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ToyBox 1.1
User's Guide
Copyright (c) 1991 Virtual Magic Software
All Rights Reserved
Section 1: What is ToyBox?
Section 2: System Requirements
Section 3: Registration Information
Section 4: Fast Start
Section 5: Installing ToyBox
Section 6: Starting ToyBox
Section 7: Getting Around in ToyBox
Section 8: The Main ToyBox Window
Section 9: Using the Helper Window
Section 10: Adding Programs to ToyBox
Section 11: Removing Programs from ToyBox
Section 12: Viewing or Modifying Program Information
Section 13: Dos Prompt
Section 14: Disabling the STOP Button
Section 15: Turning Sound On/Off
Section 16: Error Messages
Section 17: License and Warranty
Section 18: Icon List
1. What is ToyBox?
ToyBox is a state-of-the-art graphical interface designed specifically
for children, ages 3 and up. ToyBox displays large, three-dimensional
buttons, with brightly-colored icons, which act as a graphical menu of
your children's favorite programs. Children can select any of their
programs with a single keystroke or click of the mouse. They no longer
need your help each time they want to start a new program. When they
finish one program, ToyBox automatically takes over and redisplays the
program buttons, allowing them to select another program. Up to twenty
program buttons can be displayed on a VGA monitor, sixteen on an EGA.
It is incredibly easy for you, the helper, to add programs to ToyBox or
to remove them, but children cannot access this information. To add a
program, simply type in a title for the program button, the program's
location on disk, and the name of the icon you want on the program
button. Choose from a collection of 72 colorful, educational icons
which are included on the ToyBox disk. ToyBox also protects the rest of
your system from inquisitive young minds by letting you set options
which prevent children from exiting the ToyBox environment.
In addition to running your children's favorite existing programs today,
the ToyBox interface, with its advanced graphics, will be used for a
series of children's learning programs which we at Virtual Magic are
currently developing.
Although ToyBox is designed "just for kids," it's so easy and so much
fun to use you may be tempted to use it for your own "serious" programs.
Go for it! ToyBox will handle Lotus 1-2-3 and WordPerfect as well as it
handles Mickey Mouse and Sesame Street.
2. System Requirements:
MS-DOS
512k memory. (Uses only 19k while another program is running.)
EGA or VGA graphics.
Hard disk recommended.
Microsoft compatible mouse optional.
3. Registration Information
We are distributing ToyBox as shareware, which means we allow you to try
the program out before you pay for it. We also encourage you to
distribute the program (unaltered) to friends, bulletin board systems,
etc. However, if you like the program and continue to use it, please
send a $15.00 registration fee to:
Virtual Magic Software
P.O. Box 615
Fort Monmouth, NJ 07703
When you send your registration fee, we'll send you a disk containing
the latest registered version of ToyBox, which doesn't show the opening
advertisement. We'll also include on the disk a utility for designing
your own ToyBox icons. Please specify whether you would like a 3.5" or
5.25" disk.
If you have any questions or comments about ToyBox, please send them to
the above address. You can also contact us on CompuServe (70304,2045)
or Prodigy (CJKH33A). It is through your comments and suggestions that
we can make ToyBox and future products even better.
4. Fast Start
We recommend you read through this User's Guide to learn exactly what
ToyBox can do; however, for those of you who would rather explore on
your own, here are four quick pieces of information to get you started:
1) [Alt]-[h] lets you (the helper) open the Helper Window to add,
remove or modify program information.
2) Example program information (Add Program Window):
Title: Dinosaur Game
Program: C:\CHILDREN\GAMES\DINOSAUR
Command Line Arguments: (normally none)
Icon: LBD
3) Available icons are listed in Section 18 of this User's Guide
or, for quick reference, in a separate file named ICONLIST.DOC.
4) [Alt]-[s] lets you (the helper) exit ToyBox even if the STOP
Button is disabled.
5. Installing ToyBox
We normally distribute the unregistered version of ToyBox as a single
compressed file named TOYBOX11.ZIP. You must "unzip" this file into
separate files using the shareware program PKUNZIP (trademark of PKWARE,
Inc.). We suggest unzipping the file into an empty directory on your
hard drive, so the ToyBox files will not get mixed in with other files
in the directory. When PKUNZIP finishes, the directory will contain the
following files: TOYBOX.EXE, TOY2.OVL, TOY3.OVL, INFO.TBI, OK.TBI,
STOP.TBI, TOYBOX.WIN, READFAST.DOC, TOYBOX.DOC, ICONLIST.DOC, UPDATE.DOC
and 72 icon files (*.ICN). If you desire you can move TOYBOX.WIN, the
*.DOC files, and unused *.ICN files to another directory, but you must
leave the remainder of the files together in one directory. After
you've run ToyBox for the first time, you will notice that it has
created two more files (TOYBOX.INF and TOYFILE.TMP). Do not move or
remove TOYBOX.INF or you will lose all the information about the
programs you've installed in ToyBox. If you install ToyBox on a floppy
disk, don't write-protect the disk. Also, be aware that ToyBox will run
much slower from a floppy disk than from a hard disk.
6. Starting ToyBox
a. From DOS: First change to the directory containing the ToyBox
files (or ensure this directory is in the PATH statement in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file), then type TOYBOX. ToyBox automatically detects
whether your system has an EGA or VGA compatible graphics card and
switches to the highest graphics mode available. It will also detect
the presence of a mouse if you have installed a mouse driver such as
MOUSE.COM in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, or MOUSE.SYS in your CONFIG.SYS
file. If you have display problems, such as part of the main ToyBox
Window not being on the screen, or the mouse pointer not being visible,
you can force ToyBox into the correct graphics mode by typing TOYBOX EGA
or TOYBOX VGA. If the mouse pointer still does not display, check to
ensure you have a mouse driver properly installed.
b. From Microsoft Windows: We've included a special ToyBox
icon for Microsoft Windows named TOYBOX.WIN. Follow instructions
included in the Microsoft Windows Users Guide to install and run
ToyBox as a DOS application under Windows.
7. Getting around in ToyBox
When you open a new window, such as the Helper Window described below,
it pops up on top of the current window and becomes the new active
window. You can only access objects (normally buttons or boxes) that
are in the active window. These objects may be accessed by keyboard or
mouse.
a. Selecting Objects (Keyboard): Move the cursor (a red square
outline, except in text boxes) to the desired object by pressing the
arrow keys, then press the [Enter] key.
b. Selecting Objects (Mouse): Move the mouse pointer to the
desired object and click any of the mouse buttons. To make it easier
for small children, all mouse buttons have the same effect.
c. Closing the Active Window (Keyboard): Press the [Esc] key, or
move the cursor to the button in the upper left corner of the window and
press the [Enter] key. The button will either be a large red STOP
button if the window is one that can be accessed by the child, or a
smaller red button if the window is designed only for the adult helper.
d. Closing the Active Window (Mouse): Move the mouse pointer to
the red button in the upper left corner of the window and press the
[Enter] key.
e. Editing Text: To add programs to ToyBox, you (the helper)
must type certain program information such as program title, file name,
etc., into text boxes. This section describes the procedures for
entering and editing text.
1) Positioning the Text Cursor (Keyboard): Move the text
cursor (a thin, black vertical line) to the desired text box. Move to
the desired location within the text box by using the Left-Arrow or
Right-Arrow. Pressing the [Enter] key will move the cursor out of the
text box to the next object.
2) Positioning the Text Cursor (Mouse): Move the mouse
pointer directly to the desired location within any of the text boxes in
the active window and click one of the mouse buttons.
3) Entering Text: After positioning the cursor, begin
typing. The text will be inserted at the cursor location. ToyBox will
not allow you to enter more text than will fit inside the text box.
4) Deleting Text: To delete a character to the right of
the current cursor location, press the [Delete] key. To delete a
character to the left of the cursor, press the [Backspace] key.
8. The Main ToyBox Window
From the main ToyBox Window, the child can run a program simply by
moving the red square cursor with the arrow keys to any of the program
buttons that you have installed, then pressing the [Enter] key, or by
moving the mouse pointer to one of the program buttons and clicking any
of the mouse buttons. Programs are installed by using the Helper Window
as described below. The child can also access the the STOP Button to
leave ToyBox, which you can disable, and the Information Button, which
children seem to enjoy playing with.
9. Using the Helper Window
The Helper Window is where you add, remove or modify program information
in ToyBox. This window is designed to be inaccessible to the child.
The only way to access the Helper Window is by pressing [Alt]-[h] (hold
down one of the [Alt] keys and press the [h] key). It is best not to
allow the child to see you perform this operation. Children are very
quick to pick up seemingly complicated tasks. When you have finished
making changes, close the Helper Window and the changes will be
reflected in the main ToyBox Window, ready for the child to use.
10. Adding Programs to ToyBox
From the Helper Window, select the 'Add a Program to ToyBox' button.
This will open up the Add Program Window.
a. Title: Type the name you want associated with the program
button. This name will appear under the program button on the screen.
Any name up to 17 characters is valid.
b. Program: ToyBox needs to know where to find your program,
including the complete drive, directory and filename. For example if
the program you want to add is 'DINOSAUR.EXE' and it is on drive 'C:' in
the '\PROGRAMS\JIMMY' directory, the complete path would be:
C:\PROGRAMS\JIMMY\DINOSAUR.EXE
It is safest to type in this complete path, in case you later move your
ToyBox files to another drive or directory. However, to save you some
typing, ToyBox does provide the following defaults for some of the
information:
1) If you do not specify a drive or directory (e.g. you
type only 'DINOSAUR.EXE'), ToyBox will look first in the current
directory (the directory containing TOYBOX.EXE) . If it does not find
'DINOSAUR.EXE' in the current directory, it will then begin searching
all directories listed in the PATH statement in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
If it cannot not find the program in any of these directories, it will
return an error message when you attempt to run the program.
2) If you specify a drive but no directory (e.g.
'B:DINOSAUR.EXE'), ToyBox will default to the root directory on the
specified drive. Typing 'B:DINOSAUR.EXE' is equivalent to typing
'B:\DINOSAUR.EXE'.
3) If you specify a directory but no drive (e.g.
'\PROGRAMS\JIMMY\DINOSAUR.EXE'), ToyBox will default to the specified
directory on the current drive (the drive containing TOYBOX.EXE).
4) If you don't specify an extension to the filename (e.g.
'B:\PROGRAMS\JIMMY\DINOSAUR'), ToyBox will look in the specified or
default drive and directory for the filename as given (with no
extension). If the file is not found, ToyBox adds '.COM' and searches
again. If that search is not successful, ToyBox adds '.EXE' and
searches again. If the search is still not successful, ToyBox will add
'.BAT' and try one last time. In the above example ToyBox will look in
the specified or default directories for a file named 'DINOSAUR' with no
extension. If that search is unsuccessful it will look for a file named
'DINOSAUR.COM'. If it still has no success it will look for a file
named 'DINOSAUR.EXE'. Finally, it will look for a file named
'DINOSAUR.BAT'.
c. Command Line Arguments: Some programs allow or require
arguments (also called switches) to be typed in after the program
filename to pass information to the program or to set various
parameters. Type these arguments just as you would following the
filename at the DOS command line.
d. Icon: ToyBox provides a number of colorful icons to
distinguish each program button. These icons allow the child to
associate the various programs in ToyBox with letters, numbers, colors
and shapes instead of words. A complete listing of the icons included
with ToyBox is contained at the end of this User's Guide. For quick
reference, the icon listing is also included on disk as a separate file
named ICONLIST.DOC. If the icon files are located in the same directory
as TOYBOX.EXE, you only need to type in the filename itself, without the
.ICN extension. For example, if you wanted to use LBD.ICN, which is a
light blue diamond icon, you would type LBD in the Icon text box. If
the icon files are located on another drive or directory, you must type
the path and filename (e.g. 'C:\TOYBOX\ICONS\LBD'). If you don't give
an icon filename, or you give an invalid filename, ToyBox will display a
grey button with no design.
e. Saving the Information: After you have entered all the
necessary information, you can save it by selecting the large 'OK'
button. This will save the information to disk, close the Add Program
Window, and bring you back to the Helper Window. If you wish to leave
the Add Program Window without saving the information you have just
typed, simply select the red button in the upper left corner of the
window.
11. Removing Programs from ToyBox
From the Helper Window, select the 'Remove a Program from ToyBox'
button. This will open up the Remove Program Window. This window will
display the titles of all programs currently in ToyBox. To mark a
program for removal, select it with the keyboard or mouse. The box
containing the title will change to black. You can mark as many
programs for removal as you wish. If you incorrectly mark a program for
removal or decide you don't want to remove a program, simply select the
title again and the box will return to grey. After you have marked all
desired programs for removal, press the large 'OK' button to actually
remove the programs. To leave the Remove Program Window without
removing any programs (even if they are marked for removal) simply
select the red button in the upper left corner of the window. (NOTE:
Removing a program from ToyBox in no way affects the program itself.
The program still resides on the disk and you can access it normally
from the DOS command line. It can also be added back later to ToyBox if
you desire.)
12. Viewing or Modifying Program Information
From the Helper Window, select the 'View/Modify Program Info' button.
This will open up the View/Modify Window. This window will display the
titles of all programs currently in ToyBox. Select the title of the
program you wish to view or change. Selecting a title will open the
View/Modify Program Window which contains all the program information
(title, path, arguments, icon file) for that particular program. You
can change the information using the same editing methods you used when
you originally added the information to ToyBox. After you have made all
desired changes, press the large 'OK' button to save the changes to
disk. To leave the View/Modify Program Window without saving the
changes you just entered, select the red button in the upper left corner
of the window.
13. DOS Prompt
You can temporarily leave ToyBox and go to the DOS prompt by selecting
the 'DOS Prompt' button from the Helper Window. This will allow you to
perform any operation you normally perform from DOS. This feature is
useful, for example, if you want to double-check the directory path of a
program you are attempting to add to ToyBox, or if you need take a quick
on-line look at this user guide. When you are ready to return to
ToyBox, type 'EXIT'. (Do not type 'TOYBOX'. This will cause a second
copy of ToyBox to be run on top of the first copy, using up excessive
memory, and possibly causing the program to crash at some later point.
If you do type TOYBOX by mistake, simply stop ToyBox and, at the DOS
prompt, type EXIT. This will bring back the original ToyBox.)
14. Disabling the STOP Button
You can prevent the child from leaving the ToyBox environment by
disabling the STOP Button on the main ToyBox Window. Do this by
selecting 'STOP Button' from the Helper Window. To re-enable the STOP
Button select 'STOP Button' again. You (the helper) can exit ToyBox
from the main window, even if the the STOP Button is disabled, by
pressing [Alt]-[s].
15. Turning Sound On/Off
You can turn off all ToyBox sounds by selecting 'Sound' from the Helper
Window. You can turn the sounds back on by selecting 'Sound' again.
This option has no effect on sounds in programs running under ToyBox.
16. Error Messages
If you get a "Bad Command or File Name" or "Spawn Error: No Such File
or Directory" error message when you try to run a program from ToyBox,
it means that ToyBox cannot find the program. Check to ensure that you
have installed the correct drive, directory, and filename for the
program.
ToyBox keeps a small amount of memory (19k) for itself when it is
running an installed program. If the program it is trying to run takes
all available memory, include the 19k needed by ToyBox, the program may
crash, or you may get an error message that ToyBox is aborting due to
lack of memory. The only solutions to allow you to run that particular
program from ToyBox are to add more memory, or take out some of the
memory-resident drivers or TSR's that are using up memory.
You will get an error message if you attempt to read from a disk drive
that is not ready or write to a disk drive that is write-protected.
After displaying the error message, ToyBox will give you a chance to
correct the problem and try again.
17. License and Warranty
You may use ToyBox on a trial basis. If you continue to use it after a
reasonable amount of time, you must send the $15.00 registration fee as
described in Section 3. You are free to copy and distribute ToyBox for
noncommercial use if no fee is charged and it is not modified in any
way. Clubs, user groups and disk vendors may charge a nominal fee not
to exceed $6.00 for expenses and handling while distributing ToyBox.
Site licenses for schools and other organizations are available.
Virtual Magic Software hereby disclaims all warranties relating to this
software, whether express or implied, including without limitation any
implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular
purpose. We will not be liable for any special, incidental,
consequential, indirect or similar damages due to loss of data or any
other reason. In no event shall our liability for any damages ever
exceed the price paid for the license to use software, regardless of the
form of the claim. The person using the software bears all risk as to
the quality and performance of the software.
18. Icon List
ToyBox comes with a collection of 72 icon files. Icon use is
explained in detail in Section 10 of this User's Guide. For quick
reference, this list is also included as a separate file (ICONLIST.DOC).
DBD.ICN - Dark Blue Diamond LBD.ICN - Light Blue Diamond
DBS.ICN - Dark Blue Square LBS.ICN - Light Blue Square
DBT.ICN - Dark Blue Triangle LBT.ICN - Light Blue Triangle
DCD.ICN - Dark Cyan Diamond LCD.ICN - Light Cyan Diamond
DCS.ICN - Dark Cyan Square LCS.ICN - Light Cyan Square
DCT.ICN - Dark Cyan Triangle LCT.ICN - Light Cyan Triangle
DGD.ICN - Dark Green Diamond LGD.ICN - Light Green Diamond
DGS.ICN - Dark Green Square LGS.ICN - Light Green Square
DGT.ICN - Dark Green Triangle LGT.ICN - Light Green Triangle
DMD.ICN - Dark Magenta Diamond LMD.ICN - Light Magenta Diamond
DMS.ICN - Dark Magenta Square LMS.ICN - Light Magenta Square
DMT.ICN - Dark Magenta Triangle LMT.ICN - Light Magenta Triangle
DRD.ICN - Dark Red Diamond LRD.ICN - Light Red Diamond
DRS.ICN - Dark Red Square LRS.ICN - Light Red Square
DRT.ICN - Dark Red Triangle LRT.ICN - Light Red Triangle
BD.ICN - Brown Diamond YD.ICN - Yellow Diamond
BS.ICN - Brown Square YS.ICN - Yellow Square
BT.ICN - Brown Triangle YT.ICN - Yellow Triangle
A.ICN Letters A-Z 0.ICN Numbers 0-9
B.ICN 1.ICN
C.ICN 2.ICN
: :
Z.ICN 9.ICN