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Night Owl CD-ROM (NOPV9) (Night Owl Publisher) (1993).ISO
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README.VMI
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******************************************************************************
* *
* AutoMate/PRO for Windows (Demo Version) *
* *
******************************************************************************
Release: 2.00 April 1993
Copyright 1993 Vermont Microsystems, Inc.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
-----------------
I. Introduction
A. Memory requirements
B. AutoMate/PRO's Toolbox
II. Automatic Installation
III. Manual Installation
IV. AutoMate/PRO Profile Information
V. Reporting Problems
VI. Trademarks and Restrictions
I. INTRODUCTION
This version of AutoMate/PRO for Windows is a Demo version only which will
run for 15 minutes and then time out. If you wish to purchase the official
version of AutoMate/PRO for Windows, contact Vermont Microsystems at
(802) 655-2860 or (800) 354-0055 and ask for Sales.
Welcome to high performance AutoCAD for Windows! AutoMate/PRO for Windows
provides the benefits of Microsoft's graphical interface while delivering
performance that closely matches that available under MS-DOS. AutoMate/PRO
for Windows will improve the speed of AutoCAD 12 for Windows by a factor of
3X to 5X, provide 30% faster initial drawing loads and regens, and use less
memory for its display list than Autodesk's supplied driver. In addition
AutoMate/PRO provides a rich set of AutoCAD productivity tools such as a
BirdsEye View, Magnifying Glass w/real-time pan & zoom, and configurable
Icon Menu System.
This is the second release of AutoMate/PRO for Windows (which we'll refer
to hereafter simply as AutoMate/PRO). This version supports AutoCAD
Release 12 for Windows. AutoCAD release 12 for Windows is a fully functional
standalone application for Microsoft Windows 3.1. Release 12 for windows
includes all of the same features as release 12 for DOS plus several other
windows specific features such as Dynamic Data Exchange and the ability to
have multiple instances of AutoCAD.
AutoMate/PRO runs with version 3.0 or 3.1 of Microsoft Windows. In spite
of this we HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you use version 3.1. Version 3.0 is much
less stable than 3.1, and any resource-intensive application like AutoCAD
will push Windows to its limits. We are limited in our ability to provide
technical support for unusual problems that only manifest themselves under
Windows 3.0.
A. Memory requirements:
Autodesk recommends that your system have at least 8 megabytes of random-
access-memory (RAM) to run AutoCAD 12 for windows. AutoMate/PRO requires
memory in addition to this, since it is a Display List Driver that holds
the contents of your drawing in RAM to facilitate fast redraws, pans, and
zooms. As a rule of thumb, we suggest that your system have at least
12 megabytes to accommodate your drawing's display lists as well as
AutoCAD's memory requirements. If you work with very large drawings,
16 megabytes is recommended.
B. AutoMate/PRO's Toolbox:
AutoMate/PRO provides an extensive set of productivity tools (we'll
sometimes refer to them below as "applets"). These applets are invoked
by clicking the appropriate button in the AutoMate/PRO Toolbox. The
Toolbox will appear in the lower-right corner of your AutoCAD window
whenever you open a drawing. You may reposition or iconize the Toolbox
at any time. You can also remove the Toolbox from the screen by selecting
the "Close" option from its System Menu. If you want to reopen it later,
enter VMI_TBOX_ON from the AutoCAD command line.
The applets made available by the Toolbox are described in detail in
AutoMate/PRO's on-line Help facility. Click on the Help (?) icon in the
Toolbox or select the Help option in the applet if you need guidance on
its use.
II. AUTOMATIC INSTALLATION
The demo files are in a self-extracting file called VMIWIN.EXE. Copy this
file to an empty directory (such as C:\AMPROWIN) or a high density floppy,
then type VMIWIN to extract the files. (If extracted to a high density floppy,
this becomes your installation diskette.)
You install AutoMate/PRO by running the SETUP.EXE program (supplied with
the AutoMate/PRO Demo files) from within Windows.
Either the File Manager or the RUN option of the Program Manager enables
you to run SETUP.EXE. Make sure you specify the drive and directory where
you copied the AutoMate files to when you run setup.
For Example: A:\setup or C:\AMPROWIN\setup
When you install AutoMate/PRO, you will be asked to provide the following
information:
1. The type of graphics device for which Windows is configured.
2. Where AutoCAD 12 for Windows resides on your system.
AutoMate/PRO runs in either "high-performance" or "standard" mode. If you
have the right type of graphics hardware, you can run in high-performance
mode. The following graphics devices are currently supported:
-- Vermont Microsystems Cobra Plus
-- Vermont Microsystems Cobra/2
-- Vermont Microsystems Cobra Elite
-- Vermont Microsystems Cobra Elite/MC
-- Vermont Microsystems X/Series
-- Vermont Microsystems Design Master VGA (**)
-- Any Vga Controller that uses an S3 Graphics Accelerator.
-- Any Vga Controller that uses a Tseng ET4000 Graphics Accelerator. (**)
-- The ATI Ultra or Ultra PRO Graphics Accelerators.
-- Compaq QVision
-- Any Vga running in standard 640 x 480 16 color mode.
If your device is not on this list, you may select "Other" when asked to
identify your graphics controller. AutoMate/PRO will run in standard
mode. While not as fast as high performance mode, standard mode will
run significantly faster than the display driver supplied by Autodesk.
NOTE: If your device is followed by the notation (**) in
the above list, it must be running Windows in one of its
256 color graphics modes. Otherwise AutoMate/PRO will
default to standard mode. You'll see a message informing
you of this when you open your AutoCAD drawing (the message
will say something like "Can't Initialize VGL. Using
vglgdi.dll").
The installation process copies a number of files from your distribution
disk to the directory in which you installed AutoCAD Release 12 for
Windows:
1. DSAMATE.DLL ..... ADI display driver for AutoCAD (R12 only)
2. VGLxxx.DLL ...... Display driver components
3. AUTOMATE.HLP..... The AutoMate/PRO On-line Help file
4. DSTBOXP.EXE...... The AutoMate/PRO ToolBox Applet
5. DSINFO.EXE ...... The AutoMate/PRO Status Panel Applet
6. DSBIRD.EXE ...... The AutoMate/PRO BirdsEye View Applet
7. DSGLASS.EXE...... The AutoMate/PRO Magnifying Glass Applet
8. DSQMENU.EXE...... The AutoMate/PRO Quick Menu System Applet
19. DSMENU.EXE....... The AutoMate/PRO Icon Menu System Applet
10. DSQMENU.MNU...... The AutoMate/PRO Quick Menu default command file
11. DSMENU.MNU....... The AutoMate/PRO Icon Menu default command file
12. VMMENUPX.DLL..... The AutoMate/PRO Icon Menu default picture library
13. README.VMI ...... This file
After the AutoMate/PRO for Windows installation is complete you will have
to reconfigure AutoCAD 12 for windows to select AutoMate/PRO as the display
driver. Use the following procedure to do this:
1. First double-click on the AutoCAD 12 for Windows icon to invoke
AutoCAD with the Autodesk supplied display driver.
2. Then Select "Configure" from AutoCAD's "File" pulldown menu ( or
just type "config" <enter> at the command prompt).
3. Select "Configure video display".
4. Select "AutoMate/PRO for Windows" from the list of Available video
displays.
5. Then just answer the rest of the configuration questions and the
AutoCAD 12 graphics window will appear with the AutoMate/PRO toolbox
in the lower right corner.
6. Refer to the AutoMate/PRO for Windows users guide and the AutoMate
online help for detailed instructions on using AutoMate/PRO's many
features.
III. MANUAL INSTALLATION
If you choose to do so, you can bypass the automatic installation
procedure and install AutoMate/PRO manually from your DOS prompt. The
following steps outline how to do this.
-- Place the installation diskette in a floppy drive.
-- Make your AutoCAD for Windows directory your current working directory.
For example:
c: cd \acadwin
-- Copy the following files from the installation diskette to your
AutoCAD directory:
ds*.exe
ds*.mnu
vgl*.dll
vmmenupx.dll
automate.*
dsamate.dll
readme.vmi
-- Create profile file VMI.INI in your Windows directory. The contents
of this file are described in the next section. If you're installing
a Vermont Microsystems Cobra Elite, for example, the following profile
will work:
[AcadWin]
Vgl=vglpgl.dll
VglDesc=VMI X/Series or Cobra Graphics Adapter.
RepairGfx=redraw
TrueClean=on
GdiBypass=on
Dlist32=on
Toolbox=on
IV. AUTOMATE/PRO PROFILE INFORMATION
The installation creates file VMI.INI in your Windows directory. This
file contains "profile" information used by AutoMate/PRO to configure
itself when it loads. Normally you won't need to modify any of the
settings in this file.
The profile information that controls AutoMate/PRO's basic functions
consists of a group of lines in the [AcadWin] section of VMI.INI. Each
line is of the format "parameter=value" -- just like your WIN.INI and
SYSTEM.INI files. The parameters and their values are described in the
AutoMate/PRO on-line Help facility. You can modify the profile settings in
[AcadWin] by selecting the "Configure..." option in the AutoMate/PRO status
panel. The following [AcadWin] profile values are currently defined:
Vgl = { filename }
VglDesc = {graphics adapter description}
RepairGfx = { REDRAW | BITMAP }
TrueClean = { ON | OFF }
GdiBypass = { ON | OFF }
Dlist32 = { ON | OFF }
Toolbox = { ON | OFF }
Note: The current valid options for "filename" and "graphics adapter
description" are as follows:
filename:
vglpgl.dll (For VMI X/Series, Cobra Elite, Cobra ELite/MC,
Cobra Plus or Cobra/2)
vgls3.dll (For any adapter based on the S3 graphics
accelerator chip)
vglet4.dll (For any adapter based on the Tseng Labs ET4000
graphics accelerator chip)
vglatu.dll (For ATI Ultra, Ultra PRO or Ultra Plus cards)
vglqv.dll (For Compaq QVision graphics adapter)
vglgdi.dll (For all other graphics adapters)
graphics adapter description:
VMI X/Series or Cobra Graphics Adapter . (Use filename vglpgl.dll)
S3-based Graphics Adapter .............. (Use filename vgls3.dll)
Tseng ET4000-based Graphics Adapter .... (Use filename vglet4.dll)
ATI Ultra, Ultra PRO Graphics Adapter .. (Use filename vglatu.dll)
Compaq QVision Graphics Adapter ........ (Use filename vglqv.dll)
Weitek P9000-based Graphics Adapter .... (Use filename vglgdi.dll)
IIT-based Graphics Adapter ............. (Use filename vglgdi.dll)
TIGA Compatible Graphics Adapter ....... (Use filename vglgdi.dll)
VESA Compatible Graphics Adapter ....... (Use filename vglgdi.dll)
IBM XGA Graphics Adapter ............... (Use filename vglgdi.dll)
IBM 8514/A Graphics Adapter ............ (Use filename vglgdi.dll)
Standard IBM compatible VGA (640x480) .. (Use filename vglgdi.dll)
Device independant Display Driver ...... (Use filename vglgdi.dll)
In addition to the [AcadWin] section of VMI.INI, most AutoMate/PRO applets
have a section that contains their configuration information. For example,
the BirdsEye applet will save its profile infomation in the [Birdseye]
section of VMI.INI. Its profile is modified through use of the BirdsEye
itself. For example, the position and size of the BirdsEye Window is set
by dragging the window to a given location and/or manipulating its sizing
border. Its "Stay Open" setting is modified by clicking its entry in the
"Options" menu. The on-line Help provides details on all configurable
options for the applets.
V. REPORTING PROBLEMS
Vermont Microsystems hopes that AutoMate/PRO will dramatically improve
your productivity. If you encounter a problem during its use, note
carefully the circumstances under which it occurred. If any error
messages were displayed, write them down prior to contacting Technical
Support.
It is often helpful to try Autodesk's ADI drivers to see if the problem
still occurs -- the AutoCAD application itself has known bugs.
To do this, just re-run AutoCAD's video display configuration and select
the appropriate Autodesk supplied drivers.
When reporting your problem make sure you know the following about your
system configuration:
-- Windows version (3.0 or 3.1)
-- Name of your Windows display driver (SYSTEM.INI display.drv clause)
-- Do you have a permanent Windows Swap File (highly recommended)?
-- Make and model of your computer including its CPU type, e.g. 486
-- Amount of memory on your computer
-- Make and model of your graphics controller, e.g., Design Master VGA
-- Graphics screen resolution under Windows, eg. 1024 x 768
-- Contents of your VMI.INI file
VI. TRADEMARKS AND RESTRICTIONS
AutoMate, AutoMate/PRO, AutoMate/PRO for Windows and AutoMate/WIN are
all trademarks of Vermont Microsystems.
AutoCAD, AutoCAD Release 12 for Windows, AutoCAD Extension for
Windows and ADI all trademarks of Autodesk Inc.
Tiga is a trademark of Texas Instruments; IBM is a trademark of
International Business Machines; ET4000 is a trademark of Tseng Labs;
S3 is a trademark of S3 incorporated; VESA is a trademark of the
Video Electronics Standards Association. ATI Ultra, Ultra PRO and
Ultra Plus are trademarks of ATI Technologies Inc.; QVision is a
trademark of Compaq Computer corporation.
All other trademarks and copyrights by their respective owners are
hereby acknowledged.