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GRABBER (tm) Version 3.8 Shareware Issue ----------------------------- The Screen Capture Program for the IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 and Compatibles DOCUMENTATION AND TECHNICAL NOTES June 29, 1991 Copyright 1991 by Gerald A. Monroe CompuServe Mail ID # 72321,1257 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 to buy. If you regularly use GRABBER, or any of its "offspring" programs, then you are required to send your registration fee to the author according to the instructions on page 3 of this document. (The cost as of this writing is $59.00 or $29.00 U.S. per single-user license, depending on the features you desire.) 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 (some of which are not included in this shareware version), plus any enhancements that 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. +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | Notice to Distributors, Publishers and User's Groups: | | ------------------------------------------------------ | | Please consult the last page of this document for important | | license information and restrictions. | | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ PC, XT, PC/AT and PS/2 are trademarks, and IBM is a registered trademark, of International Business Machines Corporation. Hercules is a registered trademark of Hercules Computer Technology PC Paintbrush is a registered trademark of Zsoft Corporation. WordPerfect is a registered trademark of WordPerfect Corporation. PageMaker is a registered trademark of Aldus Corporation. Ventura Publisher is a registered trademark of Ventura Software Inc. GRABBER (tm) Documentation and Technical Notes Page 2 of 32 YOU RECEIVE THESE BONUSES WHEN YOU REGISTER YOUR GRABBER (tm) **************************************************************** Thank you for your interest in the GRABBER screen capture system. Users who register their use of the program with the author receive a copy of the latest release of the GRABBER package. 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. (Both packages include the GREDIT, GR2ASCII and GR2ANSI programs, three helpful "text screen" utilities described on the next page.) The $59 registered package is designed with the graphics power user in mind. If you need a program that can capture high-resolution Super-VGA graphics, or if you want to convert the graphic 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 $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. Here is a list of features and utilities available with each of the registered GRABBER packages (complete as of June 1991). Most are already included in this shareware issue so that you can test them for a 10-day trial period. Unless otherwise noted, each item is included with both the $59 and $29 packages: * Super-VGA graphics support, compatible with many of the most popular brands of enhanced VGA products on the market today, in resolutions up to 1024 x 768 in 256 and 16 colors. See page 8 below. (Available with the $59 package only.) * GR2GIF (tm), GR2PCX (tm), and GR2PIC (tm), three GRABBER companion utilities which convert any captured graphic image to the popular GIF, PCX, and PIC image formats. Convert the whole image, or use the resize option to crop only the portion you want. Create files suitable for importing into the most popular desktop publishing, word processing and paint programs, including WordPerfect 5.0+, PageMaker, Ventura Publisher, PC Paintbrush, and many, many more. (Available with the $59 package only.) * Standard EGA and VGA graphics support, for all IBM-compatible EGA and VGA systems, in resolutions up to 640 x 480 in 16 colors and 320 x 200 in 256 colors. * Color Graphics Adapter support, for all IBM CGA-compatible systems, in resolutions of 320 x 200 in 4 colors and 640 x 200 in 2 colors. (continued...) GRABBER (tm) Documentation and Technical Notes Page 3 of 32 REGISTRATION BONUSES (continued) --------------------------------- * Hercules-compatible monochrome graphics support, in the standard 720 x 348 monochrome resolution. * GREDIT (tm), a feature-packed, full-screen color editor which allows you to modify any GRABBER text image to your taste. Use GREDIT to design menu systems and interactive "slideshow" presenta- tions for your PC. * GR2ASCII (tm), another GRABBER companion utility which converts your captured text screens into plain ASCII text files for easy printing, importing, word processing, etc. * GR2ANSI (tm), yet another GRABBER companion utility which converts captured text screens into color, ANSI-encoded files suitable for TYPEing to the console or displaying via modem, etc. * GRHOTKEY (tm), a utility which allows you to modify your GRABBER "hotkey" combination from the default [Ctrl =] to virtually any other key sequence you choose. You can make your hotkey changes temporary or permanent. This can be an advantage if the default [Ctrl =] key sequence causes conflicts with other software in your system. * * * To obtain either the current $59.00 or $29.00 registered release of GRABBER, GR2GIF, GR2PCX, GR2PIC, GREDIT, GR2ASCII, GR2ANSI and GRHOTKEY, with all of their latest enhancements, register by sending the order form on the next page with your check or money order for $59.00 or $29.00 U.S., per copy, to: Gerald A. Monroe 1241 Bunts Road Lakewood, Ohio 44107 U.S.A. * For information on site licenses, please contact the author at the above address, or by CompuServe Mail at ID# 72321,1257. * U.S. funds only, please. * Canadian and overseas users: Please use a check or money order drawn on, or payable through, a U.S. bank. GRABBER (tm) Documentation and Technical Notes Page 4 of 32 +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | 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 ________ | | | | I prefer: _____ 3-1/2" disk(s); _____ 5-1/4" disk(s) | | | | * * * | | | | (We like to make sure that Bulletin Board Systems and shareware | | distributors always have the latest shareware release of GRABBER. | | If you received your copy of GRABBER from a Bulletin Board System, | | User's Group, or software distributor, please supply its name and | | location. If from a public BBS, please add the phone number:) | | | | __________________________________________________________________ | | 3.87 08/91 | +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ * PLEASE NOTE: The prices of the registered GRABBER packages are subject to change after September 30, 1991. The latest shareware issue of GRABBER, including the most up-to-date registration price information, is always posted for downloading in these three places: * CompuServe IBMSYS and GRAPHSUPPORT forums * PC-Ohio BBS, (216) 381-3320, in Directory #1. (File name is GRABBxxx.ZIP, where "xxx" indicates the version number. E.g., GRABB387.ZIP means Version 3.87.) If the release date of this document is more than six months old when you receive it, then it might not be current. To make sure you have the latest information regarding pricing and availability of new features, please contact the author or look for the latest shareware release of GRABBER in one of the places listed above. Table of Contents PART 1: CONFIGURING AND USING GRABBER Shareware registration information ................. 2, 3, 4 Overview of GRABBER ................................ 6 GRABBER requirements ............................... 6 Compatibility with text and standard graphics ...... 7 Compatibility with non-standard, Super-VGA modes ... 8 Starting GRABBER ................................... 9 Hard disk systems ................................ 10 Two diskette drives .............................. 10 One diskette drive ............................... 10 Capturing the screen ............................... 11 Things to know about the filename prompt function... 12 Capturing Hercules-compatible monochrome graphics... 13 Capturing to different drive/directory ............. 14 Errors during the screen capture ................... 14 If the computer is too busy to capture ............. 14 GRABBER installation options ....................... 15 The /P switch: enable/disable filename prompts ... 15 The /M switch: enable/disable the mouse hotkey ... 16 The /F switch: enable/disable font/palette info .. 17 The /S switch: enable/disable sound .............. 18 The /Q switch: "quick captures" .................. 19 The /NOXMS switch: disable extended memory use ... 19 The /NOEMS switch: disable expanded memory use ... 20 The /U switch: uninstall GRABBER from memory ..... 20 The /D switch: capture to default drive & path ... 21 The /NOVBE switch: disable VESA BIOS use ......... 21 PART 2: USING GRABBER's OFFSPRING .EXE IMAGE FILES Options for displaying offspring files ............. 22 Timed execution: /Tn ........................... 22 Don't clear screen on exit: /F ................. 23 Don't wait for any keypress: /N ................ 23 Keylist and interactive batch files: /K ........ 24 Sample interactive batch file .................. 25 Changing GRABBER's hotkey with GRHOTKEY ............ 28 Testing your VESA BIOS Extension with CHKVBE ....... 29 Programmers: Calling GRABBER from your own programs. 30 Reporting problems/bugs ............................ 31 License terms for this Shareware Issue of GRABBER... 32 GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 6 of 32 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 re- serves 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. 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) the IBM-PC DOS (Disk Operating System), or MS-DOS, in a version numbered 2.0 or higher. You can use GRABBER with either a color or a monochrome display screen. GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 7 of 32 WHAT GRABBER CAN CAPTURE ------------------------- GRABBER is capable of capturing practically any size of text image which your computer can display, up to 132 columns by 60 rows. GRABBER is capable of capturing graphic images on systems equipped with any of the following video display adapters: * Color Graphics Adapter (CGA) * Hercules-compatible Monochrome Graphics Adapter (MGA) * Multicolor Graphics Adapter (MCGA) * Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) * Video Gate Array adapter (VGA) GRABBER saves all images, whether text or graphics, to executable program files with an ".EXE" file name extension. GRABBER captures all of the video modes listed in the following chart, which have been standardized by manufacturers of the various video adapters mentioned above: Video Text Graphics Adapters Mode Resolution Resolution Colors Supporting ----- ---------- ---------- ------ -------------------- 00 40 x 25 n/a b&w CGA/MCGA/EGA/VGA 01 40 x 25 n/a 16 CGA/MCGA/EGA/VGA 02 80+ x 25+ n/a b&w CGA/MCGA/EGA/VGA 03 80+ x 25+ n/a 16 CGA/MCGA/EGA/VGA 04 40 x 25 320 x 200 4 CGA/MCGA/EGA/VGA 05 40 x 25 320 x 200 b&w CGA/MCGA/EGA/VGA 06 80 x 25 640 x 200 b&w CGA/MCGA/EGA/VGA 07 80+ x 25+ n/a mono MGA/MCGA/EGA/VGA * 07 n/a 720 x 348 mono MGA * 13 40 x 25 320 x 200 16 EGA/VGA * 14 80 x 25 640 x 200 16 EGA/VGA * 15 80 x 25 640 x 350 mono EGA/VGA * 16 80 x 25 640 x 350 4/16 EGA/VGA * 17 80 x 30 640 x 480 b&w VGA/MCGA * 18 80 x 30 640 x 480 16 VGA * 19 40 x 25 320 x 200 256 VGA/MCGA Please note: Video modes in the chart above which are preceded by an asterisk (*), as well as all of the "Super-VGA" video modes which are discussed on the next page, are captured by the shareware version of GRABBER in "demonstration" form. The version of GRABBER which you receive when you register the software does not include a regis- tration reminder. GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 8 of 32 "SUPER-VGA" and NON-STANDARD VIDEO MODES ----------------------------------------- A Super-VGA adapter can be defined as an adapter which is fully compatible with IBM's original VGA adapter, and also supports graphics resolutions of 800 x 600 dots or greater in 16-color modes, or resolutions of 640 x 400 dots or greater in 256-color modes. In addition to the modes listed in the chart on page 7, GRABBER can also capture several non-standardized graphics modes that are available on the Super-VGA adapters of many different manufacturers. However, due to the current lack of Super-VGA standardization, it is not possible to list here each of the mode numbers used by each brand of Super-VGA adapter, or the graphics resolution associated with each mode number. Instead, here is a list of the most common Super-VGA graphics resolutions in use today. GRABBER is designed and tested to work with these resolutions on many different brands of adapters: - 800 x 600 x 16 colors - 640 x 480 x 256 colors - 1024 x 768 x 16 colors - 800 x 600 x 256 colors - 640 x 350 x 256 colors - 1024 x 768 x 256 colors - 640 x 400 x 256 colors (Please note: GRABBER is not designed or tested to work with high- resolution 4-color or 8-color images.) GRABBER is continuously being revised to keep up with new Super-VGA modes and adapter designs as they become known, and the program does recognize many manufacturer-specific modes which are not included in the list of common Super-VGA modes shown above. GRABBER's compatibility with a particular Super-VGA adapter will depend primarily on the manufacturer of the adapter's VLSI circuitry, or its "VGA chipset" maker. This manufacturer is not necessarily the same as the company who puts its brand name on the card, because many Super-VGA manufacturers obtain their VGA chipsets from outside sources and build their adapters around them. Therefore, the way to identify the chipset used by your Super-VGA adapter is to check the name printed on top of the VLSI circuit chip which is soldered to the surface of the adapter itself. (The VLSI chip is usually the largest single chip on the board.) As of this writing, GRABBER is designed to be compatible with the VGA chipsets produced by these manufacturers: - Ahead Systems - Oak Technology - Headland Technology (Video Seven) - ATI - Trident - Western Digital (Paradise) - Everex - ZyMOS - Chips & Technologies - Genoa Systems - Tseng Labs GRABBER is also compatible with Super-VGA adapters -- regardless of the type of VGA chipset employed -- which support the new "VESA BIOS extension," a Super-VGA standard adopted in 1990 by the Video Electronics Standards Association. If you have an older Super-VGA GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 9 of 32 adapter without VESA compatibility, you may wish to contact the adapter's vendor to obtain a new BIOS chip or VESA software device driver for it. It is likely that by now the vendor has developed a new VESA-compatible BIOS chip to replace the old BIOS on the card, or an installable device driver to supplement the existing BIOS chip. STARTING GRABBER ----------------- If you have a hard disk drive, copy the file GRABBER.EXE from your GRABBER distribution diskette to your hard disk. If you don't have a hard disk, copy the GRABBER.EXE file from its distribution diskette to the floppy diskette which you place in Drive A when you start your computer. Consult your DOS manual if you are not sure how to use DOS' "COPY" command. Whenever you call on GRABBER to capture a screen, it attempts to create an offspring file on your hard disk or floppy diskette. Before starting GRABBER, you should decide on which disk drive or hard disk directory you want to instruct GRABBER to place the offspring files, and tell GRABBER this. You have a few options. The way to install GRABBER in memory is to enter one of the following commands at the DOS prompt, or as a line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file: GRABBER drive:\pathname or, GRABBER drive: or, GRABBER /D 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 you have a hard disk divided into subdirectories -- as most hard disks are -- then you have the option of specifying to which of these subdirectory "paths" GRABBER will deposit offspring files. In the third example, /D is a "command switch" which stands for "Default." It instructs GRABBER not to place offspring files always in a particular place, but to use whatever drive happens to be closest at hand when you make your capture request. This is known as the "default drive and path." Depending on what program you are running, this drive can change from one to another, and often will. The /D switch is recommended for systems with a single floppy disk- ette drive and no hard disk. Please note that GRABBER does not remain resident in memory until you issue the GRABBER command followed by a drive/path destination para- meter, or by the /D switch. After GRABBER is installed in memory, you do not have to specify a drive/path parameter on the command line at times when you issue successive GRABBER commands to communicate con- figuration options to the copy of the program that resides in memory. GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 10 of 32 HARD DISK SYSTEMS ------------------ If you have a hard disk, its increased speed and capacity make it the most convenient place to store your GRABBER offspring files. If you are not familiar with the concept of directories -- most hard disks are organized using them -- then you should consult this topic in your DOS manual now, before continuing. If your hard disk is called drive C:, then using the command GRABBER C: instructs GRABBER to place your offspring files on whatever the current default directory happens to be on your hard disk. This directory will often change while you are running programs on your computer, so in this instance, you might have offspring files scattered among different directories on the disk. To place all your offspring files in the same, specific directory, add a directory name after the drive name. For instance, entering GRABBER C:\ will place your offspring files in the root directory of your hard disk. GRABBER C:\PICTURES will place them in a sub- directory called PICTURES, assuming it exists. TWO DISKETTE DRIVES -------------------- If your system has two floppy diskette drives, you may use either the "A:" or "B:" parameters to install GRABBER in memory. You may also follow the drive letter with a directory name if your diskette has subdirectories on it, but be aware that GRABBER will be unable to capture the screen later if you insert a new diskette into the installed drive which does not have a subdirectory with the same name as the one you specified when you installed GRABBER in memory with the command GRABBER [drive:][\path]. ONE DISKETTE DRIVE ------------------- If you have no hard disk and only one floppy disk drive, it is recom- mended that you start GRABBER using the GRABBER /D command. This prevents the possibility of spoiling your screen image with DOS' instruction to "Insert diskette for drive X and press any key" when you are requesting GRABBER to capture the screen. GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 11 of 32 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, and also reminds you where your offspring files will be placed: either on a specific drive or in the default drive (and path), depending on the parameter you used. You are now ready to capture your display screens to disk. To capture the screen, you press GRABBER's reserved key com- bination, which is [CTRL =]. That is, you hold down the [CTRL] key, press the equal sign key [=], then release the [CTRL] key again. This key sequence will be referred to below as GRABBER's "hotkey" combination. 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 12 of 32 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. It doesn't matter to GRABBER where you are or what program you are running. Whenever you see a screen you want to save for later, just press [CTRL =] and you have a permanent copy of it. THE FILENAME PROMPT FUNCTION ----------------------------- Keep in mind a few things about the filename prompt function: * 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 in- structions on page 9, above, and are given whatever filename you specify at the prompt. If you want to change the drive and/or directory path to which your images are saved, you may do so simply by restarting GRABBER at the DOS prompt -- see below. * If you want to abort 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 13 of 32 If at any time you are not sure whether GRABBER is installed in memory, or what drive/directory it is capturing your screens to, then you can find out by entering the command GRABBER by itself at the DOS prompt. A window will appear in the upper left corner of the screen. If GRABBER is not resident, the window contains the message "GRABBER is not resident in memory." If GRABBER is resident, a message in the window states "Capturing to ..." and also tells you whether the file- name prompt function is enabled, how much memory GRABBER has reserved for itself, and what hotkey combination the memory-resident copy of GRABBER has reserved. 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. However, 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 in the 720x348 graphic mode (which would result in an offspring file containing only a blank or garbage-filled image), GRABBER requires the user to choose which page to capture. After pressing the [CTRL =] hotkey while in the graphic mode, you will hear a 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. Any other keypress will abort the capture process. 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 application programs also allow you to force the use of one or the other page in their installation procedures.) The second way is by trial and error. If you choose to capture Page 0 but the result- ing 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. GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 14 of 32 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 the default /D), just restart GRABBER in the same way as described above, using the new parameter. GRABBER will again display its welcome banner, informing you that the new path is now in effect. Switching offspring paths does not alter the sequence of the offspring file names. If, for example, 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. ERRORS DURING THE SCREEN CAPTURE --------------------------------- If, for any reason, GRABBER is unable to capture your image to an offspring file, 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, at first, seems to happen. This is usually because the application program which you are running, or DOS itself if you are capturing from the DOS prompt, is in the middle of a sen- sitive task which cannot be interrupted. And so GRABBER waits. In this case, GRABBER knows that you have requested to capture the screen, and will do so as soon as it is "safe," although until it becomes safe to capture the screen, its contents could change. Situations which require GRABBER to wait before capturing the screen include any kind of reading or writing to a disk by another program; using any of DOS' COPY or TYPE commands; or while the computer is waiting for your response after an "Abort, Retry, Ignore" message. GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 15 of 32 GRABBER INSTALLATION 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. 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 thereby reconfigure its operations as you go, without having to remove GRABBER from memory and restart it. 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: /P+ and /P- Usage: GRABBER [other options] /P+ ; enables filename prompts GRABBER [other options] /P- ; disables filename prompts The /P switch tells GRABBER whether you wish to be prompted on the screen to enter a name for the .exe image file before it is created, or instead whether each .exe file should automatically be assigned a name by GRABBER. This filename prompt function defaults to an "ON" status. The command GRABBER /P- can be used to turn it off. The filename prompts will then remain disabled until the command GRABBER /P+ is issued, and the prompts will resume. GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 16 of 32 While the filename prompt function is disabled, GRABBER automatically 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 /P- 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 filename prompt function is not available at all when you are capturing 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. EGA, VGA and Super-VGA users: Due to hardware limitations and the wide variety of designs used by different manufacturers of these adapters, it may sometimes occur that the filename prompt appears in a distorted or garbled form at the top of your screen when the display is running in a high-resolution graphic mode. Whether this problem will arise at all, is largely dependent on the particular foreground software you are running when GRABBER is requested to interrupt it. If the filename prompt function causes unacceptable side-effects on the foreground application, then you should disable the prompt function with the /P- switch before capturing screens from inside that application. Please note, however, that even though a filename prompt may appear garbled, GRABBER is not aware of this and still waits for you to enter a filename at the keyboard before it continues (or aborts) the screen-capture process. Option: /M+ and /M- Usage: GRABBER [other options] /M+ ; enables the mouse "hotkey" GRABBER [other options] /M- ; disables the mouse "hotkey" The /M 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 mouse hotkey function defaults to an "OFF" status. The command GRABBER /M+ can be used to turn it on. The mouse hotkey will then remain enabled until the command GRABBER /M- is issued. GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 17 of 32 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 abort. 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 "monopolize" 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 attention either at the keyboard or using the mouse with the /M+ switch, then 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. Having been designed primarily for this purpose, GRABBER' mouse sup- port is no more sophisticated than it needs to be. Although the mouse hotkey function can make GRABBER much more convenient to use within some mouse-based applications, with others it might also tend to get in the way by causing unwanted screen capture prompts to appear, if the application thinks you are trying to communicate with it rather than with GRABBER, as will usually be the case. For this reason, the mouse hotkey is not generally recommended as a substitute for the keyboard hotkey unless you find that the two programs get along well together when the mouse is used. Option: /F+ and /F- Usage: GRABBER [other options] /F+ ; enables saving of EGA/VGA font ; and VGA palette information ; for text images GRABBER [other options] /F- ; disables the saving of same The /F switch affects the way in which GRABBER saves character-based text images on systems equipped with EGA, VGA and Super-VGA adapters. It has no effect on images captured from CGA or Hercules-compatible systems. This "font/palette" function defaults to an "OFF" status. The command GRABBER /F+ can be used to turn it on. The font/palette function will then remain on until the command GRABBER /F- is issued. GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 18 of 32 EGA and VGA systems have the ability to display customized character fonts in character-based text modes. VGA systems also have the additional ability to display images using a customized 256-color palette in such modes. When the font/palette function is enabled with the /F+ switch, the .exe files to which your text screens are saved will include the image's palette and/or font information, so that when you run the .exe file later, you will get the most exact possible replica of the original text screen. (This palette and font informa- tion will be saved even if your display adapter's default color palette and/or font appearance have not been modified. However, when they have not been modified, it is not necessary to use the /F+ switch to ensure an exact replica of the image.) A text image captured with the font/palette function enabled will occupy about 5,000 to 8,000 more bytes of disk space than the same image would occupy if the font/palette function were disabled. An offspring .exe image file containing customized palette and/or font information can be displayed later on systems which do not support customized fonts or palettes, such as CGA and Hercules-compatible systems. However, such earlier adapters will ignore the font/palette information and display the image using their unchangeable, ROM-based font and palette. Option: /S+ and /S- Usage: GRABBER [other options] /S+ ; enables GRABBER's beep sounds GRABBER [other options] /S- ; disables GRABBER's beep sounds The /S switch tells 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 sound function defaults to an "ON" status. The command GRABBER /S- can be used to turn it off. The beep sounds will then remain disabled until the command GRABBER /S+ is issued. In addition to the two occasions for sound which are mentioned in the preceding paragraph, GRABBER will also issue a series of three low- pitched beeps whenever, and for whatever reason, it is unable to complete a screen capture operation. The /S switch affects only GRABBER's treatment of the two "normal" beep situations. The beeps which GRABBER issues to indicate an unsuccessful capture attempt cannot be disabled using the /S- switch. GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 19 of 32 Option: /Q Usage: GRABBER /Q ; perform a "quick capture" The /Q switch tells a memory-resident copy of GRABBER to capture the screen immediately, on the spot. This is called a "quick capture." Although it can be used at the DOS prompt, the command GRABBER /Q is useful primarily in batch files, when you want to capture screens automatically as they go by, without having to press GRABBER's usual hotkey combination at the keyboard. In short, the /Q switch has the same effect as pressing the hotkey. Screens captured using the GRABBER /Q command do not 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. Screens captured with /Q are therefore named by GRABBER according to its default "serial number" scheme -- see pages 15-16. If the quick capture is completed successfully, then GRABBER passes an errorlevel = zero back to the batch file which issued the GRABBER /Q command. If any error is encountered, GRABBER passes back an errorlevel = 1. The /Q switch may be used only after GRABBER is made resident in memory. The /Q switch cannot be used when you are initially instal- ling GRABBER in memory. Also, the /Q switch cannot be combined with any other optional command line switches described in this section. Any other switches you specify on the same command line as /Q will be ignored. Option: /NOXMS Usage: GRABBER [other options] /NOXMS ; disables GRABBER's use of ; extended memory for its ; temporary work space The /NOXMS switch tells GRABBER not to reserve any extended memory to be used as temporary work space during its screen capture opera- tions. The /NOXMS switch may be used only when you are initially installing GRABBER in memory. The command GRABBER /NOXMS has no effect after GRABBER is made resident. When you initially install GRABBER in memory on an IBM AT-compatible computer, it searches for 29Kb 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 29Kb of available XMS extended memory, it will automatically 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 GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 20 of 32 use by other programs which also use extended memory, and GRABBER will not relinquish it until you remove GRABBER from memory by using the /U command line switch or by rebooting the computer. If your AT-compatible computer has XMS-compatible extended memory which you do not want GRABBER to use, then include the /NOXMS switch on the command line when you initially install GRABBER in memory. Option: /NOEMS Usage: GRABBER [other options] /NOEMS ; disables GRABBER's use of ; expanded memory for its ; temporary work space The /NOEMS switch tells GRABBER not to reserve any expanded memory to be used as temporary work space during its screen capture opera- tions. The /NOEMS switch may be used only when you are initially installing GRABBER in memory. The command GRABBER /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 command line 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 auto- matically 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 /U command line switch or by reboot- ing the computer. If your computer has EMS-compatible expanded memory which you do not want GRABBER to use, then include the /NOEMS switch on the command line when you initially install GRABBER in memory. Option: /U Usage: GRABBER /U ; "uninstalls" GRABBER, i.e. ; removes it from memory The /U switch tells GRABBER to search your computer's memory for a copy of itself that has previously been made resident, and to remove the program from memory if found. If removal is successful, then the message is displayed at the upper left corner of your screen which GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 21 of 32 states that "GRABBER is not resident in memory," and all conventional memory that GRABBER was occupying, as well as any XMS extended memory or EMS expanded memory which it may have been using as temporary work space, will be relinquished and made available for other programs. GRABBER may not be uninstalled if, after it was initially installed, you loaded other memory-resident software which is activated by any of the same hardware or software interrupts which GRABBER uses. Attempt- ing to use the command GRABBER /U under such circumstances will not work, and a message will be displayed to this effect. You will always be able to uninstall GRABBER if it was the most recent memory-resident program to be installed. Option: /D Usage: GRABBER [other options] /D ; cancels a previously specified ; drive/path destination for .exe ; image files, tells GRABBER to ; write to the default drive and ; path instead The /D switch was described above in the section called "Starting GRABBER." The /D 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 to the default drive and path instead. During the initial installation of GRABBER, the /D switch acts as a substitute for the drive and/or path parameter which is otherwise required to make GRABBER stay resident in memory. If you did not use the /D switch 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 the GRABBER /D command, 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 /D command which was issued previously: GRABBER C:\PICTURES [other options] Option: /NOVBE Usage: GRABBER [other options] /NOVBE ; disables VESA BIOS usage (Please refer to the section on VESA BIOS compatibility on page 29.) GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 22 of 32 PART II: USING GRABBER'S OFFSPRING .EXE IMAGE FILES The method described above on pages 11-12 is the easiest and most common way to display your 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. TIMED EXECUTION: /Tn ---------------------- (This option is supported for all offspring files, text or graphics.) 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, simply press <Esc> or <Ctrl-C>. Any other keystrokes will be ignored. Pressing <Ctrl-C> will pass an "errorlevel" of 255 back to DOS or a calling batch file, but <Esc> sends a zero. If you are displaying a text image, then you may use the /Tn option together with the /F option described below. If you do this, the image displays itself on your screen until EITHER 'n' seconds transpire OR you press <Esc> or <Ctrl-C>, whichever occurs first. Then the offspring program exits back to the DOS prompt or batch file without erasing itself from the screen. GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 23 of 32 The /Tn option is of great usefulness when you want to run a "slide show" routine on an unattended computer. Try this DOS command: FOR %F IN (SCREEN??.*) DO %F /T5 You may not use the /Tn option together with the /K keylist option, or with the /N option, both described below. DON'T CLEAR SCREEN ON EXIT: /F ------------------------------- Unless you tell an offspring program otherwise, it will assume that you want the display 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 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). 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 GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 24 of 32 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 therefore internally 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 continuing. 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 programs are called: 1. WORDPROC.COM (a word processor) 2. SPREAD.EXE (a spreadsheet program) 3. CHESS.COM (a game) And your MENU.EXE image looks something like this: _____________________________________ | | | To get to... Press... | | ----------------- -------- | | Word Processing A | | Spreadsheet B | | Chess Game C | | | |___________________________________| GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 25 of 32 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 (prefer- ably the last line) in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. 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". GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 26 of 32 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, you ask, does SHOWMENU test for an ERRORLEVEL of 255 in Line 5? 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 GRABBER offspring programs reserve for their own use when examining your Keylist. You can use these keys to separ- ate 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: 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. GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 27 of 32 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 <Esc> \X <Home> \H <PgUp> \P <End> \E <PgDn> \N <Up Arrow> \U <Down Arrow> \D <Left Arrow> \L <Right Arrow> \R The /K keylist option may not be used with the /Tn or /N options described above on pages 22 and 23. If you specify a keylist together with either of these other options, the keylist will be ignored. You may, however, use the /K option together with the the /F option described above on page 23. GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 28 of 32 CHANGING GRABBER'S HOTKEY -------------------------- The GRHOTKEY program allows you to change the keystroke sequence which activates GRABBER, from the default [Ctrl =] to almost any other sequence you choose. If GRABBER is already active in your computer's memory, you may use GRHOTKEY to tell the resident copy of GRABBER that you want to use a different hotkey than the one it currently recognizes, and make the change become effective immediately. GRHOTKEY 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. To use GRHOTKEY, you must copy the GRHOTKEY.EXE file from your GRABBER distribution diskette to the same drive and directory where you place your working copy of the GRABBER.EXE file. Also, you must start the GRHOTKEY program from that same drive and directory. GRHOTKEY does not search outside the current drive or directory for the GRABBER.EXE file. GRHOTKEY is menu-driven. Once you have started the program, simply follow the instructions it displays on your screen. The program will step you through the process of changing your hotkey in just a few seconds. The hotkey you choose may consist of any alphanumeric or function key on your keyboard except <Esc> and <Enter>. Your hotkey choice may optionally include any combination of the following "shift" keys: <Ctrl> <Alt> <Shift> Note that GRABBER regards the left <Shift> key and the right <Shift> key as functionally equivalent. Also, if your keyboard has two <Ctrl> keys or two <Alt> keys, GRABBER regards them as functionally equivalent as well. Although it is an option, it is highly recommended that your hotkey choice include at least one of the "shift" keys listed above. Choosing an alphanumeric or function key by itself is likely to cause a keyboard conflict between GRABBER and other software in your system. GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 29 of 32 TESTING THE RELIABILITY OF YOUR VESA BIOS EXTENSION ---------------------------------------------------- As mentioned above on pages 8-9, 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. Most newer VGA adapters have VBE support built into the adapter itself, while most older adapters can be supplemented with VBE support 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 with this shareware release of GRABBER 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. 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 /NOVBE switch on the command line when you install GRABBER in memory. For example: GRABBER [other parameters] /NOVBE (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 /NOVBE switch when you install GRABBER in memory.) GRABBER (tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 30 of 32 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 8086/8088 assembly language or in any high-level pro- gramming 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 31 of 32 REPORTING PROBLEMS/BUGS ------------------------ Please let me know if GRABBER ever fails to function on your system as documented in these pages. Also, if you feel there is an aspect of the program which is insufficiently or unclearly documented here, I 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. This is important even if you've used and become familiar with a previous version of GRABBER. This release of the program in- cludes some substantial new features and some modifications of existing ones. If you submit a problem report, please be as specific as pos- sible about what happens and in what sequence or situation. Be sure to mention these specific things: 1) your brand and model of PC; 2) your brand and version of DOS; 3) your brand and model of video adapter and display screen; 4) what software program you are running when the problem occurs; and 5) the contents of both your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. Please send all correspondence to: Gerald A. Monroe 1241 Bunts Road Lakewood, Ohio 44107 U.S.A. For a quicker response, the author may also be contacted via the CompuServe Information Service electronic mail at ID# 72321,1257. LICENSE TERMS --------------- GRABBER.EXE, GRABBER.DOC, GRHOTKEY.EXE and CHKVBE.EXE are Copyright 1991 by Gerald A. Monroe. All rights are reserved except those expressly granted here. 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 to buy. If you regularly use GRABBER, or any of its "offspring" programs, then you are required to send your registration fee to the author according to the instructions on page 3 of this document. (The cost as of this writing is $59.00 or $29.00 U.S. per single-user license, depending on the features you desire.) 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 (some of which are not included in this shareware version), plus any enhancements that 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. (Remember, registration entitles you to receive the latest version of GRABBER and its related programs. The registered packages include some extra programs not included in this release. See pages 2 and 3 for details.) Whether or not you become a registered user, you are permitted under this license to copy and distribute the files GRABBER.EXE and GRABBER .DOC freely, provided that: a) absolutely no fee is charged, and no donation requested, for the copying and/or distribution of these files without the express written permission of the copyright owner (unless you are an ASP- approved distributor, in which case permission is hereby granted); b) the files GRABBER.EXE and GRABBER.DOC are always copied and/or distributed together; and c) the files GRABBER.EXE and GRABBER.DOC are not modified, dis- assembled or reverse-engineered in any way. SPECIFICALLY: NO INDIVIDUAL, ORGANIZATION OR CORPORATION, OTHER THAN SHAREWARE DISTRIBUTORS APPROVED BY THE ASSOCIATION OF SHAREWARE PRO- FESSIONALS, MAY INCLUDE THE FILES GRABBER.EXE OR GRABBER.DOC, EITHER ALONE OR IN COMBINATION WITH OTHER SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE, 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, MATERIALS FEES, AND OUTRIGHT PREMIUMS. NON-ASP- APPROVED INDIVIDUALS, ORGANIZATIONS OR CORPORATIONS SEEKING PERMISSION TO DISTRIBUTE THESE FILES ON ANY SUCH TERMS, SHOULD APPLY IN WRITING TO: GERALD A. MONROE, 1241 BUNTS ROAD, LAKEWOOD, OHIO 44107, U.S.A. Any use, copying or distribution of the files GRABBER.EXE or GRABBER.DOC, other than that described above, is in violation of this license.