Mastering Computers 3/Mastering Computers Vol 3.iso/Windows 3.1x/fun/LOGO200.ZIP/WINLOGO.C0_/WINLOGO.DOC

Text File | 1993-04-07 | 10.7 KB | 250 lines

Windows Logo Changer v2.00 (WINLOGO)
------------------------------------

(c) Copyright, April 1993, Dr. A. Olowofoyeku.

Documentation
-------------

This program is a utility to facilitate the process
of making changes to the Windows start up logo. It
is written for MS-Windows 3.1, and contains both a
DOS and a Windows version, all within the same
executable WINLOGO.EXE. If run from DOS, the DOS
version executes and if run from Windows, the Windows
version executes.

The program may or may not work correctly under Windows 3.0, and
will most certainly NOT work under pre-3.0 versions of Windows.

The Windows startup logo is actually just a bitmap,
(in an RLE 4 encoded format) which is written into WIN.COM
by Windows itself, or any other program, such as WINLOGO,
that can make changes to the startup logo. The process
is a bit involved if done through Windows, and is far
from a straightforward business.  With WINLOGO, it simply
involves selecting an RLE encoded bitmap from the menu,
and the program takes care of the rest. The whole process
takes just about 5 seconds.


THE LOGO FILE
-------------
The default logo that Windows uses is called VGALOGO.RLE
and exists in your Windows System directory. WINLOGO can
always restore this if you choose it from the menu.
However, WINLOGO also allows you to have such things as
company logos, funny pictures, and the like, as your
Windows startup logo, instead of the boring one that is
supplied with Windows itself. This is because any RLE 4
encoded bitmap file would do just as well as the VGALOGO.RLE
that resides in your Windows System directory.

You would need some utility, such as WINGIF or PAINTSHOP PRO
(both Shareware) to convert standard Windows Paintbrush
bitmap files into RLE 4 format. You can obtain copies
of WINGIF and PAINTSHOP PRO from bulletin boards or by
ANONYMOUS FTP from various ftp sites all over the world
(e.g., "micros.hensa" in the U.K., or "garbo.uwasa.fi"
in Finland; both are accessible from anywhere in the world).

NOTE:
  [1] The required format for the bitmap is RLE 4 (not RLE 8)
      and the bitmap must not contain more than 16 colours.
  [2] The RLE file must not be bigger than 46k in size.
      Otherwise the WINCHG.COM file that will be built will
      not be usable. Windows will not be able to load it, or
      even to start at all. If an RLE file selected from the
      menu is too big, WINLOGO will inform you of this.

Some sample RLE 4 bitmaps are supplied for you to play with.
Most of them are third party bitmaps which I have simply
converted from other formats to the RLE 4 encoded format.
I personally cannot draw, so I do not have any original
bitmaps of my own.


THE NEW LOGO
------------
When you select a new logo, WINLOGO normally builds a
new Windows command file, and calls it "WINCHG.COM".
Thus to start Windows with the new logo, type "WINCHG"
instead of the usual "WIN". At the end of installation,
WINLOGO will ask if you want to overwrite the existing
WIN.COM file. You should normally answer "NO" to this
question unless you already have made a backup copy of
WIN.COM. You can always start Windows with your new logo
by typing "WINCHG".


USER SUPPORT
------------
WINLOGO is NOT a free program. It is distributed as a user
supported program. For my purposes, this means that you get
the program free and you pay whatever you think it is worth
if you decide that you like it. It does NOT mean that you
do not have to pay. I have distributed the program in a
completely uncrippled state, and there are no nagging messages.
I am relying on users showing good faith and playing fair.
This program took me a long time to develop and test,
and I am not asking for much.

If you find WINLOGO useful and intend to keep using it, I
would suggest a fee of £5 (FIVE British Pounds Sterling).
Please forward the fee to me at the address below.

Payment of this fee confers the following benefits:-
    [a] The satisfaction of being an honest person.
    [b] A clear conscience.
    [c] 30% discount on Registration of any of my Shareware
            programs (see list below).
    [d] Evaluation copies of my Shareware programs and copies
        of my Public Domain programs. There are several, both
        for DOS and Windows. This particular benfit applies ONLY
        if you send a diskette (unformatted), a S.A.E, and
        appropriate postage.

If you feel that WINLOGO is not worth paying for, then I ask you
to please DELETE it from your disks immediately.


DISCLAIMER
----------
The program WINLOGO is supplied AS IS. I do not guarantee
anything other than that it will probably not kill YOU. You
use WINLOGO at your own risk. I accept no responsibility for
any damage or loss, physical, financial, or otherwise, that may
result from the use, or purported use of WINLOGO, for any
purpose whatsoever.

If these terms are not acceptable to you, then you have NO
license to use or test WINLOGO. You should DELETE it from
your disks IMMEDIATELY.


For comments, bug reports, and payment, please contact;

Dr. A. Olowofoyeku
268 Horwood,
Newcastle,
Staffs ST5 5BQ
England, U.K.

Email : [e-mail]1


PRODUCTS
--------
Below are a list of other programs which you can obtain from me;

Shareware;
---------
[1] Windows Command Line Processor (WCL) :-
    This is a command line interface for Windows 3.0 and 3.1.
    It simulates the infamous DOS "C:>" prompt, from WITHIN
    Windows, and also duplicates most of the internal DOS
    commands. This is a FULL Windows program, and you get a
    prompt from which commands can be typed, just as under
    DOS. You can run any DOS or Windows program from this prompt,
    while at the same time having Program Manager in view for
    clicking on other programs with the mouse.

    WCL supports batch commands in Windows, and directory aliases.
    Other commands include COPY, DELETE, RENAME, MKDIR, RMDIR, DIR,
    TYPE, MORE, PRINT, CONCAT, TIME, DATE, HIDE, UNHIDE, TYPE-WRITE,
    FREE, SHELL, etc., and a host of others. Many of the commands
    behave exactly like their DOS counterparts, except that you do
    all this WITHIN Windows. The WCL window is just tucked away in a
    corner of the Windows desktop, and you can switch to it just by
    clicking on any part of it.

    With WCL, you may never need to invoke the "MSDOS PROMPT" again,
    and for basic functions like file copying, deleting, and renaming,
    creating, deleting and renaming directories, setting the system
    date or time, you will not need to load the file manager. This is
    a great program!

    [2] AUTO-CONFIG :-
    This is a DOS based automatic system configuration program. It
    manages multiple AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS for you, and
    whenever you need to change the system configuration in order to
    run a particular application, or whatever, all you need do is
    select from a menu, and AUTO-CONFIG will do the rest - update
    your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files with the new configuration
    AND reboot the computer. The program has a built in Editor to
    facilitate editing or creation of the different configurations.
    Every one needs this program!

    [3] KWIKMENU :-
    This is a DOS based Hard Disk Menu program. It features full mouse
    control, passwords, a file manager, and a file link utility which
    links data files to the applications that created them. You can
    have an unlimited number of menu items. KWIKMENU can swap itself
    to Extended or Expanded memory, or to the hard disk, when running
    a menu item. In these cases, it uses only 6.5k of conventional
    memory. KWIKMENU is also very fast (especially when it swaps to
    Extended or Expanded memory), leaving most of the competition
    trailing far behind, hence, its name. Highly recommended!

Public Domain
-------------
    [1] METRIX :-
    This is a program which converts from Metric to Imperial
    measurements, and vice versa. e.g., Metres to Feet, Kilograms
    to Stones, etc. About 16 conversions are built into the program.
    There is a DOS version and a Windows version. The DOS version
    allows you to create your own conversion tables. I have not yet
    built this feature into the Windows version, and I may never do
    so.

    [2] SIMPLE-EDITOR :-
    This is a DOS based Text Editor for editing ASCII files of up
    to 64k. The keystrokes are Wordstar(tm) compatible. This is the
    same editor that it built into AUTO-CONFIG (see above).

    [3] TXT2TPAS :-
    This is a DOS based program that converts the contents of an
    ASCII file into Turbo Pascal string arrays. This is useful for
    producing help files, taking the tedium out of multiple "writeln"
    statements, etc. All you need do is put all the required information
    into an ascii file, run TXT2TPAS, and you are presented with a .PAS
    file, which is ready to compile, with the text in the file converted
    into the required Turbo Pascal data structures (either a String
    Array, a pointer to a String Array, or a Turbo Pascal Object Type).
    The resulting code will compile without fuss 100% of the time, both
    under Turbo Pascal v6.0 and with minor editing, Turbo Pascal for
    Windows too. You can then edit the code to your heart's content.

    [4] WINDEZIP :-
    This is an Unzip program for Windows 3.0/3.1. It extracts files
    from within a ZIP archive created with PKZIP.It was converted to
    Windows from a DOS version the Turbo Pascal source code for which
    was released into the public domain by its original authors. I
    converted the code to compile under Turbo Pascal for Windows and
    changed the user interface for the DOS version to an interactive.
    one. It will compile under Turbo Pascal 6.0 (or 5.5) for Dos, and
    Turbo Pascal for Windows, if a single conditional compilation
    directive is turned on or off. The source code is supplied as well.
    The program is VERY slow because of the original extraction
    algorithms, most of which I cannot understand. Thus I could not
    optimise it beyond changing a bubble sort in the orignal implemen-
    tation to a quick sort. If any one can improve the performance, I
    should like to see their code.

    NOTE: My code may contain bugs. Many things I did were work arounds
    to persuade the code to compile under Windows, and to get around the
    (odd?) decision of the original authors to use their own dynamic
    memory management routines instead of the ones in the run time
    library. However, I have been using the DOS and Windows compilations
    without any problems so far.

    The original code is well commented, and I also have endeavoured to
    explain what I was doing at various places. If we circulate this code
    well enough, we may eventually be able to get something that rivals
    the great PKUNZIP in performance.

    [5] FOYEH UTILITIES :-
    This is a host of small and basic DOS based utilities.