 0 to 30. Default: 2.
Auto-Calc Max Icons -- When enabled, iTidy calculates the maximum columns automatically based on window width and screen size. Default: On. When this is on, the Max field below is disabled.
Max -- Maximum number of columns. Only used when Auto-Calc Max Icons is off. Range: 2 to 40. Default: 10.
Max Window Width -- Limits how wide drawer windows may become, as a percentage of screen width.
Column Layout -- When enabled, icons are arranged in strict vertical columns. When disabled, a free-flow row-based layout is used. Default: Off.
Gap Between Groups -- Controls spacing between icon groups when Grouping is set to Grouped By Type.
Note: Groups with no icons are skipped and no gap is added for them.
Auto-Fit Columns -- When enabled, each column is sized to fit its widest icon rather than forcing all columns to the same width. Produces a more compact layout. Default: On.
Reverse Sort Order -- Reverses the sort direction (Z to A, newest first, or largest first, depending on the sort mode). Default: Off.
Strip Newicons Borders -- Removes the icon border from NewIcons. Requires icon.library v44 or later. Default: Off.
Skip Hidden Folders -- When enabled, iTidy skips folders that do not have a corresponding .info file during recursive processing. Folders without .info files are not visible in Workbench. Default: On.
Open this window with Icon Creation... on the main window. It controls how iTidy creates new icons for files and folders that do not already have .info files, using the DefIcons system. Settings are organised into three tabs: Create, Rendering, and DefIcons.
Changes are applied when you click OK, or discarded if you click Cancel.
Folder Icons -- Controls whether iTidy creates drawer icons for folders that don't have them.
How iTidy processes folders when "Include Subfolders" is on
When Include Subfolders is ticked on the main window, iTidy uses a depth-first strategy. Rather than processing the folder you pointed it at first and then stepping into its subfolders, it dives straight down to the deepest subfolder it can find before touching anything. Only once it has reached the bottom does it begin creating icons and tidying, then it gradually works its way back up through each parent folder until it finally reaches the top.
This means that when you start a recursive run, iTidy may appear to do nothing visible for a while as it descends through the tree. It can end up very deep inside folder structures you might not even know are there. Once it starts working back out, you will see folders being processed in roughly bottom-up order -- the deepest nested folders first, then their parents, and so on.
This approach is intentional. A folder can only be given a drawer icon once iTidy knows what is inside it, and on a recursive run it does not know that until the contents have been processed. By going deep first, each folder's icon decision is made with complete information as the recursion unwinds.
How Smart works Smart mode is designed to avoid creating folder icons for folders that would still look "empty" on Workbench.
If you are not processing subfolders (non-recursive):
iTidy looks inside each subfolder (just the files in that folder, not deeper folders).
.info files). If it finds one, it creates the folder icon straight away.If you are processing subfolders (recursive):
iTidy does not do a separate "look ahead" scan. Instead, it processes the deepest folders first, creating icons as needed, then works back up.
When it returns to a folder, it creates that folder's icon only if something inside ended up getting an icon (or was already visible).
This makes recursive Smart mode faster, because iTidy learns what's inside while it's doing the real work.
Note: Smart mode is quickest when iTidy can decide based on existing icons. If a folder has no icons at all, iTidy may need to ask DefIcons about many files to work out what would get an icon. On a large collection, that can mean a DefIcons ARexx call for every file in every subfolder, which can be slow on Classic hardware.
Performance warning: When Smart mode is combined with "Include Subfolders" on the main window, iTidy will recurse into every subfolder, sub-subfolder, and so on -- querying DefIcons for files at every level and then backtracking up through the entire folder tree to determine which folders need drawer icons. On deeply nested volumes or large collections this can take a very long time on Classic Amiga hardware. If processing time is a concern, use "Never Create" for folder icons, or limit the run to a single folder without recursion.
Skip Files In WHDLoad Folders -- When enabled, folders containing a WHDLoad slave file (*.slave) are skipped during icon creation. The drawer icon for the WHDLoad folder itself is still created, but no icons are generated for files inside it. Default: Off.
Text File Previews -- When enabled, iTidy renders a preview of a text file's contents onto the icon image. Default: On.
Manage Templates... -- Opens the Text Templates window to view and edit the rendering templates used for text preview icons.
Picture File Previews -- When enabled, iTidy generates thumbnail icons for recognised image files. Default: On.
Individual image formats can be enabled or disabled separately:
Note: JPEG is disabled by default because JPEG decoding is computationally expensive on 68k hardware. Enabling it will significantly slow down icon creation on classic Amiga hardware.
Replace Existing Image Thumbnails -- When enabled, iTidy deletes and recreates image thumbnail icons that it previously created (identified by the ITIDY_CREATED ToolType). User-placed icons are never affected. Default: Off.
Replace Existing Text Previews -- When enabled, iTidy deletes and recreates text preview icons that it previously created. Only icons with the ITIDY_CREATED ToolType are affected. Default: Off.
These settings control the visual appearance of generated thumbnail icons.
Preview Size -- Sets the canvas size for thumbnail icons.
Thumbnail Border -- Controls the border style drawn around thumbnails.
The "Smart" modes detect transparent images and skip the border, avoiding borders around irregularly shaped images.
Upscale Small Images -- When enabled, images smaller than the chosen preview size are scaled up to fill the thumbnail area. When disabled, small images are centred at their original size. Default: Off.
Max Colours -- Sets the maximum number of colours in generated icons.
When Max Colours is set to 256 or Ultra, the Dithering option is disabled. When Max Colours is above 8 (or set to GlowIcons palette or Ultra), the Low-Colour Palette option is disabled.
Dithering -- Selects the dithering method used when reducing colours.
Disabled when Max Colours is 256 or Ultra.
Low-Colour Palette -- Controls the palette used at very low colour counts (4 or 8 colours).
Only enabled when Max Colours is set to 4 or 8.
Open this window from the main window via Settings -> DefIcons Categories... -> DefIcons Categories..., or from Icon Creation Settings -> DefIcons tab -> Icon Creation Setup....
This window lets you choose which file types iTidy should create icons for. It shows a tree view of all file types defined in the system's DefIcons preferences, with checkboxes to enable or disable each type.
The type tree is read from ENV:deficons.prefs, managed by the "DefaultIcons" Preferences tool in the Workbench Prefs drawer. If the DefIcons system is not available, this window cannot be used.
The tree shows a hierarchical list of file types. Top-level entries are categories (music, picture, tool, etc.). Expanding a category reveals the individual file types within it. Only second-level file types have checkboxes -- root categories and deeper sub-types do not.
The following categories are disabled by default because creating icons for them is rarely useful or could affect system files:
All other types are enabled by default.
Select All -- Enables all file types. Use with care -- this may create icons for system files that don't ordinarily have them.
Select None -- Disables all file types. No icons will be created for any type.
Show Default Tools -- Scans ENVARC:Sys/ and displays the default tool assigned to each type next to its name (e.g. mod [EaglePlayer]). This is a one-shot action that updates automatically after you change a default tool.
Change Default Tool... -- Opens a file requester to assign a new default tool to the selected type. The change is written directly to the type's template icon in ENVARC:Sys/. If the selected type does not yet have its own template icon, iTidy creates one by cloning the parent's template first.
Warning: Default tool changes are applied immediately and saved to disk. They are not subject to the OK/Cancel buttons.
OK -- Accepts the current checkbox selections and closes the window.
Cancel -- Closes the window without saving checkbox changes. Default tool changes already made via "Change Default Tool..." are not affected by Cancel.
Open this window from the main window via Settings -> DefIcons Categories... -> Preview Icons..., or from Icon Creation Settings -> Create tab -> Manage Templates....
This window manages the DefIcons text preview templates. Each ASCII sub-type (C source, REXX, HTML, etc.) can have its own template icon (def_<type>.info) stored in PROGDIR:Icons/. These templates contain ToolTypes that control how iTidy renders text previews onto file icons.
def_ascii.info. It is the fallback used for all ASCII sub-types that don't have their own template. It always appears first in the list with status "Master".def_c.info or def_rexx.info. Status shows "Custom".The master template (def_ascii.info) supports an EXCLUDETYPE ToolType that lists file sub-types that iTidy will never create icons for. These types are shown with the status Excluded.
Example:
EXCLUDETYPE=amigaguide,html,install
To re-enable a type, remove it from the EXCLUDETYPE list by using Edit ToolTypes on the master template row. This opens the Workbench Information editor for def_ascii.info, where the change is saved.
Custom templates can contain the following ITIDY_* ToolTypes to control rendering. Defaults are used for any ToolType that is absent.
Note: The text renderer is a micro-preview renderer, not a text layout engine. It fits an entire file's worth of text into an icon a few dozen pixels across by treating each character as a single pixel-width column and each line as a single pixel-tall band. The result looks like ruled-paper marks that suggest text density and structure, not readable characters. All the size and spacing ToolTypes operate in this output-pixel coordinate space, not in font or point sizes.
ITIDY_TEXT_AREA (Default: 4-pixel margin)
Rectangle (x,y,w,h) defining the safe zone where text is drawn.
ITIDY_EXCLUDE_AREA (Default: none)
Rectangle (x,y,w,h) area to skip pixel-by-pixel when drawing.
ITIDY_LINE_HEIGHT (Default: 1)
Output height in pixels of each rendered line band. At the default of 1, a 60px-tall safe area holds 60 bands. Increase to 2 or 3 for thicker bands and fewer lines per icon.
ITIDY_LINE_GAP (Default: 1)
Gap between line bands in pixels (reserved -- not currently used by the renderer).
ITIDY_MAX_LINES (Default: auto)
Maximum number of rendered line bands to produce (reserved -- not currently enforced by the renderer).
ITIDY_CHAR_WIDTH (Default: 0/auto)
Horizontal pixel step per rendered character (1 = narrow, 2 = normal); 0 = auto-select based on safe area width.
ITIDY_READ_BYTES (Default: 4096)
Number of bytes to read from the source file.
ITIDY_BG_COLOUR (Default: none -- no fill)
Background colour index (0-254) to fill the safe area; absent or -1 = no fill (preserve template pixels). Index 255 is reserved internally and cannot be used.
ITIDY_TEXT_COLOUR (Default: auto)
Text colour index (0-255); ignored when ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=YES.
ITIDY_MID_COLOUR (Default: auto)
Mid-tone colour index (0-255); ignored when ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=YES.
ITIDY_DARKEN_PERCENT (Default: 70)
Darkening strength for even output rows (1-100); only active when ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=YES.
ITIDY_DARKEN_ALT_PERCENT (Default: 35)
Darkening strength for odd output rows (1-100); only active when ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=YES.
ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT (Default: NO)
Master switch for the adaptive rendering path (YES/NO).
ITIDY_EXPAND_PALETTE (Default: YES)
Pre-adds darkened colour variants derived from the existing palette for smoother tones; only active when ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=YES.
Editing ToolTypes opens the Workbench Information editor via ARexx. Changes are saved there, not within iTidy itself.
ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT is the master switch that divides the ToolTypes into two groups. Getting this right is probably the most important thing to understand about the template system.
When ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=NO (the default):
ITIDY_TEXT_COLOUR for medium- and high-density pixels, ITIDY_MID_COLOUR for sparse and edge pixels.ITIDY_DARKEN_PERCENT, ITIDY_DARKEN_ALT_PERCENT, and ITIDY_EXPAND_PALETTE are all ignored entirely.ITIDY_TEXT_COLOUR or ITIDY_MID_COLOUR are absent, the renderer auto-detects appropriate palette entries (see below).When ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=YES:
ITIDY_TEXT_COLOUR and ITIDY_MID_COLOUR are ignored for glyph painting. Instead, the renderer samples the background pixel at each position and darkens it. The text inherits the colour of whatever the template artwork has underneath it, which works particularly well with detailed or colourful template art.ITIDY_DARKEN_PERCENT (default 70%) controls how strongly even output rows are darkened.ITIDY_DARKEN_ALT_PERCENT (default 35%) controls darkening for odd output rows, producing a lighter "ruled paper" stripe effect.ITIDY_EXPAND_PALETTE becomes active (see below).ITIDY_BG_COLOUR still controls whether the safe area is filled before rendering. When absent (the default), no fill happens -- the template artwork pixels are preserved, which is exactly what you need. Pairing a solid fill with adaptive mode defeats the purpose: once every pixel is the same colour, the text just darkens to one result, no different from fixed colour mode.At a glance:
ITIDY_TEXT_COLOUR
ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=NO: Fixed colour for medium/high-density glyph pixels
ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=YES: Ignored
ITIDY_MID_COLOUR
ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=NO: Fixed colour for sparse/edge glyph pixels
ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=YES: Ignored
ITIDY_DARKEN_PERCENT
ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=NO: Ignored
ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=YES: Darkening strength for even rows (default 70%)
ITIDY_DARKEN_ALT_PERCENT
ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=NO: Ignored
ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=YES: Darkening strength for odd rows (default 35%)
ITIDY_EXPAND_PALETTE
ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=NO: Ignored
ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=YES: Adds darkened palette variants for smoother tone gradations
ITIDY_BG_COLOUR
ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=NO: No fill (template pixels preserved)
ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=YES: Same default -- no fill. A solid fill defeats adaptive mode; leave absent or set to -1.
ITIDY_EXPAND_PALETTE -- depends on ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXTWhen palette expansion is active (ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=YES and ITIDY_EXPAND_PALETTE not set to NO), darkened colour variants are derived from the existing palette and added to it, giving the darken tables more entries to map to and producing smoother tone gradations. It works in two phases: first a 70%-darkened copy of every palette colour is added (used for even output rows), then a 35%-darkened copy (used for odd/alternate rows). Entries that are already close enough to an existing colour are reused rather than duplicated, so no colour slots are wasted. No neutral grey values are inserted -- all new entries come from the template's own colours.
Expansion only fires when the palette has fewer than 128 colours and at least 2. If ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=NO, this ToolType has no effect regardless of its value.
ITIDY_BG_COLOUR -- absent means no fillWhen ITIDY_BG_COLOUR is absent (or set to -1), the safe area is left exactly as it is and glyph pixels are painted on top of whatever template artwork is already there. This is the default behaviour.
This means adaptive mode works correctly without setting ITIDY_BG_COLOUR at all -- just leave it out. You only need to set it if you want a solid fill, and you would not normally want that with ITIDY_ADAPTIVE_TEXT=YES, because once the safe area is filled with one colour, every glyph pixel darkens to the same result, which is no different from fixed colour mode.
Setting ITIDY_BG_COLOUR to a valid palette index (0-254) forces a solid fill. Index 255 is reserved internally as the "no fill" sentinel and cannot be used as a colour. Setting it to any value outside the valid palette range (other than 255, which is always treated as no-fill) triggers auto-detection of the lightest palette entry, which is also a solid fill.
ITIDY_TEXT_COLOUR and ITIDY_MID_COLOUR (fixed colour mode only) auto-detect when absent or out-of-range. ITIDY_BG_COLOUR behaves differently -- see below.
ITIDY_TEXT_COLOUR absent): darkest palette entryITIDY_MID_COLOUR absent): palette entry closest to the midpoint between the darkest and lightest entries, excluding those two extremesITIDY_BG_COLOUR absent): no fill -- template pixels are preserved. This differs from the other two: absent does not trigger a palette scan, it disables the fill entirely. Auto-detection of the lightest entry only happens if ITIDY_BG_COLOUR is set to an out-of-range value.A safety check ensures the text and mid-tone colours never resolve to the same palette index.
ITIDY_TEXT_AREA and ITIDY_EXCLUDE_AREA -- independent zonesThese two ToolTypes are checked separately and serve different purposes:
ITIDY_TEXT_AREA sets the safe rendering zone. The renderer fills the background and draws all text within this rectangle. If absent, the zone defaults to the icon bounds minus a 4-pixel margin on all sides.ITIDY_EXCLUDE_AREA defines a per-pixel skip zone. Any individual pixel that falls inside this rectangle is not written, regardless of the text area. This is useful for preserving decorative template artwork such as a folded-corner graphic. It works in both adaptive and non-adaptive modes.The two zones are independent -- the exclude area can overlap the text area, lie entirely within it, or be placed outside it entirely.
ITIDY_CHAR_WIDTH -- auto-select modeSetting ITIDY_CHAR_WIDTH=0 (the default) enables automatic selection: 2 pixels per character column if the safe area is 64 pixels wide or greater; 1 pixel per character column if it is narrower. Any non-zero value overrides this.
ITIDY_MAX_LINES and ITIDY_LINE_GAP -- reserved for future useThese ToolTypes are recognised by the Validate function and will not be flagged as unknown keys, but the renderer does not currently use them. ITIDY_MAX_LINES is calculated automatically from the safe area height divided by ITIDY_LINE_HEIGHT. ITIDY_LINE_GAP is parsed but the rendering loop does not read it -- band spacing is controlled solely by ITIDY_LINE_HEIGHT. Setting either will not cause errors but will have no visible effect.
Show -- Filters which types appear in the list.
The master row ("ascii") always appears regardless of the filter.
Template list -- Three-column list showing Type, Template filename, and Status for each sub-type. Select a row to see details and enable the action buttons.
Selected Type info panel -- Read-only fields showing: Type, Template file, Effective file (which template will actually be used at runtime), and Status.
All action buttons start disabled and enable when a row is selected.
Create from master / Overwrite from master -- Copies def_ascii.info to create a new custom template for the selected type. The label changes to "Overwrite from master" if a custom template already exists. A confirmation is shown before overwriting. Disabled when the master is selected (cannot copy the master onto itself).
Edit tooltypes... -- Opens the effective template icon in the Workbench Information editor. For sub-types without a custom template, this opens the master def_ascii.info.
Validate tooltypes -- Reads all ToolTypes from the effective template and checks for unknown ITIDY_* keys, colour values outside 0-255 (or outside 0-254 for ITIDY_BG_COLOUR), percentage values outside 1-100, and formatting errors. Results are shown in a requester with an "Effect Summary" of all collected values.
Revert to master -- Deletes the custom def_<type>.info so the sub-type falls back to the master. A confirmation is shown first. Disabled when the master is selected or no custom template exists.
Close -- Closes the window (keyboard shortcut: C).
Open this window from the main window via Settings -> DefIcons Categories... -> DefIcons Excluded Folders..., or from the DefIcons tab in Icon Creation Settings.
This window manages the list of folder paths skipped during DefIcons icon creation. Any folder matching an exclude path is skipped entirely -- no icons are generated inside it.
Paths can use DEVICE: as a placeholder for the volume currently being scanned. At scan time, iTidy replaces DEVICE: with the scanned volume name, so the exclude list can be reused across different drives.
For example, if you are scanning Workbench:Games/, then DEVICE:C means Workbench:C. If you are scanning Work:WHDLoad/, the same entry means Work:C.
When you add or modify a path, if the selected folder is on the same volume as the current scan folder, iTidy asks whether to store it as DEVICE: (portable) or as an absolute path (fixed to that specific volume).
Path list -- Shows all configured exclude paths. Click a row to select it for Remove or Modify.
Add... -- Opens a directory requester. After selecting a folder, iTidy asks whether to store it as a portable DEVICE: pattern or absolute path. Duplicate paths are silently rejected.
Remove -- Removes the selected path. Does nothing if no row is selected.
Modify... -- Opens a directory requester pre-set to the selected path. Same DEVICE:/absolute logic as Add. Does nothing if no row is selected.
Reset to Defaults -- After a confirmation, replaces the current list with the following 17 default AmigaOS system directory paths:
DEVICE:Fonts, DEVICE:Locale, DEVICE:Classes, DEVICE:Libs, DEVICE:C, DEVICE:Rexxc, DEVICE:T, DEVICE:L, DEVICE:Devs, DEVICE:Resources, DEVICE:System, DEVICE:Storage, DEVICE:Expansion, DEVICE:Kickstart, DEVICE:Env, DEVICE:Envarc, DEVICE:Prefs/Env-Archive
OK -- Accepts the current list and closes the window.
Cancel -- Discards changes and closes the window.
Open this window with Fix Default Tools... on the main window.
Most data file icons on the Amiga have a "Default Tool" -- the program Workbench runs when you double-click that icon. After copying icons between systems or extracting older archives, those tool paths often break, resulting in "Unable to open your tool" errors.
The Folder field initialises from the current scan folder in your preferences. Change it if needed.
Click Scan to start a recursive scan. A progress window shows scan statistics. After scanning, close the progress window to return to the tool list.
Use the Filter chooser to narrow the list: Show All, Show Valid Only, or Show Missing Only.
Click a tool in the upper list to see which icons reference it in the details panel.
To fix a tool, select it and use Replace Tool (Batch)... to update all icons that reference it, or select a specific icon file in the details panel and use Replace Tool (Single)... to update just that one.
Tool Tool name or path.
Files Number of icons that reference this tool.
Status EXISTS or MISSING.
Click a column header to sort. Click again to reverse the sort order.
Shows information about the selected tool: tool name, status, version string if available, and the list of icon files that reference it. If a tool has more than 200 referencing files, only the first 200 are shown.
New (Amiga+N) Clears the tool cache and resets the display.
Open... (Amiga+O)
Loads a previously saved tool cache from a .dat file.
Save (Amiga+S)
Saves the cache to PROGDIR:userdata/DTools/toolcache.dat.
Save as... (Amiga+A) Saves the cache to a user-chosen location.
Close (Amiga+C) Closes the window.
Export list of tools (Amiga+T) Exports a text report of all tools.
Export list of files and tools (Amiga+F) Exports a detailed report of all files and their tools.
System PATH... (Amiga+P) Shows the list of directories iTidy searches for default tools.
This window opens from Replace Tool (Batch)... or Replace Tool (Single)... in the Default Tool Analysis window.
In batch mode (opened via Replace Tool (Batch)), all icons that reference the selected tool are updated at once. The Mode field shows "Batch Mode: N icon(s) will be updated".
In single mode (opened via Replace Tool (Single)), only the one icon selected in the details panel is updated. The Mode field shows the icon file path.
C:. .info files cannot be selected.Tip: Leave the Change To field empty and click Update to remove the default tool from the icon(s) entirely. A confirmation requester will be shown first.
Note: Write-protected icons are automatically skipped with a "READ-ONLY" status and are not counted as failures.
If default tool backup is enabled, every change is recorded in PROGDIR:Backups/tools/YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS/. The session folder contains session.txt (metadata) and changes.csv (one row per icon: icon path, old tool, new tool). Use the Restore Default Tools window to revert changes.
Open this window from the Default Tool Analysis window via Restore Default Tools Backups..., or from the main window via Tools -> Restore Default Tools....
This window lists all backup sessions created when iTidy replaced default tools. Each session represents one Replace operation.
Date/Time When the backup was created.
Mode "Batch" or "Single".
Path The folder path that was being processed.
Changed Number of icons that were modified.
Click a session to see its tool changes in the panel below.
Shows the tool changes recorded in the selected session -- the original tool, the replacement, and how many icons were affected by each specific old->new pair.
Restore -- Restores all icons in the selected session to their original default tools. A confirmation requester is shown with the icon count. The backup session is kept after restoring. Only enabled when a session is selected.
Delete -- Permanently deletes the selected backup session and all its files. A confirmation is shown first. Deleted sessions cannot be recovered. Only enabled when a session is selected.
Close -- Closes the window.
Note: After restoring, the tool cache in the Default Tool Analysis window is invalidated and must be rebuilt with a new scan.
Open this window with Restore Backups... on the main window, or via Tools -> Restore -> Restore Layouts....
This window lists all iTidy backup runs created when tidying with Back Up Layout Before Changes enabled. Each run is an LhA-based snapshot of the .info files and window positions for the processed folders.
Note: This restores icon/layout backups only. To undo default tool changes, use the Restore Default Tools window instead.
Run Run number (e.g. 0007).
Date/Time When the backup was created.
Folders Number of folder archives in the run.
Size Total size of all archives.
Icons+ Number of icons created by DefIcons during this run ("-" if none).
Status "Complete" (has catalog) or "NoCAT" (no catalog file).
Click a run to select it and update the details panel. Double-click a run to open the Folder View window (requires a catalog file). The first run is automatically selected when the window opens.
Shows: Run Number, Date Created, Source Directory, Total Archives, Total Size, Icons Created, Status, and the on-disk location.
Delete Run -- Permanently deletes the selected run and all its files. A confirmation is shown first. Cannot be undone.
Restore Run -- Restores the selected run using LhA. A requester gives three choices:
If the run included icons created by DefIcons, the requester notes that those icons will also be removed during restoration. A progress window shows per-folder extraction progress.
Requires LhA: If LhA is not found in C:, an error requester is shown.
View Folders... -- Opens the Folder View window for the selected run. Only enabled when the run has a catalog file ("Complete" status). Also opened by double-clicking the run.
Close -- Closes the window.
.info files. Any changes made after the original backup will be lost.PROGDIR:Backups/.This read-only window opens from the Restore Backups window via View Folders... or by double-clicking a run.
It shows the hierarchical folder structure of a backup run -- which folders were backed up, their compressed archive sizes, and how many icons each contained.
The tree starts fully collapsed. Click the disclosure triangles to expand branches. Two columns are shown: the folder name (with indentation showing depth), and a combined Size/Icons value (e.g. "11 KB / 15 icons").
Selecting a tree node has no effect -- this window is informational only. Click Close (or press C) to return to the Restore Backups window.
These ToolTypes are read from the iTidy program icon when launched from Workbench.
DEBUGLEVEL (Values: 0-4, Default: 4/Disabled) Log level. 0=Debug, 1=Info, 2=Warning, 3=Error, 4=Disabled. Overrides any log level stored in a loaded preferences file.
LOADPREFS (Values: File path, Default: none)
Automatically loads a saved preferences file at startup. Paths without a device name are resolved relative to PROGDIR:userdata/Settings/.
PERFLOG (Values: YES / NO, Default: NO) Enables performance timing logs for benchmarking.
LhA in C: or on your command path.)LOADPREFS ToolType to load it automatically at startup.If something does not look right after a run, check the sections below.
If some icons look misaligned while others look fine, it is often an icon.library issue. On setups with an older icon.library, OS3.5+ colour icons may not render at their real size and can appear as tiny placeholder images. iTidy positions icons using the icon's real dimensions, but Workbench may draw them at the wrong size, so the layout looks off.
What to do:
icon.library to v44+ if you want to use OS3.5+ colour icons.If window positions do not change after a run or restore, this is usually Workbench caching.
What to do:
A few things to check:
LhA is installed in C: (or otherwise available on your command path).PROGDIR:logs/ for error details.Recursing through thousands of drawers takes time on real hardware, especially with mechanical drives.
WHDLoad:Games first, then WHDLoad:Demos) rather than the entire volume at once.Check the drawer in Workbench and see if Window -> Show -> All Files is selected. This option shows contents using temporary icons that are not backed by .info files, so iTidy has nothing to move.
If you want iTidy to process this drawer, create real icons first: select the contents via Window -> Select Contents, then choose Icons -> Snapshot. Real icons will be created and iTidy will be able to process them.
By default, iTidy skips drawers without an .info file during recursive processing, because those drawers are not visible in Workbench.
To bypass this, open Advanced Settings and untick Skip Hidden Folders.
This means an icon's Default Tool points to something that is not installed.
What to do:
Check the following:
ENV:deficons.prefs is present and valid (managed by the DefaultIcons Preferences tool in the Workbench Prefs drawer).PROGDIR:Icons/def_ascii.info exists.EXCLUDETYPE ToolType in def_ascii.info to remove it (select the master row, then use Edit ToolTypes).