TopWare Tools/TOOLS.iso/tools/top1301/readme.txt

Text File | 1994-01-17 | 25.0 KB | 582 lines

NOTE: THIS PROGRAM REQUIRES VBRUN300.DLL, NOT NECESSARILY
INCLUDED WITH IT.  SEE SECTION V. FILES BELOW FOR DETAILS.

WinWall Plus 1.3
Windows Wallpaper Manager/Changer/Editor

Print this file for easy program instructions.

If you are upgrading from an earlier version, see HISTORY.TXT
for features that have been added or changed.

See the file FORMATS.TXT for information on the graphics
formats recognized by WinWall Plus and the pros and cons of
using them as Windows wallpaper.

⌐1992-1994 All rights reserved

By Don Bradner
Arcata Pet
600 F Street
Arcata, CA  95521

Compuserve address 76130,1007

Contents of this file:

   I.  Program Description
  II.  Program Requirements
 III.  Installation
  IV.  Getting Started
   V.  Files that make up WinWall Plus
  VI.  Troubleshooting
 VII.  Obtaining wallpaper images
VIII.  Registration and distribution

I. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION.

WinWall Plus is a program for organizing and displaying Windows
3.1 wallpaper files. With this program you can easily maintain
a collection of wallpapers, automatically change them at an
interval you select, and use image formats (GIF, PCX, TGA, TIF
and .JPG) that would otherwise not be usable by Windows as
wallpaper. GIF and PCX provide compression of 256-color images,
and .JPG provides compression for 16-million color images, thus
saving disk space.

WinWall Plus has editing features and file conversion routines
built in, which allow you to change images to suit your wallpaper
needs.  You can crop, resize, stretch, rotate, mirror, flip, and
adjust brightness and contrast.

Wallpapers may be tiled (small images displayed in multiples to
fill the entire screen) or not, individually determined.  Each
non-tiled wallpaper may be precisely positioned anywhere on the
screen, not just centered (the Windows default).

Multiple sets of wallpapers called "queues" may be built, with
easy changing of queues.  A wallpaper may appear in more than
one queue.  Most program configuration items are maintained
with the queue.

All of the images installed in a wallpaper queue may be displayed
simultaneously in "thumbnail form" for easy maintenance.  A
single image selection my be previewed on the main screen
before deciding to edit it or make it the current wallpaper.

Changing interval may be as short as 6 seconds (0.1 minutes)
for "slideshow" effect, or as long as 999.9 minutes.

If an active application is maximized (shown full screen), the
program timer will be suspended so as to avoid annoying screen
jumps when the wallpaper changes.  This generally means that
screensavers (which typically use the whole screen) will
suspend the program.

When adding files there is a "preview" option in the dialog
box.  If you do not recognize a file name, you may use this
option to view a thumbnail of the image before choosing to load
it.

There is an additional option to have the icon "disappear" when
the program is running.  If you select this option and then
need to access the program to make changes, open the group
where you have installed WinWall and double-click the icon.
Instead of starting another copy of the program, the running
version will be restored.

Full documentation is included in the form of a Windows Help
file.  When you desire help, press your F1 function key for
context-sensitive help, or press the help key if you are in a
file dialog box.

II. Program requirements.

WinWall Plus requires an IBM compatible 286 or better, running
Windows 3.1, with at least 4 megs of RAM and VGA or better
graphics.  Manipulating large images may require 8 megs or more
of memory, and more is always better.  A monitor and video card
capable of 256 colors is recommended for viewing of
photographic images. If your monitor/card setup is capable of
true color (16 million colors), WinWall Plus will handle files
with that color depth. Generally, such cards will perform best
at 32,000 or 65,000 colors rather than 16 million, and it is
unlikely that any quality will be lost.

Some operations require a mouse.

Graphics files can be quite large, particularly with true-color,
so a large hard disk is recommended.  WinWall Plus will require
about 1 meg for installation.

III. Installation.

If you obtained WinWall Plus by downloading it from a computer
Bulletin Board (BBS) or another online source, one necessary
file may not have been included.  You will need a file called
VBRUN300.DLL, which is almost always available from any source
that would have WinWall Plus.  On BBS systems the file will
usually be called VBRUN300.ZIP or VBRUN3.ZIP.  If you obtained
the program on disk, the file should be included and may be
called VBRUN300.DL_.  If it is missing, contact the supplier of
the program.  Registered versions obtained from the author
should always include VBRUN300.

To install WinWall Plus, insert the disk in your computer and
choose File/Run from the Program Manager.  Enter A:Setup or
B:Setup as appropriate and follow the prompts.  At the end of
the setup operation you will be given the option of adding
WinWall Plus to your Startup Group.  Doing so will cause the
program to start whenever you start a Windows session.  This is
the recommended procedure; you can always delete the icon from
the group at a later time if you wish.

NOTE: Setup will not run if any other program is using
VBRUN300.DLL or any other library file used by the program,
including recent versions of WinWall or WinWall Plus.  An error
message will be generated, and you must end all such
applications before retrying the installation.  To be safe, it
is best to have only Windows running before installing WinWall
Plus or any other program.  Keep this in mind for the future,
particularly if you have WinWall Plus running as a hidden Icon
- you should end the program before installing other software.

IV.  Getting Started.

If you did not choose the option to install the program in the
Startup Group, you should install the program icon in a
different Program Manager group (such as Accessories) to make
access easier.  Open the group that you want to add the
program to, and choose New from the File menu.  Select Program
Item, and then browse for the program.  It is WWPLUS.EXE in
your Windows directory (unless you selected a different
directory/path during the setup process).  You do not need to
select the Run Minimized option, since the program
automatically does that after the first time.

Now you will need one or more wallpaper images to use with the
program.  These files may be located in any directory on any
drive, but management will be simplified if you place them all
in one directory.  A directory named WALLPAPR is recommended,
either as a root directory on your C: drive or a subdirectory
under the \Windows directory.

Windows comes with a few wallpapers in .BMP format.  If you do
not have any other images, you can make some simple drawings
with Windows Paintbrush and save them as either .BMP or .PCX
files.  For further information on obtaining images see section
VII below.

Double-click the WWPlus icon to start the program.  The first
time that the program starts it will be a full program window.
Once you have one or more wallpapers installed, the program
will start as an icon, which you may double-click at any time
to show the main window.  If you have chosen the hidden icon
option, the program will not be visible when started.  Simply
start it a second time; the first instance will become visible
and the second will end itself.

Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the program elements
on screen.  If you press the F1 key, a help file will be
displayed, and you may graphically choose different program
elements to see an explanation of their function.

Now click the Add button (or choose Add from the Wallpaper
menu).  Use the dialog box to browse for images in any of the
supported formats.  If you do not know from a file name what
the image looks like, click the preview button and you will see
a small representation of the image.  The size of and number of
colors in the image will be shown below the image.

When you have a desired image, click OK.  The path and filename
will appear in the Wallpaper Queue.  Click once on the listing
to "select" it.  Now click the "Make Current Wallpaper" button
to view the image as a wallpaper.  If it displays as you would
wish, go on to add additional wallpapers.  If you would like to
change the way the image is displayed, you have many options to
choose from, a few of which are explained next.

1.  Positioning.  If the image is not a full screen image you
    may want to change the place where it appears on your screen.
    Select the image in the Wallpaper Queue, and then choose
    "Position Wallpaper" from the Wallpaper menu. You may now
    move the image around by dragging it with your mouse.  Place
    the mouse cursor over the image and press the left button down.
    Holding the button down, move the mouse and the image will move
    with it.

    When the image is where you wish, release the button.  Now you
    may set the position by either pressing the Enter key or
    double-clicking the image.  If you want to abort the
    positioning, press the ESCape key.  The coordinates of the
    upper left corner of the image will show in the X and Y
    boxes at the bottom right of the program screen (you may
    directly alter them if you wish).  From now on whenever the
    image is displayed it will be in the set position.

2.  Tiling.  If a wallpaper image is small, you may wish to
    "tile" it.  This will make the image appear many times to fill
    the screen.  You may adjust the position of the first image in
    the same manner described above; all other images will orient
    to the first.  To make an image tile, select it in the
    Wallpaper Queue and click the "Tiling" switch to the on
    position.  Tiling may be turned off in the same way.  The
    position of the tiled image will also be influenced by the
    X and Y coordinates:  The first image will follow the
    setting, and all other copies of the image will orient to
    the first.

3.  Altering the image.  You may perform a variety of editing
    functions on an image by selecting it in the Wallpaper Queue
    and then clicking the "Edit" button.  The first time you do
    this, press the F1 key when the editor is visible and browse
    through the help file for explanations of the editing functions.

When you have a few images installed, set the timer to an
appropriate interval and turn it on (if it is not already on).

From the wallpaper menu, click on the "Queues" item, which will
present two options: Change Queue and Save Queue.  Select "Save
Queue" and choose a file name and directory to save the queue
configuration file in.  A Wallpapr directory is suggested.  Use
an 8-or-less character descriptive name, with a .QUE
extension.  The .QUE extension is the only one allowed - if you
use something else you will not be able to load it later.  You
do not have to put an extension on; the program will add it if
you don't.

Once you have everything the way you want it, minimize the
program window (click the down arrow at the upper right of the
program window) and leave it running as an icon.  If you are
not expecting to make changes immediately, you may wish to make
the icon disappear by selecting that option before you minimize
it.  Remember that you can always get the program back by
opening the group where it is installed and double-clicking the
icon.

Preferences:  There are some items which you can set to affect
the way the program operates.  These are found as a Preferences
submenu under the Wallpaper menu.  The first is "Change
Wallpaper at Startup."  If this is not checked, the wallpaper
will be whatever was displayed prior to the program startup.
The second is "Special 'Change Wallpaper' Icon."  If this menu
item is checked the minimized program icon will be replaced
with a miniature form that can be used for instant changes of
wallpapers.  This form will initially appear at the bottom
right of the screen, but will "remember" any change in its
location which you may choose to make.  Click on the form to
change icons, or use the spacebar if the form is active (top
bar highlighted).  Double-Click the form to restore the main
program window.  This option has no meaning if the hidden icon
option described above is in use.

The third preference is "Display Order," with the choices being
Random or Sequential.  The fourth is "Default Origin," which is
where WinWall Plus will position your wallpapers unless they
are individually specified.

The fifth preference is "Monitor Com Ports."  Because a
wallpaper change would likely disrupt a data transfer by modem,
you may choose to have WinWall Plus monitor a com port to which
the modem is connected.  When WinWall Plus detects a Data
Carrier signal at the selected port the timer is disabled.
Choose ports 1 through 4, or None.  The default is None.  If
you choose a port that has a serial device other than an modem
attached, such as a printer, you may get unpredictable results.

Preferences are saved with a queue.  If you create a new queue,
all preferences will be whatever they were in the most recent
queue unless you change them.

V.  Files that make up WinWall Plus.

The files are compressed on the disk.  They are listed here
with their compressed and uncompressed names.  If you remove
WinWall Plus from your system, be careful about deleting any
file with a .DLL or .VBX extension, since it might be used by
another program (save a copy just in case).  The setup program
only copies a file to your disk if it does not find the file
already or if this file is newer.

Compressed      File Name        Type and where installed

WWPLUS.EX_    WWP.EXE      Program, Windows directory
WWPLUS.HL_    WWPLUS.HLP   Helpfile, Windows directory
WWPLUS.IN_      WWPLUS.INI   Data file, Window directory
                SETUP.EXE    Setup Program, not transferred
        SETUP.LST    Used by Setup
SETUPWWP.EX_    SETUPWWP.EXE WinWall Plus Setup, Windows directory
CTL3DV2.DL_     CTL3DV2.DLL  Library File, Windows\System directory
IMK.DL_         IMK.DLL          Ditto
JPEGIO.DL_      JPEGIO.DLL        Ditto
KNIFE.VB_       KNIFE.VBX         Ditto
MHCM200.VB_    MHCM200.VBX       Ditto
MHCOMD.VB_      MHCOMD.VBX        Ditto
MHRUN300.DL_    MHRUN300.DLL      Ditto
SETUPKIT.DL_    SETUPKIT.DLL      Ditto
VER.DL_        VER.DLL           Ditto
WWPLUS.DL_      WWPLUS.DLL        Ditto

                WWP_REG.KEY       Registration key, Windows directory
***Note: WWP_REG.KEY included only with registered versions.

            README.TXT     This file (Not installed to hard disk)
        HISTORY.TXT    version history   ditto
        FORMATS.TXT    explanation of graphics formats ditto


VBRUN300.DL_    VBRUN300.DLL Library File, Windows\System directory
***note:  VBRUN300.DLL may not be included if the program was
obtained from an online source.  It will have to be obtained to
run the program and the setup program.  From on-line sources,
it is usually VBRUN300.ZIP or VBRUN3.ZIP.  If the program was
obtained on disk then the file should be included; if not,
contact the source of the disk.  If the file is obtained
separately, it must be installed in your Windows\System
directory BEFORE you run setup.

If the program is obtained on disk there may be images
included, usually in an \images directory.  These are not
installed by the program.  There may be a Rights.TXT file with
the images to establish their usage rights.

Files created by WinWall Plus

All of the following are in your Windows directory and should
not be moved.

WWPLUS.INI  This data file holds a list of the images that you
have selected as wallpapers, as well as all of your program
settings.

WWPLUS.BMP  This is a "temporary" file that WinWall Plus uses
to translate non-standard images so that they can be used by
Windows.  It is destroyed and recreated each time the wallpaper
changes unless the new image is a .BMP file.

WWPLUS.TIF  This is a multiple image file that is used to speed
the display of thumbnail images.

WinWall Plus also creates some other temporary files with .TMP
extensions.  Under normal use, the program will clean these up
when it exits.  If the program crashes, it will clean them up
the next time it is run and then exited normally.

VI.  Troubleshooting.

If you receive a message which says something like "Unable to
install VBRUN300.DL_" during the program install, it means that
you have a version of WinWall Plus that originally included the
VBRUN file but it is not present.  You can solve this two ways:
copy VBRUN300.DLL to the directory where the rest of the
distribution files are and rename it VBRUN300.DL_, or else use
a text editor (such as Windows Notepad) to edit the file
SETUP.LST.  Remove the listing for VBRUN300.DL_ and save the
file.  The VBRUN file will still have to be located in your
Windows\System directory, but the setup won't try to reinstall
it.

If you receive a Windows error about a  "SUB OR FUNCTION NOT
DEFINED" which crashes the program, it usually means that you
have an older version of one of the files in your path.  The
most likely culprit is MUSCLE.VBX, which is used by a lot of
programs.  WinWall Plus installs this file in your
Windows\System directory.  If an older version is in your
Windows directory, it may not have a necessary function, and
will be loaded ahead of the System version.  Delete older
versions of the file and try again.

The most common problems with WinWall Plus occur when the
WWPLUS.INI file becomes corrupted in some way.  If you are
having problems, try deleting this file (located in your
Windows directory) or renaming it.  The program should run OK,
but all of your settings will be lost and have to be reentered.

If you have followed the recommendation of saving the Queue
file, you may rebuild the WWPLUS.INI file to the condition of
the last saved queue by selecting "Queues - Change Queues" from
the Wallpaper menu.  ANSWER NO when prompted to save the
current settings, then load the queue again (or a different
one).

USERS THAT ROUTINELY CHANGE DISPLAY COLOR-DEPTHS SHOULD PAY
PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THE FOLLOWING ITEM:

If you are using a display of more than 256 colors, and you
have a wallpaper loaded that is true color (16 million colors),
if you then change display drivers to a 256-color driver,
Windows will not load.  If this happens, you should run setup
from the DOS prompt within your Windows directory, change to a
16 color driver or a true color driver, and reload Windows.
Clear the wallpaper and then proceed to change to the 256 color
driver.  Alternatively you may use the DOS Edit function to
edit your WIN.INI file and delete the wallpaper file reference.

If you are using the Thumbnail option to look at all of your
installed files, and it does not appear to show them all in
proper order, then the thumbnail file has become corrupted.
Simply choose the "Build new display" option from the File menu
on the thumbnail screen.

If you have an image that WinWall Plus will not display, it may
be in a format that cannot be used.  There are some variations
of .GIF and .PCX that are known to make problems for WinWall
Plus.  If you can load them into another image editing program
you may be able to save it in a usable format.

WinWall Plus expects image file names to match their formats.
If you have a .BMP image but give it a .GIF name, the program
will not be able to read it.

Speed vs compression: Compressed files will take noticeably
longer to load than uncompressed (.BMP).  .GIF files provide
the greatest amount of compression, and take the longest to
change.  .PCX files provide moderate compression with faster
change.  During the change, there will be a short few seconds
when the computer will "hang" and you must wait for the
completion.  If you are working on something critical, you may
wish to turn off the timer so that the wallpaper will not
change.  Alternatively, Maximize the program that you are
working on, and the WinWall Plus timer will be suspended until
the program is reduced to less than full screen size.

Note for users of compressed disk programs (Stacker, DOS 6
DoubleSpace, etc):  There is no space advantage to using
compressed file formats with compressed drives (other than JPEG
- see the FORMATS.TXT file).  You will lose the speed without
gaining space, since your compression program cannot further
compress a .GIF file.  Use .BMP in this case.

If you have chosen a wallpaper file with more colors than your
display can show there will be significant delay while the
program changes the color depth.  If you intend to use the
image regularly you should edit the image to lower the color
depth to match your display.

VII. Obtaining wallpaper images.

Any image that can be displayed on your computer may be used as
wallpaper.  If you regularly use Computer BBS systems or online
sources such as Compuserve, Genie, America Online, etc. you
will find a wealth of images that can be downloaded.  These
images are usually in the .GIF format to reduce download time.

If you obtained this program on disk, there may be images
included, usually in an \images directory.  A RIGHTS.TXT file
may be included in this directory describing the user's rights
to the images included.

You may use Windows Paintbrush to create images, or other
similar programs.

By far the greatest enjoyment of WinWall Plus will come if you
can use photographs that you own or have taken.  If you have a
scanner, or know someone who does, you may scan the photographs
and convert them into usable images.  Many independent computer
stores offer scanning services, as do some print/copy services.

The latest method is Kodak Photo CD.  Most Kodak dealers can
take your slides, negatives, prints, or undeveloped film and
have them returned as high-resolution images on a Photo CD.
You will need two things to use these images:  A CD-ROM drive
that is capable of reading the Photo CD format (many will not)
and software to read the .PCD format and convert it to a format
usable by WinWall Plus.

Future versions of WinWall Plus will probably directly support
.PCD (good reason to register!).  Some CD-ROM drives that
cannot read Photo CDs can have simple firmware upgrades;
consult your vendor.  Kodak sells several software packages
that will read the format; the simplest is called Photo CD
Access, and lists for $39.95.  Many image and paint programs
are starting to have Photo CD support as well.


VIII.  Registration and Distribution.

WinWall Plus is shareware, and may be registered for $15.  A
convenient form for registration is included below and in the
Help file (and may be printed from there).  Until you register,
there will be a startup screen asking you to register which you
will have to respond to.  When you register, this annoyance
will go away. Otherwise, this version is complete and
un-crippled in any way.

Commercial use:  WinWall Plus may be used commercially, as long
as there is a registered copy for each computer/terminal that
is using it.  The author is willing to discuss customization of
the program for commercial/large scale application, including
use as presentation software.

You may freely distribute WinWall Plus as long as no fees are
charged for the program, and all necessary files are included.
If you are a registered user, do not distribute the file
WWP_REG.KEY, which identifies you as the user (This
identification shows up in the "About" box).

The author is very interested in feedback from users.  Please
feel free to make contact at the address shown at the beginning
of this file with any comments/questions/problems.

WinWall Plus
Registration Form
Version 1.357
Send this form with $15 to:


    Don Bradner
    Arcata Pet
    600 F Street
    Arcata, CA 95521

Name:                 __________________________________________

Mailing Address:      __________________________________________

                      __________________________________________

City & State:         __________________________________________

Phone number (Optional) (         )______________________

If you wish, you may pay with a credit card:
Card type:  _VISA    _MasterCard   _AMEX    _Discover

Card Number:  ___________________________________

Expiration Date: _________________

Signature: _______________________________

Disk Size wanted:   _5-1/4    _3-1/2


To help the author please answer the following (optional)

Where did you get WinWall Plus:

__BBS or on-line service  Which one?______________________

__Software service  Which one?___________________________

__Friend

__Other ____________________________________

Were any image files included?  __yes    __no

Tell me what you like about WinWall Plus:

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

Tell me what you would like me to add or change in WinWall Plus:

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________