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GRABBER (tm) Version 3.60 ---------------------------- Shareware Issue The Screen Capture Program for the IBM PC, XT, AT, PCjr, PS/2 and Compatibles DOCUMENTATION November 26, 1990 Copyright (C) 1987-1990 by G. A. Monroe All rights reserved. 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 per single-user license.) When you register, you receive a copy of the latest reg- istered version of GRABBER, which includes all of the extra features listed on page 2 of this document 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 seven days constitutes regular use under this license, and requires the user to register with the author. +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | Notice to Distributors, Publishers and User's Groups: | | ------------------------------------------------------ | | Please consult the last page of this document for important | | license information and restrictions. | | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ IBM, PC/AT, PC/XT, PS/2 and PCjr are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. Hercules is a registered trademark of Hercules Computer Technology. Tandy is a registered trademark of Tandy Corporation. PC Paintbrush is a registered trademark of Zsoft Corporation. WordPerfect is a registered trademark of WordPerfect Corporation. GRABBER (tm) Documentation and Technical Notes Page 2 of 21 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 GRABBER, including these extras: * SUPER-VGA GRAPHICS SUPPORT -- up to 1,024 x 768 resolution in 256 or 16-color modes. This includes the popular 640 x 400, 640 x 480 and 800 x 600 x 256 modes. * ADDED PCjr and TANDY-1000 SUPPORT -- up to 320 x 200 x 16-colors * GR2GIF (tm), and GR2PCX (tm), two GRABBER companion utilities which convert any captured graphic image to the popular GIF and PCX formats. Convert the whole image, or use the resize option to select just the portion you want. Now you can import your captured graphics into dozens of popular desktop publishing, word processing and paint programs, including WordPerfect 5.0+ and PC Paintbrush. (GR2GIF and GR2PCX are compatible with all graphics modes except modes unique to the PCjr and Tandy 1000.) * 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, interactive "slideshow" presentations, or "video banners" 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. GRABBER (tm) Documentation and Technical Notes Page 3 of 21 To obtain the current registered release of GRABBER, GR2GIF, GR2PCX, GREDIT, GR2ASCII and GR2ANSI with all of their latest enhancements, register by sending the order form below with your check or money order for $59.00 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. +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | I wish to license _____ copy/copies of the latest release of the | | GRABBER(tm) programs. I have enclosed $59.00 for each single-user | | license. (Price is subject to change.) | | | | Name ___________________________________________________________ | | | | Company (if applicable) ________________________________________ | | | | Address ________________________________________________________ | | | | City _______________________________ State ______ Zip ________ | | | | I prefer: _____ 3-1/2" disk; _____ 5-1/4" disk (check one) | | | | * * * | | | | 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): | | | | __________________________________________________________________ | | | | 11/90 | +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ * PLEASE NOTE: The price of the registered GRABBER package is subject to change after May 31, 1991. The latest shareware issue of GRABBER, including the most up-to-date registration price informa- tion, is always posted for downloading in these three places: 1) CompuServe IBMSYS forum 2) CompuServe GRAPHSUPPORT forum 3) PC-Ohio BBS, (216) 381-3320, in Directory #1 If the release date of this document is more than six months old when you receive it, then it might not be current. Please look for the latest shareware release of GRABBER in one of the places listed above, to make sure you have the latest information regarding pricing and availability of new features. GRABBER (tm) Documentation and Technical Notes Page 4 of 21 Table of Contents Registration Information ........................... 2, 3 Order Form ......................................... 3 Overview of GRABBER ................................ 5 GRABBER system requirements ........................ 5 What GRABBER is able to capture .................... 5 Video mode compatibility ........................... 6 Starting GRABBER ................................... 7 Capturing the screen ............................... 8 The filename prompt feature ........................ 9 Special note for Hercules monochrome users ......... 10 Capturing to different drive/directory ............. 11 Errors during the screen capture ................... 11 If the computer is too busy to capture ............. 12 "Quick" capture: No need to press the hotkey ........................................ 12 Uninstalling GRABBER ............................... 12 Options for displaying offspring files ............. 13 Timed execution: /Tn .......................... 13 Don't clear the screen on exit: /F ............ 14 Don't wait for any keypress: /N ............... 15 Keylist operation and interactive batch files .. 15 Sample interactive batch file .................. 16 Programmer's note: Calling GRABBER from your own programs ............ 19 Contacting the author; Reporting problems/bugs ..... 20 Shareware License: Terms and Restrictions ......... 21 GRABBER (tm) Documentation and Technical Notes Page 5 of 21 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 execute this offspring file (it's already conveniently packaged as a ready-to-run program), and the image pops instantly back to your screen. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS -------------------- To use GRABBER, you will need: a) an IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2, PCjr, or compatible computer; b) a hard disk drive; c) the IBM-PC DOS (Disk Operating System), or MS-DOS, in a version numbered 3.0 or higher. You can use GRABBER with either a color or a monochrome display screen. WHAT GRABBER CAN CAPTURE ------------------------- TEXT -- GRABBER can capture practically any size of text image which your computer can display, up to 132 columns by 60 rows. GRAPHICS -- GRABBER, Version 3.60, is capable of capturing graphics images on systems equipped with these video adapters: Color Graphics Adapter (CGA); Hercules Monochrome Graphics Adapter (MGA); Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA); Multicolor Graphics Adapter (MCGA); and the Video Graphics Array (VGA) adapter. GRABBER (tm) Documentation and Technical Notes Page 6 of 21 For your reference, the following chart details all the video modes which this shareware issue of GRABBER can capture. Modes preceded by an asterisk (*) can be captured only in a demonstration form. 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 MDA/MGA/MCGA/EGA/VGA * 07 n/a 720 x 348 mono Hercules 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: When you register your copy of GRABBER with the author, you automatically receive the latest registered release of the program, which includes extra graphics support for Super-VGA systems and extended graphics support for the IBM PCjr and the Tandy 1000. The registered release of GRABBER includes support for these advanced Super-VGA modes: * 640 x 350 x 256 * 800 x 600 x 256 * 640 x 400 x 256 * 1,024 x 768 x 16 * 640 x 480 x 256 * 1,024 x 768 x 256 * 800 x 600 x 16 . . . on Super-VGA adapters which use LSI chips made by these manufacturers: * Ahead * Paradise * ATI * Trident * Chips & Technologies * Video Seven * Everex * Tseng Labs (incl. Genoa, * Oak Orchid, Willow) The registered release of GRABBER also supports these advanced modes found on the IBM PCjr and the Tandy-1000 line of computers: * 160 x 200 x 16 * 320 x 200 x 16 * 640 x 200 x 4 GRABBER (tm) Documentation and Technical Notes Page 7 of 21 STARTING GRABBER ----------------- Copy the GRABBER.COM file to your hard disk. The GRABBER.COM file must be located either on your hard disk or on a virtual disk drive whenever you install it in memory. You cannot start the program if the file resides on a floppy diskette. ALSO: Do not move, rename or delete the GRABBER.COM file after you start the program. It *must* remain in the same place after installation or the program won't work. Next, choose a disk drive and/or directory where you want GRABBER to deposit the offspring files it creates. The destination of your offspring files can either be a directory on your hard disk, a virtual disk, or a floppy diskette. Finally, install GRABBER in memory by entering this command from the DOS prompt or in a batch file: GRABBER [drive:][\pathname] EXAMPLES: ---------- GRABBER C:\PICTURES This command tells the program to place all offspring screen files in a directory called "PICTURES" on your hard disk drive C. GRABBER C: This command tells the program to place all offspring files on whatever directory happens to be current on drive C when you request a screen capture. Since your hard disk's current directory often changes while you are running different application programs, this command can result in offspring files being placed in several different directories, instead of just one. GRABBER A: or GRABBER B: These commands tell the program to place all offspring files on the floppy disk drives A and B, respectively. You may also start GRABBER without specifying a destination for your offspring files, by using this command: GRABBER /D GRABBER (tm) Documentation and Technical Notes Page 8 of 21 STARTING GRABBER (continued) ----------------------------- The /D is a command switch which stands for "Default drive." It instructs GRABBER not to place offspring files on any particular drive or directory, but to use whatever destination happens to be closest at hand when you make your capture request, whether it is a floppy disk or hard disk. This is known as DOS's "default drive and path." Depending on what program you are running, this default can change from one place to another, and often will. If you do not specify any of these destination parameters but just enter the command GRABBER by itself, then the program will display a summary of these startup options in a window on your screen. The line at the bottom of this window tells you whether GRABBER is currently installed in memory. If it is, then beside the 'Next>' message is shown what specific drive and path GRABBER is currently installed for, if any, and the default filename for your next offspring file. CAPTURING THE SCREEN --------------------- When you start GRABBER, the program displays a welcome banner on your screen in the upper left corner. The banner is your signal that the program is successfully installed, and also re- minds 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 two commands in this order: CLS 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>. GRABBER (tm) Documentation and Technical Notes Page 9 of 21 CAPTURING THE SCREEN (continued) --------------------------------- 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. 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 FEATURE ---------------------------- Keep in mind a few things about the filename prompt feature: * This feature is not supported for 720x348 Hercules-compatible monochrome graphic images. * 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, GRABBER will ignore any blank spaces between the end of the file name and the beginning of the ".EXE" extension. GRABBER (tm) Documentation and Technical Notes Page 10 of 21 THE FILENAME PROMPT FEATURE (continued) ---------------------------------------- * 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 7, 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. * If you want to disable the filename prompt feature, use the /P command-line switch when installing the program in memory, like this: GRABBER [other parameters] /P. If you disabled the file name prompts when you installed GRABBER but now want to re-enable them, just re-enter the GRABBER command at the DOS prompt without the /P switch. When the file name prompt feature is disabled, GRABBER saves screens using its default serial-number scheme, e.g. SCREEN00, SCREEN01, and so forth up to SCREEN99. SPECIAL NOTE FOR HERCULES MONOCHROME 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. GRABBER (tm) Documentation and Technical Notes Page 11 of 21 SPECIAL NOTE FOR HERCULES MONOCHROME USERS (continued) ------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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. An error signal will also occur if you attempt to capture a screen after renaming, moving or deleting the GRABBER.COM file from the drive and/or directory where it was located when you installed the program in memory. Please see "Starting GRABBER" on page 7, above. GRABBER (tm) Documentation and Technical Notes Page 12 of 21 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. "QUICK" CAPTURE: NO NEED TO PRESS THE HOTKEY --------------------------------------------- While GRABBER is resident, you may capture the current screen directly from the DOS prompt or within a batch file, simply by issuing this command: GRABBER /Q In other words, when you use GRABBER's /Q switch, you do not need to press the [Ctrl =] hotkey to capture the screen. The /Q switch captures it for you. This option is especially use- ful when you're executing GRABBER from within batch files. Offspring files captured with the /Q switch are named in GRABBER's default sequential fashion as described above. The /Q switch does not allow you to enter your own filename at the filename prompt. GRABBER must already be resident in order to use the /Q switch. Attempting to use the /Q option before installing a memory- resident copy of GRABBER will result in an error message. UNINSTALLING GRABBER --------------------- Under certain conditions, GRABBER may be removed from memory without rebooting the system, by using the GRABBER /U command. Once GRABBER has been successfully uninstalled, the trigger key- strokes [CTRL =] and [CTRL 1] will revert to their normal DOS defaults or to any application which requires them. Also, any drive/path parameters specified in previous installations will be cleared. Later, you can restart GRABBER after uninstalling it, simply by starting it up as described above on page 7. When you uninstall GRABBER and restart it later, GRABBER's default sequential filenames will start over again, at SCREEN00. GRABBER (tm) Documentation and Technical Notes Page 13 of 21 UNINSTALLING GRABBER (continued) --------------------------------- GRABBER may not be uninstalled if, after the last time it was loaded, you proceeded to load other memory-resident software which is activated by any of the same hardware or software interrupts which GRABBER uses. Attempting the GRABBER /U command under such circumstances will not work, and the program will display a mes- sage to this effect. While it is installed, GRABBER occupies only about 14Kb (14,336 bytes) of your computer's memory. This means that about 14Kb of your computer's total memory resources are unavailable for your other programs to use while you are using GRABBER. OPTIONS FOR DISPLAYING OFFSPRING FILES --------------------------------------- The methods described above on pages 8-9 are the easiest and most common ways to display your captured screen image. 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. GRABBER (tm) Documentation and Technical Notes Page 14 of 21 TIMED EXECUTION: /Tn (continued) ----------------------------------- 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. 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 -------------------------------- (This option works only with offspring containing a text image. It is not supported by graphics offspring files.) 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). GRABBER (tm) Documentation and Technical Notes Page 15 of 21 DON'T WAIT FOR ANY KEYPRESS: /N --------------------------------- (This option works only with offspring containing a text image. It is not supported by graphics offspring files.) 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 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: GRABBER (tm) Documentation and Technical Notes Page 16 of 21 KEYLIST OPERATION: /K (continued) ------------------------------------ 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 F10 | | 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 | | | +-------------------------------------------+ GRABBER (tm) Documentation and Technical Notes Page 17 of 21 KEYLIST OPERATION: /K (continued) ------------------------------------ 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". 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. GRABBER (tm) Documentation and Technical Notes Page 18 of 21 KEYLIST OPERATION: /K (continued) ------------------------------------ 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 forward slash (/). Therefore, each of the following ways of specifying a Keylist is identical to the others: MENU /KABC MENU /K: a b c MENU /K:A/B/C 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 The /K keylist option may not be used with the /Tn or /N options described above on pages 13 and 14. 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 13. GRABBER (tm) Documentation and Technical Notes Page 19 of 21 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. BASIC programmers may write an assembly language routine to implement this hook, and POKE the routine into memory to execute it. CUSTOM 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 and Technical Notes Page 20 of 21 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.COM and GRABBER.DOC are Copyright (C) 1987-1990 by Gerald A. Monroe. All rights reserved. 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 (tm), or any of its "offspring" programs, then you are required to send your reg- istration fee to the author according to the instructions on page 3 of this document. (The cost as of this writing is $59.00 per single- user license.) When you register, you receive a copy of the latest registered version of GRABBER, which includes all of the extra features listed on page 2 of this document 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 seven days constitutes regular use under this license agreement, and requires the user to register with the author. (Remember, registration entitles you to receive the latest version of GRABBER and its related programs. The registered package includes extra functions and capabilities not included in this release. See page 2 for details.) Whether or not you become a registered user, you are permitted under this license to copy and distribute the files GRABBER.COM 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; b) the files GRABBER.COM and GRABBER.DOC are always copied and/or distributed together; and c) the files GRABBER.COM and GRABBER.DOC are not modified, dis- assembled or reverse-engineered in any way. SPECIFICALLY: NO INDIVIDUAL, ORGANIZATION OR CORPORATION MAY INCLUDE THE FILES GRABBER.COM OR GRABBER.DOC, EITHER ALONE OR IN COMBINATION WITH OTHER SOFTWARE, ON *ANY* MEDIA 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, OR OUTRIGHT PREMIUMS. INDIVIDUALS, ORGANIZATIONS OR CORPORATIONS SEEKING PERMISSION TO DISTRIBUTE THESE FILES AT A FEE OR FOR A DONATION, MUST APPLY IN WRITING TO: GERALD A. MONROE, 1241 BUNTS ROAD, LAKEWOOD, OHIO 44107. The files GRABBER.COM and GRABBER.DOC may be distributed via elec- tronic Bulletin Board Systems and other electronic information storage and retrieval services only under the terms described above. No BBS or other storage and retrieval service may request any donation, or charge any fee or premium, for the electronic transfer of any of these files, excluding that service's ordinary connect charges, if any, without the express written permission of the copyright owner. Any use, copying or distribution of the files GRABBER.COM or GRABBER.DOC, other than that described above, is in violation of this license agreement.