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METZ Desktop Manager October 28, 1990 METZ Software Support (206)-641-4525 P.O. Box 6042 Sales 1-800-447-1712 Bellevue, Wa., 98008-0042, U.S.A. International (206) 641-4525 Fax (206) 644-6026 GEnie: A.METZ Compuserve: [73567,1637] Overview METZ Desktop Manager is a comprehensive, yet easily understood menu system and file manager for Microsoft Windows. Desktop Manager is a Windows application program that combines several important and time-saving features into one cohesive, menu operated program. The main function of the program provides a capable menu system for all of your Windows and non-Windows based applications. A single menu entry allows the user to simultaneously call up and execute both the application program and any data file that corresponds to that application, and move to a specified directory. The menu system can access over 500 items per menu (2 menu lists), across floppy or hard disk drives and all directories. You have complete freedom as to menu categories, number of menu items displayed on the screen, and can add multiple menus when required. Additional Desktop Manager features include a fully customizable screen display blanker (screen saver), Windows arrangement functions, directory tree display, file finder, point-and-shoot file manager, automatic menu generator, and a system lock utility. Display options include a 12 or 24 hour clock on screen, a memory display that details both DOS and Expanded EMS RAM, and current directory display. Desktop Manager uses about 30K of memory, and comes with a clearly written users guide. Using Desktop Desktop has an application management function (menuing), consisting of two listboxes containing descriptions of the applications and files which can be accessed. Associated with the descriptions are the application to be run and any input files to be used. The descriptions can be a category heading (as in --Windows Utilities--), or the name or description of an executable, or a description of the file passed to an executable on startup. This system allows you to organize your applications and files into menus according to your needs. You can specify exactly where the application and files exist and thus avoid changing directories while accessing Windows applications and/or data. When you add or update a menu item, there are three fields you can fill in. First is the description field, which can be anything you want and is displayed in the listbox on the main screen. Next, is the application to be run. The path is necessary if the application cannot be found in your current environment path. The select button allows you to select an executable file to be placed in the application edit box. Next, is the parameter list to be passed to the executable along with the path, if necessary. IMPORTANT: Running Non-Windows applications from Desktop may require an appropriate .PIF file (see the Microsoft Windows User's Guide). Non-registered users Use for purposes other than evaluation requires payment of the registration fee. Once you register and receive a license number you are automatically allowed to upgrade to future releases. It is important that you register this application to help insure continued support and development. Our intention is to provide useful, user-friendly applications at a low cost, and your support helps make that possible. All available functionality is enabled in this version to provide you the ability to effectively evaluate this application. Ordering information is included in the file METZ.ORD or available by contacting METZ Software. All orders will receive a disk containing the latest versions of our products. Release Notes Metzdll.exe is a link library for Desktop. It must be located somewhere in your environment path. We recommend placing it in your Windows directory. Desktop.dsk is the default sample menu provided with this release. Desktop.bmp and Desktop.wmf are a sample bitmap and metafile respectively, for use with the screen saver. A full keyboard interface is implemented, tab, arrows, paging, and enter all have functionality. We have tried to be as consistent with Microsoft Windows interface specifications as possible. Please see the Microsoft Windows User's Guide for more information regarding the Windows interface. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome, and help make this application a better product. Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent any commitment on the part of METZ Software. No warranties of any kind are associated with this product. Thank you for your support. File Descriptions This release is a demonstration version and as such is not to be sold. Desktop may only be distributed for free (or at cost) as the following group of files: DT.EXE or DESKTOP.ZIP - Archive file containing the following files: DESKTOP.EXE - The Desktop Manager program. (required) METZDLL.EXE - METZ Software dynamic link library. (required) DESKTOP.DOC - This file. DESKTOP.DSK - Sample menu file. DESKTOP.MAN - Getting started portion of Desktop Manager manual. DESKTOP.BMP - Sample bitmap for screen saver. DESKTOP.WMF - Sample Metafile for screen saver. METZ.ORD - METZ Software order form. APPS.WRI - METZ Software application descriptions. CLP2FILE.EXE - Clipboard to File utility for screen saver bitmap. CLP2FILE.DOC - Clipboard to File documentation. METZTSR.COM - METZ TSR DOS program for screen saver support. METZTSR.DOC - METZ TSR DOS program description and instructions. These files may not be modified in any way. ------------ METZ Desktop Manager version history ------------------ Version 3.2 Beta * This version has an implementation which will prevent screen saver timeouts while you are working in a DOS application under Windows. In the past, this application would timeout even if you were actively typing away within a DOS Window. Now the timeout will occur only after you are inactive in any DOS Window as well. Please read METZTSR.DOC and install the METZTSR.COM application if you wish to prevent timeouts while you are working in a DOS Window. METZTSR has been tested on several different platforms and we have not experienced any incompatibilities. * An Exit option has been added to the File menu. This option closes DeskTop. * A Tile option has been added to the Windows menu. * The included Clp2File.exe is an application which will save a bitmap from the clipboard to a file, which then can be displayed by the screen blanker. Please see CLP2FILE.DOC for more info. * The free memory display now displays the total free memory when running Windows 3.0. * When you Lock the system under Windows 3.0, the Cancel button can no longer be selected while locked. * Clear Icons and Close Icons no longer closes Program Manager when running under Windows 3.0. * The Drive pulldown menu now takes into account dynamically added Network drives. * When copying or moving files, the disk space available calculation was not taking into account the size of the same file on the destination drive. This has been fixed. * You can now double click on a file listed by the File Finder, and it will be run. * The file manager has the following changes: - Performance of the copy and move process has been improved somewhat. - The File rename now accepts wildcards. - The print option will now wordwrap correctly. Previous versions would break words across lines. - You can now double click on a file listed by the file manager, and it will be run. * DeskTop now supports international characters. Should you find a situation that doesn't, please let us know. * A divide by zero error problem with the screen saver has been fixed. * DeskTop can be used as the shell. Under Windows 3.0: DeskTop can be used in replacement of the Microsoft Program Manager. Change the 'shell=progman.exe' setting in the file SYSTEM.INI to 'shell=desktop.exe'. DeskTop will also launch the applications listed on the LOAD and RUN lines of your WIN.INI file. Under Windows 2.0: Type WIN :DESKTOP to use DeskTop as the shell. The MS-DOS Executive will not be loaded. DeskTop will also launch the applications listed on the LOAD and RUN lines of your WIN.INI file. Version 3.13 * The Select Directory dialog box for menu modifications did not list all of the drives on it's pulldown menu. This has been fixed. * The File Manager had a very infrequent update problem occuring when selecting between source directories with a small number of files. Sometimes the file list would reflect some of the files previously displayed. This has been fixed. Version 3.12 * DeskTop now abbreviates it's title bar while iconic. This should improve the icon appearance under Windows 3.0. * The File Finder would only run once per session. This has been fixed. Version 3.11 * The Exit Windows menu item now works under Windows 3.0. * Some users with memory boards/drivers (usually in 286 machines) were experiencing an application error under protect mode. This is caused by the free memory display, which can be disabled by deselecting the 'Display free memory' configuration in real mode. Corrections have been made to eliminate this problem. * The drive status free memory display should now be accurate and match that displayed by Windows 3.0. Version 3.1 * This version is compatible with Windows 2.x and 3.0. * The option to print the METZ Software order form has been added to the About dialog. * The dynamic link library DESKDLL.EXE has been renamed to METZDLL.EXE. * The change directory dialog now displays a graphical directory tree. Available drives are listed on a pulldown menu within the dialog. * The file finder now allows you to select more than one drive to be searched. * The Auto Menu Generator now allows you to select multiple drives. * The Auto Menu Generator now works correctly on directories having embedded periods. * All large dialog boxes have been resized to fit on CGA screens. * The file manager has been revamped. The menu bar now contains the following options: File: Copy: Copy the selected files to another drive/directory. Move: Move the selected files to another drive/directory. Delete: Delete the selected files. Rename: Allows you to individually rename the selected files. Print: Prints the selected files. Select all: Selects (highlights) all files in the listbox. Source: Drive selection for source directory listing. Destination: Drive selection for destination directory listing. Attributes: Select the file attributes you are interested in. (default is all file attributes) You can now copy/move files to multiple floppy disks. Desktop will ask for the next disk when there is insufficient space on the current destination floppy drive. File copy/move - because attributes were being set and reset, a write protected disk caused a 'Write Protected' error message to be displayed. Desktop now will only display a 'Write Protected' error when you try to Move files from a write protected disk. Files cannot be deleted on a write protected disk. * The File manager now has a Print option. All selected files will be sent to the printer regardless of their type or size. Normally, you will only want to print ascii text files with this function. Lines will be wrapped if they are wider than the printer page. A cancel dialog does appear while Desktop is printing each file so that you can interrupt the process. * There is a Configuration-Print option so that you can configure how the file manager prints files. Select 'Line Wrap' when you want lines which are longer than the paper width, to be wrapped to the next line (this is the default). Set the 'Tabstops' value to indicate what the tabstop interval is. (A value of 0 will remove tabs from the output.) * The Utilities menu now has a System Status option. System Status displays memory and disk information. Version 3.01 * The current directory display had a cosmetic bug where it would overlay the old directory text instead of clearing it. * When updating an entry where a working directory was specified, the Description inadvertantly had the working directory attached to it. Version 3.0 * The DESKTOP.MAN file has been included to provide more documentation on using Desktop. * The multiple selection listbox has been patched to prevent the following bug: < Microsoft has a bug within multiple selection style listboxes. The File Manager Files listbox is a multiple selection listbox. If you have any empty area at the bottom of the listbox, the last entry gets internally corrupted when you click on the empty area with a mouse. > The patch now allows you to click in the empty area. * Lock System has been added to the Utilities menu. With Lock System you can lock your terminal and prevent unauthorized use. The password is case sensitive (upper and lower case characters must match). 'Unlock attempt failed...' is displayed if an invalid password is entered. This feature will not prevent someone from rebooting or powering off your machine. * When you copy or move files with the File Manager, it will now ask if you want to automatically replace existing files. * Files listed by the file manager incorrectly displayed the file date of 1/01/00 as 1/01/100. This has been fixed. Version 2.9 * The File manager now displays files with their size, date, time, and attributes. Attribute flags are: R - read only, A - archived, S - system, H - hidden. * Files can now be moved, copied, and deleted regardless of their attributes. Desktop automatically manipulates the attributes during the process. The file date, time, and attributes are duplicated on the destination file(s). * Desktop no longer defaults to the root directory when you change drives. The default directory of the drive is now pre-selected. * If the Control key is pressed when an application is run, the application will be maximized (zoomed). Some applications are not designed to be zoomed, but still work. The decision whether to zoom, or not to zoom, is up to you. Version 2.8 * The menu entries now have room for a Working Directory entry. A Working Directory is the directory you wish to move to before loading an application and/or file. The entry should be a valid drive and/or directory, or blank. If Desktop is unable to move to the Working Directory, you will be asked if it is ok to continue anyway. When the Working Directory is blank, Desktop will default to the directory you were in when the menu was loaded. * If a menu entry contains a Working Directory but not an application, Desktop will move to that directory. (This can be used as a quick way to switch directories.) * The Auto Menu Generator will automatically choose the working directory for the menu entries generated. * The file format has been changed so that menu entries are stored in a more efficient manner. Desktop will automatically convert your old file to this new format. (When you save the file it will assume the new format.) * Running DOS applications is now very reliable and will correctly pass application parameters. Many DOS applications do require a .PIF file in order to run correctly under Windows. You can specify a .PIF file as the application for Desktop to run. Chapter 9 of the Microsoft Windows User's Guide explains how to run non-Windows applications. Use the same guidelines for running DOS applications from Desktop. To run COMMAND.COM with parameters, specify COMMAND.COM as the application and precede the parameters with a /c as in '/c dir'. Other DOS applications may have their own command line syntax as well. * The DOS/Non-Windows checkbox has been removed since it is no longer required. * If the Shift key is pressed when an application is run, the application will be iconized. * The Run command will append '.EXE' to the application name if there is no period in the application name. * The directory tree is now preloaded by Desktop. Change Directory and File Manager menu items will now load a lot faster. Some menu items are briefly disabled (grayed) until the tree has been loaded. * The Auto Menu Generator no longer ignores the drive selection when processing only the current directory. * The Auto Menu Generator did not properly distribute the generated menu between the listboxes when processing only the current directory. * The crosshair cursor displayed when the Edit Mode is other than Run no longer has the annoying blink when moved. * The clipboard can be used to copy/move values between edit fields in dialog boxes. Use Shift Delete to cut, Shift Insert to paste. Version 2.7 * The Change Directory dialog now will change directories and exit when you double click on a directory. * WIN :DESKTOP filename - will now correctly accept parameters. (i.e. WIN :DESKTOP DESKTOP.DSK) This syntax will cause Windows to load only Desktop, and result in more available memory. The MS-DOS Executive does load resources that are required by some applications. If your application does not perform correctly, do not use this option. Version 2.61 * The performance of the move option of the file manager has been improved. * The option to process only the current directory has been added to the Auto Menu Generator. * If the filename specified in the file manager was an actual filename, the files listbox was not always properly filled. * The Cascade option of the Windows menu did not cause each application to repaint correctly. * Listboxes containing drives and/or directory listings occasionally were not set to the correct default selection. (Usually this was not noticeable.) Version 2.6 - released 7/16/89 * We have added a licensing interface which will allow registered users to obtain free updates. Once you register and receive a license number you are automatically allowed to upgrade to future releases. It is now important that you register this application to help insure continued support and development. Our intention is to provide useful, user-friendly applications at a low cost, and your support helps make that possible. * IMPORTANT NOTE FOR USERS WHO HAVE RECEIVED REGISTERED APPLICATIONS: You may request a FREE license number by: Sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to METZ Software, or contacting Art Metz via Genie mail (A.METZ) or Compuserve EasyPlex (73567,1637). * Built in expirations have been removed and automatic registration reminders (nag-ware) have been added. * The Help menu has been set up to contain the following: Licensing Info - information regarding the application license. Enter License Number - method with which you enter a license number. About Desktop - copyright info. * The free memory display now will show EMS memory free. If EMS is detected the amount free is displayed along with conventional memory free. A plus sign separates conventional from expanded, with expanded to the right. Version 2.5 - released 7/1/89 * When Desktop is re-sized, a horizontal scroll bar and only one menu will appear if the Desktop window area is small. Use the scrollbar, Tab key, or right/left arrow keys to switch between menus. This allows a better view of each menu when Desktop takes up a small area of the screen. * The directory display is now re-positioned when necessary so that it will remain visible. * Change Directory and File Finder allow you to continue using Desktop while these dialog boxes are active. * Dialog box buttons now have accelerator keys associated with them. Press Alt and the underlined character in the button to activate that button. * With high resolution monitors beyond normal VGA resolution the menus displayed more text than the application description. The menus now will display only the descriptions. * The cursor is now hidden when the Screen Saver appears. Version 2.41 - released 6/9/89 * If you are using a 386 system with virtual memory drivers, we do not suggest typing Desktop at the DOS prompt, instead, use WIN Desktop. Some 386 systems with virtual memory drivers will hang when Windows is exited. We will have this problem fixed in a later release. * The time, free memory, and directory displays were not device independent which could cause poor appearance. (Slightly noticeable with a VGA monitor.) They also did not use the user defined windows configuration colors. * The change directory dialog box has a better interface now. Double clicking with the mouse or pressing enter will select the directory to go to. When a drive is selected, the tree will be displayed for that drive when you press enter or double click with the mouse. * The Run option now erases the parameters edit the first time you change the application edit contents. This prevents passing an invalid file to the application to be run. * A Cascade option has been added to the Windows menu. Active windows are arranged from the top left to the bottom right of the screen. Each window's caption bar is visible. Remaining windows are iconed. * A file manager utility has been added. Using a point and shoot style interface you can copy or move files between directories, or you can delete selected files. * A Menu Generator has been added. The menu generator lets you specify a drive, the types of files to be included, and three different sort methods. Your entire drive is then searched and a complete menu is built. No more switching directories! * A file finder is now included. Searches an entire drive for specified filename. Wildcards are allowed. * An order form is now included to make registration easy! * Documentation will be sent to all registered users. Version 2.0 - released 5/2/89 * Save would save the menu into the current directory, which may have not been the original directory where the menu was found. You may find several menus on your drive as a result. Desktop now saves the menu to the original location unless specified otherwise. * A system error would display if the metafile for the screen saver did not exist. The screen will now be blank if the metafile is not found or is invalid. * The menu bar has been re-arranged. * Time, free memory, and the current directory are now displayed. * Clipboard functions are now available for maintaining menus. * Screen Saver - bitmaps are now allowed, included is Desktop.bmp for an example. * A Desktop configuration dialog box has been added. * A Windows menu item allows you to organize applications on the screen. * A change directory utility has been added. * Desktop works with and on a network! Version 1.0 - released 2/89 * Version 1.0 was a prototype used to solicit user input.