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<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type"
content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage Express 2.0">
<title>NeXTStart 1</title>
</head>
<body bgcolor="#555577" text="#FFFFFF" link="#FF00FF"
vlink="#800080">
<p align="center"><font size="7" face="Arial"><b>NextSTART 1.0</b></font></p>
<p> </p>
<p align="center"><font size="2" face="Arial"><img
src="Image1.gif" width="387" height="252"></font></p>
<p align="center"> </p>
<p align="center"><font size="2" face="Arial">Component of the</font></p>
<p align="center"><font size="7" face="Arial"><b>WinSTEP 2000
Project</b></font></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<table border="1" width="100%" bordercolor="#FFFFFF">
<tr>
<td><blockquote>
<p> </p>
<p><font color="#FFFF80" size="5" face="Arial"><em>NextSTART
Users Guide<br>
</em></font><font color="#FFFF80" size="4"
face="Arial"><em>Table of Contents</em></font></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p> </p>
<p align="left"><a
href="#NextSTART License and Warranty"><font
color="#FFFFFF" size="3" face="Arial"><b>NextSTART
License and Warranty</b></font></a></p>
<p align="left"><a href="#Introduction"><font
color="#FFFFFF" size="3" face="Arial"><b>Introduction</b></font></a></p>
<ul>
<li><p align="left"><a
href="#What is the WinSTEP 2000 project?"><font
color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>What
is the WinSTEP 2000 project?</b></font></a></p>
</li>
<li><p align="left"><a href="#What is NextSTART?"><font
color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>What
is NextSTART?</b></font></a></p>
</li>
</ul>
<p align="left"><a href="#Installing NextSTART"><font
color="#FFFFFF" size="3" face="Arial"><b>Installing
NextSTART</b></font></a></p>
<p align="left"><a
href="#Running NextSTART for the first time"><font
color="#FFFFFF" size="3" face="Arial"><b>Running
NextSTART for the first time</b></font></a></p>
<p align="left"><a href="#Configuring NextSTART"><font
color="#FFFFFF" size="3" face="Arial"><b>Configuring
NextSTART</b></font></a></p>
<ul>
<li><p align="left"><a
href="#Introduction to Config"><font
color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>Introduction</b></font></a></p>
</li>
<li><p align="left"><a
href="#The Title Preferences tab"><font
color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>The
Title Preferences tab</b></font></a></p>
</li>
<li><p align="left"><a
href="#The Buttons Preferences tab"><font
color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>The
Buttons Preferences tab</b></font></a></p>
</li>
<li><p align="left"><a
href="#The Menu preferences tab"><font
color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>The
Menu preferences tab</b></font></a></p>
</li>
<li><p align="left"><a
href="#The Hotspots Preferences tab"><font
color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>The
Hotspots Preferences tab</b></font></a></p>
</li>
<li><p align="left"><a
href="#The General preferences tab"><font
color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>The
General preferences tab</b></font></a></p>
</li>
<li><p align="left"><a
href="#The Preferences window Command Buttons"><font
color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>The
Preferences window Command Buttons</b></font></a></p>
</li>
</ul>
<p align="left"><a href="#The Menus"><font
color="#FFFFFF" size="3" face="Arial"><b>The Menus</b></font></a></p>
<ul>
<li><p align="left"><a
href="#Introduction to the Menu system in NextSTART"><font
color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>Introduction
to the Menu system in NextSTART</b></font></a></p>
</li>
<li><p align="left"><a href="#Anatomy of a Menu"><font
color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>Anatomy
of a Menu</b></font></a></p>
</li>
<li><p align="left"><a href="#Moving Menus"><font
color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>Moving
Menus</b></font></a></p>
</li>
<li><p align="left"><a href="#Closing Menus"><font
color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>Closing
Menus</b></font></a></p>
</li>
<li><p align="left"><a
href="#Navigating the Menus"><font
color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>Navigating
the Menus</b></font></a></p>
</li>
<li><p align="left"><a
href="#Executing command items"><font
color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>Executing
command items</b></font></a></p>
</li>
<li><p align="left"><a
href="#Opening submenus as folders"><font
color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>Opening
sub-menus as folders</b></font></a></p>
</li>
<li><p align="left"><a href="#Scrolling Menus"><font
color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial"><strong>Menu
Scrolling</strong></font></a></p>
</li>
<li><p align="left"><a href="#Menu examples"><font
color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>Menu
examples</b></font></a></p>
</li>
</ul>
<p align="left"><a href="#Uninstalling NextSTART"><font
color="#FFFFFF" size="3" face="Arial"><b>Uninstalling
NextSTART</b></font></a></p>
<p align="left"><a href="#Future versions"><font
color="#FFFFFF" size="3" face="Arial"><b>Future
versions</b></font></a></p>
<p align="left"><a href="#Questions and Support"><font
color="#FFFFFF" size="3" face="Arial"><b>Questions
and Support</b></font></a></p>
<p align="left"><a href="#Acknowledgements"><font
color="#FFFFFF" size="3" face="Arial"><b>Acknowledgements</b></font></a></p>
<p align="left"> </p>
</blockquote>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p> </p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<p><a name="NextSTART License and Warranty"><font color="#FFFF80"
face="Arial"><b>NextSTART License and Warranty</b></font></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The NextSTART program and all
included documentation are all Copyright 1999 by Jorge Coelho and
John T. Folden. All Rights Reserved.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The NextSTART program logo was
created by JosΘ Carlos Baldo.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The NextSTART web page was created
by John T. Folden. John should also be credited for most of the
menu themes in the theme pack, for the part of the text in this
Users guide that promotes NextSTART and for some excellent
ideas in implementing this program and the WinSTEP 2000 suite.</font></p>
<p><font color="#FF8080" size="2" face="Arial">THIS SOFTWARE IS
DISTRIBUTED "AS IS," WITHOUT WARRANTY AS TO PERFORMANCE
OF MERCHANTABILITY OR ANY OTHER WARRANTIES WHETHER EXPRESSED OR
IMPLIED. BECAUSE OF THE VARIOUS HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE
ENVIRONMENTS INTO WHICH THIS PROGRAM MAY BE PUT, NO WARRANTY OF
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE IS OFFERED. GOOD DATA PROCESSING
PROCEDURE DICTATES THAT ANY PROGRAM BE THOROUGHLY TESTED WITH NON-CRITICAL
DATA BEFORE RELYING ON IT. THE USER MUST ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK
OF USING THE PROGRAM.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">You can contact me with comments
or questions by e-mail at </font><a
href="mailto:winstep2000@xoommail.com"><font color="#FFCCFF"
size="3" face="Arial">winstep2000@xoommail.com</font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The 32-bit version 1.0 of Windows
NextSTART is NOT freeware altough it requires no registration fee.
You are not allowed to reverse engineer or change the contents of
the program files.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Windows NextSTART may not be sold
nor be used in any profit-oriented endeavor without the express
written permission of the author with the exception that Windows
NextSTART may be distributed freely via media intended to make
shareware available to the public for trial. All files, including
the Windows NextSTART program and all others in the Windows
NextSTART zip file, must be included.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">All trademarks used in this
Document are the property of their respective owners and are used
for explanatory purposes only.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="Introduction"><font color="#FFFF80" size="4"
face="Arial"><b>Introduction</b></font></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="What is the WinSTEP 2000 project?"><font
color="#80FF80" face="Arial"><b>What is the WinSTEP 2000 project?</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The WinSTEP 2000 project is a
suite of groundbreaking components for the Windows 32-bit
environment.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The purpose of this suite is to
provide usability enhancements to the standard Explorer Shell
while at the same time providing the user with unlimited
flexibility.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The first component of the WinSTEP
suite is NextSTART, a powerful Start Menu replacement. Other
components will be a Dock, a File Viewer and an Attributes
inspector.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="What is NextSTART?"><font color="#80FF80"
face="Arial"><b>What is NextSTART?</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">NextSTART is a powerful, dynamic
pop-up menu that can be used as a replacement or supplement to
the Windows Start Menu. NextSTART also offers an incredible
amount of flexibility so that the user can customize it to his
needs and desires. What follows is just a brief description of it's
many useful features...</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial"><b>Customizable Titlebars and
Buttons:</b></font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">You can choose the font, the
height, the colors (even use gradients!), 3D effects, if icons
are displayed and more!</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">You can make NextSTART look and
behave like regular Windows menus or emulate the look and feel of
menus in other operating systems.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial"><b>Theme Support:</b></font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">You can create your own themes
based on the options above and then save and restore them at will.
Trade with your friends!</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial"><b>Customizable Menu Behavior:</b></font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">You can even configure how the
menus behave! Choose where scroll-bars are located, how menu
selection is made, which mouse button activates the menus, assign
hot keys and more!</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial"><b>Hot Spot Support:</b></font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Thanks to an incredibly flexible
feature utilizing user defined Hot Spots, you can "attach"
a menu to not only different areas of your desktop but also other
menu programs and applications!</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial"><b>Dynamic Menus:</b></font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Unlike many other menu programs,
NextSTART does NOT require you to re-enter the paths to all the
programs listed on your Start Menu. NextSTART will automatically
read the directory structure of your Programs folder and create a
menu for you on the fly! In fact, thanks to NextSTART's dynamic
menu support, it will create as many menus as you wish based on
any hard drive or directory! Menu maintenance is also a snap,
make a change to any directory and NextSTART will display the
changes the next time you access it.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="Installing NextSTART"><font color="#FFFF80" size="4"
face="Arial"><b>Installing NextSTART</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">To install NextSTART simply unzip
NextSTART.ZIP and run the install program, then choose what
folder you want NextSTART to be installed at.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The NextSTART install program will
not create any program groups in your Programs folder, instead it
will create a single shortcut at the root of this folder. Place
this wherever you want - on the desktop, for instance, or on the
Startup group if you want NextSTART to execute every time you run
Windows. </font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="Running NextSTART for the first time"><font
color="#FFFF80" size="4" face="Arial"><b>Running NextSTART for
the first time</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">NextSTART relies on a hotspot
system that enables you to attach different menus to
different applications or locations of your desktop. By default,
NextSTART comes with a single hotspot that is attached to your
desktop and covers its entire area minus enough space on
the left for a single row of desktop icons.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Since this might not be what you
want, when you run NextSTART for the first time it will
automatically open the preferences window and prompt you to make
its initial configuration.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p align="center"><font size="4" face="Arial"><img
src="Image2.gif" width="445" height="333"></font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">If you accept the default
configuration as it is by pressing the OK button - then
NextSTART will show a menu holding the contents of your programs
folder every time you click on the desktop with your left mouse
button.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">If you have any trouble with this
just double-click the NextSTART icon in the tray bar or press
CTRL-F12 to bring up the preferences window again. </font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="Configuring NextSTART"><font color="#FFFF80" size="4"
face="Arial"><b>Configuring NextSTART</b></font></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="Introduction to Config"><font color="#80FF80"
face="Arial"><b>Introduction</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">As previously mentioned, NextSTART
relies on different hotspots to show up to 10
individual menus. So what are hotspots?</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Hotspots are areas on the desktop
or on any other applications that, when clicked on,
will show the menu currently associated to that hotspot.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Lets give you a practical
example:</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Suppose you want NextSTART to
display a menu when you click on an 8x8-pixel square at the upper
left corner of the desktop. To accomplish this, follow these
steps:</font></p>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li><font size="2" face="Arial">Double-click on NextSTARTs
tray bar icon or press CTRL-F12 to bring up the
preferences window.</font></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><font size="2" face="Arial">Select the Hot Spots
tab.</font></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><font size="2" face="Arial">Press the Add
button - a new hotspot is created.</font></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><font size="2" face="Arial">Press the Find App
button and, without releasing the mouse button, drag the
cursor to an empty area on the desktop. Then release the
button. Notice that as you pass over other windows their
name is displayed in the text box next to the Find
App button. When you finally release the mouse
button, Desktop or Program Manager
should be in the text box.</font></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><font size="2" face="Arial">Press the Select Area
button and wait until the mouse cursor turns into a cross-hair.
Now roughly select a small 8x8-pixel area by
clicking and dragging the mouse at the upper left
corner of the desktop. Release the mouse button when youre
finished.</font></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><font size="2" face="Arial">Type </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial">c:\Windows\Recent</font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> in the folder1 text box if
you are running Win9x or </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial">c:\WinNt\Profiles\Administrator\Recent</font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> if you are running NT as the
administrator.</font></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><font size="2" face="Arial">If you want to have an exact
hotspot area, then enter 0 in the top Horizontal and
Vertical Position text boxes and 8 in the lower.</font></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Thats it. Press OK and left
click on the top left corner of the desktop. A menu containing
your most recently used documents - just like the Documents
sub-menu of Windows Start Menu should pop up right next to
your newly created hotspot.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Now, if hotspots enable you to
define different menu contents and pop up areas, the <i>Title</i>,
<i>Button</i> and <i>Menu</i> tabs in the preferences window
allow you to define the look and feel of these menus. The <i>General</i>
tab, on the other hand, allows you to define how NextSTART itself
behaves.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The preferences window can be
invoked in 4 ways: By double clicking on a menus titlebar,
by double clicking on NextSTARTs tray icon, by right
clicking on this icon and selecting Preferences or with the
keyboard by pressing CTRL-F12. This latest key-combination can be
changed, if necessary, in the preferences window itself.<br>
<br>
The preferences window can be moved by clicking and dragging the
vertical logo.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="The Title Preferences tab"><font color="#80FF80"
face="Arial"><b>The Title Preferences tab</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The Title tab allows you to
configure how the title bars of your menus will look like.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial"><img src="Image3.gif" width="444"
height="332"></font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Title bar</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"><i> height</i> defines the vertical size, in pixels,
of the title bar of your menu. This number must not be greater
than 99. If it is set to 0 then the menu will have no titlebar,
just like the menus in Windows.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Title bar background</i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> is where you define the background colors
of your titlebar. If </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2"
face="Arial"><i>Gradient</i></font><font size="2" face="Arial">
is selected then you can have a gradient background that starts
with the first color and finishes with the second. To use other
colors just click on the color buttons and choose a new color
from the color palette.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Title bar 3D effects</i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> is where you define if the title bar has a
Flat or 3D look. If </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><i>3D</i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> is selected then you can also define the
colors used to obtain this effect.</font></p>
<p><font color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><i>Text Alignment </i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial">allows you to specify how the text in the
titlebar shows up, either centered or justified to the left or
right.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">In </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>TitleBar Font</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> you can specify the font used to display the
titlebar text as well as its color and size in points. Remember
that pixels and points are not the same: There are 20 points in
15 pixels. The </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>B</b></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> and </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2"
face="Arial"><b><i>I</i></b></font><font size="2" face="Arial">
buttons stand for Bold and Italic, respectively. If they appear
in bold the option is on, off otherwise.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="The Buttons Preferences tab"><font color="#80FF80"
face="Arial"><b>The Buttons Preferences tab</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The Buttons tab allows you to
configure how each button (item) in your menu will look like.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial"><img src="Image7.gif" width="443"
height="332"></font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Vert.size</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> box defines the vertical size, in pixels, of each
of the buttons in your menu. This number must not be greater than
99.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">In the </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><i>Max.width</i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> box you can specify a maximum button width
(in pixels). This prevents items with very long names from
creating extremely wide menus. NextSTART will, however, always
respect a minimum width for each menu.</font></p>
<p><font color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><i>Text Alignment</i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> allows you to specify how the text in the
button shows up, either centered or justified to the left or
right. With the later two options you can also define the </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><em>Text offset</em></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> or menu margin, i.e.; how many
pixels should exist between the menus border and the start
of the buttons text.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Buttons background</i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> is where you define the background colors
of your buttons. If </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2"
face="Arial"><i>Gradient</i></font><font size="2" face="Arial">
is selected then you can have a gradient background that starts
with the first color and finishes with the second. To use other
colors just click on the color buttons and choose a new color
from the color palette.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Button 3D effects</i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> is where you define if the menu has a
Flat or 3D look. If </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><i>3D</i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> is selected then you can also define the
colors used to obtain this effect.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">In </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Buttons Font</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> you can specify the font used to display each menu
item as well as its color and size in points. Remember that
pixels and points are not the same: There are 20 points in 15
pixels. The </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>B</b></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> and </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2"
face="Arial"><b><i>I</i></b></font><font size="2" face="Arial">
buttons stand for Bold and Italic, respectively. If they appear
in bold the option is on, off otherwise.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="The Menu preferences tab"><font color="#80FF80"
face="Arial"><b>The Menu preferences tab</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The Menu tab allows you to
configure how your menu will behave.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="1" face="Arial"><img src="Image8.gif" width="443"
height="332"></font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">In </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Scroll Buttons</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> you can specify the position and behavior of the
two scroll buttons that appear if the menu is just too big to fit
on screen. If </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><i>Together
at Bottom</i></font><font size="2" face="Arial"> is selected you
can scroll the whole menu up and down without ever moving the
mouse pointer from the bottom menu area. If it is unchecked, then
you will have to move the mouse pointer to the top of the menu to
scroll up and back to the bottom to scroll down. If </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><em>Automatic Scrolling</em></font><font
color="#FFFFFF" size="2" face="Arial"> is enabled then there is
no need to click on the scroll buttons to scroll the menu, just
position the mouse pointer over one of them and the menu will
begin scrolling automatically.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">At </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Icons</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> you can select if the menu displays items
icons or not. If </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2"
face="Arial"><i>Buttons with icons</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> is selected then you can also specify if you want </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><i>small icons</i> </font><font
size="2" face="Arial">(16x16) or </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>large icons</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> (32x32).</font></p>
<p><font color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><i>Menu Arrows</i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> allows you to specify what kind of arrows
is displayed when a menu item leads to a sub-menu. If </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><i>3D</i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"><b> </b>is selected then the arrows will
have a 3D look, otherwise they will have a flat look much like
the arrows in normal Windows menus. These flat arrows will
automatically be displayed in black for a light button background
and white for a dark background.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">If the </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><i>Hot Keys</i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> box is checked, some of the menu buttons
will have a command key equivalent for their function. This
command key will appear as a small letter at the right of the
menu. Press this letter on the keyboard together with CTRL and
that item will be executed. Note, however, that items leading to
sub menus have no command key equivalent.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">In </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Menu Frame</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> you can select the color used to draw the
borderline surrounding the menu.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">In the </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><i>Menu Selection Bar</i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> you can decide if a menu item should be
highlighted or not when selected. If you want the selection bar
to automatically follow the mouse pointer as you move it over the
menu then you should also select </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Follow Pointer</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial">. You can also specify the colors of the selection
bar and highlighted text as well as if a gradient should be used
or not.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Note that if you don't use a menu
selection bar then you also won't be able to navigate the menu
using the keyboard.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Menu Behavior</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> section is where you specify if a sub-menu should
open automatically as the mouse pointer moves over it. How long
must the mouse stay over the same button (in milliseconds) for
this to happen can be defined in the </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Delay</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> box. If </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2"
face="Arial"><i>Align with Title</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> is selected then sub-menus will always vertically
align with the title bar of the previous menu instead of to the
button that was clicked on to open them. </font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="The Hotspots Preferences tab"><font color="#80FF80"
face="Arial"><b>The Hotspots Preferences tab</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The Hotpots tab allows you to
configure up to 10 different menus. Each menu can be associated
to a specific application or window. You can also define where
the menus show up and where you have to click to make it happen.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial"><img src="Image9.gif" width="444"
height="333"></font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Under </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Hot Spots</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> you can add, modify or delete hot spots. You can
have a maximum of 10 different hot spots (0 to 9). Press the </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><i>Add</i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> button to add a new hotspot, the </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><i>Delete</i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> button to delete the current hot spot or,
alternatively, click on the </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2"
face="Arial"><i>Hot Spot</i></font><font size="2" face="Arial">
combo to choose the hotspot you want to modify.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Hot Spot Area</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> is where you define where the hotspot is located.
The </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><i>Application
name</i></font><font size="2" face="Arial"> holds the name of the
window you want to own the current hot spot, that is,
the hot spot will only exist over that particular window. If you
want to display a menu by clicking on the Windows desktop, then
this box should be left blank or hold the word Desktop.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">For best results, however, always
click on the </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><i>Find
App.</i></font><font size="2" face="Arial"> button - with the
window you want on screen and, without releasing the mouse
button, drag the mouse cursor over to this window. Once the
windows name appears in the </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2"
face="Arial"><i>Application name</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> box, release the button.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Horiz.Pos.</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> and </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2"
face="Arial"><i>Vert.Pos.</i></font><font size="2" face="Arial">
boxes hold the coordinates of the hot spot in pixels
relative to the upper left corner of the owner window.
These four values thus define a rectangle inside this window,
which, when clicked on, will show the menu associated to that hot
spot.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">As before, the best in this case
is to press the </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2"
face="Arial"><i>Select Area</i></font><font size="2" face="Arial">
button as this will enable you to draw that rectangle yourself
without having to specify physical coordinates. However you
should <em>only do this</em> if you used the </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><i>Find.App.</i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> button to capture the owner window. When
you press this button the NextSTART preferences window and menu
are hidden and the cursor turns into a cross-hair. Click on the
place you want the hot spot to start this should be inside
the owners window area and drag to draw a rectangle.
When you release the button the </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Horiz.Pos.</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> and </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2"
face="Arial"><i>Vert.Pos.</i></font><font size="2" face="Arial">
boxes will have been filled with the correct coordinates of the
hot spot.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">A hotspot and corresponding
menu can, as stated before, be associated to the Windows
desktop itself or to a particular window. The difference is
important. If you define a hot spot associated to a window, the
menu will only appear when that window is on screen and you click
inside it <i>and</i> on the hot spot area. Move the window and
the hot spot moves with it.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Initial characteristics</i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> is where you define the title of the first
menu that shows up in the </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>First menu name</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> box and the coordinates, in pixels <i>and</i>
relative to the upper left corner of the owner window, at which
it should appear. If you used the <i>Select Area</i> button to
let NextSTART know where the hot spot is, then the </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><i>Horiz.Pos.</i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> and </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2"
face="Arial"><i>Vert.Pos.</i></font><font size="2" face="Arial">
text boxes - which hold the menus top left coordinates -
will already have been automatically filled. By default NextSTART
always shows the menu just after the hotspot area. Be careful
with this if you choose your entire desktop area as an hotspot,
the menu might end up off-screen.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">If, on the other hand, you prefer
the menu to show up at the exact place where you clicked on the
hot spot, then enable the </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2"
face="Arial"><em>To Mouse</em></font><font color="#FFFFFF"
size="2" face="Arial"> option. This will make the menu snap to
the current mouse position. Note, however, that the menu will
never pop-up off-screen, so NextSTART might automatically adjust
it's initial position to prevent this from happening.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">When a menu shows up, its position
is always relative to that of the window that owns the hotspot.
However, since the Windows desktop is fixed and covers the entire
screen area, a menu associated to the desktop will always appear
at the same absolute position. Not so if you associate the hot
spot to a window or application. In such a case the initial
position of the menu will depend on the on screen position of its
owner window. Move the window to the right and the next time you
click on that hotspot which also moves with the window -
the menu will have moved the same exact distance to the right (unless
this would cause it to be displayed outside the screen area, of
course).</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">If you dont specify a menu
title in the </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><i>First
menu name</i></font><font size="2" face="Arial"> box, then the
title used for the first menu of this hot spot will be the name
of the initial folder.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><em>All Files</em></font><font size="2"
face="Arial">, </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><em>Exec
Only</em></font><font size="2" face="Arial"> and </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><em>CPL Only</em></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> options allow you to filter the files that
are displayed in the menu:</font></p>
<blockquote>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial"><br>
</font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><em>All
Files</em></font><font size="2" face="Arial">: All files and
folders are displayed (default).<br>
<br>
</font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><em>Exec
Only</em></font><font size="2" face="Arial">: Only folders
and files with the extension exe, com, bat, pif, cpl and lnk
(shortcuts) are displayed.<br>
<br>
</font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><em>CPL
Only</em></font><font size="2" face="Arial"> : Only *.CPL
files (Control Panel files) are displayed. Folders are NOT
displayed.<br>
</font></p>
</blockquote>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">In </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Folder 1 </i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial">and </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2"
face="Arial"><i>Folder 2 </i></font><font size="2" face="Arial">you
can define up to two folders whose contents will be displayed by
the menu. </font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Why two folders? Well, on its
current version, NextSTARTs main purpose is to display the
contents of your Start Menus Programs folder. This, under
Win9x, is normally located at </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial">C:\Windows\Start Menu\Programs</font><font
size="2" face="Arial">.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Under NT, however, there are two
program folders. The All Users folder usually
at </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial">N:\WINNT\Profiles\All
Users\Start Menu\Programs</font><font size="2" face="Arial">
and the current user folder, which, for most users who run
NT in their home PCs, is at<i> </i></font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial">C:\WINNT\Profiles\Administrator\Start Menu\Programs</font><font
size="2" face="Arial">.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">By specifying the two paths when
running under NT, the user can combine these two folders into a
single menu.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">But NextSTART is not limited to
only displaying the contents of the programs folder. Here is a
list of other useful folders for users of Win9x:</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial"></font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial">C:\Windows\Recent</font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> Holds shortcuts to your most recently
used documents.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial"></font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial">C:\Windows\Favorites</font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> Holds the contents of Windows
Favorites menu.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial"></font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial">C:\Windows\ Desktop</font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> Holds the contents of the Windows
desktop.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Under the current version this is
pretty much what NextSTART does: Display folders and sub-folders
as a menu. But what it does now, it does very well. You can even
use it to browse your entire hard drive, although in practice
this is not recommended since some folders can be very large and
result in long delays to display them, specially if the <i>Use
Icons</i> option is enabled.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">However, future versions of
NextSTART will mimic and surpass the functionality of the Windows
Start Menu, as well as improve it in a lot of aspects. Coupled
with the functionality of the other components in the WinSTEP
2000 project, NextSTART will allow you to entirelly dismiss the
standard Explorer Shell, or, at the very least, extremelly
enhance it.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="The General preferences tab"><font color="#80FF80"
face="Arial"><b>The General preferences tab</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The General tab allows you to
configure miscellaneous elements of NextSTART.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p align="left"><font size="2" face="Arial"><img
src="Image10.gif" width="446" height="332"></font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">In </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Launch Menus</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> you can define which mouse button is used to launch
menus. If you choose the left mouse button, then the </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><em>Delay</em></font><font
color="#FFFFFF" size="2" face="Arial"> parameter can also be used
to specify if you want NextSTART to distinguish between single
and double mouse clicks. This can be important if your hotspot
covers the entire screen or you have icons spread all over the
desktop. NextSTART is unable to distinguish if you are clicking
on an empty area of the desktop or on an icon and it can be
terribly confusing to double-click on an icon and have both your
application and a NextSTART menu launched at the same time.</font></p>
<p><font color="#FFFFFF" size="2" face="Arial">To avoid this,
when you first click on a hotspot NextSTART waits a little longer
to see if there is another click comming. Once it has waited the
time specified in </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2"
face="Arial"><em>Delay</em></font><font color="#FFFFFF" size="2"
face="Arial"> with no further clicks happening, it launches the
menu. The default </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2"
face="Arial"><em>Delay </em></font><font color="#FFFFFF" size="2"
face="Arial">value (12) is calibrated with the normal interval
Windows uses to distinguish between double clicks and two single
clicks in quick sucession. If this is not enough for you or you
normally double click faster, you can respectivelly increase or
decrease this value. Just remember that the higher the value the
longer it will take for your menus to be launched. The oposite is
also true. In fact, if your desktop hotspot does not cover any
icons, you can set this value to 0 and your menus will launch
immediatelly.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">If you select </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><i>Always on top</i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial">, then NextSTART menus and windows will
always show up on top of all other windows, no matter what.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">if </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><em>Always Open</em></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> is checked then the menus will not automatically
close when you launch an item, and will stay on screen until you
deliberatelly close them by clicking on their titlebars. Note
that even if </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><em>Always
Open</em></font><font size="2" face="Arial"> is unchecked, you
can still launch an item and make the menu stay on screen by
holding the CTRL key while you click on that item.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">If you uncheck </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><i>Icon in Tray</i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> you can prevent NextSTART from adding a
tray icon.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">If </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><em>File Extensions</em></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> is checked, then all files whose extension
is not .LNK, .URL, .PIF and .CPL will have their file extensions
displayed on the menu instead of just the filenames.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Checking </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><em>Hidden Files</em></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> and </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2"
face="Arial"><em>System Files</em></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> will make NextSTART display hidden and system files
in the menu as well.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">In </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Launch Setup</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> you can define a new hot key combination to invoke
the preferences window or simply disable this function altogether
by not checking </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2"
face="Arial"><i>Assign hot key</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial">. The default key combination is CTRL-F12.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Menu Themes</i></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> area allows you to save your own menu themes as
well as load other themes that came with NextSTART or that you
and your friends made. A theme file holds the entire look and
feel as defined in the <i>Title</i>, <i>Buttons</i> and <i>Menu</i>
tabs of a menu. Since NextSTART is so flexible, you can
even create themes that emulate other operating systems
menus - such as the ones in NeXTSTEP, OPENSTEP and the MacOS, for
instance.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Before saving a theme you should
type your name in the </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2"
face="Arial"><i>Author </i></font><font color="#FFFFFF" size="2"
face="Arial">box</font><font size="2" face="Arial">. This box
will also hold the author's name of any theme you load. The name
of the theme currently loaded is also displayed in the </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><em>Theme</em></font><font
color="#FFFFFF" size="2" face="Arial"> box.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="The Preferences window Command Buttons"><font
color="#80FF80" face="Arial"><b>The Preferences window Command
Buttons</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The row of buttons at the bottom
of the preferences window perform the following actions: The </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>OK</b></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"><b> </b>button<b> </b>applies and saves any
changes you made and closes the preferences window. The </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>Cancel</b></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"><b> </b>button reverts all changes made and
also closes the preferences window. The </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>Preview</b></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> button allows you to preview changes to
the look of the menus without saving. The </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>Restore</b></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> button reverts all changes made but
remains on the preferences window. The </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>Help</b></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> button summons up the help file. Finally,
the </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><b>Exit</b></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> button exits NextSTART. A confirmation
will be requested.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Note that what happens when you
press the </font><font color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><strong>Help</strong></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> button depends on you having Microsoft
Internet Explorer installed or not. If IE is installed, NextSTART
will display the HTML help file with it's internal browser. If IE
is not installed, then NextSTART will try to launch the default
browser for that system, and report an error if it does not
succeed.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="The Menus"><font color="#FFFF80" size="4"
face="Arial"><b>The Menus</b></font></a></p>
<p><a name="Introduction to the Menu system in NextSTART"><font
color="#80FF80" face="Arial"><b>Introduction to the Menu system
in NextSTART</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Menus provide a list of commands
that can be executed. You are probably more than familiar with
the menu system used by Windows. NextSTART, however, introduces
you to a completely flexible menu system where just about
anything can be configured. In the future, all the menus used in
the remaining components of the WinSTEP 2000 project will assume
the look and feel you specify under NextSTART.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<blockquote>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial"><img src="Image13.gif"
align="top" width="157" height="642"><img src="Image12.gif"
align="top" width="171" height="311"><img src="Image11.gif"
align="top" width="166" height="157"> </font></p>
</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="Anatomy of a Menu"><font color="#80FF80" face="Arial"><b>Anatomy
of a Menu</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Generally Menus have the following
layout:</font></p>
<p><font color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial">Titlebar:</font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> The titlebar holds the name of the menu.
You can use it to move and close the menu and to access the
preferences window.</font></p>
<p><font color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial">Menu area:</font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> The menu area holds the actual contents of
the menu. If there is an arrow to the right of an item this means
that clicking on that item will open a sub-menu, otherwise the
item is a 'command item'. If there is a lower-case letter instead,
then pressing CTRL together with that letter key on the keyboard
will execute this item.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">If the menu is empty - i.e.; it
has no items - then a single button with the word '(Empty)' will
be displayed. On the other hand, if the menu holds more than
roughly 818 items ( the exact number is dependent on the vertical
size of each button ) then the last entry on the menu is a
special button labeled 'More...'. This button, when pressed, will
open a new sub-menu containing the remaining 818 items and so on...</font></p>
<p><font color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial">Selection Bar:</font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> The selection bar allows you to know which
item is currently selected. If you prefer you can have no
selection bar at all or have the selection bar automatically
follow the mouse pointer as it navigates the menu.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="Moving Menus"><font color="#80FF80" face="Arial"><b>Moving
Menus</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">To move a menu simply click on the
titlebar and drag. Note, however, that moving the main menu will
automatically update its relative position to the owner window in
the hotspot list. What this means is that the next time you click
on that hot spot the menu will appear at the last position you
dragged it to. Sub-menus, however, will not remember new
positions.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">If you try to drag a menu that has
an open sub-menu tree then NextSTART will first close all the
open sub-menus.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="Closing Menus"><font color="#80FF80" face="Arial"><b>Closing
Menus</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">To close a menu and any open sub-menus
after it, right-click on the menus titlebar. If you have
the selection bar enabled then you can also press the ESC key.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">To keep a menu on screen and close
only any open sub-menus after it, left-click on the menus
titlebar.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">To close all menus, click anywhere
else on the desktop or on another window. Note that this will not
work if you have enabled the </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><i>Always on screen</i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> option in the general tab of the
preferences window. In that case you will have to right-click on
the first menus titlebar.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="Navigating the Menus"><font color="#80FF80"
face="Arial"><b>Navigating the Menus</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">To navigate a menu you can use
either the mouse pointer or - <i>if </i>you have the selection
bar enabled - the keyboard.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">When using the mouse to navigate,
simply click on the item you want selected. If that item leads to
a sub-menu ( denoted by an arrow at the right ) then a new menu
will appear next to it, otherwise the associated command is
executed.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Its always a good idea to
have the menu selection bar enabled as this will also allow you
to navigate the menu using nothing but the keyboard if you want.
You can then use the up and down arrow keys to change the
currently selected item, or you can press a letter key and the
selection bar will cycle through all the items whose name starts
with that letter. When using the arrow keys and the beginning or
end of a menu is reached, the selection bar will simply wrap-around.
If the menu is too big to fit on screen, it will automatically
scroll to show the currently selected item.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">To jump directly to the begining
or end of a menu, use the Home and End keys.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">You can use the left and right
arrow keys to jump between sub-menus and parent menus: Pressing
the right arrow key or the enter key on an item that leads to a
sub-menu will open that menu. Pressing the enter key over a
command item will execute that command. Pressing the left arrow
key will close the current sub-menu and pass control to its
parent menu.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Pressing ESC will close the
current menu.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="Executing command items"><font color="#80FF80"
face="Arial"><b>Executing command items</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">To execute a command item with the
mouse, simply click on the item that you want to execute. You can
also execute command items using the keyboard, in one of two ways:</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">If the </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><i>Hot keys</i></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> option is enabled in the menu preferences
tab, then the command item might have a lower case letter
displayed at the right. If that is the case, then you can press
the CTRL key together with this letter to execute the command.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">If the selection bar is enabled,
then you can also navigate the menu as explained in the previous
section and execute the command by pressing the enter key. If you
hold the CTRL key while pressing enter, the menu will <em>not</em>
automatically close - even if </font><font color="#FFFF80"
size="2" face="Arial"><em>Always Open</em></font><font size="2"
face="Arial"> is unselected.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="Opening submenus as folders"><font color="#80FF80"
size="3" face="Arial"><strong>Opening sub-menus as folders</strong></font></a></p>
<p><font color="#FFFFFF" size="2" face="Arial">To open a sub-menu
item as a folder in Explorer instead of as a NextSTART sub-menu,
simply double click on that item. There is no keyboard equivalent.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="Scrolling Menus"><font color="#80FF80" size="3"
face="Arial"><strong>Menu Scrolling</strong></font></a></p>
<p><font color="#FFFFFF" size="2" face="Arial">When the menu is
too big to fit vertically on the screen, it will display two
scroll buttons. These scroll buttons can be located either both
at the bottom or one at the top and the other at the bottom (classic
Windows style):</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font color="#FFFFFF" size="2" face="Arial"><img
src="Image4.gif" width="178" height="503"> </font><font
color="#555577" size="2" face="Arial">....</font><font
color="#FFFFFF" size="2" face="Arial"><img src="Image5.gif"
width="178" height="502"></font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">It can be argued that having both
scroll buttons at the bottom has more advantages, since you don't
have to move the mouse so much when scrolling up and down. In the
end it's all a question of style and personal choice.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">If the </font><font
color="#FFFF80" size="2" face="Arial"><em>Automatic Scrolling</em></font><font
size="2" face="Arial"> option in the Menu tab is enabled, then
there isn't even any need to click on a scroll button: just move
the mouse pointer over it and the menu will start to scroll
automatically.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Something that might be important
to mention is that NextSTART menus cannot hold more than roughly
819 items (for a button size of 20 pixels). If you're using
NextSTART to display a folder holding more than that number of
items, then be aware that only the first 818 files will be
displayed on the first menu. At the end of the menu there will
also be a 'More' button: Press this 'More' button and another
menu will show up displaying the next 818 items and so on...</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">To quickly access the 'More'
button, press the END key on the keyboard. This will make the
selection bar jump to the end of the menu.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="Menu examples"><font color="#80FF80" face="Arial"><b>Menu
examples</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The following pages hold examples
of what can be accomplished with NextSTART. These examples are
part of the theme pak that comes with the program.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">OPENSTEP EUI theme by John T.
Folden</font><font color="#555577" size="2" face="Arial">.............</font><font
size="2" face="Arial">Mac OS X Server theme by John T. Folden.</font></p>
<blockquote>
<p dir="ltr"><font size="2" face="Arial"><img
src="Image14.gif" width="180" height="561"> </font><font
color="#555577" size="2" face="Arial">................</font><font
size="2" face="Arial"><img src="Image15.gif" width="237"
height="564"></font></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Win98 theme by Jorge M. R. Coelho</font><font
color="#555577" size="2" face="Arial">.....................</font><font
size="2" face="Arial">BlackBox Gold theme by John T.
Folden</font></p>
<blockquote>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial"><img src="Image16.gif"
width="200" height="597"></font><font color="#555577"
size="2" face="Arial">............</font><font size="2"
face="Arial"><img src="Image17.gif" width="180" height="562"></font></p>
</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">The Dragon┤s Layer theme by JosΘ
C. Baldo</font><font color="#555577" size="2" face="Arial">........</font><font
size="2" face="Arial">Game Programmer theme by JosΘ C. Baldo</font></p>
<blockquote>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial"><img src="Image18.gif"
width="222" height="763"></font><font color="#555577"
size="2" face="Arial">.....</font><font size="2" face="Arial"><img
src="Image19.gif" width="203" height="764"></font></p>
</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="Uninstalling NextSTART"><font color="#FFFF80"
size="4" face="Arial"><b>Uninstalling NextSTART</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">To uninstall NextSTART you can use
the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel or you can
simply delete the directory at which it was installed and any
shortcut icons to it. NextSTART does not use the windows registry,
therefore no unwanted clutter will be left behind.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="Future versions"><font color="#FFFF80" size="4"
face="Arial"><b>Future versions</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">So what is planned for the next
version of NextSTART? Many, many enhancements and features. Take
a peek at some of them:</font></p>
<p><font color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial">. Complete Start
Menu replacement.</font></p>
<p><font color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial">. Ability to
assign special built-in commands ( like shutdown Windows, etc...
) to buttons.</font></p>
<p><font color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial">. Powerful Menu
editor allowing creation and linking of menus holding built-in
commands, etc...</font></p>
<p><font color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial">. Multiple
detachable menus.</font></p>
<p><font color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial">. More gradient
options.</font></p>
<p><font color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial">. Bitmap
backgrounds for buttons and titlebars.</font></p>
<p><font color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial">. Bitmap Close
Menu titlebar buttons.</font></p>
<p><font color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial">. Bitmap Menu
arrows.</font></p>
<p><font color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial">. Horizontal and
vertical menus.</font></p>
<p><font color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial">. App. related
menus: Pop up when you open an application and disappear when you
close it.</font></p>
<p><font color="#80FF80" size="2" face="Arial">. Animation and
sound support.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Unfortunately the next version of
NextSTART will no longer be free but rather shareware. It will,
however, be by then totally integrated with the spirit and
functionality of the remaining WinSTEP 2000 applications.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="Questions and Support"><font color="#FFFF80" size="4"
face="Arial"><b>Questions and Support</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">You can download the latest
version of NextSTART from</font></p>
<p><a href="http://www.Members.xoom.com/WinSTEP2000"><font
color="#FFCCFF" size="2" face="Arial">members.xoom.com\WinSTEP2000</font></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">For questions and support just e-mail
me at </font></p>
<p><a href="mailto:Winstep2000@xoommail.com"><font
color="#FFCCFF" size="2" face="Arial">Winstep2000@xoommail.com</font></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a name="Acknowledgements"><font color="#FFFF80" size="4"
face="Arial"><b>Acknowledgements</b></font></a></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Special thanks to John T. Folden
for his wonderful ideas, web page design, graphics, comments and
bug testing.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Special thanks to JosΘ Carlos
Baldo for designing the logo and for helping with the graphical
layout of the program.</font></p>
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