Dear friends:

Welcome to another exciting issue of On Disk Monthly. Long
time subscribers will notice that our programming content
has been divided into six categories: Feature of the Month,
ArtWare, CustomWare, GameWare, HomeWare and OfficeWare.
Though this is the first issue in which these categories
have been visibly applied, they have been responsible for
the variety of programs found on each monthly disk.

You're going to love the variety on this issue: Freeform
Database 2.0, Jacket II, Memo Writer 2.0, .PCX Clip Art,
Relix!, and ResiCalc. There isn't a reject in the bunch.
I've got them all on my hard drive and use them often.

Sure, I could use a big, commercial database instead of
FFDB2, but why wait for one like that to load when FFDB2
will instantly alphabetize a list of items by first letter.
I can write memos and create fax cover sheets in my word
processor, but I can be finished with a Memo Writer memo
before Windows and my Windows word processor have finished
loading. Some people might think Jacket II is a dumb idea
and that the jackets it creates take too much work to be
worth the effort. Not so. I've been able to organize my
floppies and to actually know what's on them with this
program. The effort was well worth the end result. And, I
LOVE ResiCalc. I use the Windows calculator all the time.
When I was sitting in DOS I felt "naked." Not anymore. I
press a couple of keys and use ResiCalc to balance my
checkbook--even though it hurts to make every debit!

                     TECH SUPPORT NOTES
I've been noticing lots of trends in the weekly ODM
technical support report. Let's nip some of those in the
bud, so to speak.

SYMPTOM: Game Locks Up or Program Hangs.
USUAL CURE: Exit Windows, DOSShell, and other menu/shell
       programs.
NOTES: Most of our games will NOT run properly if booted
       from within a shell/menu program. Why? Games are
       memory intensive--especially when they have lots of
       graphics and sound support. Shell programs like
       Windows are also memory intensive. Finally, both try
       to use the same interrupts at the same time, and that
       causes the "hang." Our future games will contain
       detection routines which will alert you about this
       potential problem. In addition to games, some memory
       intensive programs, such as Family Tree 3.0, may not
       run properly from shell programs.

SYMPTOM: Doesn't work on my computer or screen is scrambled.
USUAL CURE: Run menu or program with the command line
       parameter for your highest graphics level.
NOTES: All ODM programs have command line "switches" built
       into them. Some are informative: "/VER" gives you
       version and compatibility information; and /? lists
       all command line options available for a particular
       program. Others "force" particular graphics or video
       modes: "/C" for CGA, "/E" for EGA, "/V" for VGA, and
       "/M" for monochrome. These switches enable you to
       "override" the video mode our video detection
       routines think they detect. Remember, your highest
       graphics level will be the same as your least capable
       device. Therefore, if you have an EGA card but only
       have a CGA monitor, our program will attempt to
       display EGA graphics but your monitor won't be able
       to display them. In this case, you would type "GO /C"
       to force our menu to display in CGA mode. Always use
       these command line options by typing the name of the
       executable, a space, a forward slash, then the
       appropriate character.

SYMPTOM: Mouse doesn't work properly or program acts oddly.
USUAL CURE: Start the program with the "/NOMOUSE" command
       line option.
NOTES: There are three typical reasons for the symptom: 1)
       The program may not have a mouse (see the program's
       help file to be sure); 2) Your mouse driver may not
       "recognize" the video mode (you have an old mouse
       driver version); or 3) You may have a mouse driver
       installed, but no mouse attached. HINT: Most of our
       "mousable" programs have a "/NOMOUSE" command line
       option, which should fix problem #3. To fix problem
       #2, you should update your mouse driver.

Don't hesitate to call our toll free tech support number
(1-800-831-2694) when you have problems. We'll do our best
to solve your problems while you're on the phone. If we
can't, we'll call you back when we've got an answer for you.

Remember, our minimum system requirements are CGA or better
graphics capabilities, 640K of RAM and DOS 3.3 or better.
Though some of our programs will run on systems that don't
meet these requirements, others may not. If you've
experienced problems because of our requirements, we hope
you'll upgrade soon and see what you've been missing.

Catch you next issue,

Ronda Faries
ODM Product Manager