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MANUAL.DOC
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1994-04-01
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Conversion Master
Version 1.0
Legal Stuff:
Copyrights / Trademarks:
The Conversion Master(TM) program and all files distributed with it
are Copyrighted (C) by Pryority Systems Inc. who retains all
rights. No part of it can be reproduced in any way other than
covered in the license agreement. The name Conversion Master(TM) is
a trademark of Pryority Systems Inc.
Guarantee:
There are no implied warranties or guarantees of accuracy. The
conversion factors used in Conversion Master have been carefully
researched by Pryority Systems Inc. and are believed to be
accurate. If you find an error, please let us know and we will
correct it in the next version. That is our guarantee. Pryority
Systems Inc. will not be held liable for any damages or loses
resulting from information produced by this program. Your use of
Conversion Master is your acceptance of these terms.
Copyright (C) 1994
Pryority Systems Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Conversion Master
Overview of the Program:
Conversion Master is a unit of measure conversion program. It
will work from the command line or from a full screen interactive
mode. It is intended to be useful and easy to use.
Installation:
Conversion Master and all of the files delivered with it should
be copied into the same directory. It is best if this directory
contains only the Conversion Master files but it is not required.
If you already have a directory for your utility programs, this
is a good place. This directory should also be included in the
PATH command. See your DOS manual for instructions on making
directories, copying files and the PATH command. See your
Windows manual for installation in your Windows desktop.
Although Conversion Master is a DOS program, it can be launched
from your Windows desktop and operate in a DOS window. CM.ICO is
a Windows icon provided for this purpose.
Command Line Mode Of Operation:
Conversion Master will operate from the DOS prompt. This is
called the command line where DOS interprets and executes
commands. Here is an example of how to use Conversion Master at
the command line. At the DOS prompt type:
CM 24 INCHES TO FEET <enter>
<enter> means to press the ENTER key. On the following line you
will see:
24 Inches = 2 Feet
CM is easier and quicker to type than CONVERSION MASTER. The
units can be entered in upper or lower case letters. They can
also be entered in singular or plural units. Some units can be
entered by their abbreviation. For example, any of the following
commands will return the same line:
CM 24 INCHES TO FEET <enter>
cm 24 inches to feet <enter>
cm 24 in to ft <enter>
cm 24 inch to foot <enter>
cm 24 in to foot< enter>
cm 24 inches to ft <enter>
You probably get the idea.
Copyright (C) 1994, Pryority Systems Inc. Page 1
Conversion Master
Now try this, type
cm 36 <enter>
You should get the following line:
36 Inches = 3 Feet
CM saves the units used in each new conversion. If you have only
1 parameter on the command line with the CM command, and that
parameter is a number, CM will use the same units of measure that
were used in the previous conversion. The only difference is
that the new number will be converted this time. This can be
very handy for converting a series of numbers with common units.
Conversion Master will not let you convert units that are not
compatible. For example, type the following:
CM 2 FT TO GAL <enter>
You will see an appropriate message that says
"Feet" can not be converted to "Gallons"
To get a list of all units of measure that are accepted and the
abbreviations accepted, just type:
CM LIST
You will see a list that includes the category the unit belongs
to, the plural name and the abbreviation, if there is one. Not
all units have an abbreviation associated with it as you will see
from the list.
CM PRINT will do the same but this will send the output to your
printer. It is several pages long so have plenty of paper ready.
CM ? <enter>
CM H <enter>
CM HELP <enter>
Any of these 3 commands will display a short summary of the
commands available.
Interactive Mode Of Operation:
An interactive mode is also available. Type the following:
CM <enter>
Copyright (C) 1994, Pryority Systems Inc. Page 2
Conversion Master
You will see a screen that lists some of the available categories
at the top of the screen. At the bottom of the screen is a
message area that will prompt you as you go along. A Copyright
message and a reminder to register the shareware version will
displayed for a brief period.
The interactive mode is designed to be as natural as possible.
You use the cursor (arrow) keys or the TAB key to move around.
Press the ENTER key to get into a mode and press the ESC key to
get out. This is consistent throughout Conversion Master.
When you first get into the interactive mode, there will be a
highlighted category of units at the top of the screen. You can
select the category you are interested in by moving the highlight
there and pressing ENTER or you simply press the highlighted
letter in the name. This will display all of the units of
measure within the category in the center part of the screen.
For this demonstration we will work with the units of measure in
the Length category. The Length category should already be
highlighted at the top of the screen. If it is not, use the
cursor keys to move the highlight to Length and press the ENTER
key. This will fill the screen with the units of measure in the
Length category.
Notice that the first unit in the list is highlighted and that
the highlight at the top of the screen has disappeared. Any
cursor keys that are pressed now will move this new highlight.
You can now move to the unit of measure that you know and would
like to convert to one of the other units. Use the cursor keys
now to move to the Inches units.
When you type the number that you want to convert, the highlight
will change size and color to indicate that you are in the Edit
Mode for number entry. Here you can type in the full number then
press ENTER. At this time, the known unit of measure, the one
you just entered, is converted to all other units of measure.
The highlight also changes back to it's original size and color
which means you are out of the Edit Mode and can move the
highlight to a new unit. You can try it now and watch the other
units change to the equivalent length that you enter into the
Inches box.
Typing a number before placed you into the Edit Mode at that unit
of measure. You could have pressed the ENTER key and also
entered the Edit Mode. This is the handiest when there is
already a number at that location. You can press ENTER and move
around making changes. Pressing ENTER again will update all
other units with their equivalent values. If you press ESC while
you are in the Edit Mode, the original number, the number at that
location before going into the Edit Mode, will be restored to
that unit of measure.
Copyright (C) 1994, Pryority Systems Inc. Page 3
Conversion Master
The reason the size changes in the Edit Mode is to allow entry of
numbers up to 10 decimal places with exponents. While not in the
Edit Mode, numbers are rounded to 5 decimal places for display.
The Edit Mode can be used if you want to see precision beyond 5
places.
Some of the categories have more units of measure than will fit
on a screen. This is the case with the Length units. The upper
left corner of the screen, just above the units of measure, will
display <- More if there is one or more columns of units off
the left of the screen. The upper right corner of the screen
will display More -> if there is one or more columns of units
off the right side of the screen. The cursor keys can be used to
move the cursor in that direction to display the columns of
units.
Now let's try the Help feature. Make sure you are in the Edit
Mode and press the F1 key. This is a Help screen on the Edit
Mode of operation. Now press ESC to remove the Help Window.
Press ESC one more time and you will leave the Edit Mode. Now
press F1 again. Since you are now at a different point in the
program, you see a different Help message. ESC will again remove
the window.
To return to the top of the screen and select a new category of
units, you can press the ESC key once again. This will remove
the highlight from the center portion of the screen where the
units are and return it to the top where the categories are
listed. The cursor keys will now move the highlight at the top
to select a new category.
Now move the highlight over to the More category and press Enter.
Here are more categories to select just as we did with the Length
units before. Go ahead and try a few.
Setup
The Setup item on the menu allows you to customize your copy of
Conversion Master in several different ways. We will walk
through each of the Setup options one at a time.
Select the Setup item on the menu now. A pull down menu will
appear under the Setup item as it did under the More item
earlier. The same methods of selection are used here. The arrow
keys or the specially colored letter is used to select an item.
Here is a brief summary of the items in the Setup menu. They are
covered in greater detail later.
Screen Colors This selection allows you to specify the color
that will be used to display various elements of
the display.
Copyright (C) 1994, Pryority Systems Inc. Page 4
Conversion Master
Menu Layout The Category names that appear in the menu at
the top can be changed here.
Unit Selection The units of measure that appear on the screen can
be selected.
Beep This is where to can change the tone and duration
of the beep you hear if you press a wrong key.
Reset Defaults This will reset the colors, the menu layout, the
unit selections and the beep to the factory
defaults. Deleting the file CM.CFG will do the
same thing.
Save This will save all of the changes you have made so
they can be used every time Conversion Master is
started.
Setup - Screen Colors
Go ahead and select the Screen Colors item. There is a lot of
information on this screen. The bottom left of the screen is the
area to concentrate on right now. This is a list of all the
display elements that you can change. For example, the 'Units
Display Area' is the portion of the screen where the units of
measure are displayed. The 'Units Display Area - Highlighted' is
the highlight that you move around to make your selection.
Use the arrow keys to move up and down this list. For the first
example, select the 'Help Window'. What happens now is the
highlight is removed from the lower left area to the upper
section of the screen. This is where you select the color you
want for the selected screen element. Two arrows point to the
currently selected color. You can use the arrow keys as before
to move the pointers to the new color.
When the two arrows point to the color combination you want,
press ENTER. The highlight will now return to the lower left
section of the display and the newly selected color is used in
the sample display that is in the lower right section of the
display. If you press ESC now you will be returned to the
familiar Conversion Master screen and your new colors will be
used.
Setup - Menu Layout
The menu across the top of the screen can be customized. This
will allow you to place the most often used categories on this
menu where they are easily accessible. All other categories will
Copyright (C) 1994, Pryority Systems Inc. Page 5
Conversion Master
appear in alphabetical order under the More item. The More,
Setup and Quit item can't be changed. Up to 8 categories can be
displayed on the menu.
There is a sample of the menu displayed at the top of the screen
so you can see your changes as they are made. The left side of
the screen shows the 8 positions on the menu and their current
contents. The right side of the screen shows all of the
categories to choose from.
Select the position on the left side that you want to change or
add to and press ENTER. The highlight will go to the right side
and the available categories will be updated. The categories
that are not available are the ones that are already on the menu
and the ones that are too long to fit in the available space on
the menu. Select the category and press ENTER. Everything will
be updated to reflect this change.
While on the position side of the screen you can press the DELETE
key to remove the category from that position completely. All
positions below that are moved up. It is possible to remove
categories from all positions. In this case, all categories will
be under the More item in alphabetical order.
When the sample menu is the way you like it and the highlight is
on the left side of the screen, you can press ESC to exit the
Menu Layout screen. This will return you to the pull-down menu.
Setup - Unit Selection
This allows you to select which units of measure will appear
within each category. This allows you to remove the seldom used
units and keep the ones of interest to you.
The left side of the screen contains a list of all available
categories with a highlight for selection. Select the category
to modify and press ENTER. The highlight will move to the right
side of the screen and the units of measure within that category
will be displayed for you. There is a check mark to the left of
all units of measure that are currently selected for display on
the screen. If you press the SPACE bar, the check mark of the
currently highlighted unit will toggle on and off. That is all
there is to selecting the units of measure to be displayed. All
units with a check mark will be displayed and all without the
check mark will not. Press ESC when you have defined all units.
This will return you to the left side of the screen where you can
select the next category to examine.
There are several ways to display the same unit. For example,
Square Feet can be Feet (Squared), Feet2 or Feet2. You will
Copyright (C) 1994, Pryority Systems Inc. Page 6
Conversion Master
probably only select one of these for display depending on your
preference. With the highlight on the left of the screen, press
ESC to exit the Unit Selection screen. This will return you to
the pull-down menu.
Setup - Reset Defaults
This will reset everything that can be changed in the Setup menu
to the factory default values. All of the colors, the layout of
the menu bar across the top, the unit selections that will appear
and the beep will all return to the values that were in effect
when you received Conversion Master. The factory defaults can
also be reset by deleting the file CM.CFG from your disk.
Setup - Save
The Save option will save your custom configuration to be used
every time that Conversion Master is started. If changes are not
saved, the changes made during this Conversion Master session
will be lost. You will be prompted if you try to exit without
saving any changes that were made. The configuration information
is saved in a disk file named CM.CFG on your disk. Conversion
Master looks for this file in the directory from which it was
started. If it is found, your custom configuration is used. If
it is not found, the factory defaults will be used. This allows
you to delete the CM.CFG file to reset the factory configuration.
CM.CFG will be created again the next time you save the
configuration in the Setup menu.
Quit
You can end the Conversion Master program and return to DOS by
selecting the Quit item on the menu at the top of the screen or
by pressing ESC while the menu is highlighted. There is a prompt
to make sure before you finally leave. The ESC key is the way
out of anything. If you press it enough from anywhere in the
program, you get to this point. Here you must answer the prompt
with "Y" before you actually exit though. This is to prevent
jumping out of Conversion Master by mistake while pressing ESC
several times.
If changes were made in the custom setup during this session and
not saved, there will be a prompt to remind you before you Quit.
Pryority Systems Inc.
1120 A Avenue
Marion, IA 52303-4219 USA
Copyright (C) 1994, Pryority Systems Inc. Page 7