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╒═════════════════╕
│ DemoMaker v1.00 │
╘═════════════════╛
Copyright (C)1993 R.Janorkar
Release date 04/09/93
Introduction
~~~~~~~~~~~~
DemoMaker is a software tool that creates presentation demos of
any DOS based (text mode) software. It allows software authors
to create live color demonstrations of their products that show
all the capabilities of their programs, in the form of compact
self executing presentations. BBS Sysops can use DemoMaker to
create slide shows of their systems to graphically demonstrate
all the features their BBS has to offer. The DemoMaker is a
powerful and easy to use tool!
Disclaimer
~~~~~~~~~~
DemoMaker is provided with NO warrantees, expressed or implied.
Use it at your own risk. The author of DemoMaker will NOT be
liable for any damages, direct or indirect, arising from the
ability or disability to use DemoMaker. The use of DemoMaker on
your computer system indicates your acceptance of these
disclaimers.
Registration
~~~~~~~~~~~~
DemoMaker has been released as fully functional shareware. All
features are available in the unregistered program to allow you
to evaluate the program completely. The presentations created
will, however, display an unregistered message; and a reminder
screen will appear when DemoMaker is started.
To register this software, mail the enclosed ORDER.FRM to the
author along with a registration fee of US $20.00 as a check or
money order (payable in US dollars) to:
R.Janorkar
651 Richmond Road,
Staten Island, NY 10304-2409
You will receive a registration number that will eliminate the
reminder screen, and remove the unregistered message from the
presentation programs created with DemoMaker. The registration
number for DemoMaker will be valid for all future releases!
Concepts
~~~~~~~~
DemoMaker swaps out of active memory to allow you to execute the
program that you wish to make a demonstration of. Even though
DemoMaker is not active, it is still resident (called Terminate
and Stay Resident). As you execute your application, you call
DemoMaker by pressing a Hot key combination. DemoMaker suspends
the application that is running, swaps itself back into memory,
and captures the screen image. It then allows you to enter text
in a configurable dialog window. You may type in your text and
position the dialog box at this time, or edit and reposition the
dialog box later. DemoMaker then swaps itself out of active
memory, and restores your application at the exact point where
it was interrupted. You can repeat this cycle indefinitely,
DemoMaker keeps track of all your screen captures. Once you have
completed the capture process, you terminate your application,
return to the DOS prompt, and summon DemoMaker again with the
Hot key combination. You can now edit the text and dialog
windows, delete or rearrange the screen captures that you have
made. If need be, you can restart your application and add more
screen captures at a later time. After you are satisfied with
the appearance of the display, DemoMaker will create a self
executing demo program that you can distribute freely!
Using DemoMaker
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You must run DemoMaker from the DOS command line ONLY. It is
important that you do NOT use any DOS Shell or Menu program to
load DemoMaker! DemoMaker requires all available memory, and
will use EMS/XMS if it is found. No command line arguments are
required. DemoMaker can ONLY work with text mode programs.
A batch file called RUN.BAT is included in the archive, it first
SETs an environmental variable for DemoMaker and then executes
the program. It is recommended that this batch file be used to
start DemoMaker. Simply type RUN on the DOS command line and
DemoMaker will be executed.
You will see a menu in the center of your display. There are
five options in the menu, but the first three options will be
shaded out and unavailable until later.
The menu options are:
View/Edit Demo screens
Kill screens & restart
Write presentation
Execute application
Unload and Quit to DOS
View/Edit Demo screens - This option only comes active if you
have used DemoMaker before and have at least one screen saved. A
detailed description follows.
Kill screens & restart - This option only comes active if you
have used DemoMaker before and have at least one screen saved.
It deletes all saved screen information, and starts afresh.
Write presentation - This option only comes active if you have
used DemoMaker before and have at least one screen saved. It
creates an EXEcutable presentation program using the screens
that you have saved. The saved screens are retained, allowing
you to make changes if necessary and recreate the EXEcutable
presentation.
Execute application - This option causes DemoMaker to Terminate
and Stay Resident in system memory. It will return you to the
DOS prompt to execute the application that you wish to make the
demo of. A detailed description follows.
Unload and Quit to DOS - This option unloads DemoMaker from
memory completely, and returns control to DOS. Always exit the
program before shutting the power off on your computer system to
ensure that all datafiles are updated and closed properly.
Making our first demo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Change to the directory in which DemoMaker has been installed.
Start DemoMaker from the DOS command line, by using the RUN
batch file included. When the menu appears, select the option to
Execute your application. Use the Up and the Down arrow keys to
navigate the menu, select with the Enter key.
DemoMaker will swap itself out of active memory, remaining
resident and return you to the DOS prompt with a message:
"Ready to create a demo of your application."
"Press the Left-Shift + Right-Shift keys to activate."
You may now execute your application program. To capture a
screen and save it, simply press the Hot keys Left-Shift and
Right-Shift simultaneously. Your application will be suspended,
and DemoMaker will swap itself back and take control. You will
see a dialog box superimposed over the original screen, with a
list of available commands on the bottom of the display:
"F10 save, Esc cancel, Ctl resize, Ctl move, Ctl +- colors"
You can now type your information about the screen displayed in
the dialog box. The Control + arrow keys change the size of the
dialog box, any text that exists is reformatted to fit in the
provided space. You have a limit of 256 characters in the text,
any more will be ignored. If your text occupies more lines than
are visible, the hidden text will remain hidden, you must resize
the dialog box to best fit your text. The number that appears in
the upper left corner of the dialog box is the current screen
number, this controls the order in which the screens will appear
in your final presentation and can be changed with the View/Edit
option.
The Control + PageUp, PageDown, Insert and Delete keys move the
entire dialog box around the screen. Control + PageUp moves the
box up, Control + PageDown moves the box down, Control + Insert
moves the box left and Control + Delete moves the box right. You
can only move the dialog box within the confines of the display
dimensions.
If you leave the dialog box empty with no text, DemoMaker will
not add the dialog box in the screen when the final presentation
program is created. This is useful if you wish to display a full
screen image. The empty dialog box will remain visible when you
View/Edit the screen, to allow you to add text at a later time.
You can change the colors of the dialog box and text by pressing
the Control + [PLUS] key for the text color, and the Control +
[MINUS] key for the background color. Once you have entered your
text and positioned the dialog box, save the screen information
by pressing the F10 key. To discard the screen press the Escape
key. You may edit the text and change the colors or position of
the dialog box at a later time by using the View/Edit option.
After you save (or discard) the screen, DemoMaker will swap
itself out of memory again, and restore your application to the
exact state it was before the interruption. You may now continue
to use your application and create more screens using the same
process explained above.
It may take DemoMaker a few seconds to swap itself in and out of
active memory. If any EMS memory is available, it will be used
for faster swapping. Do NOT load any other TSR programs after
DemoMaker is resident!
Once you have a collection of screens saved, you can shut down
your application and return to the DOS prompt. Now press the
Left-Shift + Right-Shift Hot keys simultaneously. DemoMaker
knows when it is summoned over a DOS prompt, and will offer its
menu.
Select the View/Edit option. You will see the first screen that
you have saved, along with the dialog box and your text. You can
now edit the text, or resize, or move, or change the colors of
the dialog box.
The F10 key saves any changes and goes to the next saved screen.
If you were at the last screen this will return you to the menu.
The Control + BackSpace key takes you to the previous screen. If
any changes were made, they will be lost, you must save all
changes by pressing the F10 key.
Pressing the Escape key takes you to the next saved screen. If
any changes were made, they will be lost, you must save all
changes by pressing the F10 key. If you were at the last screen
this will return you to the menu.
The Control + J key jumps to a specified screen number. You will
be prompted to enter the specific screen number to jump to.
The Control + K key kills the current screen. When a screen is
deleted a flashing DEL message is seen in the lower left corner
of the dialog box. Pressing Control + K at a deleted screen will
revive the screen, making it active again. Deleted screens are
not used when the final presentation is prepared, but they will
remain visible when editing to allow resurrection.
The Control-O key changes the order in which the screen will
appear in the final presentation. You will be prompted to enter
the new order number to assign the screen. If two screens are
assigned the same order number, the screen that was created
first will appear before the other.
The Control + Q key will return you to the menu immediately.
Once you are satisfied with the appearance and order of all the
active screens, select the Write presentation option. You will
be prompted to enter a file name for the executable program. The
default presentation file name is DEMO.EXE, simply press Enter
to accept the default name. An extension of .EXE is assumed if
one is not entered. DemoMaker will now create the presentation
EXEcutable program, displaying each screen as it progresses, in
the order that you have specified. Deleted screens are not
included in the final presentation, and any screens with empty
dialog boxes will not have the box included in the image. After
a few seconds of disk activity, DemoMaker will display the
message:
"Presentation file created! Press any key ..."
Pressing any key will return you to the menu. You may now Unload
DemoMaker and Quit to DOS to view the presentation program that
you have created. Once the final presentation program has been
completed, you can select the Kill screens & restart option,
allowing you to create a new demo for another application.
DemoMaker can also accept an alternate data file name as a
command line parameter, which it will load/create instead of the
default DISPLAY.DMK file. For example, to retain an existing
screen set and create a new data file, call the RUN batch file
with the new file name as a command line parameter:
RUN SOMEFILE
A file extension of .DMK is assumed if one is not entered. If
the specified data file does not exist, a new date file will be
created. You can use several different data files by using this
method, but DemoMaker must be Unloaded and restarted with the
new data file name on the command line.
DemoMaker creates some temporary files while it is running and
even while it is memory resident, do NOT delete any of these
files!
If you attempt to run DemoMaker while it is already in memory
(and suspended), it will remind you that it is already active
and will not load itself again. If any errors occur, DemoMaker
will attempt to unload from memory and will terminate with an
error message.
Known incompatibilities
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The EXEcutable presentation programs created by DemoMaker may
not display on some ancient XT machines (pre-1986).
Since the main impact of the presentations is in full color,
their appearance on monochrome systems is unpredictable.
The DemoMaker program is a large TSR program, and requires all
available conventional, EMS, and XMS memory. It is recommended
that no exotic TSRs or device drivers be used to prevent memory
conflicts.
Do NOT run DemoMaker under DesqView! The two programs do not get
along very well, this problem is being worked on and hopefully
will be resolved in a future release.
The DemoMaker will NOT work with graphics screens! Only text
video modes are supported.
Several graphic cards (notably VGA cards) will cause the cursor
to appear abnormal while DemoMaker is being used. The RUN.BAT
file that is provided uses an environmental variable called
DEMOSET with two possible options, BADCURS to prevent the cursor
madness; and E0 to restrict EMS memory usage by DemoMaker. It is
recommended that this RUN.BAT file is used to start DemoMaker,
since it will set the DEMOSET variable automatically each time.
DemoMaker uses EMS memory, XMS memory, or if neither are found,
disk space to swap. EMS and XMS memory swapping is much faster
than disk swapping.
Where?
~~~~~~
Updates to DemoMaker can be found at the following official
distribution sites arranged by area code. Modem speed and type
are specified, and !DL! indicates first call downloads allowed.
Support BBS - The Photographers Network BBS 718-876-0337 9600 v.32 !DL!
~~~~~~~~~~~
Lightning 201-483-5141 2400 Blue Lake 503-656-9790 14.4 v42
Exch Club 206-964-5949 14.4 503-657-4719 9600 HST
3rdMillnm 208-664-2983 9600 !DL! BabbleBBS 602-292-6576 16.8 DS
CityPeopl 212-255-6656 14.4 v42 !DL! Dons BBS 609-435-1663 14.4
212-255-3730 14.4 v42 !DL! SEOhioCmp 614-432-2899
PosterBrd 212-685-8309 9600 Nexxus 703-898-7205 9600 v32
Nice Guys 212-737-6192 14.4 v32 Exchange 704-342-2333 14.4 HST
PlanetBBS 214-306-8269 14.4 DS 704-339-0333 14.4 v32
RobinsEgg 214-964-8726 9600 Point BBS 715-345-1327 14.4
Unnamed 215-540-0141 2400 Bklyn BBS 718-375-6569 14.4 v42
OldTimers 301-645-1049 9600 Queens SE 718-628-6661 2400
US Projct 302-529-1650 14.4 HST Systmatic 718-716-6198 14.4 v42
LookngGls 305-346-8524 16.8 HST DS Madhouse 718-893-2318 2400 !DL!
GreatEscp 310-676-3534 14.4 Computec 718-983-9152 9600 HST
310-676-4282 16.8 UtahDataL 801-943-4616 2400
RefinrFir 313-664-0437 2400 !DL! 801-942-2533 14.4 >7pm
JetStream 316-788-9913 14.4 C Pro Run 804-587-4090 14.4
PUMA BBS 318-443-1065 14.4 DS !DL! TwlghtZn 805-256-4931 16.8 HST
318-442-0669 14.4 DS !DL! Wet Spot 805-736-7066 14.4 v32
CyberZone 401-732-0258 9600 DS DarbyRsch 814-825-7905 14.4 HST
Bun's BBS 415-756-5098 14.4 !DL! Maranatha 903-465-4022 9600
415-991-2995 14.4 !DL! Night Owl 904-472-5714 14.4
Club Cave 416-796-1400 9600 GraphUnlm 909-862-5319 14.4 DS!DL!
TrekKy! 502-762-6963 14.4 !DL!
FIDO Freq addresses 1:150/420 (US Project, DE)
1:300/204 (Dane's BBS, AZ)
(Sole distribution site for Europe)
Enterprise BBS The Netherlands +31-5950-3933 14.4 !DL!
Thanks go to the ßeta team ...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ron 'Q' Kulick,
Harris 'Speedy' Lam,
David 'The Man' Kaufman,
Rick 'Trekky' Alvey,
Tom 'Smurf' Murphy,
Joe 'Wave' Eversole,
Dane 'Babble' Beko,
Bundy 'Buns' Chanock,
and Marcus 'Modem' Byron for his invaluable help.