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^C^1Bits 'N PC's
^Cby
^CGeorge Leritte

   You've just received a public domain or shareware disk in the mail.  There's
no printed instructions.  What do you do with it?  How do you get started?  This
month we will offer some tips and hints about running shareware and public
domain disks.

   The first thing you need to do is to get a directory of the disk.  Runnable
programs have extensions of .EXE or .COM.  Batch files have extensions of .BAT.
Documentation of the programs will often have extensions of .DOC, .TXT, or .INS.

   Many times there will be a read or help file on the disk.  These are usually 
titled something like READ.ME or README.1ST.  Use the DOS type command to 
display them on the screen.  Remember, you can use Control-S or Control-NumLock 
to pause the screen scroll.  There will usually be enough instructions to get 
you started.  You will probably see instructions like "Enter XYZ to run the 
program" or "Type HELP for instructions." 

   If there is no obvious read or help file, then look for extensions of .DOC
or .HLP.  Type them to the screen to look at the instructions.  If you see 
several blank lines, then a title followed by more blank lines, then the file is 
designed for a printer and it might be best to stop and send the file to the 
printer. 

   If there is no obvious help or documentation file, then look for the batch
files.  Type them to the screen and see what instructions are included for
running the programs.  Often you can decide what to do from these.  If there is
more than one .EXE file on disk and it is not clear which one to run, then the
batch files will usually tell you.  Sometimes there is a print batch file that 
automatically prints the documentation for you.

   If there are none of these, look for a file like PRINTMAN.COM.  Often, the 
documentation will be in a compressed form to save disk space and a program like 
PRINTMAN.COM will decompress it and print it for you.  Enter the name and the 
documentation will usually be printed on your printer. 

   If you have a file with an extension of .ARC, then all of the related files
to that program or programs have been archived together to save disk space.  You 
will need an archive program to un-archive the files.  The most universal one in 
the public domain is called ARC.EXE.  (Some other programs, like PKXARC, work 
with archive files in a format compatible to ARC.EXE, and can be used 
similarly.)  Before you start, you will need to make sure you have plenty of 
room on a disk.  If you enter ARC with nothing else, a help screen will come on 
screen to tell you how to use the program.  A file with an extension of .LBR is 
a library file similar to an archive file, and a program named LU.EXE is needed 
to separate the files.  If the file has an extension containing a "Q" in the 
middle letter, then the file has been squeezed and a program named UNSQ.COM is 
needed to unsqueeze it before it can be run.  A disk with these types of files 
usually comes with the proper program to unsqueeze or unarchive the files. 

   We hope these hints and tips will enable you to get started with any strange 
disks you find lying around.  See you next month.