* * * WIN DECOR * * * This month we offer our first Windows 3.1 program. Win Decor lets you have a different Wallpaper backgound for Windows each time you run Windows. Wallpaper backgrounds can be either tiled or centered. Tiled backgrounds repeat a .BMP file from the top left of the screen until the screen is full. Centered backgrounds take a .BMP file and center the image on the screen. There are several shareware programs that allow you to randomly choose a background, but most of them either tile everything, or use some sort of arbitrary method to decide whether to tile or center the Wallpaper backgrounds. Win Decor puts YOU in charge. You can select whether to tile or center individual images, regardless of their size or name. You can also choose any combination of .BMP files to include in the random search. Introduction Win Decor is a Windows utility that was specifically created to give you more power over your Windows wallpaper. Use Win Decor to select a group of bit mapped graphics (.BMP files). Every time you boot Windows, Win Decor will randomly select a .bmp to display as your wallpaper. You never know which graphic Win Decor will display next! You can add Win Decor to your Windows Startup so that it will run automatically each time you boot or reboot Windows, or you can run Win Decor like any other program. Remember, Win Decor not only adds an element of surprise to Windows computing, but it allows you to control the surprise! How To Install Step 1 -- Use the File Manager to copy DECOR.EXE and DECOR.HLP into your Windows directory. Step 2 -- Close the File Manager and return to the Program Manager. Step 3 -- Open the "Main" Program Group window from the Program Manager. Step 4 -- Under the File Menu, select "New." Step 5 -- In the "New" dialog box that appears, select "New Program Item." Step 6 -- In the "New Program Item" dialog box that appears, fill in the matching blanks with the information that follows: Description: Win Decor Configuration Command Line: decor.exe Step 7 -- Press OK to create the "New Program Item." Step 8 -- Close the "Main" Program Group window. Note: Steps 9-12 add Win Decor to Windows Startup so that Win Decor will automatically display a new .BMP every time you boot Windows. If you do not wish to change your current setup, ignore the remaining steps. Step 9 -- Open the "Startup" Program Group window from the Program Manager or create a "Startup" Program Group if your current Windows setup does not include one. Step 10 -- Under the File Menu, select "New." Step 11 -- In the "New" dialog box that appears, select "New Program Item." Step 12 -- In the "New Program Item" dialog box that appears, fill in the matching blanks with the information that follows: Description: Win Decor Startup Command Line: decor.exe /s Note: You must type a space before the slash (/), when you type "decor.exe /s" in the command line blank above. Note: To de-install Win Decor without actually removing it from your hard drive, either delete the program item "Win Decor Startup" from your Startup Group or move it to another group. This will keep Win Decor from running every time you reboot Windows. How To Configure First, run the "Win Decor Configuration" item by double-clicking on its icon in the Program Manager. When you ran Win Decor, it "scanned" your Windows directory for .BMP files. These appear in the File List on the left side of the Win Decor configuration dialog box. The total number of .BMP files found by Win Decor is shown just below the file list. The first time you run Win Decor, all are "selected," so the number in Selected Files should match the number in Total Files. You may now select a group of .bmp files that Win Decor can access. You do this by "excluding" those .BMP files that you do not want Win Decor to display. Each time you boot Windows, Win Decor will display one of the .bmp files you included in this group as your new wallpaper. Step 1 -- Highlight a .BMP file that you wish to include or exclude. Step 2 -- Select Include or Exclude (located to the right of the File List in the Status section of Current Selection). Please note that the "+" or "-" symbol located beside each .BMP filename illustrates its status. Step 3 -- Select the way you want the .BMP to display - - TILE (the graphic repeats to fill the entire screen) or CENTER (one copy of the graphic is centered on your screen). The display method of each .BMP is denoted by a "T" or a "C" beside the .BMP filenames in the File List. Step 4 -- Repeat Steps 1-3 for each .BMP file that you want to change. Step 5 -- Select OK to save the current settings and exit, or select Cancel to discard the changes you've made. -- BUTTONS -- There are a total of nine buttons in the Win Decor Configuration dialog box. One button, located in the Current Selection area, allows you to use a selected .BMP file as your current Windows Wallpaper. Four buttons provide you with shortcuts for "including" or "excluding" all .BMP files and for "tiling" or "centering" all .BMP files. These are located directly under the Current Selection area. Four other buttons allow you to access Help or information about Win Decor and to OK new settings or cancel any changes you've made to the settings. Use As Current Wallpaper -- Select this button to use the highlighted .BMP file as your current Windows Wallpaper. Hint: it also provides you with a way to view files when trying to decide whether to include or to exclude them from the Win Decor "pool." Include All -- Select this button to include all the listed .BMP files in the "pool" of files from which Win Decor will make a random selection each time you boot Windows. A "+" sign will be placed in front of each filename. Use this when you want to include all files or when you want to include all but a few files. Exclude All -- Select this button to exclude all the listed .BMP files from the "pool" of files from which Win Decor will make a random selection each time you boot Windows. A "-" sign will be placed in front of each filename. Use this when you want to exclude all files or when you want to include just a few files. Tile All -- Select this button to tile each .BMP file. A "T" will be placed in front of the filename and after the "+" or "-". Center All -- Select this button to center each .BMP file. A "C" will be placed in front of the filename and after the "+" or "-". About... -- Select this button to access version, credit and copyright information in the About Box. Help... -- Select this button to access the Contents Page of Win Decor Help. Cancel -- Select this button to exit without saving any changes to Win Decor's settings. OK -- Select this button to save the current settings and exit Win Decor. We hope you enjoy this program. We are currently working on a Windows "To Do" program, and we'll have that on a soon to be published issue of ODM. --END--