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CommEx (tm) : Common Dialog Extensions for Windows 3.1 and 3.11 --------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 1995-96 by Cottonwood Software Thank you for trying CommEx! CommEx adds file management functions like Find, Copy, Delete, Rename, and MakeDir to the Open and Save dialogs of most Windows applications (any that use the Windows common dialogs in COMMDLG.DLL). No more jumping back and forth between your application and File Manager or DOS to do common functions! Search every disk drive at once for files, specifying multiple masks if necessary. Make a new directory as you save files, delete old versions, make backups before you open a file, etc. -- it's so easy, all from the same Open or Save dialog. If you have just installed CommEx and are reading this from the Notepad program, try it out now by selecting File from the menu, then Open. You should see an extra row of buttons at the bottom of the Open dialog. If you need help, click the 'CommEx' button, and then the Help button from that dialog. Enjoy! Readme.txt Contents: -------------------- File Packing List System Requirements Installation About the Evaluation Period Giving Copies to Friends -- (Please Do!) Distribution by Vendors, BBS's, etc. Registering Site licenses & multiple-user pricing Troubleshooting Support Un-installing CommEx ASP Ombudsman statement Warranty & License info File Packing List ----------------- These files should be included in this distribution set. If any are missing, please contact Cottonwood Software or your distributor for a complete set. (You can download the latest version from Compuserve or our Web page -- see the Support section) README.TXT This file SETUP.EXE Installation program COMMEX.DLL CommEx main program (installs as commdlg.dll) ORDER.FRM Text order form for registering CommEx REVISION.TXT Program revision history FILE_ID.DIZ Short description file (shareware version only) VENDOR.DOC Vendor distribution info (shareware version only) VENDINFO.DIZ Vendor distribution info, automated (shareware version only) COMMEX.BIN Data file (registered version only) System Requirements ------------------- CommEx will work with Windows versions 3.1 and 3.11. Windows 95 and NT users: ------------------------ Do NOT install this version of CommEx if you run Win95 or NT! It will work fine for 16-bit applications, but will cause 32-bit applications to malfunction. There will be a 32-bit version of CommEx available in early 1996. Let us know if you need an upgrade to CommEx-32 (for Win95 or NT). Just E-mail, FAX, or mail your address to us, and we will let you know when CommEx-32 is released and where to download it from. Installation ------------ Note: Although CommEx does not require its own permanent directory, you may wish to create one to place the CommEx files into before running Setup. It will then use this path for the ReadMe Icon in your Program Manager, and you can then keep the original files for reference or making copies. Note: Installing CommEx from within WinZip or other ZIP viewing utility is not recommended, since Setup must exit to DOS during installation. To install CommEx, run SETUP.EXE from Windows: 1. From the Windows Program Manager, select File, Run... 2. In the Command Line box, type d:\path\SETUP, where 'd' is the letter of the drive and 'path' is the directory where the CommEx files are. For example: C:\COMMEX\SETUP 3. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen. 4. After CommEx installation is complete, it will need to validate some files. This will happen automatically the first time CommEx is invoked, which may be done by selecting File, and Open from the Notepad program. What files should be where, after installation ---------------------------------------------- These files are not copied anywhere, and are not needed by CommEx after the initial validation: README.TXT SETUP.EXE ORDER.FRM FILE_ID.DIZ VENDOR.DOC VENDINFO.DIZ (not always present) REVISION.TXT These files will be copied to your Windows System directory, if possible, or to Windows if Windows System is not accessible: COMMEX.DLL (copied as COMMDLG.DLL) COMMEX.BIN (only present for registered users) The file COMMEX.HLP will be created by CommEx the first time it runs, and will be placed in the Windows System directory. The file COMMEX.INI will be created by the Setup program, and will be placed in the Windows directory. Technical information on installation ------------------------------------- The installation procedure does the following: Create a DOS batch file to do the following from DOS: Rename commdlg.dll (in the Windows System directory) to commold.dll (CommEx passes most functions through to commold.dll) Copy commex.dll to commdlg.dll If commdlg.dll exists in the Windows directory, rename it to commdlg.bak (should not be in both Windows and Windows System directories). Add a CommEx group with a Notepad icon to read the file readme.txt, and a Help icon for commex.hlp. (Although the help file is not installed directly -- see below.) Add the setup program to the run= line in win.ini Exit to DOS, execute the batch file (if needed), and return to Windows (When setup runs again after returning to Windows:) Verify that the operations succeeded (files in the right places) Clean up (delete the batch file) Run notepad to display the readme.txt file When CommEx is actually invoked for the first time (through a File/Open or File/Save command), it validates the information files (readme.txt, file_id.diz, and order.frm). CommEx also extracts commex.hlp (from the dll) into the Windows System directory, so it doesn't need to be distributed and installed as a separate file. These procedures ensure that CommEx cannot be modified and re-distributed with different company contact/order information. About the Evaluation Period --------------------------- CommEx is Shareware. This means that you are free to try it out for 30 days. It will be fully functional during that time, so you can try all of its functions. After using it for 30 days (not necessarily calendar days, but when it's been used on 30 different days), some of the functions will be unavailable. You will still be able to use the basic functions like Copy and Delete, but the advanced functions (Find and MakeDir) will not be available unless you register (purchase) the program. Giving Copies to Friends -- (Please Do!) ---------------------------------------- Shareware works best when you 'share' it with other people! If you like this program, we would appreciate it if you spread it around. Give copies to friends and co-workers, or even upload it to your favorite BBS. Within the CommEx dialog (press the CommEx button on any Open/Save dialog that has it), there is a convenient 'Make Copy' function. This will generate a complete CommEx evaluation copy wherever you want (on a floppy disk, or in any directory). This can even be used to make a backup copy for yourself. Distribution by Vendors, BBS's, etc. ------------------------------------ Commercial vendors please refer to the VENDINFO.DIZ file (or VENDOR.DOC) for complete details. If this file is not present, please contact Cottonwood Software for a replacement copy. Registering CommEx ------------------ For a complete order form you can print the text file ORDER.FRM, or click the 'CommEx' button in an Open/Save dialog and select the 'Order Form' button. Benefits of registering: The latest version as of the day you register, with no 'reminders', registered in your name. Notification of bug fixes and update releases when available. Free technical support. More shareware programs by Cottonwood Software and other author(s). Big discounts on updates and other products, as available. A good feeling that you're helping to support the shareware industry! To register, send $15.00 (U.S.) plus $2.00 S&H ($4.00 S&H outside the U.S. or Canada) to: Cottonwood Software P.O. Box 6546 Leawood, KS 66206-0546 USA Please pay by check in U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. Bank, by international money order, or in U.S. currency. (See below for credit card orders.) All orders are usually shipped within 24 hours. You may also register online through Compuserve: GO SWREG, product #6689. Ordering on the World Wide Web: ------------------------------- You can now order directly on the Web using a major credit card. Simply go to Cottonwood Software's home page, and click on 'Order CommEx right now with any major credit card!'. Point your Web browser to http://users.aol.com/cottonwdsw/ CREDIT CARD ORDERS ONLY - ------------------------- Mastercard, Visa, and American Express credit card orders may be placed directly with Cottonwood Software. (See the ORDER.FRM file.) Phone: 913-663-3022 (evenings and weekends) FAX: 913-663-3747 E-mail: 75264.1630@compuserve.com Mail: Cottonwood Software P.O. Box 6546 Leawood, KS 66206 USA. World Wide Web: See 'Ordering on the World Wide Web' above You can also order from Public (software) Library. They provide telephone ordering services during normal U.S. business hours. Phone: 800-2424-PsL (800-242-4775) International: 713-524-6394 Please refer to product ID #14153 when ordering through PsL. THE ABOVE NUMBERS ARE FOR CREDIT CARD ORDERS ONLY. THE AUTHOR OF THIS PROGRAM CANNOT BE REACHED AT THESE NUMBERS. Any questions about the status of the shipment of the order, refunds, registration options, product details, technical support, volume discounts, dealer pricing, site licenses, non-credit card orders, etc, must be directed to Cottonwood Software (see Support... below). Site licenses & multiple-user pricing ------------------------------------- CommEx registration for multiple users (computers) is possible, and substantial discounts are given. For 2-3 users, subtract 15% from the registration price of each copy For 4-6 users, subtract 25% from the registration price of each copy For 7-9 users, subtract 35% from the registration price of each copy Unlimited user licenses for LAN use are available for $75.00 Please order multiple copies through Cottonwood Software directly Other registration channels, such as SWREG and PsL, are not set up to apply the discount to multiple copy orders. Support ------- We will gladly answer any questions and help you with CommEx problems during the 30-day free evaluation period. (After the free trial, we will still answer 'simple' questions, but may, at our discretion, require you to register before providing technical support.) Any suggestions, comments, support questions and bug reports are welcome and encouraged! All questions will be answered promptly. This is offered to both registered and unregistered users because we appreciate the assistance in making the program better! When the CommEx Setup program runs, it creates a file COMMEX.LOG in your Windows directory. If you need support, we will need to view that file, so please include it with your E-mail or have it available when you call. For support, contact Cottonwood Software by phone, fax, mail, or E-mail. (E-mail is preferred, and will get a fast response.) Mail: Cottonwood Software P.O. Box 6546 Leawood, KS 66206-0546 USA Phone: (913) 663-3022 FAX: (913) 663-3747 Compuserve: 75264,1630 America Online: CottonwdSW Internet: 75264.1630@compuserve.com WW Web: http://users.aol.com/cottonwdsw/ The Cottonwood Software Home Page on the World Wide Web ------------------------------------------------------- Visit our home page for information about all of our shareware programs. You can download the latest versions from there, view online documentation for all of our software, order by credit card, and send us E-mail. You can find answers to common problems as well. It also has links to other worthwhile shareware pages, like the ASP and STAR home pages. Troubleshooting --------------- While CommEx has been tested on many systems and in many situations to fine-tune the installation process and the program itself, there may still be unexpected problems. If things work fine in general, but the Open or Save dialog of some application does not look or work right, try holding down the Shift key when clicking the File/Open or File/Save As menu item (or whatever menu item or button brings up the dialog). This will disable CommEx's enhancements so you can compare it with and without CommEx. If it is definitely CommEx causing the problem, please contact us and we will attempt to solve the problem. If things don't seem to work at all, or if CommEx doesn't seem to be installed, then take a look at the sections below. If these don't fit the problem (or don't solve it), contact us for help. We will want to look at the COMMEX.LOG installation log file, which is created in your Windows directory during installation, so please have this available (or send it along with your E-mail support request if possible). ---If you get an error message when trying to use CommEx: If you get a message like: "COMMOLD.DLL file not found" when you try to Open or Save a file, then CommEx was not installed successfully. This is most likely due to not finishing the installation (an error occurred or you aborted before it exited to DOS). CommEx will attempt to reconstruct it the first time it encounters this error -- if that is successful, you should not see this error again. If it is not successful, check the explanation of the next error condition below for more information on installation problems. If you get system errors (General Protection Fault, for instance), then you have probably installed CommEx from within Windows, and did not exit Windows during the installation. If this is not the case, or if the problem persists, call for support. ---If you don't see anything different in your Open or Save dialogs This could be an installation problem. Make sure that the date on the COMMDLG.DLL file in your Windows System directory matches the COMMEX.DLL date in the CommEx installation set. If they do not match, then perhaps the installation was aborted, or could not succeed because of a write-protected windows system directory (common when running Windows from a network drive). Network Installations: The network administrator (with write access to the Windows System directory) should install CommEx first. Then each user can set it up. (See Site Licenses for information on registering CommEx for networked installations.) Another common problem is that there is more than one copy of COMMDLG.DLL on your computer, and Windows chose the wrong one to run. After making sure that there is a COMMDLG.DLL and a COMMOLD.DLL in your Windows System directory (usually C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM), search your hard disk (and network drives) for any other copies of COMMDLG.DLL. Any other copies should be deleted! If the dates look OK and everything else above is checked, and you're sure that you have started Windows fresh during installation or since you installed CommEx, then it could be that the application you're using does not use the common dialogs in COMMDLG.DLL. Some programs, especially older ones and ones with unique requirements in their Open/Save dialogs, have internal custom dialogs that we cannot add CommEx to. Some known 'customized' programs are listed below. If you find another one, we would like to hear from you, so we can investigate it! CommEx will have no effect on these programs (because they don't use COMMDLG): - Paintshop Pro 1.0 (OK in PSP 3.0) - Microsoft Word 2.0 or 6.0 - Microsoft Excel 5.0 - Windows Draw 3.0 - Aldus PhotoStyler 1.1a - WordView 6.0 - After Dark - Easy Works Business Letters 1.0 - Bitstream MakeUp 1.0 - HSc Interactive SE 1.0 - Lotus Organizer 1.12 ---If some of the buttons at the bottom are greyed out (unusable) This means that your free evaluation period has run out. To re-enable these functions, you must register CommEx. Other problems -------------- If you encounter any other problems, please contact us for support. We will gladly answer any questions and help with problems during the 30-day free evaluation period. After the free trial, we will still answer 'simple' questions, but may (at our discretion) require you to register before providing technical support. If you need to un-install CommEx -------------------------------- If you encounter insurmountable problems, or just don't like the new functions that CommEx provides, you may need to un-install it. This is a simple procedure, but must be done carefully. Do NOT just delete COMMDLG.DLL! This will cause most Windows programs to stop working! ---To un-install CommEx: In your Windows System directory (usually C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM), copy COMMOLD.DLL to COMMDLG.DLL. Example: C: CD \WINDOWS\SYSTEM COPY COMMOLD.DLL COMMDLG.DLL You may also delete COMMOLD.DLL (after you verify that the Copy has worked!) If you are permanently deleting CommEx, also delete COMMEX.* from your Windows directory and your Windows System directory. You may also delete COMMOLD.DLL (after you verify that this has worked!), and these files may be deleted to completely remove CommEx: COMMEX.INI in your Windows directory COMMEX.BAT in your Windows directory (if Setup didn't delete it) COMMEX.LOG in your Windows directory COMMEX.HLP in your Windows System directory COMMEX.BIN in your Windows System directory (only there if registered) ASP Ombudsman statement ----------------------- _______ ____|__ | (R) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| MEMBER Cottonwood Software is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI USA 49442-9427, Fax 616-788-2765, or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. Warranty and license info ------------------------- ===== Warranty ========================================= LIMITED WARRANTY THIS SOFTWARE AND MANUAL ARE PROVIDED FOR EVALUATION ONLY, ON AN "AS IS" BASIS. COTTONWOOD SOFTWARE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES RELATING TO THIS SOFTWARE, WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NEITHER COTTONWOOD SOFTWARE NOR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION, OR DELIVERY OF THIS SOFTWARE SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE SUCH SOFTWARE, EVEN IF COTTONWOOD SOFTWARE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR CLAIMS. THE PERSON USING THE SOFTWARE BEARS ALL RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE. This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Kansas and shall inure to the benefit of Cottonwood Software and any successors, administrators, heirs and assigns. Any action or proceeding brought by either party against the other arising out of or related to this agreement shall be brought only in a STATE or FEDERAL COURT of competent jurisdiction located in Johnson County, Kansas. The parties hereby consent to in personam jurisdiction of said courts. ===== License for Use and Distribution ================= TRIAL USE LICENSE This package is NOT a public domain program. It is copyrighted by Cottonwood Software. This software and accompanying documentation are protected by United States copyright law and also by international treaty provisions. Unregistered users: Cottonwood Software grants you a limited license to use this software for evaluation purposes for a period not to exceed thirty days. If you continue using this software after the thirty-day evaluation period, you MUST make a registration payment to Cottonwood Software. You may not use, copy, rent, lease, sell, modify, decompile, disassemble, otherwise reverse engineer, or transfer the licensed program except as provided in this agreement. Any such unauthorized use shall result in immediate and automatic termination of this license. All rights not expressly granted here are reserved to Cottonwood Software. LIMITED DISTRIBUTION LICENSE ASP member vendors may distribute this package, completely unaltered, without further permission. For other cases or to distribute in modified form, you must consult the attached data record (VENDINFO.DIZ or VENDOR.DOC), which is hereby incorporated by reference. Any distribution satisfying all the distribution requirements expressed in that data record is hereby authorized. Permission to distribute this package is not transferable, assignable, saleable, or franchisable. Each vendor wishing to distribute the package must independently satisfy the terms of this limited distribution license. U.S. Government Information: Use, duplication, or disclosure by the U.S. Government of the computer software and documentation in this package shall be subject to the restricted rights applicable to commercial computer software as set forth in subdivision (b)(3)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at 252.227-7013 (DFARS 52.227- 7013). The Contractor/manufacturer is Cottonwood Software, P.O. Box 6546, Leawood KS, 66206, USA. Cottonwood Software may revoke any permissions granted here, by notifying you in writing. All rights not expressly granted here are reserved to Cottonwood Software.