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--------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- ----------------------------------- ------------------------------- --------------------------- ----------------------- ------------------- --------------- SPARKLE and by Rob W. Smetana MENU MAGIC and Pro~Formance --------------- ------------------- ----------------------- --------------------------- ------------------------------- ----------------------------------- --------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Sparkle & Menu Magic (tm) ** Version 3.1 (10/93) ** ==================================================================== Copyright (C) 1990-1993, Rob W. Smetana All Rights Reserved 132 Alpine Terrace San Francisco, CA 94117 (415) 863-0530 Sparkle, Menu Magic, Pro~Formance, P~F, and P-Screen are Trademarks of Rob W. Smetana and Brandon Smetana ==================================================================== ==================================================================== Contents ==================================================================== Introduction ...................................... 1 Introducing Sparkle2 .............................. 2 Sparkle's Main Features, What's New ............... 3 Warranty and Disclaimer ........................... 4 Limited License ................................... 5 Registering Instantly ............................. 6 Distributing Sparkle .............................. 7 Quick Start: Using Menu Magic .................... 8 Using MM ........................................ 9 ".Com" Screens or "Drawing" Menus; Entering File Names ................................... 10 Choosing Colors ................................. 13 Notes and More Options .......................... 14 Quick Start: Using Sparkle ....................... 16 Sound Effects ................................... 17 Scrolling Bar Menus ............................. 18 Ask (a 3rd menu option, or just to pause) ....... 21 Big! Font ....................................... 22 Quick Print ..................................... 23 Windows ......................................... 24 Pause ........................................... 25 Monitor ......................................... 26 A Note on Testing Errorlevels ................... 28 Choosing a COLOR NUMBER ......................... 29 Appendix I: Testing Errorlevels -- ASCII Codes ... 30 Appendix II: Other Programs by Pro~Formance ....... 31 Registering, Ordering ......................... Last 2 Pages ==================================================================== Introduction 1 ==================================================================== NOTE: This manual explains how to use TWO programs -- Sparkle and Menu Magic (MM). Both Sparkle.Exe and MM.Exe should be included in this package. * We'll start with a general introduction. We'll then explain how to use Menu Magic. MM is a "front end" to Sparkle. It helps you quickly create "scrolling bar menu screens" and it then writes your batch files for you. These batch files call on Sparkle to do the important work. If you run MM 2-3 times, and then run the batch files MM writes for you, you'll get a feel for how easy it is to use MM and Sparkle to create fast, dynamic menus -- with mouse support. * Finally, we'll explain how to use Sparkle. Use the information here to customize the batch files MM creates, or to create your own batch files. We urge you to START by running the demo batch file: Demo.Bat. It'll demonstrate Sparkle's main features. Once you've "seen" these features in action, the dis- cussion of them here might make more sense. Included are: Sparkle.Exe Sparkle's main program MM.Exe Menu Magic's main program Sparkle.Doc This brief manual *.Bat Demo batch files (run DEMO.BAT!) M-Menu.Com Main Menu for demo \ created using our H-Menu.Com Demo Horizontal menu ) V-Menu.Com " Vertical " / P-Screen program REGISTER.Exe To instantly convert Shareware versions into fully registered versions. Run: Demo.Bat For a demo of all current options. Purpose: To add a little sparkle to your day or your batch files. And Menu Magic will even create your scrol- ling bar menus and write your batch files for you! Sparkle is a small program to provide MANY utilities useful in batch files, at the DOS command prompt, called from within other programs (via "shell"), etc. Note that Sparkle gives you 3 different menu options. ASK can turn ANY screen into a menu. The SCROLLING BAR menu option can turn any text screen into either a vertical or horizontal scrolling bar menu. For help: For help, run Sparkle like this: sparkle <Enter>. =================================================================== Introducing Sparkle2 2 =================================================================== Many of Sparkle's users have asked for other options. Rather than add to the size of the original Sparkle, we created The Sparkle Series, which includes Sparkle, Sparkle2 and Menu Magic. Registered users RECEIVE ALL THREE PROGRAMS. Here's a brief summary of Sparkle2's options. Note that although you can use Sparkle and Sparkle2 separately, some options work well together. For example, Sparkle2 lets you toggle bright background colors on and off -- for stunning, unusual colors not normally seen on PCs. This lets you create very dramatic windows, Big! Font messages or print text using Sparkle's options. PAINT Paint any area of the screen (from 1 character up to the entire screen), in any of 250 colors. Paint entire areas or just a border around areas. REVERSE COLORS Reverse the colors in any area of the screen (foreground colors become background colors, and vice versa). Reverse colors in an entire area, or just a border around the area. BRIGHT BACKGROUNDS Enable or disable bright backgrounds. Use alone, or in combination with Paint and/or Reverse. GET RESPONSE Get input from the user, from 1 - 80 characters. Sparkle2 will pass this back to you either in an environment variable, or by writing it to a file. You may specify: 1) a "prompt" (optional); 2) where on the screen we should get input; 3) what colors to use; and, 4) the maximum AND minimum number of characters we'll accept. PROMPT Prompt the user for a keypress with attention- getting: Twirling Batons, Exploding Buttons or a Scrolling Banner. VIEW FILE Let you view ANY ASCII text file of ANY size and ANY width: * Inside any-size window on your screen. * In any color you like. You can create very dramatic effects by display- screens with colored windows, then displaying text files inside the windows. DOS VERSION Determine which version of DOS is being used. This information can help you determine if a program will run (some require later versions of DOS), or if DOS features are available. ==================================================================== Sparkle's Main Features 3 ==================================================================== * SCROLLING BAR MENUS Turn ANY text screen into a vertical or horizontal Scrolling Bar Menu. Menu Magic even creates your menu screens for you. * ASK Turn ANY screen (text or graphics) into a menu, or use Ask just to pause; print a prompt on any row or column in any color; specify which keys are "valid." * Big! Font (tm) Print 8-line-high messages, in any color! * WINDOWS 250+ frame styles; with or without shadows, in any color. * QUICK PRINT Print text anywhere on the screen in any color. * SOUND EFFECTS Over 35 sound effects, from simple to elaborate. * PAUSE Pause from 1/3 second to ??; you may also let the user press a key to bypass the pause. * MONITOR Determine what type of display adapter & monitor is active. ==================================================================== WHAT'S NEW ==================================================================== If you've used earlier versions of Sparkle, NOTE the changes to the Scrolling Bar menu option. And Sparkle now supports a mouse! Version Date What's New ------- ---- -------------------------------------------- 3.1 9/92 Added an EXPLODING window option (option -6). 3.0 11/91 Added Menu Magic to create bar menu screens and write your batch files for you. 2.9/2.9c 10/91 Restored color parameter in BAR menus. 6/91 You can now repeat sound effects (suggested by Mark Dodd of Texas); tamed the "shareware re- minder" (thanks to V. Baxter of California). 2.8 5/91 Added mouse support to Scrolling Bar Menus. Eliminated "color" parameter in Bar menus -- Sparkle now reverses whatever colors are there. 2.7 11/90 Added "Phone" sound, "Pause" and "Monitor options. 2.4-2.6 9/90 Added 250+ frame styles to the "Window" option. Fixed bug: ASK didn't return 27 if Esc pressed. 2.3 6/90 1st public release. ==================================================================== WARRANTY & DISCLAIMER 4 ==================================================================== This product is provided "AS IS" without warranty of any kind. The entire risk as to the results and performance of this pro- duct is assumed by you. We warrant only that any disks we sent you are free from physical and workmanship defects under normal use and service for a period of 90 days from the date shipped. Our entire liability, and your exclusive remedy, as to the disk, shall be to, at our option, either (1) return the purchase price; or, (2) replace disks which don't meet our limited warranty. Since you can try "user supported" versions of our programs before order- ing them, we offer no other warranty beyond that stated here. We'll gladly replace defective disks; but no refunds/credits can be issued. Neither Pro~Formance nor RWS & Associates nor Rob W. Smetana, nor any of their officers or employees shall be held respon- sible for: failures of this product to satisfy any needs, damages due to using this product, or any effects this program has on you, your business or operations. This product, its manual and any supporting materials may be modified or changed from time to time. They may contain opera- tional inaccuracies or typographical errors which may be cor- rected by future versions, if any. Registered users may be notified of available updates. =================================================================== LIMITED LICENSE 5 =================================================================== *** See the next page for details on INSTANT registration. *** Sparkle is NOT public domain or free software. It is distri- buted as "user-supported" software or "shareware." If you decide to use Sparkle beyond the trial period, we ask for a modest contribution to help us add other useful options. You'll find a registration form at the end of this manual. Non-registered users of this software are granted a limited license to "try out" the user-supported version, on a private, non-commercial basis, for the express purpose of determining whether it suits your needs. At the end of this trial period, you must either register your copy or stop using it. * Running Sparkle 15-20 different times should allow you to decide if it's going to be useful to you. Therefore the "trial period" is set at 20 Sparkle sessions. ============================================================== WARNING: You MAY NOT use this program in any organization or in the conduct of any business activity without a prior purchase or license arrangement. Neither Sparkle nor Menu Magic be distributed with any other product or service without a prior license arrangement. ============================================================== What does all this really mean? It's really very simple. Try it. Then either pay for it, or stop using it. * If you use this program, then you should pay for your copy. Sparkle is NOT free, and we're not giving away free copies. We are giving you the chance to try it before you buy it. * Paying for this software allows us to stay in business and provide you with support, enhancements and updates. The next page explains the 2 ways you have to register. =================================================================== Registering INSTANTLY 6 =================================================================== You can register for Sparkle in two ways: By mail (see the registration form at the end of this manual), or INSTANTLY by phone (with a Visa or MasterCard number). You can also elect to have the latest version of Sparkle sent to you. Shareware versions of Sparkle include REGISTER.Exe. Run Register to convert shareware versions into fully registered versions. SHAREWARE VERSIONS OF Sparkle and Menu Magic ARE FULLY FUNCTIONING! They have ALL the features of registered versions, with NO limita- tions. However, shareware versions will periodically remind you to register by displaying something like this message: Reminder: This is an unregistered version. Run Register.Exe Early versions of Sparkle had NO built-in reminder, and 2 people registered! Enjoy Sparkle, but remember it is "user-supported." This reminder disappears when you run REGISTER (or receive a registered version from us). To Register Instantly Using REGISTER.Exe . . . ============================================== Step 1: Be sure that Sparkle.Exe, MM.Exe and REGISTER.Exe are on the drive/directory you're logged onto (Sparkle.Exe and MM.Exe MUST be). Step 2: You'll call us twice at (415) 863 - 0530. * The first time you call, give us your name, address and Visa or MasterCard number. * We'll verify the credit card information and add your name to our database so we can notify you about updates. Step 3: BEFORE you call us the 2nd time: * Be sure Sparkle.Exe is on the current drive/directory. Now run REGISTER.Exe. REGISTER will ask for the name of the program you want to register. Type in "sparkle" (without the quotation marks and without .EXE). * REGISTER will then print a number. - CALL US when that number is on your screen and tell us what the number is. - We'll give you a different number to type in. * REGISTER will then ask you to enter your name. Type in your name and you'll have a fully-registered version. Step 4: Repeat step 4 for Menu Magic. You need NOT call us again. But you will have to tell us the number REGISTER gives you. =================================================================== DISTRIBUTING Sparkle 7 =================================================================== Bulletin board Sysops, clubs and shareware distributors may copy and distribute SHAREWARE versions of Sparkle, provided: *** Your company name IS NOT: California Freeware *** American Freeware US Freeware or any other firm, group or association with "Freeware" in its name, literature, adds, etc., which companies are PROHIBITED from distributing ANY products by Rob W. Smetana, Pro~Formance, RWS & Associates or their officers, staff or associates. *** Your adds, literature and company name DO NOT include: *** "free software," "freeware," "free" or other such terms which misrepresent "user-supported" software. (1) It is distributed in completely unmodified form, and you include all these files intact: Sparkle.Exe, Sparkle.Doc, Demo.Bat, V-Menu.Com, H-Menu.Com (2) You charge nothing other than a "disk distribution fee" of up to $8.00 to cover distribution and handling. (3) You state YOUR fee is NOT payment or registration for OUR software. (4) You clearly encourage registration by stating that con- tinued use justifies sending contributions to the developer. (5) You include all these files intact: Sparkle.Exe, Sparkle.Doc, MM.Exe, Demo.Bat, M-Menu.Com, V-Menu.Com, H-Menu.Com and other batch files. =================================================================== Quick Start: Using Menu Magic 8 =================================================================== Menu Magic is a fast, easy-to-use program to write batch files that offer SCROLLING BAR MENUS -- with mouse support, colors, drop shadows, etc. MM is a "front end" to Sparkle. Use MM to create your "menu screens" and write your batch file. When you run this batch file, Sparkle takes over and turns your "menu screen" into a colorful, scrolling bar menu, complete with mouse support. * Just type in your menu options (and a title if you like). * Choose the colors you want. * Then press a key and MM will write your batch file for you. You can test this batch file immediately. Then, edit the batch file and customize the last section (so when you choose menu options, the batch file takes the appropriate action -- executes a program, exits to DOS, changes drives or directories, etc.). And MM offers two ways to display your actual menu screen. * You can save menu screens to ".COM" files. Just "run" these files to display your menu screens instantly! (Your batch file does this for you.) - You can see examples of .Com screens by running Demo.Bat. It will run several .Com screens we included with Sparkle. We created these .Com screens using our P-Screen program. P-Screen offers you more screen-design options than MM can. See "More Options" for details. * Or, if you prefer, MM will write your batch file in such a way that your screen is "drawn" by the batch file -- with colors and shading (using some of Sparkle's many options). TO USE MM 9 ========= At the DOS prompt type: MM <Enter> Creating a menu takes 4 simple steps: * Enter your menu options (and a title if you want one). * Tell MM "how" to create your screen (with a .Com screen or by drawing it in your batch file). * Give us a name. * Choose colors. When you run MM, the following screen appears. ================================================================= Menu Magic Copyright 1991, Brandon Smetana All Rights Reserved Title: ___________________________________ Option: ___________________________________ Working on: Option: ___________________________________ Title Option: ___________________________________ Option: ___________________________________ Alt-C = Center It is now OFF Option: ___________________________________ Esc = Quit Option: ___________________________________ <F10> = Done Option: ___________________________________ Option: ___________________________________ Enter a TITLE for your batch file menu (optional), plus up to 8 menu options. Each may have 1-40 characters. Leave any field blank. Press <Esc> to quit (to exit and save nothing). ================================================================= NOTE: Press <Esc> (the Escape key) if you want to exit MM. Nothing will be saved. So press <Esc> only if you're sure you want to cancel what you began. Using MM (continued) 10 Entering a Title ================ When MM starts up, it highlights the area next to "Title" (shown as "_____" above). * Enter a title if you like -- it's optional. NOTE: Titles are always centered on the top line of your menu. Feel free to center it on MM's screen if you like. But you don't have to since we'll center it when we later draw your menu. Entering Menu Options ===================== Once you enter a title (or decide to leave it blank), press <Enter> or the Down cursor key. MM will then highlight the area next to the first "Option" shown above. * You can enter up to 8 menu options, with 1 - 40 characters each. If you need more than 8 options see "More Options." * MM begins with "centering mode" OFF. That means that anything you enter will NOT be centered (it'll appear exactly as you type it -- except for the title which is always centered). Press alt-C to turn "centering mode" ON and center menu options within the space shown (hold down the Alt key, then press "C"). - Once you press Alt-C, MM will center the item, and then move to the next one. Then, as you enter each item, they'll be automatically centered. - If you press Alt-C again, MM turns centering mode OFF. This won't affect anything you've already entered. But if you want to adjust the spacing on any item, turn centering OFF, then press up or down cursor keys until MM highlights the item you want to edit. Edit the item to your liking. * You can leave any of the 8 options blank. This lets you separate 1 or more options from others by leaving a blank one in between. For example, some people like to separate "Quit" from their main menu options. At other times, they separate certain clusters of options from other clusters with more blank space in between. When You're Done 11 ================ Press <F10> (Function key F10) when you're done entering menu options. (Press <Esc> to cancel what you've begun.) When you press <F10>, MM asks you two questions: 1. Do you want to save your menu as a ".COM" screen? Or should MM "draw" your menu in the batch file itself? 2. What file name should MM use to create batch file(s)? The first question will actually look like this: Do you want to display the menu with a COM screen, or draw it using Sparkle's options? Press <C>om or <D>raw: * Note that if you press <D>, you're telling MM to write your batch file in such a way that Sparkle will be used to dis- play your colored, shadowed menu. * .Com screens display instantly. So they're often the best way to display menus. But .Com screens are separate files. If you're concerned that this file might be separated from your batch file, you might want to <D>raw your menu. This is the safest (but slowest) option. * Since MM is so easy to use, experiment with both approaches to see which you prefer, which suits your needs the best. The 2nd question actually looks like this: Enter a 1-8 character file name [default = MENU]. DON'T add extension(s) (eg.,'.Bat'). We'll add them for you: * Just type in a 1-8 character file name, then press <Enter>. * If you leave this blank, MM will create "MENU.BAT." * Please DO NOT enter extensions. We'll add ".Bat" (and ".Com" if appropriate) for you. Warning ======= If you enter a file name that already exists, MM will overwrite it -- without warning you. So, if you're not sure if a .Bat or .Com file already exists, enter a very unusual name (like 890_gql). Then, when MM's done saving your files, just rename the .Bat and .Com files to anything you like. And when you're editing your batch file, remember to change the name of .Com screen you're displaying. COM Screen Names 12 ================ If you told MM to save a COM screen, it saves a file with the "file name" you entered -- but with the first letter changed to "!". For example: * If you save MENU.BAT, MM saves your COM screen as !ENU.COM. * If you save LOGON.BAT, MM save the COM screen as !OGON.COM. The reason for these unusual names for .Com files is that we can't save a .Bat and a .Com file with the same name. Why? * Suppose we saved both Menu.Com and Menu.Bat. Later, when you type "menu <Enter>" to run Menu.Bat it would NOT run. Menu.Com would run instead! * That's because when you run a program, DOS first looks for a .Com file by that name. If found, DOS runs it. If DOS can't find it, it looks for an .Exe file by that name. If found, DOS runs it. If not found, DOS then looks for a .Bat file. Since batch files are the last in this "pecking order," if you have a batch file with the SAME NAME as a .Com or .Exe file, your batch file may never run! Feel free to rename the file(s) MM saves to anything you like. But if you change the name of the .Com screen, be sure to edit your batch file to reflect the new file name. CHOOSING COLORS 13 =============== Finally, once you tell MM how to save your batch file, it'll display your menu screen and give you a chance to choose colors. By default, MM creates menus with: * a shadowed window drawn in White on Blue * a single-line border around the window * a green backdrop (to highlight the blue window) You may change any one of these, all of them, or any combination. To do so, just press the cursor pad keys (the bottom of your screen will have instructions). As you press the cursor pad keys, you'll see your menu change. * Press the arrow keys to change the colors of the menu window itself. - Up/Down switches among 15 different foreground colors. - Left/Right switches among 8 background colors. * Press Home or End to change the border style. There are 5 alternatives. Try them all to see which you prefer. * Press PgUp or PgDn to change the color of the backdrop. One of the options is black. If you choose this, you'll see no backdrop AND no shadow under the menu window (since the shadow needs a colored backdrop to be visible). NOTE: The menu options themselves are printed in white on black. We highlight them using "reverse video" (black on white). * We chose these simple colors to ensure that the actual menu choices would be visible on ANY monitor. * But if you prefer different colors, you must use the <D>raw option (not the .Com screen option), then edit the batch file and change the colors Sparkle uses to display text. Press <Escape> when you like what you see. MM will then save both your screen and your batch file to disk. NOTES and MORE Options 14 ====================== MM creates VERTICAL scrolling bar menus. But Sparkle can create either vertical -OR- scrolling bar menus. Why can't Menu Magic create horizontal menus? For two reasons. * First, we offer another program (P-Screen) with which you can create virtually any text-mode screen you like. You can save these screens to "compressed" .Com screens, or to "screen libraries" or to ASCII files. P-Screen's ".Com" screens are about 1/2 the size of those MM creates -- thanks to it's screen compression. - If you save screens to screen libraries or ASCII files, you can later load them back into P-Screen to edit them. And P-Screen makes it very easy to add colors, draw lines and boxes, add shading, move things around, copy or erase things, add Big! Font messages (in over 8 Big! Font styles for bold, attention-getting titles), etc. You can see several of P-Screen's screens if you run DEMO.Bat. This will also demonstrate Sparkle's other menu options. * Second, we wanted to keep Menu Magic small, fast and to-the- point. Since vertical bar menus are the most popular and flexible type of scrolling bar menus, and since we didn't want to duplicate the capabilities that already exist in P-Screen, we built MM to offer the most widely used option. continued . . . Notes (continued) 15 Menu screens DON'T mention <Escape>! The menu screens that MM creates do NOT mention that you can press <Escape> to exit al- together -- but that option exists. * Once Sparkle turns your screen into a bar menu and takes over, you must select an option -OR- press <Escape> to exit. * But what should we do if users press <Esc>? We weren't sure what YOU'D want to do, so we don't mention it. * Some people create menus with an explicit option to "Quit." Others prefer to use <Escape> as the Quit key. If you'd like users to know they can press <Escape> to do something: display a message (using "Echo" or Sparkle's "Quick Print" option) to tell users to press <Escape> to quit. MM lets you enter up to 8 menu options -- allowing us to dis- play options attractively, without crowding. But if you need more than 8 options, you have several choices. First, note that Sparkle can handle up to 25 menu options on each screen. And Sparkle can also create horizontal scrolling bar menus. * Or, use Sparkle's "ASK" option to turn ANY screen (text -OR- graphics) into a menu. Just display a screen telling users to press a key to make a choice. Then run Sparkle and tell it which keys the user is allowed to press. When the user presses one of those keys, Sparkle will exit, telling you which key was pressed (by setting the DOS errorlevel). In other words, Sparkle can turn ANY screen into a menu. You don't necessarily need MM to create the screen for you. And, if you need more than 8 menu options you can: 1. Include, on your menu, the option to go to another menu, which can display up to 8 more choices. There's no limit to the number of menus you can have. And each menu can branch to another menu -- the first one going forward, and subsequent menus offering options to go to the next menu or back to the last one. If you use this option, you'll use MM to create 2 or more batch files. Then merge them together into one batch file. 2. Create your menu screen in other ways. * Use the ECHO command in batch files to display your menu. * Use Sparkle's Window and Quick Print options to display your menu -- with windows, shadows and colors if you like. * Or use our P-Screen program to create any screen you like. P-Screen lets you save screens to screen libraries or ASCII files, which you can later edit. =================================================================== Quick Start: Using Sparkle 16 =================================================================== Experiment! Sparkle is fun! Experiment with different options, sounds and colors. For a list of options and explanations, enter: Sparkle <Enter> Here's what Sparkle will display: Sounds Sparkle 1 # #2 (# = 1 to 35, 88 or 99; #2 = # of times) Bar Menu Sparkle 2 TopRow LftCol BotRow RhtCol Color Direction Ask Sparkle 3 Row Column Color /ValidKeys /Text Big! Font Sparkle 4 Row Column Color CharacterCode /Text QuikPrint Sparkle 5 Row Column Color /Text Window Sparkle 6 TopRow LftCol BotRow RhtCol Color Frame /Text Pause Sparkle 7 HowLong (optional: 99 = allow interrupt) Monitor Sparkle 8 (optional: 99; Errorlevel = 1 if mono monitor) Choosing Options ================ Each option has a number. And each option also has sub-options (or instructions) you must send Sparkle. In general, run Sparkle like this: Sparkle Option# x1 x2 x3 x4 ..... <enter> Where: Option# is a number from 1 - 8 (1=Sound, 2=Menu, etc.) x1, x2 ... etc. are sub-options or instructions Notice: * A space MUST separate each item on the command line. * Where we need numbers, send us only numbers (not A-Z). * Whenever you send us text, you MUST begin it with "/" -- see the examples below. Color: Several options require a Color -- a number from 1-254 telling us which foreground AND background color to use. See "Calculating Color" for tips on choosing colors. Errorlevel: Some options return a DOS Errorlevel. See "Testing Errorlevels" and the description of each option. Examples: ========= Sound Sparkle 1 14 1 = Option #1 Sound Effects. 14 = the 14th sound. Big! Font Sparkle 4 1 1 112 219 /Big! Font 4 = print a Big! Font message. Other items tell us where to print it, what color to use, which character to "construct" your message with, and what to print. Ask Sparkle 3 25 35 15 /123 /Press 1, 2 or 3 3 = Ask (print a message or prompt and wait for a key). Other instructions tell us where to print it, what color to use, and what message to print. Option 1: SOUND EFFECTS 17 ================================================================= To use: Sparkle 1 # #2 (# = 1 to 35, 88 or 99) (#2 = # of times) Purpose: To give you over 35 simple to complex sound effects. To repeat the sound effect "#2" of times (-or- until you press a key). This is optional; you can omit #2. * Sound #88 = a ringing phone * Sound #99 = part of the William Tell Overture Examples: Sparkle 1 99 ^ ^ | }"99" means play part of the William Tell Overture | }option 1 (Sound Effects) Replace "99" with 88 or a number from 1 to 35 indicating which sound you want. Numbers 6 through 14 offer compound sounds -- trills, "Oh Oh," etc. Other numbers are simple tones of various durations. Sparkle 1 6 15 ^ ^ ^ | | }repeat the sound 15 times, or until a key is pressed | | | }sound effect #6 | }option 1 (Sound Effects) If you include a "repeat number," Sparkle play the sound, then repeats it # times (for a total of 16 in this example). You can press a key at any time to stop. Between each sound effect, Sparkle pauses just a little to ensure the sounds don't blend into one. Sounds 88 and 99 cannot be repeated. You can repeat a sound up to 9,999 times! This effectively means that Sparkle will continue until you press a key -- which is what Mark Dodd of Texas asked for. Depending on the sound you chose, 9,999 times could mean a few minutes, a few hours or a few days. * Remember, you can press a key to stop! * But you'd better tell your users that. NOTE: Sparkle checks to see what type of CPU is being used. It does this to ensure sounds are comparable regardless of whether an 8088, 286, 386 or 486 PC is used. In other words, the sounds should be similar regardless of how fast the PC is. But speakers will affect sounds. Option 2: SCROLLING BAR MENUS 18 ================================================================= To use: Sparkle 2 TopRow LeftCol BotRow RightCol Color Direction Purpose: To turn ANY text (not graphics) screen into a Vertical or Horizontal scrolling bar menu. Here's what you do: 1. Display a screen. You can use Sparkle's Window and Quick Print options to create a menu. You can "echo" text in a batch file. Or "run" a P-Screen "Com" screen and blast your screen up. 2. Then run Sparkle like this: Sparkle 2 TopRow LftCol BotRow RhtCol Color Direction Where: - "2" = Option 2 (the bar menu option) - TopRow, LeftCol, BotRow, RightCol indicate the location of your menu on the screen (tell us where menu options are). - Color is a number from 1-127 (usually) indicating the color we should use to HIGHLIGHT menu options. If zero, we'll use 112 (black on white). See "Calculating Color" for a chart that can help you determine this number. - Direction = 1 (vertical menu) or 2 (horizontal menu) NOTE: To determine TopRow, LeftCol, BotRow and RightCol: 1) Run "Ruler.Exe" -- our RAM-resident ruler. With your menu screen visible, call up Ruler. Move the cursor to the top left corner of your menu; note the Row/Column. Now move to the bottom, right corner. Note the Row/Column. 2) Manually count rows and columns. 3. Test Errorlevel. (See "A Note About Testing Errorlevels") Sparkle returns a DOS Errorlevel indicating which option was selected. Interpret the Errorlevel like this: 1 to x = The number of the option chosen (1 = the 1st option, 2 = 2nd option..... x = last option) 27 = Esc was pressed 88 or 99 = Either your screen location variables were "wrong" (eg., Top Row <<greater than>> Bottom Row). Or we found no TEXT / Menu Choices in the area of the screen where you said your menu would be. Scrolling Bar Menus (continued) 19 ================================================================== Sparkle 2 5 45 20 78 79 1 ^ ^ / ^ / | ^ | |/ |/ | }It's a Vertical menu (choices up/down) | | | | | | | }Highlight menu options in White on Red | | | | | }menu ends on row 20, column 78 | | | }menu starts on row 5, column 45 | }option 2 (Menu) IMPORTANT NOTES on Creating Bar Menus: : : : ============================================ 1. Once you define the "coordinates" of a menu screen, we scan the screen looking for "menu text." We ignore blank lines and lines with only "graphics" (lines, boxes or shading). - ANY text found inside the screen coordinates WILL be considered menu text -- UNLESS you begin that line of text with Chr$(255) (ASCII character #255). Use 255 to tell us to ignore lines inside your window that explain what the user should do, that introduce something, etc. You can enter character 255 in two ways: a) Create your screen with our P-Screen program. Move the cursor to the beginning of each line of text you want us to ignore. Press Alt-J to display the "Join" window. Move the cursor to the last character in the window (it'll look blank). Press <Enter> to accept it. b) Most word processors or editors let you enter "High ASCII" characters. Load your menu screen into your word processor. Move the cursor to the beginning of each line of text you want us to ignore. Hold down the Alt key and enter 255 on the NUMERIC KEYPAD of your keyboard (DON'T use the numbers at the top of your keyboard. Character 255 is NUL or Blank. It looks just like a blank space on your screen. In P-Screen you can "paint" it any color you want, or you can move, copy or delete it. 2. In Horizontal menus, use character 255 to "link" 2 or more words that are part of the same menu option. For example: Lotus 123 Paradox WordPerfect Quit - This menu has 4 options. But notice the space between "Lotus" and "123". If we don't plug that space with char- acter 255 (or a hyphen), Sparkle WILL treat "123" as a menu option -- giving us 5 not 4 options. Important Notes on Scrolling Bar Menus (continued) 20 ================================================================= 3. In VERTICAL menus, each line should be a single menu choice. * Each line can have as many words on it as you like (and you needn't fill blanks between words with character 255). * If your menu options need 2 or more lines, start the 2nd, 3rd, etc. line with character 255 -- so we'll ignore them. 4. In HORIZONTAL menus, ALL menu options must be on a single line. And the first line of text we find that doesn't begin with character 255 will be treated as your menu line. NOTE: TopRow and BotRow are normally the same for horizontal menus. 5. Sparkle HIGHLIGHTS menu choices using the color you specify. To ensure the highlight is visible, BE SURE to use a color that contrasts with the basic colors of your menu. If you don't, the menu highlight will be hard or impossible to see. For example, if your menu is blue or red (ie., dark), try 112 (black on white). But if your menu is light (cyan, white, yellow, etc.), consider a red (79) or blue (31) highlight. See "Calculating Colors" for a chart that can help you choose a "color number." NOTE: In an earlier version of Sparkle we highlighted menu option by reversing the colors. This seemed to simplify your task since you didn't have to tell us what color to use. BUT, we got reports that these reversed colors were invisible on some monitors. So we returned to the earlier approach (speci- fying a color) to give you greater safety and flexibility. 6. To select options in bar menus using a MOUSE: * Click the LEFT button on an option to highlight that option. * DOUBLE click the LEFT button on an option to select it. * Sparkle uses only the left mouse button (and ignores others). 7. To select options in bar menus using the KEYBOARD: * Highlight an option then press <cr> to accept it. * To highlight options, press the Up or Down cursor keys, or press the first letter of the option you want. If 2 or more options begin with the same first letter, keep pressing that letter until we highlight the option you want. Option 3: ASK 21 ================================================================= To Use: Sparkle 3 Row Column Color /ValidKeys /Text Purpose: ASK lets you treat ANY screen as a menu screen. Or use ASK just to pause until users press a key. You can: 1) display a message anywhere on the screen (text mode only) 2) display it in whatever color you want 3) wait for the user to press one of the keys you specified, then report an Errorlevel indicating which key was pressed. (See "A Note About Testing Errorlevels") YOU specify which keys we should exit on (Sparkle also exits if Escape is pressed). For example, say you display a menu and ask the user to choose an option by pressing 1, 2, 3, 4 or Q to Quit. - Just tell us the Valid Keys are 1234Q. - If Valid Keys is NULL (Empty or Nothing), we'll wait until ANY KEY is pressed, then exit with Errorlevel set to 0. Example: Sparkle 3 25 35 112 /1234q /Please press 1, 2, 3, 4 or [Q]uit ^ ^ / ^ ^ ^ | |/ | | }print the message beginning with "/" | | | | | | | }wait until user presses one of these keys | | | | | }print in color 112 (black on white) | | | }print on Row 25, Column 35 | }option 3 (ASK) NOTES on Ask ============ - If ValidKeys AND Text are both blank, Sparkle prints nothing and just waits until the user presses ANY key. - Sparkle sets the DOS Errorlevel to indicate which key was pressed. -- 27 means Escape was pressed. -- Otherwise it's the Ascii code of the key pressed. APPENDIX I lists the Ascii codes for many keyboard characters. -- See "Notes on Testing Errorlevels" for examples of how to deal with these. - IMPORTANT: -- You MUST use a backslash (/) to begin BOTH your list of valid keys AND the text to be printed. -- We treat user key presses in upper case (ie., we don't distinguish a from A). But your list of Valid Keys can be in upper or lower case (or both). ▌▌▌▌▌▌ ▌▌▌▌ ▌▌▌▌▌ ▐▐ ╬╬╬╬╬╬╬ ╪╪ 22 ▌▌ ▌▌ ▌▌ ▌▌ ▌▌ ▐▐ ╬╬ ╬ ╪╪ ▌▌ ▌▌ ▌▌ ▌▌ ▌▌ ▐▐ ╬╬ ╬ ║║║║║ ││││││ ╪╪╪╪╪╪ ▌▌▌▌▌ ▌▌ ▌▌ ▐▐ ╬╬╬╬ ║║ ║║ ││ ││ ╪╪ ▌▌ ▌▌ ▌▌ ▌▌ ▌▌▌▌ ▐▐ ╬╬ ╬ ║║ ║║ ││ ││ ╪╪ ▌▌ ▌▌ ▌▌ ▌▌ ▌▌ ╬╬ ║║ ║║ ││ ││ ╪╪ ▌▌▌▌▌▌ ▌▌▌▌ ▌▌▌▌▌ ▐▐ ╬╬╬╬ ║║║║║ ││ ││ ╪╪╪╪ ================================================================== To Use: Sparkle 4 Row Column Color CharacterCode /Text Purpose: Big! Font, turns your message into one 7-8 lines high. Each character will be 8 columns wide. You can: - display a Big! Font message anywhere on the screen - display it in whatever color you want - "build" your message using ANY ASCII character (If you printed this and your printer can't print the high ASCII characters, the Big! Font message is probably a mess. Sorry. But if you're browsing through this on your PC, you can see how drama- tic Big! Font messages can be. And Sparkle gives you color as well.) Example: Sparkle 4 9 1 12 219 /Hi There ! ^ ^ / ^ ^ ^ | |/ | | }print the message beginning with "/" | | | | | | | }"Build" characters using ASCII character 219 | | | | | }print in color 12 (Bright Red on Black) | | | }begin printing on Row 9, Column 1 | }option 4 (Big! Font) NOTES on Big! Font ================== * Since each character will be 8 columns wide, only 10 Big! Font characters will fit on 80-column screens. * "Row" is the TOP row on which to begin printing. Most Big! Font characters will have 7 lines. But characters with descen- ders (such as lower case g, y, q, p, etc.) also need the 8th line. - Be sure to specify a Row at least 7 lines above the bottom of your screen -- or you won't see the bottom of the characters. - Sparkle WILL print on 43 or 50 line screens. * We'll "build" characters using any ASCII character you specify. If you specify "0" we'll build each character using THAT char- acter (ie., we'll build a "G" with Gs, an "X" with Xs, etc.). - Use 219 - 223 for bold, solid or "striped" characters. - Use 1 or 2 for "happy faces," 176 - 178 for shaded characters. - ANY ASCII character from 1 to 254 will work. Option 5: QUICK PRINT 23 ================================================================= To use: Sparkle 5 Row Column Color /Text Purpose: Quickly print text anywhere on your screen in any color. You can print ANY Ascii character from 1-255 -- you're not limited to printing normal keyboard characters. Example: Sparkle 5 25 25 112 /Good Morning ^ ^ / ^ ^ | |/ | }print the message beginning with "/" | | | | | }print in color 112 (black on white) | | | }begin printing on Row 25, Column 25 | }option 5 (Quick Print) Option 6: WINDOWS 24 ================================================================= To Use: Sparkle 6 TopRow LftCol BotRow RhtCol Color Frame /Text Sparkle -6 Draws an EXPLODING window (all else the same) Exploding windows GROW to the size you specify. Purpose: Quickly create windows (or boxes) on the screen. - Choose from over 250 frame styles!!! - Windows can have shadows (or not) and can use any color - You can include text or a title, centered on the top row Frame Sparkle offers over 250 frame styles. Select these by styles: setting Frame = 1 to 255. Styles 1-5 include: 1 = Single line all around (┌) 2 = Double line all around (╔) 3 = Double line horizontal, single line vertical (╒) 4 = Double line vertical, single line horizontal (╓) 5 = Bolder solid line (▐▀) 6 = DON'T use. This is meant only for multiple colors which Sparkle presently can't handle. If you set Frame to any OTHER number from 7-255, Sparkle draws your window in that ASCII character. For example, 219 = Bold solid line (█) 7, 249 or 250 = dots of various sizes (can't show here) 61 = The equal sign "=" 86 = The letter "V" etc.... you get the idea. Experiment! Titles: Sparkle prints "/Text" (your title or message) centered on the top row of your window. Shadow: To request a "drop shadow" for your window, send Sparkle a NEGATIVE frame number (eg., -2). - Shadows are printed right of and below your window. - Be sure to allow for TWO extra columns on the right, and ONE extra row on the bottom of shadowed windows. Frameless NOTE: ASCII characters 32 and 255 are blank. If you Windows: create "windows" with these, you'll get a frameless splash of color! Specify Frame = -32 or -255 to get a shadowed splash of color! Example: Sparkle -6 5 7 20 75 79 -1 /My Window ^ ^ / ^ / ^ ^ ^ | | / | / | | }Print this title/message | |/ |/ | }Frame style 1 AND shadowed (negative) | | | }Use color 79 (White on Red) | | }Window ends on row 20, column 75 (shadow below) | }Window starts on row 5, column 7 (shadow on right) }option -6 (Exploding Window) Option 7: PAUSE 25 ================================================================= To Use: Sparkle 7 HowLong Interrupt (optional) Purpose: Allow batch files to pause briefly, and then continue. - You can specify pauses from 1/3 second to several minutes. - You can also let user "interrupt" or bypass the pause and go on. This is optional. Examples: Sparkle 7 12 ^ ^ | | | }Pause for 4 seconds (each # = 1/3 second) | }option 7 (Pause) Sparkle 7 15 99 ^ ^ ^ | | | | | }Pause, but let user "press a key" to go on | | | }Pause for 5 seconds (each # = 1/3 second) | }option 7 (Pause) NOTES on Pause ============== * "HowLong" is measured in 1/3 second increments. "12" tells Sparkle to pause 4 seconds (12/3 = 4). Similarly, "15" means pause 5 seconds (15/3 = 5). - An easy way to decide what number to use is to decide how many SECONDS you want to pause, then MULTIPLY that by 3. * To let users "press a key" to interrupt the pause and move on, send Sparkle 2 numbers: HowLong AND 99. For example: Sparkle 7 6 99. * Sparkle checks to see what type of CPU is being used -- to ensure pauses are the same regardless of whether an 8088, 286 386 or 486 PC is used. - HOWEVER, the speed of the disk drive WILL affect the pause. That's because Sparkle must load first, and then pause. - Although Sparkle is small and loads quickly, floppy disks can be 10-15 times SLOWER than hard disks. If your batch files will run off of different types of disks, test them on different disk drives to determine the length of a pause that's a "happy medium" on all drives. Option 8: MONITOR 26 ================================================================= To Use: Sparkle 8 (optional 99; Errorlevel = 1 if mono monitor) Purpose: Report what type of display adapter AND monitor is active. - This is handy to decide which colors to use in batch files. - This is also handy to start presentations using our P~F Presents program. Run presentations in Color or in "monochrome" based on the type of monitor being used. Example: Sparkle 8 ^ | }option 8 (Monitor) Sparkle 8 99 ^ ^ | | | }Set Errorlevel=1 if a monochrome monitor is detected | (regardless of the type of display adapter present) | }option 8 (Monitor) NOTES on Monitor ================ * Option 8 tells Sparkle to set the DOS Errorlevel based on BOTH the type of display adapter AND monitor detected. Run Sparkle with NO options (ie., Sparkle 8), and it sets the Errorlevel as follows: 1 = Monochrome adapter 2 = Hercules adapter 3 = CGA adapter 4 = EGA adapter/Mono monitor 5 = EGA adapter/Color monitor 6 = VGA adapter/Mono monitor 7 = VGA adapter/Color monitor 8 = MCGA adapter/Mono monitor 9 = MCGA adapter/Color monitor 10 = EGA adapter/CGA monitor 11 = IBM 8514/A adapter * NOTE that options 1, 4, 6 and 8 ALL indicate a monochrome monitor is active. If all you need to know is whether the monitor is Color or Mono, run Sparkle like this: Sparkle 8 99 - "99" tells Sparkle to set the Errorlevel to 1 if a mono monitor is detected (ie., if Sparkle would normally report 1, 4, 6 or 8). - This can simplify testing Errorlevels to something like: If Errorlevel 3 goto ItsColor 'If greater than or equal to 3.. Goto ItsMonochrome 'Otherwise, assume it's mono. SEE THE NEXT PAGE for examples of how you can use Option 8 to set options "on the fly" in batch files. continued . . . Option 8 MONITOR (continued) 27 Two DOS features ("named parameters" and SET) can help you customize your batch files -- depending on the type of monitor Sparkle tells you is active. (These features may not be available with all DOS versions.) "Named parameters" let you define "variables" you can use later in your batch files. Basically, you: * Use the DOS SET command to set variable(s) to specific values (eg., SET ErrSound=12, or SET MyColor=15, or SET HiLite=112). * Run Sparkle and use variable NAMES rather than values (eg., Sparkle 1 ErrSound). Here's an example. Notice how we: 1. Run Sparkle to see if a color monitor is being used. 2. Depending on the type of monitor detected (color or mono), we SET a variable called "WhichClr" to a color appropriate for that monitor. -- "WhichClr" will now be available to every other line in our batch file -- as long as we use the variable name. 3. We then use the variable NAME to tell Sparkle which color to print with. -- NOTICE that when we use the variable when running Sparkle, we place it between two percent signs (eg., %WhichClr%). This is REQUIRED! sparkle 8 99 '"99" since we only need to 'know if it's color or mono If Errorlevel 3 goto _PrtInColor 'if 3 or higher, it's color Set WhichClr=112 'If 1 or 2, it's a 'monochrome monitor; use 'simple Black on White. Sparkle 5 21 15 %WhichClr% / MONOCHROME monitor detected goto (somewhere to jump over the Color section) :_PrtInColor Set WhichClr=78 'It's color, SET "WhichClr" 'to 78 (Yellow on Red). Sparkle 5 21 15 %WhichClr% / COLOR monitor detected A NOTE ON TESTING Errorlevels 28 ================================================================= Also see APPENDIX I: ASCII Codes for many keyboard characters. Always test Errorlevels from the HIGHEST number to the LOWEST. This is a DOS restriction. For example: If Errorlevel 2 goto no \ this sequence If Errorlevel 1 goto yes / is correct If Errorlevel 1 goto yes \ this sequence If Errorlevel 2 goto no / is WRONG Here's why this is important. DOS tests the phrase: If Errorlevel 1 goto yes as if it read "If Errorlevel greater-than-or-equal-to 1 goto Yes." So, if you start testing with "If Errorlevel 1 goto Yes" (note "1"), DOS will almost ALWAYS go to "Yes" -- since most everything is "greater-than-or-equal-to 1". Examples: ========= Here's an example from Sparkle's demo batch file (Demo.Bat). We first display a bar menu. We then test to see which option was chosen. Note that we first test for Escape (Ascii code 27). Bar menus return the NUMBER of the option chosen. Our main menu had 5 choices. We first test for Escape, since 27 is higher than 5. We then test for which option was chosen with "If Errorlevel 5 ...." :_MainMenu Sparkle 2 5 5 5 76 112 2 If Errorlevel 27 goto _End If Errorlevel 5 goto _End If Errorlevel 4 goto _BarMenus If Errorlevel 3 goto _Sounds If Errorlevel 2 goto _Windows If Errorlevel 1 goto _Intro goto _MainMenu (just in case tests fail) Here's what a batch file might look like if you used ASK. * NOTE: Here we test for Escape LAST!! That's because ASK returns the ASCII value of the key pressed. The ASCII code for "Y" is 89, the code for "N" is 78. The code for Escape (27) is LESS than 89 or 78, so we test for it last. :_AskAgain Sparkle 3 25 20 112 /YN /Do you want to go on? Press [Y]es or [N]o If Errorlevel 89 goto _YesPressed If Errorlevel 78 goto _NoPressed If Errorlevel 27 goto _AskAgain '--- We'll ONLY accept Y or N! goto _AskAgain '--- Ditto for any other key. Choosing a COLOR NUMBER 29 ================================================================ When we ask you for a color, send us 1 number indicating BOTH Foreground AND Background colors. Here's how to calculate it: (Tip: print this page to have a quick reference guide.) Step 1: In the table below, move your finger DOWN the left column until it's on the FOREGROUND color you want. Note that the first 8 colors are "normal" intensity. The next 8 are "bright" ("high intensity") versions of the first 8. Step 2: Now move your finger ACROSS the columns until it's under the BACKGROUND color you want. Use the number you see there (under your finger). NOTE that, as you move across the columns, numbers increase by 16. If you prefer for- mulas to tables: Color = ForeGround + (Background * 16). Foreground colors range from 0-15; Background from 0-7. Step 3: OPTIONAL: For blinking colors, just add 128 to the number you got in step 2. BACKGROUND COLORS ================= Black Blue Green Cyan Red Magnta Brown White ---0-----1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7---- F Black 0 16 32 48 64 80 96 112 O Blue 1 17 33 49 65 81 97 113 N R Green 2 18 34 50 66 82 98 114 O E Cyan 3 19 35 51 67 83 99 115 R G Red 4 20 36 52 68 84 100 116 M R Magenta 5 21 37 53 69 85 101 117 A O Brown 6 22 38 54 70 86 102 118 L U White 7 23 39 55 71 87 103 119 N D Grey 8 24 40 56 72 88 104 120 Blue 9 25 41 57 73 89 105 121 B C Green 10 26 42 58 74 90 106 122 R O Cyan 11 27 43 59 75 91 107 123 I L Red 12 28 44 60 76 92 108 124 G O Magenta 13 29 45 61 77 93 109 125 H R Yellow 14 30 46 62 78 94 110 126 T S White 15 31 47 63 79 95 111 127 Examples: ========= Any color on black background: 1 - 15 Black foreground on white background: 112 Bright white on a blue background: 31 Black on a red background: 64 Blinking black on a cyan background: 176 (48 + 128 = 176) APPENDIX I: ASCII Codes for many keyboard characters 30 ===================================================== Use this chart to design your "If Errorlevel # ...." statements in your batch files. When you use Sparkle's ASK option (to get, for example, the user's choice at a menu), Sparkle sets the DOS Errorlevel equal to the ASCII code of the key that was pressed. * Remember, you tell Sparkle which keys to "accept" (ie., which keys are "valid") by sending it a variable called "valid keys:" Sparkle 3 Row Column Color /ListOfValidKeys /Prompt * ALL letters are treated as UPPER CASE. That means you can't include, say, both A and a as valid keys. * Note in the chart below that A - Z have ASCII codes of 65 - 90. Numbers 0 - 9 have ASCII codes of 48 - 57. One IMPORTANT IMPLICATION of these numbers is that if you want to test to see if users pressed Escape (ASCII code 27), you MUST test for it LAST. - "Notes on Testing Errorlevels" explains why. - But basically, DOS requires that you you test errorlevels from HIGHEST to LOWEST. Since 27 (Escape) is LOWER than any of the ASCII codes listed here, you must test for it last. ASCII ASCII Key Pressed Code Key Pressed Code =========== ===== =========== ===== A 65 B 66 C 67 D 68 E 69 F 70 G 71 H 72 I 73 J 74 K 75 L 76 M 77 N 78 O 79 P 80 Q 81 R 82 S 83 T 84 U 85 V 86 W 87 X 88 Y 89 Z 90 0 48 1 49 2 50 3 51 4 52 5 53 6 54 7 55 8 56 9 57 APPENDIX II: Other Programs by Pro~Formance 31 ============================================================== Here's a summary of many of our programs. Feel free to call us for details or to order. ============================================================== Text Font ============================================================== * Have you ever wanted to replace the dull, ever-same font your PC normally uses to display text? * Would you like **dozens** of alternative text fonts to use as your preferences, needs or moods change? * Have you ever wanted to surprise or amuse friends by dis- playing messages in unusual, dramatic or striking fonts? * Would you like to watch as your boss or a co-worker returns from lunch to find the text on their screen upside down or ???. * Are you visually impaired? Is someone you know? Would larger or bolder fonts make it easier to use the PC? * Do you use presentation programs (like our P~F Presents)? Would you like to customize the way messages and text appear on the screen? Would you like to change text fonts whenever you like? * In batch files or menu programs, would you like to: - Customize the way text and options appear? - Display different types of messages in different fonts? Menu options in one font. Error messages in another. If you answered "YES" to any of these questions, you'll find Text Font a welcome and valuable addition to your tool kit! On EGA or VGA monitors, Text Font replaces the font all text-mode programs (including DOS) use to display text. It offers about 50 different fonts! * Try Script, Old English, Medieval, Tall, Bold, or Future. * Or try Hebrew, Cyrillic or Thai. * Or try Reverse, Underlined or Backwards. Text Font even includes a RAM-resident version to ensure YOUR font is preserved even if programs change screen modes. So, if you run Microsoft Windows, and then return to DOS, the font YOU selected is restored. ============================================================== Professional Scribe (Pro~Scribe) PS Express (PSE) ============================================================== Pro~Scribe and PSE help you improve anything you write (or help you improve the writing of others -- your staff, students, etc.) Pro~Scribe is used around the world in companies like IBM, Hewlett Packard, AT&T, Lockheed, Citicorp and Bank of America to help improve memos, letters, manuals, documentation, contracts, promotional material, etc. Here's how Pro~Scribe and PSE help: * They examine your writing for many types of writing mistakes. * You can look at overall results for an entire letter, report, etc. Or, if you like, they'll look at your writing line-by-line. * They show suspect problems, and offer suggestions. * Results are shown numerically, and with colorful graphs. * They come with two manuals (plus a Quick Reference Guide) - One covers basics: To install/run PS, and basic guidelines. - "Effective, High-Impact Writing" has more writing tips. * They're colorful, fast, fun, and a terrific value: $39 for both! How are Pro~Scribe and PSE different? First, PS Express is a RAM-resident program. That means it's always ready to help when you need help most--while you're actually writing. Run PSE, then run your word processor and start writing. Need help? Just press a key. * When PSE pops up, just mark the text you want PSE to examine. A window pops up instantly with feedback on your writing. * PSE is like having an English teacher looking over your shoulder, gently coaching you as you write. Pro~Scribe gives you everything PSE does, and much, much more. It reads files saved by your word processor, or you can type text directly into PS. Like PSE, Pro~Scribe shows how complex your writing, words and sentences are. It also offers you: * Feedback on "Word Wasters" (5 categories of writing errors). * Three RGL (Running Grade Level) options (line-by-line feedback). * An option to flag complex words and Word Wasters in each line. * A Personal Interest score showing if you write as you speak. * Options to: Customize the program, send results to your printer. ============================================================== PDT The Pro~Formance Data Tool ============================================================== Very simply, PDT is the finest data file editor available! If you ever have a need to edit database, binary or EBCDIC files, you'll find that PDT is an indispensable tool. * You can view and edit ANY type of file: dBase files, other types of data files, executable files (eg., .Exe or .Com files), EBCDIC files, ASCII files, font files -- any file. * You can view and edit ANY SIZE file -- up to two gigabytes! Jump from the top to the bottom of any size file instantly. You can open up to 4 files at once. View and compare different files. Or work in different areas of the same file. Since each file can be up to two gigabytes in size, you can work with up to 8 gigabytes of data at once! * You can manage database files like you've never been able to before. PDT offers unique features to help you manage dBase or ANY fixed-length record file (data or font files, etc.). - PDT detects dBase ".DBF" files, formatting your "view" of them so fields are automatically laid out for you. - With other fixed-length data files (like those created by programs written in C, Pascal, BASIC, COBOL, etc.), PDT lets you easily and quickly define their "structure." Once you define a file's structure, which is easy to do, PDT formats your "view" of these files in logical rows and columns and offers other features as well. - Once PDT knows the structure of a file, you'll be able to: -- Easily view and edit the file, tabbing quickly from field to field. You can even press a key to edit numeric fields stored in "packed binary" form. -- Mark blocks (either columns or records) and then: Export them, Copy them, Erase or Fill them, etc. -- Expand or Shrink the width of fields. And, if you like, PDT will automatically update the dBase header and its own "structure" files to reflect the change. continued . . . PDT (continued) * PDT even manages EBCDIC files -- like those found on, or downloaded from, large IBM computers. - PDT's dynamic EBCDIC-to-ASCII translation lets you view AND edit EBCDIC files in easy-to-understand ASCII mode. Changes you make to the file are saved to disk in EBCDIC. - PDT will even translate EBCDIC files to ASCII, or vice versa. * PDT can also help you: - Repair files -- regardless of their type or size. - Determine a file's structure (record or field length, etc.). - Edit executable files to customize their messages or options. * Finally, PDT is very logical and easy-to-use. It offers about 45 different options you may use to edit and manage files. And to make these easy to use, PDT offers pull-down menus, mouse support, fast keyboard hotkeys and extensive on-line help (which you can customize). ============================================================== Multi-Print The ultimate text printing utility! ============================================================== Multi-Print (MP) prints ASCII text files (like this manual) on HP LaserJets -OR- Epson -OR- Toshiba printers (or compatibles). * Print 1, 2 or 4 PAGES of text on each SHEET of paper. Print in portrait mode on BOTH sides of the paper on ANY printer, Or print sideways on LaserJets, Epson or Toshiba printers. - Choose "Booklet" mode to print books. Print the "front" side, then the "back." Then just fold it into a booklet and staple! - Choose "Left-to-Right" to print pages side-by-side, first on the left side of the page, then on the right. - Choose "1 Column" per sheet to print up to 250 characters per line (this is great for printing spreadsheets). - And with the last 2 options, you can choose to print 2- sided or 1-sided. Then use them as-is, or slip them into a 3-ring binder. (Booklets are always printed 2-sided). * Four fonts are included. - Our 9-point Times Roman font is a better-looking substi- tute for the LaserJet's "Line Printer" font (though you can use the Line Printer font if you wish). With our 6- point Roman font, print up to 250 characters/line and 80 lines/page (eg., spreadsheets). - Other fonts let MP print sideways on Epson/Toshiba printers. * The four fonts contain almost all ASCII characters. Print: - Lines, boxes, shading, Big! Fonts (tm). - French, German, Spanish and other language characters. - "Control codes" (with ASCII values below 32) which are useful when you want to add arrows, "bullets," "check boxes" and other symbols to your text. - NOTE: Original LaserJets and LaserJet + can't print the last 2. * MP offers many printing options: - Print TITLES: page numbers, the date, and the name of the file you're printing (or a "custom title") - in any com- bination. Print titles at the TOP or BOTTOM of each page in several "styles." - Print "both" sides, or just the "front" or "back" side. - Control Top, Left and Right Margins. "Wrap" long lines (LaserJets only). Print to LPT1, 2 or 3 or "to a file." * MP is menu-driven; choose options using a mouse or the keyboard. ============================================================== inform-Z (also see Mail Call below) Professional Forms Design ============================================================== inform-Z is a complete form system. Built-in features include: easy form design, math, "auto-edit," high quality printing, etc. Design, edit and print forms with inform-Z. * Draw lines or boxes, or add shading, in several styles. * Enter text, auto-centered inside boxes if you like. * Automatically date, sequence number and time-stamp forms. * Add "formulas" for spreadsheet convenience, speed & accuracy. * Quick, easy block options: Copy, Move, Erase, Shading. * Vary fonts, type styles, line spacing. * inform-Z is very easy to use. And it's "lesson forms" cut the learning time dramatically. Then use inform-Z or Mail Call to fill out forms. * "Auto-Edit" fields lets you quickly skip through a form, editing just fields you "marked." On order forms, for example: Quantity, Description, Price per Unit. Math options will do the math for you! * Let Mail Call fill in other information for you -- pulling names, addresses, etc. from your database, putting them where you want them. Produce high-quality, professional looking forms in minutes with Epson printers or HP LaserJets (+/500/Series II or later). And you DON'T need expensive font cartridges or soft fonts for lines, boxes, shading, etc. We use built-in features for these. "But, I don't have a LaserJet or an Epson" you say. Not to worry. inform-Z has two other printer options so it works with any printer. Together, inform-Z and Mail Call can help you manage almost every piece of paper in your office. Forms: Invoices, Purchase Orders, Personnel Forms, Work Orders, Work Schedules, Travel or Expense Reports, Accounting Forms, Application Blanks, Org. Charts As Well As: Letters, Memos, Envelopes, Mailing Labels, Personalized Documents (ie., form letters), Reports, Client or Employee lists, etc. ============================================================== Mail Call and MC Express (MCE) Our mailing assistant ============================================================== Mail Call (MC) is a full featured mailing assistant. Add names to a database, then Browse, Search, Print, Sort, etc. * Print envelopes in several sizes. * Print mailing labels (several sizes plus a "roll-your-own- size" option) 1 to 99 copies of each label, 1 to 3 columns across. * Print personalized documents (or form letters). * Print forms -- with "auto-edit," date, sequence number and math features! * Print reports, phone books, appointment schedules, etc. Mail Call offers UNlimited capacity -- use as many database files as you want. And its "Mail Merge" option lets you Import or Export names to files used by word processors or other database programs. MC Express, a "RAM-resident" program, that lets you: 1) print envelopes while INSIDE your word processor; and, 2) lets you "write out" names & addresses to a file you can later "import" into MC (no re- typing). MCE, optional, works with ALL versions of the HP LaserJet. ============================================================== P~F Presents (PFP) A DESKTOP PRESENTATION System ============================================================== P~F Presents comes with several programs to help you create, manage and display presentations. The two main programs are P-Screen and PFP. With P-Screen you: (See below for more on P-Screen) ------------------ * Design screens (or "slides"). * Save screens in libraries (or print them, or save them to ASCII files, or executable ".COM" files.) * NOTE: We offer TWO "screen-capture" programs to help you capture screens from existing applications. One captures text screens. The other captures ANY type of screen! With PFP you: ------------- * Create presentation agendas ("slide shows") which can include: - Menus which "branch" to various parts of your presentation, depending on the option your viewer selects. For example: -- Which product do you want information on? -- Which topic (in a tutorial) do you want to review? - Timed slides (PFP pauses, then automatically shows the next) - Special effects: animation, sound, loops, exploding windows * Display your presentations, or let others do it by them- selves. A "use monochrome" option lets you display presen- tations on virtually any monitor. The Possibilities are Endless: ------------------------------ * Sales presentations * Management/Staff briefings * Training programs * Tutorials or Demos * Meetings * Highlight product information * Investment opportunities * Advertising on disk (SoftAds) * Customer information * Tourist guides * Restaurant guides * Directories (Names, phone #s) And on and on and . . . ============================================================== P-Screen & P-Screen Professional QuickBASIC screen support ============================================================== P-Screen is a screen: "design," "library/database" and "display" system all in one. Use it to design screens for programs you write, or for program demos, prototyping, word processing, batch files, etc. * Draw/Join lines or boxes, in several styles * Shade or Paint entire screens or selected areas * Enter text, auto-centered inside lines or boxes if you like * Quick, easy block options: Copy, Move, Erase, Shade, Paint, UnDo. Save/Load/Libraries * Save screens to or Load screens from ASCII files or Libraries. You can also save executable "Com" screens -- colors and all! - We include Capture to "grab" screens from other applications. * Libraries give you the convenience of 1 file to store up to 50 screens -- in color, complete with names and descriptions. Using screen libraries in your programs, demos, etc. * We supply routines to display your screens from QuickBASIC programs (QB 3-4.x). * It's easy to write programs to access screen libraries. - You can load and display 1 screen at a time. - Or load 2 or more screens into arrays, then pop them up instantly. P-Screen Professional even writes your QB programs for you!! And it comes with several other subprograms you can use in any program. Call for **significant** details. ============================================================== The Survey Catalyst (A commercial program, not Shareware) ============================================================== The Survey Catalyst (TSC) is for anyone who works with attitude/ opinion surveys. Create surveys in minutes or hours -- not days! * TSC includes a database of thousands of survey items--like items used in most Fortune 1000 companies' employee surveys. - You can review items, edit them or add new ones. - OR, when you see an item you want to add to a survey, just press a key and add it--fast and simple. * TSC also comes with dozens of response scales. When you print surveys, TSC prints the right response scale--automatically. * And speaking of printing, TSC's many options let you create "camera-ready" copy--as you want it, fast! - Group items by Category, by Response Scale, or Randomize them. - Print response scales Above or Beside items (or not at all). - Print key punch instructions (optional) - Print a title--at the top or bottom of each page. - Or, print your survey "to a file"--to dress it up later. ============================================================== Pro~Stamp Stamp Collection Manager ============================================================== Pro~Stamp is our full-featured stamp collection manager. * It's very easy to use: pull-down menus, extensive on-line help; Calculations done for you, select "Type" & "Condition" from menus, and more. * Your worksheets are set up like most popular collectors' manuals (eg., Scott). * Track small to huge stamp collections, with ease and convenience. * Multiple file options add flexibility (subsets of collections) * Automatic calculations (Values of each stamp, Increase in value) give you spreadsheet convenience. * Sort: On any of several fields. * Print: Entire worksheets or a range you specify. * It's customizable: Edit menu items or printer codes your way. ============================================================== Ram-Man RAM-resident file browser ============================================================== Ram-Man is a RAM-resident (TSR) program to turn ANY text file into a pop-up quick-reference guide (or manual). For example, keep THIS MANUAL at your fingertips while learning inform-Z! * Pop up your text file while you're working in virtually any text-based (not graphics) program (including inform-Z). * BROWSE through it. * SEARCH, looking for a topic or phrase you're interested in. * LOOK UP words, which we'll read directly from your screen! We supply the RAM-resident "engine," you supply the text. Ram- Man preserves DOS memory by keeping ONLY its engine in memory. It displays your text from disk (hard or RAM disk recommended). You can change which file you're viewing without unloading Ram-Man. That means you load Ram-Man once, then change ref- erence guides as your needs or the programs you use change. Now, regardless of which text-based program you're using (or even at the DOS prompt), you can have on-line, pop-up help available -- at any time, at the press of a key. Examples: * The complete, on-disk manual for a program you're using. * A series of help screens or "Quick Reference Guides" (eg., tips on using DOS, tips on using a program). - You can display standard DOS text files, like those you create using an editor or word processor. - Or you can display special "screens" you create with programs like our P-Screen Screen Designer. * Appointment Calendars, To Do Lists. . . . etc. Other features: (<R> = REGISTERED versions.) * BROWSE through files -- line by line or page by page. And you can jump to the top or bottom of small -or- huge text files in 1/2 second or less. * SEARCH for topics relevant to your needs. * <R> "LOOK UP" reads a word directly off your screen THEN searches for it! BE SURE to read the section on Look Up for uses (eg., Quick reference, spelling, thesaurus, quotations). * UNLOAD Ram-Man and reclaim the memory it uses. * <R> RUN-TIME OPTIONS let you choose: - The "hotkey" you want to use to call Ram-Man up. - The size of the screen you want to use -- to let you switch between 25, 43 or 50 row screens at will. - The colors we use to display text. These options help ensure that Ram-Man's hotkey, colors and screen modes never conflict with the programs you use. ============================================================== SPARKLE & MENU MAGIC Add some sparkle to your batch files. ============================================================== Sparkle is an AMAZING utility to enhance batch files, use from DOS, or use through other programs (via "shell"). And Sparkle now includes Menu Magic which lets you quickly create scrolling bar menus (see Menus below) and writes your batch files for you! One small (9k) program offers these many features: * MENUS Sparkle offers 3 menu options. Turn ANY screen into a menu. Or turn ANY text screen into a Vertical or Horizontal"scrolling bar" menu. * SOUND Over 35 sound effects, ranging from simple to the William Tell Overture! * WINDOWS Create windows (boxes) on screen in over 250 styles, with/without shadows, and in any color. * QuikPRINT Display text anywhere on the screen in any color. * ASK Ask the user to press a key -- to get a menu choice or to simply pause. - You can display any message you like in any color. - You can specify which keys are "valid." For example, suppose your menu had 3 choices and you ask someone to press 1, 2 or 3 to choose one of them. Just tell Sparkle that "123" are your "valid keys." Sparkle will wait until one of these keys (or Escape) is pressed -- then tell you which one was pressed. * PAUSE You can pause for brief moments (1/3 second) or for several minutes. And Sparkle even gives you the option to let your users "press a key" to interrupt a pause and move on. * MONITOR Determine what type of monitor is active. ============================================================== VIDLIB A commercial-quality Video Tape Librarian ============================================================== VIDLIB has every feature that every other video tape program offers. And the author guarantees to add any feature another program has that VIDLIB doesn't. ANY feature ... GUARANTEED! VIDLIB stores 27 different pieces of information about each tape in your collection. - Tape number, recording's title, Category (adventure, romance, sci-fi, etc.), Rating (G, PG, R, etc.), origin (purchased, television, home recording, HBO, etc), stars appearing, director, studio, color or B&W, cost, date re- corded, recording speed, recording length, footage start and end, what language is spoken, subtitles?, cabinet and/or shelf where tape is stored, date the tape was loaned, who borrowed it. - No field is required! Use or ignore any information field you like. Use what you want; ignore what you don't. - Use 2 word processor-like windows to describe each record- ing on a tape and describe its honors, awards or nominations. - Depending on YOUR tastes, use the unique 5 star rating system to Rate each individual recording. - Many fields can be redefined by the user. VIDLIB handles an unlimited number of tapes with an unlimited number of recordings per tape. VIDLIB offers easy-to-use, yet surprisingly powerful printout support. - Print 3 different Avery labels available from your local office supply store: labels for the tape spine, tape face and the tape box. - Print 2 Rolodex and 3 index card formats and sizes. VIDLIB supports pin-feed Avery formats, too. - Three report formats including a beautiful catalog sheet and a special report for your insurance company! - Supports dot-matrix, laser or letter quality printers. VIDLIB is exceptionally fast on any computer, even XT's and PC's. It works handsomely on color or monochrome monitors. And VIDLIB uses the popular dBase (DBF) file structure. So you can access, read and edit VIDLIB databases using dBase III, dBase III+, dBase IV, Clipper -- or our own PDT program. ============================================================== Registering and Ordering ============================================================== Because we offer so many programs, our order form has 2 pages. * THIS PAGE lists our programs and the per-copy cost of each. The section immediately above describes each or our programs. * THE NEXT PAGE is the actual order form. - On the next page, fill in the name of each program you're ordering. PLEASE BE CAREFUL here and use the names listed below. If we're not sure which program you're ordering, we may have to return you're order (or call collect?). - If ordering by Visa or MasterCard, fill in the section for credit card orders. BE SURE TO SIGN it. Program Name Per Copy ============================================================== Text Font, TF-R (Resident) plus complete font library $19 Multi-Print Recommended! ($25 w/ purchase > $100) $39 PDT The Pro~Formance Data Tool $99 inform-Z Professional Forms Design/Database $49 Mail Call With MC Express $49 " " Without MC Express $45 Pro~Scribe & PS Express $39 P~F Presents Professional $79 " " Plus (with intro. copyright) $49 P-Screen Professional $49 " Plus $29 Pro~Stamp Stamp Collection Manager $29 Ram-Man RAM-resident Text File Browser $19 Sparkle, Sparkle2 AND Menu Magic $29 VidLib Video Tape Librarian and Database $39 The Survey Catalyst $495 " " " Demo Disk (refunded with purchase) $5 ================================================================= PACKAGE DISCOUNTS Call about quantity discounts & site licenses. ================================================================= inform-Z AND Mail Call $79 P-Screen Pro AND P~F Presents (Pro versions of both) $109 =============================== TO ORDER =============================== For FASTEST delivery of your programs, CALL with your Visa/MC card number. F ____________________________________________ M Rob W. Smetana Pro~Formance R ____________________________________________ A T 132 Alpine Terrace San Francisco, CA 94117 O ____________________________________________ I O (415) 863-0530 M ____________________________________________ L Make checks payable to Rob W. Smetana Phone ( ) ______-________ Date ___/___/___ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- For Visa or MasterCard Orders ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Credit Card Number: __________________________________ Expires: ___|___ Signature (Required for credit card orders): _____________________________ Be sure your name at the top matches how it appears on your credit card. ================================================================== spk 3.1 = Program/Package Name (see last page) # of Copies Price/Copy Total ============================================================================ ________________________________________ ________ x ______ = $_______ ________________________________________ ________ x ______ = $_______ ________________________________________ ________ x ______ = $_______ ________________________________________ ________ x ______ = $_______ ________________________________________ ________ x ______ = $_______ ________________________________________ ________ x ______ = $_______ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shipping & Handling::: Total Number @ $4/copy (US/Canada) of Programs (and Copies) ----->> _____ @ $8/copy (Elsewhere) $ _______ -----------------------------+---------------------------------------------- | Subtotal $ ________ INTERNATIONAL ORDERS: : : | | California residents, add 8.5% tax $ _______ * US funds only please. +-------------------------+-------------------- * Money order, check drawn a | US bank, or VISA/MasterCard | TOTAL $ ________ -------------------------------------------------------+-------------------- PLEASE tell us where you got a copy of our program. This information helps us determine how we can best get new programs to you and other users.