CD ROM Paradise Collection 4/CD ROM Paradise Collection 4 1995 Nov.iso/system/hdms32.zip/HDMENU.DOC

Text File | 1995-01-09 | 16KB | 340 lines

                         Hard Disk Menu System v3.2
                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Copyright 1992-1994 S.Griffiths, All Rights Reserved


  HDMenu  is a complete DOS based menu system for the DOS user sick  of  all
  the  menu  systems out there that have annoying features,  and  that  lack
  flexibility.  HDMenu offers all the normal menu features with  a  pleasant
  looking  screen  layout, with full configuration options.  HDMenu  doesn't
  attempt to be a anti-virus package and/or a DOS interface like other  menu
  systems as there are always plenty of other shareware programs that  do  a
  much  better job. The shareware version is not restricted in any way other
  that the supplier text at the top of the screen. The shareware version has
  a  standard shareware blurb when loaded (doesn't display when returning to
  menu  after  loading a menu item). HDMenu also includes a  utility  called
  AutoScan  which contains over a thousand programs. AutoScan  searches  the
  hard disks for applications and then creates the menu automatically.

  HDMenu  is shareware and can be distributed accordingly, if you decide  to
  use  HDMenu the registration fee is only $45 (N.Z.) plus $5 for  P&P.  The
  registered version will display your name at the top of the menu, and  the
  shareware adverts are of course removed.

  There  is  also the option for computer dealers (or whoever)  to  purchase
  their own copy with there company details (or whatever) at the top of  the
  screen & the ability to create their own screen blanking logos. For a only
  a  one-time fee HDMenu can be registered with your specific details (which
  then  can't  be changed), and then that copy of HDMenu can be  distributed
  freely  to  who ever you choose and run on as many computers as you  want.
  Menu  Screen Blanking Logo files can be easily designed and encrypted  (to
  prevent  changes)  and used with HDMenu to generate repeat  business  from
  your customers.


  HDMenu offers:
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    o Full Microsoft mouse support.
    o On-line Help.
    o Passwords available on all options, including Submenus,
      Exit to Dos, Menu Maintenance, and Configuration.
    o Screen Blanking (with a text logo screen).
    o Simple menu editing, including Cut and Paste, Swap,
      and a easy add option.
    o System Information for details on memory, disk
      drives, screen type, printer & serial ports, etc...
    o Complete menu is only one 174K uncompressed
      executable file (Direct Access v5.1 totals over 620K
      of compressed files).
    o No memory overhead when running applications, menu
      uses batch files.
    o Uses extended VGA colours.
    o Automatically scan hard disk for applications and
      create menu.
    o Supports parameter passing.
    o Can be run on a Network.


  DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  REFERENCE  TO HDMENU IN THIS DISCLAIMER AND LICENSE APPLIES TO  ALL  FILES
  AND  PROGRAMS CONTAINED WITHIN THE HDMENU ARCHIVE/DISK. THIS SOFTWARE  AND
  MANUAL  ARE  SUPPLIED "AS IS". THE AUTHOR HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL  WARRANTIES
  RELATING  TO THIS SOFTWARE AND ITS DOCUMENTATION FILE, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
  INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGE TO HARDWARE, SOFTWARE AND/OR DATA FROM
  USE  OF  THIS  PRODUCT. IN NO EVENT WILL THE AUTHOR OF  THIS  SOFTWARE  BE
  LIABLE  TO  YOU  OR  ANY OTHER PARTY FOR ANY DAMAGES.  YOUR  USE  OF  THIS
  SOFTWARE  INDICATES THAT YOU HAVE READ AND AGREE TO THESE AND OTHER  TERMS
  INCLUDED IN THIS DOCUMENTATION FILE.

  DUE  TO  THE  NATURE OF EVOLVING PROGRAMMING AND THE VARIOUS HARDWARE  AND
  SOFTWARE ENVIRONMENTS IN WHICH THIS SOFTWARE MAY BE USED, IT IS UNDERSTOOD
  THAT OCCASIONAL "BUGS" OR UNFITNESS MAY ARISE. THE USER SHOULD ALWAYS TEST
  THIS SOFTWARE THOROUGHLY WITH NON-CRITICAL DATA BEFORE RELYING ON IT.

  LICENSE
  ~~~~~~~

  HDMENU  is  distributed as shareware. This means that you  are  granted  a
  limited  license to use it for a period of 30 days. If you find it  useful
  and  decide  to continue using it after the trial period, registration  is
  required. HDMENU is neither free software nor is it in the public  domain.
  The  software and its documentation, this file, are property of the author
  and may not be sold without written permission from the author.

  Registered users will be granted a just-like-a-book license which means  a
  registered version of the software can be used by more than one person and
  can  be  moved  from  one  computer to another so  long  as  there  is  NO
  POSSIBILITY  of  it being used by two different persons on  two  different
  computers  at  the  same time, just like a book can not  be  read  by  two
  different persons in two different places at the same time.

  A  dealer  license allows you distribute as many copies of HDMENU  as  you
  like, to whomever you please, provided no charge is made and the following
  distribution terms are met.

  TERMS OF DISTRIBUTION
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Redistribution  of  HDMENU  must include the software,  its  documentation
  file, and all supplemental files as a single unit without any modification
  AND subject to the following conditions:

  1.Any  individual  is  welcome to make copies for his/her  friends  and/or
    colleagues if NO FEE is charged.

  2.Electronic  bulletin boards, whether they charge or do not charge  their
    users subscription fee, are welcome to post the program for down loading
    as long as they do not charge any fee in particular for the distribution
    of HDMENU.

  3.Non-commercial user groups and computer clubs may distribute the program
    to their members if only a small distribution fee charged.


  4.Disk  vendors approved by the Association of Shareware Professionals  or
    disk  vendors  who explain the concept of shareware in  their  ads  that
    quote a price may distribute the shareware version of HDMENU.

  5.Other  commercial enterprises wishing to distribute HDMENU either  alone
    or in combination with other hardware, software, books or materials must
    obtain permission in writing from the author.

  HOW TO REGISTER
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Please  read  this  section  before  filling  out  the  order  form.   The
  registration fee is only $45 and $5 for P&P (N.Z.). Registered  users  may
  obtain a copy of the latest version of HDMenu at any time for $5 (plus  $5
  for P&P). Registering HDMenu also includes AutoScan.

  1.   Read the License information (above)

  2.   Foreign order. Payment in the following forms is accepted:

            A.   Cash (Please note that the author cannot be responsible
                 for any loss in the mail)
            B.   Bank check.
            C.   International money order issued by banks, etc...

  Shipping  and  handling charges are the same for N.Z.  users  and  foreign
  users.  For  pricing or other information regarding purchasing HDMENU  for
  your  business for UNLIMITED distribution of HDMenu with your own supplier
  details  at  the  top, please contact me at the address contained  in  the
  order form.

  Installing HDMenu
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  To install HDMenu the archive file needs to be extracted, which if you are
  reading  this had already been done. The only file that are compulsory  to
  run  HDMenu  are HDMENU.SCN and HDMENU.EXE, the rest can be  created  from
  defaults.  Place the following files into a directory (the directory  name
  is irrelevant):

  Archive files:

    MENU.BAT   - Batch file to start menu (gets created by SETUP or HDMENU)
    HDMENU.EXE - Menu Program file
    HDMENU.HLP - Menu Help file (text)
    HDMENU.SCN - Screen Blanking logo file
    HDMENU.DAT - Menu Data file (sample menu supplied)
    HDMENU.CFG - Configuration file (gets created by SETUP or HDMENU)
    SETUP.EXE  - Program to create initial batch file & default config file
    HDMENU.DOC
    README.DOC
    VENDOR.DOC
    AUTOSCAN.DBF
    AUTOSCAN.EXE
    REGISTER.FRM
    FILE_ID.DIZ



  Run  the  setup  program  and  select  your  screen  type,  which  creates
  HDMENU.CFG  and  MENU.BAT.  Start  the menu  by  running  the  batch  file
  MENU.BAT. The files MENU.BAT and HDMENU.CFG can also be created by running
  HDMENU.EXE directly.

  Using HDMenu
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The  help  file  within the menu (HDMENU.HLP) contains all  the  operation
  instructions,  this can be viewed by pressing F1, or the instructions  can
  be printed by following the steps in the help file.

  Using AutoScan
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  AutoScan  is  a utility to make things easier when you are  setting  up  a
  menu. What AutoScan does is search all the files on your hard disk(s)  for
  programs that it recognises. Programs that are automatically detected  are
  then added to the menu file. The AutoScan database currently contains over
  a thousand programs.

  When  AutoScan  is run (without any parameters) it automatically  searches
  all  the  hard drives that  are available on your computer. AutoScan  will
  create  a  HDMENU.DAT  file in the directory that it  is  run,  this  will
  normally  be  the  same as the menu's directory. If a HDMENU.DAT  file  is
  already  present (ie. you have the default menu file, or have  setup  your
  own  menu items) then when AutoScan starts it allows you to choose how the
  current  HDMENU.DAT is dealt with. The options available are  [O]verwrite,
  [A]ppend,  or  [Q]uit, pressing the first letter of each of these  selects
  that  option. Firstly, overwrite will cause any menu items currently setup
  in  HDMENU.DAT to be lost, don't run this option if you have already setup
  your  menu and don't want to lose all the items that are currently on  the
  menu.  Selecting append will first load the existing HDMENU.DAT  and  then
  search  the hard disks for other applications adding these to the existing
  menu.  Select quit by pressing Q if you don't want to do either  of  these
  options. Once AutoScan has started it will search all the hard drives  and
  save a HDMENU.DAT file and then simply return to DOS.

  Options
  ~~~~~~~

  Several  command line options (or parameters) are available  when  running
  AutoScan.  These can be entered in upper or lower case. A help screen  can
  be  displayed for these commands by type 'AUTOSCAN /?'. The syntax for the
  options are:

      AUTOSCAN [drive list] [options]

      Options:        /A - Allow duplicates on the menu
                      /P - Prevent duplicates on the menu (default)
                      /D - Display duplicates in database
                      /M - Go into maintenance mode

  The  drives  that AutoScan searches can be controlled by specifying  which
  drives  you  would like searched. For example if you are on a network  and
  would like to search your own C drive and perhaps the network drives F and
  J  you  would enter 'AUTOSCAN CFJ'. Note no spaces or colons are  required
  between the drive letters.


  The  options '/A' and '/P' are basically self explanatory. A duplicate  is
  determined  when two menus item have the same description and are  on  the
  same  submenu. For example if you wanted to allow duplicates on  the  menu
  and only search drives C and D you would enter 'AUTOSCAN CD /A'.

  The  option '/D' searches through the AutoScan database for any duplicates
  that may have been created. A duplicate in the database is different to  a
  duplicate  on the menu (explained above). A duplicate in the  database  is
  when two programs have the same description and executable file. When this
  option  is  used  no search is performed. This is only  available  in  the
  dealer version.

  The  '/M'  options  put AutoScan into the maintenance mode  to  allow  the
  programs detected to be changed. This is explained in detail below, and is
  only available in the dealer version.

  Maintenance
  ~~~~~~~~~~~

  When  the maintenance mode is used, the database is loaded and a  list  of
  the  programs that AutoScan can detect is displayed on the screen. To move
  about  the  list you can use the arrow keys to move up and down or  switch
  columns,  page  up  and page down will skip a whole page  at  a  time  and
  control+page  up/down  will  go to the top or  bottom  of  the  file.  The
  programs are always sorted by the program description. The mouse can  also
  be  used  to click onto items, or use the scroll bars to move through  the
  list  of  items.  For  full information on the using  of  the  maintenance
  screens  please  see  the  help  file from within  HDMenu  where  this  is
  explained in full.

  Key summary:

       INSERT - Adds a item to the AutoScan database
       DELETE - Deletes the current item, without prompting
       ENTER  - Edits the current item
       F      - Find text
       ESC    - Exits AutoScan maintenance (prompts for saving)

  Each  program  that  AutoScan  can  detect  requires  several  pieces   of
  information.  These are the description to give the program on  the  menu,
  the  executable  file that the menu is to run (either a BAT,  COM  or  EXE
  file),  two  other  files that are also required for this  program  to  be
  present,  the submenu it is to go on, and any parameters you may  wish  to
  use.

  The  executable  file  requires a full filename  to  be  entered  with  an
  extension,  for  example 'PARADOX.EXE' or 'BACKUP.BAT'. The  two  addition
  file  names  are  to  help verify that AutoScan has detected  the  correct
  program.  For example many programs may use a file called 'START.EXE',  if
  this is all that is entered without any additional files then AutoScan may
  detect  other  programs that were not intended (and hence the  description
  will  be wrong), but by adding the extra file names this can be prevented.
  These  extra  files must also be in the same directory as  the  executable
  file,  for  example  'MAIN.DAT' and 'SOUNDS.WAV' may also  be  part  of  a
  program.  These  additional  files must also have  a  full  filename  with
  extension.


  The  parameters allow additional information to be supplied to the program
  when it is run from HDMenu. The parameters act as if they were entered  as
  normal  command  line options. For example if you wanted to  add  the  DOS
  command   CHKDSK  to  AutoScan  and  also  use  the  parameter  /F,   then
  'CHKDSK.EXE'  would  be  the executable and the parameters  would  contain
  '/F'.

  The  submenu  field  allows  the programs detected  to  grouped  in  their
  appropriate  categories. This can any text that you wish  to  enter,  like
  'Games' or 'Utilities', then any programs detected will be placed on  that
  particular  submenu.  The  existing items in the  AutoScan  database  have
  standard  submenus for the programs, to use these you can simply  use  the
  standard headings as listed below:

            Application
            Communications
            Database
            Desktop Publishing
            Dos Utilities
            Environment
            Educational
            Games
            Graphics
            Integrated Packages
            Programming Languages
            Project Management
            Spreadsheets
            Utilities
            Word Processing
            Windows Applications

  If  no submenu name is entered then the program will be added to the  main
  menu,  this  is  best  done when the program is a common  frequently  used
  program.

  When  searching for text the search is done from the current item  to  the
  bottom, if the search is successful the item containing the match is  then
  made  the  current  item, if no match is found then nothing  happens.  All
  items  are  searched (description, file names etc...). To search  all  the
  records use [control+pageup] to go the to begining of the list first.

  If  changes are made the database when exiting a prompt appears  to  allow
  the  changes  to be saved to disk, otherwise pressing ESC will  return  to
  DOS.