Gold Medal Software 3/Gold Medal Software - Volume 3 (Gold Medal) (1994).iso/children/mmenu100.arj/MMENU10.EXE/MMENU.DOC

Text File | 1994-02-14 | 20KB | 414 lines

                      Masterpiece Menu 1.0
              Copyright (c) 1994  KidStuff Software
            6490 Dubois Rd.  Delaware, OH 43015-8931
               614-548-5043  Compuserve 71043,3706


Masterpiece Menu is a menu program designed specifically for children.
Even the youngest children will be able to run their own software
using Masterpiece Menu. The painter "paints" each program icon on
the easel. Click the easel or press ENTER to run the displayed
program. The large, colorful program icons are standard PCX files.
Setup is a breeze, simply press F10 to enter your child's program
information. You can even set up separate configurations so each
child can have his/her own menu. Masterpiece Menu runs in EGA or
VGA mode and includes a "screen saver", calendar, and animated
clock.


PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Masterpiece Menu requires 640K RAM, a hard drive, an EGA or VGA color
monitor, a mouse is optional.

INSTALLATION
Insert disk 1 and type A:INSTALL (or B:INSTALL). Once installed, change
to the MMENU directory and type MMENU to run the program. Press Alt Q to
quit the program.

          Shareware Registration Form - MMENU 1.0

  All registered users receive icons for many popular children's
  programs, removal of the initial shareware screen, support
  via phone or mail, and notification of and substantial discounts
  on KidStuff Software.

  Disk Size:  [ ]  3 1/2"     [ ]  5 1/4"

  [ ]  $15.00  Masterpiece Menu Registration

   (Shareware versions of the following programs are available.
    See descriptions of these programs at the end of this file.)

   [ ] Sound Blaster version       [ ] PC Speaker version

   [ ] $3.00  "Preschool Pack"
   [ ] $3.00  "Sounds Like A..."
   [ ] $3.00  "Talking Time Tutor"
   [ ] $3.00  "Talking Number Machine"
   [ ] $3.00  "Ms. Piggy Bank"

   Please send your check or money order (checks must be for
   U.S. funds on a U.S. bank!) to:  KidStuff Software
                                    6490 Dubois Rd.
                                    Delaware, OH  43015-8931

   Name:    _________________________________________

   Address: _________________________________________

            _________________________________________

            _________________________________________

   Phone:   ________________________


   I received the shareware disk from:  ________________________

   Comments or suggestions: ____________________________________

   _____________________________________________________________

   _____________________________________________________________


                MASTERPIECE MENU INSTRUCTIONS

RUNNING THE PROGRAM
Run the program by typing MMENU. The title icon will be displayed on
the easel. Quit the program by typing Alt Q. Press F10 for program
setup.

SCROLLING THROUGH THE PROGRAMS:
Click on the paintbrush or palette to display the next icon on the
easel. The painter will "paint" the next icon. You may also use any
of the following keys to scroll the programs - Spacebar, Up/Down
arrows, Left/Right arrows, and PgUp/PgDn. The PgUp/PgDn keys will
scroll in increments of 2, 5, or 10 depending upon the number of
programs in the menu. See the section on Program Options for
disabling the painting motion if desired.

RUNNING A PROGRAM:
To run the program displayed on the easel, either click on the easel,
or press ENTER.

PROGRAM SETUP (F10)
In order to add your own programs to the menu system, press F10. You
will see a data entry screen. Enter the required information for each
program you want to add to the menu. The arrow keys may be used to
move between the input fields, ENTER also moves to the next field.
Press F2 to get a blank screen in order to add a new program.

    Program Number:
    The program number is a 3 digit number which is used to control
    the order in which the programs will be displayed on the easel.
    This field is required. The information for a program will not
    be saved unless something is entered in this field. Numbers
    should be entered with leading 0's in order to maintain the
    correct order.

    Path Name:
    The path name is the name of the directory in which the program
    may be found. Please be sure to enter a backward slash (not a
    forward slash) for directories.
      Example: C:\PPK

    Executable Program:
    Here you will enter the name of the program to be executed. This
    will have one of the following extensions: .EXE  .COM  or .BAT
    If you are not sure of the extension, leave it off.
      Example: PPK.EXE    (just  PPK  would also work)

    Icon File:
    Enter the name of the icon to be displayed for this program. An
    icon is a picture which represents the program. Icons must be
    stored in the same directory as the menu program. When an icon
    file name is entered, the icon will be displayed in the program
    setup window. If there is no icon available, leave this field
    blank and enter the program title in the Text Fields described
    below. See the section on creating icons.


    Use Graphics Mode?
    Enter a Y or N in this field. If the program runs in graphics
    mode (i.e. has pictures, not just text) enter a Y. Most
    children's programs run in graphics mode.

    Text Fields 1-5:
    The remaining 5 fields are provided to be used for a title, if
    an icon is not available. If you do not have an icon for the
    program, enter a descriptive title in any or all of these fields.
    If an icon is used, anything entered in these fields will be
    ignored.


SETUP COMMANDS
The following keys are used in the program setup mode.

  F2     Add a new program to the menu.
           Press F2 a second time to add another program, or
           PgUp/PgDn to move to another program record.

  F6     Delete the currently displayed program from the menu.
           There must always be at least one program record.
           You will not be allowed to delete the last program
           from the menu.

  PgDn   Display the information for the next program.
  PgUp   Display the information for the previous program.
  ESC    Exit the setup screen, saving all program information.


TITLE OR MESSAGE ICONS/TEXT
Each program record entered does not have to run a program. The
Masterpiece Menu logo displayed when the program begins is an
example. You can change this record to one that displays a special
icon or message for your child if desired. Change the record to
display an icon of your choosing, or delete the icon name and
enter any text you would like displayed in the text fields. You
can enter as many of these as desired throughout the menu, just
leave the Executable Program field blank and fill in either
the Icon File or Text fields. If you create an icon which you
want displayed as your menu title, be sure to assign it the
lowest number in your menu so that it will be displayed first.


SCREEN SAVER
A screen saver blanks the screen or displays a moving image or an
image which changes colors on the screen. The purpose being to
prevent an image from "burning into" the monitor if displayed on
the screen for too long. Most experts agree that today's monitors
do not require "screen savers", i.e. no damage will be done to the
monitor even if an image is left on the screen for extended periods
of time. Many people still worry about this though. If no activity
occurs in the Masterpiece Menu for a period of 15 minutes, the screen
will blank and an icon will flash across the screen. The icon used
for the screen saver will be the first icon used in your menu. If
you do not have any icons in your menu, the title "Masterpiece Menu"
will be displayed around the screen. To return to the program,
simply press a key or click the mouse.


CREATING ICONS
The icons used by Masterpiece Menu are .PCX files. Most paint programs
are capable of creating these files. The dimensions of the icons are
140x140 pixels. You can create icons by drawing pictures in any paint
or graphics program that will save .PCX files. Another way to create
icons is to use a screen capture utility to save a screen from the
program for which you are creating the icon. Run your screen capture
utility first. It will load into memory and remain there allowing
you to run other programs. Run the program(s) that you would like to
create icons for. When you are at a screen that you would like to
use for an icon, press the keys to activate the screen capture. Once
you have captured the desired screen(s), load them into your paint
program. Cut out a portion of the screen to fit into the 140x140
icon dimensions, or reduce the file to this size. Save the icon in
the Masterpiece Menu directory. Later you will enter the name(s)
of the icon(s) into the program setup of Masterpiece Menu.


MMENU OPTIONS
You may pass 2 optional parameters to the program as described below:

  Turning off the Painter Animation
  Normally the painter will "paint" the next icon on the screen
  by brushing the paintbrush back and forth over the easel. If
  you have a large number of programs and/or a slow computer, you
  may not desire this animation. If you pass a /x parameter to the
  program, the animation is turned off. The command is:

      mmenu /x

  Maintaining More than One Menu Configuration
  Normally Masterpiece Menu will store the information for your
  programs in the file MMENU.DAT. This will allow up to 100 programs.
  If you would like to maintain separate menus for different children,
  you may specify separate configuration files. For example to maintain
  separate menus for Lisa and Kristy, you would run the program like
  this:

      mmenu lisa.dat        (for Lisa's menu)
        or
      mmenu kristy.dat      (for Kristy's menu)

  Icons and/or programs may be shared by as many menus as desired. The
  two command line options may also be combined, such as:

      mmenu /x lisa.dat     (run Lisa's menu with no animation)

  These commands can be put into a batch file. Use a word processor or
  text editor that will save ASCII (unformatted) text. Create a file
  with a .bat extension, such as LISA.BAT with a line similar to the
  above command. Create an equivalent batch file for Kristy, and they
  can each run their own menu by simply typing their name.


PROBLEMS
Masterpiece Menu requires an EGA or VGA monitor/video card.

Any menuing system uses some memory that would otherwise be available
to the programs if they were run strictly from DOS. If you have a
problem with a program not running due to insufficient memory, check
to see if you can unload any device drivers or memory resident
programs (TSR's) that are not required.

A mouse driver must be loaded via your config.sys or autoexec.bat
file in order to be available in MMENU. If you do not see a mouse
cursor in MMENU, see the documentation that came with your mouse for
instructions on how to load your mouse driver. MMENU will work with
mouse drivers that are fully compatible with the Microsoft mouse
driver.


Sound Blaster/Adlib or compatible versions of each of these
programs area available to registered users.

=========================================================================
                  P R E S C H O O L   P A C K
=========================================================================
The colorful graphics, songs, and speech of Preschool Pack will
be sure to capture the attention of your preschooler. From the
main menu screen, which contains a cat which meows and winks when
clicked, to the bee which frowns when a mistake is made in the
matching game, you and your preschooler will appreciate the
careful design and attention to detail of Preschool Pack. Through
six different and entertaining activities your preschooler will learn
about counting, number recognition, the alphabet, colors, matching,
classifying, and memorizing his name, address, and telephone number.

The activities include: "Animal Homes", where animals must be placed
in their appropriate homes - either farm, forest, or circus. Most of
the animals have an accompanying animation and animal sound!
"Balloons", where the user must click on a color block matching
the color of a rising balloon before it pops; "Matching", a memory
game with an animated bee rewarding the user who locates all
matches; "Counting", where the user counts along with the computer
as a variety of colorful images, from dinosaurs to dolls, are
displayed; and "ABC's" where the user must find all letters which
match a displayed letter. "ABC's" uses speech to pronounce each
letter as it is selected. In the last activity the child will
learn to spell his name, as well as learning his address and
phone number. All activities are reinforced with cheerful music
and animation sequences.

=========================================================================
                  S O U N D S   L I K E   A . . .
=========================================================================
"Sounds Like A..." is a unique and entertaining game for children
ranging in age from approximately 1 1/2 to 7 years of age. The
program uses colorful graphics and a variety of high-quality sounds
ranging from a clock "ticking" to a dog "barking". In the first of
two games, the child must find the picture which matches a sound.
Your child may hear, for example, a cow "mooing". He/she will then
click on a square containing the picture of a cow. A game consists
of 12 sound/picture pairs. As each picture is matched with the
accompanying sound, parts of a larger underlying picture are revealed.
The second game is a matching or memory game with a slight twist. The
child must match a picture with the appropriate sound. For example, if
the child clicks on a block revealing a picture of a donkey, he must
find the block which contains the "Hee Haw" sound in order to make a
match.

*** An enhanced version of Sounds Like A... is available for Sound
Blaster or Adlib systems that provides 36 MIDI songs in addition to
the sounds of the standard program. Your child will hear a song and
match that song to its corresponding picture. There are 12 children's
songs, 12 Bible songs, and 12 Christmas songs. Also included in this
version is a "tape player" where your child can play any of the sounds
or songs in the program.

=========================================================================
            T A L K I N G    T I M E    T U T O R
=========================================================================

"Talking Time Tutor" will have your child telling time in no
time! Your child will hear the time spoken using high quality
digitized speech. TTIME provides a variety of different time
activities each with three skill levels. Activities include
setting the analog clock to match the digital clock, setting
the digital clock to match the analog clock, setting the analog
clock to the spoken or written time, and setting the analog clock
to a future or past time. Additional features are provided to
entertain your child as he/she learns. Each of 6 analog clocks has
its own animation routine.

       Pocket Watch        Display minute count by fives.
       Owl                 Eyes move left to right.
       Bear                Honey bee flies around.
       Santa               Christmas tree with blinking lights.
       Cat                 Eyes move up and down.
       Dinosaur            Munches on grass.
       Cuckoo Clock        Cuckoos

The colors of the band on the digital wrist watch may be changed.
A bear on the screen tells time-related jokes or asks your child
questions about time. Isn't it about time you invested in
"Talking Time Tutor" for your child?

=========================================================================
        T A L K I N G    N U M B E R    M A C H I N E
=========================================================================
The inspiration for "Talking Number Machine" (TNUM) came from my
daughter Lisa, age 7. From the time she learned to read, she was
continually asking me, "Mom, what's this number?". At the time she
could not recognize numbers over about 999. After working with the
"Talking Number Machine" she is comfortable with numbers up to the
trillions. TNUM is designed to help children recognize, say, and
write numbers from 1 to 9,999,999,999,999. TNUM uses high quality
digitized speech to say the numbers which appear on the screen.
Mouse and/or keyboard commands may be used. The program includes
the following activities:

  Number Machine - Click on the Number Machine and the machine will
      produce an interesting fact containing a large number. The fact
      will be displayed in a frame, with the number highlighted,
      along with an accompanying picture. For example - "Americans
      eat 50,000,000 hot dogs a day." They may then choose to have
      the computer say the highlighted number, or have the computer
      display that number in words. The user may also choose to
      write the number in words by selecting from a list of number
      words (no typing is required). Help is available to display
      the next word if the user gets stuck. The registered version
      of the program contains 175 number facts.

  Enter any Number - The user may enter (calculator style) any number
      up to 13 digits. They may then choose to have the computer say
      that number or have the computer display that number in words.
      The user may also choose to write the number in words by selecting
      from a list of number words (no typing is required).

  Enter the Written Number - The computer will "think" of a large
      number and display that number in words, for example - nine
      million two hundred fifty one thousand three hundred seventy
      two. The user must enter the digits to make that number. Help
      is available to display the next digit if the user gets stuck.

   Count By - TNUM can also help your child learn to count (by
      increments of 1 to 10). If the user selects 2 the program will
      begin counting by 2's - 2, 4, 6, 8, etc. until you decide to stop.

A utility program is included with TNUM which allows you to enter
your own number facts for use in the program.

=========================================================================
               M S .  P I G G Y   B A N K
=========================================================================
Ms. Piggy Bank provides an effective and entertaining way for
children ages 6 to 10 to learn about money. Ms. Piggy Bank offers
6 different money activities, all using high quality speech and
graphics, with full mouse support. The simplest activity teaches
the names and values of coins and bills up to twenty dollars. Your
child will quickly learn the value of each coin as they try to
maneuver a piggy bank to catch falling coins. Your child will
learn, for example, that two quarters are equal to a half dollar
in the Money Equivalents activity. In the Total Money activity
your child will enter the total of the displayed coins and/or bills
on a cash register. The Select Money activity displays a total and
your child selects the coins and/or bills which add up to that total.
An entertaining board game for 1 or 2 players allows your child to
put his newly acquired skills to work, earning money and an
opportunity to visit the Toy Store where he can practice making a
purchase and counting out the amount of change received. The program
is easily configurable for children of various ages and skill levels.