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╒════════════════════════════════════════════╕ │ VIz │ │ Revision 4.31.0 │ │ │ │ Copyright (C) 1989-1993 FM de Monasterio │ │ Licensed Material. All rights reserved │ ╘════════════════════════════════════════════╛ CONTENTS: 1. SUMMARY 2. REGISTRATION 3. PROGRAM INFORMATION 4. ACCELERATION MODULE 5. CURSOR ALTERNATION MODULE 6. ANSI-COMPATIBLE FILTER MODULE 7. INSTALLATION & USAGE 8. INSTALLATION IN UPPER MEMORY 9. BASIC TECHNICAL INFORMATION 10. COPYRIGHT & LICENSE INFORMATION 1. SUMMARY VIz is a small resident program that accelerates BIOS (and DOS) video input and output in text mode; it can be used with IBM-compatible MDA, EGA or VGA adapter cards and Hercules HGC and HGC+ cards. In its present release, VIz produces video interference ("snow") in old CGA cards. In addition, VIz includes an independent, resident component for displaying a block cursor, either continuously or alternating with a line cursor at an adjustable rate of alternation. The latter display is well suited for easy localization of the cursor in some laptop screens. Finally, VIz also contains an independent, resident ANSI-filter driver that mediates a subset of the ANSI escape sequences to control the console. This filter can be used, instead of ANSI.SYS, to implement ANSI escape sequences to control video display, with the advantage that can be turned off and on, and removed from memory without rebooting. All 3 resident modules occupy a total of less than about 1800 bytes of RAM. Depending on the system configuration and BIOS version, video accelerations by a factor of between 2 and 10 have been obtained. 2. REGISTRATION This software is user-supported; the present release, although lacking the options marked by asterisks, is a fully usable program. You may test this release for (in)compatibilities with your system, but after the testing is completed you are requested to order a registered copy of the full release of the software from the address at the end of this documentation. If you would rather use this unregistered copy, consider making a donation to the Children's Hospital of Washington DC, for indigent children in need of medical care. Every year in the USA, infant mortality claims the lives of tens of thousands of children before their first year of life, and most of them come from families below poverty level... Please send to the same address a check payable to the "PATIENT CARE FUND, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL" on the obverse, and marked "For Deposit Only" on the reverse. Donations will be sent to Children's Hospital. Please identify the program for which you are making the donation. ------------------------------------------------------------------ VIZ.REG contains a form needed to register or upgrade the Software ------------------------------------------------------------------ See the final part of this documentation for information on the Licensing, Distribution, and Limited Warranty of this software. 3. PROGRAM INFORMATION VIz is a utility that accelerates many of the basic text-video services and allows changing the video mode, page and font of the display as well as the raw or normal mode of DOS video output. When used in a VGA/EGA system, VIz also permits control of the red, green and blue mixture that determines the color of each of the 16 registers of the color palette, and the RGB mixture can be modified to suit user preferences. VIz also permits controlling the frequency (pitch) of the bell's tone. HARDWARE COMMANDS VIz updates cursor position through direct hardware commands. In most video systems, such commands can be sent out as one 16-bit (Word) value or as two successive 8-bit (Byte) values. The word-out method of addressing, which is used by other programs (e.g., Microsoft WINDOWS), yields faster positioning of the cursor but may not work in some older video systems. Registered VIz releases use cursor word-out addressing; to verify that your system can handle this method, you can enter the command 'VIZ ?H' to see if the cursor appears at the indicated position. If not, the video system only allows byte-out addressing, and registered users need to contact the vendor for a byte-out program release free of charge. CPU VERSIONS The program is written in assembly language; each version consists of four processor-type releases (086, 268, 386 and 486) in which the code has been optimized for the CPU types of the 80x86 processor family. This is needed since the x86 processors differ markedly in instruction execution time and the incorporation of a memory cache in some CPU types affects such time by influencing the speed of instruction fetching and of memory access. A 486 release should be used with a 586 CPU (Pentium) to minimize degradation of performance vis-á-vis code alignment. In addition to standard (086) assembly language instructions, the 286, 386 and 486 releases of the program also use 286-, 386- or 486-specific opcode instructions in "real" mode (which is the native mode for 086 processors). The type and degree of code optimization vary with the CPU type, and yield relatively small differences in the resident size, which is less than 1000 bytes. REQUIREMENTS The program requires MS-DOS version 2 or later (or compatible DOS system) and an IBM-compatible SVGA, VGA, EGA, MCGA/CGA, or MDA video adapter or a HERCULES video card. With old CGA adapters, VIz produces a little bit of video interference ('snow'). SAFETY MEASURES Each time it is executed, the program verifies its code integrity through a number of cyclic redundancy checks (CRCs). Program execution is aborted if any check were to fail as such a failure indicates code corruption and the program should not be used for your own protection. The executable program is distributed as a fully encrypted and compressed EXE-type file in order to reduce the possibility of code tampering. NOTE -------------------------------------------------------------------- Because both encryption and compression change the code sequences to different values, it cannot be excluded that these processess might, by chance, yield an encrypted data sequence which triggers a warning from antiviral utilities that merely check disk-stored files against a list of code 'signatures' or instructions. Though all distribution diskettes are scanned with one such utility to avoid the possibility of spurious warnings, the changing nature of these 'signature' lists makes this exclusion difficult. If using these utilities, check the registered distribution diskette before installing the programs in your hard disk, and please contact the vendor (see below) if a spurious warning were triggered. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. ACCELERATION MODULE VIz installs itself as a resident program that can be invoked repeatedly for modification of its parameters, without producing multiple copies on memory; the accelerator module of the resident uses less than 1,000 bytes of RAM. To maximize speed of code, but minimize resident size, acceleration only occurs for video page 0 in a text mode (1-3, color; 7, monochrome). In other pages or graphic modes, VIz becomes inactive and is automatically reactivated by a change to page 0 in text mode. VIz updates relevant parameters in the BIOS data area (segment 40h), such as cursor position (page 0 only) and type, video mode, page, and font, that are also processed by VIz. 5. CURSOR ALTERNATION MODULE To help cursor visualization in screens where the cursor is not easily seen, as in some laptop displays, VIz provides a small resident module that allows for the display of a (full-)block cursor, either continuously or alternating with a line cursor. The alternation rate can be adjusted in steps of 54.9 ms between about 0.055 s (/V1) and 5.5 s (/V99). A zero alternation rate (/V0) produces a continuously present block cursor. For the module to be loaded in memory, VIz must be installed with any /V switch (see below), and it adds an additional 100 bytes to the resident size of VIz. Very short or very long alternation rates are distracting or hard to follow. When selecting a rate for laptop displays, start with a value of n=9 (.50 s) or so. Block cursor alternation can be turned off by making this resident quiescent with the switch /V+ (until its reactivation with /Vn). All cursor operations use direct commands to the hardware, and assume register-level compatibility with the Motorola 6845 CRT controller. This chip is present in MDA, CGA, and HGC cards, while a 6845-compatible CRTC is a custom LSI chip in the IBM-EGA, part of the Memory Controller Gate Array on the MCGA, or a part of the Video Graphics Array on the VGA. The normal (hardware-controlled) blinking of the cursor is not eliminated by VIz; hence, depending on the alternation rate selected, a two-beat frequency may be noticeable. 6. ANSI-COMPATIBLE FILTER MODULE The DOS files includes the filter ANSI.SYS, a console character driver that mediates a subset of the standard escape sequences of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for video services. This filter also mediates a supplementary subset for keyboard services (such as key reprogramming). VIz has a second, independently installable resident module that implements standard ANSI escape sequences to control the console video functions. This ANSI-compatible filter uses less than some 800 additional bytes of RAM when installed. Once installed, this ANSI filter module can be turned off or on independently of the other modules, or jointly uninstalled from memory. The filter does not provide by itself much acceleration of DOS video input/ output as far as ANSI instructions are concerned. Its advantages are small resident size, the capability of being turned on or off, and its harmonious working with the acceleration module of VIz. COEXISTENCE WITH OTHER ANSI FILTERS The installation of the ANSI filter can be made contingent on not detecting the presence of ANSI.SYS or another ANSI-like utility intercepting the FAST CONSOLE interrupt (29h) of DOS, such as ANSI.COM (Copyright 1989 Ziff-Davis Corp.), or the potential presence of these utilities may be ignored and the filter installation forced. The presence of an installed ANSI-like utility can be ascertained using the Status panel displayed when the command <VIZ ?> is entered; 2 types of ANSI drivers are recognized: ANSI.SYS Indicates that interrupt 29h (see below) points to a resident code containing a device driver header with the attributes of a character device servicing calls to INT 29h and the device name 'CON.' This is likely to be ANSI.SYS or an ANSI-compatible device driver. ANSI.COM Indicates that interrupt 29h (see below) points to a resident code containing the string 'CON ' at the place where the device driver name should be, but it does not contain other elements of the device driver header. This is an ANSI-compatible resident utility of the type of ANSI.COM. ANSI IMPLEMENTATIONS The ANSI-compatible filter supports the following subset of ANSI 3.64-1979, standard escape sequences, to control console video functions (see your DOS documentation of the ANSI.SYS commands): Selection of the foreground and background colors on a color display or the text attributes on a monochrome display system. The sequence syntax is <Esc>[#;...;#m, where # is 30-37 to select a foreground color, 40-47 47 to select a background color, and 0-1, 4-5 or 7-8 to select the text attributes. Selection of the video mode (similar to using the MODE command of DOS). The sequence syntax is <Esc>[=#h or <Esc>[=#l, where # is 0-6 or higher (depending on the adapter card in use). Selection of word wrapping, i.e. whether lines longer than the width of the screen are truncated. The sequence syntax is <Esc>[?7h or <Esc>[?7l to turn word wrapping ON or OFF, respectively. Cursor positioning for the following sequences: <Esc>[r#;c#H Move to specified row (r#) and column (c#) <Esc>[r#;c#f Same as previous sequence <Esc>[r#A Move cursor up by specified number of rows <Esc>[r#B Move cursor down by specified number of rows <Esc>[c#C Move forward the specified number of columns <Esc>[c#D Move backward the specified number of columns <Esc>[s Store current position of the cursor <Esc>[u Restore to the position stored by <Esc>[s <Esc>[K Erase from the cursor to end of the line <Esc>[2J Clear all rows and home cursor (this sequence preserves current color attribute) Not supported by the filter are the cursor-position-reporting ANSI sequence (<Esc>[r#;c#R), and the supplementary set of escape sequences used by ANSI. SYS to permit the reprogramming of the keyboard (i.e. <Esc>[#;'string';3p), a set which is not part of the 1979 ANSI video standard. 7. INSTALLATION & USAGE The enclosed utility INSTALL.EXE may be used to copy the program files to a user-defined drive and directory, and--if so desired--to add statements to the file AUTOEXEC.BAT so that the program is loaded automatically upon booting and to append the user-defined directory to the PATH statement. To install the program manually, copy the program files to a subdirectory of your choice, and add the following command to AUTOEXEC.BAT: <path>VIZ [/switches] [;comments] where <path> is the full path specification for the file VIZ.EXE; command switches and comments are described below. It is recommended that VIz be installed before other residents also using the BIOS interrupt 10h (video input/output). Due to the intrinsic nature of the implementation, VIz does not chain some the interrupt-10h calls to residents located down the intercepted interrupt chain. In order for such residents to have access to these data, they need to be loaded after VIz. Thus, it may be convenient to install VIz early in AUTOEXEC.BAT. When the ANSI filter is to be used in a permanent manner, VIz may also be installed as described above; if you want to remove the ANSI filter after a given ANSI-oriented task, however, then VIz should be the last resident to be installed. The driver ANSI.SYS needs not to be loaded or, if loaded, removed, to use the ANSI resident of VIz. However, if any ANSI-like utility were already installed and active, and VIz were switched to its 'fast DOS' mode (/Z+), such utility might be unable to process ANSI escape sequences unless they were sent directly to the CON device via INT-29h calls (instead INT 21h). COMMAND SWITCHES These switches allow for the modification of the default (preselected) or of an already selected resident configuration, or the execution of one of the nonresident services provided by the utility. Command switches can be issued from: (1) the DOS command line (2) a batch file (3) a DOS environment string with the format VIZ=/SWITCH1.../SWITCHn The switches are not case sensitive, and can be separated by any character between the ASCII space and backslash. The effects of some switches, e.g. /N, are command-order sensitive. Switches /A, /B, /C, /D, /I, /M, /P, /R, and /S produce "sticky" video changes that remain in effect even if VIz is quiescent or uninstalled. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Asterisks indicate switches unavailable in the unregistered copy ---------------------------------------------------------------- SWITCH /? This switch displays the Status/Usage/Help panels, which are described in more detail in the section below. If a VGA or EGA is the active adapter, the program saves the contents of the palette registers prior to changing the video attributes for its various displays. See section STATUS/USAGE/ HELP PANELS below. EGA users: The default MS-DOS palette attributes are restored if the EGA BIOS fails to store the original video data. * SWITCH /A[±] Installs a resident filter to implement (the video subset of) ANSI escape sequences; the installation may be made contingent upon failure to detect the presence of the DOS driver ANSI.SYS or some ANSI-like residents (/A), or to ignore their potential presence (/A+). The ANSI module does not become resident unless switch /A[+] is specified at the time VIz is being installed and cannot be added after installation of the resident(s). Although the filter can take advantage of VIz acceleration, its operation does not require the enabling of the resident accelerator module, and its activity can be controlled independently with the following switches: /A If VIz is not yet installed, adds the ANSI filter module to the resident code to be installed (provided that ANSI SYS or another logical device named 'CON ' mediating INT 29h also has not been installed) and inactivates the remapping of the EGA/VGA palette via /C+, /Cn:n, or /Cm. /A+ If VIz is not yet installed, adds the ANSI filter module to the resident code to be installed, even when ANSI.SYS or a similar CON utility has already been installed, and inactivates the remapping of the EGA/VGA palette via /C+ /Cn:n, or /Cm. If VIz is already installed, and the resident filter was made inactive with /A-, /A+ reactivates the ANSI filter. /A- Inactivates the filter, if installed and active. It also reactivates a previously active remapping of the EGA/VGA palette. Defaults: /A = /A+; null switch = no resident on installation. Switch /A or /A+ automatically turns switch /Z off (/Z-) to insure that all the DOS video output is directed to the console driver so that ANSI escape sequences via StdOut can also be implemented by the ANSI filter. In those cases where the ANSI escape sequences are directly sent by the application to INT 29h, a faster DOS output may be achieved with switch /Z+ after selecting switch /A[+]. * SWITCH /Bn Selects the color for the screen border in text modes, and the background and border color in graphic modes. This color is specified by <n>, a one or two digit number representing the Red-Green-Blue mixture for the color using an octal (base 8) format ranging from 0 to 77 (see Switch C below). Switch /C+ also sets the screen border; the default border for the EGA is black, and the screen background attribute for other color adapters. * SWITCH /Cn:m±? Allows for color changes in the EGA/VGA color palette, which consists of 16 registers, and is used to map video memory data into colors. Both in (the EGA-compatible modes of) the VGA and the EGA, the value in each one of these registers determines the amount of Red, Green, and Blue mixture in the displayed color. This amount can be represented by the data bits <RGBrgb>, where <000rgb> shows the color at 33%, <RGB000> at 66%, and <RGBrgb> at 100% intensity. These bits, and their resultant color, are shown below using both binary (base 1) and octal (base 8) number formats: Binary Octal Color ┌─────────┬──────┬─────────────┐ │ 000 000 │ 00 +│ 100% black │ Since the binary format takes up a │ 000 001 │ 01 │ 33% blue │ lot of space it is more convenient │ 000 010 │ 02 │ 33% green │ to use the 2-digit octal format to │ 000 011 │ 03 │ 33% cyan │ represent an RGB value. The binary │ 000 100 │ 04 │ 33% red │ equivalence of octal numbers is: │ 000 101 │ 05 │ 33% magenta│ │ 000 110 │ 06 │ 33% yellow │ 0o = 00000b │ 000 111 │ 07 │ 33% white │ 1o = 00001b ├─────────┼──────┼─────────────┤ 2o = 00010b │ 001 000 │ 10 +│ 66% blue │ 3o = 00011b │ 010 000 │ 20 +│ 66% green │ 4o = 00100b │ 011 000 │ 30 +│ 66% cyan │ 5o = 00101b │ 100 000 │ 40 +│ 66% red │ 6o = 00110b │ 101 000 │ 50 +│ 66% magenta│ 7o = 00111b │ 110 000 │ 60 +│ 66% yellow │ 10o = 01000b │ 111 000 │ 70 +│ 66% white │ 11o = 01001b ├─────────┼──────┼─────────────┤ 12o = 01010b │ 001 001 │ 11 +│ 100% blue │ 13o = 01011b │ 010 010 │ 22 +│ 100% green │ 14o = 01100b │ 011 011 │ 33 +│ 100% cyan │ 15o = 01101b │ 100 100 │ 44 +│ 100% red │ 16o = 01110b │ 101 101 │ 55 +│ 100% magenta│ 17o = 01111b │ 110 110 │ 66 +│ 100% yellow │ 20o = 10000b │ 111 111 │ 77 +│ 100% white │ etc └─────────┴──────┴─────────────┘ (+) IBM default color palette Of course, other colors can also be generated when using a different RGB mixture value. For instance, a desaturated (i.e., whitish) RGB sequence is obtained in the octal range 71o through 76o. This palette control is also enabled (revision 2.42+) for the monochrome mode of VGA and MCGA video adapters to remap color codes into gray-scale values. The following services are available: /C:n The RGB values of the palette registers is set by a 16- number sequence in which these two-digit, octal numbers are separated by colons (:) as in the following example /C03:00:20:30:40:50:01:77:70:11:22:33:44:55:66:76 which shows the default palette colors used by VIz when switch /C? is used. If less than 16 numbers are given, their RGB values are loaded into the respective palette registers starting from register 0. When a non-numeric value is provided, the palette is not changed. /Cm± The VGA and MCGA adapters emulates a 16-color text mode for a monochrome display, and the palette consists of 4 groups of four shades of gray. In MONOCHROME modes, /Cm loads a palette in which the gray-scale value increases uniformly with increasing attribute values; the palette corresponds to the following command /C00:50:01:31:61:12:42:03:43:04:44:05:55:26:07:77 Switch /Cm can also be used with CGA monochrome systems (e.g., laptops) to translate color attributes into gray scale values. In COLOR modes, switch /Cm± enables [+] or disables [-] the gray-scale summing of the RGB mixture. The summing, carried out by the BIOS, sets the gray-scale equivalent of a given color to 30%, 50%, and 11% of the Red, Green and Blue value in the video digital-to-analog registers (these percentages are close to the relative brightness of the displayed 'pure' red, green, and blue). /C? This service provides a display of the palette registers and the corresponding RGB mixture in octal format. It is possible to alter the RGB mixture of any register simply by pressing <R>, <G>, or <B> and then <> or <>. These arrows cycle through 0%, 33%, 66%, and 100% intensity of the respective RGB component. The actual RGB mixture of the selection is also shown on a graph. Press the right or left arrow to cycle through the registers, and <HOME> to go to register 0 or <END> to go to register 15. Press <ENTER> to save the current palette, <ESC> to quit the service without any palette changes, <DEL> to reject any change and to restart the service, and the indicated function keys to load several available palettes. /C- Use to inactivate the implementation of EGA/VGA palette changes via VIz. The video attributes remain unchanged until the a video operation reloads the palette, e.g. a video mode change. Switch /A+ also turns off remapping of the palette. /C+ Use to reactivate the implementation of EGA/VGA palette changes via VIz; it reloads the last color palette that was selected via VIz. Switch /A- reactivates remapping if remapping was in effect prior to an /A+ request. Defaults: /C = /C+. The selected EGA/VGA color palette changes are asserted (i.e. the palette is loaded with the selected RGB values) each time a video mode change, or a video font change, is requested and VIz is enabled (i.e., no /Q switch, no graphics mode, and no video page other than 0). To preserve the small size of Viz, there is no hotkey pop-up service. If during the execution of an application the color palette changes, the RGB values selected via VIz cannot be asserted except by shelling to DOS (and executing VIz with the switch /C+ to reload the palette) or by triggering a video mode/font change. SWITCH /D[±n] Adjusts brightness of screen (VGA card only); the brightness change step is specified by the sign and value of <±n>, which is a decimal number of 1 or 2 digits, with or without a sign, in the range from -63 to +63. Use of high negative or positive numbers can result in an unreadable screen. Selection of /D0 results in the restoration of the screen to its default settings (as dictated by the manual controls of the monitor). Defaults: /D = /D+2; /D1 = /D+1; /D- = /D-2. * SWITCH /E Creates or updates the variable VIZ=/SWITCH1.../SWITCHn in the DOS global environment, where /SWITCH1.../SWITCHn are the switches to be implemented when VIz is executed from the DOS command line without any arguments. If the 'VIZ' variable already exists, switch /E updates the contents of this variable. Although switch /E is incorporated into the variable contents, its presence is ignored when VIz uses this variable as input. Switch /E modifies the DOS global environment irrespective of whether the resident shell is the initial copy of COMMAND.COM (global environment) or a secondary copy (local environment). See the INSTALLATION section below for more details. No defaults. * SWITCH /F[Htg][n±] If VIz detects a HERCULES card adapter (HGC or HGC+), switch /FHt changes the card to text mode (80x25) whereas switch /FHg changes the card to its default (page 0) 720x348 graphics mode. If VIz detects an EGA or VGA adapter, switch /Fn permits the selection of the number of screen rows to be displayed. The following video fonts are supported: 12 or 14 (EGA or VGA), 25 (EGA and VGA), 28 (VGA), 35 (EGA and VGA) and 43 or 50 (EGA or VGA) screen rows. Except for the 12/14 and 35- row fonts, implementation of the selected font is maintained until switch /F-, which disables font implementation, or another font is selected; the font implementation can be reenabled with /F+. If a number <n> is not specified, switch /F toggles between 25-row and 43 (EGA) or 50-row (VGA) screens. (If an EGA/VGA adapter is found, VIz also selects the alternate BIOS print-screen service to avoid the default BIOS print-screen routine that works with 25 rows only.) For a 25-row screen, an 8x14 font is used in an EGA and a 9x16 font in a VGA. Fonts with more than 25 rows can be loaded only if the video page is between 0 and 3. No defaults. * SWITCH /G[n] The frequency in Hz (cycles per second) of 55-ms bell tones is specified by <n>, a decimal number of up to 4 digits, in the range from 25 to 5000 Hz. Values below 25 become 25 Hz and above 5000 become 5000 Hz; if more than 4 digits are given only the four least-significant digits are used, e.g., 50,000 Hz is read as 0000, triggering the use of 25 Hz. The bell tones always last 55 ms (one tick of the 8253/8254 timer chip). Since the tones are forced to begin at the start of a 55-ms tick period, stacked bell rings will result in a distinctive, staccato-like burst due to the intervening silent 55-ms tick periods. Most computer speakers seem to work properly within the range from about 100 Hz to about 3,000 Hz. Frequencies for the octave starting at middle are C=523 Hz, D=587 Hz, E=659 Hz, F=699 Hz, A=880 Hz, and B=988 Hz. The frequencies for higher [lower] octaves increase [decrease] approximately by a factor of 2 per octave change from the above values. Defaults: /G = /G440. * SWITCH /H[n][@] Loads the resident in the Upper Memory Area (UMA), between addresses 640 KB and 1,024 KB of memory; this is the region below the 1-MB boundary of the memory accessible by 086 CPUs, but above the 640-KB hardware barrier of DOS. The switch requires an available upper memory block (UMB) of ca. 1 to 2 KB (depending on the number of modules to be installed), which is allocated by the program itself either via a direct XMS request or, when MS-DOS 5+ controls UMB allocation (i.e., UMA linkage through the command DOS=UMB in CONFIG.SYS), via a DOS call. Allocation of UMBs requires the presence of an XMS manager (XMM) which supports the UMB services 10h-11h of XMS 2+, and (if the XMM lacks the capability of remapping memory) the presence of an UMB provider. A lower upper-memory limit for the UMB loading can also be requested via switch /Hn, in which <n> is a four-digit hexadecimal number between A000 (640 KB) and FF80 (1,022 KB), in order to avoid or select specific areas of upper memory. A lower-memory resident marker can also be installed along with the UMB resident via switch /H@ or /Hn@; the marker occupies 144 bytes of lower conventional memory, can be identified in some memory mapping utilities by the name VIz @ UMB and is released from memory when the UMB resident is uninstalled. This marker may be used (1) to remind that the resident is already installed in upper memory, (2) to help locate the UMB installation address in the case of some mapping utilities, and (3) to help avoid removal conflicts when lower and upper-memory residents are interspersed. Defaults: Low-memory installation if any error is found during the UMB loading; high-memory installation below lower-address limit if UMBs are not available above such limit. * SWITCH /I± Selects how background color attributes with a hexadecimal value in the range from 8h to Fh (bit 7=1) are displayed in text modes. /I- High-bit attributes produce a blinking character on a background of normal (medium) intensity. /I+ High-bit attributes result in a steady character on an intense background. Defaults: Null switch = /I- on installation. * SWITCH /K± Disables [+] or enables [-] access of the CPU to video RAM in VGA/MCGA. It can be used to kill BIOS-mediated displays that cannot be redirected to the NUL device. /K- Enable CPU access to video RAM (normal display). /K+ Disable CPU access to video RAM (blanked display). Defaults: /K = /K+; null switch = /K- on installation. SWITCH /Mxn Selects the video mode specified by <Hn>, in which <n> is a hexadecimal number between 0 and FF, or <Dn>, where <n> is a decimal number between 0 and 255. The program does not check that the selected mode is a valid one for the adapter in use. No defaults. * SWITCH /N± Determines whether or not program messages are displayed (after loading of the resident): /N- Messages are displayed via the redirectable StdOut device of DOS (messages may be avoided by ending the command line with the '> NUL' redirection request). /N+ Messages are not displayed (after program loading), in which case a brief bell tone is sounded when a error has occurred. Defaults: /N = /N+; null switch = /N- on installation. Since VIz beeps when a command error is detected, /N- should need to be used only after such beep to display the error message again; the final status of the operation can also be monitored (in batch files) with the ERRORLEVEL command. (To help avoid installation problems, all messages are displayed if the resident is not yet installed.) SWITCH /Pn Selects the video page specified by a number <n> in the range of 0 to 7 for 25-row display EGA/VGA, 0 to 3 for 43/50-row display EGA/VGA, and 0 to 3 for CGA. No defaults. SWITCH /Q Forces the video accelerator into a quiescent mode; if loaded, the ANSI filter and the Cursor blink resident are NOT inactivated. The overhead video time for having VIz quiescent is an additional 2% or less of that without VIz. (Even when it is quiescent or during graphic video modes, the accelerator still monitors the video interrupt to check for page or mode change requests.) A quiescent mode lasts until the next execution of the program, unless switch /Q or /? has been selected. No defaults. * SWITCH /R± Selects the mode of processing text output that is used by DOS. In the normal ('cooked') mode, the kernel builds a device request for a single character output, makes a Ctrl-C check, and then passes this request to the StdOut console device; if no error is found, the buffer pointer and character count are updated. This process is repeated until either the end-of-file character (ASCII 26, Ctrl-Z) is found or all characters are processed. Tabs (ASCII 9) are expanded to 8 spaces. In the binary ('raw') mode, instead of filtering the stream for control characters, DOS passes a single request header to the device. Control- C, Control-P, and Control-S keyboard entries are not checked during I/O operations. Depending on the DOS version, DOS-mediated video output in binary mode is faster by factor of about 1.40 or so. /R- Changes DOS processing to the normal or 'cooked' mode. /R+ Changes DOS processing to a binary or 'raw' mode. Defaults: Null switch = /R- on installation. When executed, some utilities set the DOS processing mode to 'raw,' and then change it to normal when they finish, irrespective of the original mode. Other utilities set the mode to 'raw' and leave it on. Repeated use of switch /R+ may be necessary to maintain the binary DOS mode. NOTE: If the DOS binary mode is selected, the 'BREAK=ON' command should also be issued to facilitate the detection of 'Control-C' entries during disk and other DOS operations. * SWITCH /S[n±] Enables [Sn+] or disables [Sn-] special services triggered by some keys that can have untoward effects under some circumstances, especially for LAN servers. /S1± Enables [+] or disables [-] the printing of the screen triggered by the <PrtSc> key. /S1- is useful when the number-pad keys are used often, and the possibility of triggering unwanted prints is commensurably high. More importantly, if the machine is not connected to an on- line printer, <PrtSc> will freeze the system. /S2± Enables [+] or disables [-] the dynamic halt, which is triggered by the <Pause> key (PS/2s and COMPAQs) or by the <Ctrl><NumLock> combination (in PCs). The halt is maintained until another key is pressed. This service is available only if the Cursor module is also loaded. Defaults: /S = /S1+; /S = /S1+; /S2 = /S2+; null switch = /Sn+ on installation. If /S1± (or /S± or simply /S) is requested at the time of installation, VIz also selects the alternate BIOS print-screen service if the adapter is an EGA or VGA, in order to handle screen lengths longer than 25 rows (this alternate service is needed if other screen fonts are to be used, since the BIOS default service only prints 25 lines. Some EGAs do not work properly when this alternate print-screen service is enabled. If the selection of switch /S1± during installation yields a print-screen malfunction, install VIz without selecting /S1±, /S±, or /S±, and only then select switch /S1 in a subsequent execution. SWITCH /U Uninstalls the resident from memory. The request is not honored if any of the interrupt vectors intercepted by the program do not point to the resident, indicating subsequent installation of other resident(s) using the same interrupt(s) or the revectoring of such interrupts by a prior, ill-behaved resident. Hence, the program cannot be uninstalled, because it would leave such interrupts pointing to empty memory, and the system would then crash. In general, the program should be uninstalled only when it was the last resident to be loaded; in practice, however, it can also be uninstalled if subsequently loaded residents do not hook the same interrupts as the program. Even though this increases memory fragmentation, the resulting "hole" is innocuous, and may be used by DOS for other purposes (such as local environment blocks). No defaults. SWITCH /V±n Selects the loading of the resident cursor module. This module does not become resident unless /V+ or /Vn is specified at the time VIz is being loaded; this module cannot be added to the resident after installation. /Vn Enforces a cursor whose shape alternates between a full block and a thin line, in which <n> is a decimal number (of 1 or 2 digits) specifying the alternation rate from 0.055 s [/V1] to 5.5 s [/V99]. /V0 Forces the display of a continuous, full block cursor. /V- Disables the display of the cursor. Due to a potential BIOS conflict, switch /V- is ignored at the time of VIz loading; to make the cursor invisible, first use /V+ or /Vn and then /V-. /V+ Reverses the cursor changes produced by /Vn and /V-. Defaults: /V = /V+; null switch = no resident on installation. * SWITCH /X± If the DOS video output to the Standard Output device (StdOut) is being mediated by VIz (see switch /Z±), switch /X controls whether the StdOut can or cannot be redirected to a file or another device (such as NUL or PRN) by the commands '>' or '>>' from the DOS command line. /X+ The INT-21/40h/1 DOS video output can be redirected to a file or another device. /X- The INT-21/40h/1 DOS video output is always displayed, i.e. it cannot be redirected. This provides a further acceleration of DOS video output but at the price of a less-than-transparent operation. Defaults: /X = /X+; null switch = /X+ on installation. NOTE: If switch X is not enabled, the acceleration of DOS video output via switch /Z+ (see below) conflicts with the redirection of DOS output to another device or to a file. If such a redirection is needed, either enable switch X (/X+) or disable switch Z (/Z-). SWITCH /Z± Directs the video output through INT 21h, function 40h, device handle 1 ('write to StdOut device') to the DOS console driver or the accelerator module of VIz. Mediation of the INT 21h/40h/1-output to VIz produces a considerable acceleration of DOS text output in MS-DOS versions 2 to 5. /Z- INT-21/40h/1 video output is allowed to be processed by the installed CON driver. /Z+ INT-21/40h/1 video output is redirected to the teletype subservice of VIz. Defaults: /Z = /Z+; null switch = /Z+ on installation. COMMENTS The comments may be added in the DOS command line after the specification of the switches. These comments, which may be useful in clarifying batch files, must be preceded by a semicolon (;), and are ignored by VIz. Do not use the DOS redirection and pipe characters in the comments as DOS will attempt to implement the implied redirection or pipe request. STATUS/USAGE/HELP PANELS Executing the program with switch /? selected allows access to the Status/ Usage and Help panels. (If a Mouse pointing device driver, compatible with the Microsoft Mouse driver version 6.0 or higher is loaded and active, all of the services provided by these panels can also be activated by pointing the mouse to specific areas of the screen and clicking either button. The mouse driver state is saved prior to the display, to be restored later, if sufficient memory is available for the panel display.) The STATUS/USAGE panel, which is shown first, describes status information for the resident and some video services, such as the status of the StdOut stream redirection, ANSI filter, DOS text processing and the current value of the video page and video mode. The video mode number shown is followed by an asterisk if a mode higher than n+128 is detected; hence, mode 131 is displayed as 3*. The USAGE subpanel shows a menu for the command switches: To cycle between the main and the auxiliary menu, press key <F2> or <M>, or click the mouse upon the screen button labelled <Menu>. If the resident is installed, the status of some 'on/off' command switches is displayed by '+' or '-' before a given menu entry. Press key <F7>, or <X>, or click the mouse upon the screen button labelled <Exit> to return to the DOS-prompt command line. Press the key <F3> or click the mouse on the screen button labelled <Test> to run brief video benchmarks for BIOS and DOS-mediated text scrolling and for direct screen writes. Exit the benchmark panel by pressing key <Esc>. The HELP panel provides a summary description of the program and commands, and is displayed if key <F1> or <H> is pressed from the Status/Usage panel (or if the mouse is clicked upon the screen button labelled <Help>). Press the keypad cursor keys (Home/End, PgUp/PgDn, arrows) to scroll the display down or up or the key <S> to scroll in a closed loop; alternatively, click the mouse upon the Up/Down arrows at the top right corner of the screen to scroll. Press key <F1> to skip the brief program summary and position the text on the Usage section directly. A beating icon to the left of the preceding USAGE panel controls the speed of screen scrolling of the HELP panel via key <S> or the mouse arrows. By positioning the mouse pointer over the beating heart and clicking the left or right mouse button, the rate of scrolling can be respectively increased or decreased. Press key <Esc> or <F2>, or click the mouse upon the rightmost icon at the top left corner of the screen, to return to the Status/Usage panel. Press key <F7> or <X>, or click the mouse upon the leftmost icon, to exit to the DOS-prompt command line. ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE VIZ When the program is executed without arguments from the DOS command line (or a batch file), it searches the DOS environment for a variable having the format: VIZ=/SWITCH1 ... /SWITCHn Up to 128 characters are allowed after the equal sign. This string can be incorporated to the environment block via the 'SET' command of DOS or via switch /E of the program (see below). Program releases prior to revision 3.63 lack this feature. While the SET command modifies the current DOS environment block, whether it is the global or a local one, switch /E only modifies the global block (even when the program is executed via a secondary COMMAND.COM, as in the case of shelling out to DOS from an application). Notice that the local environment block is only a copy of the global block and lacks sufficient room to increase significantly the length of a variable, and that changes made to a local environment are not inherited by the global one. When searching for the environment variable, the program uses the current DOS environment block, whether it is the global or a local one. A recommended use of the environment string is to specify a default state for the resident which can be restored just by executing the program with no command switches. An example would be a user default /Cn:n...n setting after the color palette has been changed by another utility. 8. INSTALLATION IN UPPER MEMORY This section describes in more detail aspects of the active (i.e., self- loading) or passive (e.g. via DOS LOADHIGH) installation of the resident in the upper memory region. UMA SELF-LOADING The utility can self-install the resident in the upper memory area (UMA), that is, RAM addresses between 640 KB and 1,024 KB, via switch /H (or its subfunctions /Hn, /H@, and /Hn@). Program releases prior to revision 4.02 lack this feature. The allocation of UMA blocks (UMBs) is arbitrated by an XMS manager (XMM) version 2.0 or higher; the XMM must be installed prior to the UMB-loading of the resident. Allocation also requires the remapping of UMA addresses by a UMB provider, when such a task is not implemented by the XMM itself. The XMM HIMEM.SYS and the UMB-provider EMM386.EXE are distributed with MS DOS 5+. The allocation of UMBs is controlled by DOS when these 2 drivers are installed, and the command 'DOS=UMB' is added to the CONFIG.SYS file. With DR-DOS 6+, UMB remapping and XMS support are provided by EMM386.SYS. Of course, other 386-specific memory managers, such as 386MAX or QEMM386, also provide UMB remapping and XMS support. All XMMs require DOS version 3 or later Switch /Hn, where A000 ≤ n ≤ FFFF (hexadecimal), allows the specification of a minimum upper-memory limit for the UMB to avoid UMA regions having a very slow access time (or to preserve regions with a fast access time for other utilities that require faster times, such as a disk cache or screen accelerator), or to avoid fragmentation of the UMA when UMB allocation is not controlled by MS-DOS 5+, but by the XMM itself. The fragmentation may occur when the XMM allocates blocks on a first-fit basis, i.e., the first available UMB having the lowest UMA address is allocated, irrespective of whether or not a (smaller) block matching the requested size is available at a higher UMA address. Unless the size of the available UMBs increases with increasing memory address, first-fit allocation of a small UMB leads to the breaking of large UMA blocks into smaller ones, thus hampering the UMB installation of larger residents. If MS-DOS 5+ controls UMB allocation, the program enforces the allocation of the resident block on a best-fit basis when <n> is not specified, that is, all available blocks are searched (by DOS), and the one matching most closely the size requested is allocated. When DOS controls UMB allocation and <n> is specified, UMBs are allocated on a first-fit basis. While this may contribute to UMA fragmentation, it allows for the checking of a minimum memory limit in those cases in which the selection or avoidance of a specific UMA region is more important. Hence, compared to the upper-memory loading provided by the LH command of MS-DOS 5+, the HILOAD command of DR-DOS 5+, or a similar service provided by other memory managers, self-loading into a UMB has several advantages, including: (1) it does not require an initial free UMB of the size of the entire program (as opposed to the size of its resident only), (2) it does allow user control on the selection of the upper-memory block, and (3) it can help reduce UMA fragmentation. NOTE: The address and size of available UMBs can be obtained with MEM.EXE (when DOS controls UMB allocation) or via the memory manager itself (when the allocation is controlled by 386-specific memory managers. In either case, such data can also be obtained with UMAX.EXE, a UMA mapping utility that is distributed by the author. UMA LOADING VIA MEMORY MANAGERS, DR-DOS 5+, or MS-DOS 5+ Of course, the resident can also be installed in the UMA via a 386-memory manager or via UMB-linked DOS (DR-DOS 5+, MS-DOS 5+), provided that there is sufficient memory for the actual size of the complete program, and any additional memory that may be needed by the loading utility. To minimize disk storage, the program is distributed as a compressed file that expands upon its execution. The difference between the actual loaded size and the nominal directory size may create conflicts with high-memory loading programs that fail to measure the actual size: When the available high memory is not sufficient to permit the file expansion, but is larger than the nominal directory size, such programs will load the (compressed) utility. The subsequent expansion will then overwrite adjacent memory and likely crash the memory manager or DOS. The executable file expands by a factor of less than 2. An additional 8,288 bytes of free memory are required to restore contents of the screen and the status of mouse, if a Microsoft/Logitech-compatible mouse driver is installed, after switch /? or /C?. Also, a minimum 2,600 bytes of additional memory are required to implement switch /F14 or /F35. WARNING Because the manner in which the program determines the amount of free memory may be incompatible with the extended memory manager UMA-loading process, do _NOT_ use the above switches in the same program execution that installs the resident in upper memory via a memory manager or MS-DOS 5+. MEMORY MAPPING UTILITIES Although the program releases its own copy of the environment at the time of installation (to reduce resident size), the resident can be identified in memory maps by the label VIzxxx that appears in the command-line listing of most memory mapping utilities irrespective of the actual contents of the command line if the program is loaded in conventional memory; 'xxx' in the label represents the revision number (e.g., 431). Starting with VIz revision 4.30.2, if the program is self-loaded in a UMB via switch /Hn (see above), the resident can be identified in memory maps by the label UMB VIz in memory mapping utilities having access to the upper memory. If such a label is not displayed by a given mapping utility, and the identification of the UMB resident is required, use switch /H[n]@ to load in lower RAM a small resident marker that shows up in all memory maps (see above). 9. TECHNICAL INFORMATION Channel 0 of the 8253/8254 timer chip produces a hardware interrupt (IRQ0), interrupt 8h, about 18.2 times a second that is used by the system time-of- day clock. When the cursor module is installed, switch /Vn (n=0 or 1 to 99) forces the display of the block cursor, either in continuous or alternating manner. Cursor shape is implemented via commands using either 16-bit (word) or 8-bit (byte) output, depending on the VIz release that was selected. When the program is waiting for keyboard or mouse input during the display of the above panels, it calls repeatedly the 'IDLE' interrupts of DOS: INT 28h and (if MS-DOS or IBM PC-DOS 5+ is being used) INT 2Fh function 1680h. INT 28h allows a potential background activation of (some) other residents while INT 2Fh/1680h allows DOS to suspend the idle program temporarily and transfer control to another program. The accelerator module of VIz intercepts the ROM BIOS video interrupt, 10h. When the system is in page 0 and a text mode, video acceleration occurs for subfunctions 0h through Eh, except for subfunctions 4h, 7h, Bh, and Ch. Starting with version 2.0, DOS allows the redirection of the Standard Input (StdIn) and Standard Output (StdOut) console device, permitting programs to send input to or to receive output from other programs. Unless redirected, the StdIn comes from the keyboard and the StdOut goes to the screen. These and some other devices can be addressed by predefined DOS 'file handles' as if they were disk files. A common DOS-mediated technique to send output to the screen is to write to the handle 1 (StdOut) via interrupt 21h, function 40h; in fact, this is the preferred method of DOS-mediated video output for MS-DOS version 2.0 or higher. The accelerator module of VIz also intercepts interrupt 21h. Switch /Z+ re- directs to VIz the INT-21h/40h/1 video stream to the StdOut, resulting in a significant acceleration of DOS-mediated video output. This acceleration is not increased by setting the DOS mode to binary (see switch /R). Switch /Z- restores the INT-21h/40h/1 stream to the current StdOut device. If switch /X+ has been selected (the default condition), the implementation of the INT-21h/40h/1 video stream by VIz is fully transparent. Switch /X-, however, avoids a DOS-mediated redirection of the StdOut (i.e. the commands '>' and '>>' at the DOS command line are no longer able to redirect the DOS video output, such as '> NUL' to avoid some messages). Under switch /X- VIz provides an even faster acceleration of DOS video output, since it does not have to check whether the output is being redirected to the printer or to a file. Switch /Z selection is not disregarded when ANSI.SYS, ANSI.COM, or the ANSI filter of VIz is active. The redirection of StdOut to VIz by /Z+, however, will conflict with ANSI commands sent to the CON device via standard-output calls to INT 21h, function 40h/1. In contrast, ANSI commands using INT 29h are not affected by switch /Z+ (see above). The ANSI-compatible module of VIz intercepts interrupt 29h, an undocumented feature present in all recent versions of DOS. INT 29h is normally provided by the built-in console device driver of DOS, and consists of a call to the BIOS interrupt 10h. DOS uses INT 29h instead of the normal request-passing mechanism to accelerate output to the current 'CON' device. The ANSI module filters this output. If a request to inactivate the installed ANSI filter is encountered (switch /A-), VIz checks whether the INT 29h can be restored to its original memory address. If the revectoring is not possible (i.e., if another resident has also intercepted INT 29h), this filter remains partially active in order to handle an ANSI escape sequence generated by COMMAND.COM to clear the screen when a CLS command is detected (see below); other ANSI escape sequences are ignored by the filter and passed to the screen. Hence, when revectoring is possible, switch /A- has the same effect as installing VIz without a switch /A, except that the memory occupied by the ANSI filter is not released; the filter is reactivated by a subsequent call to execute VIz with switch /A+. CLS COMMAND & INT 29h The internal console device driver installed during booting handles the CLS as well as INT-29h service. The CLS procedure of COMMAND.COM first tests to see if (1) the standard-output handle is associated with a character device driver (bit 7=1), and (2) the driver services INT 29h (bit 4=1). If one or both tests fail, or if both tests are successful but the vector for INT 29h does not point to the memory segment of the DOS kernel, COMMAND.COM outputs the ANSI escape sequence <Esc>[2J to INT 29h; otherwise, it makes a call to INT 10h, subfunction 6 of the BIOS to clear the screen. If INT 29h cannot be revectored upon /A-, the partial driver activity slows down slightly the DOS video output whenever the ASCII character 27 (Esc) is found in the character stream. The partial activity is needed, however, as DOS issues an ANSI escape sequence to clear the screen whenever INT 29h has been revectored. Thus, if VIz were not to retain its ANSI driver partially active when revectoring of INT 29h is not possible, the DOS escape sequence would be displayed (without clearing the screen) whenever a CLS command was issued. DOS ERRORLEVELS Upon exit its to DOS, the program passes execution status values that can be tested via ERRORLEVEL commands in a batch file. The following are the values for revision 4.30 or higher: Value Condition ----- -------------------------------------- 255 Failure of cyclical redundancy check 255 CPU type cannot execute version code 255 Invalid DOS version 254 Unknown/incompatible video adapter 253 <BREAK> keypress during display 252 Unable to add ANSI module to installed TSR 251 Unable to add Cursor module to installed TSR 250 Not additional RAM for screen font change 128 XMM not installed or UMB load/unload error 64 DOS environment error 32 Invalid video font for adapter and/or page 16 Invalid video page for adapter and/or font 8 Invalid video mode request 4 Unable to uninstall resident 2 Unrecognized or invalid command switch request 1 Error/incomplete RGB list in switch Cn:n...n 0 Successful execution Since some error conditions in the range from 1 through 128 do not cancel program execution (nonfatal) and the error values are additive, the final ERRORLEVEL value may represent more than a single error. Program releases prior to revision 3.10 lack this feature. 10. COPYRIGHT & LICENSE INFORMATION This documentation, programs, and other files distributed in this software package (the "Software") are the copyrighted property of FM de Monasterio (the "Author"), who provides the Software and licenses its use. All rights are reserved. The Software is not sold. A license fee is required to use this Software. This license does not transfer to you either the ownership of or the title to the Software, which remain the property of the Author. A form required to license the Software is provided in the enclosed file VIZ.REG. SINGLE USER LICENSE. Grants you use of this Software in a single computer at a time; the Software may be transferred to another computer, as long as it is used only in 1 computer at any time; under the license, the Software may NOT be installed on a network server. SITE/15-PCs LICENSE. Grants you use of this Software in a sigle site or a set of sites, as long as the Software is not used in more than 15 machines at a time, and that such machines are located exclusively within the site. Licenses for more machines are available at discounted prices. SOFTWARE BUNDLING LICENSE. Please write to the Author. REFUNDS POLICY. If a problem notified within ninety (90) days of shipping of the registered copy cannot be solved, the registration fee (but not the shipping costs) will be refunded upon receiving a written request with the original diskette(s) enclosed. UPGRADE POLICY. Program upgrades are limited to licensed users. Upgrades within the same major version (e.g. release 4.00 through 4.99) are free of charge when a self-addressed, stamped, 5.25" diskette mailer with a 360-KB diskette is included with the request. Other upgrades are charged half the (single-user/site) registration fee. See the enclosed file VIZ.UPG. U.S. GOVERNMENT INFORMATION The Software is Commercial Computer Software under the Federal Acquisition Regulations of the U.S. government and the Agency Supplements to them. The Software is provided to the Federal Government and its agencies only under the Restricted Rights Provisions of the above noted regulations applicable to commercial software developed at private expense, and not in the public domain. The use, duplication, or disclosure of the Software by the Federal Government or its agencies is subject to the restrictions set forth in the subdivision (c.1.ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at DFARS 252.227-7013 (October 1988) and FAR 52.227-19 (June 1987). DISTRIBUTION You may distribute the Software, but you are specifically prohibited from: - Charging fees or asking donations in exchange of or payment for copies of this Software. - Distributing this Software with commercial products without the written, express permission in advance from the author. - Distributing this Software via a for-profit organization or group, either alone or with other software. - Changing any of the contents of this Software including the copyright notice and license information. You may not disassemble or otherwise reverse engineer the Software. Other uses of the Software are prohibited without a written authorization signed by the Author. Latest program releases may be found at the Information Exchange BBS (703) 836-0748, as a compressed archive file. WARRANTY DISCLAIMER FOR UNREGISTERED COPIES The information contained in the documentation for the Software is subject to change without notice. The Author cannot and does not warrant that any functions contained in the Software will meet your requirements, or that its operations will be error free. The entire risk as to the Software performance or quality, or both, is solely with the user and not the Author. You assume responsibility for the selection of the Software to achieve your intended results and for the installation, use, and results obtained from the Software. The Author makes no warranty, either implied or expressed, including with- out limitation any warranty with respect to this Software documented here, its quality, performance, or fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall the Author be liable to you for damages, whether direct or indirect, incidental, special, or consequential arising out the use of or any defect in the Software, even if the Author has been advised of the possibility of such damages, or for any claim by any other party. All other warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, are expressly excluded. By using the Software, you acknowledge (1) to have read and understood all parts of this document and (2) to have agreed with and accepted all of its terms and provisions without any reservation. For information on the terms of the Limited Warranty for licensed Software copies or any other information on this program, please write to: FM de Monasterio P.O. Box 219 Cabin John, MD 20818-0219 USA ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Trademarked names are the property of the respective owners │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ [END]