AQUARIUM (c) 1991, 1992 Reading the README.DOC file with VIEW.COM program. o Use the UP/DOWN, PG UP/PG DOWN, HOME/END, LEFT/RIGHT keys to navigate thru the document. o Use the ESC key to exit out of VIEW.COM back to DOS. o VIEW.COM can be used to read any text document file. o SYNTAX: VIEW [drive][path] textfile.doc Where textfile.doc is any text based file to view. Where path is optional if VIEW.COM resides in the same directory the textfile exists. To read a text file that is not in the same directory that VIEW.COM program is, just simply include the entire path. Where drive is the location of the textfile. If the textfile.doc is on the current drive then the drive is not needed. ex: VIEW A:\README.DOC The textfile README.DOC is on the floppy in drive A: in the root directory. Remember use the ESC key to exit. Discription: AQUARIUM turns your monitor into a eye-catching fish tank. Aquariums are a proven method of relaxing. This realistic aquarium lets you control the number and type of fish, display floating messages in the background, make the fish change direction, and more. Includes both a display and screen save mode of operation. Minimum requirements: XT IBM compatible EGA color monitor with 256K video memory DOS 2.1 or greater 292k DOS memory Mouse is OPTIONAL Compatability: In order to move large amounts of objects, while in high resolution EGA screen mode 640 x 350, all the video routines were written in assembly code. Further, direct writes to the video registers had to be performed. AQUARIUM has been tested on NCR, ZENITH, MIT, GATEWAY, PACKARD BELL, EVEREX, COMPAC, EPSON, TECH486, and MAX machines succesfully. About AQUARIUM: Aquarium is a real attention getter. No matter what message I put on my screen IT GETS READ..... You may notice some changes to AQUARIUM. The most recent addition was BIG Eyes, Divers Bell, Flood Lite, Seahorse, and the new crate wall- paper for the Control Panel. BIG EYES was origionally a small OSCAR, but experimenting with cartoon looking features resulted in the BIG EYES creature. The Flood Lite will slow the action down if you are running on an XT (8086) machine. You may want to avoid using the Flood Lite except with sparcely populated aquariums. _________________________________________________________________________ INSTALLING AQUARIUM ON YOUR HARD DISC o Insert the AQUARIUM diskette in drive A: and close the door. Next, log onto drive A: by typing 'A:' followed by ENTER key. o Start the installation by typing 'INSTALL C:' Syntax: INSTALL Drive: Where 'Drive:' is the drive letter of the hard disk drive where you wish to install this program. Such as C: or D: ect. _________________________________________________________________________ SITE LICENSE INFORMATION Information about a SITE License is available in the file SITE.DOC. View the SITE.DOC by using the included VIEW.COM program. Type: VIEW SITE.DOC (Press Enter key) Use the arrow up, down, pg up, down to browse. To exit the VIEW program press ESC key. To print out the SITE.DOC document, use the DOS copy command. Put printer ON LINE first. Type: COPY SITE.DOC LPT1 (Press Enter key) ______________________________________________________________________ QUICK STARTING AQUARIUM If you want to run AQUARIUM without stopping at the control panel screen then start AQUA with the /R switch as follows: C:> AQUA /R This is handy if you want to launch AQUARIUM from a single ICON click while in Windows. With your registered version, the last configuration when AQUARIUM was exited will be the current configuration invoked here. _________________________________________________________________________ RUNNING FROM A BATCH FILE To run AQUARIUM from a batch file include these two lines: CD C:\AQUARIUM AQUA [/R] Note: The [/R] is optional. C: = drive (replace with d: if using D drive etc.) CD = DOS command to Change Directory AQUA = The AQUARIUM program Assuming you have loaded Aquarium files onto your hard drive in the directory called AQUARIUM, if not replace the directory \AQUARIUM with the appropriate directory name. _________________________________________________________________________ RUNNING AQUARIUM FROM WINDOWS 3.x AQUARIUM is a DOS program and should be configured in WINDOWS as a DOS program group, and will carry a DOS icon. Since AQUARIUM is not a WINDOWS application, AQUARIUM will take over the screen completely. Upon exiting AQUARIUM you will return to the WINDOWS environment. To set up for running AQUARIUM in WINDOWS, do the following: o From the Program Manager, select the NON-WINDOWS APPLICATION icon and maximize this window. o Open the FILE menu and select NEW. (NEW PROGRAM OBJECT) o Select PROGRAM ITEM. You will now be in the Program Item Properties window. In the Description box put AQUARIUM In the Command Line box put C:\AQUARIUM\AQUA [/R] Where C: is equal to the drive where AQUARIUM program is located. Where \AQUARIUM\ is the path (directory) where AQUARIUM files are. Where AQUA is the AQUARIUM program. Where /R is optional. If you want to start animation immediately without stopping at the Control Panel then include the /R. If not then use C:\AQUARIUM\AQUA only. o Select the OK button. If there were no errors then you will now see the DOS icon for AQUARIUM. To run AQUARIUM, double click on the AQUARIUM icon. Upon exiting AQUARIUM you will return back to WINDOWS. _________________________________________________________________________ When our space shuttle put the jelly fish into orbit, I had AQUARIUM running on our work PC with lots of jelly fish and the caption: WE HAVE OBTAINED ORBITAL VELOCITY....... AQUARIUM was fun program to develop, but not as much fun as watching other people see it for the first time. THE RACE IS ON Put some mixture of fish in your Aquarium, then hold down the right- arrow key to move all the fish to the right side of the Aquarium, waiting until all fish are far right as possible, then release the right-arrow key. This now starts the official RACE across the Aquarium. The first one to the treasure chest wins! AQUARIUM TRIVIA The treasure chest contains valuable jewels, but rumor has it that the chest is haunted by the remains of a thirsty pirate who has the taste for RUM. If this pirate drank too much, then it might explain why the sea weeds are planted in different locations each time AQUARIUM is started..... AQUARIUM IS NOT AN AUTOMATIC SCREEN SAVER I have had a lot of requests that AQUARIUM be made TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) in order to "automatically" take over the screen when there is no keyboard activity. New release AquaTSR(c) read below. AQUARIUM was origionally made for just entertainment, but having the ability to display objects that DO NOT remain in one spot qualifies AQUARIUM as having screen saving abilities, but in no way automatic. When selecting the Screen Save button, while in the Control Panel, tells AQUARIUM not to display stationary objects during animation. This button does not cause AQUARIUM to remain in memory (resident) when exiting the program. At work I have had people display the message "ON VACATION, BE BACK THURSDAY, JUNE ...." and leave AQUARIUM running for 1 or 2 weeks. I don't recommend this, but when leaving you PC for several hours, you should use some method of protection from burning images onto the screen. This could include turning down the brightness, powering off only the monitor, or starting up AQUARIUM with screen save mode selected. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ AquaTSR(c) NEW RELEASE Due to the large request to use AQUARIUM as an AUTOMATIC screen saver, I have now created a TSR (Terminate & Stay Resident) version called AquaTSR(c). AquaTSR will require DOS 3.x and will NOT be compatible with Microsoft WINDOWS. AquaTSR is now ready for distribution. AquaTSR(c) features many of the fish you currently enjoy in AQUARIUM. AquaTSR can be unloaded from a batch file, so that if you want to start up WINDOWS you can unload AquaTSR first and then load it up again when you finish WINDOWS automatically. Description: An automatic screen saving program that features many of the creatures swimming in the AQUARIUM program such as Seahorse, Divers Bell, Oscar, Angel and more. Not compatible with WINDOWS. The AquaTSR Control Panel (AQUACP.EXE) lets you select fish, create messages, unload and load the AquaTSR program etc. AquaTSR minimum requirements: DOS 3.x or higher XT turbo machine (10mhz) 190K cpu memory, 4.6k when resident! EGA or VGA color monitor, with 256K video memory Hard Drive with 840k available- this includes space for program swap and video file save when AquaTSR is activated. Registration is $15.95 (USA currency) Ask your local BBS or Shareware distributers for a demo copy. Regards Ron Gray