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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. System Requirements 3. Quick-Start (Installing BFMenu) 4. Experimenting with the Demonstration Menus 5. Creating Your Menu (.TXT) Files 6. Use of the optional 'BF.BAT' file 7. Customizing BFMenu's Colors 8. Trademark Acknowledgements Copyright August, 1990 by Aspire Software Red Oak, Texas All Rights Reserved 1. INTRODUCTION BFMenu is a fast, batch file menuing application. Its appearance is sophisticated and its operation simple. Not only are the Menu Options determined by you, but the Menu Titles, too. BFMenu supports up to 18 Menu Options per menu, with your Options appearing in an attractive framed box on a pin-striped back- ground. BFMenu's Menu Options are selected using the arrow keys. Press- ing <Enter> causes the selected Option's action to be performed. A selection bar moves from Option to Option, highlighting each Menu Option as it is selected. And, if you choose, a Description Line styled by you will appear below the Menu Box for each Menu Option, according to the Option selected. Accelerator Keys are also available to make menu selections, and require only a single keystroke. These keys are automatically selected as unique letters, one from each Menu Option. (Where possible, this is always the first letter of each Option.) For emphasis, that letter's display is highlighted (in white on color monitors). When the letter is pressed on the keyboard, its Menu Option is selected and the Option's action performed. (When the first letter of two Menu Options are alike, alternate, unique letters are automatically assigned.) BFMenu will operate in monochrome or color. If a color monitor is used, you can customize your menu's colors. If your monitor is a color VGA, BFMenu provides several additional, unusual custom color combinations. Should you create multiple levels of menus, each menu will cascade across the screen as it is passed, creating a clear relational picture, displaying both the current and prior menus. Backing out of each level is intuitive, using <Esc> to follow the menu path in reverse order. Now, let's take a quick look at the system requirements, then get started! 2. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS BFMenu runs on the IBM PC family of computers, including the XT, AT, and the PS/2 series, as well as true IBM compatibles. We recommend DOS 3.1 or higher though the older versions should work. If older DOS versions are used, we recommend starting BFMenu only when the default drive/directory is set to the drive/ directory where BFMenu resides. Although BFMenu will operate from any disk drive, the speed of a hard drive is definitely preferable. The disk space required for the BFMenu and related files is not substantial. To create your own menus, you will need a text editor or word processor capable of creating ASCII-based text files. The ASCII format is the very common file format used in 'batch (.BAT) files' such as the 'AUTOEXEC.BAT' file. EDLIN can be used to create and maintain the Menu Files though there are many easier text editors with which to work. Most popular word processors can be used, then a text file created using an 'export' function. BFMenu can be adapted by experienced personnel to a network system. The current release has not been designed specifically for such use, however. 3. QUICK-START (Installing BFMenu) BFMenu does not use an installation program. In fact, only three files are needed to operate BFMenu: 'BFMENU.EXE' - BFMenu's executable file 'BFMENU.TXT' - Your ASCII-based text file used to define the Menu Title, Menu Options, and Menu Option action commands. 'BF.BAT' - An optional file for starting BFMenu and for performing housekeeping each time BFMenu starts. A fourth file, 'BFMENU$$.BAT' is created by BFMenu in the directory where 'BFMENU.EXE' resides. Other files ('.TXT' files) can be created by you for multiple level menus. Also included with BFMenu are: 'REGISTER.FRM' and 'MANUAL.DOC' - Text files used by BFMenu to print a registration form and BFMenu's Mini-Manual. 'GAMEMENU.TXT' - A text file used to define the Menu Title, Menu Options, and Menu Option action com- mands for the SECOND tier of a multiple level menu, for demonstration purposes. 'CARS.TXT' - A text file used to define the Menu Title, Menu Options, and Menu Option action com- mands for the THIRD tier of a multiple level menu, for demonstration purposes. BFMenu may be run from any disk or hard drive. However, it will operate faster when stored on a hard drive. You can start BFMenu with the BFMENU.EXE program file and BFMENU.TXT Menu File in the default drive/directory, or it may be started from a different drive/directory using the path name. For instance, if BFMenu resides on the 'C' drive, you can start it from the 'A' drive: A:\>c:bfmenu /go. To 'install' BFMenu, simply copy the files from the floppy disk or diskette to a hard drive. We believe in good housekeeping, and so recommend you first make a directory for BFMenu and change to that directory. For example: C:\>md bfmenu (then press <Enter>) (makes the directory) C:\>cd bfmenu (then press <Enter>) (changes to the directory) Now copy the files. For example, insert the BFMenu disk or disk- ette in Drive A (any appropriate drive is fine). Assuming the 'A' drive is used and you are copying to 'C' Drive, type 'copy a:*.* c:': C:\BFMENU>copy a:*.* c: That's it! Now, to operate BFMenu's demonstration menus, type 'bfmenu /go'. NOTE: To disable the preamble, 'Do you want to print a Regis- tration Form?', that appears whenever BFMenu is started, you must register BFMenu. Your new copy will exclude this message. If you register by phone, you may call technical support and we will give you over-the-phone instructions for disabling the registration offer message. 4. EXPERIMENTING WITH THE DEMONSTRATION MENUS To give you an understanding of BFMenu's features before you create your own menus, start and operate BFMenu using the demonstration menus. Simply type 'bfmenu /go' in the drive/ directory where BFMenu resides, or type the path name + /go if BFMenu is in a different drive/directory. Before the menu operates, an option to print the registration form appears. After registering BFMenu, this message will be removed. While experimenting, you will find this message can be passed-by almost unnoticeably by pressing 'N' immediately after starting BFMenu. When the demonstration menu appears, use the up and down arrow keys to change selections. Notice that the selection bar will 'roll' from the last selection to the first when pressing the down arrow continuously. Try pressing the up arrow key continuously also. Now, using the arrow keys, move to each Menu Option, hesitating to look at the Description Line under the framed box. In YOUR menus, both the Menu Options and the Description Lines will be designed by you. While scanning the Options notice some Options do not have Description Lines. Their usage is optional. After selecting an Option, such as Word Perfect, press <Enter>. This causes the Option's action to be performed. (Of course these demonstration Options must all end with only a message since only you know what software products you own and where they reside on your computer's drives and directories.) On proceeding from the demo message, BFMenu is re-entered automatically (after displaying the pre-registration Registration Form message). To exit from the menuing system, press <Esc>. Next, select 'GAMES MENU' and press <Enter>. This selection demonstrates BFMenu's multiple-level menuing. After scanning this second tier menu's selections using the arrow keys, select 'BBALL' but do not press <Enter>. Instead, press the letter 'C' for 'CARS & RACING'. This demonstrates two features. Cars & Racing is a third tier menu, demonstrating the cascading of menus from the upper left corner. And 'C' is an Accelerator Key, which can be used instead of the arrow and <Enter> keys to select and proceed with menu selections. The use of accelerator keys is very useful as you become familiar with your menu designs and are moving quickly from using one application to another. The cascading menus enable you to maintain your 'bearing' when using multiple-level menus. To back out of any one tier to earlier tiers, press <Esc>. When at the first tier, pressing <Esc> will exit from BFMenu. Before leaving the Demonstration Menus, notice the Menu Titles for each menu. These also are styled by you, in the '.TXT' files such as 'BFMENU.TXT'. 5. CREATING YOUR MENU (.TXT) FILES For those familiar with batch file operations, a comparison of the ASCII file, 'BFMENU.TXT', to the demonstration menu will answer most questions or confirm most guesses and assumptions. Whether familiar with batch files or not, we suggest creating your own Menu Files by example. So use a text editor or word processor to view the 'BFMENU.TXT' file while reviewing this section. The 'BFMENU.TXT' file is the file that you will cus- tomize to create your own 'first tier' menu. As quickly as you understand the Menu File usage, make modifications for YOUR Menu Title, Menu Options, Description Lines, and batch file commands. It only takes a few moments to discover and correct your errors! Success through trial and error is easy, here. The Menu Files (such as 'BFMENU.TXT') are used by BFMenu to generate your menus and the related batch files. The format of the Menu Files is as follows: Line 1 : defines the Menu Title. Lines 2 through ?? : define the Menu Options. If a comma (,) is present on any line, the text following the comma will appear in the Description Line each time that line's Option is selected. BFMenu accepts up to 18 lines of Menu Options. A blank line : defines the end of the Menu Options. All subsequent lines are used to define DOS commands to be associated with the Menu Options. Multiple series of DOS commands with each series sepa- rated by a blank line : each series defines the contents of a batch file, named 'BFMENU$$.BAT' that will be created and run by BFMenu if the related Menu Option is selected and <Enter> pressed. These series are spatially related to the Menu Options. In other words, the first Menu Option (Line 2) will cause the first series of DOS commands to be performed, the second Menu Option, the second series, etc. Be certain that only one blank line exists between each series of DOS commands. For multiple-level menuing: In lieu of any series of DOS commands, you may substitute a file name and extension, preceded by a housetop (^). The housetop communicates to BFMenu that an ASCII-based text file of the designated file name exists in the same drive/directory as BFMenu. That file, created by you, is of the same file layout as above, and will itself be the basis for another menu. When the Menu Option associated with this line is selected and <Enter> is pressed, this line will direct BFMenu to operate a multiple-level menu, using the data in the designated file to create the next menu. BFMenu supports up to 12 tiers of menus. The first tier is pre-set so that BFMenu searches for the file, 'BFMENU.TXT'. 11 more such tiers can be operated using files created and named by you. We recommend that, for the benefits of consistency, you use the extension '.TXT' for all Menu Files. The use of descriptive names such as 'GAMEMENU', 'MODMMENU' or 'UTILMENU' will help make menu maintenance easy, too. These files should reside in the same directory as 'BFMENU.EXE'. While the demonstration Menu Files don't start any applications, here is a sample 'BFMENU.TXT' Menu File that could be used to start two application programs. Line 1 begins with 'MAIN MENU': MAIN MENU WORD PERFECT,For word processing and table-top pub. QUATTRO PRO,Spreadsheet program with graphics echo off cls cd c:\word wp bf echo off cls cd c:\quattro q bf Whichever Menu Option is chosen in this sample, the screen is cleared, the default drive/directory is changed to the drive/ directory where the selected application resides, and the application is started. When the application is exited, the 'BF.BAT' batch file is run (see Item 6, below), which performs some housekeeping and restarts BFMenu. From here, customize 'BFMENU.TXT' for your system. Start simple, with single-tier menuing and with few items. Then test, correct and build on the simple menu. 6. USE OF THE OPTIONAL 'BF.BAT' FILE When using a computer, it is necessary at times to use DOS commands at the 'DOS prompt'. When using multiple drives and many directories, this means that, at any particular moment, the current default drive and directory, and the default directories of other drives may consist of any one of dozens of combinations. For various reasons, including file protection and security and convenience, it is often best to reset all hard drives to their root directories when changing applications. It is often desir- able, too, to maintain a path command allowing certain actions to be taken regardless of which drive/directory is current. It is for these reasons that we recommend the use of a batch file such as 'BF.BAT'. Assuming a computer system with two hard drives, C and D, here is a 'BF.BAT' file that simply and quickly takes care of some important housekeeping: echo off cls cd d:\ cd c:\ c: path=c:\ c:\bfmenu\bfmenu go With this batch file residing in the root directory of drive C (C:\>), pressing 'bf' and <Enter> will clear the screen, change both D and C drives' directories to their root directories, set the current drive to drive C, set the path to the root directory of drive D, and start the menuing system which resides in directory \BFMENU of drive C. If C:\ remains in the path, 'bf' can subsequently be run from any drive and directory and a significant amount of housekeeping will thereby be done for you. If, in addition, you place the command 'bf' as the last item in your 'AUTOEXEC.BAT' file, this housekeeping 'automatically' will be done and your menu appear on 'boot-up'. Notice that the demonstration files, though doing no house- keeping, rely on a call to 'bf' to restart BFMenu at the end of running other DOS commands. 7. CUSTOMIZING BFMENU'S COLORS Using command line codes you may modify BFMenu's color scheme: Position Command -------- -------------------- 1 start BFMenu (/go) 2 color - background shading 3 color - background 4 color - foreground letters 5 color - selection bar Code position 1 is used to start BFMenu. If no command code is provided on starting BFMenu, options to print this Mini-Manual and the Registration Form are offered, as well as very cursory instructions. For code positions 2 through 5, you may use any combination of the following codes: wh - WHite ly - Light graY dy - Dark graY bk - BlacK bl - BLue lb - Light Blue gr - GReen lg - Light Green cy - CYan lc - Light Cyan rd - ReD lr - Light Red mg - MaGenta lm - Light Magenta br - BRown yw - YelloW For instance: 'bfmenu /go /cy /dy'. On a color monitor, this start-up results in a cyan on dark gray background. You do not need to fill all 5 code positions. If your system uses a VGA adapter with a color monitor, rather than using positions 2 through 5 to set colors for individual menu areas, you may set an unusual color combination using one of the following codes in position 2: SONTAE SOUTHWEST NOUTISE FOREST REUBATELA For instance: 'bfmenu /go /sontae'. With a VGA adapter and color monitor, this startup will result in a color combination other than the sixteen standard colors generally offered in text mode. One other option is available to VGA users. Instead of one of the above custom codes, you can use 'AUTOCOLOR' (bfmenu /go /autocolor). This option will randomly select the color option from the five custom codes above. 8. TRADEMARK ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Trademarks used in the demonstration menus and or in this manual include: Q&A, a trademark of Symantec Corporation WordPerfect, a registered trademark of WordPerfect Corp. Quattro, a registered trademark of Borland International, Inc. Peachtree, a registered trademark of Peachtree Software Test Drive & Test Drive II, trademarks of Accolade, Inc. Reader Rabbit, a registered trademark of The Learning Company ___________________________________ We hope you enjoy using BFMenu as much as we enjoyed writing it! PLEASE REGISTER!