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WHY_ALG.DOC
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1993-04-21
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Application Label Generator
Version 2.2
COPYRIGHT (c) 1992-1993, MyLife Software
- all rights reserved.
________
____|__ | (R)
--| | |-------------------
| ----|-- | Association of
| | |_| Shareware
|__| o | Professionals
-----| | |---------------------
|___|___| MEMBER
Application Label Generator User's Manual
CONTENTS
Introduction.......................................... 1
What's in the package................................. 2
System Requirements
What is the Application Label Generator............... 3
Why is the Application Label Generator important...... 4
Making the Application Label Generator work........... 5
On-line help
Select Label Type
5.25" diskette labels
3.5" diskette labels
Return address labels
Product description labels.
Disk size
New version
Edit Company Name
Company name
Company address
Company city, state, and zip code
Company phone
Edit Application List
Application name
Copyright information
Serial number
Application description
Diskette title
Print Labels
Number of labels to print
Left margin
Select attention line
Redefine attention line
Changing attention line
Print serial numbers on disks
Print serial numbers on all disks
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Application Label Generator User's Manual
Printer Selection
Printer name
10 CPI on code
10 CPI off code
12 CPI on code
12 CPI off code
17 CPI on code
17 CPI off code
Near letter quality on code
Near letter quality on code
Software Branding
Exit Application Label Generator
In Closing............................................ 16
ii
Application Label Generator User's Manual
INTRODUCTION
Before we get started let me introduce myself. My name is
John Michael Sanders. I write custom business software and
shareware. I began my humble little business originally
called, Energy Software, in 1989. I later dissolved that
business and began MyLife software to better reflect the
efforts I was putting forth in the business. I had hopes and
dreams of being another Bill Gates. Well I must admit it
hasn't turned out that way, but I haven't given up either.
I started my business by writing small utility programs. My
first major application was a program that computed monetary
savings using various energy saving appliances and devices
as apposed to conventional products. It was a good program,
no sales, the company I wrote it for folded shortly there
after.
Several major projects later, I designed a 30,000 line
database application that would access 21,000 files spread
across 12 drives in 600 subdirectories on a network
environment. Some application huh!
As I got deeper into the shareware arena I needed a way to
label disks in large quantities quickly. I looked around
bulletin boards and shareware distributors for an
application that would work and none fit the bill. Well, as
a programmer, I developed my own. It was just what I needed
and had the features that a shareware author required.
After passing this little program around to other
programmers for a while, they found it useful and I realized
that what I had developed was quite wonderful little
shareware application. So I present this product to you,
other shareware authors.
The Application Label Generator has the following features;
a. Prints the six types of labels used by authors the
most;
1. 5.25" diskettes
2. 3.5" diskettes
3. Return address
4. Product
5. Disk size
6. New version
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Application Label Generator User's Manual
b. Prints serial numbers on labels
1. The 1st label in an application set
2. or, all labels in an application set
c. The database stores information on up to 20
of your applications
d. Each application can have up to 10 diskettes in a
set and individual labels can be printed for each
e. Four attention lines can be user defined for the
return address label
f. Three predefined attention lines for the return
address label
g. Two user defined printer types
h. Four default printer setups
i. Seven lines of 68 characters each are available to
provide an adequate product description of the
application on the product labels
WHAT'S IN THE PACKAGE
The Application Label Generator contains the following
files;
ALG.EXE - Application Label Generator main
program
ALG.HLP - Help file for the Application Label
Generator
DESCRIBE.DOC - Description file of what the
Application Label Generator is all
about.
INSTALL.EXE - Installation program.
LICENSE.DOC - Application Label Generator license
agreement.
READ.ME - File of latest Application Label
Generator changes.
REGISTER.DOC - The Application Label Generator
registration form.
WHY_ALG.DOC - This user's manual.
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Application Label Generator User's Manual
The Application Label Generator will create the four below
files the first time the Application Label Generator program
is accessed;
ALG.DBF - File containing all the shareware
authors' applications.
ALG_1.DBF - File containing the authors' business
name, address, and phone number.
PRINTER.CFG - The first default printer defined by
the user.
PRINTER1.CFG - The second default printer defined by
the user.
If you find any of these files missing or corrupt please
call or write MyLife Software for a disk replacement. One
will be shipped to you immediately.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
The Application Label Generator requires the following;
a. Dot matrix printer
b. One floppy disk drive (Harddrive recommended)
c. Monitor monochrome (Color recommended)
Ideally, you would want to make this application available
from your harddrive for easy access.
WHAT IS THE APPLICATION LABEL GENERATOR
The Application Label Generator is an application
specifically designed for the shareware author. The
Application Label Generator will print the labels most used
by the shareware author. Those labels are;
a. 5.25" diskette labels
b. 3.5" diskette labels
c. Return labels
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Application Label Generator User's Manual
d. Product description labels
e. Disk size
f. New version
The sole function of the Application Label Generator is to
print labels and brand software. This package will most
likely replace several applications or methods you currently
use to label, serial number, provide product labels and
brand your shareware applications. If you presently do not
use any of these labels in your business then it will be
easy to implement them with the Application Label Generator.
WHY IS THE APPLICATION LABEL GENERATOR IMPORTANT
The Application Label Generator provides a single
application to manage the labeling needs of up to 20 of your
shareware applications. You will no longer need to remember
file names or which disk contains the particular label for
an application, it's all in one program.
The Application Label Generator is important for the
following reasons;
a. You'll save time
b. You'll be better organized
c. Your labeling will be consistent
d. You will save money
By using the Application Label Generator you'll save many
hours of laborious work managing the labeling, product
labeling, and addressing of your quality shareware
applications. The time saved will come from several
different areas. One area may be in the development of
labels, another may be in the printing of return address
labels.
You will be better organized because all your application
labeling needs can be managed from one quality shareware
program. You will not be searching for disks that had that
one label on it anymore.
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Application Label Generator User's Manual
By using the Application Label Generator all your
application labeling will retain a certain level of
consistency. I have found it is much better to maintain a
level of conformity in all my applications.
Yes, it is true you will save money. Even if you only sell
a few applications a month the Application Label Generator
will save you, money. Professional multicolor labels cost
about $200 per 1000 labels. This is expensive if you are
only selling one or two programs a month. Another thing to
consider about purchasing custom printed disk labels is what
if you change a program name or version number. If the
version number is on the label you'll most likely have to
trash the labels.
Using the Application Label Generator will create quality
disk labels for two of the most common sizes of diskette
labels. By using common label sizes and then only printing
what you need, you will definitely save money.
MAKING THE APPLICATION LABEL GENERATOR WORK
Working disk
The first thing to do is make a working copy of the
Application Label Generator. You can either make a disk copy
or simply copy the Application Label Generator to another
diskette. Ensure you store the orginial in a safe should
something happen to the working copy.
Installation
Installing the Application Label Generator is easy. Place
the ALG diskette in either the 'A' or 'B' drive and type
'INSTALL'.
EXAMPLE : A:\> install
B:\> install
You will be asked if the ALG disk is in the stated drive.
answer either <Y>es, <N>o, or <Q>uit.
Next, select the destination drive. It may be any valid
harddrive. Once selected all files will be copied to the
newly created '\ALG' subdirectory.
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Application Label Generator User's Manual
In order to access the Application Label Generator just
type ALG, an example is provided below;
EXAMPLE: C:\ALG> ALG
Once you have done this the main menu screen will appear.
From this menu you may go to the 6 other areas, they are;
a. Help .................................. (F1)
b. Select Label Type ..................... (F2)
Use to define type of disk label to work with,
valid types are 5.25" disk labels, 3.5" disk labels, return
address labels, and product labels.
c. Edit Company Name ..................... (F3)
You may change the software company name,
address, city, state, zip code and phone number from this
selection.
d. Edit Application List ................. (F4)
You may edit the label content of up to 20
different applications from this selection. Items that can
be edited include;
1. Main application name
2. Version
3. Copyright information
4. Serial number
5. Up to 7 lines of application description
6. Up to 10 individual diskette titles
7. Software brand
8. Software brand path
e. Print Labels .......................... (F5)
This selection allows you to print the labels
selected in <F2> above. You may print up to 999 of any
selected type. In addition, you can specify the column to
begin typing on. The valid entries are 0 through 9.
f. Printer Selection ..................... (F6)
You define the two default printers from this
selection. Four selections are provided, two of which you
may define.
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Application Label Generator User's Manual
g. Brand Software ........................ (F9)
You may brand your software to determine its
source when a user registers it. More on branding will be
explained later.
g. Exit Application Label Generator ...... (F10)
When you select <F10> Application Label Generator
will save all settings and any information that you have
changed and return you to the DOS prompt.
HELP
On-line help is always available by pressing the <F1> key.
The help system is context sensitive. You will find the
Application Label Generator so easy to use that you may
never need it, but its there just in case.
SELECT LABEL TYPE
By pressing the <F2> key a window will pop up displiaying
the selected type of label. The Application Label Generator
can print four types of labels, they are;
a. 5.25" diskette labels
b. 3.5" diskette labels
c. Return address labels
d. Product description labels.
e. Disk size.
f. New version.
All defined labels will print on single wide tractor fed
labels. The below information will assist you in purchasing
the required labels.
a. 5.25" diskette ....... 4" x 1 7/16" Avery
style 4102
b. 3.5" Diskette ........ 2.75" x 2.75" Avery
style 4104
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Application Label Generator User's Manual
c. Return address ....... 3.5" x 15/16" Avery
style 4102
d. Product description .. 4" x 2 15/16" Avery
style 4201
e. Disk size ............ 3.5" x 15/16" Avery
style 4102
f. New version .......... 3.5" x 15/16" Avery
style 4102
Any label may be used as long as the defined size is a
match. You are not limited to using the Avery labels.
EDIT COMPANY NAME
You should immediately edit the company information. The
company information will be displayed at the top of the main
menu screen on the Application Generator and on all labels
generated.
Company Name
The first area to modify is the software company name.
Simply type in your business name. When you are satisfied
press <ENTER>.
Company Address
The company street address is the second block of
information. Once you are content with the information press
<ENTER>.
Company City, State, and Zip Code
The City, State, and Zip Code is entered in the third
block. Again press ENTER when the information is correct
Company Phone
The final block to require information is a phone number.
Place the phone number you'll use for providing Technical
Support.
You can press the <TAB> key to move forward one block and
<SHIFT-TAB> to move backward one block. Once all the
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Application Label Generator User's Manual
information is correct continue to press the <ENTER> key
and a status message will ask you if all the information is
correct. The valid selections are <Y>es, <N>o, and <Q>uit.
If the information needs further correcting press <N> and
you will be returned to the edit company information area.
If you press <Q> then you will immediately be returned to
the main menu screen.
If the entries are correct then press <Y>. You are then
asked if desire to save the information, press <Y> or <N>.
EDIT APPLICATION LIST
Application Name
Enter your application name in this block. As an example
for the registered version of the Application Label
Generator I have entered 'Application Label Generator'. The
application name will be printed on both diskette labels and
the product description label. Thirty two spaces are defined
for this entry.
Version
Enter the current version of the software. This information
will be used when printing the new version label. Six spaces
have been provided for this important version information.
Copyright Information
Enter your copyright information on this line. As an
example for the registered version of the Application Label
Generator I have entered '(c) 1993, MyLife Software'. The
copyright information will be printed on both diskette
labels and the product description label. Thirty two spaces
have been defined for this entry.
The '- all rights reserved.' line is automatically added on
the next line of the respective labels. The 'all rights
reserved' line assists in protecting any software that might
happen to get outside the United States. It is very similar
to the copyright line in meaning.
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Application Label Generator User's Manual
Serial Number
Enter a beginning serial number for your application. Four
spaces are provided. The Application Label Generator will
use this information allow with the application name and
current year to develop a serial number for you. If you were
to enter '0001' in this block, with an application name of
'Application Label Generator' and current year of '1993' the
program would generate a serial number of 'AL-93-0001'.
The Application Label Generator will take the first letter
from the first two words of the application name or in the
case of a single worded application name the first two
letters.
When printing serial numbers on labels the Application
Label Generator will automatically increment the serial
number each time a label is printed.
Application Description
The Application Label Generator provides up to 7 lines of
product description space. Each line is 68 spaces long.
Enter any information desired to describe your application.
This information will be printed on the product label.
Diskette Title
The Application Label Generator has provisions for printing
up to 10 different diskette labels for each application. If
your application requires 6 disks you may choose the
following entries;
a. Install Disk
b. Disk 1
c. Disk 2
d. Disk 3
e. Disk 4
f. Disk 5
When printing diskette labels each label will be printed
once before proceeding to the next set.
Brand
Software branding is a process of embeding a serial number
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Application Label
Generator User's Manual
or a name for purposes of tracking the source of your
software. In order to brand your software you must establish
a variable with the contents listed below in your source
code:
variable = 'M Y L I F E S O F T W A R E'
This type of branding is much simplier than compiling your
source code each time you mail a disk to a different vendor
or BBS.
The Application Label Generator will search your compiled
code for the above variable, if found the above variable
will be replaced by the brand you specified. Twenty eight
spaces are provided for this entry.
Brand path
Enter the drive\directory and full filename of the
application to be branded.
You can press the <TAB> key to move forward one block and
<SHIFT-TAB> to move backward one block. Once all the
information is correct continue to press the <ENTER> key and
a status message will ask you if all the information is
correct. The valid selections are <Y>es, <N>o, and <Q>uit.
If the information needs further correcting press <N> and
you will be returned to the edit application name block.
If you press <Q> then you will immediately be returned to
the main menu screen.
PRINT LABELS
The print labels selection of the Application Label
Generator will print your labels. Several pieces of
information are required before labels can be printed. The
required information is explained in the following
paragraphs;
Number Of Labels To Print
This is the number of labels you desire to print. Up to 999
labels may be printed. For return address and product labels
the number selected will be printed.
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Application Label Generator User's Manual
If a diskette label is selected the number of labels
printed will be the number of labels selected to print
multiplied by the number of diskettes in an application set.
An example is if your application has 6 diskettes and you
want 10 label sets to be printed then 60 labels will spit
out of your printer before it is done.
Left Margin
This is the space(s) between the 1st printing position of
your printer and the beginning, left side, of your labels.
The only valid entries are 0-9.
If you have selected to print diskette labels then the
Application Label Generator will then ask is you desire to
have serial numbers placed on your diskette labels. Entering
<N>o will cause the Application Label Generator not to print
serial numbers on any diskette labels. If the answer is
<Y>es then you will be asked if you desire to have serial
numbers printed on all labels in an application set. Again
if the answer is <Y>es serial numbers will be placed on each
label in the set. If you enter you answer <N>o then a serial
number will only be printed on the first label in a diskette
set.
Once you have selected the above information, an example of
the label will be displayed on the screen. If it is correct
press <Y>, if not press <N> and you will have the
opportunity to reenter the information.
If you had selected to print return address labels these
instructions will apply;
Select Attention Line
Select an attention line to print on the return address
label. Press any of the highlited <F> keys.
Four lines are dedicated for your customizing. To customize
a line press the <F9> key. You are will then be given the
opportunity to enter your custom attention line.
Redefine Attention Line
If you desire to redefine an attention line press the <F>
key you wish to redefine. Valid keys are; <F5> thru <F8>.
This allows you to create a customized line if one of the
predefined options are not to your tastes.
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Application Label Generator User's Manual
Changing Attention Line
Type your custom attention line. This is the 2nd line of
the return address label. It will be printed exactly as
entered on this line.
If you had selected disk size labels the below instructions
will apply:
a. You must select either 5.25" or 3.5" diskettes.
b. With all the environmental awareness you may decide
to include a recycle statement. Select either <Y>es or <N>o.
c. Add any remarks you determine appropriate.
If you had selected new version labels you must select the
application to which the new version applies. Once this is
done follow the screen instructions.
PRINTER SELECTION
The Application Label Generator allows you to select
between 4 different types of printers. Two of which you may
define on your own. If you are unsure of the type to select
then use the Epson FX/LX and ensure your printer is setup to
emulate an Epson compatible printer. Select the highlited
<F> key to define the printer. To define or redefine the
user configured printer press <F9>.
The below instructions will help you in setting up the
default printers.
Printer Name
Enter the defined printer name. Select any name so that you
will equate it with the desired printer. The name entered
should most likely be the printer name.
10 CPI On Code
Enter the DECIMAL codes that equates to printing at 10
character per inch. If multiple codes are required separate
each individual code with a space. If you are unsure of the
specific codes required for your printer then refer to your
printers user's manual. If no code is available then you may
leave it blank. An example is shown below;
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Application Label Generator User's Manual
EXAMPLE : 10 CPI On..... ESC G
27 71
10 CPI Off Code
Enter the DECIMAL codes that equates to turning off
printing at 10 character per inch. If multiple codes are
required separate each individual code with a space. If you
are unsure of the specific codes required for your printer
then refer to your printers user's manual. If no code is
available then you may leave it blank. An example is shown
below;
EXAMPLE : 10 CPI Off.... ESC G
27 71
12 CPI On Code
Enter the DECIMAL codes that equates to printing at 12
character per inch. If multiple codes are required separate
each individual code with a space. If you are unsure of the
specific codes required for your printer then refer to your
printers user's manual. If no code is available then you may
leave it blank. An example is shown below;
EXAMPLE : 12 CPI On..... ESC G
27 71
12 CPI Off Code
Enter the DECIMAL codes that equates to turning off
printing at 12 character per inch. If multiple codes are
required separate each individual code with a space. If you
are unsure of the specific codes required for your printer
then refer to your printers user's manual. If no code is
available then you may leave it blank. An example is shown
below;
EXAMPLE : 12 CPI Off ... ESC G
27 71
17 CPI On Code
Enter the DECIMAL codes that equates to printing at 17
character per inch. If multiple codes are required separate
each individual code with a space. If you are unsure of the
specific codes required for your printer then refer to your
printers user's manual. If no code is available then you may
leave it blank. An example is shown below;
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Application Label Generator User's Manual
EXAMPLE : 17 CPI On..... ESC G
27 71
17 CPI Off Code
Enter the DECIMAL codes that equates to turning off
printing at 17 character per inch. If multiple codes are
required separate each individual code with a space. If you
are unsure of the specific codes required for your printer
then refer to your printers user's manual. If no code is
available then you may leave it blank. An example is shown
below;
EXAMPLE : 17 CPI Off ... ESC G
27 71
Near Letter Quality On Code
Enter the DECIMAL codes that equates to printing in near
letter quality. If multiple codes are required separate each
individual code with a space. If you are unsure of the
specific codes required for your printer then refer to your
printers user's manual. If no code is available then you may
leave it blank. An example is shown below;
EXAMPLE : NLQ On..... ESC G
27 71
Near Letter Quality On Code
Enter the DECIMAL codes that equates to turning off
printing at near letter quality. If multiple codes are
required separate each individual code with a space. If you
are unsure of the specific codes required for your printer
then refer to your printers user's manual. If no code is
available then you may leave it blank. An example is shown
below;
EXAMPLE : NLQ Off ... ESC G
27 71
EXIT APPLICATION LABEL GENERATOR
When you desire to exit the Application Label Generator
simply press the <F10> key. When this is done all
information will saved to a disk file for later use.
15
Application Label Generator User's Manual
IN CLOSING
I hope that you have found the Application Label Generator
meets your needs. The consolidated approach makes it
extremely useful for the small business, or a business that
likes to stay very organized. I have found that it is better
than any of the other 10 or 15 labeling programs that I've
seen. Once again, its use as a consolidated software
labeling program is truly a time saver.
If the Application Label Generator has a feature you feel
would be useful for other shareware authors or yourself
please feel free to call or write and we'll see about
improving the program. After all shareware only works if you
make it!
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Application Label Generator User's Manual
NOTES
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