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- Lecture v1.0 READ.ME! file
-
- Barn Owl Software
- P.O. Box 1115, O'Fallon, IL 62269
-
- VOX: 618-632-7345
- FAX: 618-632-2339
-
-
- CHANGES & ADDITIONS TO THE MANUAL:
-
- Table 3.1 (additions)
-
- Ctrl+E edit the currently running lecture file
- Ctrl+P print the currently displayed slide
-
-
- Chapter 3.2 (changed)
-
- Flipping slides
-
- Choose the "Slide/Next" menu item to present another slide in a lecture
- file. Or press the right mouse button, or press the Spacebar, or press
- Enter, or press PgDn, or press Ctrl+N -- they all do the same thing.
-
- Choose the "Slide/Prior" menu item to present the previous slide in a
- lecture file. Or press the Backspace key -- it does the same thing.
-
-
- Chapter 3.a (new)
-
- Restart a presentation
-
- Choose the "File/Restart" menu item to start over at the beginning of a
- lecture file. Lecture will immediately interpret commands in the file.
-
-
- Chapter 3.b (new)
-
- Edit a lecture file
-
- Choose the "File/Edit file" menu item or press Ctrl+E to edit the
- currently running lecture file. Lecture will stop processing and display
- the file in NotePad so you can edit it. Note: you can use a different
- editor program if you wish. See below for details.
-
-
- Chapter 3.c (new)
-
- Printing slides
-
- Choose the "Options/Printer setup" menu item to set options for the
- currently selected printer or to change printers.
-
- Choose the "Slide/Print" menu item to print a copy of the currently dis-
- played slide in a lecture file. Or press the Ctrl+P key -- it does the
- same thing.
-
-
- Chapter 3.d (new)
-
- Executing other programs
-
- Some lecture files include one or more Execute commands so the presenta-
- tion can launch other applications. You can tell the program whether to
- accept any such command with the "Options/Execute allowed" menu item. (A
- checkmark appears next to the menu item when activated. Choose the menu
- item again to deactivate it.)
-
-
- Chapter 3.e (new)
-
- Zooming/iconizing lectures
-
- Some lecture files include one or more Zoom, Unzoom, Iconize, and
- Uniconize commands so the presentation can automatically resize itself
- within the Windows desktop. You can tell the program whether to accept
- those commands with the "Options/Zooming allowed" menu item. (A checkmark
- appears next to the menu item when activated. Choose the menu item again
- to deactivate it.)
-
-
- Chapter 4.1.2 (additions)
-
- Editor=WindowsDirectory\NOTEPAD.EXE
- When you choose the "File/Edit file" menu item or press Ctrl+E, Lecture
- will tell NotePad to bring up the currently running file for editing. By
- default, the program expects to find NOTEPAD.EXE in the main Windows
- directory. This entry tells it to call on the services of a different
- editor, or you can optionally specify where to find NotePad if you moved
- or renamed it.
-
- StartupFile=LectureFilename
- Lecture will process the named file each time it starts up. (However,
- the program will ignore this item if the command line specifies a startup
- file.) If you don't specify a path to the file, Lecture will search for
- it just like it searches for a _DEFAULT.LEC file. (See below.)
-
-
- Chapter 5.3.1 (Accept command; additions)
-
- Syntax ACCEPT [AUTOSHOW] [BEEP] [COMMENT] [EXECUTE] [ICONIZE] [MESSAGE] [ZOOM]
-
- MinVersion Execute, Iconize, and Zoom: Lecture=102, Windows=300. All
- others: Lecture=100, Windows=300.
-
- See also AutoShow, Beep, Comment, Execute, Iconize, Ignore, Message,
- Zoom
-
-
- Chapter 5.3.4 (ColorBackground command; additions)
-
- Syntax COLORBACKGROUND DEFAULT
-
- Function Syntax #3: resets the background to the Windows-default color.
-
- MinVersion syntax #1 and #2: Lecture=100, Windows=300. Syntax #3:
- Lecture=101, Windows=300.
-
- Example ColorBackground Default
-
-
- Chapter 5.3.a (Execute command; new)
-
- EXECUTE
-
- Syntax EXECUTE [ICONIZE] command
- EXECUTE [ZOOM] command
-
- Function launches a program just as if you had chosen Program Manager's
- "File/Run" menu item (no relation to Lecture's similarly named
- menu item).
-
- MinVersion Lecture=102, Windows=300.
-
- Example Execute Zoom calc.exe
-
- See also Iconize, Zoom
-
- Comments you can run DOS programs, batch files, and .PIF files as well
- as traditional Windows applications.
-
-
- Chapter 5.3.15 (Ignore command; additions)
-
- Syntax IGNORE [AUTOSHOW] [BEEP] [COMMENT] [EXECUTE] [ICONIZE] [MESSAGE] [ZOOM]
-
- MinVersion Execute, Iconize, and Zoom: Lecture=102, Windows=300. All
- others: Lecture=100, Windows=300.
-
- See also Accept, AutoShow, Beep, Comment, Execute, Iconize, Message,
- Zoom
-
-
- Chapter 5.3.21 (RunFile command; additions)
-
- Comments if you don't specify a drive/directory for the file, Lecture
- will search for it in the following places:
- 1. the current directory;
- 2. the directory where LECTURE.EXE resides;
- 3. each directory on the DOS PATH (consult your DOS or
- Windows manual for details about the PATH command).
-
-
- Chapter 5.a (new)
-
- _DEFAULT.LEC file
-
- Whenever you specify a lecture file to run, Lecture searches for a file
- called _DEFAULT.LEC. The program will search for it in the following
- places:
-
- 1. the default directory;
- 2. the directory where LECTURE.EXE resides;
- 3. each directory on the DOS PATH (consult your DOS or Windows manual
- for details about the PATH command).
-
- If Lecture finds _DEFAULT.LEC, it processes it before processing the
- lecture file. This lets you set fonts & colors, turn off sound effects,
- and so on, for every lecture file.
-
- Note: Lecture only processes _DEFAULT.LEC once during each presentation.
- It doesn't process it again as part of a RunFile command.
-
-
- Appendix A (additions)
-
- Couldn't find NOTEPAD.EXE. Would you like to specify an editor program
- for future reference?
- * You chose to edit the currently running lecture file but Lecture
- couldn't find NOTEPAD.EXE in the main Windows directory. (You may
- have moved it to a different directory, deleted the file, or renamed
- it.) If you specify an editor program here, Lecture will add it to
- LECTURE.INI (see above for details).
-
- Couldn't find specified file (or one of its components). Recheck the path
- and filename for correctness, and make sure Windows knows where to find
- any required library files. Continue?
- * An Execute command couldn't find the program, batch file, or .PIF
- file in order to "launch" it. You may have specified an incorrect
- drive, path, or filename. Edit the lecture file so it specifies the
- correct filename & path.
- * Windows couldn't locate a file the launched program itself needed
- (sometimes a missing .DLL file). Try to run the application outside
- of Lecture to determine the cause of the problem.
- * You tried to run a lecture file from a floppy disk but failed to
- close the drive door.
-
- RunFile command called for a lecture file currently in use. Continue?
- * A RunFile command tried to invoke a lecture file already in use.
- This would have created an "infinite recursion" situation: file A
- calls B, which calls A, which calls B again, which calls A again...
- * A RunFile command tried to run its own file. This would have created
- an "infinite recursion" situation such as the one described above.
-
- RunFile command exceeds the maximum allowable 'nested' level. Continue?
- * A RunFile command can name a lecture file with its own RunFile
- commands, but you cannot "nest" these commands more than four levels
- (counting the original lecture file which first processed a RunFile).
-
-
- Appendix B.2 (additions)
-
- "I want to put the program on a floppy and have it automatically process a
- specific lecture file. How can I do this?"
- You'll want to include a LECTURE.INI file with a special "StartupFile"
- entry. See above (chapter 4.1.2 additions) for details.
-
- "I need to run other programs during one of my lectures and I'd rather not
- have to start them myself from Program Manager. Can I do something about
- it in a lecture file?"
- The Execute command will launch programs for you, including .PIF and
- batch files. You can even specify whether to zoom or iconize the other
- program's window at startup.
-