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OS/2 Shareware BBS: 8 Other
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08-Other.zip
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aeg_pm10.zip
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readme.txt
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1996-03-13
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┌────────────────────────────────────┐
│ The Automated Episode Guide │
│ Special Demo Program │
│ 32 bit OS/2 PM Version │
└────────────────────────────────────┘
┌──────────────────────────┐
│ What This Program Does │
└──────────────────────────┘
This is a Special Demo Program that gives you a little taste from all
the Automated Episode Guides released by Snake-Byte Incorporated.
I've included one full season from each of the eight currently
available A.E.G. programs: Babylon 5, Deep Space 9, Star Trek: The
Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Simpsons, The
X-Files, Quantum Leap and Mystery Science Theater 3000.
┌───────────────────────────┐
│ How To Run This Program │
└───────────────────────────┘
There are several ways to run this OS/2 PM Demo. (These methods assume
that you have already unarchived the .ZIP file into a directory somewhere
on your hard drive):
USING THE PM DEMO FROM AN OS/2 COMMAND LINE SESSION:
----------------------------------------------------
Simply, CD to the directory that the OS/2 PM Demo .EXE file resides.
Type the filename of the executable file and the PM program window should
appear on your desktop. See the "How To Use This Program" section for
details on maneuvering around the program.
USING THE PM DEMO FROM AN OBJECT ON YOUR DESKTOP:
-------------------------------------------------
Create a permanent directory somewhere on your hard drive for the PM Demo
Move the contents of the .ZIP file into this permanent directory (the .EXE
file & the aeg_inst.cmd are the only "required" files, you can delete the
file_id.diz & readme.txt if you want to. But, please read the shareware
notice in this readme.txt before deleting!).
From an OS/2 command line session (full screen or window) run the REXX
script named aeg_inst.cmd. It will create a desktop object for the PM Demo.
After this desktop object is created, you can move it anywhere you want to
(into a folder, onto your LaunchPad, etc.) Double click on the PM Demo
icon to run the program.
┌───────────────────────────┐
│ How To Use This Program │
└───────────────────────────┘
When you first run the Demo, a large PM window will appear on your screen.
It will have the title on the top border and three menu titles directly
underneath.
You choose options from the three menus on the menu bar in order to display
the various information contained in the Demo. The three menus are EXIT,
SHOWS and HELP. Each of these will contain at least one option underneath
(but probably more than one). Here's a rundown of each of the three menu
titles and the options that may appear beneath (I have "paraphrased" the
menu options a bit):
--------------------------------------------------------------
Exit Shows Help
--------------------------------------------------------------
| Exit F9| | Quantum Leap >| | Useless Help F1|
+----------------+ | The Simpsons >| | About Program F2|
| Star Trek:TOS >| | Freeware F3|
| Star Trek:TNG >| | Disclaimer F4|
| Deep Space 9 >| | What Is A.E.G.? F5|
| Babylon 5 >| | Other SBI Prgs F6|
| The X-Files >| +-------------------+
| Mystery Sci. >|
+----------------+
You will notice a couple of things (that I can't recreate here because this
is a plain ASCII text file). First, each menu option has *ONE* character
UNDERLINED. This is the KEYBOARD SHORTCUT for that given menu option (See
the section that follows about Keyboard Shortcuts). Second, the MENU OPTIONS
on the SHOWS drop down menu have little arrows pointing to the RIGHT of
each option (I used the > character to represent them on the above diagram).
These arrows mean that each option has ANOTHER sub-menu. You can cascade these
sub-menus by highlighting the menu option (it will automatically pop up to
the right of the drop down menu that you are currently using). You can then
move your mouse to the right in order to highlight the various options on that
sub-menu. Be sure to hold down the left mouse button until you are on the
sub-menu option that you want to choose! It takes a bit of dexterity on the
longer sub-menus. If that's too hard, read the section that follows on using
Keyboard Shortcuts.
MENU OPTIONS:
To choose things off any of the three drop down menus, you simply move your
mouse down until the "3D sunken highlight" is over the option that you want.
Here is a list of the "general" options that will appear on the
Demo program drop down menus.
----------------
Exit
----------------
| Exit F9 | <--- This option quits & exits the Demo
+--------------+ (Note: the F9 function key can be used to exit the
program at any time).
-------------------
Shows
-------------------
| Quantum Leap >| <--- One season from Quantum Leap
| The Simpsons >| <--- One season from The Simpsons
| Star Trek:TOS >| <--- One season from Star Trek: The Original Series
| Star Trek:TNG >| <--- One season from Star Trek: The Next Generation
| Deep Space 9 >| <--- One season from Star Trek: Deep Space 9
| Babylon 5 >| <--- One season from Babylon 5
| The X-Files >| <--- One season from The X-Files
| Mystery Sci. >| <--- One season from Mystery Science Theater 3000
+----------------+
----------------------
Help
----------------------
| Useless Help F1|<-- This will pop up a reminder on how to use the Demo.
| About Program F2|<-- Displays the title, version & programmer of the Demo.
| Freeware F3|<-- A freeware statement.
| Disclaimer F4|<-- A disclaimer about the information in the Demo.
| Other SBI Prgs F6|<-- A list of other Snake-Byte programs.
+-------------------+ (Note: the F1 - F6 function keys can used at any
time to execute the various menu options).
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS:
Each option on each menu (and the three menu titles on the menu bar) have
*ONE* character UNDERLINED. This represents the keyboard shortcut for THAT
given menu option. Most people prefer to use their mouse pointer to click
on the option, but these keyboard shortcuts perform the same actions as
the mouse. The way to "activate" the keyboard shortcut is to press the
<ALT> key on your keyboard (it should be a small key on either side of
your <SPACE BAR>). When you press the <ALT> key, you will notice that the
first menu title on the menu bar is highlighted in "3D sunken highlight".
This means that the option that is highlighted is now activated and can
be chosen by pressing your <ENTER> key. For example, if you hit <ALT> and
the EXIT menu title is highlighted on the menu bar, if you were to hit
<ENTER> the menu beneath the EXIT title will drop down. You can use your
cursor arrow keys to move the reversed/highlighted area back and forth on
the menu bar (or up and down within a drop down menu).
To pick the second episode of the first TV show sampled in this Demo, use
these keystrokes (in order & don't hold any key down during the process):
<ALT> s q 2
ACCELERATOR KEYS:
You will also notice that certain items on some of the menus may have an
"F Key" on the far right of a given menu option (F1 on the Help option or
F9 on the Exit option). These are "accelerator" keys that can be used as
an alternative to the above methods of executing menu options. Note: they
can be used at anytime while the program is running.
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ The Harsh Reality of Trickle Down Economics │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Unfortunately for me, this program is Freeware! Yep, it's free. But
nothing in life is free, right? Well this bad boy is!
But, what's the catch? Well, if you're looking for a comprehensive
Episode Guide for any of the TV shows sampled in this DEMO, this
program won't help you much. I've included only one full season from
each show featured. This DEMO just introduces you to what you'll find
in the full Automated Episode Guides for each of the featured TV shows.
See elsewhere in this README.TXT for details on locating any of the full
Automated Episode Guide programs.
┌───────────────────────────────────────┐
│ The History of This OS/2 PM Program │
└───────────────────────────────────────┘
Version 0.999 - Beta version. Honed the mechanics of the program.
Version 1.0 - First release version of this 32 bit OS/2 PM program.
This version features redesigned episode info dialogs
that are easier to read!
┌─────────────────────────┐
│ Known Bugs & Problems │
└─────────────────────────┘
One minor thing: If you use 640X480 screen resolution, the newly redesigned
episode info dialog for Quantum Leap is just a bit larger than your screen.
The "OK" button on dialog is slightly below the bottom border of the screen,
but I designed that button to be the "default", ie: the focus is already on
the button, so all you have to do is to hit <SPACE> or <ENTER> to press the
button (you can still see the top of the button, so you can click on it).
I will probably end up re-redesigning the Quantum Leap EpInfo dialogs in a
future update to this program (and the QL program, as well) so they'll fit
within the confines of a 640X480 resolution screen.
┌──────────────────────────────┐
│ Swatting Any Pesky Insects │
└──────────────────────────────┘
If you encounter any problems with this program (either bugs in the actual
mechanics of the program, or misspellings and/or incorrect info in the various
episode data fields) please drop me a line at one of e-mail addresses in the
last section of this document. I will try and implement the fix in the next
version of the program that I release.
┌────────────────────────────┐
│ Big Plans For The Future │
└────────────────────────────┘
Other A.E.G.'s? Yes, TV Buffs and Couch Potatoes! I plan on releasing a
series of A.E.G.'s for various TV shows based on this A.E.G. "engine".
Here are the shows that currently have A.E.G.'s available in 32 bit DOS,
32 bit OS/2 Text *AND* PM versions as well as 16 bit Windows versions.
(check at ftp.cleaf.com /pub/mst3k/snake-byte):
TV Show Name DOS Filename OS/2 Text OS/2 PM Win Filename
========================================================================
Mystery Science MSTDOS##.ZIP MSTOS2##.ZIP MST_PM##.ZIP MSTWIN##.ZIP
Theater 3000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The X-Files XFLDOS##.ZIP XFLOS2##.ZIP XFL_PM##.ZIP XFLWIN##.ZIP
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quantum Leap QLPDOS##.ZIP QLPOS2##.ZIP QLP_PM##.ZIP QLPWIN##.ZIP
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Star Trek: TNGDOS##.ZIP TNGOS2##.ZIP TNG_PM##.ZIP TNGWIN##.ZIP
Next Generation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Star Trek: TOSDOS##.ZIP TOSOS2##.ZIP TOS_PM##.ZIP TOSWIN##.ZIP
Original Series
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deep Space 9 DS9DOS##.ZIP DS9OS2##.ZIP DS9_PM##.ZIP DS9WIN##.ZIP
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Simpsons SMPDOS##.ZIP SMPOS2##.ZIP SMP_PM##.ZIP SMPWIN##.ZIP
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Babylon 5 BA5DOS##.ZIP BA5OS2##.ZIP BA5_PM##.ZIP BA5WIN##.ZIP
========================================================================
*ALL* versions are available on the FTP site at ftp.cleaf.com,
which is where I release all Snake-Byte programs. The path is
/pub/mst3k/snake-byte (for the MST3K programs)
/pub/mst3k/snake-byte/NON-MST3K (for all others)
You can also point your World Wide Web browser to the following URL:
http://www.cleaf.com/~wmorgan/snake.html
If you're interested in seeing an A.E.G. for your favorite show, contact me
via one of the methods described below. Production of other A.E.G.'s depend
on the availability of information about the show (via Internet) and whether
or not the show's info translates well to a single screen in the A.E.G.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Other Programs Available From Snake-Byte Incorporated │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
32 bit DOS, 32 bit OS/2 text mode, 32 bit OS/2 Presentation Manager &
16 bit Windows/Win95 versions of the DALLAS COWBOY FANATIC's Companion.
They're available from ftp.cleaf.com /pub/mst3k/snake-byte/NON-MST3K/Cowboys
the filenames CBYDOS##.ZIP (DOS) or CBYOS2##.ZIP (OS/2 text), CBYWIN##.ZIP
(Windows/Win95) or CBY_PM##.ZIP (OS/2 P.M.).
┌────────────────────────┐
│ Gratitude Department │
└────────────────────────┘
Extra special thanks to Frank Miller, my C programming guru. If it weren't
for Frank, I probably would've given up on C programming within the first
few days. He has helped me solve many of my seemingly endless beginner's
problems.
Peter Fitzsimmons and all the programming gurus on the Fidonet OS/2
Programming Echo. What little I understand on this echo has helped me
quite a bit as an OS/2 programming beginner.
┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Contacting the Author of This Program │
└────────────────────────────────────────┘
Want to thank me for such a fantastic program? Bitch me out for wasting
your download time & hard drive space? Suggest future additions to this
program, corrections on the data/info or ideas for future programs?
Lonely and just need a cyber-shoulder to cry on? Well, for all these
reasons except that last one there, you can contact me by one of the
following methods:
Fidonet Netmail: 1:3819/128.103
Fidonet Echos I Hang Out On: MST3K, NFL & OS/2
Internet email: wmorgan@clover.cleaf.com
will.morgan@p103.f128.n3819.z1.fidonet.org
US Snail Mail: (See Address in the Shareware Nag)