Billboard (BB) is intended as a means to send messages to a computer user in a more attractive way than simply using the ECHO command. When BB is run it will open a gadget-less window in the center of your Workbench screen. This window can have one of three different graphic images in it and up to three lines of user-definable text. The three graphics are 1) the Commodore logo, 2) a "bored man", 3) an "announcer".
WHEN TO USE BILLBOARD
If run without any arguments, BB will open with the Commodore logo and the words "Welcome to Amiga!". This is very similar to the "Welcome to Macintosh" window that Apple computers display upon bootup. It works nicely as the first command in your "user-startup" script.
When used with the "bored man" image, BB can be used to ask a user to "please wait" while a long program load or process is taken care of (if you launch your programs from the TOOL menu via a program such as TOOLMANAGER or ADDMENU, this works very well).
With the "announcer" graphic, BB can be used to inform the user of some event which has taken place in your script.
WHAT DO I NEED TO RUN BILLBOARD?
An Amiga--and Workbench 2.0 would help. BB doesn't really use any 2.0-specific features, but its graphics are designed with the 2.0 color scheme in mind. If you are running 1.3 you still can use BB--it just won't look right with 1.3's default palette.
HOW DO I USE BILLBOARD?
BB must be called from the CLI, or from within a script. Executing "BB ?" will bring up a usage template which supplies the information below, but in abbreviated form.
The following switches are available:
-s[seconds] specify the number of seconds to hold the BB window
open (defaults to 5 seconds)
-i[image#] image number 1 = Commodore logo
2 = "bored man"
3 = "announcer"
-p[program] a program name. When this option is given the first
line in the BB window is automatically set to
"Loading", the second line to your program name,
and the third to "please wait...". This is used
to best effect with image 2.
-1[string] text to display on line 1 (overrides default of
"Welcome").
-2[string] text to display on line 2 (overrides default of
"to").
-3[string] text to display on line 3 (overrides default of
"Amiga!").
Note: if you wish to enclose spaces in a program name or text string,
you must enclose both the switch AND the text in double quotes
(e.g. "-pFinal Copy")
Usage examples:
bb
(Commodore logo and "Welcome to Amiga!" for five seconds.)
bb -i2 -s10
("Bored man" and "Welcome to Amiga!" for ten seconds.)
bb -i2 -pWordPerfect
("Bored man" and "Loading WordPerfect please wait..." for
five seconds.)
bb -i3 "-1One moment" "-2while I sort" "-3your data..." -s20
("Announcer" and "One moment while I sort your data..." for
twenty seconds.)
CAN I USE MY OWN GRAPHICS?
Only if you can program in C. I am releasing the source code to BB with this distribution so that you can add your own custom images to BB. (As this is one of my first C-language programs, I do not offer it up as an example of how to code in C however!) If you chose to do this, please do not re-release BB as your own.
HOW CAN I CONTACT YOU?
I prefer to be contacted via Internet (todd_petit@agwbbs.new-orleans.LA.US) but for those who don't have access to it, my snail-mail address is: 302 Alice St., Ama, LA 70031-2016.
