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Gold Medal Software 3
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Gold Medal Software - Volume 3 (Gold Medal) (1994).iso
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2screens.arj
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2SCREENS.DOC
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1993-10-16
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2-Screens
by
XtraSoft
Software
2-Screens. What is it ? It's another Dos Text Based Utility.
But if you code anything on your computer, it could be for you.
If your a programmer ( or someone who is always referring to another
document in your computer ), you probably have wished that you had another
monitor hooked up to your computer. ( You can hook a monochrome monitor with
MDA, HGC, or EGA up to your computer with a color monitor. ) Well, sometimes
it just is not feasible to go buy another monitor with a card to add that
second but useful monitor to your computer ( $$$ ). And if you did have it
hooked up, most programs do not make use of the second monitor anyways.
Some software manufacturers support the second monitor, but only in ways that
they believe help you, but in reality, is not that useful.
The whole idea of a second monitor is to make your system more useful for the
tedious parts when using the computer. You could use DesqView(c) to use both
monitors, but who wants to put more money into the system and make it more
fragile ( adding more hardware and then more software will undoubtedly make
your system more fragile, thus more likely to crash ).
Well, what if I said, " FOR $10, I WILL GIVE YOU THAT SECOND MONITOR. ". Well,
you would probably say, yeah, I'll take it. Right ? . You already have that
second monitor, but you probably don't know how to access it. For $10, I'll
let you use my program that allows you to squeeze more Monitor out of your
Monitor...
That's right ! More Monitor out of your monitor.
What do you need ?
1. A color system, CGA or better.
2. IBM compatible computer with IBM compatible keyboard.
( I've heard of problems with Tandy keyboards with other programs )
3. 784 bytes of your computer's memory.
4. $10 ?
The answer is 2-Screens. If you meet the requirements above, all you need
is the right software. Granted, it is not quite as expensive as 2 monitors,
and it doesn't use as much power as 2 monitors. It probably is not as
flexible as 2 monitors, but it sure is much cheaper.
2-Screens. 2-Screens is a TSR program that you should load only prior to
running any DOS Text based program that requires an additional monitor.
Once you load it, press the Scroll-Lock key when you want to take a snap-
shot of the screen. Then later on, when you want to refer to your snapshot,
just press both Shift keys. Your snapshot will appear on your system. When
your done with it, release one or both shift keys, and your system will
return to normal. Simple, huh.
Easy.
To save a screen, Press the Scroll-Lock key once.
To show your snapshot, press both Shift keys.
When 2-Screens is loaded, the following message will appear.
╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ 2-Screens. Copyright 1993 XtraSoft Software. version 2.0 ║
║ Author. Wayne Robbins. ║
║ 2-Screens was successfully loaded. For use with Single Monitor systems. ║
║ Press <SCROLL-LOCK> to move text from current screen to a stored screen. ║
║ Press both <SHIFT> keys to view stored screen. ║
║ 2-Screen. Alternate Screen Utility for Single-Monitor Color Systems. ║
║ Use 2-Hercules for Hercules Monitor Systems. ║
║ Use Freeze-Frame for Multiple Monitor Systems. ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Known problems or quirks at this time.
1. Never load 2-Screens more than once. All the 2-Screens will set
their internal flags, and change your working screen out. In the
end, you will no longer be on Page 0 ( the default screen ), but
your program will. If you can reset your page, you may be Ok.
Elsewise, either try the key sequences that are required for you
to exit, or lose it by pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL.
The point is, NEVER, NEVER load 2-Screens twice.
2. 2-Screens will not unload itself from memory. Use an Install/Remove
utility to do that. Most people that I have seen do not unload their
drivers and TSR's. So why waste memory for code that will allow the
TSR to unload itself. ( The unloading feature may be included later
if enough requests for that feature come in. At that time, I may also
make 2-Screens smart enough to refuse to load itself twice.
Also to 2-Screens benefit, it only occupies 784 bytes of user memory.
3. Do not use any program that sets or changes the status of the Scroll-
Lock key. This will toggle the 2-Screen function.
4. 2-Screens may not work with programs that themselves manipulate the
video pages. If the programs use less than 3 video pages, 2-Screens
may indeed work. To explain it better, here is the truth table
that 2-Screens works with.
Capture Video Page Stores Page On
0 3
1 3
2 0
3 0
This enables 2-Screens to try and keep at least 2 pages
away from the captured screen.
5. If your monitor seems to twitch or flicker when you press the
Scroll-Lock key, it is normal. 2-Screens uses a unique method to
determine the number of lines on the screen. On slower machines,
this method causes a flickering or scrolling effect.
6. Do NOT press any other keys while both Shift-Keys are depressed.
This also implies that you should not depress both keys while
you have a moving display ( scrolling display ). Press the PAUSE
key first. Otherwise, your output may be sent directly to your
stored screen. This side-effect is caused by how these programs
are constructed. By design, they do not bring the system to a halt.
The CPU time used by these programs is kept to a bare minimum, and
therefore, it is not obvious that these programs are loaded.
7. 2-Screens does not detect the type of video system that you have.
Simply use the right program for your system.
If you have ...
A color system . Use 2-Screens.
A Hercules system. Use 2-Hercules
A color and a monochrome. Use Freeze-Frame.
A Monochrome Display. Not yet available.
A TSR for monochrome would be require
8800 bytes of memory.
Ask for it if you need it.
Note: For the use of 2-Screens, or one of the other utilities, I do request
that a donation be sent to me at...
Wayne Robbins
439 - B Atlantic Ave.
Fort Story, VA 23459
This donation is requested from all persons owning machines using this
software. Donations by businesses and firms, using this software
on their machines, are mandatory. At $10 per license, that is not really
a bad deal anyways.
And, as with all my software, any comments, suggestions, or complaints are
welcome.
Note #2:
If you need a version for a Monochrome Display Adapter, please feel free to
contact me at the above address. ( If you have a modem, and you are
comfortable using it, please leave times when you are available, and the
number to your computer. This will allow you to get the latest revision. )
Note on loading 2-Screens with Freeze-Frame : It can be done. It is pretty
simple to do. But it is important to get the order of load right.
Load Freeze-Frame first, and then load 2-Screens. Loading in the other
order may chop off part of your screen that is saved on your color monitor.
These Freeze-Frame, if loaded as the second TSR, will disrupt 2-Screens
while 2-Screens is copying its own screen. The result is that part of
the color screen is rolled upwards.
Loading Freeze-Frame first corrects for this anamoly.
Add'l note on Freeze-Frame : Freeze-Frame has a timed screen-blanker built
into it. After 3276 clock ticks or 3 minutes after you last press a key,
Freeze-Frame turns off the Monochrome display to prevent burn-in. If the
display turns off, to restore it, simply depress both shift keys momentarily.