The Best of Windows 95.com 1996 September/WIN95_09962.iso/deskmgrs/wwpls265.zip/README.TXT

Text File | 1996-09-20 | 18KB | 407 lines

WWPlus 2.65 <ASP>
⌐1992-1996 All rights reserved
                          _______
By Don Bradner       ____|__     |               (R)
Arcata Pet        --|       |    |-------------------
600 F Street        |   ____|__  |  Association of
Arcata, CA  95521   |  |       |_|  Shareware
                    |__|   o   |    Professionals
                  -----|   |   |---------------------
                       |___|___|    MEMBER
Compuserve: 76130,1007
America OnLine: DBirdMan  Forum Keyword: ArcataPet
Internet: [e-mail]
http://www.arcatapet.com

The online help file is the primary documentation for WWPlus.
This text document is meant primarily to get you started.

Contents of this file:

   I.  Program Description
  II.  Program Requirements
 III.  Installing WWPlus
  IV.  Getting Started
   V.  Files and Uninstalling
  VI.  Troubleshooting
 VII.  Obtaining wallpaper images
VIII.  Getting future upgrades
  IX.  Registration and distribution
   X.  ASP Ombudsman Statement

I. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION.

WWPlus is a program for organizing and displaying Windows
wallpaper files. With this program you can easily maintain a
collection of wallpapers, automatically change them at an interval you
select, and use image formats (GIF, PCX, TGA, TIF, .ICO and .JPG) that
would otherwise be unusable by Windows as wallpaper. GIF and PCX
provide compression of 256-color images, and .JPG provides compression
for 16-million color images, thus saving disk space.

There is a screen saver module that will turn your wallpaper files
into a screen saver after a period of inactivity.  Extensive setup
options, including password protection, are available both from the
Windows Control Panel Desktop icon and from the main WWPlus screen.
Sixteen transition effects are available.  Users may select a single
effect or a menu of effects that will occur randomly.

WWPlus has editing features and file conversion routines built in,
which allow you to change images to suit your wallpaper needs.  You
can crop, resize, stretch, rotate, mirror, flip, sharpen, soften, and
adjust brightness, contrast and gamma.

Wallpapers may be tiled (small images displayed in multiples to fill
the entire screen) or not, individually determined.  Each non-tiled
wallpaper may be precisely positioned anywhere on the screen, not just
centered (the Windows default).  Non-tiled images may be resized
on-the-fly to full screen or a user-set dimension.  A universal gamma
correction option allows for display-time lightening or darkening of
images.

Multiple sets of wallpapers called "queues" may be built, with easy
changing of queues.  A wallpaper may appear in more than one queue.
Some program configuration items are maintained with the queue, others
are "Global."  Queues may be specified as command line options, and
the .QUE extension may be associated with WWPlus to allow the program
to start by running the queue from File Manager or Program Manager
icons.

Full documentation is included in the form of a Windows Help file.
When you desire help, press your F1 function key for context-sensitive
help, or press the help key if you are in a file dialog box.

An uninstall program and log are created when the program is
installed, making removal of the program easy.

WWPlus contains functions which can read and right the .GIF format,
which contains compression technology covered by U.S. Patent No.
4,558,302, owned by the Unisys corporation.  The author of WWPlus has
obtained a license from Unisys, and pays a royalty on each
registration, to use this technology. The following statement is
required by that license:

    "Use of this software is permitted only to the extent
    reasonably required to determine whether to purchase
    the software.

    "After payment is made, use of this software is limited
    to use on only a single personal computer or
    workstation which is not used as a server.  An
    additional payment is required for each use on
    another personal computer or workstation.

    "Only a single copy may be made of this software
    solely for backup or archival purposes.  The software
    may also be transferred to a single hard disk.

    "Any use of this software in violation of the above is
    not licensed.

    "For information concerning licensing the LZW
    compression and/or decompression capability, please
    contact:
        Unisys Corporation
        Welch Licensing Department - CISW19
        Township Line & Union Meeting Roads
        P.O. Box 500
        Blue Bell, Pennsylvania 19424"

II. Program requirements.

WWPlus requires an IBM compatible 386 or better, running
Windows 3.1x, Windows 95, or Windows NT, with at least 8 megs
of RAM and VGA or better graphics.  Recommended: 486DX with 12
or more megs of RAM and accelerated graphics adapter.

Some operations require a mouse.

Graphics files can be quite large, particularly with true-color, so a
large hard disk is recommended.  WWPlus will require under 2
megs for program installation.

III. Installing WWPlus

If you obtained WWPlus by downloading it from a computer
Bulletin Board (BBS) or another online source, one necessary
file may not have been included.  The file is called
VBRUN300.DLL.  Since it is widely used (and included with
Windows 95, for example), you may already have it.  Check your
Windows\System directory before hunting for the file.  If you
do not have it, you may almost always get it from any source
that would have WWPlus.  On BBS systems the file will usually
be called VBRUN300.ZIP or VBRUN3.ZIP.  If you obtained the
program on disk, the file should be included.  If it is
missing, contact the supplier of the program.  Registered
versions obtained from the author will always include
VBRUN300.  If you are installing VBRUN300 separately, it MUST
be put in the \Windows\System directory.

To install WWPlus, run the included setup program
WWPSETUP.EXE.  If the program is on a floppy disk, you can use
File/Run in the Program Manager and type a:wwpsetup or b:wwpsetup,
whichever drive is involved.  You can use the same technique to
run wwpsetup from a directory on your hard drive by supplying the
full path, such as c:\temp\wwpsetup.  Alternatively you can use
File manager to find the files and double-click on WWPSETUP.EXE.

Windows 95 users can use the "Add/Remove Programs" item in the
Control Panel to find and start WWPSETUP.

At the end of the setup operation you will be given the option of
adding WWPlus to your Startup Group.  Doing so will cause the program
to start whenever you start a Windows session.  This is the
recommended procedure; you can always delete the icon from the group
at a later time if you wish.

IV.  Getting Started.

Double-click the WWPlus icon to start the program.  The first time
that the program starts it will be a full program window. Click
the "folder" icon at the left end of the icon bar, and then
browse for image files to add to the wallpaper queue.  There
will be normally be images in your Windows directory, and you
may have others which you have obtained.  If the images are
small ones which you would like to have "tiled," check that
option in the dialog.  After you have selected OK in the
dialog, you will see the files listed in the queue.
Double-Click one and see it become your wallpaper.

In later sessions, once images have been added, the program will
start as an icon which you may double-click at any time to
show the main window.  If you have chosen the hidden icon
option, the program will not be visible when started.  Simply
start it a second time; the first instance will become visible
and the second will end itself.

Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the program elements on
screen.  If you press the F1 key, a help file will be displayed, and
you may graphically choose different program elements to see an
explanation of their function.

When you move your mouse pointer across the toolbar icons and some
other screen elements a small "Tool Tip" will appear to give you
a better idea about what the icon does.  You may turn these captions
off when you no longer need them, via the Preferences menu.

There are a number of options for how an image may be
displayed.  Look for these topics in the help file:
    Tiling.
    Resizing Wallpaper to fit Screen.
    Adjusting Wallapaper Placement.
    Gamma Adjustments.

You may perform a variety of editing functions on an image by
selecting it in the Wallpaper Queue and then clicking the
"Edit" button.  The first time you do this, press the F1 key
when the editor is visible and browse through the help file for
explanations of the editing functions.

You may set up a screen saver to use your wallpaper images.
Choose "Screen Saver Setup" in the Screen Saver menu, or click
the setup icon.  There will be three tabbed pages of entry,
exit, and effect choices, with a test button to see what it is
like.  Click the help button in this dialog for more
information.

There are a number of items in the Wallpaper, Screen Saver, and
Preferences menus that affect the way the program operates.

V.  FILES AND UNINSTALLING.

When WWPlus is installed, a program (UNINSTAL.EXE) and a data
file (INSTALL.LOG) are placed in the WWPlus directory.  The
following information is provided to aid in removing the
program in case those files are lost or damaged.

Files distributed with WWPlus:

WWPSETUP.EXE
This file contains all of the program files.  Running it will
install of the files where they belong, and will also produce a
record and program that can be used to uninstall this package.

README.TXT
A text file that explains the program.  It is placed outside
the main install program so that it is readable before the
program is installed.

VENDINFO.DIZ, FILEID.DIZ, VENDINFO.DOC
Information files for shareware distributors and online
services.  These explain distribution rights and allowable
methods.

Files installed by WWPlus:

Main Program directory files
WWPLUS.EXE, WWPLUS.HLP, GAMMA.PCX, README.TXT,
UNINSTAL.EXE, INSTALL.LOG.

Windows directory file
WWPSAVR.SCR

Windows\System directory files
IKENG16.DLL, IKJPG16.DLL, IKCOL16.DLL, IKDSP16.VBX,
WWPLIBR.VBX, CALL32.DLL.

Registered users will have one additional file: WWP_REG.KEY.
This file must be in your WWPLUS directory, and will keep the
startup shareware screen from appearing.  If you upgrade to a
new version of WWPlus, do not delete this file - it will work
with all future versions.

Files required by WWPlus:

VBRUN300.DLL
A "runtime" library for programs written in Visual Basic 3.0.
This file is almost always available from any source for
WWPlus.  From on-line sources, look for VBRUN3.ZIP or
VBRUN300.ZIP.  It must be placed in your Windows\System
directory.

Files created by WWPlus:

WWPLUS.BMP
This is a "temporary" file that WWPlus uses to translate
non-standard images so that they can be used by Windows.  It is
destroyed and recreated each time the wallpaper changes and the
new image is not a .BMP file.  It is located in your WWPLUS
directory.

*.QUE
These are queue files used to store information about images in
a queue.  They do not have to be in any particular directory,
but the default is your WWPLUS directory.

WWPlus also creates some other temporary files with .TMP
extensions.  Under normal use, the program will clean these up
when it exits.  If the program crashes, it will clean them up
the next time it is run and then exited normally.

Files Altered by WWPlus:

CONTROL.INI
WWPlus will add a section called [ScreenSaver.WWPSaver].
Global parameters for both the program and the screen saver module are
stored here.

Uninstalling WWPlus:

If the UNINSTAL.EXE program and INSTALL.LOG file have been left
intact in the WWPlus directory, running the program will remove
all files that were installed with WWPlus.  The uninstaller
does not know anything about the .QUE files and others created
by the program, so those require manual deletion.  If the
program is manually added to the Startup group rather than via
the installer, you must remove it manually.  Likewise, if
WWPlus is set to be your screen saver you will need to change
that setting in the control panel.  If the UNINSTAL program has
been removed, use the file list above to determine which files
to remove.  You may also wish to remove the CONTROL.INI section
described above.

VI.  Troubleshooting.

If WWPlus has been working fine, but suddenly will not load, the queue
file may have become corrupted.  Try starting WWPlus from the command
line with a new queue selected (one that doesn't already exist).
Choose Run from the Program Manager file menu, and type
C:\WWPLUS\WWPLUS.EXE C:\WWPLUS\TEST1.QUE (if your wwplus directory has
a different name, use that instead, and if the test1.que exists, use a
different name).  If the program starts, try changing the queue to the
one you were using before.  If it crashes at that point, the best
solution is to delete that queue completely.  This will not
remove the image files, just the index which you can manually
rebuild.

A related problem can occur if a file has become corrupted and the
Change Wallpaper at Startup preference is selected.  If that is the
next file to be used, WWPlus may crash when trying to load a corrupt
wallpaper.  The cure would be the same as shown above.

If you have an image that WWPlus will not display, it may be in a
format that cannot be used.  There are some variations of .GIF and
.PCX that are known to make problems for WWPlus.  There are many
non-standard versions of JPEG that will cause problems.  If you can
load them into another image editing program you may be able to save
it in a usable format.

WWPlus expects image file names to match their formats. If you have a
.BMP image but give it a .GIF name, the program will not be able to
read it.

VII. Obtaining wallpaper images.

Any image that can be displayed on your computer may be used as
wallpaper.  If you regularly use Computer BBS systems or online
sources such as Compuserve, America Online, or the internet,
you will find a wealth of images that can be downloaded.  These images
are usually in the .GIF or .JPG formats to reduce download time.

If you obtained this program on disk, there may be images included,
usually in an \images directory.  A RIGHTS.TXT file may be included in
this directory describing the user's rights to the images included.

VIII.  Getting future Upgrades.

When you register WWPlus with the author, you will receive a copy of
the latest version and a registration key that removes the startup
screen.  That key file will work with future versions of the program,
so no upgrade fee will be required.

Current versions of WWPlus can always be found on Compuserve in
several forums, including WINAV, GRAPHSUP, PHOTOFORUM and EDRIVE.
Current versions are also posted to America OnLine.  Use the keyword
"Windows" and search the software library for "WWPlus."

On America Online, files are found in the forum KeyWord ArcataPet.

The author maintains a current copy available for download from
the WWPlus home page: http://www.arcatapet.com/wwplus.html

Registered users who do not have online access may get a disk copy
from the author for a fee of $5 ($7 non-US).  Send a short note
indicating your registered status and requesting the latest copy.
Please use the same name under which you are registered.

IX.  Registration and Distribution.

WWPlus is shareware.  Free use is extended to any user for a
reasonable evaluation period;  this is typically 30 days.  If
use is continued, the program should be registered with the
author.  Registration fee is $20.  California registrants
please add $1.45 sales tax, and foreign registrants should
include $1.00 for airmail shipping.  All funds should be drawn
on a US Dollar account. A convenient form for registration is
included in the Help file (and may be printed from there).
Until you register, there will be a startup screen asking you
to register which you will have to respond to.  When you
register, this annoyance will go away. Otherwise, this version
is complete and un-crippled in any way.

As a registration incentive, the author will provide on request two
free scanned images from your original prints or slides, when sent
with the registration.

Commercial use:  WWPlus may be used commercially, as long as there is
a registered copy for each computer/terminal that is using it.
Bulk licensing is available.

You may freely distribute WWPlus as long as no fees are charged for
the program, and all necessary files are included. If you are a
registered user, do not distribute the file WWP_REG.KEY, which
identifies you as the user (This identification shows up in the
"About" box).

X. ASP Ombudman Statement

This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware
Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle
works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem
with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to
help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with
an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members'
products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road,
Muskegon, MI 49442-9427 USA, FAX [phone] or send a CompuServe
message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536