ASP Advantage 1994 2nd Q2/The Association of Shareware Professionals - The Official ASP Advantage (2nd Quarter)(1994).bin/files/windness/showstop/showstop.doc

Text File | 1994-03-15 | 11.4 KB | 230 lines

ShowStopper (tm) - Multimedia Development & Presentation System
(c) Copyright Ward Mundy, 1994. All rights reserved.
P.O. Box 1169, Atlanta, GA 30301
Phone: [phone]               Fax: [phone]
 AT&T: 0-700-WARDMUNDY            BBS: 706-746-5109
==============================================================================
OVERVIEW

A quick and easy Windows-based multimedia development tool to create inter-
active multimedia presentations featuring 256-color .BMP images, .WAV sound
clips, and scrollable text.  Ideal for training applications and multimedia
presentations.  Question & Answer screens also supported using dBASE scripts.
VBRUN300.DLL required but not included in this compressed archive.

ShowStopper allows you to create scripts in dBASE file format which display
screens to the end-user.  Each screen may contain a picture, a box with
scrollable text, and a sound clip created with any Windows-compatible sound
card.  In lieu of scrollable text, you may present the user with a question
to answer and up to five multiple choice answers.  In the script, you define
the correct answer to each question.  The user clicks on the desired answer,
and ShowStopper keeps score and provides feedback on correct and incorrect
choices.  You also can specify text sizes and colors when you define your
scripts.  A sample script SHOWSTOP.DBF is included with the software and is
automatically loaded when you start the program. You can modify this script.

INCLUDED FILES

This compressed file decompresses to about 2 megabytes and contains:

        SHOWSTOP.EXE    ShowStopper executable file
        SHOWSTOP.INI    ShowStopper initialization file
        SHOWSTOP.DOC    ShowStopper documentation (this file)
        SHOWSTOP.DBF    ShowStopper sample script file
        RIGHT.WAV       Sound clip which plays with RIGHT answers
        WRONG.WAV       Sound clip which plays after 3 wrong guesses
        BEEP.WAV        ShowStopper's default beep tone
        REGISTER.DOC    Registration form
        FILE_ID.DIZ     BBS Program Description
        ASP.DOC         ASP Ombudsman's Policy
        SHAREWAR.DOC    What Is Shareware?
        VENDOR.DOC      Vendor requirements and license
        CMDIALOG.VBX    Common Dialog support file
        COMMDLG.DLL     Common Dialog support file
        XBS110.DLL      dBASE support file
        VBDB300.DLL     dBASE support file
        MSAJT110.DLL    dBASE support file
        MSAES110.DLL    dBASE support file
        SAMPLE1.TXT     Sample text file
        SAMPLE2.TXT     Sample text file
        PROGMAN.BMP     Sample .BMP file
        WINDOW.BMP      Sample .BMP file
        WARDY.BMP       Yours truly
        CLINT.WAV       Sample .WAV file
        SCREAM.WAV      Sample .WAV file
        WAKECALL.WAV    Sample .WAV file
        SNAP3.EXE       Windows screen capture program

SPECIAL BONUS FOR THOSE REGISTERING OUR SOFTWARE

We have a limited number of certificates entitling you to purchase a great
collection of shareware on CD-ROM. These certificate entitles you to buy one
issue of the 'JCSM Shareware Collection' for $9.95 plus shipping ($2 in the
US, $3 in Canada, $5 elsewhere).  Simply request a certificate when you
register ShowStopper!

LICENSING / DISTRIBUTION

The shareware version of ShowStopper is licensed for evaluation use for a period
not to exceed 30 days.  Continued use requires your payment of a license fee
for each PC on which you use the software.  The fee is $49 plus $5 shipping.
Registration entitles you to a free upgrade when the next version ships at no
additional cost.  Simply print the REGISTER.DOC form and fill it out.  Then
either mail or fax it to us.  We accept VISA/MasterCard and checks or money
orders drawn on U.S. banks in U.S. dollars.

INSTALLING THE SOFTWARE

The software is stored in a compressed form to facilitate distribution. Before
using the software, you must decompress it. Typically, the name of the archive
is MULTIMED.EXE which is self-extracting.  Insert a floppy disk containing the
MULTIMED.EXE file in Drive A.  From your C:> prompt, type A:MULTIMED /x to
install the software in the proper directories on your hard disk. Don't forget
/x or the software will not be installed in the proper directories.  You also
must have VBRUN300.DLL installed in your Windows SYSTEM directory before this
software will run.  If you do not have a copy, you can download it from our
BBS at 706/746-5109.  The self-extracting file to download is VBRUN300.EXE.

Once you have decompressed the files, start up Windows.  From the Program
Manager, press ALT-F then N and press ENTER to add a new program. The program
name is ShowStopper, the command to run it is C:\WINDOWS\SHOWSTOP.EXE and the
default directory should be C:\SHOWSTOP. Click OK when these entries have been
made, and the Program Manager will add the ShowStopper icon to your default
program group.  Double-click on the icon to run load ShowStopper.

PRINTING THE DOCUMENTATION

To print the documentation, move to the C:\SHOWSTOP directory and type the
following command at the DOS prompt: COPY *.DOC PRN then press ENTER. Make
certain your printer is turned on and on line!

RUNNING THE SOFTWARE

You must run ShowStopper from within Windows.  Before it will run, there are
several prerequisites: (1) in your Windows SYSTEM directory (typically this is
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM) make certain the following files exist: VBRUN300.DLL,
CMDIALOG.VBX, XBS110.DLL, VBDB300.DLL, MSAJT110.DLL, MSAES110.DLL, and
COMMDLG.DLL; (2) in your Windows directory (typically C:\WINDOWS) make sure
the following files exist: RIGHT.WAV, WRONG.WAV, BEEP.WAV, SHOWSTOP.EXE,
SHOWSTOP.INI, and SNAP3.EXE; (3) in your C:\SHOWSTOP directory, the sample
application files must exist for ShowStopper to load properly: SHOWSTOP.DBF,
SAMPLE1.TXT, SAMPLE2.TXT, PROGMAN.BMP, WINDOW.BMP, CLINT.WAV, SCREAM.WAV,
WAKECALL.WAV, and WARDY.BMP.

Once you have met the prerequisites, you can run ShowStopper from within the
Program Manager by double-clicking on the ShowStopper icon.  See the section
above on installing the software to create the ShowStopper icon.


RECOMMENDED CONFIGURATION

To get the maximum benefit from ShowStopper, we recommend you configure the
Windows video display to support 256 colors in either 640x480, 800x600 or
1024x768 resolution.  We also recommend either a Windows-compatible sound
card such as a SoundBlaster or the Microsoft sound driver for the internal
speaker in your PC.  This, too, is available on our BBS should you need it.

We also recommend you acquire at least a shareware copy of either WAMPUM for
Windows or WAMPUM for DOS.  This is our dBASE-compatible data base manager
which can be used to create dBASE scripts for ShowStopper.

DESIGNING YOUR OWN ShowStopper APPLICATIONS

Designing applications is easy.  ShowStopper scripts are stored in standard
dBASE files.  You will need a dBASE-compatible product such as WAMPUM in
order to create or edit ShowStopper scripts. WAMPUM is available as Shareware.

A dBASE file consists of records which can be thought of as pages of infor-
mation.  Each page equates to a screen in a ShowStopper presentation.  For
each page, you define the following elements:

        (1)  The heading

        (2)  The .BMP image to display in the top half of the screen.

        (3)  The text file to display in a scrollable box below the image
             OR a question and up to five multiple choice answers for the
             user to respond to when the screen displays. You can record
             the number of the correct answer in your ShowStopper script.

        (4)  The .WAV sound clip to play when the screen displays.

The simplest way to create a new script file is to copy the SHOWSTOP.DBF at
DOS using the command: COPY SHOWSTOP.DBF NEWSHOW.DBF.  This creates a new
script file (NEWSHOW.DBF) which can be revised using a tool such as WAMPUM.
To run the new script file, run ShowStopper and press ALT-F to display the
file pulldown menu.  Choose Open and select your new script file.  Then
click on the START button to play the new script.

CREATING .BMP BITMAPPED IMAGES

There are numerous ways to create bitmapped images.  Windows PaintBrush is
probably the least expensive.  Such images can be simple drawings or 256-
color pictures, or screen shots which show the user what to expect in a
display.  Included with ShowStopper is a public domain screen capture product
called SNAP3.EXE which can be run from Program Manager to capture screens.
To run the program, choose ALT-F then R from Program Manager and type SNAP3.
Click on Start Capture to begin the screen capture.  Then click on desired
window in which you wish to begin the capture.  Position the mouse in the
upper left corner of what should be captured.  Then click and hold down the
left mouse button while dragging the mouse to the lower right corner of the
display to be captured.  When you release the mouse, the screen shot will be
copied to the Windows clipboard.  If you make a mistake, return to SNAP3 and
click on Clear Buffer. Then try again.

Once the screen has been copied to the clipboard, the simplest way to save it
to a .BMP file is to load Windows PaintBrush. Once loaded, click on the upper
right arrow to expand  PaintBrush to full screen.   Then click on Edit then
Paste to paste the clipboard image into PaintBrush.  Now select Edit then
CopyTo and type a name for your image.  When you press ENTER, the image will
be saved to disk.

CREATING TEXT FILES

Any editor can be used to create the text files which are displayed by Show-
Stopper.  If you don't own one, then use Windows NotePad to create the file.
See your Windows documentation for instructions on how to use NotePad.  See
the SAMPLE1.TXT and SAMPLE2.TXT files in \SHOWSTOP for examples.

CREATING .WAV SOUND FILES

If you have a Windows-compatible sound board, you can create .WAV sound files
using the tools  which accompanied your sound board  or use Sound Recorder
which is bundled with Windows. See the Windows documentation for instructions.
When users answer a question correctly, the \WINDOWS\RIGHT.WAV file plays. If
the user guesses wrong three times, \WINDOWS\WRONG.WAV plays. You can change
these sound files by renaming your desired sound clips to RIGHT and WRONG.WAV.
To replay a sound clip while positioned on any screen, click on the BMP image.

SUPPORT

We've been in the shareware business since its inception, and we support
our products whether you have registered or not. If you have any comments
or questions, please send them to us with a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
You will receive a prompt reply.  We also provide support by phone between
the hours of 6 pm and 9 pm, Monday through Thursday, Atlanta time.  We also
have a BBS which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

        Ward Mundy
        Ward Mundy Software
        Post Office Box 1169
        Atlanta, GA 30301-1169

        Phone: [phone]
         AT&T: 0-700-WARDMUNDY
          Fax: [phone]
          BBS: [phone]  24 hours, 2400-9600 baud


                        ┌─────────┐
                  ┌─────┴───┐     │              (R)
                ──│         │o    │──────────────────
                  │   ┌─────┴╨──┐ │  Association of
                  │   │         │─┘  Shareware
                  └───┤    o    │    Professionals
                ──────│    ║    │────────────────────
                      └────╨────┘    MEMBER