ASP Advantage 1994 2nd Q2

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ ASP Advantage 1994 2nd Q2 / The Association of Shareware Professionals - The Official ASP Advantage (2nd Quarter)(1994).bin / files / utilther / menuwiz4 / menuwiz.doc < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1993-04-27 | 19.6 KB | 411 lines

Menu Wizard (TM) Version 4.0 SilvaSoft Company P.O. BOX 3401 Kingsport, TN. 37664 615-247-7551 Menu Wizard is a very powerful and easy to use PC Menu program. The program offers mouse support, an automatic and manual screen saver, Pop-Up Calculator, Calendar, File Viewer and Editor along with an ASCII table. Password loading of menu entries and keyboard locking is supported along with the ability to disable menu options. Menu-Wizard is not memory resident. The program is able to unload itself completely from memory, turn over control to the program you wish to run, and then automatically reload itself. A) - Getting Started Creating menu selections. Adding selections to Menu-Wizard involves setting up heading information followed by telling the program what to load and where to load it from. Menu-Wizard uses syntax similar to that used by PC Batch files. EXAMPLE1 - Lets say we want to load Lotus 1-2-3 which can be found in a PC directory called LOTUSV2. We will use the editor that comes with Menu Wizard to create the menu selection. Load the Editor by hitting the F6 key on the PC. For File Name, lets enter "LOTUS.MNU". All Menu Wizard menu selection files always have the ".MNU" extension. We are now in the Editor. On the first line we would type - :HEADING LOTUS 1-2-3 Version 2.2 the second line indicates the path - CD\LOTUSV2 the third line is how we load the file - 123 We could now hit F7 to save this file followed by F4 to update our menu. Congratulations, you have just added your first selection to the menu. the complete 3 line file above called LOTUS.MNU would look as follows: :HEADING LOTUS 1-2-3 Version 2.2 CD\LOTUSV2 123 The first line of any menu file "*.MNU" must always start with a :. If HEADING is not specified after the : then Menu Wizard will use the first 7 characters after the : as the Password to load that menu selection. EXAMPLE2: :SECRET LOTUS 1-2-3 Version 2.2 CD\LOTUSV2 123 In This EXAMPLE If you try to run LOTUS 1-2-3 from the menu you will first be asked to supply a Password before you can continue. If you fail to type in "SECRET", you will not be allowed to load 1-2-3 and will be returned to the Main Selection Menu. All Menu selections on a given level are sorted alphabetically. If you want to change the order that programs appear on your menu list you can indent a number of spaces for your title after the :HEADING area. Menu Wizard assumes that your Program description starts on column position 10 on the first line of the *.mnu file. If you insert 1 or more spaces then all the Program descriptions starting at line 12 will sort before those starting at line 11 which will sort ahead of those sorting at line 10. EXAMPLE3 Alpha.mnu file first line: :HEADING Alpha 4 Database ...etc Harvard.MNU file first line: :HEADING Harvard Graphics ...etc Although Alpha 4 Database should sort before Harvard Graphics, Because we have indented Harvard Graphics to start at position 12 rather than position 10, We have moved the Harvard Graphics program ahead of the Alpha 4 Database on the menu selection. When calling your program in the *.MNU file, you can code parameters to automatically pass to the program just as if you are starting the program from DOS. If you are trying to use Menu-Wizard to run a DOS Batch file then you must remember to use the word CALL before typing the Batch file to run. If you do not do this, then after your Batch file ends, Menu Wizard will be unable to reload itself automatically. Lets assume you have a batch file called KQ5.BAT. To load this file from Menu Wizard we might type: :HEADING Kings Quest 5 cd\sierra CALL KQ5 this will allow the program to run correctly and automatically reload the menu on exiting. If you had just coded line 3 as KQ5, then on exiting the program the menu would not have been able to reload itself. Every time you select F4 - Update Menu Selections, Menu Wizard reads all your *.MNU file in the current directory and recreates a new MENU.DAT file. This file gives record information on the number of menu selections you have, and which *.MNU file needs to be run when a given selection is made. You can browse this file if you have forgotten a name of a *.MNU file you need to modify or erase. You can also Update menu selections from outside the program by typing: MENUWIZ CREATE If you have responsibility in a company for maintaining many PC's, then the ability to add or remove menu selections and update systems using the MENUWIZ CREATE option could be a significant time saver. F4 - Update Menu Selections F5 - File Viewer F6 - Editor F7 - Ascii Table You can disable any or all of the four options above when calling MENUWIZ by passing a NOxxxx OPTION on the command line to disable that feature. MENUWIZ NOUPDATE NOVIEW NOEDIT NOASCII All four options would be removed from Menu Wizard if you code the command line on loading Menu Wizard as that shown above. To disable a user from being able to use the EDITOR you would code MENUWIZ NOEDIT The DOS "ESC" key is the normal way that Menu Wizard is exited. For some situations you may wish to disable users from being able to EXIT to DOS. You can use the "NOESC" option on loading Menu Wizard which will prevent users from exiting to DOS. MENUWIZ NOESC A backdoor option to Exit to DOS exists by typing ALT-P. This option can also be disabled if required by typing MENUWIZ NOESC NOALTP You can select programs to load from Menu Wizard using either the mouse or using the arrow keys. Page Up and Page Down, Home and End Key all work with the program. Also, you can type the first letter of a Menu selection and Menu Wizard will move instantly to that selection. Typing the same letter a second time will find the next match. (Hint) - Windows Users may find it convenient to add Windows as a menu selection. This allows you to freely move between your DOS and Windows programs with a minimum of inconvenience. :HEADING Windows 3.1 cd\windows win MENUWIZ for most users should probably be configured in the AUTOEXEC.BAT to automatically load on startup. When MENUWIZ is called from the DOS prompt it will automatically search your DOS path statement to find a copy of itself and will assume that the *.MNU files also exist in the area where it finds itself on your computer. This means that you do not have to change to the directory where MENUWIZ is located in to use the program as long as MENUWIZ is in your DOS Path. IF you are running MENUWIZ on a Monochrome monitor or a non- color laptop, you may want to load the program in Monochrome mode. This is done by loading MENUWIZ with the "MONO" command line prompt. MENUWIZ MONO ============================================================= B) - Options with Menu-Wizard F1 - Screen Saver Selecting this option will place Menu Wizard in the manual screen saver mode. Hit any key to return to the normal menu. MenuWizard will automatically go to the screen saver mode if no key has been hit on the Keyboard for 5 minutes. Menu Wizard automatically sets the screen save in graphics mode if you have a VGA monitor. You can disable the graphics screen save and use the monochrome graphics save if you prefer by loading Menu Wizard with the NOGRAPH option. MENUWIZ NOGRAPH The NOGRAPH option could be selected if you do not like the Graphics screen saver and prefer a blank screen. The Graphics Screen saver is only avalable for VGA systems, all others automatically use a blank screen with the flashing time for screen saving. ALT-F1 - Keyboard Lock with Screen Saver You can automatically force Menu Wizard to Lock your Keyboard and run the screen saver section of the program by hitting the "ALT-F1" key combination. On hitting any key, Menu Wizard will ask you for a Password to Exit. If your password matched the file password you have created you will be allowed to exit the Screen Saver portion of the program. For the Keyboard locking option to work you must create a file with the name "MENULOCK.FIL" in the directory which MENUWIZ is loaded from. The first line of this file contains your Keylock password, Up to 7 characters. When ALT-F1 is called to select the keyboad locking, A user is unable to reboot the computer by hitting the Ctrl-ALT-Del Key combination. Only a successful password entry, or a complete power down will exit Key board locking. F2 - Pop-Up Calculator This four function calculator should be a natural for anyone that has used a calculator before. The calculator does show a tape so you can track you calculations. Also hit the H key for additional help in using the calculator. F3 - Calendar Use the Page-Up and Page-Down Key to move up or down 1 month at a time. Use the Ctrl-Page Up and Ctrl-Page Down key to change the calendar 1 year at a time. The up and down arrow keys will move you 1 week at a time and Left and right Arrow Keys, 1 Day at a time. The Calendar does offer full mouse support if your mouse is active. F4 - Update Menu Selections Use this option to update your selection menu after adding or removing *.MNU files. This menu can be disabled by using the MENUWIZ NOUPDATE option. You can also update Menu Wizard from the command line by typing MENUWIZ CREATE. F5 - File Viewer Use this option to view files in either text mode or HEX mode for programers. After hitting F5, type the name of the PC file with drive and path location if required. This menu can be disabled by using the MENUWIZ NOVIEW option. F6 - Editor Simple to use Text Editor. Designed to assist you while creating the *.MNU files but can have many other uses also. The editor can be used to create batch files, perform simple edits on text files, etc. Hit F7 to save your modified or created file while in the editor or ESC to Quit without saving. This menu can be disabled by using the MENUWIZ NOEDIT option. F7 - Ascii Table Used to show a complete list of all ASCII characters available on PC. This option is probably most useful to programers, but is also usable for some word processor users that need to directly code special ASCII characters. This menu can be disabled by using the MENUWIZ NOASCII option. F8 ShareWare Registration This option lists information on registering your product as well as gives the option of printing out a registration form for mailing. MENU-Wizard is not free software. It is being released as shareware. The basic cost for the product is $15 per copy for up to 10 copies and $13 per copy for 11 to 30 copies. Companies can get a customized version of Menu Wizard for $400, which allows them to make unlimited copies of Menu Wizard for use at all their locations worldwide. Please see the registration for details. As a thank you for registering your copy of Menu Wizard you will receive an add-on program to Menu Wizard called DIRUTIL. DIRUTIL is a very powerful yet extremely easy to use file and Directory manager. The program offers full mouse support and is of the highest commercial quality available. DIRUTIL is not being released as shareware. This program alone is worth many times the registration fee of Menu Wizard and is yours free for registering the program. Thanks for supporting the ShareWare Concept and allowing quality software to be available for a fraction of the cost of commercial software. When registering Menu Wizard, please specify if you require 5-1/4 or 3-1/2 disk to receive your copy of DIRUTIL. **** Menu-Wizard Released as SHAREWARE **** Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs differ on details --some request registration while others require it, some specify a maximum trial period. With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using the software to an updated program with printed manual. Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of distribution. The author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a specific group. For example, some authors require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware. Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it. DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT Users of Menu Wizard must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "Menu Wizard is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation,the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose.The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of Menu Wizard." Menu Wizard is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to the user for evaluation. Feel free to share it with your friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system. The essence of "user-supported" software is to provide personal computer users with quality software without high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products. If you find this program useful and find that you are using Menu Wizard and continue to use Menu Wizard after a reasonable trial period, you must make a registration payment of $15 U.S. to SilvaSoft. The $15 registration fee will license one copy for use on any one computer at any one time. You must treat this software just like a book. An example is that this software may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it's being used at another. Just as a book cannot be read by two different persons at the same time. Commercial users of Menu Wizard must register and pay for their copies of Menu Wizard within 30 days of first use or their license is withdrawn. Site-License arrangements may be made by contacting SilvaSoft. Anyone distributing Menu Wizard for any kind of remuneration must first contact SilvaSoft at the address below for authorization. This authorization will be automatically granted to distributors recognized by the (ASP) as adhering to its guidelines for shareware distributors, and such distributors may begin offering Financial Wizard immediately (However, SilvaSoft must still be advised so that the distributor can be kept up-to-date with the latest version of Menu Wizard). You are encouraged to pass a copy of Menu Wizard along to your friends for evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy if they find that they can use it. All registered users will receive a free copy of DIRUTIL a very powerful directory and file utility add-on product to Menu Wizard. This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536." Manuel A. Silva SilvaSoft Company P.O. BOX 3401 Kingsport, TN. 37664 (615) - 247-7551