Computer Installation Guide - Dragon Clan Series

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GRABBER(tm) Version 3.98 Shareware Issue ---------------------- The Screen Capture Program for MS-DOS and IBM PC Compatibles DOCUMENTATION AND TECHNICAL NOTES August 1, 1995 Copyright 1987-1995 by Gerald A. Monroe All rights reserved. +-------------------------------------------------+ | Although they are shareware, GRABBER and this | | documentation file are copyrighted. They are | | not in the public domain and they are not | | "freeware." Please consult page 6 of the | | REGISTER.DOC file for important copyright | | information and license provisions. All use, | | copying or distribution of GRABBER.EXE or | | this document is governed by the terms and | | conditions of the Shareware License contained | | in the REGISTER.DOC file. | +-------------------------------------------------+ Thank you for your interest in the GRABBER(tm) screen capture system! The GRABBER package is being marketed in this special form as shareware. This means you have the opportunity to use and evaluate it for 30 days before you decide whether to buy. If you continue to use GRABBER.EXE, any of its "offspring" programs, or any of the other programs in the GRABBER package beyond such 30-day period, then you are re- quired to send your registration fee to the publisher according to the instructions in the REGISTER.DOC file. When you register, you will receive a copy of the latest release of the registered GRABBER package that you order. You may not continue using GRABBER beyond such 30-day period without registering. For registration instructions and a complete statement of your license to use this software, please consult the REGISTER.DOC file. (IBM and PC are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. MS-DOS and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other trademarks referenced herein are the properties of their respective owners.) Table of Contents Overview of GRABBER.EXE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 System Requirements for GRABBER.EXE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Types of Screens that GRABBER.EXE Can Capture . . . . . . . . 4 Standard Video Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 "Tweaked" Standard Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Super-VGA Graphics Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 How to Install GRABBER.EXE in Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 How to Capture the Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Ascending Two-Tone Chirp Indicates a Successful Capture . . . 7 Three Low-Pitched Beeps Indicate a File System Error . . . . 8 One Low-Pitched Beep Indicates an Unrecognized Video Mode . . 8 Changing the Destination Drive or Directory . . . . . . . . . 9 Configuring GRABBER.EXE for Your Super-VGA Adapter . . . . . 9 Tips on Capturing from Game Programs with GRABBER.EXE . . . . 10 Configuration Options for GRABBER.EXE . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 INT=nn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 INT=OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 PROMPT and NOPROMPT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 MOUSE and NOMOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 SOUND and NOSOUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 BATCHCAPTURE and BATCHCAPTURE:filename . . . . . . . . . . 15 NOSWAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 NOEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 NOUMB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 UNLOAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 NOVESA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 How to use .EXE Offspring Files Created by GRABBER.EXE . . . 20 FADEIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 FADEOUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Timed Execution: The /Tn Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Don't Clear Screen on Exit: The /F Option . . . . . . . . 22 Don't Wait for Any Keypress: The /N Option . . . . . . . 23 Keylist Operation: The /K Option . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Displaying .EXE Offspring Containing Super-VGA Graphics . 27 Displaying .EXE Offspring on Someone Else's Computer . . . 29 Using GRABBER.EXE With Microsoft Windows . . . . . . . . . . 31 Changing GRABBER.EXE's Hotkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Testing Your VESA Video BIOS Compatibility . . . . . . . . . 33 Calling GRABBER.EXE From Your Own Software . . . . . . . . . 35 How to Contact the Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Hotkey parameter code table no. 1 of 2 . . . . . . . Appendix A Hotkey parameter code table no. 2 of 2 . . . . . . . Appendix B GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 3 of 38 1. Overview of GRABBER.EXE GRABBER.EXE is a screen capture program. If you are running the MS-DOS operating system, GRABBER.EXE can take a picture of almost any image on your screen and save it permanently to a disk file. GRABBER.EXE saves each picture to an ordinary MS-DOS executable program file with an ".EXE" filename extension. Because of this, you can conveniently go back and redisplay the picture later, simply by entering the name of the file to which the picture was saved. The ".EXE" image files created by GRABBER.EXE will be referred to throughout this documentation as "offspring" files. GRABBER.EXE is a memory-resident program, also known as a "terminate-and-stay-resident" program, or "TSR." After you start GRABBER.EXE, it waits in the background while you continue to run other programs. To capture the image on the screen, press the key combination (the "hotkey") which GRABBER.EXE reserves for itself. 2. System Requirements for GRABBER.EXE To use GRABBER.EXE, you will need the following: - An IBM-PC, PC-XT, PC-AT, PS/1, PS/2, or 100% compatible computer. - At least one "local" floppy disk drive or hard disk drive. - MS-DOS, or IBM PC-DOS, Version 3.0 or later. - A VGA ("Video Graphics Array") video adapter that is 100% compatible with the original IBM VGA at the hardware register level. You can use GRABBER.EXE with either a color or monochrome display screen. Even though GRABBER.EXE can capture screens only from VGA and Super-VGA display adapters, in some cases the offspring images that it creates can be redisplayed on a variety of other display adapter types, such as EGA, CGA, and Monochrome Display Adapters. See Section 13.8 for more information. GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 4 of 38 3. Types of Screens that GRABBER.EXE Can Capture GRABBER.EXE is designed to capture screens from programs that run in "real mode" or "virtual 8086" mode under MS-DOS, on systems that have a VGA-compatible display adapter. GRABBER.EXE can capture character-based text images up to 132 columns by 60 rows. GRABBER.EXE also captures all of the standard graphics video modes displayable by a VGA display adapter. GRABBER.EXE is NOT designed to capture screens from Microsoft Windows. (With the right video driver and a little luck, however, you might be able to get GRABBER.EXE to capture Windows screens. See Section 14.) 3.1 Standard Video Modes The following is a list of all of the IBM-defined "standard" video modes. GRABBER.EXE is designed to work with all of them. Mode Type X/Y Image No. of No. of Mode Resolution Colors ----- -------- -------------------- ------ 00 text 40 x 25 characters 2 01 text 40 x 25 characters 16 02 text 80+ x 25+ characters 2 03 text 80+ x 25+ characters 16 07 text 80+ x 25+ characters 2 04 graphics 320 x 200 pixels 4 05 graphics 320 x 200 pixels 2 06 graphics 640 x 200 pixels 2 13 graphics 320 x 200 pixels 16 14 graphics 640 x 200 pixels 16 15 graphics 640 x 350 pixels 2 16 graphics 640 x 350 pixels 16 17 graphics 640 x 480 pixels 2 18 graphics 640 x 480 pixels 16 19 graphics 320 x 200 pixels 256 3.2 "Tweaked" Standard Modes Some programs use special graphics screen modes which are similar to one of the standard graphics modes for VGA, but which are altered for increased resolution or color depth by making GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 5 of 38 special adjustments to the video adapter registers. Examples include the 320 x 240 x 256-color mode and the 720 x 540 x 16- color mode. These are not "standard" modes, and GRABBER.EXE cannot capture them. However, GRPCX.EXE probably can. (GRPCX.EXE is a separate memory-resident screen capture module included in the GRABBER(tm) package. It captures screens -- even text screens -- directly to .PCX graphics files. See GRPCX.DOC for more information.) 3.3 Super-VGA Graphics Modes In addition to the graphics modes listed in Section 3.1, GRABBER.EXE can also capture the following high-resolution graphics modes under MS-DOS, if your system is equipped with one of certain common "Super-VGA" graphics adapters: Mode Type X/Y Image No. of No.* of Mode Resolution Colors ----- -------- -------------------- ------ graphics 640 x 400 pixels 256 ) graphics 640 x 480 pixels 256 vary) graphics 800 x 600 pixels 16 by ) graphics 800 x 600 pixels 256 card) graphics 1,024 x 768 pixels 16 mfg.) graphics 1,024 x 768 pixels 256 ) graphics 1,280 x 1,024 pixels 16 graphics 1,280 x 1,024 pixels 256 GRABBER.EXE should be able to capture these high-resolution "Super-VGA" graphics modes on any video system which is fully compatible with the VESA Video BIOS Extension, sometimes called the VESA "VBE." (To capture 1,280 x 1,024 graphics screens, a VESA VBE is required.) In addition, GRABBER.EXE should be able to capture these modes from certain video adapters even if they are not fully compatible with the VESA VBE. This depends on the identity of the VGA controller chip that is used by the video adapter, and NOT on the adapter's brand name or manufacturer name. Supported VGA controller chips include the following: - ATI VGA Wonder - Western Digital - Video Seven - Tseng Laboratories - Headland Technologies - Oak Technology - Paradise - Trident Systems GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 6 of 38 If you want to capture Super-VGA graphics, and your system does not fully support the VESA VBE, then you must tell GRABBER.EXE which kind of video adapter is installed in your system. To check whether your current configuration supports the VESA VBE, use the CHKVBE.EXE program described in Section 16. If CHKVBE.EXE reports that the VESA VBE is not supported, see Section 10 for instructions on how to configure GRABBER.EXE for your particular type of Super-VGA hardware. 4. How to Install GRABBER.EXE in Memory To use GRABBER.EXE, load it into your computer's memory by entering a command that follows this example: GRABBER x:\pathname In this example, "x:" indicates the drive letter for the drive where GRABBER.EXE should place the offspring files that it creates. You should use "C:" if you have a single-hard disk system. In this example, "\pathname" indicates the subdirectory on drive "x:" where GRABBER.EXE should place the offspring files that it creates. Note that GRABBER.EXE will not stay resident in memory (and you will not be able to capture screens) until you tell GRABBER.EXE where to place its offspring files, using the syntax shown above. What if you install GRABBER.EXE in memory by using the above syntax, but you change your mind about where to store offspring files? This is not a problem. At any time, you can simply re- enter the GRABBER command, substituting the new drive and subdirectory location in place of your original "x:\pathname" parameter. When you install GRABBER.EXE in memory, it will display a start-up message in a blue box in the corner of your screen. The start-up box is followed by a several lines of information about the way GRABBER.EXE is currently configured to run on your system. If you want to change this configuration, you can do so at the time you install GRABBER.EXE in memory by adding additional parameters on the command line after your "x:\pathname" parameter, or you can change it after GRABBER.EXE is already installed. See Section 12 for more information about this. GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 7 of 38 5. How to Capture the Screen To capture the screen, press GRABBER.EXE's current hotkey combination, as listed on the start-up information screen. GRABBER.EXE's default hotkey is [Ctrl =] (i.e., press and hold the [Ctrl] key, then press the equal sign [=] key, then release both keys). If you want to, you can change GRABBER.EXE's hotkey to some combination other than [Ctrl =]. See Section 15 for instructions. After you press the hotkey, you will hear a short, high- pitched beep from your computer speaker, and a filename prompt will appear in the upper left corner of your screen. GRABBER.EXE is waiting for you to enter a name for the offspring file to which the current screen image will be saved. GRABBER.EXE will suggest a default filename for you. If you want to use the suggested default filename, just press [Enter]. If you want to use a different filename, type the new name and press [Enter]. If you want to cancel the screen capture entirely, press [Esc] until the filename prompt disappears from the screen. (GRABBER.EXE will not allow you to change the extension of the offspring file name from ".EXE" to something else. The filename extension must always be ".EXE" so that MS-DOS will recognize the offspring file as an executable program and allow you to view it later.) After you press [Enter], the filename prompt disappears from the screen, and GRABBER.EXE goes to work, saving the current screen image to an offspring file which has the name you entered. The file will be located in the "Drive/path for .EXE files" as listed in the start-up information screen. 6. Ascending Two-Tone Chirp Indicates a Successful Screen Capture If you hear an ascending, two-tone chirp from your computer's speaker, it means that GRABBER.EXE has successfully completed the screen capture, and the offspring file containing the current screen image is located in the "Drive/path for .EXE files." GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 8 of 38 7. Three Low-Pitched Beeps Indicate a File System Error If you hear three low-pitched beeps from your speaker, it means that no offspring file was created. GRABBER.EXE was unable to complete the screen capture for one of the following reasons. Correct the error condition and try to capture the screen again. Possible errors include: - The destination disk is write-protected. - The destination disk is full. - The destination disk has no more directory entries available. - The destination disk has a critical surface defect. - The door is open on the destination disk drive, or the drive is otherwise indicating a "not ready" status. - The "FILES=" command in your CONFIG.SYS file does not specify enough files; increase the number and reboot your computer. - The GRABBER.EXE file was deleted or moved to a different location after you installed it in memory. After installing GRABBER.EXE in memory, DO NOT delete the GRABBER.EXE file or move it to another location on your disk. The program will be disabled until you uninstall it from memory (see Section 12.10) and re-install it (see Section 4), or until you move the GRABBER.EXE file back to the drive and directory where it was located when you initially installed it in memory. 8. One Low-Pitched Beep Indicates an Unrecognized Video Mode If you hear one low-pitched beep from your computer's speaker when you press the hotkey, it means that no offspring file was created. GRABBER.EXE could not recognize the video mode in which the screen is currently running, and did not know the pixel dimensions of the image or how many different colors it contains. In general, this will happen if you are trying to capture a Super-VGA image (see Section 3.3), and your system is not VESA VBE-compatible or you have not told GRABBER.EXE what type of VGA controller chip is used by your video adapter. GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 9 of 38 9. Changing the Destination Drive or Directory To change the drive or directory where GRABBER.EXE deposits offspring files, enter another GRABBER.EXE command like the one described in Section 4. From that point forward, GRABBER.EXE will place offspring files in the new destination you specify. 10. Configuring GRABBER.EXE for Your Super-VGA Adapter You should read this section if your system is not fully compatible with the VESA VBE. (To check whether it is, run the CHKVBE.EXE utility.) If it is not, this section describes the steps you need to take to allow GRABBER.EXE to capture Super-VGA graphics images like the types listed in Section 3.3. To configure GRABBER.EXE to work with your Super-VGA graphics, include one of the following "@chiptype" parameters on the GRABBER.EXE command line. For example: GRABBER [other options] @CHIPTYPE These parameters can be used when you initially install GRABBER.EXE in memory, or after it is already resident in memory. The "@chiptype" parameters and the types of Super-VGA controller chips with which they are designed to work, are as follows: "@chiptype" Parameter Use With These Super-VGA Controller Chips ----------- ----------------------------------------- @ATI ATI Technologies "VGA Wonder" chips @VIDEO7 Video Seven chips @HEADLAND Headland Technologies chips @PARADISE Paradise PVGA chips @WD Western Digital WD90C00 chips @TSENG3 Tseng Laboratories ET-3000 chips @TSENG4 Tseng Laboratories ET-4000 chips @STB4 STB Systems adapaters using the ET-4000 chip @OAK Oak Technology OTI-067 chips @TRIDENT Trident Systems chips Frequently, the type of Super-VGA controller chip will match the brand name of the video adapter itself. For example, most ATI, Video Seven and Trident brand-name adapters have matching chipset names. However, be aware that this is not always true. GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 10 of 38 Many brand-name adapters use chipsets that were manufactured by some other company. Such manufacturers (for example: STB, Orchid, Genoa and Everex) frequently produce Super-VGA adapters which include chipsets from other sources. The only way to be sure which controller chip is used by your Super-VGA adapter is to examine the adapter itself, and to check the name printed on top of the VGA logic chip. (Usually, the Super-VGA is a card in one of your computer's expansion slots, but sometimes it is a section of the main system board itself.) Another way to determine which of the "@chiptype" parameters may work with your Super-VGA adapter is by trial-and-error. If one setting does not work properly, try the next setting in the list. If you attempt to capture a Super-VGA graphic image and hear one single low-pitched beep, it means that GRABBER.EXE does not recognize or is not configured to capture the specific display mode in which the adapter is currently operating. This will happen if your video system is not VESA-compatible and you have not configured GRABBER.EXE for the correct type of Super-VGA controller chip. You should also note that GRABBER.EXE cannot capture some 16- color Super-VGA images even though they are of common resolutions. An example is ATI's video mode numbered 65h (used for 1024 x 768 x 16 on older VGA Wonder cards). GRABBER.EXE only captures 16-color modes which conform to the IBM-standard "four- plane planar" video memory organization scheme, such as the one used by the standard 640 x 350 x 16 graphics mode. 16-color modes which do not conform to the "four-plane planar" memory scheme cannot be captured by GRABBER.EXE, but such modes are not common, so this limitation will probably not affect you. 11. Tips on Capturing from Game Programs with GRABBER.EXE Game programs using animated graphics can be a challenge for GRABBER.EXE to capture reliably. You may find a game program from which GRABBER.EXE seems unable to capture accurate offspring images, or any images at all. Here are some suggestions that may help solve the problem: - Some games use "tweaked" video modes which GRABBER.EXE cannot capture correctly (see Section 3.2), but which GRPCX.EXE can capture with no problem. A common symptom of GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 11 of 38 this is an offspring file which looks scrambled, or duplicates a miniature form of the image several times across the screen, or is totally empty. If you have a VGA- compatible system, try using the GRPCX.EXE program instead. - Some games put the computer into what is called "protected mode." GRABBER.EXE may work with some protected-mode programs, even though it is not specifically designed for protected-mode compatibility. However, it may be necessary to load GRABBER.EXE using the INT=OFF command-line switch to make it work with protected-mode programs. See Section 12.2 for a description of the INT=OFF switch. - In some games, GRABBER.EXE's filename prompts will leave behind garbage on the screen, or cause improper operation of the game after the prompt is cleared. Try using the NOPROMPT option, which is described below in Section 12.3. - Some games require complete control over the keyboard, and will not let you use the keyboard to communicate with GRABBER.EXE. If you cannot capture the screen using your keyboard, try using your mouse buttons to capture the screen instead. See the MOUSE option, which is described below in Section 12.4. - You may have to try more than once to capture a game screen successfully. If a game screen turns out scrambled, it may be because the game was in the middle of a timing-sensitive operation at the instant you pressed GRABBER.EXE's hotkey. 12. Configuration Options for GRABBER.EXE This section describes the command-line switches recognized by GRABBER.EXE. A "command line switch" is a word which you type on the command line after the GRABBER command itself. (For example: "GRABBER MOUSE NOSOUND". The words "mouse" and "nosound" are command-line switches.) These switches allow you to modify the way GRABBER.EXE performs certain operations. For example, turning beep sounds on and off, or enabling the use of the mouse buttons to capture the screen, are just two of the many functions which these command line switches allow you to control. GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 12 of 38 All of the command line switches described in this section may be used to configure GRABBER.EXE's operation when you initially install the program in memory. For example: GRABBER x:\pathname {COMMAND LINE SWITCHES} In addition, after GRABBER.EXE is installed, you may continue to use most of these switches to communicate with the copy that is resident in memory, and reconfigure its operations on the fly. Unless the description states otherwise, that switch may be used both when you initially install GRABBER.EXE in memory, and to reconfigure its operation after the program is already resident. If a particular switch is valid only when you initially load GRABBER.EXE, that fact will be indicated below. A single command line may contain as many switch options as you desire, in any order, in either uppercase or lowercase letters. 12.1 Option: INT=nn This switch tells GRABBER.EXE to try to use a particular block of interrupt vector numbers for relocating the IRQ0-IRQ7 hardware interrupts while it is resident in memory. The "nn" in the string represents a two-digit hexadecimal number, which may be any one of the following: D8, D0, C8, C0, B8, B0, A8, A0, 98, 90, 88, 80, or 78. The program will try to use the eight consecutive interrupt vector numbers beginning with the number you specify as "nn". (For example: INT=78 tells the program to try allocating interrupts 78 hex through 7F hex, while INT=B0 instructs the program to try allocating interrupts B0 hex through B7 hex.) GRABBER.EXE will ignore your INT=nn request, and will not redirect the IRQ0-IRQ7 hardware interrupts at all, if either of the following is true: (1) the "nn" number you specify is not included in the list above; or (2) the program detects a possibility that one or more of the eight interrupt numbers in the block starting with "nn" might already be in use by some other software in your system. If you do not specify the INT=nn option, and you do not specify the INT=OFF option (described in Section 12.2), then GRABBER.EXE will automatically search for a block of eight consecutive interrupts beginning with one of the interrupt GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 13 of 38 numbers in the above list (searching in the order listed above), and will allocate the first free block it finds. The INT=nn option is valid only when you are initially installing GRABBER.EXE in memory. If you use it after the program is already resident, it will be ignored. 12.2 Option: INT=OFF This switch tells GRABBER.EXE not to attempt to redirect the IRQ0-IRQ7 hardware interrupts to any other block of interrupt numbers from where the program originally finds them. On most PC's, the IRQ0-IRQ7 hardware interrupts are almost always mapped to the interrupt vector numbers 08 hex through 0F hex. Using the INT=OFF option ensures that the program will not attempt to disturb this mapping arrangement. If your computer stops responding at all (it "hangs") or shows other unexplained behavior when GRABBER.EXE is loaded in memory, you should try using this INT=OFF option on the command line to solve the problem. The INT=OFF option is valid only when you are initially installing GRABBER.EXE in memory. If you use it after the program is already resident, it will be ignored. 12.3 Options: PROMPT and NOPROMPT These switches tell GRABBER.EXE whether it should ask you to enter a name for each offspring file before it is created ("PROMPT"), or instead, whether each offspring file should automatically be assigned a name by the screen capture program ("NOPROMPT"). The default setting for this option is PROMPT (i.e., prompts enabled). The command GRABBER NOPROMPT can be used to turn off the prompts. They will then remain disabled until the next GRABBER PROMPT command is issued. While the filename prompt function is disabled with the NOPROMPT switch, GRABBER.EXE automatically assigns a name to each offspring file it creates. GRABBER.EXE tries to automatically detect the name of the program that is running when you tell it to capture the screen. If it is able to detect the program's name, it takes the first six characters of that name and adds: (1) a two-digit number from "00" through "99", and (ii) a file- GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 14 of 38 name extension of ".EXE". This is the name that will be assigned to the offspring file. If GRABBER.EXE detects that you are sitting at the DOS prompt when you request a screen capture, it will name the captured files MSDOS00.EXE, MSDOS01.EXE, and so forth. If GRABBER.EXE is unable to detect the name of the currently running program, it will assign the names SCREEN00.EXE, SCREEN01.EXE, and so forth. Some foreground applications which operate in graphic modes can be very sensitive to interruptions by underlying screen capture programs. Because of this, your filename prompts may sometimes appear in a distorted form on your screen when the display is running in a graphics mode. There is no way to predict when such distortion might occur, and nothing can be done about it, except to temporarily disable the filename prompts with the NOPROMPT switch. Even though a filename prompt may appear distorted, GRABBER.EXE is not aware of the distortion, and still waits for you to enter a filename at the keyboard or to cancel the operation by pressing [Esc]. 12.4 Options: MOUSE and NOMOUSE The MOUSE switch tells GRABBER.EXE to pay attention to the status of your mouse buttons, and to capture the screen when both the left and right buttons are depressed for more than about one second. This "mouse hotkey" function is supported only if your mouse is running under the control of a Microsoft-compatible mouse driver, as most mice do. The default setting for this option is NOMOUSE (i.e., no mouse support). For example, the command GRABBER MOUSE can be used to turn it on. The mouse hotkey will then remain enabled until the command GRABBER NOMOUSE is issued. To capture a screen, press and hold both the left and right mouse buttons for about one or two seconds. This has the same effect as pressing the current hotkey combination at the keyboard, and the filename prompt will appear at the top of the screen (if the prompt switch is in effect). If you wish, you may now use the keyboard to enter a filename. You may also use the mouse buttons to proceed with the screen capture or to cancel. The left button acts in the same way as your keyboard's [Enter] key, and the right button acts like your [Esc] key. GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 15 of 38 When used together with the INT=OFF option, the MOUSE option may allow you to capture screens from within applications which completely take over the keyboard hardware and do not allow software loaded before them in memory (like GRABBER.EXE) to be informed about what is happening on the keyboard. Many game programs behave this way, among others. 12.5 Options: SOUND and NOSOUND These switches tell GRABBER.EXE whether it should beep the computer's speaker ("SOUND"), or remain silent ("NOSOUND"), when the filename prompt is displayed and when a screen capture operation is successfully completed. The default setting is SOUND (i.e., sounds enabled). For example, the command GRABBER NOSOUND can be used to silence the program. The beep sounds will then remain disabled until the next GRABBER SOUND command is issued. Please note that GRABBER.EXE also makes three low-pitched beep sounds whenever it is unable to capture a screen because of a disk or file system error (see Section 7), and one low-pitched beep sound whenever it is unable to capture a screen because of an unrecognized video mode (see Section 8). Using the NOSOUND switch does not disable these error indicators. 12.6 Options: BATCHCAPTURE and BATCHCAPTURE:filename These options tell a memory-resident copy of GRABBER.EXE to capture the current screen immediately. This is called a "batch capture" because the most useful way to use these options is in a batch file, when you want to capture the screen without having to stop and press a hotkey. The BATCHCAPTURE options never cause a filename prompt to appear, even if the filename prompt function is otherwise enabled for screens captured in the usual way by pressing the hotkey. If you use "BATCHCAPTURE" by itself, the captured screen will be given a file name according to GRABBER.EXE's default "serial number" scheme (see Section 12.3). If you use "BATCHCAPTURE:" followed by a file name, the image will be captured to a file with the name you specify. The "filename" parameter may be any length, and may optionally include a drive or directory path specification. For example: GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 16 of 38 GRABBER BATCHCAPTURE:C:\PICTURES\TESTPIC.EXE If the batch capture is completed successfully, GRABBER.EXE passes an errorlevel of zero back to the batch file which issued the batchcapture command. If any error occurs, an errorlevel of 1 is returned. Both BATCHCAPTURE options may be used only after GRABBER.EXE has been installed in memory. Also, any other configuration options which are specified on the same command line as a BATCHCAPTURE option will be ignored. 12.7 Option: NOSWAP This switch tells GRABBER.EXE not to "swap" certain sensitive regions of the MS-DOS kernel out of memory during a screen capture operation. By default, the program will perform this swapping during a screen capture operation in order to eliminate delays between the time you press the hotkey and the time the program actually begins capturing the screen image. On rare occasions, however, this swapping activity may lead to a system crash. If your system hangs when you request the program to capture the screen, try using the NOSWAP option on the command line. The NOSWAP option is valid only when you are initially installing GRABBER.EXE in memory. If you use it after GRABBER.EXE is already resident, it will be ignored. 12.8 Option: NOEMS The NOEMS option prevents GRABBER.EXE from using EMS expanded memory, such as the kind provided by the EMM386.EXE program supplied with DOS, the QEMM and 386^Max programs, and by certain memory-expansion boards. If at least 48Kb of EMS expanded memory is available when you initially install GRABBER.EXE in memory, then unless you specify this option, GRABBER.EXE will automati- cally allocate that amount of expanded memory to itself, and use the expanded memory to store most of its program buffers. If GRABBER.EXE is able to use EMS expanded memory, then it will occupy only about 5,000 bytes of your system's memory below the 1-megabyte DOS threshold ("DOS memory"). However, if no EMS expanded memory is available (and no UMBs are available either -- see Section 12.9), then GRABBER.EXE will occupy about 20,000 GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 17 of 38 bytes of DOS memory. The NOEMS option is not recommended unless, in contrast to the rest of us, you have DOS memory to burn and need to conserve expanded memory space for other programs. The NOEMS option is valid only when you are initially install- ing GRABBER.EXE in memory, If you use it after the program is already resident, it will be ignored. Special note for QEMM users: The Quarterdeck Expanded Memory Manager (QEMM) Versions 6.0 and later include a special feature called "Stealth" ROM management, which is incompatible with GRABBER.EXE. If GRABBER.EXE detects that QEMM Stealth has remapped your video BIOS segment (which is usually the segment at C0000h, but it can also be elsewhere), then GRABBER.EXE program will automatically disable EMS expanded memory usage as though you had included the NOEMS option on the command line. However, in rare situations, GRABBER.EXE might be unable to detect that QEMM Stealth has remapped your video BIOS segment. This may be the case if your system hangs when you attempt to capture the screen. To cure this problem, try using the NOEMS option when you initially install GRABBER.EXE in memory. You can still take advantage of GRABBER.EXE's EMS expanded memory capability as long as your video BIOS segment is not one of the segments that has been remapped by QEMM Stealth. For instructions on excluding the video BIOS segment from Stealth coverage, consult the description of the "XST:" option in your QEMM manual. 12.9 Option: NOUMB The NOUMB option prevents GRABBER.EXE from using upper memory blocks (UMBs) to store its program buffers. UMBs are regions of DOS memory above the 640Kb "conventional memory" limit and below the 1-megabyte threshold that can be enabled with DOS versions 5.0 and later, on computers with 80386 or later processors. When you initially install GRABBER.EXE in memory, it first looks for 48Kb of EMS expanded memory in which to store its program buffers, as described above in Section 12.8. If a 48Kb block of EMS expanded memory is not available (or if you specified the NOEMS option), then GRABBER.EXE will try to allocate a UMB of 40Kb in which to store its program buffers. If one is available, GRABBER.EXE will reserve it for itself unless you tell it otherwise using this option. As noted above, GRABBER.EXE requires only about 5,000 bytes of conventional DOS memory if a 48Kb block of EMS expanded memory or a 40Kb UMB is GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 18 of 38 available at installation time. Otherwise, GRABBER.EXE requires about 20,000 bytes of conventional DOS memory. The NOUMB option is valid only when you are initially install- ing GRABBER.EXE in memory. If you use it after the program is already resident, it will be ignored. 12.10 Option: UNLOAD The UNLOAD switch tells GRABBER.EXE to try to remove itself from your computer's memory if it is already installed. If removal is successful, then a message is displayed at the upper left corner of your screen stating that GRABBER.EXE is not resident in memory, and all memory that GRABBER.EXE was occupying will be released and made available for other programs. This includes any conventional DOS memory, plus any EMS expanded memory or upper memory block (UMB) which GRABBER.EXE may have been using as temporary workspace. Also, if the resident copy of GRABBER.EXE was redirecting the IRQ0-IRQ7 hardware interrupts to somewhere other than their usual location (see Section 12.1), the UNLOAD option causes these interrupts to be restored to their original locations. GRABBER.EXE cannot be removed from memory if, after you initially installed it, you then loaded other memory-resident software which is activated by any of the same hardware or software interrupts which GRABBER.EXE uses. Attempting to use the UNLOAD option under such circumstances will not work, and a message to this effect will be displayed. You should always be able to unload GRABBER.EXE from memory if it was the most recent memory-resident program installed. 12.11 Option: NOVESA This option tells GRABBER.EXE not to use VESA VBE functions, even if they are available on your system. (Some VESA VBE implementations are defective and cannot be relied on by GRABBER.EXE to capture screens. For more information, refer to Section 16.) GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 19 of 38 12.12 Options: @ATI, @VIDEO7, @HEADLAND, @PARADISE, @WD, @TSENG3, @TSENG4, @STB4, @OAK, @TRIDENT These options tell the screen capture program what kind of Super-VGA controller chip is used by your video adapter. You will need to use one of these if (1) you wish to capture Super- VGA graphic images, and (2) your system is not compatible with the VESA VBE. See Section 10 for more information. GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 20 of 38 13. How to use .EXE Offspring Files Created by GRABBER.EXE Each .EXE offspring file created by GRABBER.EXE is a standalone MS-DOS executable program containing two parts: (1) the image you captured, plus (2) a proprietary program which redisplays the captured image. To view the image contained within an .EXE offspring file, simply run the offspring file like any other executable program. You don't need any other software to redisplay the image. To remove the image from the screen, simply press any key. The image will disappear, and the .EXE offspring program will exit back to the DOS prompt or to the batch file which called it. Below are described four different options you can use to alter the way in which your offspring images leave the screen when they are done. Used alone or in combination with each other, these options can increase an .EXE offspring file's usefulness, especially if you know how to use batch files with DOS. For on-screen help and other useful information with any GRABBER.EXE offspring image file, include the /? switch on the offspring's command line. For example: SCREEN00 /? 13.1 The "FADEIN" Option This option works only on VGA systems. It does not work when a an .EXE offspring file is displayed on a CGA, EGA or Hercules monochrome system. If you are displaying an .EXE offspring image on a VGA- compatible system, you can cause the image to "fade in" from blackness by including the fadein switch on the offspring command line. For example: SCREEN00 FADEIN The fadein switch has the effect of displaying the image as though the brightness control on the monitor is being gradually turned up from total blackness to its actual current setting. GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 21 of 38 13.2 The "FADEOUT" Option This option works only on VGA systems. It does not work when an .EXE offspring file is displayed on a CGA, EGA or Hercules monochrome system. As a complement to the fadein option, you can cause the image to "fade out" to blackness by including the fadeout keyword on the offspring command line. For example: SCREEN00 FADEOUT The fadeout switch has the effect of removing the offspring image from the screen as though the brightness control on the monitor is being gradually turned down from its actual current setting to total blackness. The fadeout switch can be combined with the fadein switch, and with all other offspring options described in this Section 13, except /F and /N. If you combine the fadeout switch with either of the /F or /N switches, then the fadeout switch will be ignored. 13.3 Timed Execution: The /Tn Option If you have an .EXE offspring file which you want to display on your screen only for a certain length of time, and you don't want to press a key to make it go away, use the "/Tn" switch on the offspring command line. For example: SCREEN00 /Tn The "n" character represents a time value, in seconds, which you specify. The "n" value may be any positive integer between 1 and 3600. (3,600 seconds equals exactly one hour.) For example, if you use the command SCREEN00 /T20, then the offspring image will be displayed on your screen for exactly 20 seconds, after which it erases itself and the program exits back to the DOS prompt (or the batch file which called it). If you want to exit the offspring image before "n" seconds have elapsed, you can press [Ctrl-C]. Pressing [Ctrl-C] sends an errorlevel of 255 back to a calling batch file (if the offspring was executed from a batch file). GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 22 of 38 You may combine the /Tn switch together with the /K keylist switch described in Section 13.6. For example: SCREEN00 /T60 /K:123 In this example, the offspring image will remain on the screen until 60 seconds have elapsed, or until the user presses the 1, 2 or 3 key, whichever occurs first. (Pressing [Ctrl-C] will also exit the image with an errorlevel of 255.) If the user presses any key other than [Ctrl-C] or a key specified in the /K keylist, the keystrokes will be ignored. For a complete explanation of the errorlevel effects you can achieve with the keys in the keylist, see the discussion of the /K option in Section 13.6. You may also combine the /Tn switch together with the /F switch described in Section 13.4. If you do this, the image will still wait for "n" seconds, but will not erase itself from the screen (as it normally would) when the offspring program exits back to the DOS prompt or to the batch file which called it. The /Tn switch is especially useful when you want to run a slide show routine on an unattended computer. Try this DOS command: FOR %F IN (SCREEN??.*) DO %F /T5 This command will display every offspring image in the current directory which fits the SCREEN??.* wildcard specification. Each image will be displayed for five seconds, then exit to the next image in the directory. (Note: Within a batch file, you must use %%F instead of %F throughout the above example.) 13.4 Don't Clear Screen on Exit: The /F Option Unless you tell an .EXE offspring program otherwise, it will assume that you want the screen to be cleared completely when you exit the program. However, if you want to exit an offspring program and leave the image intact, use the /F switch when you execute it from the DOS prompt or from your batch file. For example: SCREEN00 /F With character-based text screens, the /F switch can enhance the appearance of a batch-driven slide show or menu system by GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 23 of 38 eliminating the blank screens which appear briefly between the offspring programs being executed by the batch file. The /F switch does not affect how long the image will remain on the screen, or what keypress (if any) will be required to exit the offspring program. The exact method which the offspring program uses to exit will depend on whether you specify any of the other switches described here (i.e. /Tn, /N, /K). All the /F switch does is to prevent the display from being cleared when the offspring program does exit. The /F may be used together with the /Tn switch (see Section 13.3), and with the /N switch (see Section 13.5), and with the /K option (see Section 13.6). 13.5 Don't Wait for Any Keypress: The /N Option Unless you tell an offspring program otherwise, it will assume that you want to wait for some keyboard input before exiting the offspring program and returning to DOS. However, if you want to display the offspring image and then exit immediately back to the DOS prompt or batch file without waiting for any keyboard input, then use the /N switch. For example: SCREEN00 /N There is no need to also specify the /F switch when you use the /N switch. Whenever you use the /N switch, the offspring program automatically assumes that you want the image to remain on the display after the program has exited, and sets the /F switch for you. The /N switch may be used by itself, or with the /Tn switch. However, the /N switch may not be combined with the /K keylist option described in Section 13.6. 13.6 Keylist Operation: The /K Option The format of this switch is: /Kxyz, where "xyz" represents the list of keys that the user can press to exit the offspring image. This format is explained below. Offspring files which you view from a batch file can communicate with the batch file using the "errorlevel" facility built into DOS. This allows you to create offspring screens that GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 24 of 38 interact with the user, by branching control within the batch file based on the user's keyboard response. This method of displaying an offspring file works only when you display it from within a batch file. If you do not know how to create a batch file, or how the errorlevel principle works, then you should consult these topics in your DOS manual before continuing. Let's set up an example. Say you have created an .EXE off- spring image to use as a menu screen on your PC. This image is called MENU.EXE. You want to use this menu to give a user the choice to run one of three different programs. The three sample programs are called: (1) WORDPROC.COM, a word processor; (2) SPREAD.EXE, a spreadsheet program; and (3) CHESS.COM, a game. Let's say your menu.EXE image looks something like this: +------------------+--------------+ | To run this | Press this | | program ... | key ... | +------------------+--------------+ | | | | Word Processor | <1> | | | | | Spreadsheet | <2> | | | | | Chess Game | <3> | | | | +------------------+--------------+ Now, all you need to do is create a batch file (say it's called SHOWMENU.BAT), which looks something like this: GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 25 of 38 Sample batch file SHOWMENU.BAT Line Number 1 :begin 2 @echo off 3 cls 4 menu.exe /K:A B C 5 if errorlevel 255 goto :break_exit 6 if errorlevel 3 goto :run_chess 7 if errorlevel 2 goto :run_spreadsheet 8 if errorlevel 1 goto :run_wordproc 9 :run_chess 10 chess.com 11 goto :begin 12 :run_spreadsheet 13 spread.exe 14 goto :begin 15 :run_wordproc 16 wordproc.com 17 goto :begin 18 :break_exit You are ready to go. Execute SHOWMENU.BAT by entering the command showmenu at the DOS prompt, or by including it as a line (preferably the last line) in your AUTOEXEC.BAT startup file. Lines 2 and 3 of SHOWMENU.BAT clean up the screen in preparation for your menu screen. The action begins at Line 4. At this point, DOS runs your MENU.EXE program, which displays the menu screen. Notice the parameter "/K:A B C" which follows the MENU.EXE command. This is your keylist, and it tells the offspring program which keys can be used to exit the screen. If the user presses other keys, they will be ignored. Note also the order in which the keys are specified. This is very important, because the DOS errorlevel which MENU.EXE will assign to a key is determined by its position in the keylist "A B C". If the user presses the A key, then MENU.EXE ends by sending an errorlevel of 1 back to the batch file. This value will be ignored by Lines 5, 6 and 7 of SHOWMENU.BAT, but Line 8 will pick it up as a signal to branch to the instructions labeled ":RUN_WORDPROC" at Line 15. Following this label is the command "WORDPROC.EXE", which starts up your word processing program. GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 26 of 38 Likewise, if the user presses the B key, then MENU.EXE will send an errorlevel of 2 back to the batch file, because "B" is the second choice in your keylist. Line 7 takes this as a cue to jump down to the instructions beneath ":RUN_SPREADSHEET" at Line 12. Remember one important thing. When you test the errorlevel values in a batch file, follow the example in SHOWMENU.BAT by always testing them in descending order. Start with the highest possible value and continue down to the lowest possible value. Why does SHOWMENU.BAT test for an errorlevel of 255 in the fifth line? This is because there is a always a "back door" exit from an offspring program like MENU.EXE which is running under the control of a keylist. This is done by pressing either [Ctrl C] or [Ctrl Break] while the image is on your screen, both of which produce what is commonly called a "break" signal in your computer. Whenever you press [Ctrl C] or [Ctrl Break], the offspring program always sends an errorlevel of 255 back to your batch file, and exits the screen. Note also, that spaces are used to separate the choices in the keylist in Line 4 of SHOWMENU.BAT. If the user presses the spacebar, it will be ignored. This is one of several keys which .EXE offspring programs reserve for their own use when examining your keylist. You can use these keys to separate your choices for readability, but none can be used to identify a key choice. These "reserved" keys are: the comma [,]; the spacebar; the F key; the colon [:]; the semicolon [;] and the forward slash [/]. Therefore, each of the following ways of specifying a Keylist is identical to the others: - MENU /KABC - MENU /K:a b c - MENU /k A,B,C - MENU /Ka;b;c The .EXE offspring program will function identically in either situation. It doesn't matter whether the /K parameter or the keylist choices are uppercase or lowercase. GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 27 of 38 In addition to any alphabetic key (A through Z) and any numeric key (0 through 9), you may include in your keylist any of the special function keys listed below. Please note that it takes two characters to identify any of the following function keys on your command line, and the first character is always the backward slash [\]. To use this PC key Use this code on in your keylist... the command line -------------------- ------------------- <F1> \1 <F2> \2 <F3> \3 <F4> \4 <F5> \5 <F6> \6 <F7> \7 <F8> \8 <F9> \9 <F10> \0 <Home> \H <PgUp> \P <End> \E <PgDn> \N <Up Arrow> \U <Down Arrow> \D <Left Arrow> \L <Right Arrow> \R <Esc> \X The /K Keylist option may be used with the /Tn option (Section 13.3), but not with the /N option (Section 13.5). If you specify a Keylist together with the /N option, the Keylist will be ignored. You may also use the /K option together with the /F option (Section 13.4). 13.7 Displaying Offspring Files Containing Super-VGA Graphics If an .EXE offspring file contains a Super-VGA graphic image, then you may have to take special steps to redisplay it properly on your screen. This section describes those steps, and when you may need to take them. A "Super-VGA" image is one that is described in Section 3.3. GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 28 of 38 Remember, you may check a graphic offspring's resolution and color depth, and receive on-screen help and other useful information, by executing the offspring file with the "/?" switch on the command line. For example: SCREEN00 /? If you have a Super-VGA adapter that is VESA-compatible, then you should be able to redisplay most Super-VGA images just by entering the screen name at the DOS prompt or in a batch file, without any special parameters. The first six types of Super-VGA images listed in the chart in Section 3.3 should be displayable on any VESA-compatible system without special command-line parameters, assuming the adapter has enough video memory installed and the monitor is capable of displaying the X/Y resolution. If a Super-VGA adapter is not VESA-compatible, however, then you must tell each Super-VGA offspring file which type of Super- VGA controller chip is used by your adapter. Use this example: SCREEN00 [other options] @CHIPTYPE In place of "@CHIPTYPE" in this example, you should substitute the parameter from the list in Section 10 of this manual which matches the Super-VGA controller chip used by your video adapter. Since it can be tedious to add a "@CHIPTYPE" parameter to the offspring command line every time you display it, you may instead set a permanent DOS environment variable called "SVGA" which serves the same function as the "@CHIPTYPE" parameter. Use the DOS "SET" command. For example, if your Super-VGA adapter uses the Tseng Labs ET-4000 chip, you should enter the following command at the DOS prompt or in your AUTOEXEC.BAT startup file: SET SVGA=TSENG4 (If you have a different type of chip, substitute its name from the list in Section 10 in place of "TSENG4" in this example.) If you do not include a "@CHIPTYPE" parameter on the command line of a Super-VGA offspring file, it will look for a "SVGA=" parameter in your DOS environment, and use it instead. Note that on the command line, you should precede the chipset name with the "@" symbol, but when using the SET SVGA command you should omit the "@" symbol. Finally, as a last resort, if your Super-VGA adapter is not VESA-compatible and you do not use a "@CHIPTYPE" parameter that matches your adapter type, the offspring file will still attempt GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 29 of 38 to display the image by looking for an 8514/A Adapter Interface, and using it if available. If your video adapter is supplied with a memory-resident Adapter Interface driver, you should install the driver in memory before running Super-VGA offspring files, to make sure that you will be able to redisplay your Super-VGA offspring files. If you see the message "Unsupported video mode," it means that the Super-VGA offspring file was unable to find any way of setting the video mode that is required to redisplay the image on the current video adapter. 13.8 Portability Issues: Displaying .EXE Offspring on Someone Else's Computer This section contains important information which you should read if you have an .EXE offspring file which you plan to display on a system other than the one from which the image was originally captured. If the following information seems too confusing, you can skip it, but remember one thing: Don't assume that the computer to which you are "porting" an .EXE offspring file will be able to display it. When in doubt, go for the least common denominator. In general, GRABBER.EXE's offspring files, and particularly its graphics offspring files, are very device-dependent programs. This means that with a few types of text-mode offspring and with most graphic-mode offspring, you cannot display an offspring image on another computer unless the other computer has a video adapter that is at least as technically advanced, or more advanced, than the video adapter from which the image was originally captured. In this context, how "technically advanced" an adapter is depends on the maximum number of colors and the maximum number of pixels it can display at one time. Here is a list of the video adapters which GRABBER.EXE offspring can support, ranked in order from least advanced to most advanced: 1. Monochrome Display Adapter (MDA) 2. Monochrome Graphics Adapter (MGA; Hercules-compatible) 3. Color Graphics Adapter (CGA) 4. Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) 5. Video Gate Array adapter (VGA) 6. Super-VGA adapters (SVGA) 7. Adapter Interface (AI) compatibles (including 8514/A and XGA) GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 30 of 38 The following table lists the different types of text-mode screens which GRABBER.EXE can capture, and also lists the types of video systems from which they can be captured, and to which they can be transported. "(S)VGA" means either VGA or SVGA. "SVGA" means SVGA only. THIS CAN BE CAN BE "PLAYED BACK" ON TEXT MODE CAPTURED FROM: THESE VIDEO SUBSYSTEMS: ---------------- ------------------ ----------------------- * 80 x 25 color (S)VGA MDA MGA CGA EGA (S)VGA * 80 x 25 mono (S)VGA MDA MGA CGA EGA (S)VGA * 40 x 25 color (S)VGA CGA EGA (S)VGA * 80 x 43 (S)VGA EGA (S)VGA * 80 x 28 or 50 (S)VGA (S)VGA * 132-col. modes SVGA SVGA Most 132-column screens can only be ported to Super-VGAs of the same OEM origin, unless the destination system is VESA- compatible. With graphics offspring files, portability follows a pattern similar to text-mode files. Each mode is listed according to its X-resolution, Y-resolution, and number of colors, in that order. ("MCGA" means the Multicolor Graphics Adapter found in the IBM PS/2 models 25 and 30. "(M)CGA" means either a plain CGA or a MCGA. "AI" means an IBM 8514/A compatible adapter.) CAN BE CAPTURED CAN BE "PLAYED BACK" ON GRAPHIC MODES FROM ANY OF THESE: ANY OF THESE SYSTEMS: ----------------- ------------------ ----------------------- * 320 x 200 x 4 (S)VGA (M)CGA EGA (S)VGA * 640 x 200 x 2 (S)VGA (M)CGA EGA (S)VGA * 320 x 200 x 16 (S)VGA EGA (S)VGA * 640 x 200 x 16 (S)VGA EGA (S)VGA * 640 x 350 x 2 (S)VGA EGA (S)VGA * 640 x 350 x 16 (S)VGA EGA (S)VGA * 640 x 480 x 2 (S)VGA MCGA (S)VGA * 640 x 480 x 16 (S)VGA AI (S)VGA AI * 320 x 200 x 256 (S)VGA MCGA (S)VGA GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 31 of 38 * 800 x 600 (16/256 colors) SVGA SVGA AI * 640 x 400 x 256 SVGA SVGA AI * 640 x 480 x 256 SVGA AI SVGA AI * 1024 x 768 (16/256 colors) SVGA AI SVGA AI To transport a Super-VGA graphic image to another SVGA adapter, the destination adapter must either be VESA-compatible, or it must use a VGA chipset with which GRABBER.EXE is compatible (see Section 10). To transport a Super-VGA graphic image to an 8514/A or compatible adapter, the destination system must have an Adapter Interface (AI) driver resident in memory, such as IBM's or ATI's HDILOAD.EXE driver. 14. Using GRABBER.EXE With Microsoft Windows GRABBER.EXE is designed to work with programs that run in "real mode" or "virtual 8086" mode under MS-DOS. If you are running an MS-DOS application in full-screen mode under Microsoft Windows, GRABBER should be able to capture screens from that application just as though you were running it outside of Windows. GRABBER.EXE is not specifically designed to capture images from the Windows desktop itself, or from MS-DOS applications which are running in a window instead of in full-screen mode. However, you might still be able to use GRABBER.EXE to capture the Windows desktop. To increase your chances that GRABBER.EXE will work with your Windows configuration, make sure you install GRABBER.EXE in memory before starting Windows. Also, make sure you use the INT=OFF command-line option (see Section 12.2) when you initially install GRABBER.EXE in memory; if you don't, GRABBER.EXE will not allow Windows to load. While Windows is running, GRABBER.EXE automatically changes its hotkey combination to [Ctrl Shift]. When you exit Windows, GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 32 of 38 GRABBER.EXE's hotkey reverts back to [Ctrl =] or to whatever else you may have changed it to be. Also, while Windows is running, GRABBER.EXE ignores the status of the PROMPT option (see Section 12.3) and disables all on- screen prompts. Captured files will be named WIN00.EXE, WIN01.EXE, and so forth. When you exit Windows, GRABBER.EXE will resume following the status of the PROMPT option. Whether your offspring screens turn out correctly will depend on what type of video hardware is installed, which Windows video driver you are using, and what other memory-resident programs are also loaded. GRABBER.EXE has been known to work using the generic VGA video driver supplied with Windows 3.1 (640 x 480 x 16 mode), as well as with recent Super-VGA drivers for ATI VGA Wonder adapters and adapters based on the Tseng Labs ET-4000 chipset (in the 640 x 480 and 1,024 x 768 x 256 modes). It may work with other Super-VGA cards. It will not work with Windows video drivers created especially for video coprocessor display adapters such as the XGA, 8514/A, ATI Mach-8, ATI Mach-32, ATI Mach-64, S-Cubed, Weitek, Hercules XGE, or other video copro- cessor chips. After GRABBER.EXE captures a Windows screen, it might upset the Windows video driver in such a way that garbage is left on the screen when you move the mouse, push menu items and buttons, or move graphic objects around. To cure this, exit back to DOS and restart Windows. Please note, again, that GRABBER.EXE is designed for use only in the MS-DOS environment. While it is the most reliable MS-DOS screen capture system you will find anywhere, it has never been advertised (or supported) by the publisher as a Windows screen capture program. 15. Changing GRABBER.EXE's Hotkey Every GRABBER.EXE hotkey has two parts. We'll call them the "KEY" and the "SHIFT". The KEY can be an alphanumeric key such as the letter A or the number 4, or a punctuation key such as the semicolon [;], or a function key such as [F10], [Esc], [PgDn] or [Del]. In GRABBER.EXE's default [Ctrl =] hotkey, the equal sign [=] is the KEY part. GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 33 of 38 The SHIFT part of a hotkey can be made up of any combination of the following keys: [Shift], [Ctrl], or [Alt]. In GRABBER.EXE's default [Ctrl =] hotkey, the [Ctrl] key is the SHIFT part. You can specify a hotkey on the command line either when you are initially installing GRABBER.EXE in memory, or after it is already resident. Use this syntax: GRABBER [other options] KEY=KK SHIFT=SS [SAVEHOTKEY] "KK" represents a two-character KEY code. Valid KEY codes are listed in Appendix A of this manual. "SS" represents a two-character SHIFT code. Valid SHIFT codes are listed in Appendix B of this manual. The "SAVEHOTKEY" parameter is optional. When you include it on the command line together with the KEY and SHIFT parameters, it instructs GRABBER.EXE to save your new hotkey choice permanently. This way, your new hotkey will take effect automatically every time you reinstall GRABBER.EXE in memory. If you do not include the savehotkey parameter, the hotkey you specify will be effective only for as long as the current copy of GRABBER.EXE remains resident in memory, or until you change it again with new KEY and SHIFT codes. Please read Appendices A and B in this manual for additional important information. 16. Testing Your VESA Video BIOS Compatibility "VESA" stands for the Video Electronics Standards Association, which has invented something called the "VESA Video BIOS Extension" (VESA VBE). The VESA VBE is a standardized method for MS-DOS programs to utilize high-resolution Super-VGA adapters, without having to know exactly which manufacturer's adapter is installed or how its low-level hardware details work. The VESA VBE is built into some systems, and on most others, it can be added by loading a software driver which the manufacturer supplies with the adapter. In general, it is easier for GRABBER.EXE to capture Super-VGA graphics images when a VESA VBE is present. If your video adapter is supplied with a memory- resident VESA VBE program, you should load that program in memory according to the manufacturer's instructions before you load GRABBER.EXE in memory. GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 34 of 38 To determine whether your system has a built-in VESA VBE or a software VESA VBE installed, run the CHKVBE.EXE program which is supplied with GRABBER.EXE. CHKVBE.EXE will tell you whether a VESA VBE is present. It will also tell you whether the installed VESA VBE is 100% compatible with GRABBER.EXE and the international VESA VBE standard (some manufacturers have shipped VBE's which are not). If CHKVBE.EXE determines that the VESA VBE is not 100% compatible with international standards, then CHKVBE.EXE will report that the VESA VBE "appears to be incompatible with GRABBER." In this case, you should prevent GRABBER.EXE from trying to use your VESA VBE by including the "NOVESA" switch on the command line. For example: GRABBER [other parameters] NOVESA If your VESA VBE is incompatible with GRABBER.EXE, you can still capture Super-VGA graphic images, but you will need to determine the type of controller chip used by your Super-VGA adapter and tell GRABBER.EXE what it is by using one of the @chiptype parameters. Refer to Section 10 for more information. GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 35 of 38 17. Programmers' Note: Calling GRABBER.EXE From Your Own Software If you are a programmer developing your own software, you can invoke GRABBER.EXE to capture the screen from within your own program, assuming that GRABBER.EXE is already resident in memory. This is accomplished by using GRABBER.EXE's external programming hook, which is a customized call to Interrupt 16h, described below. You can write a routine to implement this hook in 80x86 assembly language or in any high-level programming language which supports BIOS-level interrupt calls. INTERRUPT 16h, FUNCTION 4752h On entry: AX = 4752h DL = 0 (to check only if GRABBER.EXE is resident) DL = 1 (to capture the current screen) On return: AX = 5247h (if GRABBER.EXE is installed in memory) For DL=0 or DL=1: BL contains the logical drive to which the capture would be attempted (for DL=0), or was attempted (for DL=1). 0 = default drive, 1 = drive A, 2 = drive B, and so forth. For DL=1: If CF=0: Capture was successful. ES:DX points to an ASCIIZ string which contains the [drive:][\path\]filename of the newly created offspring (the drive is also coded in BL; see above). If CF=1: If DX = FFFFh, then a capture attempt failed due to a critical disk error or disk-full error on the logical drive encoded in BL (see above). Speaker will beep. If DX does not equal FFFFh, capture was not attempted. GRABBER.EXE was busy servicing a prior capture request, or some other disk I/O was occurring, or DOS was not in a reenterable state. Try again momentarily. GRABBER.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 36 of 38 18. Technical Questions? Reporting a Problem or Bug? >> Do not contact the Public Software Library if you are experiencing a technical problem with GRABBER.EXE or if you have any questions about how GRABBER.EXE is supposed to work. Instead, contact the publisher directly, as described in this section. << The publisher wants to know if GRABBER.EXE ever fails to function on your system as documented in this manual. Also, if you feel there is an aspect of the program which is not clearly or completely described here, we appreciate your suggestions. Please read all of the documentation before submitting a problem report. This way you can be certain whether there really is a problem, or whether the program is being put to a use for which it is not designed or intended. When submitting a problem report, be as specific as possible about what happens and in what sequence or situation. Be sure to list these specific things: (1) All of the information provided on the screen after you enter the GRABBER command at the DOS prompt with the program already resident in memory. (2) Your brand and model of video adapter. (3) Your brand and model of PC. (4) Your brand and version of DOS (for example, MS-DOS V6.20, DR-DOS V5.0, PC DOS V4.0, etc.). (5) Your brand and model of video adapter. (6) The program from which you are trying to capture when the problem occurs. (7) The contents of both your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. Without all of this information, it is difficult to solve a problem, and a response will be delayed. The publisher can be reached at the following addresses: Mail: Gerald A. Monroe Fax: (216) 333-6299 P.O. Box 16296 Telephone: (216) 333-6075 Cleveland, Ohio 44116 U.S.A. CompuServe: 72321,1257 Internet: 72321.1257@compuserve.com APPENDIX A ------------ These are the codes you may use with GRABBER.EXE's "KEY=kk" parameter to change its hotkey combination. See also Section 15 and Appendix B. Key Code Key Code Key Code Key Code --------- --------- ----------- ------------------ A 30 1 02 F1 59 Keypad plus 78 B 48 2 03 F2 60 Keypad minus 74 C 46 3 04 F3 61 Keypad 5 76 D 32 4 05 F4 62 Print Screen 89 E 18 5 06 F5 63 Backspace 14 F 33 6 07 F6 64 Enter 28 G 34 7 08 F7 65 H 35 8 09 F8 66 Tab 15 I 23 9 10 F9 67 Esc 01 J 36 0 11 F10 68 Ins 82 K 37 F11 87 Del 83 L 38 ` 41 F12 88 PgUp 73 M 50 - 12 PgDn 81 N 49 = 13 Home 71 O 24 , 51 End 79 P 25 . 52 * 55 Q 16 / 53 Up Arrow 72 R 19 ; 39 Down Arrow 80 S 31 ' 40 Left Arrow 75 T 20 [ 26 Right Arrow 77 U 22 ] 27 V 47 \ 43 W 17 X 45 Y 21 Z 44 To view this table on your screen, enter: GRABBER KEY=? The asterisk key (fifth from the bottom in the fourth column) refers to the <*> key which is located next to the right-hand <Shift> on 83-key PC and PC/XT keyboards (which is also marked "PrtSc"), and also refers to the <*> key which is located on the numeric keypad of 101-key PC/AT and PS/2 enhanced keyboards. The <Print Screen> key (fourth entry in the last column) refers to the key which is labeled "Print Screen" on 101-key enhanced keyboards only. It does not refer to the "PrtSc" key on 83-key keyboards. The "Print Screen" key does not exist on non-enhanced keyboards. Do not specify KEY=89 unless your keyboard has a "Print Screen" key. APPENDIX B ------------ These are the codes you may use with GRABBER.EXE's "SHIFT=ss" parameter to change its hotkey combination. See also Section 15 and Appendix A. Combination Code --------------------------- No shift keys 00 Shift 03 Ctrl 04 Alt 08 Alt + Shift 11 Ctrl + Shift 07 Ctrl + Alt 12 Ctrl + Alt + Shift 15 NOTES: To view this table on your screen, enter GRABBER SHIFT=? If you wish to use a hotkey which does not include any of these shift keys (for example, <F10> or <Print Screen> alone), you may do so by specifying SHIFT=00 or no SHIFT= parameter at all. However, it is recommended that you include some nonzero SHIFT= parameter to avoid probable keyboard conflicts between GRABBER.EXE and other software in your system. The exceptions to this are the <Esc> and <Enter> keys. If you wish to use either of these in your GRABBER.EXE hotkey, then you must include some nonzero SHIFT= parameter. GRABBER.EXE does not distinguish between the left-hand and right-hand <Shift> keys, which are present on all keyboards. Pressing the left <Shift> key has the same effect on GRABBER.EXE as pressing the right <Shift> key, and vice-versa. If you have an enhanced keyboard which has two <Ctrl> keys and two <Alt> keys, GRABBER.EXE treats the left and right members of each pair identically as well. *** End of GRABBER.DOC ***