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Epstein MenuMaker
Beta/Freeware 1.0 (2/20/93)
(C) 1992 Epstein Enterprises
(C) 1993 Jeff Epstein
THIS IS FREE SOFTWARE!
(Whoopeee!)
LEGAL STUFF
MenuMaker is copyrighted software. However, you may copy MenuMaker
Beta/Freeware 1.0 and distribute it, as long as there is no fee involved,
and it is unmodified and copied in its entirety, including all documentation,
executable files, and this copyright notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the Beta/Freeware version of Epstein MenuMaker. The files included
in this package should be:
INSTALL.BAT The ultra-primitive installation routine.
MM.BAT The menu executor. Don't rename, move, or copy this,
or else MenuMaker won't work! (ouch)
MMB.EXE The main menuing engine. Don't rename this either.
MAIN.EMM A sample main menu.
UTIL.EMM A sample sub-menu.
SAVE.EXE The stand-alone screen saver.
SAVEDAT.ESS Sample screen saver setup file.
NOBREAK.EXE 6K TSR that turns off Ctrl-Break checking.
README.TXT Documentation.
Contents:
What is Epstein MenuMaker?
How do I install Epstein MenuMaker?
What does Epstein MenuMaker look like?
How do I set up Epstein MenuMaker?
How do I use Epstein MenuMaker security?
What are hidden items?
How do all those batch files work together?
How do I use the other Epstein utilities?
How do I create a .ESS file?
How do I get a non-beta version?
WHAT IS EPSTEIN MENUMAKER?
Epstein MenuMaker is a simple menuing system designed to keep your
applications in nice, easy-to-access groups. It also has these handy
features, among others:
- Does not remain in memory during the execution of a program for optimal
speed and compatibility.
- Menus can be created or modified with any ASCII text editor.
- Offers advanced password protection.
- Includes a screen saver.
HOW DO I INSTALL EPSTEIN MENUMAKER?
For best results, you should place the directory that you install
MenuMaker in on your AUTOEXEC.BAT file's PATH statement, and also
include it on the APPEND line (if you have one). For example, if you
install MenuMaker to C:\EPSTEIN, you should include the line:
APPEND=C:\EPSTEIN
You install MenuMaker by using the INSTALL program. To Install, use the
format:
INSTALL x: \dir
Where x: is the drive, and \dir is the directory where you want MenuMaker
installed.
During installtion, the EMM.BAT file is created. You can start MenuMaker
by running the EMM.BAT file.
WHAT DOES EPSTEIN MENUMAKER LOOK LIKE?
Once you start MenuMaker, by typing EMM and hitting enter, the Main Menu
is displayed. Across the top is the information bar that displays
the name, Epstein MenuMaker, and, optionally, a clock with the date and time.
At the bottom of the screen is the title bar, that displays the menu title,
or the built-in help, or the "hidden" items (see HIDDEN ITEMS). In the
middle, on the floating blue window, there should be a set of sample items.
An item can be either a program item, or a menu item. A program item runs
a program, and a menu item opens a menu. The menu that a menu item opens
is called a sub-menu.
You can move the highlight bar from item to item by using the cursor keys.
Once an item is highlighted that you wish to execute, you can run it by
pressing [Space] or [Enter].
HOW DO I SET UP MENUMAKER?
Once in MenuMaker, you can press [F1] or [?] to get help, [Esc] to quit, or
use the cursor keys to highlight an item and run it. Each menu can
accommodate up to 20 items, including a gateway back to the previous menu.
Each menu is stored in a file with a .EMM extension. For example, a menu
that has utility programs on it might be named UTILITY.EMM. Each .EMM
file is an ASCII, plain text file that contains several lines that set
configuration details or define the items that will appear on the menu.
The format for each line is:
command=parameter;parameter;...parameter
Some lines can have as many as five parameters. Other may only have one.
Here is a short "command reference," on the various commands available to
a .EMM file and what they do. All commands are optional, although you must
include at least one ITEM= line. However, most commands have defaults and do
not need to be specified unless you want an option other than the default.
ITEM=run;n;Title;C:\DIR;PROGRAM.EXE
-----------------------------------
Defines a new program item on the menu.
-----------------------------------
Parameters:
run Can be one of RUN, PSW, PARAM, or PSW_PARAM. RUN is the
default if left blank. PSW prompts for a password, if
password protection has been enabled (see PSW= command).
PARAM prompts for optional command-line parameters, and
PSW_PARAM prompts for both password and parameters.
n Either N or Y. If Y, there is a pause after the execution
of this program. Otherwise, there is not. Defaults to N.
Title The entry name that appears on the menu. Can be up to 27
characters long.
C:\DIR The default directory to start the program in.
PROGRAM.EXE The name of the program to run.
-----------------------------------
Additional notes: All parameters are optional. However, each item line must
contain four semicolons. For example, the following is valid:
ITEM=;;dBASE III+;;DBASE
However, DBASE.BAT, DBASE.COM, or DBASE.EXE must be on your path for the
above to work.
To create a blank entry use:
ITEM=;;;;
Or you can name a sub-section within a single menu with something like this:
ITEM=;;System Utilities;;
MENU=run;MENUFILE.EMM
---------------------
Creates a gateway to another menu file.
---------------------
run Similar to the run parameter in ITEM=, this can be either
RUN or PSW. The default is RUN. If PSW, then password
entry is required if password protection is turned on.
MENUFILE.EMM The filename of the menu file, .EMM extension optional.
A sub-menu file follows exactly the same format as the
main menu file, except one entry should be a gateway
pointing back to the MAIN.EMM file (see below).
---------------------
Additional notes: The RUN paremeter is optional. However, you must
have one semicolon. For example, the following is valid:
MENU=;MOREPROG
Also, each sub-menu should have an entry like this:
MENU=run;main
to act as a gateway back to the main menu.
SAVE=time
---------
Specifies the delay until the screen saver automatically kicks in.
---------
time The time, in minutes, until the screen saver kicks in.
Set to 0 for no screen saver.
DISPLAY=text
------------
Specifies the text to display on the screen saver.
------------
text The text to display.
TITLE=text
----------
Specifies the text displayed in the title bar of the menu.
----------
text The title of the menu. If the menu is a sub-menu, or has
a gateway from another menu, then the menu item serving
as a gateway to this menu uses this text as a title, also.
For example, if a line in SUBMENU.EMM is "TITLE=Sub Menu 1",
and a menu item in MAIN.EMM reads "MENU=;submenu", then
there will be an item on the Main Menu that is called
"Sub Menu 1". If this is unspecified, then it defaults
to the filename of the menu.
CLOCK=mode
----------
Specifies the clock display mode.
----------
mode Either ON, OFF, or ALT. ON displays the clock in the
default mode. OFF turns off the clock display. And
ALT displays the clock in the alternate format (my favorite).
PSW=text
--------
Turns on password protection and sets the password.
--------
text The password that is required to run an item that has the
PSW or PSW_PARAM parameter. Leave blank for no protection.
HOW DO I USE EPSTEIN MENUMAKER SECURITY?
To install the security feature, just include the PSW= line in the menu file
you want to install security for. Then, whenever the user attempts to quit
MenuMaker, or run an item labeled with PSW or PSW_PARAM, he or she is
required to enter the password.
WHAT ARE HIDDEN ITEMS?
You will notice that although MenuMaker can store up to 20 items per menu,
only 18 are displayed initially. What happened to those last two? If you
press [F1], then the title bar switches from the menu title to the help list.
If you have more than 18 items and you press [F1] a second time, then the
last two items are displayed, and can be invoked by pressing [A] or [B].
However, this "secret menu" does not need to be displayed to run them.
You can press [A] or [B] at any time, assuming that the last two are defined.
These are best suited to sub-menus that you need to access quickly. You
can force items into the 19th and 20th positions, thereby hiding them,
by adding blank item lines (ITEM=;;;;) as necessary.
HOW DO ALL THOSE BATCH FILES WORK TOGETHER?
EMM.BAT, the program that you run to start Epstein MenuMaker, is simply
charged with the job of changing to the appropriate directory and running
MM MAIN. MM.BAT is the batch file that controls the system, and you
should not rename/delete/move this file. MM starts by calling MMB.EXE,
with the parameter passed to it by EMM. MMB.EXE opens MAIN.EMM, and displays
the menu, ready to accept user input. If the user quits MMB.EXE by pressing
Esc, then MMB terminates, and leaves an ERRORLEVEL value of 2. MM.BAT picks
up on this, and ends.
If the user selects a program or menu, though, then MMB.EXE creates
MMBDAT.BAT, and leaves an ERRORLEVEL value of 1. MM picks up on this,
and runs MMBDAT.BAT, which again calls MMB. Although this process may
sound complicated, it is through this unique method that MenuMaker
occupies no memory when it runs a program.
HOW DO I USE THE OTHER EPSTEIN UTILITIES?
MenuMaker also includes several other programs, most notably Epstein
ScreenSaver and NoBreak.
ScreenSaver is run through the SAVE.EXE program. You can type SAVE /?
to get command-line help. Here is a brief overview of the parameters.
SAVE text Displays text while saving.
SAVE /0 text Displays text while saving using alternate saver.
SAVE /F file Loads screen saver file. More on this later.
NoBreak is a security feature that turns off Ctrl-Break checking in
batch files. It occupies 6K of memory. You can load it by running
NOBREAK.EXE.
HOW DO I CREATE A .ESS FILE?
Epstein ScreenSaver can data stored in .ESS files. You can load a .ESS
file by using running SAVE /F file.ESS. The format of a .ESS file is
similar to that of a .EMM file. Each option below is included on a seperate
line in a .ESS file. Here is the "command reference," for ScreenSaver files:
TEXT=text
Sets the screen saver display string.
MODE=mode
Either NORM or ALT. Defaults to NORM.
PSW=password
Enables password protection and sets the password. The user is required
to enter this password before leaving ScreenSaver. Leave this blank
for no protection.
HOW DO I GET A NON-BETA VERSION OF EPSTEIN MENUMAKER?
As of today, this is all that there is. However, I am working on a real,
full-blown menu system, which will have, among other things, an installation
that will scan the disk and find recognized applications, and, as soon as
available, you can have it for a very modest fee. Epstein Enterprises
also does computer consultations, so if you need any help on your choice
of computer, software, OS, etc.. for your home or office, then you can
contact me for help. I can also be contacted on the Internet at
writeon@world.std.com, or on the Boston Computer Society IBM Group BBS
as Jeff Epstein, but nowhere else, unfortunately. Drop me an e-line, and
I'll see what I can do.