Software Vault: The Diamond Collection

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Software Vault: The Diamond Collection / The Diamond Collection (Software Vault)(Digital Impact).ISO / cdr42 / xmstr201.zip / XMSTR20.DOC < prev

Wrap

Text File | 1995-02-14 | 50KB | 1,142 lines

▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ██ ██ ██ ██ ███ █████ ██████ ███████ ██████ ██ ██ ███ ███ ██ ██ ██ ██ █ ██ █ ██ █ ██ ██ ███ ███████ ██ ██ ███ ██ ██ ██ ██ ███ ██████ ██ █ ██ ██ ██ ███ ██ ████ █████ ██ ██ ██ ██ ███████ ███ ██ ██ ████ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ █ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ █████ ████ ███████ ███ ██ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ The ULTIMATE in CONTROL for all your EXTENSION specific programs v2.0 ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Table of Contents An introduction of sorts .................................... 4 Enter X-MASTER .............................................. 5 QuickStart for the impatient ................................ 6 Upgrading from a previous version of X-MASTER ............... 7 Getting Started ............................................. 8 Notes on batch files ........................................ 9 Getting around in X-MASTER .................................. 10 Options available ........................................... 11 Multiple Extension Lists (MEL's) ............................ 12 Mega-Extensions ............................................. 13 Colors....................................................... 14 NON-VGA users! .............................................. 15 XMREPORT .................................................... 16 Files in use by X-MASTER .................................... 17 Optimizing X-MASTER! ........................................ 18 Why X-MASTER? ............................................... 19 Known pitfalls .............................................. 20 Troubleshooting ............................................. 21 Command line options ........................................ 22 Tested extensions ........................................... 23 Contacting the author ....................................... 24 Kudos, Legal BS ............................................. 25 Shareware! .................................................. 26 Why register? ............................................... 27 Free copy? .................................................. 28 Vendor Info ................................................. 29 ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** An introduction of sorts ** Scenario ONE - You own a Sound Blaster card, and you have been amassing an enormous collection of MOD files, as well as a few ROL files, and a few CMF's. You only have a 60mb HD, and have to keep all these files compressed as to conserve space. Everytime you wish to play one of the MOD's, you have to uncompress the file, play it, and then delete it after hearing it. Kind of a pain... Scenario TWO - You own a VGA card and have been collecting a bunch of FLI's. These are incredible space takers, so keeping them unarchived does not make any sense, so you ARJ a few of them, ZIP some of the others, and LZH the rest. Unfortunately, not one program can undo all the aforementioned archives, so you have to continually remember which one is compressed with which archive, or repeatedly take directories. Even more of a pain, especially if you spell one wrong... Scenario THREE - You own the ultimate multi-media machine and have the same problems as the two people mentioned above, but since you have a 660mb HD, your problems are ten times worse! What you need is a program which is easy to configure, will automatically choose which unarchiver and player to use, and give you the ability to play / view all the various extensions without the added headaches... ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Enter X-MASTER ** X-MASTER is the program you need to aid you in combatting the above scenarios. So what is it you might ask? X-MASTER will give you a menu to choose which file you wish to play / view / use. If the file is archived using one of the three most popular archivers, X-MASTER will unarchive it for you to a place of your choosing, use the file as directed, and then delete it once complete. In the BBS' world, there are so many programs that do different things, but programs can usually be classified by their three character extension (i.e. .ZIP files are usually compressed with PKZIP by Phil Katz; .MOD files are usually Amiga Music files which require an external program, such as MODPLAY, to use...) Generally speaking, most people keep all there MOD's, VOC's, FLI's, etc... in a particular directory, a default directory in other words. X-MASTER has the following features : ■ Easy to configure ■ Support for ARJ'ed, LZH'ed and ZIP'ed files ■ Mouse support ■ An attractive display with an easy to operate menu ■ Ability to sort files by extension/name/date/size and save in sorted order. ■ Supports any and all extensions / players / viewers which support a command line option (or not!) ■ Supports multiple directories of the same extension ■ Ability to delete files from archives without leaving the program ■ Support for multiple players / viewers (Up to 35!) ■ Speedier than the average program by using special AutoMagic files ■ Will unarchive the file where ever you wish including a RAMDRIVE for added speed ■ Ability to "tag" files for playing / viewing to create a jukebox or video show ■ Can compile several directories worth of same extension'ed files into one big list ■ Support for 25/43/50 line modes ■ Support ZIP/ARJ file comments for describing the file ■ Supports XMS/EMS/DISK swapping ■ Can configure X-MASTER to play demos, provided they don't require a system recofiguration to work ■ Support for playing a different extensions from one menu ■ Configurable colors ■ Allows one to tag/untag by wildcard ■ Allows multiple work directories to be defined ■ Allows mutli-file programs to be unarchived at once and then played ■ Generate a report of what files are in what archives ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** QuickStart for the impatient ** X-MASTER can be a VERY complex program or a very simple one. If you are kind of familiar with X-MASTER or programs similar to it (or you have experience with batch files and editors), you may be able to "quick-start" it. I still recommend you scan over the docs after the initial configuration and discover new features that you never saw before and do some of the advanced stuff (changing colors, multiple batch files, etc...). If you've never used X-MASTER before : 1) Uncompress the contents of the archive into its own directory. 2) Edit the included XMASTER.CFG and suit it to YOUR system. (i.e. Change the directories and extensions) 3) Edit the included batch files or make your own for all the extensions defined. (i.e. Change the ???PLAY?.BAT files) 4) Run XMASTER.EXE. If you're upgrading from a previous version : 1) Overwrite the old copy of XMASTER.EXE with the new version of the EXE. 2) Upgrade the XMASTER.CFG file by running NEWCFG.EXE from the old X-MASTER directory. (See section on "Upgrading from a ..." for more info) 3) Run XMASTER.EXE. If you don't have a VGA, please read the section entitled "NON-VGA Users" before attempting X-MASTER. Nothing bad will happen, but everything will be blinking. That's it! ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Upgrading from a previous version of X-MASTER ** Hopefully you managed to get ahold of X-MASTER v1.05 and are wanting to upgrade from that version. Because of the extensive changes in the CFG file, I thought a simple utility would be easiest in going from that version to this one; so simply run NEWCFG.EXE from your X-MASTER directory. NEWCFG will convert the old text CFG to the new fully formatted CFG file that is necessary for X-MASTER v2.0. Warning : NEWCFG has only been tested on the X-MASTER v1.05 CFG file. It may not work with other versions. It also hasn't been tested much, so use with care. It shouldn't do anything disasterous, just not work. ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Requirements ** X-MASTER will run on any 286/386/486/Pentium machine with at least 500K of free memory. It is recommended that you have an additional 450K of extended/expanded memory for optimum performance. If not, X-MASTER will swap to disk so have at least that much disk space free. Lastly, if you've got more memory, set it up for a RAM disk. There are some good resizable RAM disk programs out there that will not take up memory unless you need it. You will also probably need a hard disk for this program with enough free space for whatever you wish to extract. Aside from that, you don't need much else. A VGA and a sound card is recommended. Without one of these, X-MASTER may be a little less useful. ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Getting Started ** X-MASTER was made to be a simple program to use, but it requires the use of many external programs for all features to be implemented. Furthermore, you may have a hard time working with the config file, but once you get the hang of it, its easy! Trust me, proper configuration of X-MASTER is the hardest thing. Once over that hump, you're home free! Examine the included XMASTER.CFG file, and change it to suit your system, and file names. You might be able to use the configuration file without any changes. The configuration file has a number of keywords, and after the keyword is an equal (=) sign and then a parameter. The keywords are as follows with a brief description : Uncompress_Drive - tells X-MASTER where it can uncompress files. (5) ZIP_Prog - defines a ZIP program to use for deleting from a ZIP. UNZIP_Prog - defines an unzipping program to extract from ZIPs. UNZIP_Parameters - any parameters you need to send to your unzip program. LHARC_Prog - defines your LHA program for extracting LZHs. LHARC_Parameters - any parameters you need to send to your LHARC program. ARJ_Prog - defines your ARJ program for extracting ARJs. ARJ_Parameters - any parameters you need to send to your ARC program. Ext - defines a normal extension. (40) * Ext_Dir - a directory for a normal extension. (9) Mega_Ext - defines a MEGA-extension (i.e. demos). Mega_Ext_Dir - a directory for a MEGA-extension. A number in parenthesis indicates the upper limit of the number of times you may use that parameter. For EXT and MEGA_EXT, there is a COMBINED total of 40 (i.e. you may have a total of 40 extensions / mega-extensions). The limit of 40 is also only for the registered version. Unregistered, you get a limit of 5. If there is no number in parenthesis, then the limit is one. X-MASTER will let you define a parameter more than once, but it will use the last one found. The easiest way to make a config file is to look at the included config file and change it to meet your needs. Barring that, put all the keywords in a text file called XMASTER.CFG and fill them in. Put all the EXT's and the MEGA_EXT's at the end with their respective directories *immediately* following them. Also, you can do some formatting/commenting with blank lines or if you wish to add comments, preface the line with a semi-colon (;). It is recommended that you do not put blank lines and/or comments between the EXT/MEGA_EXT's and their directories. After completing the configuration file, you are halfway done. You must now make a batch file for each extension you put in the con- figuration file. The purpose of the batch file is to actually "use" (play / view / whatever) the file of your selection. For example, say you have a FLI extension in your configuration file, and to view the FLI's, you use the program AAPLAY.EXE. The batch file would be similar to : rem This batch file plays FLI's using AAPLAY E:\VGA\FLIES\AAPLAY %1 Notice that a %1 is in place of where the name of the FLI to view usually goes. X-MASTER will pass the name of the FLI by use of DOS parameters to the batch file. If you are unsure of how the %variable notation works, consult your DOS manual. For most purposes, just place a %1 where you would normally place the name of the file. So, how does X-MASTER know which batch file to run?? Well, the name of the batch file has to be exact for X-MASTER to find it, and it must follow a very special format. Each batch file is named by the extension for which it is going to be used, the word "PLAY" and then a number starting at "1" and going through "9", (if you use all of those, go to the letter "A" through "Z") ending with the .BAT extension. For example : "FLIPLAY1.BAT" would be the first (default) batch file to be used to view .FLI files. Always start with "1" and go up from there. When you get to "9", start with the letter "A" and go to "Z". With this method, you may have up thirty-five batch files available (1-9, A-Z). You might be wondering how you can tell the batch files apart when you're inside X-MASTER. Did you notice the "rem" statement in the batch file given earlier? REM statements are simply "rem"arks made about the batch file. They do nothing to alter the operation of a batch file. If you put a "rem" statement as the first line of your batch file, X-MASTER will show the first forty characters following the "rem " instead of an ambiguous "Batch file #2". ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Notes on batch files ** Batch files can be very powerful, however, you must take care in using them. If you load a program into memory, it *must* be taken out of memory before it will come back to X-MASTER. This is especially important when working with TSR programs. I personally use KEY-FAKE a lot (stuffs keys into the keyboard buffer) but it must be taken out of memory (via MARK/RELEASE) before it will work with X-MASTER. If you find yourself being dropped to DOS after playing a file, make sure the memory is the same when going back to X-MASTER as when you left. Another thing to remember about batch files is any program that can be run from DOS can be run from a batch file. This gives you a great variety of programs which can be incorporated into your X-MASTER batch files. Be creative! ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Getting around in X-MASTER ** When you load up the program, you will see a list of extension types. These should be the same as the ones you have listed in your configuration file. Use the arrow keys or the mouse to select which extension you want, and either press [RETURN] or the one of the mouse buttons. The screen will then clear, and all the files in the specified directory of the selected extension will appear. Use the arrow keys to move the cursor around, and press RETURN to "use" the file you have selected. Press [PgDn] to go down a page, or press [PgUp] to go up a page. [Home] takes you to the first file, while [End] takes you to the last file. [Ctrl-Left-Arrow] takes you to the first item on the line, and [Ctrl-Right-Arrow] takes you to the last item on a line. Also, if you press the first letter of the file name, it will take you to the next file which starts with that letter. If your list is sorted (see below), it will take you to all the files which start with that letter. Mouse users may move the pointer to the appropriate file and double click the first (left) mouse button. To go up or down a page, click either button on the words "PgUp" or "PgDn" respectively. ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Options available ** When you have a lot of files and you want to play a bunch of them, you can tag each file you wish to play by pressing the [SPACE BAR]. The tag switch works like a toggle, so if you tag a file which you do not want, just press the [SPACE BAR] again. Mouse users may press the right mouse button to tag or untag. When you have finished tagging files, press [RETURN] to "use" them. Alternatively, you can hit [Ctrl-Enter] or [Alt-Enter] and it will extract *ALL* files to the work directory, and then give you the option of running one of the executables that was extracted. This is great for a multi-disk demo (like 2nd Reality!). If you use a player (like DMP) which supports the @ style playlist, it will use the play list file instead. If you are using a normal extension, you will be given the option to "use" them in sequential order (the order in which they appear on the screen), or random order. If you wish to abort a "tagged play run", press the [SPACE BAR] or the [Escape] key between files. Be careful, if you press ESC too many times, you will exit the program. I would recommend using the [SPACE BAR], but for those of us that are quick, the [ESC] works just as well. Starting with release 2.0, there is a three second delay between each file, so use any OTHER key besides Space or ESC to abort the delay. Use [SPACE BAR] or [ESC] to abort the tagged play run as usual. Each of the following keys have special functions as well. They are as follows : Alt-H, Alt-Z - Utilities Menu / Help - The first time you hit it, a menu will pop up containing all the major functions. From this menu, you can select any of the other options. If you select the Help option, you will see an online help screen with the basic functions outlined. Not extensive, but it will explain parts of the program. Alt-C - Change Directory - If you wish to change the current directory to another, choose this function. Be careful, a config file is created for every directory you select. Not that this is bad, but it wastes disk space if you select directories without any files in it. If you have a few directories which you keep files in already defined, press F2 again to pick from your currently defined directories. This reduces typing to a minimum! Personally, I keep all the files I like in one directory, and all the new ones, which are not backed up to disk, I keep in another directory. This aids in easy organization. If you accidently create a directory that you no longer need, press Alt-D from the F2 pick list to delete it. Alt-E - Change current extension - With this command, you may switch to any of the extensions you have defined in your CFG file. The directory will be changed to the default directory as specified in the CFG file, and if no AutoMagic file is found, one will be created. Alt-D - Delete File - Whether this file is in a ZIP, ARJ, or LZH, or even uncompressed, this command will delete the file the cursor is currently on. Be extra careful with this one as once its deleted, its gone for good. Alt-O - Sort (Order) the Files - Simple enough, all the files with be sorted to aid in easy finding. A menu will pop up asking you how you want to do the sort: either by name, extension, size or time. Then it will ask you if you wish to save in sorted order. If you answer yes, it will be saved in that order UNTIL you do a rescan. You can hit Alt-R to reverse the order of the sort as well. This acts as a toggle so hit it again to go back to a normal sort order. Alt-N - Select New Player - You may have more than one batch file defined for use, and with this command, you may switch between them. The currently selected one will be marked with a check mark or a star. Alt-R - Rescan - Depending if you are normal, master, or MEL mode, rescan will either rescan the current directory, all the directories, or rebuild the MEL respectively. Use this command when you get a new file you wish to use. Alt-L - Use / Make MEL - A MEL is a Multiple Extension List. With this option, you can have your MOD's on the same screen as you FLI's or VOC's or whatever. Any extension goes! I use this option so I can view all my graphic files in one screen and all my music files in another. It makes it much easier when trying to find something. (See "Multiple Extension Lists (MEL's)") Alt-M - Use / Make Master Directory - A master directory is a compiled list of all the currently defined directories. When you make a master list, you may choose a file from any of the defined directories for the same extension. In other words, if you have all your MOD's in two different directories, this will put all of them on the screen. This can be very useful if you keep files spread out for some reason. Personally, I keep all my new MOD's in one directory, and the old MOD's in another. This way I can play from them both without switching directories. Ctrl-Q - Quit - Return to DOS. Alt-J - Jump to DOS - This will shell to DOS. Type EXIT to return to X-MASTER. Alt-S - Status window - When you are on a file, press Alt-S to see the status of the file. It includes most of the pertinent information such as size (compressed and uncompressed), the file time/date, and if compressed with ZIP or ARJ, the file description. The status will also tell you which archive it is in which is great if you have duplicates. You can selectively delete from the right archive. Alt-T - Selectively Tag All Files by Wildcard - Hit this button and it will ask you which files you want to tag given a wildcard specification. The default is *.* so that would tag all files. Alt-U - Selectively Untag All Files by Wildcard - Hit this button and it will ask you which files you want to untag given a wildcard specification. The default is *.* so that would untag all files. ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Multiple Extension Lists (MEL's) ** MEL's are a new way of keeping any extension accessable from one screen. This may be useful in keeping a single music MEL with ALL the music type of files included. Setting up something such as this is very easy. Hit the MEL key (Alt-L) and if you have never made a MEL, it will start you at the creation of a MEL. If you have made one, press Alt-A to add more or Alt-D to delete one. The first thing you must do is tell it what extensions you want to use. Tag (using the [SPACE BAR] as the toggle-tag key) all the extensions you wish to have included. For our music example, tag your MOD, VOC, AMF, MTM, etc... extensions. Press [RETURN] when done. Next, it will ask for a description. This description is so when you select a MEL, you'll know which one your selecting. Back to our music example, enter a description like "All music related files". That's the end of it! You will now have all your music files in one screen and you can use X-MASTER as usual. There are a couple of differences, however. The Change Directory command is no longer active and the Change Batch File command works a little bit differently. With a different set of extensions, you must first select which extension you want to change the default batch file, and then select the batch file. ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Mega-Extensions ** Mega-Extensions means the extension involves extracting more than one file. Sometimes it may be useful to extract a whole archive to the work directory, and then run a file from there (such as demos). To define one, use the keywords "Mega_Ext" and "Mega_Ext_Dir" to define a unique three character extension and the included directories. You *MUST* have a batch file for these extensions as well. However, the batch file is very simplistic. You can get by with just having a %1 in the batch file. See the included DEMPLAY1.BAT for an example. Demos are the only thing that I use the Mega_Ext for; however, you could use the Mega_Ext for games as well. You could define a "GAM" extension which would scan for all archives in a directory, and then you could tag all the disks of that game, and then extract them with the Ctrl-Enter command. ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Colors ** X-MASTER is now color configurable in case you think my colors suck. I have included the default color scheme as well as another one made by Jeff Hancock (1:3600/7@fidonet) who is my beta tester. I kind of like his better, but I kept the default in there. To install new colors, create a text file with one/more/all of the colors in it followed by an equals sign followed by your choice of color. (For example : "YesNoText = Yellow"). You may imbed blank lines in this text file or insert comments with a semi-colon. After doing this, run the program NEWCOL.EXE with the filename of the text file as its parameter. (i.e. NEWCOL newcol.txt). If you leave off the filename, the default file name is COLORS.XM. I recommend you edit the included sample color files for easier typing! Last, but not least, make sure the XMASTER.EXE is not compressed or altered in any other form or it will not work. The colors are as follows : Black DarkGray Blue Brown Green LightGreen Cyan LightCyan Red LightRed Magenta LightMagenta Brown Yellow LightGray White The positions are as follows : TitleBack - background of the title box TitleBoxBorder - border of the title box TitleBoxText - text inside the title box StatusBack - background of the status box StatusBorder - border of the status box StatusText - text inside of the status box StatusArchiveText - the archive text is another color InfoLineText - the info line on the bottom of the screen InfoLineBack - background of the info line DemoLineText - the "UNREGISTERED" color DemoLineBack - the "UNREGISTERED" color background FilesListBorder - the main screen's border is this color FilesListBox - the main screen color FileHBack - the cursor background FileHText - the cursor text PageText - "what page you are on" color CompressedName - a compressed file is this color UncompressedName - an uncompressed file is this color TagColor - the tag character color TitleFilesText - the title line ("X-MASTER v...") text color TitleFilesBack - the title line background ButtonBarText - the buttons on the bottom of the screen HelpText - the help text color HelpBack - the help screen background HelpBorder - the help screen border color HelpTitleText - the help screen title color HelpTitleBack - the help screen title background color HelpHorizLine - the help screen horizontal line color PauseText - the pause in the help screen color PauseBack - the pause in the help screen background color ErrorBoxBack - the error box background color ErrorBoxBorder - the error box border color ErrorText - the error box text color YesNoBack - the yes/no box background color YesNoBorder - the yes/no box border color YesNoText - the yes/no box text color MessageBoxBorder - the message box border color MessageBoxBack - the message box background color MessageBoxText - the message box text color DirEnterBack - the "change directory" box background color DirEnterBorder - the "change directory" box border color DirEnterText - the "change directory" box text color DirTypeText - the "change directory" type text color DirTypeBack - the "change directory" type background color PickListNBoxBack - a pick list normal background color PickListNBoxText - a pick list normal text color PickListHBoxBack - a pick list highlighted background color PickListHBoxText - a pick list highlighted text color PickListBorder - a pick list border color PauseWindowBoxBack - the pause window background color PauseWindowBoxText - the pause window text color PauseWindowBorder - the pause window border color PlayTaggedNBoxBack - the play tagged box normal background color PlayTaggedNBoxText - the play tagged box normal text color PlayTaggedHBoxBack - the play tagged box highlight background color PlayTaggedHBoxText - the play tagged box highlight text color PlayTaggedBoxBorder - the play tagged box border color PlayTaggedBoxText - the play tagged box text color MainMenuHText - the main menu highlight text color MainMenuHBack - the main menu highlight background color MainMenuNBack - the main menu normal background color MainMenuNText - the main menu normal text color MainMenuBorder - the main menu border color MainMenuOptions - the main menu options color ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** NON-VGA users! ** With VGA the standard these days, NON-VGA users have a little more work to do. (EGA users shouldn't have to do this, but I'm not sure) First, edit the COLORS.XM file and go to the very end of the file. Uncomment (remove the leading semi-colon) the last five lines where it says "NON-VGA Colors" above the section. Run NEWCOL.EXE which stores the new colors. You're set! ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** XMREPORT ** XMREPORT.EXE is a little utility that lets you find out the contents of the data files. You can use it to create hard copies of what files you have in what directories and how much space they take up. Having this information in hard copy form can ease in tracking duplicates. This is available in the registered version only. ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Files in use by X-MASTER ** X-MASTER requires a number of data files and it is recommended that you keep X-MASTER in its own directory. In addition to all the batch files, you may have created, it keeps one XM-ext.??? per directory of an extension. Lastly, it will keep all the master lists in a XM-ext.MST, and all the MEL's in a XM-number.MEL. Furthermore, there is the XMASTER.CFG file. Any other files may be deleted. ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Optimizing X-MASTER! ** X-MASTER uses a routine to swap to EMS/XMS/DISK when it needs extra memory. For fastest results, have 450k of free EMS/XMS memory available. Granted, this is not always possible. If X-MASTER can not find the memory, it will swap to disk. When swapping to disk, you have a number of options open to you. If you have a designated place for such a swap file to go (such as a RAM disk), you can set the TMP/TEMP variable to this location. If you run Windows or something similar, you may already have such a location in your environment. To do this from DOS, type the following : SET TEMP=D:\TEMP This sets the TEMP directory to D:\TEMP. Everytime X-MASTER swaps, it will write its swap file here. X-MASTER will also read a TMP variable as the same thing. Be warned, if you already have X-MASTER uncompressing the files to a certain place, and send your swap file there as well, you may run out of disk space. Be careful... Lastly, with version 2.0, you can multiple work directories defined. X-MASTER will use them in the order put in the CFG file. With this in mind, put the fastest work directory at the top and the slowest one with the most room at the bottom. X-MASTER will extract to the first one it finds with the most room. ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Why X-MASTER? ** Why should you use X-MASTER? Simply because I can't find anything better! I have honestly tried to find stuff that does everything my program does, and it just doesn't exist! There were quite a few for the ADLIB ROL files, but when there are so many other (and better) music files, then you must switch to another program or worse still, do all of the work manually. I tried about six programs which did something similar to my program, the program sucked. If you do find a program which you like better or it has a neat feature you wish mine had, let me know what I can change. I'll consider it, and if its good, I will add it. I am always interested in new ideas. Most of the features in this program are user suggested, especially with these later versions. In fact, all suggestions that were given to me on my poll on the demos newsgroup were added! ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Known pitfalls ** Make sure all the archived files are archived correctly with no errors. If you find yourself getting a Runtime Error #100, check your archives for errors. The program, as of version 1.03, will call your attention to bad archives, and skip them. Bad archives are generally to blame for any Runtime Errors between 100 and 105. If you find yourself getting one of these errors, test all your archives. Next, make sure the archive is made with the latest version of the archiver. Problems have been known to come up if you are using an archive that was made with an older version of the archiver. The program was tested with ARJ 2.41, PKZIP / PKUNZIP 2.04g, and LHA 2.13. These are the latest releases as of this writing. Also, if you file PKUNZIP is not extracting a file in a ZIP, make sure the file is not in a subdirectory. This will cause problems... I tried making the program as fast as possible, and on my 486/40, the program is quite fast. If your computer is slow, use PKZIP and a RAMDRIVE for best results. The majority of the slowness is due to the unarchiving process, and there is really nothing I can do about that. ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Troubleshooting ** If you have any problem with X-MASTER acting weird, try testing the archives to make sure there are no errors in the archive. Lastly, make sure the archiver isn't newer than X-MASTER. In some cases, this won't cause a problem, but sometimes it will. If for some reason an extension isn't working, make sure the ???PLAY?.BAT exists and works. If you're not sure that the batch file is being run, put the "pause" command at the end of the batch file. It will prompt for a keypress before returning to X-MASTER. If everything keeps blinking, you may have a cheap EGA/VGA card. Use the command line option "/NOGUI" or change the colors using NEWCOL.EXE. (See "Colors") If you're using the program under OS/2, it has a small problem when loading up the first time. It will blank the screen, and it looks like nothing works. Hit ESC and then run the program again. Everything will be fine. If you are totally stuck at this point, by all means contact me. ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Command line options ** Currently, very little can be done on the command line, but the following items may help you out a bit. If, for example, you find the mouse cursor annoying or not working, or the program starts blinking, or you find my fonts not working, or almost anything video wise not working, use the /NOGUI command. If you find that X-MASTER can not adequately return your video mode back to normal after playing a file, use the /FV switch. A Paradise card owner has said that it can't quite return to 43/50 line modes, so if you have this problem, use the /FV switch and put the MODE commands in your batch file used to play/use the file. Hopefully you keep all your X-MASTER files in the same directory in your path. This would include all the XM-*.??? files, the CFG file, the *.MST files, the *.MEL files, and of course the EXE file. X-MASTER will use the directory X-MASTER is run from as the starting directory. This being the case, the starting directory parameter is no longer necessary, but if for some reason you need it, it is still supported. Examples : XMASTER /NOGUI Start XMASTER in primitive video mode. XMASTER C:\UTIL Start XMASTER with the starting directory as C:\UTIL. XMASTER E:\XM /NOGUI Start XMASTER with the starting directory as E:\XM in primitive video mode. ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Tested extensions ** I have tested a few of these extensions out with my program and found that they work well with my program. I'd be interested in any you have added, and if you are writing a program which plays / views / uses a certain extension'ed file, please make it accept a full path name on the command line. Here are some of the ones I tested : MOD's ----- I have used TrakBlaster by Volker Zinke with this program ex- tensively, and it works great. The latest version I have is 2.0. I have also used MODPLAY by Mark J. Cox. The version I have does not accept file names on the command line very easily, so I wrote a program which seperated what my program sent out, and changed the drive/path to be the one with the MOD file, and then did MP <filename>. Check out the SPLCMD files for an easy way to do this. VOC's ----- I have used Creative Labs Voice Player (VPLAY) with my program and it works fine. Furthermore, if you keep your VOC files in normal packing method (uncompressed), they can be used with NOHISS or SEEVOX quite nicely. STM's ----- The only player I have seen for this is STM by Sami Tammilehto. It works fine with this program. ROL's ----- There are a bunch of ROL player's out there which work with this program. I use the player called ADMPLAY which works great. PLAYROL works, as does INTUNE. CMF's or CMS's -------------- These are more Sound Master music files, and they work with PLAYCMF that is supplied by Creative Labs. Apparantly, there are more players out there, but this is the only one I've seen and it works fine. MID's ----- I have yet to find a DECENT MID file player that accepts parameters from the command line. The one I have is OK, but not great. I'd be interested in any I could get, or you could supply me. :) GL's ---- These movies can viewed with GRASPRT.EXE quite nicely provided they do not require more than 565k or so of memory. FLI's ----- These work well with AAPLAY.EXE. As stated earlier, I'd be interested in any other extensions / players you come up with. The program is ready for ANY type of extension, even the ones that don't currently exist! ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Contacting the author ** Hopefully, you found this program of use and bug free, but if not, or if you have a suggestion, please contact me. I have several electronic mail addresses and if all else fails, snail mail works. The address is at the end of this document. Fidonet users can contact me through the Adlib or SoundNet echos or netmail at 1:387/800.625. I also frequent the Pascal echo, but X-MASTER is off topic in there (unless you have a programming question)! For Internet users, contact me at one of the following addresses : jmukherj@ringer.cs.utsa.edu joy@runner.cs.utsa.edu Try contacting in that order as well... I frequent a few BBS' in my area (210). Try calling them sometime : Last Chance BBS - 210-822-7519 - TBBS - Offers a little bit of everything. Zyxel, vFC, and 14.4 speeds. Seven nodes! Sysops - George Brann and Tim Downey Picture Express - 210-666-4842 - PC-BOARD 15.0 - Specializes in graphics and anything having to do with them. vFC speeds. Sysop - David Steward RoboTech BBS - 904-758-9477 - Searchlight system - Has bunches of music stuff on this BBS and the newest versions of this program. No file ratios / no byte limit to keep / no life history required / first call downloads - H16/V32Turbo/V42bis/V32 speeds. Sysop - Jeff Hancock ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Kudos, Legal BS ** I wish to thank all the people who helped with this program, namely Fred Hewit, Chris Tio, Greg Collins, Daniel Hermann, Jeff Hancock, and all the people who release source code into the public domain, including many of the people in the Pascal and Adlib Echo whose names escape me... I use the following units/libraries in this program : the Turbo Technojocks Toolbox, Thomas Wagner's excellent swapping routines, Max Maischein's SPCFONT, Dave Kirsch's MOU routines for the graphical mouse cursor (translated by DJ Murdoch) and an assortment of PD/Freeware routines I've picked up along the way. --- Thanks guys! --- Lawyers, take note : This program here is offered as is, without warranties of any kind. By using this program, you agree that the author is in no way responsible for any damage done by this program. Simple. Anything that happens isn't my fault. Enjoy! ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Shareware! ** SHAREWARE means you try the program before you buy it. If you like and use the program, you are asked to pay for it. No one is forcing your hand at paying for it, but your conscious will bother you for the rest of your life if you choose not to.... I am not a rich person, and enjoy programming, but in order to pay the bills, a monetary con- tribution of $15.00 or more would be most appreciated. $15 is not a great deal of money to pay for a program, and if you use it as often as I do, it should be well worth the money. Send your contribution to : Mr. Joey Mukherjee 202 Vanderheck #1 San Antonio, TX, 78209-4045 Any correspondence as well can be forwarded to this address, and would appreciate any bug reports or innovative uses of this program. Thank you for your support... ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Why register? ** Registering is really the right thing to do if you find X-MASTER useful and plan on using it past the 30 day trial period. Besides your conscious being clear, you will also get the latest version on disk without the ten second delay at the beginning; without the line at the bottom of the main screen, and with the limit of only five extensions being raised to 40 which should be enough for anybody. Furthermore, you get a program which will give you a small report of what file is where and what each of the data files contain. This can be useful if you like keep hard copy records of what files you have. ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Free copy? ** Are you really cheap and would you like a FREE copy of the registered version of X-MASTER? If so, then you may be entitled to one. To get a free copy of X-MASTER, you must be the primary author of a player/viewer/whatever(!) that can be used with X-MASTER. You must also send me a registered copy of that product and endorse X-MASTER in your product. Lastly, you must have a way of receiving the file via Internet. A Fido translated address is unacceptable. If you can't program, try coming up with a great color scheme and send it to me. If I think its good enough, I'll include it in the next release of X-MASTER and mention your name in the docs. Of all the entries received by June 30, 1995, the THREE best schemes will receive a free copy of X-MASTER. Once again, you must have an Internet address that can receive a UUENCODED file. Basically, I don't want to pay to give someone else my program. If you have another program that you would like to trade registered versions of, please let me know. I might be interested. ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ** Vendor Info ** X-MASTER is a welcome addition to any shareware distribution method. If you wish to do so, you are welcome to without consent from the author; however, if you publish a CD-ROM with X-MASTER on it, please consider sending a copy to the author as payment. He'd be most appreciative. ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Thanks for any comments / suggestions / bug reports / criticisms registered or not! I really do enjoy hearing from people who like this program. And above all, thanks for reading this far. --END--