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**********************************
TOGETHER!
**********************************
Version 4.0 / January 1994
User Manual
Copyright (C) 1990-1993
Joe (Giuseppe) Colucciello
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SHAREWARE NOTICE & REGISTRATION
I. INTRODUCTION
TOGETHER! at a Glance
Compatibility
Checklist
System Requirements
II. INSTALLATION
Related Documentation
Copy and Back Up
Installing TOGETHER!
Setup: TOGETHER.INI file
Loading and UnLoading TOGETHER!
Command line options
Sample Pictures and Quick Start
III. TOGETHER! BASICS
Overview
Features
- About "Menus On The Fly"
- About Pictures files and the Default
- Viewing Text with Picture
- Scrolling
- Scaling
- Printing
- Help Window
IV. USING TOGETHER!
<Ctrl-Alt-T> "Activating" TOGETHER!
or User defined HOT-KEY
Selecting a Picture
Split Option Keys
Custom-Split
Arrow Keys
Scale Menu
Print Screen
Print Image
Space Bar
Help Key
<Escape> "Exiting" TOGETHER!
V. APPENDICES
Hardware Supported by TOGETHER!
Credits & Trademarks Acknowledgments
SHAREWARE NOTICE & REGISTRATION
You are receiving a program under the "SHAREWARE" concept, this is
a copyrighted program. NO PROGRAM OR SYSTEM SOFTWARE MAY BE SOLD OR
DISTRIBUTED WITH TOGETHER!, UNLESS THE SELLER IS REGISTERED.
You are permitted to:
* Review and experiment with this program, until you determine if
it suits your needs.
* Distribute copies of TOGETHER! diskette "AS IT IS" at no fee
charge.
if you find this program helpful, take a few moments to fill out
and send the included registration card (REGISTER.DOC) and a
registration fee of $20. Please make the check or money order
payable to:
Joe Colucciello
830 WREN Avenue
Miami Springs, FL 33166
This entitles you to receive the FULL version of the program!
TOGETHER! is not copy protected. This software is protected by
federal COPYRIGHT LAW. Individuals who make any other use not
mentioned here may be subject to civil and criminal penalties.
The entire risk as to the results and performance of the software
and any further programs developed utilizing the software is
assumed by you.
YOU MUST NOTIFY the author if you are distributing a product that
uses this software, and include the statement:
"TOGETHER! (C) Copyright J. Colucciello, 1990-1994"
on the credit page of your documentation.
I. INTRODUCTION
TOGETHER! at a Glance
TOGETHER! is the most innovative and elegant answer to the well
known question: How can Graphics/Pictures be mixed with a text-
based application? Without a graphics environment (GUI)? Without
Programming? Using standard hardware? Easy to use?
... Using TOGETHER! "The Ultimate Graphics TSR", as I call it.
As a computer user, you may realize the explosion of products
related to Graphics and Multimedia environments allowing text and
interactive data to be mixed with still photograph, video, sound,
etc. TOGETHER! was designed with the purpose of allowing, in a
simple manner, pictures or images displayed TOGETHER! with its
associated text on one screen without the need of sophisticated and
expensive programs, and without any requirement of technical
commands or conventions, except the name of the picture!
TOGETHER! has been designed so that the user can benefit
immediately from it. There are many good text based applications
in the market today and they have many users. Now these
applications can be drastically enhanced to include picture/image
association without sophisticated programming of any kind.
You will visualize the enormous power and versatility of TOGETHER!,
and you are probably thinking of all the things you can do, now
that you have TOGETHER!.
Compatibility
TOGETHER! has been tested with many of the most popular database
applications (and programs related to them), word processors,
spreadsheets and stand alone programs in different screens. If you
have any problem with your specific application please report it to
me with the following information:
Application Name
Manufacturer
Version
CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT contents
I can be reached in CompuServe at 76460,3127
Checklist
The TOGETHER! diskette contains the following items (files):
TOGETHER .EXE TOGETHER! program
TOGETHER .INI TOGETHER! sample INI (configuration) file
TOGETHER .DOC TOGETHER! user manual (this document)
PICTURES .ZIP ZIP-packed file with Sample Pictures
READ .ME! If present, useful information
Or if you have downloaded TOGETHER! from a BBS you'll have a
TOGETHER.ZIP file with all the items contained in it. (Except for
the PICTURES.ZIP file, to reduce the download time!)
System Requirements
To use TOGETHER! you must have an IBMTM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 or near
100% compatible computer with at least 640Kb memory + Expanded
Memory (highly recommended), LIM 4.0 compatible (size depends on
picture sizes), one diskette drive and hard disk , a HERCULESTM (or
monographic compatible), CGA, EGA ,MCGA, VGA or SVGA compatible
display adapter (see Appendix), and MS-DOS or PC-DOS version 3.1 or
above.
If a Expanded Manager is present, TOGETHER! will swap a large
amount of it's code to EMM, leaving conventional memory for other
applications. This will also enable all the "memory hungry
features" at the best performance.
** NOTE: IF EXPANDED MEMORY IS AVAILABLE (384Kb or more) THE
PROGRAM'S PERFORMANCE IS ENHANCED DRASTICALLY **
TOGETHER! supports the following picture file formats:
- PCX Developed by ZSoftTM Corporation.
- GIF87a Developed by CompuServe Incorporated.
These file formats are considered a standard in the market. All
graphics and painting programs, scanners, video frame grabbers and
capture programs, digitizing software, etc. allow to save in PCX
format. The GIF file specification is very popular in the BBS
community for its high compression ratios.
II. INSTALLATION
Related Documentation
To make the best use out of the TOGETHER! program and this user's
guide, you need to be somewhat familiar with MS-DOS operating
system and with your computer hardware. You can find the necessary
information about these topics within the documentation that came
with your present system.
Copy and Backup Diskette
The first thing you should do is make a backup copy of the original
TOGETHER! diskette. This is very important to protect the
information on your original diskette from loss or damage. Refer to
your DOS manual if you need information about using the DISKCOPY
command.
TOGETHER! is distributed on one (1) standard 360Kb 5 1/4" DS/DD
diskette or upon request on one (1) 720Kb 3 1/2" diskette.
Once you have made the backup diskette, store the original in a
cool, dry, safe place, and use the backup copy for all further
activities described in this manual.
Installing TOGETHER!
To install TOGETHER! in your computer, follow these next easy steps
(Replace the drive letter by the letter that applies in your case):
1. Create a directory for TOGETHER! in your hard disk,
MD TOGETHER <ENTER>
CD TOGETHER <ENTER>
(you can select any name for the directory)
2. Place the TOGETHER! Program Disk in Drive A
COPY A:*.*
3. At this point you can configure TOGETHER! through the
TOGETHER.INI file based on your hardware, or you can try to
run the program without a TOGETHER.INI file (Auto detect).
Setup: TOGETHER.INI file
Trough this file the TSR gets the initial parameters to load itself
in memory and be ready to be triggered with the proper
configuration.
The TOGETHER.INI provided with the program can be modified based on
your present configuration using any text editor (i.e. MS-DOS EDIT
or EDLIN, ASCII word processor, etc.):
Valid entries and parameters:
I. To specify in which mode the display adapter should be set when
displays 2 colors pictures:
[2.COLORS.MODE];m2
Where m2 must an entry from the table: Graphics modes supported.
Same, but for 16 colors:
[16.COLORS.MODE];m16
and for 256 colors:
[256.COLORS.MODE];m256
Note: TOGETHER! can display a 2, 16, 256 color pictures, even if
picture was saved with different adapters (mode) but containing the
same number of colors. i.e. a 2 color picture saved using a VGA
adapter can be displayed in Hercules mono-graphics, or a 256 color
picture, saved in 640x480 can be displayed in 256 colors 800x600
and viceversa, etc.
Note:
1) If one of these entries are missing TOGETHER! will try to auto-
detect the adapter and the modes needed (Default)
2) For adapters that can display the 3 modes, the entries can be
specified at once. i.e. Tseng Labs Super VGA Adapter:
[2.COLORS.MODE];6
[16.COLORS.MODE];7
[256.COLORS.MODE];13
...
Graphic Modes Supported
"Use the number (n) for the INI file entries" (Next page...)
Adapters and Resolution
Colors CGA EGA VGA HERCULES
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
2 640x200 (1) 640x350 (4) 640x480 (6) 720x348 (9)
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
16 - 640x350 (5) 640x480 (7) -
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
256 - - 320x200 (8) -
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
SVGA Adapters (Chipset) and Resolution 1/2
Colors Tseng Labs Paradise Video Seven ATI
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
2 640x480 (6) 640x480 (6) 640x480 (6) 640x480 (6)
800x600 (15)
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
16 640x480 (7) 640x480 (7) 640x480 (7) 640x480 (7)
800x600 (10) 800x600 (14) 800x600 (18) 800x600 (22)
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
256 320x200 (8) 320x200 (8) 320x200 (8) 320x200 (8)
640x350 (11) 640x400 (16) 640x400 (19) 640x400 (23)
640x480 (12) 640x480 (17) 640x480 (20) 640x480 (24)
800x600 (13) 800x600 (21) 800x600 (25)
1024x768 (26)
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
SVGA Adapters (Chipset) and Resolution 2/2
Colors Trident VESA standard
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
2 640x480 (6) 640x480 (6)
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
16 640x480 (7) 640x480 (7)
800x600 (31) 800x600 (38)
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
256 320x200 (8) 320x200 (8)
640x400 (32) 640x400 (36)
640x480 (33) 640x480 (37)
800x600 (34) 800x600 (39)
1024x768 (35) 1024x768 (40)
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
II. Location to look for picture files (.PCX): (optional)
[PCX.PATH];d:\....
Where d:\.... is any DOS valid path (useful for applications that
share a common directory for picture storage or a file server).
Defaults to the directory where TOGETHER! is called when the Hot-
Key is pressed.
III. Screen Range (optional)
[RANGE];r1;r2
Where r1: start line
r2: end line
A "where-to-look" range on the screen can be specified for
TOGETHER! to look for picture names. Useful for applications that
have a known position to look for the picture name. i.e. data-base
inquiry screen with a field for picture-name for TOGETHER!.
Defaults r1=1 and r2=25 (full text screen).
IV. Default display SPLIT
The SPLIT is the way TOGETHER! will show the picture along with the
text screen (see: TOGETHER! basics). Note: the split can always be
changed through keyboard.
[DEFAULT.SPLIT];s
Where s can have any of the following values: <>
<N> Non split (default), <H> Horizontal, <V> Vertical, <C> Corner
and <O> Overlay.
Note: Learn more about SPLIT's further in this manual.
V. User defined SPLIT
[USER.SPLIT];x;y
The user can define (x,y) where in the screen display the image,
this split is triggered with the <U> key.
Note: This can also be used as default split i.e. [DEFAULT.SPLIT];U
VI. User defined HOT KEY
[HOT.KEY];value
The user can decide which keyboard key or combination will activate
TOGETHER!. Value must contain a valid keyboard scancode, if the
value is specified in HEX it must be precede by x.
Default: xC19 (Ctrl Alt T)
The keyboard scancodes can be found in any MS-DOS reference book or
PC reference book. If somebody needs a special combinations I can
help. The following are some of them:
x3B - x44 : F1 - F10 (function keys)
x814 : Alt T
VII. Swap directory
[SWAP.DIR];d:\path
TOGETHER! creates and saves temporary data and code in the hard
disk while is running to free memory for other tasks. Many users
run from CD-ROM drives (read-only), this option is useful to tell
TOGETHER! what mass storage device to use or specify a faster
drive, like a RAM disk to improve performance.
Default: Current directory when is activated.
VIII. Printer
[PRINTER];n
This entry 'tells' TOGETHER! what type of printer it's attached to
the system. The values can be 1 for a Dot-Matrix printer (EPSON
compatible) or 2 for HP Laserjet compatible printer.
Defaults: 1 (Dot-Matrix printer)
Note: Any other entry not specified here will be considered a
comment.
Loading and Unloading TOGETHER!
After setting up TOGETHER! properly you simply enter the following
commands:
1. CD\TOGETHER <ENTER> (replace TOGETHER by the name of
the directory you've chosen
during installation)
2. TOGETHER <ENTER>
The program will now display the Copyright notice and will be ready
to activate using the "Hotkey": CTRL-ALT-T. You will no longer need
to reload TOGETHER!, it becomes memory resident. (If you want to
load TOGETHER every time you startup the system you can put this
command sequence in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file).
If for any reason you need to Unload TOGETHER!, enter the
following:
1. CD\TOGETHER <ENTER>
2. TOGETHER/U <ENTER> (/U stand for Un-install)
At this point TOGETHER unloads itself and frees up all the memory
used by it. This feature is helpful if you want to load TOGETHER!
with specific applications and unload it after using these
programs, allowing other applications for their memory needs.
Command line options
/F=n Specify font size for text display.
Values (n): 16 font 8x16 (default)
14 font 8x14
8 font 8x8
Sample Pictures and Quick Start
In the distribution diskette you'll find some picture samples
(PICTURES.ZIP):
1. CD\TOGETHER <ENTER>
To see a brief description of the pictures enter:
2. TYPE PICTURES.DOC <ENTER>
You can try TOGETHER! at this moment. After loading it, type:
DIR <ENTER> (DOS will display the directory with the
sample pictures)
Press: Ctrl+Alt+T (To activate TOGETHER!)
Try now with one of your text applications and your own pictures!!!
III. TOGETHER! BASICS
Overview
TOGETHER! is a memory resident program (TSR). Once activated it
scans the actual application screen and looks for the name of the
picture(s). If there is more than one picture TOGETHER! creates a
"menu on the fly" allowing the user to select the picture to view.
TOGETHER! can detect automatically which kind of display is the
best for the specified picture and displays it along with the Text-
screen.
Features
- About "Menus On the Fly"
Once activated (through the hot-key), TOGETHER! "scans" the actual
application screen to find words that match pictures filenames to
display. If there is more than one picture name on the screen,
TOGETHER! will show those names "blinking", at this time the user
is able to move the marker (reverse video) with the arrow keys and
hit the enter key to display the desired picture, after seeing the
image, TOGETHER! will come back to the menu. The number of picture
names per menu or screen is limited to sixteen (16).
- About Picture files and the Default
TOGETHER! can only display pictures that are saved in ZSoft's PC
Paintbrush format (PCX) or GIF87a. If no picture filename is found
by TOGETHER! when activated, it looks for the default picture if it
exists (DEFAULT.PCX) or (DEFAULT.GIF)
- Viewing Text with Picture
The picture can be placed on the screen in different ways,
TOGETHER! provides, through a keystroke, several "splits/windows"
to show the picture along with the text:
Horizontal Vertical Non Corner Overlay
┌─────────┐ ┌────┬────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐
│ Text │ │ │ │ │ │ │ Text │ │ Picture │
├─────────┤ │Text│Pict│ │ Picture │ │ ┌────┤ │(Backg.) │
│ Picture │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │Pict│ │ Text │
└─────────┘ └────┴────┘ └─────────┘ └────┴────┘ └─────────┘
Or anywhere on the screen (User defined Split)
- Scrolling
If the picture does not fit in the screen in any of the "splits"
available, you can pan or scroll the image in it's own window using
the arrow keys.
- Scaling
TOGETHER! let you change the size of the picture displayed,
pressing the scale menu key. Here you have options to scale the
picture to a bigger/smaller size, using a given scale factor.
Note: It's important to have enough Expanded Memory available to
use this operation.
- Printing
TOGETHER! gives you the option to print the screen content or the
image only on a dot matrix (Epson or IBM graphics compatible
printer) or an HP Laserjet compatible printer.
- Help Window
By pressing the <F1> key the help window is available, to remind
and show the user, TOGETHER!'s specific version features and how to
activate them.
IV. USING TOGETHER!
<Ctrl-Alt-T> "Activating" TOGETHER! or User defined HOT-KEY
The Hot-key to activate TOGETHER! is the combination of three keys
pressed at the same time: <Ctrl Alt T>, we chose this combination
to avoid any possible conflict with other programs. If you've a
specific application that needs a different hot-key you can use the
[HOT.KEY] entry in the TOGETHER.INI file.
Selecting a Picture
If your application screen has more than one picture to display,
TOGETHER! starts the "menu" to let you select the desired image.
To select or move the "reverse video" marker, use the arrow keys.
With these keys you can move freely from one picture to another. To
show the picture, place the marker over the word and hit the
<ENTER> key.
Split Option Keys
You can choose from four (4) different Split modes (actually five)
for displaying your text and picture on the screen. We strongly
recommend that you try them all so you can find the Split Mode that
suits your application based on the size and/or shape of the
Picture, and the layout of the text screen. The Split Modes
available are:
H = Splits the screen in two (2) Horizontal Sections
V = Splits the screen in two (2) Vertical Sections
N = Non Split, displays the Picture only (default)
C = Displays the Picture on the lower-right corner of the
screen
O = Overlays the Text-Screen over the Picture (The Picture
appear as a Background)
U = User defined Split, starts display picture at x,y
([USER.SPLIT];x;y See discussion in INI file)
Don't worry if you choose the wrong Split Mode, because once within
TOGETHER!, you can always change it without exiting the program
selecting the Split Mode desired.
Arrow keys
Once the Text-Screen and Picture have been placed on the screen,
you may scroll the contents of your Picture file using the arrow
keys. Your picture will be scrolled as many pixels according to the
Split mode in use. If any edge of the Picture is reached, a beep
will be heard.
Space Bar
By hitting the Space Bar you're able to change the text color.
Note: For the best contrast TOGETHER! will look for black and white
combinations to display the text data.
Scale Menu
Pressing the <S> will bring up the Scale Menu. The following
parameters of the scale operation can be changed: Increase <+> or
decrease <-> scale factor, (now supports only integer factors)
The scale operation itself, <S> can be changed to enlarge + or
reduce - the image.
The <G> is the go key to start the operation.
Print Screen Key
To print the actual screen contents you just press the <P> key,
TOGETHER! will do the grayscale conversion necessary to print the
screen.
Print Image only Key
This option activated with the <I> key has the same effect as the
Print Screen option, but only dumps the image (PCX or GIF) to the
printer.
Help Key
If you're displaying a picture, pressing the <F1>, TOGETHER! will
bring a "HELP" window screen with all the features available at the
moment. Note: the features available may vary depending on the free
memory available. Usually with an Expanded Memory Manager all the
features will be active.
<Escape> "Exiting" TOGETHER!
To exit from TOGETHER! press the <ESC> key and you will be returned
to your application program.
V. APPENDICES
Hardware Supported by TOGETHER!
Any Scanner and/or Capture board capable of saving images under the
PCX or GIF file format can be used with TOGETHER!. We recommend
the user to try all the possibilities to find the best to fit his
requirements in file size and display quality.
TOGETHER! supports almost all the Display and adapters or
compatible available in the market:
Color Graphics Adapter (CGA)
Hercules Graphics Adapter (HGA)
Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA)
Video Graphics Array (VGA)
Extended (SVGA) modes, using display chips from:
Tseng Labs
Video Seven
ATI
Paradise
Trident
VESA compatible
Credits Trademarks Acknowledgement
Thanks to all the registered users that helped to keep this project
alive with their contributions and suggestions!!!
Special thanks to my wife Daisy for her patience and waiting for me
to have dinner...
Portions of this program where developed using the GENUS
Microprogramming Programmer's toolkits.
GENUS Microprogramming, IBM, MICROSOFT, PKUNZIP, ZSOFT, PC-DOS,
EPSON, GIF87a, HP and MS-DOS are Registered Trademarks.
Other brands and product names mentioned here are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective holders.