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■ READ THIS FIRST ─────────────── You are using a *DEMO* copy of PCS Windows. The registered, purchased copy of PCS Windows offers considerably more than the demo and is extremely inexpensive. At the Main Menu of PCS Windows, hold down the ALT key and press O for the Ordering Information screen. We are confident the small price for the feature packed registered version of PCS Windows will be well worth it compared to this limited demo copy. Thank you for trying out PCS Windows! ■ General overview ──────────────── PCS Windows is a menuing system (DOS shell type program) designed to eliminate or reduce the need for learning DOS commands. Instead of typing cumbersome DOS commands to use your computer, PCS Windows replaces these commands with a user friendly interface. As a bonus, many of your most used desktop tools like your Calculator, Notepad, and Roladex have been put into PCS Windows for quick access. PCS Windows even provides an Automated Installation procedure that makes adding new programs to your computer's hard drive a far easier task. PCS Windows can be controlled by the keyboard or a Microsoft(tm) compatible mouse. Context sensitive help is always a keystroke away (F1). The program knows what tasks you are trying to accomplish and will provide help accordingly. An automatic screen saver will go into effect after 5 minutes of inactivity. This protects your screen from harm. A moving dot pattern will appear on the screen until you press a key or mouse button. Once you have your programs set up as menu items in PCS Windows, each program can be accessed by one or two keystrokes. The setup section of PCS Windows, like all other sections, can be accessed by using pop-down menus. See "Basic keystrokes" for further information on pop-down menus. In this text, keystrokes are designated by <> symbols. For example, if the program wants you to press the Enter key, it will say: "Press <Enter>" Many of the features located on the pop-down menus can be accessed by pressing a "hot-key". This provides a faster way for the experienced user to access the features of PCS Windows. See "Advanced keystrokes" for more details on hot-keys. For the DOS user, a convenient "Shell to DOS" feature is accessible from just about any prompt in the program. This can make locating filenames and browsing directories much faster than exiting PCS Windows then restarting. See "Shell to DOS" for more information. PCS Windows gives you complete control over the organization of your menus. You can have 18 Main Menu selections, and each Main Menu item can pop up a sub menu which can contain 18 additional items. For example: »A. Word Processors B. Lotus 1-2-3 ...etc... Choice "A." will pop up a sub menu called "Word Processors" where you could have up to 18 Word Processing related programs on the sub menu. All choices that pop up a sub menu have a "»" mark next to the letter for easy identification. Choice "B." is not a sub menu (no "»"), therefore it will run the program "Lotus 1-2-3" as soon as it is selected. PCS Windows even allows you to insert, delete, and move around menu items. This gives you the ultimate in control over your menu structure. Do you have ideas for future versions of PCS Windows? Please let us know! We have designed an expandable, user friendly interface that can easily accept additional features. We want to know what you'd like to see. We also suggest you read through the entire on-line manual to familiarize yourself with all the PCS Windows capabilities. Just select each topic from the Table of Contents. When a topic is completed, pressing F1 will bring back the Table of Contents. Thank you for selecting a PC Specialists software program. Please don't make unauthorized copies of this program. The purchase price is so low, everyone can afford their own copy. Help us control costs and offer low priced upgrades. We hope you enjoy PCS Windows! ■ Basic keystrokes ──────────────── There are two simple categories that determine how you will use PCS Windows. 1) You will select a menu choice that will cause a sub menu to be displayed or a program to be executed. 2) You will run a PCS Windows feature like the Calculator, Automated Installation, or menu maintenance command. All options that are in this category can be selected using pop-down menus or hot-keys. For category 1): ---------------- To run a program on the Main Menu or a Sub Menu, press the letter <A> through <R> that appears next to the item. Or, use the up and down arrow keys to highlight the item, and the <Enter> key to select it. For category 2): ---------------- To access the PCS Windows pop-down menus, hold the <Alt> key and press the first letter of the word in the menu. See "Pop-down menus" for more details. To directly access the feature without going through the pop-down menus, use the appropriate hot-key, if available. See "Advanced keystrokes" for further information. ■ Pop-down menus ────────────── All PCS Windows features can be accessed by using the pop-down menus. The second line from the top of the screen is called the "menu bar". It looks something like this: File Edit Popups Tools About F1-Help By holding down the <Alt> key and pressing the first letter of each word, (for color monitors, the blue letter) is what tells PCS Windows to pop-down that menu. For example: Holding <Alt> and pressing <P> will pop-down the "Popups" menu. The display will then look something like this: File Edit Popups Tools About F1-Help ┌────────────────────┐ │ Calculator Alt-C │ │ Notepad Alt-N │ │ Roladex Alt-R │ └────────────────────┘ At this point you realize that the Popups menu includes the Calculator, Notepad, and Roladex. There are two ways to access a menu choice. 1) Press the first letter of the menu choice (holding <Alt> optional) 2) Using the up and down arrow keys to highlight the choice, and the <Enter> key to select it. Note, however, that many menu choices will have a key listed next to the choice (like Alt-C next to calculator). This is called the "hot-key" and can be used to completely skip the pop-down menus. See "Advanced keystrokes" for more information. When a menu is popped-down, you can access adjacent menus using the left and right arrow keys. For instance, if you are at the "Popups" pop-down menu and you press the right arrow key, you will be taken to the "Tools" menu. NOTE: Help is available for all pop-down menu items. Simply highlight the item and press <F1>. When you finish reading the help, you will be taken back to that item, and can then select it, or choose a different item. To exit any pop-down menu without making a selection, press the <Esc> key or the right mouse button. ■ Advanced Keystrokes ─────────────────── In the pop-down menus you will notice keys listed to the right of many of these choices. These are called hot-keys in that they operate whenever they are typed, thus by-passing the pop-down menus. For example: Alt-C is listed next to the Calculator choice in the "Popups" pop-down menu. Thus, the hot-key for the Calculator is Alt-C. If you hold down <Alt> and press <C>, you will be taken immediately to the calculator, without having to access the pop-down menus. NOTE: Some hot-keys only work at certain times. For instance, the "Delete highlighted item" hot-key functions only when you are at the Main Menu and have a choice highlighted. Other hot-keys work just about anywhere in the program, like the <F1> key for Help. ■ Using the Mouse ─────────────── Provided you have a Microsoft (tm) compatible mouse and have the appropriate mouse driver (MOUSE.COM or MOUSE.SYS) loaded into memory, you will be given a mouse cursor which looks like a solid block. Moving the mouse will control the position of the mouse cursor. Throughout the program, positioning the cursor on choices and pressing a mouse button will select that choice. The left mouse button is the "pick" button, similar to the way the <Enter> key works. The right mouse button is the "quit" button, similar to the way the <Esc> key works. If you are at a Sub Menu, pressing the quit button will take you out of the Sub menu and place you at the Main Menu. If you are in the Calculator, Datebook, Notepad, or Roladex, pressing the quit button will take you out of the pop-up program and back to the Main or Sub Menu. In the Datebook when the window pops up asking you for the date, pressing the pick button will select the displayed date. In the Roladex, the pick button selects the highlighted entry. Many choices will require you to "double-click". Double-clicking refers to highlighting a choice and pressing the "pick" button twice in a row. The first press highlights the choice, the second press selects the choice. This is the way you select Main and Sub menu choices, Pop-down menu choices, and topics in the Table of Contents. Placing the mouse cursor on a pop-down menu heading (e.g. File) and pressing the pick button will pop-down that menu. You can then select a menu item by placing the mouse cursor on it and double-clicking, or press the right mouse button to leave that menu. In the pop-down menus, instead of double-clicking, you can single-click (to highlight an item) and then press the <F1> key for help on that specific topic. Within the help section, the pick button lets you continue reading and choose different catagories, while the quit button exits help. ■ Shell to DOS ──────────── The experienced DOS user may want to "drop" to DOS for a moment and then quickly return to where he/she left off in PCS Windows. This feature and its associated hot-key <Alt-S> function in virtually all areas of PCS Windows. After you have activated the Shell, simply type "EXIT" at any DOS prompt to return to the exact location in PCS Windows where you called for the Shell. NOTE: If you are not familiar with DOS, PLEASE DO NOT USE THE SHELL! It is for use only by those users who understand the consequences of loading an additional COMMAND.COM overlay into memory. ■ Quit (exit) ─────────── If you decide to completely exit the PCS Windows program, you must give the Quit or Exit command. Note that you do NOT have to exit Windows to have it save your menu choices, roladex information, notepad information, etc. You can simply turn off your computer at the PCS Windows Main Menu or a Sub Menu if so desired. How to exit: 1) Get to the Main menu or a Sub menu. 2) Do one of the following: Press <Alt-F> to pop-down the File menu. Press <Q> or highlight Quit (exit) and press <Enter>. or, Press <Alt-Q> or <Alt-X> to exit immediately. ■ Add new menu item (Setup) ───────────────────────── There are 18 possible entries per menu, A-R. Providing all the entries are not filled, selecting "Add new menu item" will establish a new menu item on the current menu and place you in the "Setup" section so that you can put in the required information about the new item. For example: There are menu choices A-D. You choose "Add new menu item" and put in information into "Setup" about the new item. When you leave "Setup", there will be an item E. Please see "Modify highlighted item" for further details. ■ Modify highlighted item (Setup) ─────────────────────────────── There are three ways to reach the PCS Windows "Setup" section: 1) Selecting "Modify highlighted item (Setup)" from the pop-down menus or pressing its hot-key, <F10>. 2) You may automatically be placed in this area after you have exited the "Automated Installation" routine. 3) You may be placed in this area if you try to choose a menu item that doesn't have a program filename listed in Setup. In "Setup" you can enter a description of a program, set up a sub menu, tell PCS Windows where the program is located on your hard drive, and specify other information. Setup loads in information pertaining to whichever item was highlighted when the "Modify highlighted item" command was given, or in the case of the "Automated Installation" routine, a default screen of information is displayed so that you can finish the installation. You will then have seven questions to answer that give PCS Windows the information it needs to know to run your programs. 1) Enter Menu Description: (Blank out to permanently remove from menu) Here enter text to describe the program or sub menu. This is purely for aesthetic purposes. If you're setting up a word processing sub menu, you could enter "Word Processing Programs" or something similar. 2) Is this entry a Submenu? (Answer N if it is a Program) [Y/N]: If you want this entry to be a submenu which will pop-up when selected offering you access to other programs, enter <Y>. If the entry is a program that you wish to have executed when selected, enter <N>. NOTE: This question only applies to the Main Menu. In a sub menu, all items are programs. Only the Main Menu can contain Sub Menus and programs. 3) If a program, enter the Drive Letter where program is located: If you are running on a hard disk, most likely the program is located on drive C:, the default. However, DOS supports drive letters all the way through Z:, so consult the manual the came with the program you are adding to the menu to confirm the drive letter. 4) Enter the Directory where the program is located: The default directory is the \ (root) directory. However, many programs install themselves in specific directories like \WINDOWS, \WP51, \LOTUS, etc. Consult your program's manual to determine the directory, or use a DOS or third party directory program to locate it. 5) Enter the Filename and any required parameters that runs the Program: In DOS, all programs have an extension of .BAT, .COM, or .EXE. Determine the name of your program and type it in. Do not type in the .BAT, .COM, or .EXE as PCS Windows will determine this when the program is executed. Some programs allow you to specify parameters when they start. For example: FORMAT A: /S. In this example, FORMAT is the name of the program, and the A: /S are parameters that are automatically given to the FORMAT program. Consult your program's manual to see if there are any parameters you need to enter. 6) Does this program require optional Startup Parameters? [Y/N]: If your program uses startup parameters (see 5, above) but they vary from time to time, you can answer <Y> to this question. Answering <Y> will cause the program to pop-up a window prior to running the program. The window will allow you to enter any additional parameters. If your program does not use startup parameters, answer <N>. 7) Do you wish to Pause when you exit this program? [Y/N]: Some programs display information that scrolls off the screen too quickly after the program has completed. For such programs, answer <Y>. For all other programs, use the default, <N>. NOTE: After you have made changes to the information: Press <F10> to save the changes and exit Setup, or, Press <Esc> to exit Setup without saving any changes. While in Setup, you can press <F5> for the Automated Installation procedure. See "Automated Installation" for further information. SPECIAL NOTE: The most difficult aspect of PCS Windows is getting the correct drive, directory, and filename into Setup. Please realize that this is information required by DOS and PCS Windows simply gives DOS the information when DOS requests it. We cannot answer questions from users that have purchased PCS Windows as to how to install specific programs into PCS Windows. For such questions, we refer you to the program's manual, the program's technical support people, or a friend experienced with DOS. We are confident that once you have your programs installed into PCS Windows, the operation will be simple and efficient. ■ "What do I do when my program won't run?" ───────────────────────────────────────── First, use this help text to determine why the program isn't running. This information assumes you have entered information into Setup so that a menu choice appears, but after you select that choice the program does not operate. 1) Do you get a message "Cannot find program. Check Drive, Directory, and Filename In Setup."? If so: DOS cannot locate the program. Make sure it is really located on the drive and directory you have specified. Just one incorrect keystroke will make DOS "confused" as to where the program is located. All DOS program have an extension of .BAT, .COM, or .EXE. All other extensions refer to data files. Make sure the program filename you are typing in at the "Filename" question in Setup is actually a program and not a data file. 2) You don't get an error message from PCS Windows (like the one mentioned above), but the program still doesn't run properly, or not at all. PCS Windows completely removes itself from memory prior to running your programs. It's as though PCS Windows is not even running on your computer. So, if you are having trouble running a particular program, consult your users manual or the technical support department for that particular program. Thousands of programs have run without any difficulty under PCS Windows when the program itself is set up properly. Make sure you are running MS or PC DOS 3.3 or above on your computer. The compatibility with your programs is not guaranteed with older versions of DOS, even if some programs will operate. HOW TO RUN INTERNAL PROGRAMS ---------------------------- DOS has some "internal" programs that are not actually located on your hard disk, but are available to PCS Windows. Examples of internal commands are: DIR, TYPE, CLS, and several others. For such programs, press "|" prior to the filename at the "Filename" question in Setup. For example: Enter the Filename and any required parameters that runs the Program: |DIR Note: The "|" is not the same as a colon ":" PCS Windows Technical assistance -------------------------------- You can always call us for technical assistance (See "About PCS Windows"), but we can only assist with questions relating directly to PCS Windows. We cannot help you configure your third party programs. Above all, remember to read through this entire users manual. You may find the solution of the problem is a simple keystroke you can give PCS Windows. Or you can ask a friend with DOS knowledge for assistance. ■ Insert a blank item ─────────────────── Selecting this choice at the Main menu or a Sub menu will insert a blank choice at the current highlighted position. The choice will automatically be titled "Press <F10> to change this item." After the item has been inserted, press the <F10> key or choose "Modify highlighted item" to define the new entry. NOTE: This routine works only if there is an open position for an item. There are a maximum of 18 menu items (A-R) per menu. ■ Delete highlighted item ─────────────────────── Selecting this choice at the Main menu or a Sub menu will give you the ability to completely remove a program or sub menu. At the bottom of the screen, you will be asked to confirm the deletion. Answer <Y> to delete, <N> to abort the deletion. NOTE: In one keypress you can completely remove a Sub menu and all items that belonged to that sub menu. USE DELETE CAREFULLY! ■ Copy highlighted to memory ────────────────────────── This and the associated "Paste (insert) from memory" command are tools to help your organize your menus. For example: You may realize that you have a word processing program set up on the Main Menu and you feel it would be better organization to have it set up on your Word Processing Programs menu. You would "Copy" the choice to memory, move to the Word Processing sub menu, and "Paste" the choice into the sub menu. Copy is the first step. Simply move the highlighted bar to the item you wish to copy and select "Copy highlighted to memory" from the pop-down menus, or press its hot-key, <Tab>. When you tell it to copy, a bar will appear at the bottom of the screen that confirms the information has been copied into memory and gives a reminder to paste the information. NOTE: You cannot copy sub menus (choices with the symbol "»" prior to the letter). Only items within the menus can be copied. If you have an item in memory, you can either paste it (see "Paste (insert) from memory") or copy a different item into memory. On the pop-down menus, the symbol "»" will let you know which step is in effect, either the "Copy" or the "Paste" step. Copy and Paste never delete the original item (for safety), so remember to go back and delete the original after you have pasted the new item. Exiting PCS Windows or running a program will clear the contents of the memory, so make sure you "paste" before leaving PCS Windows. ■ Paste (insert) from memory ────────────────────────── This is step two of a set of tools that help you organize your menus. See "Copy highlighted to memory" to learn the first step. Paste will only operate if information has been copied into memory. If it has, you will see a message at the bottom of the screen showing the description of the item that has been copied. Move the highlighted bar to the menu where you would like to insert the item and select "Paste (insert) from memory" or press its hot-key, <Back- Space>. The new item will be placed on the menu and the copy memory will be cleared. The bottom line of the screen will return to normal. NOTE: The paste will only function if there is an available slot on the menu you have specified. If all choices (A-R) are filled, you must find a different menu with room for the new item. Once again: On the pop-down menus, the symbol "»" will let you know which step is in effect, either the "Copy" or the "Paste" step. Copy and Paste never delete the original item (for safety), so remember to go back and delete the original after you have pasted the item. Exiting PCS Windows or running a program will clear the contents of the memory, so make sure you "paste" before leaving PCS Windows. ■ Calculator ────────── The calculator is a standard (non-scientific) calculator with high decimal accuracy. All standard addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division functions can be accomplished. You can Put a total in memory by pressing <P>. The letter "M" will appear on the right edge of the calculator display. You can Get that total back later by pressing <G>, even if the computer has been turned off. Type <R> to remove a total from memory. Experiment with the different keys listed below the calculator display to fully understand the calculator's capabilities. ■ Datebook ──────── Selecting "Datebook" from the pop-down menus or pressing its hot-key, <Alt-D>, will pop-up the "Datebook" date entry screen. The date entry screen will default to today's date, as determined by your computer's date setting. You can move between the Month, Day, and Year choices with the up and down arrow keys. In each choice, you can enter a two digit number that corresponds with the Month, Day, or Year. You cannot enter incorrect dates such as 13-32-92. When you have the Month, Day, and Year set properly, press the <Enter> key. The program will then do one of two things: 1) If you have already entered information for that date, it will be loaded and displayed on the screen where you can type information. 2) If you have not already entered information for that date, a new datebook screen will be displayed where you can type information. Once you are in the datebook screen where you can type information, all of the same commands that apply to the Notepad (See "Notepad") will apply in the datebook, with the exception of the <Ctrl-D> (delete line) and <Ctrl-I> (insert line) commands. How to print your appointments ------------------------------ Simply press the <Print Screen> or <PrtSc> key to print the screen. Make sure the printer is on-line. This key also functions in the Notepad, but may take longer to print in the Notepad due to the graphics character border. Pressing <Esc> exits the datebook and saves any changes you may have made. Advanced: All dates are stored in the filename format: MM-DD-YY.DAT You may want to use a DOS program to remove or backup dates that have gone past to conserve disk space. Each datebook file takes up 4,000 bytes of disk space. ■ Notepad ─────── Selecting "Notepad" from the pop-down menus or pressing its hot-key, <Alt-N>, will pop-up the "Notepad" date entry screen. The notepad is a pop-up utility that gives you a full screen for typing any notes that you have. The notepad automatically loads and saves the notes. The notepad is very similar to a word processor in that you can use all of the standard functions keys like insert, delete, backspace, home, end, etc. All editing keys are listed at the bottom of the notepad screen. You have one full page to write notes. You can print your notes by pressing the <Print Screen> key, although the border lines will print with the notes. √ Note to users of PCS Windows versions prior to 3.0: After printing and deleting any important notes, you may want to erase the NOTEPAD.DAT file from your PCS Windows directory. This will enable the notepad border to be updated to version 3. √ Note to users switching from monochrome to color mode (or visa-versa): After printing and deleting any important notes, you may want to erase the NOTEPAD.DAT file from your PCS Windows directory. This will enable the notepad color mode to be properly updated. Pressing the <Esc> key automatically saves your notes and takes you back to the Main Menu or a Sub Menu. ■ Roladex ─────── The PCS Windows Roladex is a powerful roladex capable of holding 200 entries all sorted alphabetically for quick access. When you first select Roladex, you are placed on the first roladex entry. You can then use the arrow keys to move to the specific entry you wish to display. When you get a lot of entries, you will find it faster to press the first letter of the entry you wish to display to zip to that section of the roladex (either forward or backward) and then use the up and down arrow keys to select the specific entry. <Page Up> and <Home> take you to the first entry in the roladex. <Page Down> and <End> take you to the last entry in the roladex. Press <Esc> at the list of entries screen to leave the roladex. Press <F9> to add a new roladex entry (providing the 200 entry limit has not been reached.) A blank roladex "card" will be displayed. You can enter Name, Address, etc. and use the up and down arrow keys to move around in the card. Press <Esc> to throw out the card, or press <F10> to save the card. Press <F10> to change the highlighted or selected Roladex entry. The current information for that entry will be displayed. Use the arrow keys to move around in the card, making any necessary changes. Press <Esc> to throw out the changes and keep the old card, or press <F10> to update/save the card. Press <Esc> to return to the roladex list of entries screen. ■ Automated Installation ────────────────────── This routine makes the process of loading new programs onto your hard drive an easier task by eliminating the need for you to type commands at the DOS prompt. You can access Automated Installation by selecting it from the pop-down menus, or by pressing its hot-key, <F5>. You may also select it from the Setup screen by pressing its hot-key, <F5>. See "Modify highlighted item (Setup)" for further information on Setup. If you select Automated Installation from the Main menu or a Sub menu, you will automatically be creating a new menu entry at the end of current menu list, providing there is a slot available. For example: You are going to load a new word processing program onto your hard disk. First move to the Word Processing Programs menu, then select "Automated Installation". That way the program will be placed in the Word Processing Programs menu. Advanced: If you want specific control over where on the menu the item appears after installation, first press Insert to create an empty slot, then press <F10> to modify the item, then press <F5> for Automated Installation. The first screen you see after you select Automated Installation will be asking you for the drive letter where the diskette is located that contains the program(s) you want to load onto your hard drive. The answer to this question is usually A: or B:. If you decide you don't want to proceed, press <Esc>. The computer will then scan the diskette for what's known as an automatic installation program, usually called INSTALL.EXE, INSTALL.BAT, INSTALL.COM, or something similar. Anything that has to do with copying files from the floppy diskette to the hard disk drive is a candidate for being an automatic installation program. For example: FLP2HRD.BAT COPY2HD.COM HINST.COM HDCOPY.EXE, etc. Examine the list that appears on the screen and you if think you have found an automatic installation program, press <F5> for Automatic Installation. If you cannot locate an automatic installation program, press <F6> for Manual Installation. Automatic Installation ---------------------- After you press <F5>, you will be asked for the filename of the automatic installation program. Type it in just as it appears on the screen. The computer will then run the automatic installation program from the floppy diskette. Follow the on screen instructions until PCS Windows lets you know the installation process has completed. NOTE: There are some automatic installation programs that will not run correctly under PCS Windows. For these type programs, try the Manual Installation (<F6>). If that doesn't work, have a friend familiar with DOS help you out. Please see "After the Automated Installation Procedure is Complete", below. Manual Installation ------------------- After you press <F6>, you will be asked for the hard disk drive letter where you want the floppy diskette files to be loaded. This is usually C:. Next, you will be asked for a directory name. Put something that makes sense to you. There is an 8 character limit. For example: For a word processor, maybe use WP For a game, maybe use GAMES Although most programs don't have to be located in a specific directory, some do. For such programs, the program manual will give you more information as to what the directory name should be. Finally, the program will begin the installation process beginning with floppy diskette #1. Follow the on-screen instructions. If you have more than 1 diskette to install, tell the program when it asks you after each diskette has been copied. After the Automated Installation Procedure is Complete ------------------------------------------------------ Whether you used the Automatic or Manual Installation, you will be placed in the Setup section after you exit Automated Installation. Even though you may have just installed a program and data files onto your hard drive, DOS still needs to know where the new program is located, what it's called, what it's about, etc. That's where Setup comes into play. It lets you tell the computer about this necessary information. Please see "Modify highlighted item (Setup)" for further information about Setup. ■ About PCS Windows ───────────────── Select this choice for our phone number and address, interesting details about PCS Windows, and our 24 hour a day, 7 days per week Bulletin Board System that you can access via modem.