Voodoo / Assassin

Voodoo / Assassin terminates a specified application program.  Options include the ability to execute a new application and restore the original application at its conclusion.

This is most often needed in situations where a resource is used by two programs.  A good example would be a 24-hour fax program in receive mode and a terminal program that is needed for short periods, both using the same modem.

Voodoo / Assassin can be run with no command line parameters.  This is useful for setting up the command mode, but is usually not used to actually terminate other applications.

Command line usage

ASSASSIN	[/F:File_name] 	[/R] [/T{1,2}] [/X:Command]
[/M:Module_name]

ASSASSIN        /Help

/F: FileName

This option specifies that the running application with the file name File_name  is to be terminated.  If this option is selected, /M cannot also be selected.

/M:Module_name

This option specifies that the running application with the module name Module_name is to be terminated. If this option is selected, /F cannot also be selected.

/T1 or /T2

The /T_ parameter gives the method that Voodoo / Assassin will use to terminate the application specified by the /F or /M parameters.  /T1 (the default) uses a Windows WM_CLOSE message, and should be used for all applications unless problems develop.  /T2 uses a Windows SC_CLOSE menu command, and may work for some programs for which /T1 is ineffective.

Winfax Pro

/X:Command

This option specifies a program to execute along with command line parameters (see example). This option must be the last option in the options list.

/R

This option specifies that upon termination of the  program specified in the /X option, the application terminated earlier by /F or /M option will be reexecuted.

Prodigy for Windows

/H or /?   Either of these options will display Windows help.

Example:	C:\WEDIDIT\ASSASSIN.EXE /F:fax.exe  /R  /x:terminal

In this example,  the currently running program will be terminated, the terminal application will be executed, and when it terminates, fax.exe will be reexecuted.


Winfax Pro

For all versions of Winfax Lite and Winfax Pro before version 4.0, use Voodoo / Assassin's /T1 option.

For version 4.0, the situation is potentially complex.  There is actually more than one revision of version 4.0, which can be identified by date in Winfax's About dialog box.

Some revisions of Winfax Pro 4.0 have problems during program termination, including termination by Voodoo / Assassin, termination by user, and termination during Windows shutdowns and/or restarts.  You may see the following symptoms:

Sometime during termination, Winfax Pro will generate a General Protection Fault.

If Winfax Pro 4.0 is communicating with the modem when Voodoo / Assassin tries to kill it, a failure will occur.

The Dr. Watson utility may pop up, but no Windows error message will be displayed.

When these failures occur, there seems to be no system damage, but Winfax Pro will likely forget its current window settings.  The next time you run Winfax Pro 4.0 the interior of the program' s window might be empty.  (Tip: After configuring Winfax Pro 4.0's inner windows to your satisfaction, be sure to close Winfax Pro 4.0 manually.  In the revisions we have seen, Winfax does not save these setting if it is closed during a Windows shut down sequence)

For any release of Windows, contacting Delrina for the latest revision of Winfax Pro 4.0 may help.  We have had some luck with the July 28, 1994 revision.  Please let Delrina know which symptom you experience.

Under Windows 3.1, Voodoo / Assassin's /T2 option may help.

Under Windows for Workgroups 3.11, you may also need to review other settings.  You can expect Delrina to ask you to review one or more of the following:

settings in SYSTEM.INI

Windows for Workgroups fax driver

video driver (especially if not VGA)


Registration Form
Voodoo / Assassin                        Copyright (c) 1992, 1993, 1994 by Wayne Erfling

Registration

To register your copy of Voodoo / Assassin and receive another copy (of the latest version), select File / Print Topic from the Help menu, fill out this form and send with $20.00 to:

Wayne Erfling
P.O. Box 5035
Anderson, South Carolina 29623-5035

Format (check one):

3.5" disk [__]   5.25" disk [__]   CompuServe upload to user [_______,_____]

__________________________________________________________

Registration name (required; will be displayed by program)

_________________________________     	_______________________________________
Your name                             	Your title

_________________________________	(____)_________________________________
Company Name                          	Daytime phone number

_________________________________	_______________________________________
Street Address                        	City, State/Province, Zip/Postal Code

Compatible products

Applications you are using successfully with Voodoo / Assassin:

___________________________________    	__________________________________
Product                     version	Product                   version

___________________________________	__________________________________
Product                     version        	Product                   version

Liability

The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of  merchantability and of fitness for any purpose.  The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of Voodoo / Assassin.

Future Updates

Please rank the following possible future features in the order you would like to see them implemented (use 1 for most important):

_____	Spanish language version

_____	Other non-English version.  Language _____________________

_____	Other enhancement(s)

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

The version of Voodoo / Assassin you are using is not yet compatible with:

___________________________________	[__] Voodoo / Assassin aborts
Product                     version     	[__] Application aborts

 [__] Other _______________________

Please describe the symptoms checked above in more detail

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________


Prodigy for Windows

When using Voodoo / Assassin with the Prodigy for Windows Auto Logon feature, you cannot use the /R feature.

This is because Prodigy for Windows uses two separate program files, AUTOLOGO.EXE and PRODIGY.EXE.

If you include both /R and /X:drive:\dir\AUTOLOGO.EXE in your Voodoo / Assassin command line, then Voodoo / Assassin will execute the killed application when AUTOLOGO.EXE terminates.  However, at that time PRODIGY.EXE will still be running, and the other application will not be able to access the shared modem port.

We hope to provide a method for handling this with version A.05 of Voodoo / Assassin.