Monster Media 1994 #2

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■ General overview - NEW USERS READ THIS FIRST ──────────────────────────────────────────── Menu Manager Lite is a menuing system (DOS shell type program) designed to eliminate or reduce the need for learning DOS commands. Instead of typing cumbersome DOS commands to use your computer, Menu Manager Lite replaces these commands with a user friendly interface. Menu Manager is called "Lite" because it lacks the extra features contained in our premier menuing program: "PCS Windows". You won't get a Calculator, Notepad, Datebook, Roladex, Screen Saver, Mouse Support, Hot-Keys, and other features with Menu Manager Lite. What you will get is a straight-forward, no frills, menuing system - and that may be just what you're looking for. Menu Manager Lite makes it much easier to add programs to your menu than other menuing programs - instead of requiring you to figure out and type the DOS path and program name for each program, Menu Manager Lite allows you to visually choose the path and program name from a simple list. Context sensitive help is always a keystroke away (F1). Menu Manager Lite knows what tasks you are trying to accomplish and will provide help accordingly. You can always access the Table of Contents from any help topic to aid you further. Once you have your programs set up as menu items in Menu Manager Lite, each program can be accessed by one or two keystrokes. The setup section of Menu Manager Lite, like all other sections, can be accessed by using a "point-and-shoot" pop-down menu. See "Basic keystrokes" for further information. In this text, keystrokes are designated by <> symbols. For example, if the program wants you to press the Enter key, it will say: "Press <Enter>" Menu Manager Lite gives you complete control over the organization of your menus. You can have 18 Main Menu selections, and each Main Menu item can pop up a submenu which can contain 18 additional items. For example: »A. Word Processing Submenu B. Lotus 1-2-3 Program ...etc... Choice "A." will pop up a submenu called "Word Processing" where you could have up to 18 Word Processing related programs on the submenu. All choices that pop up a submenu have a "»" mark next to the letter for easy identification. Choice "B." is not a submenu (no "»"), therefore it will run the program "Lotus 1-2-3" as soon as it is selected. Menu Manager Lite even allows you to insert, delete, and move around menu items. This gives you the ultimate in control over your menu structure. We suggest you read through the entire on-line manual to familiarize yourself with all of the capabilities of Menu Manager Lite. Just select each topic from the Table of Contents. When a topic is completed, pressing <F1> will bring back the Table of Contents. Thank you for selecting a PC Specialists software program. If you are not already a Registered User, we hope that you select Menu Manager Lite as your favorite menuing program and register it today. We hope you enjoy using Menu Manager Lite! NOTE TO CORPORATIONS & BUSINESSES WITH MULTIPLE COMPUTERS: PC Specialists offers great discounts on volume purchases of Menu Manager Lite! Save up to 50% off the single copy price! Call for details! ■ Basic keystrokes ──────────────── There are two simple categories that determine how you will use Menu Manager Lite: 1) You will select a menu choice (by pressing a letter A-R) that will cause a submenu to be displayed or a program to be executed. 2) You will bring up the Options Menu (by pressing <F2>) to provide menu maintenance, get information, or exit the program. For category 1): ---------------- To run a program on the Main Menu or a SubMenu, press the letter <A> through <R> that appears next to the item. Or, use the up and down arrow keys to highlight the item, and the <Enter> key to select it. For category 2): ---------------- To access the Menu Manager Lite Options Menu, press the <F2> key. See "Options Menu" for more details. ■ Options Menu ──────────── All Menu Manager Lite Options are accessed by bringing up the Options Menu. The Options Menu is displayed when you press the <F2> key. Use the up and down arrow keys to highlight a choice in the Options Menu, then press <Enter> to select that choice. To exit the Options Menu without making a selection, press the <Esc> key or select "Exit Options Menu". ■ Add new menu item (Setup) ───────────────────────── There are 18 possible entries per menu, A-R. Providing all the entries are not filled, selecting "Add new menu item" will establish a new menu item on the current menu and place you in the "Setup" section so that you can put in the required information about the new item. For example: There are menu choices A-D. You choose "Add new menu item" and put in information into "Setup" about the new item. When you leave "Setup", there will be an item E. Please see "Modify highlighted item (Setup)" for further details. ■ Modify highlighted item (Setup) ─────────────────────────────── PLEASE READ FIRST: The process of setting up programs onto a menuing program (like Menu Manager Lite) is usually the hardest task to accomplish. The developers of Menu Manager Lite have gone to great lengths in order to make this process as simple as possible. Even if you have an extremely limited knowledge of DOS, by reading through this help section, you may gain enough information to add your own programs to the Menu Manager Lite menu. Taken one step at a time, this help section describes, in detail, every option available when performing the "Modify highlighted item (Setup)" option. There are two ways to reach the Menu Manager Lite "Setup" section. One way is by choice, the other is automatic. 1) Selecting "Modify highlighted item (Setup)" from the Options Menu. Also by selecting "Add new menu item to menu". 2) If you try to run a program item that doesn't have a filename defined, you will automatically be placed in setup so that you can provide that information. The purpose of Setup: ───────────────────── In "Setup" you enter 7 key pieces of information that control how the programs on your computer are accessed. The information requested is: Menu Description: (The description you will see on the Menu Manager Lite Main Menu or a SubMenu) Is entry a Submenu? (Menu Manager Lite allows you to set up SubMenus as well as individual programs. This question defines the item as a SubMenu or a Program) Enter the program Drive Letter: (Every program on your computer is located at a specific drive, path, and filename. Here, you enter the drive letter) Enter the program Directory: (This sets the directory, or path, where the program resides) Enter the filename & options: (This gives the actual filename that runs the program, as well as any Required startup options). Optional startup parameters? (Some programs will take input from the user at the command line to accomplish different tasks. If the programs uses Optional startup parameters, enter Y) Pause on exit? (If the program screen flashes by too quickly when you exit the program, select Y for a built-in pause). How Setup Works: ──────────────── If you selected "Modify highlighted item", and the item had been previously defined, Setup re-loads in the information pertaining to that item. If no item had been previously defined, default information will be filled in. If you try to select a menu choice that has no filename (and is not set up as a SubMenu), you will be automatically placed in Setup so that you can provide a filename. (A program cannot run without the filename). THE SEVEN KEY PIECES OF INFORMATION, IN DETAIL: ─────────────────────────────────────────────── Once you reach the Setup screen (no matter which of the before-mentioned methods gets you there), you will have seven important questions to answer that give Menu Manager Lite the information it needs to know to run your programs. 1) Enter Menu Description: (Blank out to permanently remove from menu) Here enter text to describe the program or submenu. If setting up a submenu, you could enter "Word Processing Programs" or something similar. Then, whenever you added a program to your computer that had to do with "Word Processing", you could add it to that submenu. This is a big organizational aid with systems that have dozens, or even hundreds of different programs. If setting up a program, put in the program name, or something similar. If the name of your program is "Word Perfect 6.0(tm)", you could enter "Word Perfect", or "Word Perfect 6.0", or "Word Processor", or "Complex Typing Program With More Options Than I Need" :-), or anything else that would help you remember what this program does. 2) Is this entry a Submenu? (Answer N if it is a Program) [Y/N]: If you want this entry to be a submenu offering you access to other programs, enter <Y>. Most people use this choice to group related items together under one menu, instead of having a bunch of unrelated topics grouped under the Main Menu. A submenu can be defined allowing you to group up to 18 related programs. If the entry is not meant to be a submenu, but rather a program that you wish to run when this item is selected, enter <N>. ENTER Y FOR SUBMENU ENTER N FOR PROGRAM NOTE: This question only applies to the Main Menu. In a submenu, all items are programs. Only the Main Menu can contain SubMenus and programs. ALSO: If you enter Y for a Submenu, the following 5 pieces of information are not used because they pertain only to programs. You can skip down to "How to Save/Exit Setup", below. 3) If a program, enter the Drive Letter where program is located: If you are running on a hard disk, most likely the program is located on drive C:, the default. However, DOS supports drive letters all the way through Z:, so consult the manual the came with the program you are adding to the menu to confirm the drive letter. CD-ROM drives often have DOS drive letters as well, so you can easily add your CD-ROM programs to your menu. If you aren't sure which drive letter to put, use the default, C:. Note that this choice affects the directories and filenames you will see in the next two steps, so make sure to try to find the correct drive letter. 4) Enter the Directory where the program is located: The default directory on a hard disk is the \ (root) directory. However, many programs install themselves into specific directories like \WP60, \123, \PUBLISH\MAIN, \DOS\BASIC\CUSTOM, etc. Menu Manager Lite gives you some options at this point. A menu pops up that looks similar to this: [Keep Current Directory?] Press <SPACEBAR> to choose a new directory from the directory list. Press <ENTER> to keep the current directory. Press <F10> to manually type in a directory path (advanced only). Press <F1> for help. THE CURRENT DIRECTORY IS: \ At this point, beginning users would want to press <SPACEBAR> to pop up the directory finder (discussed below). If, however, the current directory (displayed under "THE CURRENT DIRECTORY IS:") *IS ALREADY* correct, you can press the up arrow, down arrow, or <ENTER> key to keep the current directory and move on. Advanced users can press <F10> to manually type in a directory path instead of using the directory finder. Pressing <F1> brings you to this help topic. DIRECTORY FINDER: Menu Manager Lite makes it easy to find the directory where the program is located. Simply press the <Spacebar> to pop up the Directory Finder which looks similar to the following example: [SELECT PROGRAM DIRECTORY ON DRIVE C:] DIRECTORY C:\*.* └─subdirectories» DOS WP60 CONTROLS: 123 <F1> Help selecting a directory BASIC <> Move hilighted bar up or down TEMP <ENTER>select subdirectory FXTERM <Esc>move back up a level or EXIT GAMES <SPACEBAR>USE SELECTED "DIRECTORY" UTILITY & SELECT PROGRAM FROM LIST The highlighted bar will initially be on the line that says: DIRECTORY C:\*.* That indicates the current "SELECTED DIRECTORY", that is, the directory that will be placed into the "Enter the Directory where the program is located:" question in setup. If the directory listed is where your program resides, simply press the spacebar. If the directory is not where your program resides, use the up and down arrow keys to move through the list of subdirectories. When you have highlighted a subdirectory, press <ENTER> to select that subdirectory. For instance, if you highlighted GAMES and pressed <ENTER>, you might see something similar to the following: [SELECT PROGRAM DIRECTORY ON DRIVE C:] DIRECTORY C:\GAMES\*.* └─subdirectories» PCMAN INVADERS CONTROLS: DKONG <F1> Help selecting a directory <> Move hilighted bar up or down <ENTER>select subdirectory <Esc>move back up a level or EXIT <SPACEBAR>USE SELECTED "DIRECTORY" & SELECT PROGRAM FROM LIST Now the subdirectory "GAMES" is the directory that would be used. Note that there are still more subdirectories. If the program resided in the subdirectory INVADERS, highlight INVADERS and press <ENTER>. You might see something similar to the following: [SELECT PROGRAM DIRECTORY ON DRIVE C:] DIRECTORY C:\GAMES\INVADERS\*.* └─subdirectories» CONTROLS: <F1> Help selecting a directory <> Move hilighted bar up or down <ENTER>select subdirectory <Esc>move back up a level or EXIT <SPACEBAR>USE SELECTED "DIRECTORY" & SELECT PROGRAM FROM LIST Note that now there are no further subdirectories listed. Either you would press the <SPACEBAR> to USE SELECTED "DIRECTORY", or you could press the <Esc> key to move back up a level to the C:\GAMES\*.* level. Once there, you could press <Esc> again to move back up a level to the C:\*.* level. The \*.* level is the top level. If you press <Esc> at the top level, you will be taken out of the Directory List, and no directory will be selected. NOTE: Directory List supports a maximum of 22 subdirectories in any one directory. If your computer has more than 22 sub- directories in any one directory causing you not to be able to select the correct directory from the list, use the "<F10> Manually type in a directory path" option, discussed earlier. ALSO: The bottom line of the Directory List screen will display a helpful message: [There are no programs in the current selected directory] OR [Programs exist in the current selected directory] This way, you will know before pressing the <SPACEBAR> whether or not any programs are in that particular directory. Once you select a directory with the <SPACEBAR>, a new list will appear. This is the program list. It contains a list of all programs in that particular directory. Programs are defined as filenames that end with an extension of BAT, COM, or EXE. Only files with a BAT, COM, or EXE as their extension will be shown, even though there may be lots of other files in that directory. When you see the program list, you are actually now supplying information for question #5, "The Filename and any required options that run the Program:" So, let's move right on in to question #5: 5) Enter the Filename and any required parameters that runs the Program: If you have just entered a directory using the Directory List, you will automatically be placed in the File List, discussed in just a moment. If you have not just entered a directory using the Directory List, you will see a screen similar to this: [Keep Current Filename and any Command Line Options?] Press <SPACEBAR> to choose a new filename & options from the list. Press <ENTER> to keep the current filename/options. Press <F10> to manually enter a filename/options (advanced only). Press <F1> for help. THE CURRENT FILENAME/OPTIONS ARE: If you press <SPACEBAR>, you will pop up the File List, discussed in just a moment. If you press the up or down arrows, or <ENTER>, you will keep the current filename and options, listed below "THE CURRENT FILENAME/OPTIONS ARE:". Advanced users can press <F10> to manually type in a filename and any command line options instead of using the file finder. Pressing <F1> brings you to this help topic. FILE LIST: ────────── If you press the <SPACEBAR> in the Directory List or at the "Keep Current Filename and any Command Line Options?" window, you will see a screen similar to the following: [<F1>Help│<>Move│<F10>Enter Options│<Esc>New Dir│<Spacebar/Enter>SELECT] DIRECTORY C:\GAMES\INVADERS\ ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── README.EXE INVADERS.COM HOW2PLAY.BAT In DOS, all programs have an extension of .BAT, .COM, or .EXE. Only those files with an extension of BAT, COM, or EXE are shown in the list, even if there are lots of other types of files in that directory. Use the highlighted bar to select the proper filename from the list. Note that some experimenting may be required at this point. In our example, there are three possible choices. In this example, README, gives information about the program, INVADERS starts the actual game, and HOW2PLAY gives a list of instructions. You may have to do some trial-and-error experimenting to find the actual program name of your program if the manual does not specifically state it. Pressing <F1> brings up this help topic. Pressing the arrow keys moves the highlighted bar. Pressing <F10> *BEFORE* you press <SPACEBAR> or <ENTER> allows you to add any *REQUIRED* startup parameters (see below). Pressing <Esc> takes you back to the Directory List so that you can choose a different directory. Pressing <SPACEBAR> or <ENTER> takes you back to setup and "plugs in" the choices you have made for the DIRECTORY AND FILENAME/OPTIONS questions. REQUIRED STARTUP PARAMETERS VS. OPTIONAL STARTUP PARAMETERS ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Some programs *REQUIRE* startup parameters to run properly. We emphasize "require" because many times you can use the "Optional Startup Parameters" selection in setup (question #6) to take care of this. Here's an example of the difference between REQUIRED and OPTIONAL Startup Parameters: The DOS program FORMAT allows you to format a blank diskette in a diskette drive. FORMAT "REQUIRES" the drive letter of the diskette drive. However, FORMAT has many "OPTIONAL" startup parameters, such as /S to make the disk bootable, and /V to give it a volume label. So, you could press <F10> and enter "A:" as a REQUIRED command line option, as the program would not function without it. But then you could answer Y to question #6 (see below) so that whenever the menu choice was selected, a window would pop up allowing you to type in OPTIONAL command line parameters such as "/S /V". If you did this, the final command line would become: FORMAT A: /S /V │ │ └ Optional Startup Parameters typed in when item selected. │ └─── Required Startup Parameter, put in with <F10> in File List. └────────── The Program Name, selected in File List. Consult your program's manual to see if there are any parameters you need to enter. 6) Does this program require optional Startup Parameters? [Y/N]: If your program uses optional startup parameters (as discussed earlier) answer <Y> to this question. Answering <Y> will cause the program to pop-up a window prior to running the program. The window will allow you to enter any additional parameters which will then be "passed" to the program. If your program does not use startup parameters, answer <N>. 7) Do you wish to Pause when you exit this program? [Y/N]: Some programs display information that scrolls off the screen too quickly after the program has completed. For such programs, answer <Y> and a pause will be added after the program completes. For all other programs, use the default, <N>. HOW TO SAVE/EXIT SETUP: ─────────────────────── NOTE: After you have made changes to the Setup Information: Press <F10> to save the changes and exit Setup, or, Press <Esc> to exit Setup without saving any changes. Note that a "Menu Description" (question #1, mentioned earlier), is REQUIRED in order for a menu choice to be saved. SPECIAL NOTE: The most difficult aspect of Menu Manager Lite, or any other menuing program, is getting the correct drive, directory, and filename into Setup. Please realize that this is information required by DOS and Menu Manager Lite simply gives DOS the information when DOS requests it. PC Specialists Technical Support cannot answer questions from users that have purchased Menu Manager Lite as to how to install specific programs into Menu Manager Lite. For such questions, we refer you to the program's manual, the program's technical support people, or a friend experienced with DOS. We are confident that once you have your programs installed into Menu Manager Lite, the operation will be simple and efficient. ■ "What do I do when my program won't run?" ───────────────────────────────────────── First, use this help text to determine why the program isn't running. This information assumes you have entered information into Setup so that a menu choice appears, but after you select that choice the program does not operate. 1) Do you see a message quickly flash by that says "Bad command or filename and/or Invalid directory" and then you are returned to the Menu Manager Lite Menu? If so: DOS cannot locate the program. Make sure it is really located on the drive and directory you have specified. Just one incorrect keystroke will make DOS "confused" as to where the program is located. Use the Directory List and File List routines to help you. See the help topic "Modify highlighted item (Setup)" for detailed information. 2) You don't get an error message from Menu Manager Lite (like the one mentioned above), but the program still doesn't run properly, or not at all. Menu Manager Lite completely removes itself from memory prior to running your programs. Menu Manager Lite is NOT a TSR. It's as though Menu Manager Lite is not even running on your computer after you select a program. So, if you are having trouble running a particular program, consult your users manual or the technical support department for that particular program. Tens of thousands of programs have run without any difficulty under Menu Manager Lite when the program itself is set up properly. Make sure you are running MS or PC DOS 3.3 or above on your computer. The compatibility with your programs is not guaranteed with older versions of DOS, even if some programs will operate. HOW TO RUN INTERNAL PROGRAMS ---------------------------- DOS has some "internal" programs that are not actually located on your hard disk, but are available to Menu Manager Lite. Examples of internal commands are: DIR, TYPE, CLS, COPY, and several others. For such programs, use the <F10> key to manually type in the program name and options at the "Filename" question in Setup. For example: Enter the Filename and any required parameters that runs the Program: TYPE C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT ("TYPE" is an internal program and would not be able to be selected from the File List.) Menu Manager Lite Technical assistance -------------------------------------- You can always call us for technical assistance (See "Technical Support/ Registration"), but we can only assist with questions relating directly to Menu Manager Lite. We cannot help you configure your third party programs. Above all, remember to read through this entire users manual. You may find the solution to the problem is a simple keystroke you can give Menu Manager Lite. Or you can ask a friend with DOS knowledge for assistance. ■ Insert a blank item ─────────────────── Selecting this choice at the Main menu or a Submenu will insert a blank choice at the current highlighted position. The choice will automatically be titled "Use Modify Highlighted Item to change this menu choice". After the item has been inserted, press the <F2> key for the Options Menu and choose "Modify Highlighted Menu Item" to define the new entry. NOTE: This routine works only if there is an open position for an item. There are a maximum of 18 menu items (A-R) per menu. ■ Delete highlighted item ─────────────────────── Selecting this choice at the Main menu or a Submenu will give you the ability to completely remove a program or an entire submenu. At the bottom of the screen, you will be asked to confirm the deletion. Answer <Y> to delete, <N> to cancel the deletion. NOTE: In one keypress you can completely remove a Submenu AND ALL ITEMS that belonged to that submenu. USE DELETE CAREFULLY! ■ Copy highlighted to memory ────────────────────────── This and the associated "Paste (insert) from memory" command are tools to help your organize your menus. For example: You may realize that you have a word processing program set up on the Main Menu and you feel it would be organized better to have it set up on your Word Processing Programs menu. You would "Copy" the choice to memory, move to the Word Processing submenu, and "Paste" the choice into the submenu. Copy is the first step. Simply move the highlighted bar to the item you wish to copy and select "Copy highlighted to memory" from the Options Menu. When you tell it to copy, a bar will appear at the bottom of the screen that confirms the information has been copied into memory and gives a reminder to paste the information. NOTE: You cannot copy submenus (choices with the symbol "»" prior to the letter). Only items within the menus can be copied. If you have an item in memory, you can either paste it (see "Paste (insert) from memory") or copy a different item into memory. On the Options Menu, the symbol "»" will let you know which step is in effect, either the "Copy" or the "Paste" step. Copy and Paste never delete the original item (for safety), so remember to go back and delete the original after you have pasted the new item. Exiting Menu Manager Lite or running a program will clear the contents of the memory, so make sure you "paste" before leaving Menu Manager Lite. ■ Paste (insert) from memory ────────────────────────── This is step two of a set of tools that help you organize your menus. See "Copy highlighted to memory" to learn the first step. Paste will only operate if information has been copied into memory. If it has, you will see a message at the bottom of the screen showing the description of the item that has been copied. Move the highlighted bar to the menu location where you would like to insert the item and select "Paste (insert) from memory" from the Options Menu. The new item will be placed on the menu and the copy memory will be cleared. The bottom line of the screen will return to normal. NOTE: The paste will only function if there is an available slot on the menu you have specified. If all choices (A-R) are filled, you must find a different menu with room for the new item. Once again: On the Options Menu, the symbol "»" will let you know which step is in effect, either the "Copy" or the "Paste" step. Both the Copy and Paste functions never delete the original item (for safety), so remember to go back and delete the original after you have pasted the item. Exiting Menu Manager Lite or running a program will clear the contents of the memory, so make sure you "paste" before leaving Menu Manager Lite. ■ Technical Support/Registration ────────────────────────────── Select this choice for our phone number and address, information about how to contact us for Technical Support, and information about registering your copy of Menu Manager Lite. ■ Upgrade to PCS Windows ────────────────────── PCS Windows is our Premier Menuing System. It makes Menu Manager Lite look like a toy. Choose this selection to find out about PCS Windows. ■ Exit Options Menu ───────────────── If the Options Menu is displayed on the screen, you can choose this choice or press the <Esc> key to exit the Options Menu. ■ Exit Menu Manager Lite ────────────────────── If you wish to completely exit Menu Manager Lite, select this choice. You will be returned to the DOS prompt. You can type MM to return to Menu Manager Lite at a later time.