Computer Buyer 1995 September/C_BUYER.ISO/winshare/smiler/readme.txt

Text File | 1995-04-09 | 19KB | 378 lines

README.TXT: SMILERSHELL 3.1  QUICK START AND INSTALLATION


QUICK START / HINTS AND TRICKS

Windows is great, but sometimes it can be awkward.  Getting to the icon to
launch an application isn't always easy.  Finding files is difficult at best.
There's no good way to keep an eye on important systemwide resources.  And
even when you have all the pieces, sometimes it'd be faster to just type a
command -- but how?

That's what SmilerShell is for.

SmilerShell is a compact yet powerful Windows control center that takes NO
space on your desktop.  Until you need it, SmilerShell is just a tiny button
that hops into the titlebar of whichever app you're working in.  Right-click
the button to see your configurable "Apps" list and launch a new program, or
switch to a currently-running task.  Or left-click the button to reveal the
ultimate Windows command line, which supports pipes, redirection, and
internal DOS commands (and of course runs Windows programs too).  SmilerShell
has the best command line you've ever seen, as if the plain-vanilla DOS prompt
was enhanced by lots of handy utilities.

Here's how to get the most out of SmilerShell.

INSTANT INSTALL:  You can install SmilerShell automatically, using the
enclosed installer.  Simply run install.exe from Windows using File Manager or
the Run item on Program Manager's File menu, or in whatever other convenient
way you choose. Give it the directory to put SmilerShell's files into, and the
Program Manager group name for the SmilerShell icons (defaults are suggested).
It'll do the rest.  The installer will make no changes to system or
initialization files.  Other than putting Microsoft's ctl3dv2.dll in your
Windows system directory if not already there (many programs use this
Microsoft systemwide tool), it just copies its own files to the directory you
specify, and adds its icons to the Program Manager group you specify.  If you
decide to uninstall, just delete the specified files and icons.

PRESS THE BUTTON: SmilerShell's activation button hops into the title bar of
whichever application is currently active.  Right-click the button and the
Apps menu appears, ready for you to launch one of your listed apps or switch
to a currently-running program.  Or left-click the button to reveal the
commandline window.  Then later, hit the SmilerShell menubar's "Hide!" item
and the commandline window vanishes again.

BUTTON EXCEPTIONS: Have a non-standard Windows application with an unusual
titlebar setup?  Use the Button Exceptions menu item to tell SmilerShell where
in that window you'd prefer the button to go.

BUTTON OFFSET: If you have another utility that uses every active app's
titlebar, tell SmilerShell how to move its button out of the way by setting up
a Button Offset.

FAVORITE APPLICATIONS:  List your favorite applications on the Apps menu.
Then just click on one to either select its name into the command line, or run
it straight off (you can set it up either way).  The Apps menu also lists all
currently-running programs.  Click on one to switch to it.

BUILD YOUR OWN COMMANDS: You can list all sorts of things on the Apps menu.
All Windows or DOS commands and programs, of course.  But also SmilerShell
aliases, multiple commands on one line, DOS internal commands, pipes and
redirection.  Your commands can have parameters, too.  Want to have a special
command to start your spreadsheet program, pre-loaded with specific data,
from anywhere in your system, with one click?  Here's how to do it!

COMMAND HISTORY AND SEARCH: Every time you run a command from the commandline,
it is saved.  To find a previous command of interest, type the first letter or
two of that command, then press the up-arrow (search back) or down-arrow
(search forward) key.  The last command is connected to the first, so you can
search in either direction.  Arrows on a blank line show all commands in
order.  If you've checked Save State in the Settings dialog, all the commands
you gave this time will be in the command history when you start next time,
handy for searching.  To see the full command history list, click the Command
History button, or type HISTORY on the commandline.  The full history list is
also available from the File menu.

COMMAND LINE EDITOR: A retrieved previous command, or anything else you type,
can be edited to suit.  Think of SmilerShell as a one-line word processor.  It
supports insert mode, overtype mode, and clipboard cut/paste.

ALIASES: When you press Enter, the first word of the command is compared to
the alias list.  If it matches, the alias is substituted for that first word.
You can skip the alias testing by starting the command with an equals sign.
You can also hang aliases off the function keys F2 through F12; hit the key
and the command runs.  Both kinds of aliases are set up in the Options menu's
Settings dialog, or from the commandline with the ALIAS and UNALIAS commands.
A full alias list is also available on the File menu.

RUNTIME PARAMETERS IN ALIASES: Runtime parameters (%1, %2, etc.) make it
easier to tell aliases what to do when you run them.  And if you alias
multiple commands on one line, the alias acts almost like a batch file, all
within SmilerShell!

PERSONALIZE: You can set the command line's font and colors any way you like.

HELP: Of course there's full Windows Help.  But in addition, you can use the
Popup Hints (Alt+F1) to get tips on interesting ways to use SmilerShell. Popup
Hints are especially handy for new users.

ALTERNATE COMMAND PROCESSORS: Do you use 4DOS or NDOS?  Tell SmilerShell to
recognize 4DOS/NDOS commands, and set SmilerShell to use the 4DOS/NDOS command
processor instead of plain old COMMAND.COM.  It's in the Settings dialog.

GET SMALL: SmilerShell has a very small window, but you can make it even
smaller.  Use the Options menu to get rid of the menu and title bar.  Or type
Alt+M to toggle the menu, Alt+L to toggle the title bar.  Then mouse
SmilerShell as small as you like.  It'll go smaller than an icon!

QUICK DIRECTORY CHANGE: Type DC and the first few letters of the directory you
want to be in.  If it's unambiguous, boom, you're there, otherwise a list box
pops up with the first possible match highlighted.  If you haven't used DC
yet, you'll be asked for permission to scan the drives listed in the Options
menu's Settings dialog.  If you scan more than one drive, DC can change drive
as well as directory to get you where you want to go.

SMILERSHELL NEVER FORGETS:  Check a box in the Settings dialog and SmilerShell
will start up next time in the same directory, same screen position, and with
the same settings, as when you shut it down this time.

DOS IN A WINDOW: Do you prefer to have DOS commands run fullscreen or in a
window?  Toggle this on the fly with the DOS In Window menu item.  Or to run
one command as if DOS In Window is set to the opposite of its current value,
start that command with a right-bracket (for example >dir).

INACTIVES STAY VISIBLE:  After you run a DOS command, do you want the
command's inactive window to stick around, or immediately vanish?  Toggle
this flag, called Inactives Stay Visible, from the Options menu.  Or to run
one command as if Inactives Stay Visible is set to the opposite of its
current value, start that command with an asterisk (for example *dir).

REMOVE INACTIVES: Too many inactive windows cluttering your screen?  Get rid
of 'em with this Edit menu item, or just type Alt+R from the keyboard.

DATE AND TIME:  Toggle the titlebar date/time clock from the Options menu, or
just type Alt+C.  Prefer 12-hour or 24-hour time?  Various date formats? Set
it the way you like it with the Options menu's Settings dialog.

ALARM CLOCK AND REMINDER:  Use the built-in ALARM command to set the alarm
clock.  You can even give it a message to display when the alarm goes off.

WORK WITH FILES: The built-in command SHOW is often a useful alternative to
DIR, since SHOW's file list lets you click on a filename to select it into the
command line.

FIND FILES: Use the Find File item on the File menu, or the built-in 'find'
command to search for files by name or contents, anywhere in your system. It
accepts wildcards and can look for files containing specific data.  When you
find the file you want, you can go to its directory or fetch its full name
into the commandline.

FILE ASSOCIATIONS: With File Associations simply type in the filename without
the program name, and quite often SmilerShell will know which program to run.
For example give "FILENAME.WRI" and SmilerShell knows to run Windows Write on
this file.  This works very nicely with SHOW or FIND: use SHOW or FIND to pick
a file, then press Enter to run the proper program with that file.

DRAG AND DROP:  SmilerShell supports "drag and drop," so you can drop files
onto its window from File Manager or any other drag-and-drop server. The
filenames will be added at the end of the current command line.

CURRENT DRIVE/DIRECTORY IN THE TITLE BAR:  Toggle this from the Options menu,
or just type Alt+D.

SYSTEM RESOURCES:  Toggle the System Resources display onto the menu bar from
the Options menu, or just type Alt+S, to see a real-time running report of
your available Windows memory and resources.  If you toggle off the menu, the
resources report will appear in the command line.  Don't worry, nothing you
type will be overwritten by the resources report! Just type, your text will
reappear exactly as you left it.

INSERT OR OVERTYPE MODE: Toggle this from the Options menu, or just type
Alt+O.  In overtype mode a flag appears in the title bar.

TOPMOST WINDOW: Make SmilerShell a "topmost" window from the Options menu, or
just type Alt+T.  That way, it's always visible and ready for use, even when
you're working in another window.

GET RID OF THE MENU:  Hit Alt+M to make SmilerShell even smaller.  Hit Alt+M
again to bring the menu back, or use the Show SmilerShell Menu item on the
System menu (the dash thing in the upper left corner).

SAVE YOUR STACK: You can save the current command stack to a file and reload
it automatically at startup, or at any other time.  This gives you a preloaded
batch of commands you can search on.  The startup loading is set up in the
Settings dialog.

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS: SmilerShell has a lot of keyboard shortcuts that can
speed things up quite a bit.

These SmilerShell commands work immediately, without going through a menu.

Alt+C        Date/time clock in titlebar
Alt+S        System Resources report in menubar
Alt+D        Current directory in titlebar
Alt+O        Overtype/insert mode
Alt+T        Topmost window
Alt+L        Show/hide titlebar
Alt+M        Show/hide menubar
Alt+I        Inactive windows stay visible
Alt+W        DOS commands windowed/fullscreen
Alt+F1       Popup Hints

You can display any menu, or use any menu item, from the keyboard.  To
display a menu press its Alt key combination.  When in a menu, press
any item's underlined key to run that item.

Alt+F        File menu
Alt+E        Edit menu
Alt+N        Options menu
Alt+A        Favorite Apps menu
Alt+H        Hide the commandline window
Alt+P        Help menu

These standard Windows commands are available in SmilerShell:

F1           Help
ALT+F4       Exit
Alt+Bksp     Undo last action
Ctrl+Z       Undo last action
Shift+Del    Cut selected text, send to the Clipboard
Ctrl+X       Cut selected text, send to the Clipboard
Ctrl+Ins     Copy selected text, send to the Clipboard
Ctrl+C       Copy selected text, send to the Clipboard
Shift+Ins    Paste contents of Clipboard into commandline
Ctrl+V       Paste contents of Clipboard into commandline
Del          Clear selected text
Esc          Clear entire commandline
Ctrl+Esc     Show task list of all running programs (or use the Apps
             menu, or right-click the titlebar button)



WHY IS THIS A SHELL?

The word "shell" is sometimes used for a wrapper that surrounds other
applications and hides them.  SmilerShell does that.  You can set up its Apps
menu to run anything you want, quickly and easily, from anywhere.  No muss,
no fuss.

But SmilerShell also does the opposite of that.  SmilerShell's commandline
lets you "shell out," making all the power of the command line available from
an environment in which that power is not otherwise accessible.

One word, two meanings.  Faster, easier, more powerful. That's what
SmilerShell is, and that's why it's a shell.



INSTALLING SMILERSHELL

SmilerShell includes the following files which are installed to the
directory you choose:

  smishell.exe      the program
  smishell.hlp      the documentation, in Windows help file format
  readme.txt        overview and installation instructions
  sample.stk        sample command stack file
  whatsnew.txt      new features and revision history
  orderfrm.wri      SmilerShell's order form / invoice
  dealers.txt       toll-free numbers and SmilerShell vendors worldwide

This file is installed to the Windows system directory if not there already:

  ctl3dv2.dll       Microsoft-supplied system file which gives a
                    3-D look to SmilerShell and many other programs

SmilerShell also comes with these files:

  install.exe       automated SmilerShell installer
  file_id.diz       formatted description file, for BBS uploads
  vendinfo.diz      formatted description file for software vendors
  vendor.txt        text description file for software vendors

You can install SmilerShell automatically, using the enclosed auto-installer.
To do this, simply run install.exe from within Windows.  You can run it using
File Manager, or the Run item on Program Manager's File menu, or in whatever
other convenient way you choose.  Give it the directory to put SmilerShell's
files into, and the Program Manager group name for the SmilerShell icons
(appropriate defaults are suggested).  It'll do the rest.  The installer will
make no changes to your system set-up or to any systemwide files.  It copies
the SmilerShell files to the one directory you specify, and puts its icons in
the one Program Manager group you choose.  The only exception is ctl3dv2.dll,
a Microsoft-supplied file installed into the Windows system directory if not
there already.

Optionally, you can set up an initialization file.  But if you start
SmilerShell without an initialization file, you'll be asked if you'd like
SmilerShell to create one and fill it with reasonable values.  You can view
and change these values with the Settings dialog.

Optionally, give a non-default location for the initialization file.  Perhaps
you're on a network, and want to install SmilerShell on a server, but let
everyone have their own local setup.  See the section The Initialization
File in the documentation.

Optionally, you can create a command stack file, having a list of commands
that you want loaded into SmilerShell at startup.  See the section Command
Stack Files in the documentation.



UNINSTALLING SMILERSHELL

To uninstall SmilerShell, simply delete its files from the directory you
chose when installing it, and remove ctl3dv2.dll from your Windows system
directory if it wasn't there before installing SmilerShell.



HOW TO ORDER SMILERSHELL

You are welcome to test the fully-functional evaluation version of SmilerShell
for 30 days.  The evaluation version of SmilerShell contains all the features
found in the actual product.  You can try the it under real-world working
conditions on your own system, to see if it meets your needs.  After the trial
period, you must either purchase SmilerShell or remove it from your system.

To order, send $29.95 (plus $3.50 for shipping) to:

Bardon Data Systems
1023 Key Route Blvd.
Albany, CA 94706

Outside North America please add an additional $6 for overseas shipping
charges.

You can order SmilerShell through Bardon by mail or phone, or through our
toll-free telephone order-taking service [phone] (weekdays 7 to 6
Central time), or on CompuServe, or through distributors worldwide.  Details
and addresses are in the file DEALERS.TXT.

If ordering through Bardon, you can print and mail orderfrm.wri, the order
form that came with this package.  It's in Windows Write format.  With a
MasterCard or Visa you can order by phone, at [phone], in which case
you'll be given your registration number immediately so you can get rid of
those reminder screens right away.  Or simply mail in your card number and
expiration date.

Registered users get a registration number that will turn off the reminder
screens, a printed manual, support, update notices, and a disk with the most
recent version.

Registered users also get a free copy of Reverend Lowell's Treasury of Humor,
Volume 1: "He Who Laughs, Lasts!"  Reverend Lowell's Treasury contains
thousands of humorous anecdotes collected by Reverend Lowell during his long
career as an ordained minister.  After thirty years of public speaking from
the pulpit, the podium, and on television, he has amassed over 200,000 items,
and Reverend Lowell's Treasury represents the "cream of the crop."  These are
Reverend Lowell's favorite funny stories, revealing quotes, interesting
anecdotes, and zingy one-liners.  And there's nothing that would be unsuitable
in any public setting.  There are plenty of items to choose from. Each volume
of the Treasury covers a different topic, and contains at least as many items
as you'd find in a full-size book.  Many are illustrated in color or
black-and-white.  You can search for any item by keyword or first line.  Or
simply browse through every item page by page.

In addition, registered users get these extra FREE bonuses:  Two more handy
Bardon programs (WHATSNEW lists files not yet backed up, or directories
containing such files; PR and PRFILTER format output for printing,
and add an informative header), discount certificate for JCSM CD-ROMs
at half price, discount on PsL software-by-mail (up to 2/3 off!), free
CompuServe startup kit, and whatever other goodies will fit on the disk.



SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Requires Microsoft Windows 3.1



CONTACT INFORMATION

Bardon Data Systems
1023 Key Route Boulevard
Albany, CA USA 94706-2321
[phone]