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Text File | 1996-03-01 | 19KB | 389 lines

┌────────────────────────────────────┐ │ The QUANTUM LEAP │ │ Automated Episode Guide v1.0 │ │ 32 bit OS/2 PM Version │ └────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌──────────────────────────┐ │ What This Program Does │ └──────────────────────────┘ This is a full-featured OS/2 PM program that makes it easy to view info on the popular syndicated TV show, Quantum Leap. ┌───────────────────────────┐ │ How To Run This Program │ └───────────────────────────┘ There are several ways to run this OS/2 PM A.E.G. (These methods assume that you have already unarchived the .ZIP file into a directory somewhere on your hard drive): USING THE PM A.E.G. FROM AN OS/2 COMMAND LINE SESSION: ------------------------------------------------------ Simply, CD to the directory that the OS/2 PM A.E.G. .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 A.E.G. FROM AN OBJECT ON YOUR DESKTOP: --------------------------------------------------- Create a permanent directory somewhere on your hard drive for the PM A.E.G. 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 A.E.G. 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 A.E.G. icon to run the program. ┌───────────────────────────┐ │ How To Use This Program │ └───────────────────────────┘ When you first run the A.E.G., a large PM window will appear on your screen. It will have the title and version of the A.E.G. 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 A.E.G. The four menus are EXIT, EPISODES 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 some menu options because they may be different depending on the specific A.E.G. that you're running): ------------------------------------------------------ Exit Episodes Help ------------------------------------------------------ | Exit F9 | | Season 1 >| | Useless Help F1| +--------------+ | Season 2 >| | About Program F2| | Season 3 >| | Shareware F3| | Season 4 >| | Disclaimer F4| | Season 5 >| | Other SBI Prgs F6| +-----------+ +-------------------+ 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 EPISODES 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 most of the A.E.G. program drop down menus. ---------------- Exit ---------------- | Exit F9 | <--- This option quits & exits the A.E.G. +--------------+ (Note: the F9 function key can be used to exit the program at any time). ------------- Episodes ------------- | Season 1 >| <--- These menu options will pop up a sub-menu to the | Season 2 >| <--- right of each option (notice the little arrow). | Season 3 >| <--- On the pop up sub-menu will be a list of the various | Season 4 >| <--- episodes of the TV show for that given season. | Season 5 >| +-----------+ ---------------------- Help ---------------------- | Useless Help F1|<-- This will pop up a reminder on how to use the A.E.G. | About Program F2|<-- Displays the title, version & programmer of the A.E.G. | Shareware F3|<-- A shareware reminder. | Disclaimer F4|<-- A disclaimer about the information in the A.E.G. | 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 season of a show in an A.E.G., use these keystrokes (in order & don't hold any key down during the process): <ALT> E 1 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 │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘ This program took a lot of hard work to produce (Several weeks of honing the OS/2 PM code and a week of entering the data and debugging and proof reading the output). This all resulted in over 5000 lines of C/C++ code!) And, unfortunately, nothing in life is free. But this nifty little program almost is! That's right -- you can clear your conscience and assure that there'll be future updates to this program (as well as other neato-frito programs from Snake-Byte Inc.) for the ridiculously reasonable, almost-FREE sum of $5.00. How can we afford to let this rare jewel of a program go for the piddly little amount of $5.00?!?! Because, here at Snake-Byte Inc., we deal in VOLUME! VOLUME!! VOLUME!!! We'll eat a bug to make a sale! Come on down to our Midnight Madness sale and...Wait a minute. Wrong sales pitch. Sorry. Anyway, you get the picture. <Insert normal shareware begging/pleading/demanding here>. What do you get for your $5.00? That warm-tummy feeling of satisfaction knowing you did the RIGHT thing. This program is in no way "Crippled". I detest "CrippleWare" and decided early on that I wouldn't do that kind of thing. So, there's no "registered version". What you have now is the fully-functional program. It contains one little shareware notice option on the Help menu (that you don't even have to look at if you don't want to) and it shows that "nag" screen ONLY when you exit the program, so it doesn't inconvenience you before or during the program's execution. (And if that gets your shorts in a bunch, send me a 3.5 disk plus return postage and the registration fee and I'll compile you a special version sans nags!). Here's where to send the cash/check/money order: Will Morgan 2516 Wood St. Texarkana, Tx 75503 ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ A Note To Quantum Leap Fans From Europe, Australia or │ │ the United Kingdom Who Want To Register The TNG A.E.G. │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Because Quantum Leap is popular overseas, a perplexing question came up recently from a person in the United Kingdom: How do I get the proper currency to register the TNG A.E.G.? Well, John McCoy came up with a solution to this problem. His email message follows: Date: Sat, 10 Feb 1996 21:31:21 Subject: Re: Yeah, I finally did it.... From: "John A. McCoy" <jamccoy@maurabrid.win-uk.net> All I did was take my VISA card to a Bureau d'Echanges (currency exchange) and say: "I would like to buy <amount> US, American Dollars, please." It took a while for the clerk to follow my intent, but I eventually got <currency amount> in odd-looking money. I slipped both into an airmail envelope and added stamps, and an address. Hopefully the correct address. You don't need a card to buy currency, any Bx will take any currency and sell you any other, and that day's rate for swapping is marked prominently. The rate you buy dollars with sterling pounds is LESS than the rate you buy pounds with dollars. And they charge a commision, but these rules and extras are also made prominent. Have to be, by law. John A. McCoy email: jamccoy@maurabrid.win-uk.net ┌───────────────────────────────────────┐ │ The History of This OS/2 PM Program │ └───────────────────────────────────────┘ Version 0.999 - Beta version. Honed the mechanics of the program. Version 1.0w - First release version of this 32 bit OS/2 PM program. ┌─────────────────────────┐ │ Known Bugs & Problems │ └─────────────────────────┘ One minor thing: If you use OS/2 in 640X480 resolution, the newly redesigned episode dialogs are just a bit bigger than the screen. I say it's minor because all information on the dialog can still be seen, but the "OK" button is a little below the bottom border of the screen. I've designed that button to be the "default", ie: the focus is already on the button, so all you have to do to go on is to hit the <SPACE> bar or <ENTER> (you could even hit the button with your mouse pointer because the top portion of it's still visible). I think the dramatically redesigned episode dialogs more than make up for this minor "undocumented feature" (ALRIGHT! BUG! I said it! I'm not proud, but I take full responsibility for my programming shortcomings! <g>) If you think otherwise, send me a note in email and I'll consider seeing if I can cram everything on the dialog a bit tighter so those who are monitor-impaired can see the whole dialog. ┌──────────────────────────────┐ │ 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 │ └────────────────────────────┘ I will update this program if/when new episdes/seasons are completed. If the show no longer exists on television, the only updating I can do is to correct any misspellings and other errata. If you spot something that is wrong, email me and I'll include the correction in the next version. I'll probably add some printing routines so you can print out a brief episode list, eps by season, a particular episode by itself or a full blown, everthing-included EpGuide. I want to add some global search routines. I'd really like to add some multi-media stuff to the program, like sound clips or maybe some pictures but I'll have to hone my chops as a programmer, first <G> A 32 bit OS/2 TEXT version of this program has already been released. If you use OS/2, look for QLPOS2##.ZIP at finer FTP sites (ftp.cleaf.com for example). A 32 bit DOS version of this program has also been released. Look for QLPDOS##.ZIP at finer FTP sites (ftp.cleaf.com, for example). A 16 bit Windows version of this program has also been released. Look for QLPWIN##.ZIP at finer FTP sites (ftp.cleaf.com, for example). If/when I get a newer version of my compiler that supports Win95, I may release a Windows 95 version of this program. I have tested both the 32 bit DOS version and this 16 bit Windows version under Windows 95 and they both work great! A WinNT version? Not likely, I don't have WinNT on my hard drive and have no plans to put it there. A MAC version? Even more doubtful, since I don't own a Mac & don't know anyone who does. A Unix version? Doubtful. An Amiga version? Doubtful. I've had several Amiga users offer to port the A.E.G.'s over to the Amiga, but since both the OS/2 & DOS versions are pretty system-specific (read: heavily laced with non-portable non-ANSI routines), I doubt if they could be ported. A Pet, Vic20 C64, C128, Timex Sinclair, TI or CoCo version? Jeeeez! It's the 90s, people!!! Isn't it about time you upgraded your computer? 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. ┌────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 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)