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1992-11-09
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Lifeguard 1.14 (10-Oct-1992)
============================
© Jon Ribbens, 1992
PLEASE READ THE 'Licence' FILE IN THIS DIRECTORY - THIS PROGRAM IS SHAREWARE
---------
This is an unregistered copy - it has certain limitations which are not
present in the registered version.
If you carry on using this program after fourteen days then you are required
to register - see below under 'Notes about registering'.
Introduction
------------
This program is, basically, a 'monitor saver'. As everybody knows, if
you leave a still image on your monitor screen for a long time then it
will eventually get 'burnt in' to the phosphor and will stay there, faintly,
forever. This is obviously a bit of a waste of your extortionately priced
monitor. Therefore, if the monitor saver detects that you haven't used the
mouse or the keyboard for a set period of time (anything between 1 second and
a bit over 1½ hours) then it will blank the screen. To unblank the screen you
press a key or click a mouse button.
What is slightly special about this monitor saver is that instead of
just blanking (ie. turning black) the screen (although it can do this if
you really want it to) it can display any one of several interesting and
psychologically stimulating graphic effects. For example, your screen could
turn into a fireworks display, it could fade away slowly, it could bounce a
sprite around, it could display a clock - almost anything is possible.
What is very special about this monitor saver (on the Archimedes anyway)
is that it is designed to be easily extendable to include other effects. New
effects come as small files that you drag to the iconbar icon or the setup
window and are automatically included in the program.
You can write your own effects (if you can program in assembler) or you
can get effects written by me or other people and, if you like them, you can
include them in your effects library.
Installing Lifeguard
--------------------
Lifeguard uses my WimpExtension module for several things. This is assumed
to be in your !System.Modules directory. If it isn't, move the file 'WimpExt'
from inside the !Lifeguard directory to the !System.Modules directory.
WimpExtension is a PD module which does useful things for making programs
in the desktop look nicer and easier to write. It provides facilities for
options window handling, for dialogue boxes, for controlling indirected
icons, for loading templates, for colour menus, for RAM templates, for
dragging icons, for menu handling, for draw-files and sprites, for immediate
windows, for memory management, for file transfer, etc., etc.
Using Lifeguard
---------------
Once it's loaded you should see a ring thingy appear on your icon bar.
If you click on it with the menu button then you get a menu with the options
'Info =>', 'Setup', and 'Quit'. 'Info' leads to a normal info window, and
quit quits. 'Setup' has the same effect as clicking on the icon with the
select button, and it opens the setup window.
Looking at this window from the top down, the first thing there is is the
time delay setup area. The number on the left is the minutes, the number on
the right is the seconds. Use the up and down arrows to change them.
Then there is a radio button to enable the monitor saver, and for the
password. The password is initially set to '' - ie. just press RETURN. To
alter the password, click on the 'Alter password' icon. You will be asked for
the old password, then you will be allowed to change it for a new one. If you
enable the password option, then when you try to un-blank the screen after it
has blanked you will have to enter the password. This provides a very easy to
use security system - just leave it and forget about it.
The next area is the effects list. It is like a window within the window,
in that you can scroll it up and down using the scroll-bar to the right of
it. You can select an effect by clicking the select button on it. You can
select several effects at once by using the Adjust button (like filer
windows). Effects that have a tick before them are enabled. When the screen
is blanked, the effect to use is chosen randomly from the list of enabled
effects.
To the right of the effects list are two boxes which, when you have one
effect only selected, display the version number of the effect, a short
description, and the author's name.
To enable, disable, display or remove an effect, select it and then press
the menu button. Follow the 'Effect =>' option to its submenu. 'Enable' or
'Disable' enable or disable the effect. When the screen is blanked, the
effect is chosen randomly from the enabled effects.
'Display' shows the effect immediately, so you can see what it looks
like. You can also see the effect by double-clicking on its name in the list.
'Remove' deletes the effect permanently. This saves on memory, but you can't
get the effect back unless you have the original effect module file.
'Options' brings up the effect's Options window if it's got one.
'Dim' means that effects like 'Puzzle' will have the screen faded to half
brightness beforehand. Note that this doesn't work in 256 colour modes.
'No blanking' disables the interrupt blanking done by the Guard module.
(See below)
Selecting 'Save setup' from the first menu will save the entire setup,
including the effects, the password, the time delay, and whether the monitor
saver is enabled or not.
If 'Always fade' is on then Lifeguard will always choose an effect that
needs the desktop screen first. This has the effect that effects that don't
use the desktop screen will always be faded into. (They won't ever happen if
you don't have a fade effect installed, though.)
If Lifeguard reports an error, if there is only an OK box then the error
is just informational, for example if Lifeguard couldn't blank the screen
because there were no effects enabled. If there is a CANCEL box as well, then
it is an unexpected error - click on OK to cancel whatever operation caused
the error and continue, or click on CANCEL to quit Lifeguard altogether.
Effects
-------
To add other effects when you have them as separate files, just drag them
onto the iconbar icon or into the setup window, or double-click them. They
will be added onto the end of the effects list. Remember that you need to
enable them before they will be used. You can have up to 64 effects loaded at
once.
The 'Black' effect is the simplest effect possible - it just turns the
screen black. More complicated effects are more interesting, such as
'Fireworks'. See the file 'Effects' in the documents directory for a list of
all the supplied effects.
You can also write your own effects if you can program in assembler. See
the accompanying file 'FileSpec' for details.
Effects Options
---------------
Individual effects can have options windows. If an effect has an options
window it may be opened by double-clicking ADJUST on it in the list window,
or by selected 'Options' from the effects sub-menu. You can only have one
options window open at once. The window should have 'Cancel' and 'OK' buttons
at the bottom. 'Cancel' will close the window and forget any changes you have
made. 'OK' will close it and store the changes. These can be saved to disc by
using the 'Save setup' menu option.
Using 'Bounce' (note this is not supplied with the unregistered version)
--------------
Bounce can be found in the !Lifeguard.Zource.Effects directory.
Bounce is a BASIC/assembler program that will create an effect file out
of a sprite file you give it. Simply provide it with the filename of a sprite
file containing one sprite only, and it will save an effects file in the
current directory, with the name of the sprite as the filename.
The action of the effects module will be to bounce the sprite around the
screen. You can use Bounce for company logos, pictures, scanned images, or
anything else in sprite format (!Paint). Note that the current version of
Bounce requires a 4 OS-Unit black border around the sprite - use !Paint to
put this in if there isn't one already.
GuardRM
-------
This program is actually two monitor savers in one. There is the desktop
Lifeguard program which will display pretty effects, and the Guard
relocatable module. This is always loaded with Lifeguard, and it is this
module which checks for keypresses and mouse clicks. It also will blank the
screen about ten seconds after Lifeguard SHOULD have blanked it, if Lifeguard
doesn't blank it. This means that if you are outside the desktop, or if
another application crashes while you are in the desktop, the screen will
still be blanked, saving your monitor (but with no pretty effects).
Lifeguard won't work without GuardRM loaded (it is loaded automaticaly
when you load Lifeguard) but GuardRM will work as a simple screen saver
without Lifeguard loaded. Use *Blank <ON|OFF> to turn the blanking on or off,
and *BlankDelay <seconds> to set the time delay before blanking. These
commands will produce errors if Lifeguard is running, as then the enabled
state and the delay are set by the icons in the setup window.
When you quit Lifeguard, you are given the option to disable GuardRM, or
to kill it (or to leave it alone).
Notes about registering
-----------------------
This copy of Lifeguard is unregistered; you get an annoying beeping window
at the beginning and you can only have three effects loaded at once. If you
register your copy then you can have up to sixty-four effects at once (and
you don't get the annoying beepy window). You may also receive more effects,
and you will also receive the source code for the rest of the supplied
effects.
NB You are required to register if you keep using Lifeguard fourteen days
-- after you receive it.
If you wish to register, simply send of £10 to the address below with an
accompanying letter, or print out the form in the file 'RegForm', fill it in
and send it with £10 to the address below.
Site licences are available on request.
If you wish to write your own effects, see the file 'FileSpec' in this
directory.
Any queries, bug reports, complaints, money, ideas, whatever, to:
Jon Ribbens
39 Nutkins Way
Chesham
Bucks.
HP5 2BE