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1992-05-12
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MIXING OTHER PROGRAMS INTO YOUR TEXT PRESENTATIONS
The exciting news for this new version 3.0 is that you are no
longer limited to text-only presentations! You can mix in
pictures, questions and answer sessions, databases, almost
anything else you want.
It's done like this: You can list programs and batch files
on the menu as if they were chapters (text files), but when
the end user selects one of these programs, it runs! Then,
when the program ends, the user is returned to the DREAM
menu!
A simple use of this might be to include a picture. Let's say
you have created a tutorial about playing the flute, but you
really want to show your readers a picture of the fingerings.
You can use The Multimedia Workshop (available as
shareware) or just about any paint program to create the
picture, then list it's runtime display program on the DREAM
menu. When the user selects that "chapter," instead of the
usual text, your fingerings picture is displayed.
And, of course, you can get fancy, including several
pictures, a self-running catalog database, and ORDER.EXE
(provided with WRITER'S DREAM).
Here's The Details:
To enter a program on the main menu, use the BUILD program as
usual. On the left side of the BUILD menu, type a
description of the program as if it were a chapter. Then on
the right, type the exact name of the program with it's
extension, but without drive or sub-directory information:
PACMAN.EXE - this is ok
STARGATE - this is NOT ok (needs the .COM part)
C:\GAMES\STARGATE.COM - this is not ok (plus it won't fit)
Some programs require a parameter, such as the name of the
picture file to display. You'll notice there is no room on
the right side of the BUILD menu for the parameters. So how
do you work with these programs?
You make a batch file and list it on the BUILD menu.
For instance, MSHOW.EXE is a program which can display a
picture. We'll pretend you have a picture called CATTLE.1
which you want to show. At the DOS prompt, you'd type:
MSHOW CATTLE.1
But this won't work in BUILD. So make a batch file. We'll
call it PICTURE.BAT, but any name would do. PICTURE.BAT only
needs to contain one line:
MSHOW CATTLE.1
Batch files are simply text files, so you can use any text
editor (as long as it makes ordinary ASCII files) to make
PICTURE.BAT. Then on the BUILD menu, you list PICTURE.BAT on
the right side where the filename belongs.
Batch files can run an unlimited number of programs. Your
PICTURE.BAT file could look like this:
MSHOW CATTLE.1
MSHOW CATTLE.2
MSHOW CATTLE.3
MSHOW HORSES.1
MSHOW HORSES.2
ORDER.EXE
Well, you get the idea. Or if not, a little experimentation
will answer your questions.
Most programs that run from the DOS prompt will run from the
DREAM menu. Dream reserves about 60k of RAM space, so very
large programs may not run, especially in computers with less
than the full 640k of RAM.
Most programs that run from the DOS prompt will run from the
DREAM menu. Dream reserves about 60k of RAM space, so very
large programs may not run, especially in computers with less
than the full 640k of RAM.
If in doubt about a program which requires a lot of RAM, test
it, and if you are going to distribute copies to owners of
assorted computers, you really ought to try it again on a
machine with limited RAM space, or else mention in your
advertising that 640k RAM is required.
Here's a fun tip. You can use WRITER'S DREAM as a
super-simple and nice-looking menu maker. Put it in your
root directory, and with BUILD, list all the programs you
like to run. (Remember, that you'll need a path statement in
your AUTOEXEC.BAT file or you'll need to make batch files to
reach programs in unusual sub-directories.) You can put
anything you like in the title box. Mine says JEFF'S MENU.