Copyright: Copyright © 1999 by RI Soft Systems, Inc.
Citation: Snow Screensaver


Contents
Image Carousel II

Welcome to Image Carousel, the best slide show screen saver and wallpaper utility available for Windows! This help file contains extensive information about Image Carousel. You can also obtain context sensitive help while using Image Carousel via right mouse click in any of the dialog boxes. Alternatively, you can click the ? button in the upper right corner of any of the dialog boxes and then click on an item.

Press the Contents button, above, for a listing of the contents for this help file. Click here for information about trial versions of this product.

Contact Info

For technical assistance, you may contact us using one of the methods below. We recommend checking our web site for tech support information because we post patches, updates and other information regularly. Also see Trouble Shooting in this help file.

RI Soft Systems, Inc.

PO Box 748

Woonsocket, RI 02895-0784

Web: http://www.risoftsystems.com

E-mail: support@risoftsystems.com

Phone: 401-767-3106

Fax: 401-767-3108


Previewing Images

There are two ways to preview images.

Method 1:

1.	Select an image by clicking its thumbnail (only one image can be selected).

2.	Select Preview from the Images menu. A full screen window appears showing the image as it will appear in the screen saver. Click anywhere or press a key to end the preview.

Method 2:

1.	Select an image by clicking its thumbnail (only one image can be selected).

2.	Select Properties from the Images menu. The Image Properties dialog appears.

3.	Press the Full Screen Preview button. A full screen window appears showing the image. If the Preview Text box is checked in the Image Properties dialog, the caption and copyright notice will be displayed. Click anywhere or press a key to end the preview.


Removing Images

To remove images from an image pak:

1.	Select one or more images.

2.	Select Remove from the Images menu.

Images that are referenced locally on your computer will not be deleted; only the references to these images are removed from the image pak. Images that have been embedded in the image pak will be permanently deleted.


Image Carousel Settings

To change Image Carousel settings:

1.	Select Properties from the File menu. The Image Carousel Properties dialog box appears. This dialog box has tabs for various settings, including Screen Saver, Wallpaper Changer, Display Effects and Advanced Image Settings. Use the context sensitive help for more instructions.


Changing Your Wallpaper

There are two ways to change your wallpaper immediately:

Method 1:

1.	Select an image by clicking its thumbnail (only one image can be selected).

2.	Select Set As Wallpaper from the Images menu. Image Carousel will format the selected image and set it as your wallpaper. The status bar will indicate the progress of this operation.

Method 2:

1.	Enable the wallpaper changer: select Properties from the File menu, select the Wallpaper tab and ensure that the Enable Wallpaper Changer box is checked. Also select the interval for changing wallpaper images using the slider provided. When you press OK to close the Properties dialog box, the wallpaper changer will be started, or it will be updated if it is already running.

2.	Click the wallpaper changer icon in your system tray. The Wallpaper Changer dialog box will appear.

3.	Press the Change Wallpaper Now button.


Previewing the Screen Saver

To preview the Image Carousel screen saver:

1. Select Preview from the File menu. The screen saver will run until you move the mouse or press a key.

See Accessing Your Screen Savers for instructions on how to preview a screen saver you've created.


Accessing Your Screen Savers

This feature is not available in the Desktop edition.

Image Carousel stores the screen savers and self-installers you've created in a single folder under its installation folder. To browse your screen savers:

1.	Select Browse Screen Savers from the Pak menu.

2.	The Screen Saver Browser dialog box appears. You can use the Screen Saver Browser to preview and send your screen savers. You can also right click on the files listed to use the Windows Copy feature. Use the context sensitive help for more instructions.

Screen savers and self-installers are stored in a folder named "Out", which is located under the Image Carousel program folder. If you used the default installation settings, when you installed Image Carousel, the path will be "\Program Files\Image Carousel\Out".


Adding Text

To add a caption and copyright notice to an image:

1.	Select an image by clicking its thumbnail (only one image can be selected).

2.	Select Properties from the Images menu. The Image Properties dialog box will appear. Use the context sensitive help for more instructions.

Captions and copyright notices may be turned on or off for both the screen saver and wallpaper changer. When you preview an image, Image Carousel uses the screen saver settings. If captions and copyright notices have been turned off for the screen saver, you will not see them in the preview.

Note: captions and copyrights in image paks provided by Rhode Island Soft Systems, Inc. cannot be modified.


Context Sensitive Help
Context sensitive help is available in Image Carousel's dialog boxes. There are two ways to use context sensitive help.

1.	Right click on any item in the dialog box. A help balloon will appear with information describing the item you clicked.

2.	Left click the ? button at the upper right corner of the dialog box. The cursor will change to an arrow with a ? indicating that help mode has been activated. Left click on an item in the dialog box with this cursor and a help balloon will appear with information describing the item. After you click on an item, help mode is ended and the cursor returns to the plain arrow.


System Tray
The system tray is a small area at the end of the Windows task bar. The wallpaper changer icon appears in this area only when it is enabled.


Creating Image Paks

To create an image pak:

1.	Select New from the Pak menu.

2.	An empty edit field will appear in the pak listing. Type a name for your new pak and press Enter (press Esc to cancel the new pak).

3.	Once created, your new pak will be empty. You can now add images to your new pak.


Removing Image Paks

To remove image paks from your computer:

1.	Select the paks you want to remove in the Image Pak listing. You can select multiple paks by holding either the Control or Shift key while you click with the left mouse button.

2.	Select Delete from the Pak menu.

The selected image paks will be permanently erased from your computer. If the image paks were installed from a CD-ROM or other location, you can reinstall them again. If you created the image paks, you will not be able to recover them.


Selecting Thumbnails
There are three ways to select multiple thumbnails.

1. To select a range, click the first thumbnail to select it. Then while holding the Shift key, click the last thumbnail. All thumbnails between the first and last will be selected.

2. To select specific thumbnails, click each thumbnail while holding the Control key.

3. Using the keyboard, use the arrow, page and home and end keys while holding the Shift key.

When multiple thumbnails are selected, you can right click on any of the selected thumbnails to access a context menu. If you right click on an unselected thumbnail, the selection will be cleared.


Software Components

Image Carousel has three main components, described below. There are two ways to access Image Carousel. From the Windows Start menu, select the Image Carousel folder and then select Image Carousel. Alternatively, you can right click on your desktop, select Properties, select the Screen Saver tab, select Image Carousel as your screen saver and then press the Settings button.

Screen Saver

When enabled, the screen saver runs automatically when your computer is idle for a specified amount of time.

Image Carousel

The Image Carousel interface includes a listing of all currently installed image paks along the left side of the window. Image paks are listed by name, and a check box to the left of each pak determines whether the contents of the pak will be displayed by the screen saver and wallpaper changer.

When a single pak is selected in the listing, the right side of the window shows thumbnails of the images in the pak. You can select a single thumbnail and choose settings for the image, or you can select multiple thumbnails and perform limited operations. Each image in a pak can be individually selected for display in either the screen saver, wallpaper changer or both.

You can create new image paks and add your own images to them. Using paks you've created, you can create a stand-alone screen saver. Image paks provided by Rhode Island Soft Systems are not licensed for redistribution and cannot be used to create stand-alone screen savers.

Wallpaper Changer

The wallpaper changer is a separate utility that changes your wallpaper at a specified interval. When enabled, the wallpaper changer appears as an icon in your system tray. When you click on this icon, a dialog appears showing the next scheduled time for a wallpaper change. Press the Change Wallpaper Now button to change the wallpaper immediately. Press the Disable button to disable the wallpaper changer and remove the icon from the system tray.


Adding Music

You can choose a single wave file to be played as background music for your screen saver. This file must be a PCM wave format. When sound is enabled, Image Carousel will loop the sound continuously while the screen saver is running. Sound effects added to images will play concurrently. To select background music:

1.	Select Music from the File menu.

2.	The Choose Sound File dialog box appears. Use the context sensitive help for more instructions.

Press the Remove button in the Choose Sound File dialog box to remove the current music selection.

For the Personal and Professional editions, you can include this music track in the screen savers you create.


Embedding Images

Embedding refers to how Image Carousel stores the images you add to an image pak. When an image is embedded, a copy of the entire image is placed inside the image pak. The alternative to embedding is referencing the image file wherever it is on your computer. This can save space, but if you move or delete the image file, then Image Carousel will not be able to find it.

When adding images to an image pak, press the Options button on the Add Files to Image Pak dialog box to choose whether to embed or reference the files. Images that have already been added to the pak can be embedded by selecting Embed from the Images menu. Once images have been embedded, they cannot be unembedded. To unembed an image, you must remove the image and then add it again, choosing the embedding option from the Add Files To Pak dialog box by pressing the Options button.


Trial Versions

Shareware Edition

The Shareware Edition of this product is provided as a freely distributable evaluation version. You are free to use the Shareware Edition for up to 30 days, but you are obligated to purchase one of the registered editions if you wish to continue using the product. See sections on Desktop, Personal and Professional Editions to compare features of the three available editions. The Shareware Edition is essentially the same as the Personal Edition.

The Shareware Edition has the following limitations:

The screen saver and wallpaper changer will cease functioning after 30 days from the time that you installed the software.

You are not licensed to redistribute any image paks or screen savers you create. Screen savers you create are watermarked (a message is placed on the upper-right corner of each image) and will only work on the computer on which they were created.

For the first 30 days, an advertisement appears after every 10 images. After 30 days, only the advertisements appear. Purchased editions do not contain any advertising.

When you purchase an edition, you will receive the software on a diskette, plus our Image Carousel Companion Disc -- a CD-ROM loaded with over 1000 stunning images! The images are organized into paks so you can easily browse, preview and install the ones you want using Image Carousel's easy interface!.

Freeware Edition

The Freeware Edition of this product is free to use forever because it is supported by sponsors. Advertisements appear in both the main product and in the redistributable screen savers you create. See sections on Desktop, Personal and Professional Editions to compare features of the three available editions. The Freeware Edition is essentially the same as the Personal Edition.

The Freeware Edition has the following limitations:

You are not licensed to resell or profit in any way from image paks or screen savers you create. You may only redistribute them for free.

Advertisements are displayed in all screen savers at 2-minute intervals. Advertisements also appear in the main interface. Purchased editions do not contain any advertising.

When you purchase an edition, you will receive the software on a diskette, plus our Image Carousel Companion Disc -- a CD-ROM loaded with over 1000 stunning images! The images are organized into paks so you can easily browse, preview and install the ones you want using Image Carousel's easy interface!.


Trouble Shooting

Installing Image Paks from a CD-ROM

When you install new image paks, the Install Image Paks dialog box will show the listing of the last location you installed from. If you don't see the paks you are looking for, ensure that the CD-ROM is in the drive and use the dialog controls to navigate to the CD-ROM. You can use the drop down list box at the top of this dialog box to select from a listing of the folders and drives available on your computer. On many computers, the CD-ROM drive letter is "D."

Unable to Display Images in Screen Saver

This message can appear for one of three reasons:

1.	There are no image paks or images selected for the screen saver. Image paks are selected by clicking the check boxes next to their names in the Image Pak listing. The images in an image pak can also be selected or unselected for display.

2.	All images selected for the screen saver were being referenced on your computer and have since been moved or deleted. You will have to either restore the images to their previous locations or else remove the images from the image paks and add them again.

3.	Your computer is low on memory, disk space or too many applications are running. A reboot may be needed.

No Sound

In order to hear sound, you must have a sound card and drivers installed on your computer. To test whether sound is working, select a sound file (outside of Image Carousel), and double click on it. If the sound does not play, then there is a problem with the sound settings or hardware. Check all connections, check the volume settings and try again. Consult your computer's manual or dealer for more help.

If sound plays outside of Image Carousel, then check to see that sound playback is enabled. The sound switch is located on the Image Carousel properties dialog, Screen Saver tab. Select Properties from the File menu to access this setting. Ensure that the Play Sounds box is checked.

Also ensure that no other programs are locking the sound driver. Only one program in Windows can access the sound driver at any time. If another program has the driver locked, Image Carousel will not be able to play sound.


Creating a Screen Saver

This feature is not available in the Desktop edition.

You can create a stand-alone screen saver with any of the image paks you've created. You cannot create a screen saver with the licensed image paks provided by Rhode Island Soft Systems.

The screen saver you create is a stand-alone Windows screen saver module (.scr) with all of the images from the selected image pak built in. You also have the option to create a self-installing executable. The self-installer is a single file with the screen saver module built in. When run, the self-installer extracts the screen saver module, places it in the Windows folder and then activates the screen saver.

To create a screen saver:

1.	Select Create Screen Saver from the Pak menu.

2.	The Create a Screen Saver wizard appears. Follow the instructions provided by the wizard. Use the context sensitive help for more instructions.

You can browse the screen savers and self-installers you've created using the screen saver browser.

Note: if you create a self-installer, the wizard will generate both the executable and the screen saver modules. You need only distribute the executable file (the .exe file).


Desktop Edition

Create a screen saver to suit your own interests! The Desktop Edition includes 1000 images, neatly categorized into a variety of image paks covering topics as diverse as European Cities, sports, sunsets, and literally dozens more.  An easy install and remove feature lets you browse and preview image paks on the CD-ROM to create your own customized screen saver. The Desktop Edition is licensed for use on one computer and is not redistributable.

The Desktop Edition includes the following features.

1000 images organized into image paks with an easy point-and-click interface to install and remove image paks.

More than 30 cool display effects!

Scaling and other image effects.

Four performance levels for color reduction on 256-color displays.

Wallpaper changer utility. Change your wallpaper at intervals from one hour up to once a week!

Create your own image paks (supports JPEG and BMP formats).

Add captions and copyright notices to your images.

Choose background music and add sound effects to your images. Supports PCM Wave formats and does on the fly sound mixing using WaveX™ technology.

Cool text effects including shadows and rotation!

Anti-Alias text for optimal appearance!

Send your image paks via email at the press of a button (requires MAPI and recipient must also own a copy of Image Carousel).


Enabling the Screen Saver

There are two ways to enable the Image Carousel screen saver:

Method 1:

1.	Select Properties from the File menu.

2.	Select the Screen Saver tab.

3.	Ensure the Enable Screen Saver box is checked.

4.	Enter the idle time in the Wait edit field.

5.	Press OK to close the dialog box.

Method 2:

1.	Right click on your desktop. The Windows Display Properties dialog box will appear.

2.	Select the Screen Saver tab.

3.	Select "Image Carousel II" from the list of available screen savers.

4.	Enter the idle time in the Wait edit field.

5.	Press OK to close the dialog box.


System Requirements

Windows 95, 98 or NT with the Windows 95 shell.

MAPI is required to send image paks and screen savers.


Overview

Image Carousel is a slide show screen saver, wallpaper changer and more. Three editions, Desktop, Personal and Professional are available to suit your needs. All editions come complete with 1000 images organized neatly into image paks on CD-ROM, which you can browse and install on your computer. You can also add your own images and create your own image paks. With the Personal and Professional Editions, you can create your own stand-alone, distributable screen savers, complete with install and uninstall support! Image Carousel's screen saver wizard makes it a snap, and with the click of a button, you can email your screen saver to your friends and family.


Professional Edition

The Professional Edition includes all of the features in the Personal Edition plus a license for unlimited, royalty-free sale and distribution of stand-alone screen savers. Image paks created with the Professional Edition may not be distributed for profit. Image paks created with the Professional Edition may only be redistributed for free.

Royalty-free sale and distribution of any screen savers you create!

Replace the Image Carousel logo images with your own graphics.

Replace the Image Carousel icon with your own icon.

The photos on the CD-ROM are for your own personal use only and may not be redistributed. You must use your own supply of images for any screen savers or image paks you wish to redistribute. Refer to the Image Carousel Software License for more information.


Personal Edition

The Personal Edition includes all of the features found in the Desktop Edition plus the ability to create your own freely redistributable (non-commercial) screen savers. Use the Personal Edition to build a yacht screen saver for Uncle Charlie, pictures of Paris for Aunt Mabel, or wedding photos for a friend. Screen savers created with the Personal Edition are not licensed for resale. They are only for your personal use and for free distribution to friends and family.

The Personal Edition includes the following features.

Create your own stand-alone screen savers!

Send your screen savers and image paks via email at the press of a button (requires MAPI).

Create a self-installing executable with uninstall support!

Embed any fonts you use in the screen savers you create!

Add a web link to your screen saver!

Choose which configuration settings to enable in your screen saver!

The photos on the CD-ROM are for your own personal use only and may not be redistributed. You must use your own supply of images for any screen savers or image paks you wish to distribute. Refer to the Image Carousel Software License for more information.


Downloading
When you download files from the internet, you'll need to pay attention to where the file is placed on your computer. Browsers vary, but typically a browser will prompt you to specify a location when you click on a file for download. There will usually be a default location already specified -- note this location and the file name before you proceed with the download. After the download finishes, you'll need to navigate to the file to access it. To navigate to a file, double click on the "My Computer" icon located at the upper left corner on your desktop, and then continue double clicking on the folders that were specified when you downloaded the file. For example, if the file was downloaded to C:\My Documents, then you would double click on My Computer, double click on "C" and then double click on "My Documents." At this point, the file you downloaded should be listed, along with any other files that were already in the My Documents folder.


Image Paks

Images are organized into image paks. An image pak must be installed or created before it can be used by the screen saver. The CD-ROM includes 1000 images organized into image paks. You can browse these paks and install the ones you want. When you install a pak, its contents are copied to your hard disk. You can always delete any paks you don't want from your hard disk and browse the CD-ROM to install new paks.


Adding Sound Effects

Each image in an image pak can have a sound effect associated with it. To add a sound effect to an image:

1.	Select an image by clicking its thumbnail (only one image can be selected).

2.	Select Properties from the Images menu to access the Image Properties dialog box.

3.	The Sound field contains the name of a wave file to use for the sound effect. Press the Select button to choose a file and options. To remove a sound effect, delete the contents of the Sound Effect field.

Sound may be turned on or off for the screen saver. Use the Image Carousel settings -- File menu, Properties -- to enable sound playback for the screen saver.

Sound files can be referenced on your computer or they can be embedded in the image pak. When you select a sound file, there is a check box to specify whether a sound file is embedded. This check box can be turned on or off at any time to change the embedding of a sound file.

Sound files must be PCM wave format. Image Carousel will not recognize any other format.


Adding Images

To add images to an image pak:

1.	A single image pak must be selected before you can use this function.

2	Select Add from the Images menu.

3.	The Add Files dialog box appears. Use the context sensitive help for more instructions.

Press the Options button to choose additional settings for the images your are adding. You can either reference the image files on your computer, or you can embed copies of the images in the image pak. When you embed images, you can also convert them to a different format. If you intend to send an image pak to someone, you should embed the images; otherwise the recipient will not be able to view the images.


Installing Image Paks

Before Image Carousel can use an image pak, it must be installed to your computer's hard disk. There are several ways to install image paks. The three most common ways are described below.

Installing Image Paks from an Image Carousel CD-ROM

To install image paks from an Image Carousel CD-ROM:

1.	Insert the CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive.

2.	Select Install from the Pak menu.

3.	A dialog box listing the available image paks will appear. If you do not see the contents of the CD-ROM, you may need to navigate to the CD-ROM. Click on the drop down list at the top left corner of the dialog box to see a listing of the drives available on your computer, and then click on your CD-ROM drive. The listing shows the available image paks and their sizes, and you can preview the images in each image pak.

4.	Select one or more image paks and then press the Install button to begin installation.

After you press the Install button, the dialog box will disappear and the status bar will indicate that new image paks are being installed on your computer. As the paks become available, they will automatically appear in the Image Pak list.

See Removing Image Paks for instructions on removing image paks from your computer. See Trouble Shooting for help with problems installing image paks.

Downloading Image Paks

Image paks downloaded from the internet may come in several formats.

Paks downloaded from the Rhode Island Soft Systems web site will usually be self-installing executables. All you need to do is double click the file after it has been downloaded and it will install the image pak.

ZIP files are a common file format found on the web. A ZIP file is compressed for faster downloading. To access a ZIP file, you will need a utility such as WinZip to uncompress it. You can find WinZip at www.winzip.com.

Although unlikely, pak files may be found as is, uncompressed. These files may be downloaded and installed directly.

To install an image pak after it as been downloaded and uncompressed, simply drag the file over the Image Carousel interface and release the mouse button. Image Carousel will automatically install the image pak.

Receiving Image Paks by Email

You may receive image paks by email. The method for installing such paks depends on your email utility. Typically, the image pak will be a file attachment, which appears as an icon in the message. If the file is compressed, you will need a utility such as WinZip to uncompress it. If the image pak is not compressed, you may save the file attachment on your hard disk and then use the install procedure outlined above. Alternatively, you can drag the image pak onto your desktop and release, making a copy of the file there. Then drag the new icon over Image Carousel and release again. Image Carousel will install the image pak. Once installed, the original file may be deleted. Refer to your email utility's documentation for more information about receiving files.