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1993-09-10
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Program Name: Writers Dream
BBS File Name: DREAM420.ZIP
Program Type: Text Display
Author: Jeff Napier
SW Reg: $29.95
Comment: Excellent!
Have you ever given any thought to trying your hand at
shareware? Did you ever want to distribute information on
disk but didn't know how to make it easy to use? How about
selling a book or a collection of short stories? What you
need to do is look for a program called Writers Dream by Jeff
Napier of "Another Company".
I mentioned this program before briefly, but it deserves
more than that. The name suits it very well, as it truly is
a "Writers Dream". You may be very adapt at writing, but get
lost when it comes to even the simplest programming code.
Jeff has put together a program that is not only extremely
easy to use, but is so intuitive to the end user, that even
the novice user would have no problem using YOUR finished
product!
To use Writers Dream you must of course start out with
your text files in standard ASCII format. Every word
processor should allow you to do that. You can create up to
100 "chapters" that can be as long you want them. Just keep
in mind that all these files have to be put on a floppy disk,
so plan accordingly. You could split them up and create
multiple disks if you have a lot to say. Now, format your
text so it looks good on the screen. Try putting the text in
the center of the screen with even margins on both sides and
full justify. That will give your text a nice appealing
look. Once you have the text the way you'd like the end user
to see it, decide in what order you'd like to present it and
make a list. Now you're all ready to create YOUR program!
Put your text files in a directory (or floppy disk) and
copy the files DREAM.EXE and BUILD.EXE there also. Run
BUILD.EXE to get started. After the INTRODUCTION and WELCOME
screens, you'll be asked for a TITLE for your book. This can
be up to 3 lines with up to 56 characters per line.
After you decide on your title and type that in, you
will be shown an actual menu that is split into 2 parts. The
left side is where you would put the tile of each chapter and
the right side is where you would type in the actual file
names that you want displayed. Just keep filling in the menu
for each chapter. NOTE: The finished product will only show
the "Table of Contents". Once your menu is finished you will
be asked if you want sound effects, bookmarks, and how you
want the menu screen justified. You are also given an option
to change the screen colors to give your book it's own
identity. That's it! You're done! The last thing it asks
you is if you want to preview your finished program. If it
isn't to your liking, just go back in and change it. You
might also notice that it couldn't find your text. Anyway,
you'll want to see what the finished product looks like.
Now that you have your "book" done, all you have to do
is delete BUILD.EXE and you can distribute you're own little
masterpiece! The program creates a BOOK.CFG file that will
also have to be included on your disk for distribution. It
contains all the information that you just gave it. Without
it, the program won't run.
I have stressed the ability to display text files,
however, Writers Dream will do much more than that. It also
lets you display PCX graphics and run programs right from the
menu. If nothing else, you could use Writers Dream as a menu
program for your hard drive.
So, who could benefit from Writers Dream? Just about
anyone. There are countless applications I can think of off-
hand. The most obvious use is distributing your writings as
shareware. However, it could be used for in-house tutorials,
catalogs, or study aids for students. Shareware authors
could use it as an easy way to display thier documentation.
This is truly a program you should look at. I'll bet
you're thinking about a nifty application as you read this.
My registration is "in the mail"! In a word, it's so easy to
create a professional program that's it embarrassing!