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GRABBER(tm) Version 3.96 Shareware Issue ----------------------------- The Screen Capture Program for MS-DOS and IBM PC Compatibles DOCUMENTATION AND TECHNICAL NOTES February 13, 1993 Copyright 1992, 1993 by Gerald A. Monroe All rights reserved except as expressly provided. GRABBER(tm) is being marketed in this special form as shareware. This means you have the opportunity to use and evaluate it before you decide whether to buy. If you regularly use GRABBER, or any of its "offspring" programs, then you are required to register according to the instructions on page 3 of this document. (The cost as of this writing is $29.00 or $59.00 U.S. per single-user license, depending on the features you desire. For site license information, please contact the publisher.) When you register, you receive a copy of the latest registered version of GRABBER, which includes the features listed on pages 2 and 3 of this document, plus any enhancements that may have been added since this document was released. Using this shareware issue for more than 10 days constitutes "regular" use under this license, and requires the user to register. If you obtained this program from a shareware disk distributor, then you have paid only for the service of copying this disk, but you have not paid for the program itself. The publisher receives no part of the price you may have paid to a disk distributor for this disk. +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | Notice to Distributors, Publishers and User's Groups: | | ------------------------------------------------------ | | Please consult the last page of this document for important | | license information and restrictions. | | | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ IBM and PC are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. MS-DOS and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Hercules is a trademark of Hercules Computer Technology. Thank you for trying GRABBER! ******************************* Thank you for your interest in the GRABBER screen capture system! Users who register their use of the program receive a copy of one of the registered GRABBER packages. The registered GRABBER packages include the most recent versions of the programs and documentation included in this shareware issue (with exceptions noted below). THE SCREENS CAPTURED BY THIS VERSION OF GRABBER INCLUDE A REGIS- TRATION REMINDER MESSAGE IN THE LOWER RIGHT CORNER. SCREENS CAPTURED BY THE REGISTERED VERSIONS OF GRABBER DO NOT INCLUDE THESE MESSAGES. For more information, please see page 15 below. There are two registered packages you can choose from, depending on your needs. One is currently available for $59.00 U.S., and the other for $29.00. The $59 registered package is designed with the graphics power user in mind. If you need a program that can capture high reso- lution Super-VGA and 8514/A graphics, or if you want to convert the image files created by GRABBER into a format that can be imported into other software applications for displaying or printing, then the $59 package is for you. The $59 package captures text images of every size, plus CGA, EGA, Hercules, VGA and Super-VGA graphics up to 1024 x 768 in 256 or 16 colors. The $29 registered package is suited for users who do not have intensive graphics needs which require super-VGA hardware support or graphics format conversion, but who still need a product that can capture and display high-quality graphics on IBM EGA and VGA-compatible computers. The $29 package captures text images of every size, plus CGA, EGA, Hercules, and VGA graphics up to 640 x 480 in 16 colors, or up to 320 x 200 in 256 colors. The $59 package includes the GR2PCX and GR2GIF graphics conver- sion utilities which you will find in this shareware issue, as well as a third graphics conversion program, GR2PIC (for creating .PIC-format graphics). The $29 package *does not* include the GR2PCX, GR2GIF or GR2PIC conversion utilities. $29 Registration $59 Registration ------------------------ ---------------------------- * GRABBER.EXE * GRABBER.EXE up to 640 x 480 x 16 up to 1024 x 768 x 16 up to 320 x 200 x 256 up to 1024 x 768 x 256 * GRTXT.EXE * GRTXT.EXE * GREDIT.EXE * GREDIT.EXE * GR2ASCII.EXE * GR2ASCII.EXE * GR2ANSI.EXE * GR2ANSI.EXE * GR2PCX.EXE * GR2GIF.EXE * GR2PIC.EXE * GR4AI.EXE (for 8514/A) * GRAI2PCX.EXE (for 8514/A) * GRAI2GIF.EXE (for 8514/A) GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 3 of 44 ORDERING INFORMATION --------------------- The prices of the registered GRABBER packages are subject to change after December 31, 1993. The latest shareware issue of GRABBER, which includes the most up-to-date information on pricing and new features, is always posted for downloading in these three places: * CompuServe IBMSYS and GRAPHSUPPORT forums (look for a file named GRABBR.ZIP) * PC-Ohio BBS, "The Best BBS in America" for 1992, at (216) 381-3320, in Directory #1. (File name is GRABBxxx.ZIP, where "xxx" indicates the version number. For example, GRABB396.ZIP means Version 3.96) For information on site licenses or volume discounts of five (5) or more copies, please contact the publisher. If you are reading this document after December 31, 1993, it might not be current. To make sure you have the latest informa- tion on pricing and availability of new features, contact the publisher or look for the latest shareware release of GRABBER in one of the places listed above. TO ORDER BY CHECK --------------------------- To obtain either the current $59 or $29 registered release of the GRABBER package, register by sending the order form below (on page 5) with your check or money order for $59.00 or $29.00 U.S. per copy, payable to Gerald A. Monroe. Send your order to: Gerald A. Monroe P.O. Box 770906 Lakewood, Ohio 44107 U.S.A. Canadian and overseas users: please use a check which states on its face that it is payable at a bank in the U.S. TO ORDER BY CREDIT CARD --------------------------------- You can use your Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover card to obtain the latest release of the $59 or $29 registered GRABBER package, by ordering through the Public Software Library of Houston, Texas. Please note that there is a handling charge of $4.00 per order when you register through PSL (e.g. one copy costs $63 or $33, depending on the version). GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 4 of 44 CREDIT CARD ORDERS (continued) ------------------------------- Credit card orders are shipped directly by the publisher, usually within 48 hours after reciept by PSL. Please specify to PSL your choice of the $59 or $29 registered version, and your choice of 5.25" or 3.5" diskette. To order by credit card, contact PSL at one of the following numbers: * (800) 242-4775 (Toll-Free) * (713) 524-6394 * CIS 71355,470 (CompuServe Mail) Or, complete the order form below on page 5, and mail it to: Public Software Library P.O. Box 35705 Houston, Texas 77235-5705 U.S.A. Or, complete the order form below on page 5, and "fax" it to: * (713) 524-6398 (FAX only) If you are mailing your credit card order, please be sure to mail it to PSL, not to the publisher. Credit card orders mailed to the publisher will be returned. Please note that the PSL telephone numbers and mailing address are for ordering only. For information about volume discounts, site licensing, shipping, returns, latest version numbers or other technical information, contact the publisher at the address shown below on page 41. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 5 of 44 +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | I wish to license _____ copy/copies of the latest release of the | | GRABBER programs. I have enclosed $59.00 and/or $29.00 for each | | single-user license, as indicated. (Prices subject to change.) | | | | Number of copies: _____ $59.00 version; _____ $29.00 version | | | | Name ___________________________________________________________ | | | | Company (if applicable) ________________________________________ | | | | Address ________________________________________________________ | | | | City _______________________________ State ______ Zip ________ | | | | Country & postal code (outside the U.S.) _______________________ | | | | Telephone (_____)__________________ ____ day; ____ evening | | | | I prefer: _____ 3.5" disk; _____ 5.25" disk | | | | FOR CREDIT CARD ORDERS ONLY: | | | | Circle one: Visa MasterCard American Express Discover | | | | Card Number ________________________________ Expiration: _______ | | | | Cardholder Name (please print) _________________________________ | | | | Cardholder Signature _____________________________________ 3.96 | +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ TO ORDER BY CHECK: Mail this order form, together with your check or money order, to: Gerald A. Monroe P.O. Box 770906 Lakewood, Ohio 44107 U.S.A. Canadian and overseas users: Please use a check which states on its face that it is payable at a bank in the U.S. TO ORDER BY CREDIT CARD: Call the Public Software Library at 800-242-4775 (toll-free within the U.S.), or at 713-524-6394. There is a $4 handling charge when you order through PSL. You can also "fax" your completed order form to PSL at 713-524-6398. Or, mail your order form to: Public Software Library P.O. Box 35705 Houston, Texas 77235-5705 U.S.A. Table of Contents PART 1: CONFIGURING AND USING GRABBER Shareware registration and ordering information .... 2,3,4 Order Form ......................................... 5 Overview of GRABBER ................................ 7 GRABBER requirements ............................... 7 What GRABBER can capture ........................... 8 Starting GRABBER ................................... 9 How to capture the screen .......................... 10 Things to know about the filename prompt function .. 11 Capturing Hercules-compatible monochrome graphics .. 12 Capturing to different drive/directory ............. 12 Configuring GRABBER for Super-VGA .................. 13 Capturing from 8514/A-compatibles .................. 15 "Thanks for trying GRABBER" messages ............... 15 Errors during the screen capture ................... 16 If the computer is too busy to capture ............. 16 GRABBER configuration options ...................... 16 PROMPT, NOPROMPT .............................. 17 MOUSE, NOMOUSE ................................ 18 SWAPMODE ...................................... 19 SOUND, NOSOUND ................................ 19 BATCHCAPTURE .................................. 19 NOXMS ......................................... 20 NOEMS ......................................... 21 UNLOAD ........................................ 21 DEFAULTDRIVE .................................. 22 NOVESA ........................................ 22 VGAREGS, VGAREGS2, tips for capturing games ... 23, 24 PART 2: USING GRABBER's OFFSPRING .EXE IMAGE FILES Options for displaying offspring files ............. 25 Fade-in and fade-out screen images ............ 25 Timed execution: /Tn .......................... 26 Don't clear screen on exit: /F ................ 27 Don't wait for any keypress: /N ............... 28 Keylist and interactive batch files: /K ....... 28 Sample interactive batch file ................. 29 Displaying Super-VGA graphics ...................... 32 PART 3: MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION GRABBER and Microsoft Windows ...................... 34 Porting offspring files from one system to another . 35 Changing GRABBER's hotkey .......................... 37 Testing your VESA BIOS Extension with CHKVBE ....... 38 Calling GRABBER from your own programs ............. 40 How to contact the publisher ....................... 41 Hotkey parameter code table (1 of 2) ............... App. A Hotkey parameter code table (2 of 2) ............... App. B License terms for this shareware issue of GRABBER .. App. C GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 7 of 44 PART I: CONFIGURING AND USING GRABBER OVERVIEW OF GRABBER -------------------- GRABBER is a program that saves the images on the screen of your IBM Personal Computer or compatible PC to a disk file. GRABBER does this in a way that makes it very easy for you to summon the images back to your screen at a later time, and exactly as they were originally displayed. GRABBER is memory-resident, which means that after you start it, the program is always waiting in the background, while you continue to run other programs. You tell GRABBER to capture the image currently being displayed on the screen by pressing a combination of keys which GRABBER reserves for itself. GRABBER "captures" the screen in the form of a file on your disk, called a GRABBER "offspring" file. When you want to view the screen later, all you need to do is run this "offspring" file like an ordinary program, because that's what it really is. If you don't need your screens to be in GRABBER's executable program format, but in some other format that you can import into other PC applications, then you can use one of the three screen conversion utilities included in this GRABBER package, called GR2PCX, GR2GIF and GR2PIC. GRABBER REQUIREMENTS --------------------- To use GRABBER, you will need: a) an IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2, or 100% compatible computer; b) at least one floppy diskette drive; and c) IBM PC-DOS, or MS-DOS, Version 3.0 or later. You can use GRABBER with either a color or a monochrome display screen. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 8 of 44 WHAT GRABBER CAN CAPTURE ------------------------- GRABBER captures screens from programs that run in "real mode" or "virtual 8086" mode under MS-DOS. GRABBER captures character- based text images up to 132 columns by 60 rows. GRABBER also captures many "standard" types of graphic images. The following chart details all of the standard video modes which GRABBER is designed to work with: Mode Type X/Y Image No. of Adapters which No. of Mode Resolution Colors support mode ----- -------- -------------------- ------ ---------------- 00 text 40 x 25 characters 2 CGA MCGA EGA VGA 01 text 40 x 25 characters 16 CGA MCGA EGA VGA 02 text 80+ x 25+ characters 2 CGA MCGA EGA VGA 03 text 80+ x 25+ characters 16 CGA MCGA EGA VGA 07 text 80+ x 25+ characters 2 MGA MCGA EGA VGA 04 graphics 320 x 200 pixels 4 CGA MCGA EGA VGA 05 graphics 320 x 200 pixels 2 CGA MCGA EGA VGA 06 graphics 640 x 200 pixels 2 CGA MCGA EGA VGA 07+ graphics 720 x 348 pixels 2 MGA (Hercules) 13 graphics 320 x 200 pixels 16 EGA VGA 14 graphics 640 x 200 pixels 16 EGA VGA 15 graphics 640 x 350 pixels 2 EGA VGA 16 graphics 640 x 350 pixels 16 EGA VGA 17 graphics 640 x 480 pixels 2 VGA MCGA 18 graphics 640 x 480 pixels 16 VGA 19 graphics 320 x 200 pixels 256 VGA MCGA SUPER-VGA GRAPHICS COMPATIBILITY --------------------------------- In addition to the modes listed above, GRABBER can capture the following high-resolution graphic modes on most systems that are equipped with certain brands of "Super-VGA" graphics adapters: * 16-color modes: 800 x 16; 1024 x 768 * 256-color modes: 640 x 400; 640 x 480; 800 x 600; 1024 x 768 GRABBER can capture these high-resolution modes if your system is equipped with a video adapter that was manufactured using one of several brands of Super-VGA controller chips. In addition, GRABBER is compatible with these modes on any Super-VGA adapter which fully supports the VESA video BIOS extension. Unless your adapter fully supports VESA, GRABBER does not auto- matically configure itself for your particular type of adapter. For instructions on configuring GRABBER for your Super-VGA, see page 13 below. For more information on VESA, see page 38 below. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 9 of 44 STARTING GRABBER ----------------- Before GRABBER can start capturing your screen images, it must be installed in your computer's memory, or be made "resident in memory." To install GRABBER in memory, enter a command at the DOS prompt which follows one of these formats: (1) GRABBER drive:\pathname or, (2) GRABBER drive: or, (3) GRABBER DEFAULTDRIVE In the first and second examples, [drive] can be a single letter for any valid disk drive name in your system, from A to Z. If your system has a hard disk drive, you should follow the first example. [Pathname] in the first example represents the name of an existing directory on your hard disk where you want GRABBER to deposit the offspring image files that you ask it to create. If you have two floppy diskette drives and no hard disk, you should follow the second command example. You can specify either A: or B: for the [drive:] parameter. Offspring files will be placed on the diskette that is in the drive you specify. Follow the third command example if you have only one floppy diskette drive and no hard drive. "DEFAULTDRIVE" does not represent some other parameter which you supply; type the word DEFAULTDRIVE on the command line after the word GRABBER. Off- spring files will be placed on the diskette in your single drive. Please note that GRABBER will not stay resident in memory until you have told it -- according to one of the above examples -- *where* to place its offspring files. Also, you may start GRABBER by including a line in a batch file, such as your AUTOEXEC.BAT startup file, which is the same as the command line you would enter at the DOS prompt. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 10 of 44 CAPTURING THE SCREEN --------------------- When you install GRABBER in memory, the program displays a blue welcome banner on your screen in the upper left corner. The banner is your signal that the program is successfully installed in memory. (It also contains some other useful information, such as your current hotkey combination, the drive/path to which screens will be captured, and how much memory GRABBER is occupy- ing.) You are now ready to capture display screens to disk. To capture the screen, you press GRABBER's reserved key combina- tion, which is [CTRL =]. That is, you hold down the [CTRL] key, press the equal sign key [=], then release the [CTRL] key again. From now on, this key sequence will be referred to as GRABBER's "hotkey" combination. (Note: If you want to, you can change the hotkey combination to something else. See page 37 below for instructions.) The quickest way to test GRABBER is from your DOS prompt. Enter these three commands in this order: CLS DIR /W DIR /W This will clear your screen and fill it again with a directory listing of the current drive and path. Now, press [CTRL =]. You hear a soft beep, and a prompt appears on the top line of the display, showing a default file name to which you may save the current screen. If you wish to accept the default file name which GRABBER is providing, just press <Enter>. If you want to type in your own file name, i.e. one which describes the contents of the screen better than GRABBER's default name, you may do so. After you press <Enter>, the prompt disappears and GRABBER immediately begins to create the offspring file on the correct drive. When GRABBER is finished capturing the screen, you hear an ascending two-tone chirp. Now, you are ready to display the screen you have just captured. It is a program file, ready to be executed just like GRABBER it- self. Go to the drive and directory where it was placed (if you are not already there), and enter this command at the DOS prompt: SCREEN00 (or whatever you named your offspring file.) What you see are the contents of the screen you created a moment ago when you pressed [CTRL =]. This image is contained within the file SCREEN00.EXE, a GRABBER offspring. The image will remain on the screen until you press a key -- almost any key -- to make it go away. The screen then erases itself and you are back where you started, at the DOS prompt. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 11 of 44 When you press [CTRL =] again, GRABBER will create another offspring containing the current screen. If you do not supply your own file name, it will be called SCREEN01.EXE, then SCREEN02.EXE, and so forth, up to SCREEN99.EXE. Each of these offspring programs can be executed just the same way as your SCREEN00.EXE, either from the keyboard at the DOS prompt, or as a line in a batch file. Your computer does not have to be sitting at the DOS prompt, as it was in the example above, for you to capture a screen. You can use GRABBER to capture screens from thousands of different PC application programs. THE FILENAME PROMPT FUNCTION ----------------------------- Here are some things you should know about GRABBER's filename prompts: You cannot change the drive or directory path to which your screen will be saved by entering a new one at the prompt. All you may supply is a valid one-character to eight-character filename, using characters DOS regards as "legal" for filenames (i.e., no blank spaces, control characters, wildcards, etc.) If you enter a file name that is less than eight characters long, don't worry about the blank spaces between the end of the file name and the beginning of the ".EXE" extension. GRABBER will ignore them. You cannot change the file name extension at the prompt. The extension of any offspring file must remain ".EXE" so that DOS will recognize the file as an executable program and allow you to view the image later. All images are saved to the drive and/or directory path which you specified when you installed GRABBER according to the instruc- tions on page 9, above. If you want to change the drive and/or directory path to which your images are saved, you may do so by issuing another GRABBER command at the DOS prompt -- see page 12 below. If you want to cancel the screen capture operation at the file name prompt, just press <Esc> once or twice until the prompt disappears. If you make a typing mistake while entering the file name at the prompt, use the backspace key to correct the mistake. For more information about the filename prompt function, refer to the section below called "GRABBER Installation Options." That section also includes instructions for enabling and disabling the filename prompt function. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 12 of 44 SPECIAL NOTE FOR HERCULES-COMPATIBLE GRAPHICS USERS ---------------------------------------------------- When operating in the 720x348 graphic mode, Hercules-compatible monochrome graphic adapters divide the video memory into two segments commonly known as Page 0 and Page 1. These adapters can display a graphic image on either of these two pages, but only one page at a time may be displayed on the screen. Due to certain technical limitations in the architecture of these adapters, it is not possible to determine with certainty which of these two pages, Page 0 or Page 1, is being displayed at any given time. Rather than risking an incorrect guess as to which of these two pages is currently being displayed, (which would result in an offspring file containing only a blank or garbage-filled image), GRABBER requires you to choose which page to capture. After you press GRABBER's hotkey while in the graphic mode, you will hear one short beep. GRABBER is waiting for you to indicate which page you wish to capture. To choose the lower Page 0, press the [0] key. To choose the higher Page 1, press the [1] key. If you press anything other than [0] or [1], you will cancel the screen capture request and return to the foreground application. There are two ways for you to determine, if you are not sure, whether the monochrome graphic image is being displayed on Page 0 or Page 1. The first way is to consult the documentation for the application program which is generating the image to see if it mentions this. (Some applications in their installation proce- dures allow you to force the use of one or the other page.) The second way is by trial and error. If you choose to capture Page 0 but the resulting offspring file is not what you expected, this indicates that you should select Page 1 to capture 720x348 graphic images generated by that application program. CAPTURING TO A DIFFERENT DRIVE/DIRECTORY ----------------------------------------- If you first installed GRABBER to capture offspring files to one drive or directory, and you later want to switch to another drive or directory (or use DEFAULTDRIVE), you can simply issue another GRABBER command at the DOS prompt as described above on page 9. GRABBER will display a screen of status information, which informs you that the new destination is now in effect. Switching offspring paths never changes the sequence of the off- spring file names. For example, if your next offspring will be called SCREEN05.EXE and you switch paths, the next offspring will still be called SCREEN05.EXE, although it will be placed on a different drive or directory. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 13 of 44 CONFIGURING GRABBER FOR SUPER-VGA ---------------------------------- Before GRABBER is able to capture high-resolution Super-VGA images, you must tell the program which type of VGA chipset circuitry is used by your adapter. (If you have a Super-VGA adapter that fully supports the VESA video BIOS extension, you should not need to configure GRABBER to capture your high-resolution Super-VGA images. However, if you experience problems capturing such images with your VESA-compati- ble adapter, the following procedure may solve the problems.) To configure GRABBER for your Super-VGA, include one of the following "@" parameters on GRABBER's command line. For example: GRABBER [other options] @CHIPTYPE Here are the VGA chipset names which GRABBER recognizes. Use one of these in place of "@chiptype" in the example above. @ATI ATI Technologies chips @VIDEO7 Video Seven chips @HEADLAND Headland Technology chips @PARADISE Paradise PVGA chips @WD Western Digital WD90C00 chips @TSENG3 Tseng Laboratories ET-3000 chip @TSENG4 Tseng Laboratories ET-4000 chip @STB4 STB adapters using the Tseng Labs ET-4000 chip @AHEADA Ahead Systems chip version "A" @AHEADB Ahead Systems chip version "B" @GENOA Genoa GVGA chip (used by 6000 series cards) @OAK Oak Technology OTI-067 chip @TRIDENT Trident chips @NCR NCR 77C22E chip In many cases, but not all, the chipset names here will match the brand name of the adapter. For example, almost all ATI-, Video Seven- and Trident-brand adapters use chipsets which carry the board manufacturer's own name. However, you should note that this is not always true. Very many Super-VGA adapters use chipsets that were manufactured by a source other than the company whose brand name is on the product. Such manufacturers (for example: STB, Orchid, Genoa and Everex) have not always produced their own VGA chipsets. Instead, they have built Super- VGA adapters using chipsets from other sources, and have marketed the finished products under their own brand names. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 14 of 44 CONFIGURING GRABBER FOR SUPER-VGA (continued) ---------------------------------------------- Therefore, this means that if you are not sure which type of VGA chipset is employed by your Super-VGA adapter, you should deter- mine this by examining the Super-VGA itself, and looking for 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.) The other way to determine which of these GRABBER configuration settings will work for you is by trial-and-error. If one setting does not work properly, try the next setting in the above list. (You can issue successive "@chiptype" commands from the DOS prompt, without removing GRABBER from memory and reinstalling it.) If you attempt to capture a Super-VGA graphic image and hear one single low-pitched beep, it means that GRABBER 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 for the correct type of VGA chipset. You should also note that GRABBER cannot capture some 16-color Super-VGA images even though they are of common resolutions. Typical examples are ATI's video mode numbered 65h (used for 1024 x 768 x 16 on older VGA Wonder cards), and the 1024 x 768 x 16 and 800 x 600 x 16 modes on adapters, such as the Diamond Stealth and Orchid Fahrenheit, which employ the S-Cubed 86C911 chipset (a chip not supported directly by GRABBER but possibly by way of a VESA driver). GRABBER only captures 16-color modes which conform to the IBM-standard "four-plane planar" memory organization scheme such as that used by the standard 640 x 350 x 16 EGA graphic mode. Modes such as the ones mentioned above do not conform to the standard memory layout scheme, but use memory layouts unique to the particular board manufacturer. Therefore, they and similar modes cannot be captured by GRABBER -- but they can be captured by GR4AI. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 15 of 44 CAPTURING FROM 8514/A-COMPATIBLES USING GR4AI.EXE -------------------------------------------------- The 8514/A Adapter Interface (AI) is a video standard invented by IBM which is now increasingly being recognized by other video manufacturers. Although 8514/A supports the common 640 x 480 and 1024 x 768 image resolutions, it is a completely different standard than VGA or Super-VGA. There are several types of VGA chipsets which GRABBER.EXE does not directly support in high-resolution Super-VGA modes. An example is the S-Cubed 86C911 chip, used by recent "accelerator" boards marketed by Diamond, Orchid and Genoa. However, if you have such an adapter and its manufacturer also supplies a memory- resident (TSR) program that allows the board to be compatible with the 8514/A AI (and thus "emulate" a true 8514/A card), then you can capture high-resolution 640 x 480 and 1024 x 768 images from the adapter by using the GR4AI.EXE program included in this GRABBER package. Consult the GR4AI documentation file for more information. "THANKS FOR TRYING GRABBER" MESSAGES ------------------------------------- Because this is an unregistered, shareware version of GRABBER, the images which you capture using this version will all contain a small message in the lower right corner of the screen which expresses our "Thanks for trying GRABBER." These messages will appear each time you execute a high-resolution graphic offspring file, and occasionally when you view a character-based text offspring file. By including these messages, we only hope to remind you that this version of GRABBER is shareware, and to encourage you to register the program if you continue to find it useful. Users who register with the publisher will find that the regis- tered version of GRABBER which they receive creates offspring files that do not include this or any other message superimposed on captured screens. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 16 of 44 ERRORS DURING THE SCREEN CAPTURE --------------------------------- If GRABBER is ever unable to capture your image to an offspring file for any reason other than an unrecognized video mode (see page 14), it will tell you so by sounding three short beeps on your PC's speaker. If you hear this signal, it means the screen has not been captured, probably because there is something wrong with the disk you are trying to capture it to. Correct the condition with your disk, and use the hotkey to try the capture again. Usually, these errors are fairly obvious to detect: you forget to put a diskette in the disk drive, or you leave the drive door open, or the diskette is write-protected. Some errors, however, are not so obvious to the eye. GRABBER will also beep if the disk to which you are trying to capture the screen is already full, or its directory area cannot fit anymore entries, or there is a physical defect on the disk itself. IF THE COMPUTER IS TOO BUSY TO CAPTURE --------------------------------------- There may be times when you request GRABBER to capture your screen, but nothing seems to happen. This is usually because the foreground program is in the middle of a sensitive task which cannot be interrupted. Such situations include any kind of reading or writing to a disk by another program; using DOS' Copy or Type commands; or while the computer is waiting for your response after an "Abort, Retry, Ignore" message. In situations like this, GRABBER is aware that you have requested a screen capture, and will pop up as soon as it becomes safe to do so. Some of these kinds of delays can be overcome by using the SWAPMODE configuration option, which is described on page 19. GRABBER CONFIGURATION OPTIONS ------------------------------ This section identifies the "command line switches" which GRABBER recognizes and responds to. A command line switch is a string of characters which you type after the GRABBER command itself, whether you are calling GRABBER directly from the DOS prompt, or from a line in a batch file. The purpose of these switches is to allow you to modify the way GRABBER performs certain of its operations. Turning GRABBER's beep sounds on and off, or enabling GRABBER's use of the mouse buttons to capture the screen, are just two examples of functions which the command line switches allow you to control. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 17 of 44 All of the command line switches described in this section may be used to configure GRABBER's operations when you initially install the program in memory. In addition, after GRABBER is installed, you may continue to use most of these switches to communicate with the copy of GRABBER that is resident in memory, and recon- figure its operations. Unless the description of a command line switch states otherwise, that switch may be used both when you initially install GRABBER in memory, and to reconfigure GRABBER's operations after the program is made resident. A single command line may contain as many switch options as you desire, in any order, in either uppercase or lowercase letters. Option: PROMPT and NOPROMPT Usage: GRABBER [other options] PROMPT GRABBER [other options] NOPROMPT These switches tell GRABBER whether you wish to be prompted on the screen to enter a name for each .exe image before it is created, or instead whether each .exe file should automatically be assigned a name by GRABBER. 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, GRABBER automati- cally assigns a name to each .exe image file it creates, based on a sort of "serial number" scheme. Files will be named SCREEN00.EXE, SCREEN01.EXE, and so forth up to SCREEN99.EXE, at which point they will again return to SCREEN00.EXE. Please note that while GRABBER operates in this mode, it does *not* check whether a particular SCREENXX file already exists. For example, if there is already a file on your disk called SCREEN05.EXE and the next automatic filename to be assigned by GRABBER happens to be SCREEN05.EXE also, then the contents of the original file will be overwritten with the information for the new screen, and hence lost forever. Therefore, if you have SCREENXX files which you value, and you plan to disable the filename prompt function using the NOPROMPT switch, then you should rename these files to keep them out of the way of GRABBER's default filename scheme. Hercules monochrome graphics users: Please note that the file- name prompt function is not available at all when you are captur- ing 720 x 348 monochrome graphic images, even though the prompt function may be enabled when you are capturing character-based text screens. When GRABBER senses such a graphic image, it automatically assigns the next sequential SCREENXX name to the .exe file that is created. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 18 of 44 EGA, VGA and Super-VGA users: Some foreground applications which operate in graphic modes can be very sensitive to interruptions by underlying memory-resident programs like GRABBER. Because of this, your filename prompts may sometimes appear in a distorted form on your screen when the display is running in a high-resolu- tion graphic mode. There is no way to predict when such distor- tion might occur, and nothing can be done about it except to temporarily disable GRABBER's filename prompts. So, if the prompts cause unacceptable side effects on a particular fore- ground program, you should issue the command GRABBER NOPROMPT before trying to capture screens from inside that program. Please note that even though a filename prompt may appear dis- torted, GRABBER 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>. Option: MOUSE and NOMOUSE Usage: GRABBER [other options] MOUSE GRABBER [other options] NOMOUSE The MOUSE switch tells GRABBER 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). 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 GRABBER's usual hotkey combination at the keyboard, and the filename prompt will appear at the top of the screen. 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. The main purpose of the mouse hotkey function is to allow you to capture screens from within applications which so totally monopo- lize the keyboard hardware that they allow no software loaded before them in memory (such as GRABBER) to be informed about events taking place at the keyboard. Many game programs behave this way, among others. If you are unable get GRABBER's atten- tion either at the keyboard or using the mouse with the MOUSE switch, it means that an antisocial programmer has decided that he or she is unwilling to share the mouse either, and the screen is not capturable until we figure out a way around the particular software application. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 19 of 44 Option: SWAPMODE Usage: GRABBER [other options] SWAPMODE The SWAPMODE switch may be used only when you are initially installing GRABBER in memory. It has no effect after GRABBER is made resident. This switch tells GRABBER to run in a special "DOS Swap mode." When GRABBER is operating in this mode and you request a screen capture, GRABBER is able to pop up immediately, without waiting for the foreground program or DOS itself to tell GRABBER that it may proceed (except during certain uninterruptible foreground activities such as disk drive access). You might find the SWAPMODE switch useful, along with the MOUSE switch described above, if you use foreground applications which do not allow GRABBER to pop up instantly when you request a screen capture. Ordinarily, however, it should not be necessary to use the SWAPMODE switch. Option: SOUND and NOSOUND Usage: GRABBER [other options] SOUND GRABBER [other options] NOSOUND These switches tell GRABBER whether it should beep the computer's speaker, or remain silent, when the filename prompt is displayed and when a screen capture operation is successfully completed. The default setting is SOUND. 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 also makes three low-pitched beep sounds whenever it is unable to capture a screen for any reason. Using the NOSOUND switch does not disable this error indicator. Option: BATCHCAPTURE or BATCHCAPTURE:filename Usage: GRABBER BATCHCAPTURE[:filename] These options tell a memory-resident copy of GRABBER 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 GRABBER's hotkey. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 20 of 44 If you use BATCHCAPTURE by itself, the captured screen will be given a file name according to GRABBER's default "serial number" scheme (see page 17 above). 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 BATCHCAPTURE:C:\PICTURES\TESTPIC.EXE If the batch capture is completed successfully, GRABBER 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. The BATCHCAPTURE options may be used only after GRABBER has been installed in memory. Also, any other configuration options which are specified on the same command line as BATCHCAPTURE will be ignored. Option: NOXMS Usage: GRABBER [other options] NOXMS The NOXMS switch tells GRABBER not to reserve any extended memory to be used as temporary work space during its screen capture operations. The NOXMS switch may be used only when you are initially installing GRABBER in memory. NOXMS has no effect after GRABBER is made resident. When you initially install GRABBER in memory on an IBM AT-compat- ible computer, it searches for 28Kb of available extended memory that is controlled by an XMS-compatible extended memory driver, such as Microsoft Corporation's HIMEM.SYS program. If GRABBER finds 28Kb of available XMS extended memory, it will automatical- ly reserve that amount for itself, to use as temporary workspace during screen capture operations. This extended memory workspace is not required by GRABBER, but it does help to speed up certain screen capture operations. XMS extended memory which GRABBER reserves for itself is unavailable for use by other programs which also use extended memory, and GRABBER will not relinquish it until you remove GRABBER from memory by using the UNLOAD command line switch, or by rebooting the computer. If your computer has XMS-compatible extended memory which you do not want GRABBER to use, you should include the NOXMS switch on the command line when you initially install GRABBER in memory. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 21 of 44 Option: NOEMS Usage: GRABBER [other options] NOEMS The NOEMS switch tells GRABBER not to reserve any expanded memory to be used as temporary work space during its screen capture operations. The NOEMS switch may be used only when you are initially installing GRABBER in memory. NOEMS has no effect after GRABBER is made resident. When you initially install GRABBER in memory on an any computer, and there is no available XMS extended memory (or XMS usage has been disabled by the NOXMS switch), then GRABBER will search for 32Kb of available expanded memory that is controlled by a LIM/EMS-compatible expanded memory driver. (LIM Version 4.0 expanded memory or later is supported; LIM 3.2 memory is not.) If GRABBER finds 32Kb of available EMS expanded memory, it will automatically reserve that amount for itself, to use as temporary work space during screen capture operations. This expanded memory work space is not required by GRABBER, but it does help to speed up certain screen capture operations. EMS expanded memory which GRABBER reserves for itself is unavailable for use by other programs which also use expanded memory, and GRABBER will not relinquish it until you remove GRABBER from memory by using the UNLOAD command line switch, or by rebooting the computer. If your computer has EMS-compatible expanded memory which you do not want GRABBER to use, you should include the NOEMS switch on the command line when you initially install GRABBER in memory. Option: UNLOAD Usage: GRABBER UNLOAD The UNLOAD switch tells GRABBER to search your computer's memory for a copy of itself that was previously made resident, and to remove the program from memory if found. If removal is success- ful, then a message is displayed at the upper left corner of your screen which states that "GRABBER is not resident in memory," and all memory that GRABBER was occupying will be released and made available for other programs. This includes any conventional memory, plus any XMS or EMS memory which GRABBER may have been using as temporary workspace. GRABBER cannot be uninstalled if, after you initially installed it, you continued to load other memory-resident software which is activated by any of the same hardware or software interrupts which GRABBER uses. Attempting to use GRABBER UNLOAD under such circumstances will not work, and a message to this effect will be displayed. You will always be able to uninstall GRABBER if it was the most recent memory-resident program to be installed. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 22 of 44 Option: DEFAULTDRIVE Usage: GRABBER [other options] DEFAULTDRIVE The DEFAULTDRIVE switch was described above in the section called "Starting GRABBER." This switch can be used both when you are initially installing the program in memory, and thereafter when you wish to cancel a drive/path destination previously specified and start writing .exe files to the default drive and path instead. During the initial installation of GRABBER, the DEFAULTDRIVE switch can act as a substitute for the drive and/or path parame- ter which is otherwise required to make GRABBER stay resident in memory. If you did not use DEFAULTDRIVE when you initially installed GRABBER in memory, you can instruct GRABBER to start placing .exe image files in whatever location happens to be known to DOS as its current "default drive and path" whenever a screen capture takes place. After you use DEFAULTDRIVE, GRABBER will continue to place all .exe image files in DOS's default drive and path until you issue another command which includes a specific drive and/or path parameter as the first item on the command line after the GRABBER command itself. For example, the following command example can be used to cancel the effect of a GRABBER DEFAULTDRIVE command which was issued previously: GRABBER C:\PICTURES [other options] Option: NOVESA Usage: GRABBER [other options] NOVESA (Please refer to the section on VESA BIOS compatibility on page 38 below.) GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 23 of 44 Option: VGAREGS and NOVGAREGS USAGE: GRABBER [other options] VGAREGS GRABBER [other options] NOVGAREGS These switches affect the way in which GRABBER captures graphic images on VGA systems only. They have no effect on non-VGA systems, and no effect on text-screen captures. The VGAREGS switch tells GRABBER to determine certain basic parameters about a VGA graphic image by reading information directly from the hardware registers of the VGA adapter, instead of making assumptions about such parameters based on the ID number of the current video mode. The purpose of this option is to enable GRABBER to capture certain types of VGA graphics more reliably, particularly those generated by animated game programs which modify the standard VGA video modes to achieve faster video performance. The default setting of this option is NOVGAREGS. If you have a VGA graphic application from which GRABBER seems to capture only distorted offspring images, you should try the GRABBER VGAREGS command before capturing screens from that application. VGAREGS may or may not solve the problem. If not, it should be disabled by entering the command GRABBER NOVGAREGS. Please note that the VGAREGS option is primarily for experimenta- tion. It will work on some VGA systems but not all, and with some types of graphic images but not others. It can be used alone or in combination with the VGAREGS2 option described below. Option: VGAREGS2 and NOVGAREGS2 Usage: GRABBER [other options] VGAREGS2 GRABBER [other options] NOVGAREGS2 This option is similar to, but different from, the VGAREGS option. It allows GRABBER to capture screens generated by certain types of VGA graphics programs, particularly games and other animation programs that use the standard 320 x 200 x 256- color VGA mode. The default setting is NOVGAREGS2. The VGAREGS2 option is designed to allow GRABBER to capture a very specific type of VGA graphic screen that is not employed by most programs. For most VGA graphics, using VGAREGS2 will cause the screen to be captured improperly. You should only experiment with VGAREGS2 if you encounter a program that generates images that cannot be captured properly with NOVGAREGS2. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 24 of 44 The VGAREGS2 option can be used alone or in combination with the VGAREGS option described above. Experimenting with one, both, or neither of these options can help you determine how to capture problem images. TIPS FOR CAPTURING FROM GAMES ------------------------------ Game programs, especially those which generate animated graphic screens, are some of the most challenging types of screens to capture reliably. You may find a game program from which GRABBER seems unable to capture accurate offspring images, or any images at all. Here are some suggestions that may help solve the problem: * If possible, capture screens on a VGA-compatible system. Usually, it is easier for GRABBER to capture screens from VGA-compatible systems than it is from EGA systems. * Some games require complete control over the keyboard, and will not let you use the keyboard to communicate with GRAB- BER. Try using your mouse buttons to capture the screen instead. See the MOUSE option, which is described above on page 18. * In some games, GRABBER'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 above on page 17. * Some games use non-standard video modes which GRABBER cannot capture correctly unless you tell it to query the video hardware directly. A common symptom of this is an offspring file which looks scrambled, 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 VGAREGS option, the VGAREGS2 option, or both combined. These options are described above on page 23. * Capturing techniques which work with some programs might not work with other programs. When capturing from several different programs, be prepared to adjust the status of the PROMPT, VGAREGS, and VGAREGS2 options as you switch between them. * You may have to try more than once to successfully capture a game screen. 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 called GRABBER. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 25 of 44 PART II: USING GRABBER'S OFFSPRING .EXE IMAGE FILES The method described above on pages 10-11 is the easiest and most common way to display captured screen images. This is simply to run the offspring program file as a normal command. You remove the offspring image from your screen by pressing any key. 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 vastly increase GRABBER's usefulness, especially if you know how to use batch files with DOS. For on-screen help and other useful information with any GRABBER offspring image file, include the /? switch on the offspring's command line. For example: SCREEN00 /? FADE-IN SCREEN IMAGES: "FADEIN" --------------------------------- (This option works only on VGA systems. It does not work when a GRABBER .exe offspring image is displayed on a CGA, EGA or Hercu- les monochrome system.) If you are displaying a GRABBER offspring image on a VGA-compat- ible system, you can cause the image to "fade in" from blackness by including the FADEIN keyword on the offspring command line. For example: SCREEN00 [other options] FADEIN The FADEIN option 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. Although FADEIN works only when a GRABBER offspring is being redisplayed on a VGA system, it can be used with any text or graphics image, even if it was originally captured on a non-VGA system. FADE-OUT SCREEN IMAGES: "FADEOUT" ---------------------------------- (This option works only on VGA systems. It does not work when a GRABBER .exe offspring image is displayed on a CGA, EGA or Hercu- les monochrome system.) As a complement to the FADEIN option (see above), you can cause the image to "fade out" to blackness by including the FADEOUT keyword on the offspring command line. For example: SCREEN00 [other options] FADEOUT GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 26 of 44 The FADEOUT option 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. Although FADEOUT works only when a GRABBER offspring is being redisplayed on a VGA system, it can be used with any text or graphics image, even if it was originally captured on a non-VGA system. The FADEOUT option can be combined with the FADEIN option de- scribed above, and with all other offspring options described here, except /F and /N. If you combine FADEOUT with the /F or /N switches, FADEOUT will be ignored. TIMED EXECUTION: /Tn ---------------------- If you have an offspring file called SCREEN00 and you want to display it 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 this command at the DOS prompt or within a batch file: 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. (3600 seconds equals exactly one hour.) For example, if you use the command SCREEN00 /T20, then the image within the offspring program 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 batch file, just as it would if you had entered SCREEN00 alone, without the parameter. If you want to exit the SCREEN00 image before 'n' seconds have elapsed, you can press <Ctrl-C>. Pressing <Ctrl-C> sends and "errorlevel" of 255 back to the calling batch file. You may combine the /Tn option together with the /K keylist option described below on page 28. For example: SCREEN00 /T60 /K:123 In this example, the SCREEN00 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 the keys 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 starting below on page 28. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 27 of 44 You may also combine the /Tn option together with the /F option described below. If you do this, the image 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 option 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 (Within a batch file, use %%F instead of %F throughout this exam- ple.) You may not use the /Tn option together with the /N option, below. DON'T CLEAR SCREEN ON EXIT: /F ------------------------------- Unless you tell an 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 intact the image it places on the display, then use the /F switch when you execute it from the DOS prompt or from your batch file, like this: SCREEN00 /F With character-based text screens, the /F option can enhance the appearance of a batch-driven "slide show" or menu system by eliminating the blank screens which appear briefly between the offspring programs being executed by the batch file. Please note that the /F option 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 have also specified any of the other switches described here (i.e. /Tn, /N, /K, or no switch at all). All the /F option does is to prevent the display from being cleared when the offspring program does exit. The /F option may be used together with the /Tn option (above), and with the /N option (below), and with the /K option (below). GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 28 of 44 DON'T WAIT FOR ANY KEYPRESS: /N -------------------------------- 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 exit immediately back to the DOS command line or batch file from which it was called, without waiting for any keyboard input, then use the /N switch, like this: SCREEN00 /N There is no need to also specify the /F switch, described above, 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 option may be used by itself, or with the /Tn option above. However, /N may not be used with the /K option described below. KEYLIST OPERATION: /K ---------------------- This option is supported for all offspring files. The format is: SCREEN00 /K... The format of the "/K..." parameter is explained below. GRABBER offspring files which you view from a batch (.BAT) file can communicate with the batch file using the ERRORLEVEL facility built into DOS. This allows you to create offspring screens that 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 contin- uing. It's actually very simple. Let's set up an example. Say you have created a GRABBER 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 pro- grams are called: 1. WORDPROC.COM (a word processor) 2. SPREAD.EXE (a spreadsheet program) 3. CHESS.COM (a game) GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 29 of 44 And your MENU.EXE image looks something like this: _____________________________________ | | | To get to... Press... | | ----------------- -------- | | Word Processing A | | Spreadsheet B | | Chess Game C | | | |___________________________________| Now, all you need to do is create a batch file, (say it's called SHOWMENU.BAT), which looks something like this: Sample batch file SHOWMENU.BAT -------------------------------- (Line no.) _____________________________________________ | | 1 | :BEGIN | 2 | ECHO OFF | 3 | CLS | 4 | MENU /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 | 11 | GOTO :BEGIN | 12 | :RUN_SPREADSHEET | 13 | SPREAD | 14 | GOTO :BEGIN | 15 | :RUN_WORDPROC | 16 | WORDPROC | 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 file. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 30 of 44 WHAT SHOWMENU.BAT DOES ----------------------- Lines 2 and 3 of SHOWMENU.BAT clean up the screen in preparation for your menu. 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 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 ERRORLEVEL which MENU.EXE will assign to a key is determined by its position in the keylist "A B C". If the user presses <A>, 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 the SHOWMENU file, 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, which starts up your word processing program. Likewise, if the user presses <B>, 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. And so forth. Remember one very important thing. When you test the ERRORLEVEL values in a batch file, follow the example shown 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 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 comput- er. 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 GRABBER offspring programs reserve for their own use when examin- ing 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 Tab key, the colon (:), the semicolon (;), and the slash (/). Therefore, each of the following ways of specifying a Keylist is identical to the others: GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 31 of 44 MENU /KABC MENU /K a b c MENU /k:A b C MENU /K a:B:c The GRABBER offspring program will function identically in either situation. In addition to any alpha 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 backslash (\). 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 described above on page 26, but not with the /N option described above on page 28. 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 described above on page 27. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 32 of 44 DISPLAYING SUPER-VGA GRAPHICS ------------------------------ If a GRABBER offspring file contains a Super-VGA graphic image, then you may have to take special steps to redisplay it properly on your screen. For 16-color graphic screens, "Super-VGA" means that the image is larger than 640 x 480 dots. For 256-color graphic screens, "Super-VGA" means that the image is larger than 320 x 200 dots. Remember, you may check a graphic image's resolution, and receive on-screen help and other useful information, by executing the offspring .exe 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 enter- ing the screen name at the DOS prompt or in a batch file, without any special parameters. The following types of Super-VGA images can be redisplayed on VESA-compatible systems without any com- mand-line parameters, assuming the adapter has enough video memory installed: * 640 x 400 x 256 * 800 x 600 x 16 * 640 x 480 x 256 * 1024 x 768 x 16 * 800 x 600 x 256 * 1024 x 768 x 256 If your Super-VGA adapter is not VESA-compatible, however, then you must tell each Super-VGA offspring file which type of VGA chipset is employed by your adapter. Use this example: SCREEN00 [other options] @CHIPTYPE Super-VGA offspring files recognize the following VGA chipset names. Use one of these in place of "@chiptype" in the above example: GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 33 of 44 DISPLAYING SUPER-VGA GRAPHICS (continued) ------------------------------------------ @ATI ATI Technologies chips @VIDEO7 Video Seven chips @HEADLAND Headland Technology chips @PARADISE Paradise PVGA chips @WD Western Digital WD90C00 chips @TSENG3 Tseng Laboratories ET-3000 chip @TSENG4 Tseng Laboratories ET-4000 chip @STB4 STB adapters using the Tseng Labs ET-4000 chip @AHEADA Ahead Systems chip version "A" @AHEADB Ahead Systems chip version "B" @GENOA Genoa GVGA chip (used by 6000 series cards) @OAK Oak Technology OTI-067 chip @TRIDENT Trident chips @NCR NCR 77C22E chip Instead of telling each Super-VGA offspring file what type of VGA chipset is installed, you can also set a permanent DOS environ- ment variable called "SVGA=" which serves the same function. For example, if your Super-VGA adapter employs the Tseng Labs ET-4000 chipset, 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 VGA chipset, substitute its name from the list above 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 include a "@chiptype" parameter that matches your adapter type, the offspring file will still attempt 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 any possible type of Super-VGA offspring file. 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 video adapter you are currently using. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 34 of 44 USING GRABBER WITH MICROSOFT WINDOWS ------------------------------------- GRABBER 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 while in Microsoft Windows, GRABBER should be able to capture screens from that application just as though you were running it outside of Windows. GRABBER is not designed to capture images from the Windows desktop itself, or from Windows-specific applications which are running in their own individual windows. However, you *may* still be able to use GRABBER to capture screens from Windows, if you observe the following suggestions. Before starting Windows, install GRABBER in memory using these configuration options: 1. Do *not* use the SWAPMODE option. 2. Use the NOPROMPT option. Screens will be named according to the "serial number" scheme described above on page 17. 3. Use this option on the GRABBER command line: SHIFT=7 This will temporarily change GRABBER's hotkey sequence to Ctrl-Shift. (See pages 37-38 below.) 4. On some systems, the VGAREGS option may also be needed. If you install GRABBER in this way, Windows might allow you to capture screens by pressing Ctrl-Shift. 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. This procedure has been known to work using the generic VGA video driver supplied with Windows 3.1, as well as with recent Super- VGA drivers for adapters based on the Tseng Labs ET4000 chipset. It may work with other Super-VGA cards. It will not work with XGA, 8514/A or other video coprocessor drivers. After GRABBER 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 is designed for use only in the MS-DOS environment. While it is unquestionably the most reliable MS-DOS screen capture program you will find anywhere, it has never been advertised (or supported) by the publisher as a Windows screen capture program. If this procedure works for you, consider it to be one of the fringe benefits of GRABBER's stabil- ity. If it doesn't work, and you need to capture Windows screens, you should seek out a screen capture utility designed specifically for Windows. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 35 of 44 PORTABILITY ISSUES: OFFSPRING FILE COMPATIBILITY WITH OTHER SYSTEMS ------------------------------------------------ This section contains important information which you should read if you have a GRABBER offspring file which you plan to display on a system other than the one from which the image was originally captured. In general, GRABBER offspring files, and particularly graphic- mode offspring, 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 offspring can support, ranked in order from least advanced to most advanced: * Monochrome Display Adapter (MDA) * Monochrome Graphics Adapter (MGA; Hercules-compatible) * Color Graphics Adapter (CGA) * Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) * Video Gate Array adapter (VGA) * Super-VGA adapters (SVGA) * Adapter Interface (AI) compatibles (incl. 8514/A and XGA) The following chart lists the different types of text-mode screens which GRABBER 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 both VGA and SVGA. CAN BE CAN BE "PLAYED BACK" ON TEXT MODES CAPTURED FROM: THESE VIDEO SUBSYSTEMS: ---------------- ------------------ ----------------------- * 80 x 25 color CGA EGA (S)VGA MDA MGA CGA EGA (S)VGA * 80 x 25 mono MDA MGA EGA (S)VGA MDA MGA CGA EGA (S)VGA * 40 x 25 color CGA EGA (S)VGA CGA EGA (S)VGA * 80 x 43 EGA (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-compliant. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 36 of 44 OFFSPRING FILE COMPATIBILITY WITH OTHER SYSTEMS (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------ With graphic-mode offspring files, the compatibility issue 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" represents the Multicolor Graph- ics Adapter found in the IBM PS/2 models 25 and 30.) CAN BE CAPTURED CAN BE "PLAYED BACK" ON GRAPHIC MODES FROM ANY OF THESE: ANY OF THESE SYSTEMS: ----------------- ------------------ ----------------------- * 720 x 348 x 2 MGA MGA * 320 x 200 x 4 (M)CGA EGA (S)VGA (M)CGA EGA (S)VGA * 640 x 200 x 2 (M)CGA EGA (S)VGA (M)CGA EGA (S)VGA * 320 x 200 x 16 EGA (S)VGA EGA (S)VGA * 640 x 200 x 16 EGA (S)VGA EGA (S)VGA * 640 x 350 x 2 EGA (S)VGA EGA (S)VGA * 640 x 350 x 16 EGA (S)VGA EGA (S)VGA * 640 x 480 x 2 MCGA (S)VGA MCGA (S)VGA * 640 x 480 x 16 (S)VGA AI (S)VGA AI * 320 x 200 x 256 MCGA (S)VGA MCGA (S)VGA * 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 In order to transport a graphic of Super-VGA resolution to another OEM's SVGA adapter, the destination adapter must either be VESA-compliant, or employ a VGA chipset with which GRABBER is compatible (see page 13 above). To transport a graphic of Super-VGA resolution 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 driver. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 37 of 44 CHANGING GRABBER'S HOTKEY -------------------------- (The information in this section applies to the separate GRTXT program also.) GRABBER allows you to change the keystroke sequence which acti- vates the program, from the default [Ctrl =] to almost any other sequence you choose. If GRABBER is already active in your computer's memory, you may tell the resident copy of GRABBER that you want to start using a different hotkey than the one it currently recognizes, and make the change become effective immediately. GRABBER also gives you the option of making your hotkey change permanent, by saving the new hotkey information back to the GRABBER.EXE file itself. When you use this option, the hotkey you choose will take effect automatically every time you install GRABBER in memory by loading the altered GRABBER.EXE file. Every GRABBER 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 <;>, or a function key such as <F10>, <Esc>, <PgDn> or <Del>. In GRABBER's default [Ctrl =] hotkey, the equal sign <=> is the KEY part. The SHIFT part of your hotkey can be made up of any combination of the following keys on your keyboard: <Shift>, <Ctrl>, and <Alt>. In GRABBER's default [Ctrl =] hotkey, the <Ctrl> key is the SHIFT part. You can specify a GRABBER hotkey on the command line both when you are initially installing the program in memory, and when re-invoking GRABBER after it is already resident. Use this syntax: GRABBER [other options pp. 12-19] 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. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 38 of 44 The SAVEHOTKEY parameter is optional. When you include it on the command line together with the KEY=kk and SHIFT=ss parameters, it instructs GRABBER to save your new hotkey choice permanently to the GRABBER.EXE file. This way, your new hotkey will take effect automatically every time you reinstall GRABBER in memory, and you won't have to specify your new KEY=kk and SHIFT=ss parameters every time you restart the program. 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 remains resident in memory, or until you change it again with new KEY=kk and SHIFT=ss codes. Please read Appendices A and B for additional important informa- tion. TESTING THE RELIABILITY OF YOUR VESA BIOS EXTENSION ---------------------------------------------------- As mentioned above on page 8, GRABBER is compatible with VGA systems which include support for the VESA BIOS Extension ("VBE"). The VBE is a standardized method by which programs can take advantage of the enhanced capabilities of high-performance video adapters, independently of the adapters' specific hardware layouts, which vary among different manufacturers. An adapter's support for the VBE can take the form of a set of programming routines which are either permanently built into the adapter itself, or are added by loading a software VBE driver into your computer's memory by way of your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Some newer VGA adapters have VBE support built into the adapter itself, while most older adapters can be supplemented with VBE support by using a software driver which is available from the manufacturer. Although the VBE is now a "standard" in the microcomputer video industry, some VBE software drivers (and even some hardware- encoded VBE drivers) exist which do not fully conform to the official VESA BIOS specifications. In short, they have bugs which prevent programs such as GRABBER from working reliably with the video hardware. When you install GRABBER in memory, it checks for the presence of VBE support for your video adapter. If it finds VBE support, GRABBER will automatically attempt to use it, unless you tell GRABBER otherwise. However, if your VBE driver (hardware or software) is one of those that are not fully compliant with VESA specifications, GRABBER may not function properly. The purpose of the CHKVBE.EXE program included on your GRABBER distribution diskette is to help you identify whether your system has VBE support, and if so, whether your VBE driver is fully compatible with GRABBER and the VESA specifications. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 39 of 44 CHKVBE is executed without parameters. If it reports that your system has no VBE support, or has VBE support which "appears to be compatible with GRABBER," then no further action is necessary, and you can install GRABBER in memory as usual. However, if CHKVBE reports that your system has VBE support which "appears to be incompatible with GRABBER," then you should prevent GRABBER from attempting to use the VBE by including the NOVESA switch on the command line when you install GRABBER in memory. For example: GRABBER [other parameters] NOVESA (If your system crashes when you execute CHKVBE, you may assume that your VBE driver has a serious bug. In this case, you should also use the NOVESA switch when you install GRABBER in memory.) GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 40 of 44 PROGRAMMERS NOTE: CALLING GRABBER FROM YOUR OWN PROGRAMS --------------------------------------- If you are a programmer developing your own software, you can invoke GRABBER to capture the screen from within your own pro- gram, assuming that GRABBER is already resident in memory. This is accomplished by using GRABBER's external programming hook, which is really 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. CUSTOMIZED INTERRUPT 16H TO INVOKE GRABBER, SERVICE 4752H --------------------------------------------------------- On entry: AX = 4752h DL = 0 (to check only if GRABBER is resident) DL = 1 (to capture the current screen) On return: AX = 5247h (if GRABBER is installed in memory) For DL=0 or DL=1: BL contains the logical drive to which the capture would be attempted (DL=0) or was attempted (DL=1). 0=default, 1=drive A, 2=drive B, etc. For DL=1: No --> Capture successful. ES:DX points to Carry an ASCIIZ string which contains the Flag [drive:][\path\]filename of the newly created offspring (drive also coded in BL). Carry --> If DX = FFFFh, then a capture attempt Flag failed due to a critical disk error or Set disk-full error on the logical drive encoded in BL. (Speaker beeped in either case.) If DX does not equal FFFFh, capture was not attempted. GRABBER was busy servicing a prior capture request, or some other disk I/O was occurring, or DOS was not in a re- enterable state. Try again momentarily. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 41 of 44 HOW TO CONTACT THE PUBLISHER ----------------------------- If you have any questions about ordering one of the registered versions of GRABBER, or would like to tell us about bugs or other problems in using the programs, please contact the publisher at one of the addresses or numbers listed below. Also, if you feel there is an aspect of the program which is unclearly documented here, we appreciate your suggestions. Please read all of the documentation carefully before putting GRABBER to heavy use, and 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. If you submit a problem report, please 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 technical 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 PC; (3) your brand and version of DOS; (4) your brand and model of video adapter and display screen; (5) what software program you are running when the problem occurs; and (6) the contents of both your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. It is difficult to solve a problem without having all of this information. By mail: Gerald A. Monroe P.O. Box 770906 Lakewood, Ohio 44107 U.S.A. CompuServe: 72321,1257 Internet: 72321.1257@compuserve.com Telephone: 216/521-6060 Fax: 216/521-6060 (9 am to 5 pm Eastern time, Monday through Friday) APPENDIX A ------------ These are the codes you may use with GRABBER's and GRTXT's "KEY=kk" parameter to change their hotkeys. See also page 37 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 I 23 9 10 F9 67 J 36 0 11 F10 68 K 37 F11 87 L 38 ` 41 F12 88 M 50 - 12 N 49 = 13 Tab 15 O 24 , 51 Esc 01 P 25 . 52 Ins 82 Q 16 / 53 Del 83 R 19 ; 39 PgUp 73 S 31 ' 40 PgDn 81 T 20 [ 26 Home 71 U 22 ] 27 End 79 V 47 \ 43 * 55 W 17 Up 72 X 45 Down 80 Y 21 Left 75 Z 44 Right 77 NOTES: To view this table on your screen, enter GRABBER KEY=? The asterisk key (fifth from the bottom in the third 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 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. <Up>, <Down>, <Left> and <Right> at the bottom of the third column represent the arrow keys. These codes refer to the arrow keys on the numeric keypad on all keyboards, as well as to the separate arrow-key block on enhanced keyboards. APPENDIX B ------------ These are the codes you may use with GRABBER's and GRTXT's "SHIFT=ss" parameter to change their hotkeys. See also page 37 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 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 hotkey, then you must include some nonzero SHIFT= parameter. GRABBER 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 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 treats the left and right members of each pair identically as well. GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 44 of 44 APPENDIX C: LICENSE TERMS ------------------------------ The following files (collectively, the "GRABBER package") are Copyright 1992, 1993 by Gerald A. Monroe. All rights are re- served except as expressly provided herein: GRABBER.EXE, GRAB- BER.DOC, CHKVBE.EXE, GRTXT.EXE, GRTXT.DOC, GR4AI.EXE, GRAI2PCX,EXE, GRAI2GIF.EXE, GR4AI.DOC, GR2PCX.EXE, GR2PIC.EXE, GR2GIF,EXE, CONVERT.DOC, GREDIT.EXE, GREDIT.DOC, GR2ANSI.EXE, and GR2ASCII.EXE. The GRABBER package is being marketed in this special form as shareware. This means you have the opportunity to use and evaluate it before you decide whether to buy. If you regularly use GRABBER, or any of its "offspring" programs, or any of its companion utilities, then you are required to send your regis- tration fee to the publisher according to the instructions on page 3 of this document. When you register, you receive a copy of the latest registered version of GRABBER. Using this share- ware issue for more than 10 days constitutes "regular" use under this license, and requires you to register. Whether or not you become a registered user, you are permitted under this license to copy and distribute the GRABBER package freely, provided that: a) absolutely no fee is charged, and no donation requested, for the copying and/or distribution of the GRABBER package without the express written permission of the copyright owner (unless you are an ASP-approved distributor, in which case permission is hereby granted); b) all of the files in the GRABBER package are always copied and/or distributed together; and c) none of the files in the GRABBER package is modified, disas- sembled or reverse-engineered in any way. SPECIFICALLY: NO INDIVIDUAL, ASSOCIATION OR CORPORATION, OTHER THAN SHAREWARE DISTRIBUTORS APPROVED BY THE ASSOCIATION OF SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS, MAY INCLUDE THE GRABBER PACKAGE, OR ANY PART OF IT, ON *ANY* MEDIA OR WITH ANY HARDWARE FOR WHICH *ANY* MONEY IS CHARGED, OR *ANY* DONATION REQUESTED, WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER. SUCH FEES OR DONATIONS INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, HANDLING FEES, MATERI- ALS FEES, AND OUTRIGHT PREMIUMS. NON-ASP-APPROVED INDIVIDUALS, ASSOCIATIONS OR CORPORATIONS SEEKING PERMISSION TO DISTRIBUTE THESE FILES ON ANY SUCH TERMS, SHOULD APPLY IN WRITING TO: GERALD A. MONROE, P.O. BOX 770906, LAKEWOOD, OHIO 44107, U.S.A. Any use, copying or distribution of the GRABBER package, other than as described herein, is unlawful and in violation of this license.