home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Der Mediaplex Sampler - Die 6 von Plex
/
6_v_plex.zip
/
6_v_plex
/
DISK5
/
WIN_12
/
DSKSHO11.ZIP
/
DESKSHOW.TXT
< prev
Wrap
Text File
|
1994-02-17
|
6KB
|
133 lines
Desktop Sideshow
Version 1.1
Febuary 13, 1993
Copyright (c) 1993 - Bruce Pennypacker
What is Desktop Slideshow?
--------------------------
The Desktop Slideshow is a small and simple shareware Windows program
that gives you the ability to easily change the current bitmap used as
the desktop wallpaper. The current bitmap can be changed randomly or
sequentially, one time only or as often as desired.
Why Desktop Slideshow?
----------------------
This program was written for a number of reasons, primarially to be able
to change the desktop wallpaper being used to one of any number of random
bitmaps. This was also a training tool for learning C++, Microsoft's
Visual C++ Development Environment, and the Microsoft Foundation Class
libraries.
This program was designed to be simple to use, small, and unobtrusive.
How does Desktop Slideshow work?
--------------------------------
Desktop Slideshow can be used two ways, yet the two different methods
can also be combined together. When Desktop Slideshow starts up, the
program will scan the Windows directory, or any other selected directory,
for all bitmap files located in the directory. Because the directory is
scanned when the program starts any bitmaps that are added or deleted from
this directory after running Desktop Slideshow will not be recognized by
the program. If any changes are made to the bitmaps in the specified
directory then it is suggested that the program be shut down and
restarted.
When run normally, Desktop Slideshow will remain an icon at the bottom of
the Windows screen. The system menu has a number of menu choices that
allows the user to change the current desktop wallpaper in a random or
sequential manner. The menu choices, outlined below, are very self-
explanatory:
Default - Sets the wallpaper to the system defined default bitmap.
Random - Randomly choose a bitmap from the selected directory.
Next - Display the next bitmap, sequentially, from the directory.
Previous - Display the previous bitmap from the directory.
Show - Show the name of the current bitmap in a dialog box.
Timing - Set a timing interval to automagically change the bitmap.
About - Display information about the program.
Note: When Desktop Slideshow is first run, the "Show" menu choice will be
disabled. This is due to the fact that Windows does not keep track of
temporary changes to the desktop wallpaper. Whenever Desktop Slideshow
starts running it can't tell if the bitmap listed in the Control Panel is
the one actually being displayed. Therefore Desktop Slideshow can only
be sure of the bitmap being used when it is the one that has changed the
bitmap in use.
Desktop Slideshow also has a set of command line parameters which can be
used to customize the behavior of the program. The parameters are as
follows:
/d <directory>
Specify a directory to look for bitmaps in. If no directory is
specified then the default Windows directory is used.
/r[:interval]
Select a random bitmap from the list of found bitmaps and immediately
display it in the desktop. This is the same as selecting "Random"
from the system menu. If a number is specified, ie: /r:10, then the
bitmap will randomly change based on the number of seconds specified
in the interval.
/n[:interval]
Select the next bitmap, sequentially, depending on the last bitmap
to be displayed by the program. This is the same as selecting "Next"
from the system menu. As with /r, specifying a timing interval will
cause the bitmap to be changed sequentially based on the number of
seconds specified.
/p Select the previous bitmap, sequentially, in the same manner as /n.
/nd Do not include the bitmap currently defined in the Control Panel in the
list of bitmaps used by the program.
/u Have Desktop Slideshow update the Control Panel when a new bitmap is
selected. By default Desktop Slideshow will not make any permanent
changes to the desktop.
/x Immediately exit Desktop Slideshow after processing any of the above
command line parameters. This can be very useful when setting up an
icon in the Windows Startup folder to automagically change the
wallpaper to use when Windows first starts.
In Closing
----------
Desktop Slideshow is a shareware product, but no registration fee is
required to use it. The program isn't crippled in any way and won't pop
up annoying "register me" messages. If you do find Desktop Slideshow
useful then a small donation of $1 (or what you feel is reasonable) would
be appreciated. Your contributions will help to insure that this, and
other helpful Windows applications will continue to be written and updated.
The full source code for Desktop Slideshow Version 1.0, written using
Microsoft's Visual C++ and the Microsoft Foundation Class Libraries, is
available for $40. Send a check or money order to the address in the
About box, and be sure specify a 3.5 or 5.25 diskette.
Internet mail can also be sent to Bruce.Pennypacker@Channel1.Com
Revision History
----------------
November 7, 1993 - Version 1.0
Initial version released
Febuary 17, 1994 - Version 1.1
After many requests, added support for spcifying time intervals with
which to change the background either randomly or sequentially.
Improved the random seed generator to better randomize the order of
displaying bitmaps.
Fixed a bug in enabling the "Show..." menu choice.