Otherwise foreground programs had to be manually started by the computer operator.

Eight-in-One is the foreground program, the one I can use without further ado.

You will not want to, since it slows the foreground program's response and may cause it to grind to temporary halts.

SLICE: Sets the amount of processor time to give to the foreground program.

However, clicking on the Analyze button and then the Defragment button does impact foreground programs as it runs at a higher priority.

Before launching a program in the foreground, RDOS checked the memory break address of the background program and the start address of the foreground program, and it would refuse to load the program in the foreground if there was an overlap.