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╔══════════════════════════╗ ║ fastmenu PLUS (TM) ║ ╚══════════════════════════╝ Version 4.0 Copyright (C) 1990 - 1991 by: Jack W Hildenbrand 9500 St.Rt.61 Berlin Hts., Ohio 44814 Phone 1 (419) 588-3608 Support BBS: 1 (419) 588-3615 3/12/2400 N81F 24 Hrs/Day Distributed By: jwh:SoftWare P.O. Box 410 Berlin Hts., Ohio 44814 - This document and the software it describes (fastmenu PLUS) is copyrighted material and is protected by the US copyright laws. fastmenu PLUS is distributed as shareware which means: You may install this software on your computer for evaluation purposes and make as many copies as you want to give to your friends for their evaluation. If you decide to use this software, you are expected to pay the author (Jack W Hildenbrand) a registration fee of $30.00. Upon registration you will receive a printed manual, the latest version of this software with the shareware notice screen removed, and three months of free phone support. To install fastmenu PLUS: Insert disk #1 into drive A or B, move to that ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ drive, and at the DOS prompt enter 'INSTALL'. Just follow on-screen prompts to complete the installation. Do not attempt to run this software from a floppy only system. For proper operation you must have a path to your root directory and to your DOS directory. This path should be installed at boot-up time by your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. An example of this statement: PATH=C:\;C:\DOS; Detailed installation instructions can be found on page 21 - Table of contents. Page ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~ Why jwh: fastmenu PLUS?...................................... 2 Applications Main Menu....................................... 4 Calculator Module............................................ 5 Phone Book Module............................................ 6 Calendar Notepad Module...................................... 8 Disk Utilities Main Menu..................................... 9 Disk Utilities File List Menu................................ 12 Edit Applications Module..................................... 16 Setup/Configuration Module................................... 19 Module Password Protection................................... 20 Editing the Logo File........................................ 21 Money Book Module............................................ 22 Installation Instructions.................................... 26 Problems..................................................... 27 BatchDOS Module.............................................. 28 Re-assigning the icons or prompts to access your favorite applications................................... 31 NOTE !!!!! IN ORDER FOR THIS PROGRAM TO OPERATE PROPERLY YOU MUST HAVE A PATH STATEMENT TO THE ROOT DIRECTORY AND ALSO TO THE DIRECTORY WHERE YOUR DOS FILES ARE LOCATED. THIS PATH STATEMENT SHOULD BE IN YOUR AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE. AN EXAMPLE OF THIS PATH STATEMENT WOULD BE: PATH=C:\;C:\DOS; ALSO, IF YOU WANT FASTMENU TO AUTOMATICALLY STARTUP WHEN YOU TURN YOUR COMPUTER ON, YOU WILL WANT TO ADD A LINE TO THE END OF YOUR AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE. THIS LINE WOULD BE: FAST Page 1 - Over the years that computers have been with us, they have gone from very large and complicated units to small desktop and very powerful pieces of equipment. Along with that growth, computers have become an almost must in every business, school and now are becoming a standard in most homes. Also the coming of the ever popular Hard Drive has made computing even more popular among every computer owner from business to home use. Storage capacities of Hard Drives have risen from around 1 megabyte to now well over 100 megabytes of storage, enabling the user to store and use numerous applications without the need of using floppies for every day applications and data storage. One problem that has arisen from these very large Hard Drive units is that it has become very hard for the user to remember the names of all the directories and the names of all the executable files that start the different applications that they have stored on their Hard Drives. Also, in an office or home situation where there are numerous people that use the same computer to do different tasks and with different ideas about how to setup access to their application, a Hard Drive can become very messy and hard to find your way around in. Also in most business situations the need for fast access to applications is becoming more and more important. As most of us know, since the Hard Drive was born, there has been numerous menu programs written to help deal with this problem, from small applications menuing systems to very large and memory consuming applications. However, there seems to be a very large gap, the small ones being to small and not adequate for most needs and the larger windowing systems needing more computer than most office and home users have at hand. For this reason jwh: fastmenu PLUS was created. What fastmenu PLUS can do for you: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ o.. Fast one or two key strokes to your applications. o.. Fast access ten digit calculator. o.. Fast access phone book or address database. o.. Fast access calendar notepad or appointment book. o.. Fast access file handling utilities. o.. Check book/Savings Account database. o.. DOS command line editor (batch/system file editor). o.. Operates in color (CGA/VGA) or monochrome mode. o.. Consumes under 13Kb of memory during applications execution. o.. Will operate in under 256Kb of memory for all modules. o.. Allows up to 40 pages with up to 20 applications per page. o.. Allows quick editing of the applications list and page titles. o.. Can be operated with a Mouse. o.. Built in Auto Mouse Detection. o.. PassWord protection on any or all outside applications execution, Module operations and DOS exits. What you need to run fastmenu PLUS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ o.. IBM PC/XT/AT or Compatible. o.. 256Kb of memory. o.. A Hard Drive and at least one floppy. o.. Monochrome or Color monitor. o.. DOS version 2.2 or later. Page 2 - Credits and thanks to: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At this time I would like to thank my wife (Kathi) for her continued support in this endeavor and for accepting the long hours and late nights I spent on this project. I thank my brother Bill Hildenbrand for his continued support and help in debugging all versions. Also, for his helpful suggestions and comments. I thank Randal Nolan for his help in debugging all versions and also, for his helpful suggestions and comments. And last, but not least I thank God for giving me the time and the knowledge to complete this project. ENHANCEMENTS: When you start fastmenu PLUS, it reads the calendar data file to see if any notes have been posted for the current date. If a note is found the 'C' on the (C)alendar prompt will be highlighted by blinking white (solid yellow, VGA Mode). Also fastmenu PLUS re- checks this calendar data file every day at midnight if your system is left running. The (D)ate prompt in the calendar module also prompts you of a pending note. A DOS command line editor has been included to give you full access to all DOS commands with the ability to enter multiple commands similar to that of a batch file. All valid batch file commands may be used in this editor. Password protection has been added as an option, to all Module and DOS level operations. Also this password option gives you the option of creating a log file on all password protected operations. The main menuing modules have been designed to use a minimum of memory. During execution of an outside application fastmenu PLUS uses only about 13k of memory. From the applications edit menu, you now have a new option. This new option allows you to choose which way you want to have an application launched. If you choose the Fast Load method, fastmenu will use the batch file method to run your application. Using this method releases all available memory to the application and is much faster. Page 3 - fastmenu PLUS Applications Main Menu. ====================================:> You may access all options in any one of three ways. 1)- Press the letter inside the parenthesis of the prompt you want to access. 2)- Point the mouse at the icon or picture that represents the option you want and then press the left mouse button. 3)- To run applications outside of this program, they must first be added to the applications list through the edit applications option. You may run these applications either by entering the number of that application and then pressing enter or by pointing the mouse at the application title and then press the left mouse button. When you startup fastmenu PLUS for the first time you will see a list of numbers from 1 to 20. These are the page title line numbers. By using the pgup and pgdn keys you can move between pages 1 to 20 and 21 to 40. All of these lines will be blank. To get started just select any page that you want to start with by entering that page number or by clicking your mouse on the page number or blank line. When you select a blank line, you will be prompted to enter the title for this page. After entering the page title you will be taken to that page. At this time you will see two new prompts (T)itle (E)dit . To add a new application to this page, simply choose the (E)dit option. Then from the application list editor module choose the (A)dd option and fill out all the path information for the application that you are adding. Press the Escape key when finished and you will be returned to the main menu. You may now run this new application by entering its' number or by clicking your mouse on it. The (T)itles prompt will return you to the page title list. Option Reaction to option ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (C)alc................. Quick access ten digit calculator. (P)hone Book........... Quick access phone and address book. (N)otepad...............Quick access notepad and appointment calendar. (D)isk Utility......... Quick access file/directory utility. (M)oney................ Quick Check Book/Savings Account Module. (B)atchDOS............. DOS Command line/batch/system file editor. (S)etup................ This option should be used the very first time you use fastmenu PLUS. Here you will set the program parameters that will make fastmenu PLUS work properly. This option may be accessed by pressing the letter (S) or by pointing the mouse at the prompt icon and then pressing the left mouse button. (I)nfo................. System status report. (ESC).................. This option will return you to DOS. Page 4 - fastmenu PLUS Calc Module. =========================:> Option Reaction to option ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Insert................. This option will insert a number at the cursor location. Delete................. This option will delete the number at the cursor location. Home................... This option will move the cursor to the far left position. End.................... This option will move the cursor to the far right position. ESC.................... This option will return you back to the applications menu. BackSp................. This option will delete the number at the cursor location and move the cursor left one position. Left Arrow............. This option will move the cursor left one position. Right Arrow............ This option will move the cursor right one position. 1 to 0................. This option will enter the chosen number to the calculator. /...................... This option is used to divide numbers. *...................... This option is used to multiply numbers. -...................... This option is used to subtract numbers. +...................... This option is used to add numbers. Enter.................. This option is used to end a calculation. F7..................... This option toggles printer on/off. Page 5 - fastmenu PLUS Phone Book Module. ===============================:> Option Reaction to option ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Q)uit................. Use this option to return to the fastmenu PLUS applications menu. (I)nsert............... Use this option to insert a new record to the phone book. The new record will be inserted just above the highlight bar. If the highlight bar is at bottom of file, the new record will be added to the end of the file. If you want, you can insert a new record ahead of an existing record by moving the highlight bar to that record, then choosing the insert option. After choosing the insert option you will be given a new slot to enter the information for this record. The Name, Address and City fields will automatically case formatted. The State field will auto convert to uppercase. The Zip Code field will only accept numbers. The phone number field will auto format for area code and phone number. (C)hange............... Use this option to change or correct an existing record. To change a record, just move the highlight bar to the record that you want to change, then choose the (C)hange option. When using the change option, the field that the cursor is located in will become blank waiting for new information. If you want to skip this field without changing it just press enter, the original information will be replaced and you will be taken to the next field. (D)elete............... Use this option to remove an existing record from the phone book. To remove a record, just move the highlight bar to the record that you want to remove, then choose the (D)elete option. You will be prompted to verify this deletion. (S)ort................. Use this option to sort all records on any field. After choosing the (S)ort option you will be asked to choose the field that you want to sort on. Do this by moving the highlight bar to that field and then press enter. (L)ocate............... Use this option when you want to locate a record or group of records from the phone book database. (P)rint................ Use this option to send any sorted or searched list to your printer (LPT1) in a list or to address labels. Page 6 - After choosing this option you will be presented with a screen that has all fields listed in vertical order. To choose a field to enter search information in, just move the cursor to that field and then press enter. This field will then open up and await for you to enter your instructions. One or all fields can be used for a search. After entering all your search information you will want to move the cursor to the Continue: (Show/print list) option and then press enter, after which you will be taken to a new screen with all records listed that match your search instructions. Up-Dn.................. These options represent the up and down arrow keys. Using them will move the highlight bar up or down one record at a time. Continuing to hold one of these keys down will cause the highlight bar to scan until you release the key. PgUp-PgDn.............. These options represent the Page Up and Page Down keys. Using them will move the highlight bar up or down a full page at a time. Continuing to hold one of these keys down will cause the highlight bar to rapid scan until you release the key. NOTE ! The phone book module uses a file oriented database and is limited in the number of records only by your disk size. Also the sort routine uses a disk sort that does not require calling all records to memory for sorting, eliminating the need for large amounts of memory for sorting a large database. Page 7 - fastmenu PLUS Calendar Notepad Module. =====================================:> Option Reaction to option ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ESC=Quit............... This option will return you to the fastmenu PLUS applications Menu. (D)ate................. This option will bring all notes or records to screen that were posted for the date shown on the calendar. (A)ll.................. This option will bring all notes or records to screen regardless of the date they were posted for. This option also gives you the chance to delete records, and should be used occasionally to remove old records or notes from the system. (N)ew.................. This option will allow you to post a note or record for the date showing on the calendar. After choosing this option, you will be given a place to enter your note. All of the standard editing keys are valid here. NOTE ! Blank lines will be ignored. This option was added to save disk space. (L)ist................. Using this option will list to screen all dates that have notes posted on them. PgUp/PgDn.............. Using the page up or page down keys will change the month on the calendar. Up/Dn.................. Using the up or down arrow keys will change the week on the calendar. Left/Right............. Using the left and right arrow keys will change the day on the calendar. Page 8 - fastmenu PLUS Disk Utilities Module. ===================================:> Option Reaction to option ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Format Diskettes....... Use this option to format new diskettes or floppies. NOTE ! For reasons of compatibility between computers, this program uses the standard DOS format program found in your DOS directory. For proper operation, your AUTOEXEC.BAT file must contain the path to your DOS files. Formatting diskettes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1>- After choosing the Format Diskettes option, you will be asked to choose whether you want to format a Non Systems Disk or DOS Systems Disk (Boot Disk). If you choose to format a systems disk, after the format process the necessary DOS files will be copied to it, creating a bootable DOS diskette. 2>- After choosing the format type you will be asked to choose the drive that you want to format from. NOTE ! This drive menu has three options: A: Drive, B: Drive or Other. If you choose the Other option you will need to manually enter the drive designating letter. Entering a 'C' here will be rejected. 3>- After choosing the drive you will be presented with three more options. The first option in this list will be used if you want to format a disk to the same capacity that is standard for your disk drive unit. The second option in this list will be used if you have a high density 1.2 Meg 5 1/4in. drive and you want to format a low density 360Kb disk. The third option in this list will be used if you have a high density 1.5 Meg 3 1/2in. drive and you want to format a low density 720Kb disk. 4>- After choosing the format density you will be asked to insert a disk in the chosen drive and press any key to begin formatting. File Maintenance....... Use this option if you want to perform any of the following: Copy Files, Delete Files, Rename Files, View Files, Edit Files or Run a program not listed in the applications menu list. Page 9 - 1>- After choosing this option, you will be asked to choose the drive that you want to perform file maintenance on. 2>- After choosing the drive, fastmenu PLUS will check the drive to see if it has any directories. If no directories are found, you will be presented with the file list that was found on this drive. If no directories or files are found on this disk, you will be returned to the drive selection menu. 3>- If directories are found, you will need to choose the directory you want to work with. Choosing a directory is done by moving the highlight bar to the directory you want with the Up and Down arrow keys and then pressing enter. 4>- After choosing the directory, you will be taken to the file list menu. Help with the file list options can be found later in this manual. DOS DiskCopy........... Use this option to make a duplicate copy of a diskette. Only diskettes of the same capacity and size should be used here. You will first be asked to choose the Source Drive. The Source drive will be the drive that you will be placing the original copy in. Then you will be asked to choose the Target Drive. The Target Drive will be the drive that you will be transferring your original to. NOTE ! The Source Drive and the Target Drive can be the same Drive. If so, you will be asked to switch diskettes back and forth until the copying process is complete. Create Directory... This option is needed if you want to create a directory on a disk that does not presently have any directories. After choosing this option, you will be asked to choose the drive that you want to work with. After choosing the drive, you will be given a place to enter the name for the new directory. Creating a new Directory from the Directory Tree screen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE ! If you need to create a directory on a disk that does not have any existing directories or files, you will need to do this from the DOS/Disk Utility Menu. If a disk has any existing directories you can create or delete them from the Directory Tree Screen. After choosing the File Maintenance option, you will be asked to choose the drive that you want to work with. After choosing the drive you will be taken to the Directory Tree screen. From the directory tree screen, you will move the highlight bar to the location that you want this new directory placed. You can do this by moving the highlight bar up or down the directory tree and then pressing enter. Page 10 - NOTE ! To place a new directory from the root directory, you will want to highlight the ROOT option on the directory tree and then press enter. If you want to place a new directory off from an existing directory, just highlight that directory and then press enter. After choosing the directory location, you will be asked to enter the name of the new directory and then press enter, after which you will be asked to verify this entry. Deleting Existing Directories from the Directory Tree Screen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This option can be reached from the Directory Tree Screen, after choosing the File Maintenance option from the DOS/ Disk Utility Menu and the drive from the Drive Menu. NOTE ! A directory cannot be deleted without first deleting any files it may contain. Choose the directory that you want to delete by moving the highlight bar to that directory and then press enter. You will be asked to verify your choice. Page 11 - fastmenu PLUS Disk Utilities File List Module. =============================================:> Option Reaction to option ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (ESC).................. Using this option will return you to the previous menu. (Up/Dn)................ Use these options to move the highlight bar up and down the file list. One key press will move the highlight bar up or down one file. Holding the key down will fast advance the highlight bar till you release the key or the end of the file list is reached. (-/+/space)............ Use these options to mark files for later maintenance. An asterisk will appear to the left of the file name of every file that is marked. Marking and Un-Marking Files. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1>- Move the highlight bar to the file you want to mark and then press the space bar. If this file has already been marked it will be un-marked. After using the space bar to mark or un-mark a file, the highlight bar will advance to the next file in the file list. 2>- Pressing the plus key will mark all files in the file list. 3>- Pressing the minus key will un-mark all marked files in the file list. (Q)uery................ Use this option to query the file list. DOS wild cards are valid here. NOTE ! The main purpose for including this option was to give you a convenient way of copying or deleting certain groups of files. For example if you wanted to copy all the files with the .DAT extension, you would first query the file list by entering [ *.DAT ] at the File Spec. prompt. Then mark all these files by pressing the plus key, then choose the (C)opy option to copy all marked files. Querying the file list with (Q)uery option. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1>- After choosing this option, you will be given a place to enter your query instructions and then press enter. After which the file list will again be presented with only the files that meet your query instructions listed. Page 12 - Query Examples: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [ *.* ]........ This query would list all files. [ *.EXE ]...... This query would list files with the EXE extension. [ FAST??.* ]... This query would list files that include the letters FAST as the first four letters in the file name. (U)pdate............... Use this option to update or re-list the files from the present drive or directory. NOTE ! You may change a disk while you are at the file list screen. After changing to the new disk, just use the (U)pdate option to list the files from the newly inserted disk. (S)tart................ Use this option to run applications outside fastmenu PLUS. This option was added to give you a way to test run an application or to run applications or games from floppy drives. Any program, game or application that can be run from the DOS prompt can also be run through this option. NOTE ! This option will only accept files with the extension of .EXE, .COM or .BAT. Before you can use this option option, you must first mark the file that you want to run. After marking this file, just choose the (S)tart option to run it. (V)iew................. Use this option to read or view text files. Before you can use this option, you must first mark the file that you want to read or view. After marking this file just choose option (V)iew to view it. (E)dit................. Use this option to edit or create any ASCII text file. To edit an existing file you must first mark it from the file list menu. After marking it, just choose option (E)dit from the file list menu. To create a new file, just choose option (E)dit without marking any files. After entering the editor you will be asked to enter the name for the new file. You may use any DOS legal name except names that have extensions of .EXE or .COM. Page 13 - NOTE ! This editor has the ability to edit files with lines up to 255 characters long. When you first enter the editor, the right margin will be set to 255. If you are editing a 80 column document you may want to reset the right margin before you begin. Also (for mouse users only) notice the diamonds at the upper left and lower right corners of the edit window. If you put the mouse cursor on these diamonds and press the left mouse button, while holding the button down, you can resize the editing window. This option along with the F4 = Image feature was added to give you a means of creating a picture of the entire editing screen. By pressing the F4 key or clicking on the F4 = Image prompt, a picture of the present screen will be stored beneath the work screen. It can then be viewed by pulling the editing screen down. Also a reduced screen can be moved about by holding the mouse button down while the mouse cursor is located on the ruler bar. Further help can be reached from the editing window by choosing option F1 = Help. (C)opy................. Use this option to copy a file or group of files from this directory or disk to another directory or disk. Before using this option, you must first mark the file or group of files you want to copy, using the (Up/Dn) and (-/+/space) keys. 1>- After marking the files you want to copy just choose option (C)opy to start the copy process. 2>- You will be asked to choose the Target Drive (the drive that you want to copy these files to). After choosing the Target Drive, fastmenu PLUS will check that drive for any existing directories. 3>- If any directories are found, you will be asked to choose which directory you want to copy these files to. 4>- If no directories exist or after choosing a directory, you will be asked to verify the copying of these files. NOTE ! If you have marked more files than will fit on the Target Drive, you will be prompted so and given the option of either continuing or returning to the file list menu. If you choose to continue, fastmenu PLUS will copy as many files to the Target Drive as will fit and then prompt you to insert a new disk. After which will continue to copy the remainder of the files marked to this disk. fastmenu PLUS will continue this process until all marked files have been copied. This copy routine was added to give you a means of backing up entire directories or groups of files to floppies without the worry of running out of disk space on the Target Drive. Page 14 - (D)elete............... Use this option to delete or remove a file or groups of files. Before using this option, you must first mark the file or group of files you want to delete, using the (Up/Dn) and (-/+/space) keys. 1>- After marking the file or group of files you want to delete, just choose option (D)elete to start the deletion process. 2>- At this time you will be asked if you want to verify each file before deletion or continue without verifying each file. (R)ename............... Use this option to rename a file. Before using this option, you must first mark the file that you want to rename. NOTE ! If more than one file has been marked, fastmenu PLUS will call up only the first file in the list that has been marked. After marking the file that you want to rename, just choose the (R)ename option, you will be shown the old file name and given a place to enter the new file name. Page 15 - fastmenu PLUS Edit Applications Module. ======================================:> Option Reaction to option ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ESC=Exit............... Using this option will return you back to the applications menu. (A)dd.................. This option allows you to add new programs or applications to the applications list. Any application that can run in DOS can be started or executed with fastmenu PLUS, either through the applications menu or through the (S)tart option from the file list menu. Adding a new application. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Although an application can be run from a floppy through fastmenu PLUS, it is recommended that you install it to your hard drive. 1>- Choose option (A)dd from the edit applications menu prompt list. You will be presented with five questions to answer. 2>- The first question will be asking you for the Title or Name of the program that you want to run. This Title or Name can be anything you want it to be, and is only used as a reference. 3>- The second question will be asking you for the name or letter of the drive that your new program will be running from. Examples would be: A, B or C. 4>- The third question will be asking you for the name of the directory that this new program is in. Seventy five characters are allowed here. Always separate multiple directory entries with a backslash (\). NOTE ! If you are running this new program from a floppy and/or the program is in the root directory, just press <enter> at this prompt. 5>- The fourth question will be asking you for the name of the file that you normally have to type in to run the program (The executable file). You may also enter any command line switches here. NOTE ! This file will normally have an extension name of either .EXE or .COM and sometimes may be .BAT. Also you do not need to include the file extension when entering this name. Page 16 - 6>- The fifth question will be asking if you want to password protect this program. If you do not want password protection, just answer this question with a [ N ]. If you want password protection for this program, answer this question with a [ Y ]. 7>- The sixth question will be asking if you want to use the Fast Load method of launching this application. This method is recommended, but may cause some problems with early versions of DOS. 8>- After answering all five questions you will be asked if you have answered all questions OK. If you have made a mistake on any answer, you may go back at this time and change any answer. Just follow on-screen prompts to make your changes. 9>- At this time, if you chose to password protect this program, you will be given a place to enter the password that you want to use to access this program. You are allowed up to six characters or numbers in this password. After entering this password, you will be prompted to verify it's validity. CAUTION !!! Be sure to remember this password, it cannot be removed from a program listing unless you know the password. This password is totally scrambled before it is written to file and would be very hard to unscramble. (C)hange............... This option is used to change or edit an existing program or application. NOTE ! Before you can change an existing program, you will need to know it's line number. You can find the program number by listing them to screen with option (L)ist, from this menu. Changing a listing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1>- Choose option (C)hange from the edit applications menu prompt list. 2>- You will first be asked to enter the number of the program listing that you want to change. After entering this number, the program will be listed to screen. At this time you will be asked if this is the program that you want to change, if so just answer with a [ Y ] then follow on-screen prompts to make your changes. (D)elete............... This option is used to delete or remove an existing program or application. NOTE ! Before you can delete an existing program, you will need to know it's line number. You can find the program number by listing them to screen with option (L)ist, from this menu. Page 17 - Deleting a listing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1>- Choose option (D)elete from the edit applications menu prompt list. 2>- After choosing the (D)elete option you will be asked if you want to delete just one application from this page or delete the entire page of applications. To delete just one application just enter [ A ] at this prompt. If you choose to delete the entire page, you will be asked to verify this answer. 3>- If you chose to just delete one program from this page, you will be asked to enter the number of the program listing that you want to delete. After entering this number, the program will be listed to screen. At this time you will be asked if this is the program that you want to delete, if so just answer with a [ Y ] to delete or remove this program. Answering with a [ N ] will return you back to the edit applications menu. (L)ist................. This option will list to screen, all applications or programs that are on this page. NOTE ! If you have password protected any of these programs, their directories and run file names will not be listed to screen. (T)itle................ This option will allow you to change the Title or Name that is presently being used for this page. Page 18 - fastmenu PLUS Setup/Configuration Module. ========================================:> This module offers several options for customizing fastmenu PLUS along with setting the default drive and directory. The default drive ( C: ) and directory ( FAST ) may be changed from this screen if need be. However I strongly recommend that you leave them at their defaults. If you change them for some reason, you will also need to edit the FAST.BAT found in your DOS or root directory. This file contains the necessary drive and path statements to start fastmenu PLUS. Option Reaction to option ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ESC=Quit............. This option will return you to the fastmenu applications menu. 1 >----------- Drive Configuration ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Use this option to change the default drive and directory of fastmenu. You will be asked to answer two questions. The first of these questions will be asking you to enter the drive that fastmenu is running on. The default is drive C. The next question will be asking you to enter the directory that the fastmenu files are located in. The default is FAST. 2 >----------- Toggle Color On/Off ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Use this option to change from color menus and prompts to black & white, or vice versa. This option will present you with one question that can be answered by either a C for color or B for black & white. NOTE ! If you are running the VGA module, it will remain in color regardless of how you set this option. 3 >- Toggle Screen Blanking On/Off ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Use this option to select whether you want screen blanking or not. This option will present you with one question that can be answered by either a Y if you want screen blanking or a N if you do not. NOTE ! This screen blanking only has an effect on fastmenu screens and will not interrupt your applications in any way. During screen blanking a logo will dance around on your screen, letting you know that fastmenu is ready to go at any time by pressing any key on your keyboard. If you have chosen to use the screen blanking option, you will then be asked to enter the amount of time (seconds) that fastmenu PLUS waits before going into screen blanking. The time can be any number of seconds between 1 and 999. Page 19 - 4 >------ Edit Password Protection ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Use this option to setup password protection to each individual fastmenu module. Such as the Phone Book and Calendar Notepad Modules. NOTE ! The password protection setup through this option only has effect on fastmenu modules and will not affect applications execution from the main menu. Applications run through fastmenu have their own password protection that may be setup through the Edit Applications module. Choosing this option will take you to a screen where you may select the modules that you want to have password protected. Select the modules that you want password protected by moving the highlight bar to that option and using the space bar to toggle your answer to either Yes or No. Only modules that you marked 'Yes' will be password protected. After marking all modules that you want password protected, just press the enter key to advance to the next screen. This next screen will have all modules listed again along with a place to enter passwords. Also at the top of your screen you will be shown the password number. You are allowed up to 50 different password combinations. When you first enter this screen the prompt will be in the password editor window. At this point you may enter the first password up to 40 characters long. After entering the password the prompt will move down to the modules list. The first option in this list will be asking you if you want to log the use of this password. If you answer this with a Yes then every time that this password is used it will be recorded in a file called MASTER.LOG. The remaining prompts in this box will determine whether or not this password has access to the corresponding module or not. NOTE ! On the previous screen if you chose not to have some of the modules password protected, they will show up on this screen in a blanked out mode. Answers placed after these blanked out modules will be ignored. After entering all information for this password you may use the down arrow key to move to the next password. When the highlight bar is on the last option in the module box pressing the down arrow key will move you to the next password screen. When the cursor is in the password window pressing the up arrow will take you to the previous password screen. After entering all passwords, pressing the F1 key will save them to disk in the MASTER.DAT file. You may edit or change these passwords at any time simply by entering this module making your changes and then saving them by pressing the F1 key. This password protection not only lets you determine which modules that you want password protected but also lets you assign different module access to different passwords. 5 >-------- View Password Log File ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Use this option to view the password log file (MASTER.LOG). If you have chosen to have any of the passwords logged, then they will be listed in this file. Page 20 - 6 >---------- Delete Password File ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Use this option to delete or completely remove all module password protection. You will be prompted to verify this choice. The MASTER.DAT file will be deleted. 7 >------ Delete Password Log File ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Use this option to delete or completely remove all logged password use. You will be prompted to verify this choice. The MASTER.LOG file will be deleted. NOTE ! If you delete this file, it will be re-created if a password is used that was marked to be logged. 8 >---------------- Edit Logo File ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Use this option to edit or change the FASTLOGO.IFO file. This file contains the information that you will see moving about during screen blanking. Also the information in this file is listed to screen on the main menu of the CGA version and the first line of this file is listed to screen in the VGA version. After choosing this option you will be presented with a screen that has this file listed in a small editing window. You may make any changes you want to this file and then press the ESC key to exit. You will be asked if you want to save any changes you have made. Page 21 - Money Book Module.......Main Menu. =================================:> Option Reaction to option ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (C)reate New File....... Choosing this option will prompt you to enter a name for a new account. This new account name can be up to 25 characters long. (ESC) = Quit............ Choosing this option will exit MoneyBook and return you to fastmenu PLUS. (1) through (5)......... Note! These options may or may not exist depending on if an account has been created. Choosing one of these options will open the account named following the option number and take you to an Edit Menu. Money Book Module.......Edit Menu. =================================:> Option Reaction to option ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (1)............... Choosing this option will take you to the account register screen. At this screen you can add or change entries to the account. (2)............... Choosing this option will prompt you to choose where you want to send this report, to screen or to printer. From there you will be taken to the search menu screen. At this screen you can enter search instructions for creating reports to screen or printer. (3)............... Choosing this option will prompt you to enter the dates that you want to create the account summery for. If you just press enter at these date fields, this account summery will be created for the entire account and will include all entries. (4)............... Choosing this option will allow you to delete this account. NOTE! you will be prompted to type in [ Yes ] if you really want to delete this account. (ESC)............. Choosing this option will return you to the main menu. Page 22 - Money Book Module.......Account Register Screen. ===============================================:> Option Reaction to option ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <UP>.............. Using the Up-Arrow key will move the highlight bar up one row for each key press. <DOWN>............ Using the Down-Arrow key will move the highlight bar down one row for each key press. <PGUP>............ Using the Page-Up key will move the highlight bar up one page for every key press. <PGDN>............ Using the Page-Down key will move the highlight bar down one page for every key press. (C)hange.......... Choosing this option will allow you to change the entry that is highlighted. (I)nsert.......... Choosing this option will allow you to insert an entry above the entry that is highlighted. NOTE! If the highlight is at bottom of file then the insert entry option will add a new entry at the end of the list. (D)elete.......... Choosing this option will allow you to delete the entry that is highlighted. You will be prompted to enter [ Y ] if you really want to delete this entry. (B)alance......... Choosing this option will allow you to balance this account to match your bank statement. All entries marked with a check mark should reflect all entries that your bank has received and should be listed on your bank statement. To mark entries just place the highlight bar on that entry and press the Shift-Plus keys on your key board. At the bottom right of your screen you will see a Balance, that will be the total of all entries that have been marked with the check mark. This Balance should be the same balance that is on your bank statement. After completing the balance process you may press the ESC key to turn to the main menu. C(a)tegory........ Choosing this option will take you to an editor that allows you to change the Income and expense categories. After changing these categories to match your account just press the ESC key to exit and then save the changes by pressing the 'Y' Key. You may create a different category list for each account. (ESC)............. Choosing this option will return you to the main menu. Page 23 - Money Book Module.......Search Account. ======================================:> Option Reaction to option ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Trans.Type........ At this prompt you will be presented with five options (A to E) that you can use in your search. If you just press <enter> at this prompt all Transaction types will be included in your search. If you choose option (A) from this menu and press <enter> then just checks will be included in your search. You may also enter a check number to search for. If you enter a check number only that check number will be included in your search. If you just press enter at this prompt then all checks will be included in your search. If you choose option (B) from this menu then only Withdrawals will be included in your search. If you choose option (C) from this menu then only Fees Assessed will be included in your search. If you choose option (D) from this menu then only Deposits will be included in your search. If you choose option (E) from this menu then only Interest earned will be included in your search. Trans.Date........ At this prompt you will be asked to enter the Dates that you want to be included in your search. Just pressing <enter> at these date fields will include all entries in the search. Dates must be entered in the ,month,day,year format (mm-dd-yy). If you entered 01-01-89 in the first field and 01-31-89 in the second field then all entries made on the first day of January and all entries made on the last day of January plus all entries between these two dates will be included in your search. Memo.............. If you enter something here then only entries that match this memo will be included in your search. If you enter [ Bank ] at this field then only entries that have the word bank in the memo field will be included in your search. Just pressing <enter> at this field will include all memo entries. Category.......... At this field you will be given options (A through U) to include in your search. If you choose one of these options then only the associated category will be included in your search. Just pressing <enter> at this field will include all categories in your search. Page 24 - Amount............ At this field you are given a chance to choose the dollar amounts you want to be included in your search. If you use the equals sign before a number then only entries that equal the number you entered will be included in your search. If you use the greater than sign before a number then only entries that are greater than the number you entered will be included in your search. If you use the less than sign before a number then only entries that are less than the number you entered will be included in your search. If you use the greater than sign and the equals sign before a number then only entries that are greater than and equals the number you entered will be included in your search. If you use the less than sign and the equals sign before a number then only entries that are less than and equals the number you entered will be included in your search. Just pressing <enter> at this field will include all Dollar amounts in your search. Money Book Module.......Account Summary. =======================================:> After choosing this option you will be asked for a beginning date for this report. This Date must be entered in the following format (month,day,year) or (mm-dd-yy). If you just press <enter> at this Date field then the first entry in this account will be the beginning entry of this summary. The next prompt will ask you for a ending date for this report. This Date must be entered in the following format (month,day,year) or (mm-dd-yy). If you just press <enter> at this Date field then the last entry in this account will be the ending entry of this summary. You will be taken to a screen that will display all categories and the Dollar amounts associated with each category, along with Totals for the Deposits, Expenses and Balance. This summary may take several minutes depending on how many entries you have in your account register. What your computer is doing in just several minutes could take you hours to do by hand. After this report is completed to screen, you may choose to print it at this time by pressing the 'P' key. If you chose to print this summary you can stop the printing at any time by pressing the (ESC) key. Money Book Module.......Delete This Account. ===========================================:> Choosing this option from the Edit Menu will allow you to completely remove the account listed at the top of the Edit menu screen. NOTE! By choosing this option you will be asked to verify that you really do want to remove this account. To remove an account you must type [ Yes ] <enter>. Type in the Yes exactly as it appears on-screen. Page 25 - fastmenu PLUS installation instructions. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE ! Before you install fastmenu PLUS I strongly recommend that you make backup copies of your original disk(s). Consult your DOS manual on making backup copies or using DISKCOPY on your machine. Also, during installation fastmenu PLUS will need to write to the installation disk(s), so be sure that the installation disk(s) have not been write protected. ALSO If you are replacing the fastmenu PLUS shareware version 2.0, all you need to do is insert disk #1 of your registered version into drive A or B and type: INSTALL. ALL your application pages, calendar, and phone book data will work with the registered version. fastmenu PLUS is not a complicated program to setup and does not require a lot of work to get running. The following three steps is all that is needed to insure proper operation. 1)-Insert your fastmenu backup/distribution disk (disk #1 if you are using 5 1/4in. disks) into drive A or B, move to that drive and type: [ install ] <enter>. Follow on-screen instructions to install fastmenu PLUS. 2)-Make sure your AUTOEXEC.BAT file contains a path statement to the root directory of your hard drive and also to the directory where your DOS files are located. An example of the path statement: PATH=C:\;C:\DOS 3)-If you want fastmenu PLUS to startup automatically, add to the end of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file the following line: FAST NOTE ! This line must be the last line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. This should complete the setup procedure for fastmenu PLUS. After installation you will have two new files added to your DOS or root directory of your hard drive C: (FAST.BAT and BRUN45.EXE). Also you will have a new subdirectory on drive C: (FAST). If you have installed fastmenu PLUS and for some reason you want to change the installation to a different configuration you may do this by just running INSTALL again from the installation disk(s) using the new options you want. The new installation will simply overwrite the old one. Page 26 - A final note about password protection: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Password protection was added to this program to provide a means of protecting valuable data and software from being accidently erased or destroyed by novice or unauthorized users and in no way is to be considered a fail safe protection from this occurrence. There are very few if any password protection routines that can not be broken by an experienced computer user determined to cause damage. If you are having problems: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IF fastmenu PLUS locks up during applications execution. One of the main problems with menu or DOS shell programs is with memory resident (TSR) programs. If you are having problems you may want to check your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to see if any programs are being installed at startup. If so remove them one at a time to find out if or which one may be causing the problem. If you find that one is causing problems you can try installing it at a different location or using fastmenu PLUS to install it. Some DOS TSR's such as the GRAPHICS.COM has been known to cause some problems. Also fastmenu PLUS will become very confused if you do not have a path statement to your root directory and to the directory that your DOS files are located. IF fastmenu PLUS will not format a disk. Again this problem can be caused by not having the path statement to your root directory and to the directory where your DOS files are located. Another reason for this is that some utility program may have changed the name of your DOS format module. Check your DOS directory for a file named FORMAT.COM. In order to make sure that all your formatted disk are compatible with other computers using DOS we have chosen to use the DOS format module. All other utilities performed by fastmenu PLUS are taken care of internally. If fastmenu PLUS will not startup. Again this problem can be cause by not having the path statement to your root directory and to the directory where your DOS files are located. fastmenu PLUS uses runtime modules from MicroSoft QuickBASIC 4.5. MicroSoft is a trademark of the MicroSoft Corporation. QuickBASIC 4.5 is a product of the MicroSoft Corporation. Page 27 - fastmenu PLUS BatchDOS Module. =============================:> The BatchDOS module allows you to enter DOS commands to an editor and then execute them by pressing the F1 key. Also you may create/ edit/save .BAT files with this editor. F1 = Run.... This option will execute or run the commands that have been entered at the editor window. Multiple commands may be executed at the same time. F2 = Load... Use this option to load an existing batch file into the editor. When choosing this option a list of batch files found on the current drive/directory will be listed to screen. You may choose one of these files by moving the highlight bar to the file you want and then press the enter key. At this point if you press the ESC key you will be returned to the editor without loading a file. F3 = Save... Use this option to save a file that has been created or changed. The file will be saved to the current drive/directory listed in the top prompt box and will be saved with the .BAT extension. F4 = Clear.. This option will clear the editor window of any text. F5 = Print.. This option will send the editor text to your printer. F6 = Path... Use this option to change the current DOS path listed in the prompt box at top of your screen. This path may also be changed through the edit window simply by F7 = System. This option will take you to the System configuration module. Page 28 - System Configuration Module. ===========================:> The System Configuration Module allows you to create/load/edit/save up to nine different AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS files and at any time you may choose one of them and install it to your root directory of drive C and then re-boot your system. (ESC)............... This option will return you to DOS. (C)reate New File... Use this option to create new files. You are allowed to create up to nine files. These files will be listed on this menu from 1 to 9. Notice that you are allowed up to 61 characters to describe each file. When you choose this option you will be given a place to enter your description after which you will be taken to the options menu. (B)atchDOS.......... This option will take you to the batchDOS module. From this module you may execute DOS commands or create/edit/save/load batch files. This module is better explained later in this manual. (1 through 9)....... These options may or may not exist, depending on wheather or not any files have been created. If a file exist just press the number associated with this file to access it. From here you will be taken to the options menu. The OPTIONS Menu. ================:> This menu will present you with severial options that will be active only on the file that you have chosen. (ESC)............... This option will return you to the main menu. (1)...... This option will take you to the text editor that will allow you to edit or change the chosen file listed at the top of the screen. This editor is a full featured text editor that includes block copy and paste options. This editor is explained fully later in this manual. (2)...... This option will install the file that you have chosen to the root directory of drive C as the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. You will be asked to verify all actions. (3)...... This option will install the file that you have chosen to the toot directory of drive C as the CONFIG.SYS file. You will be asked to verify all actions. (4)...... This option will allow you to completly remove the file listed at the top of screen. You will be prompted to verify this action. Page 29 - Editor Options and Commands: ===============================:> Home/End........ Move cursor to start/end of line. Ctrl-Home/End... Move cursor to top/bottom of window. PgUp/PgDn....... Display previous/next page. Ctrl-PgUp/PgDn.. Display first/last page. Ctrl-Left/Right. Move cursor by whole words. Ctrl-Y.......... Delete the current line. Ctrl-N.......... Insert a new line. Insert.......... Toggle insert mode on/off. Delete.......... Delete character at cursor location and move text left one position. Backspace....... Delete character at cursor location and move cursor left one position. Tab............. Move cursor right four positions. Shift-Tab....... Move cursor left four positions. Arrow Keys...... Move cursor one position in direction of arrow. Enter........... Starts a new line. If your system is equipped with a mouse, the editor window may be re-sized as needed or moved about your screen. To re-size the editor window: 1>- Placing the mouse on the arrow icon at the upper right corner of the edit window and then clicking the left mouse button will expand the window to full size. 2>- Placing the mouse on the upper left diamond icon on the edit window and while holding the left mouse button down, you may move the top and left side of the window. 3>- Placing the mouse on the lower right diamond icon on the edit window and while holding the left mouse button down, you may move the bottom and right side of the window. 4>- The edit window may be moved about on your screen by placing your mouse on the ruler bar and then while holding the left mouse button down, the window will follow your mouse movement. Page 30 - To copy a block. Move cursor to upper left corner of block then while holding the shift key down move the cursor right or down to lower right corner of block. At this point pressing any key except the ESC or delete key will copy block to clipboard. If you press the delete key at this point the block will be deleted and also copied to the clipboard. Pasting a block. Move the cursor to the new location and then press the Shift-Insert keys. NOTE ! Block operations may also be accomplished with a mouse. Also Once a block has been copied to the clipboard you may return to the files menu, reload or create a new file then from the options menu choose option (1) to load this new file into the editor and then past a previously saved block to this new file. Also saved blocks may be copied between the batchDOS editor and the system file editor. Re-assigning the built-in icons or prompts. ==========================================:> The following list of icons or prompts on the main menu may be re-assigned to run your favorite applications. (P)hone (N)otePad (D)isk (B)atchDOS (C)alc (I)nfo (M)oney To re-assign these icons simply press the Ctrl key down while pressing the hot key for the icon that you want to re-assign or you may also do this by clicking your right mouse button on the icon. A window will open up giving you three fields to enter the path instructions for the application you want this icon to run. The first thing you need to do is select the (C)hange option and then fill out the path instructions. After completeing this, simply select the (S)ave option. If you ever deside to change back to the default simply enter this window and select the (D)elete option. This will return the icon back to its' standard operation. Page 31 - DISCLAIMER Users of fastmenu PLUS must accept this disclaimer of warranty: fastmenu PLUS is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of fastmenu PLUS. fastmenu PLUS is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to the user for evaluation. Feel free to share it with your friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system. The essence of "user-supported" software is to provide personal computer users with quality software without high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products. If you find this program useful and find that you are using fastmenu PLUS and continue to use fastmenu PLUS after a reasonable trial period, you must make a registration payment of $30.00 to jwh: SoftWare. The $30.00 registration fee will license one copy for use on any one computer at any one time. You must treat the registered software just like a book. An example is that this software may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it's being used at another. Just as a book cannot be read by two different persons at the same time. Site-License arrangements may be made by contacting Jack W Hildenbrand. Anyone distributing fastmenu PLUS for any kind of remuneration must first contact Jack W Hildenbrand at the address below for authorization. You are encouraged to pass a copy of fastmenu PLUS along to your friends for evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy if they find that they can use it. All registered users will receive a copy of the latest version of fastmenu PLUS. jwh: SoftWare PO Box 410 9500 St.Rt.61 Berlin Heights, Ohio 44814 Phone (419) 588-3608 Page 32 -