Black Box 4

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

/ Black Box 4 / BlackBox.cdr / screen / scsv50.arj / SCSAVER.DOC < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1992-03-30 | 46.8 KB | 1,086 lines

________________________ \ \ \ \ Tom \ \ \ Donnelly \ \ \ Computer \ \ \ Software \ \ \_____________________\_\ \_____________________\_\ Screen Saver Version 5.0 Screen blanker and security software REFERENCE DOCUMENTATION Tom Donnelly Computer Software P.O. Box 3856 San Dimas, CA 91773 Copyright (C) 1990-1992 Tom R. Donnelly All Rights Reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS ii ======================================================================== LICENSE AGREEMENT........................................iii REGISTRATION, PROBLEM REPORTING AND USER SUGGESTIONS..... iv PROGRAM DESCRIPTION...................................... 1 MACHINE REQUIREMENTS AND INSTALLATION.................... 3 OPERATION OF RESIDENT PROGRAM (SCSAVER).................. 4 Command-line parameters............................... 4 Command-line switches................................. 5 OPERATION OF SETUP PROGRAM (SCSAVINS).................... 7 OPERATION OF APPLICATION LOAD PROGRAM (SCSLOAD).......... 11 OPERATION OF PASSWORD CHANGE PROGRAM (SCSAVPSW).......... 13 OPERATION OF RESIDENT CODE REMOVER PROGRAM (SCSREMOV).... 14 ENTERING THE PASSWORD AFTER LOCK HAS ENGAGED............. 15 HOT-KEYS THAT MAY BE USED................................ 16 COMPATIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS............................. 17 MOUSE-RELATED PROBLEMS AND CONSIDERATIONS................ 18 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......................................... 20 REGISTRATION FORM........................................ 21 LICENSE AGREEMENT ...iii ======================================================================== This program and the accompanying documentation are the copyrighted property of Tom R. Donnelly. You are granted a limited license to use, copy and distribute the program and its documentation, provided that the following conditions are met. 1. No fee is charged for the use, copying or distribution of the program and documentation, except a nominal medium charge (not to exceed five dollars). 2. The program is distributed in its original and unmodified state along with the original and unmodified documentation. 3. The program is not distributed, in whole or in part, as part of any commercial product or service without the express written permission of Tom R. Donnelly. THIS LICENSE IS EFFECTIVE UNTIL TERMINATED. YOU MAY TERMINATE THE LICENSE AT ANY TIME BY DESTROYING ALL COPIES OF THE PROGRAM AND ITS DOCUMENTATION. YOU MAY NOT USE, COPY, MODIFY OR DISTRIBUTE THE PROGRAM OR DOCUMENTATION OR ANY COPY, MODIFICATION OR PORTION OF THE PROGRAM OR DOCUMENTATION EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED FOR IN THIS LICENSE. VIOLATION OF ANY LICENSE PROVISION AUTOMATICALLY TERMINATES YOUR LICENSE AND MAY SUBJECT YOU TO CIVIL AND/OR CRIMINAL LIABILITY. THIS PROGRAM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITH NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE SUITABILITY, QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. IN THE EVENT THAT THE PROGRAM SHOULD PROVE TO BE DEFECTIVE YOU ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR AND/OR CORRECTION. IN NO EVENT WILL TOM R. DONNELLY BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY OTHER PARTY FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS AND/OR ANY OTHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM EVEN IF TOM R. DONNELLY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. REGISTRATION, PROBLEM REPORTING AND USER SUGGESTIONS ...iv ======================================================================== This program is distributed under a concept know as "shareware". ShareWare allows you to use the program and determine if it suits your needs before you pay for it. Instead of directly advertising this program, which would require that the price of the software be substantially higher, the shareware distribution concept allows me to reduce its costs and price the program accordingly. After you have determined that the program meets your needs, you are requested to register your use of the program. A product registration form is provided at the end of this document. As a registered user, you are entitled to free upgrades and technical support for a period of one year from date of registration. Registered users will also be notified of new releases and will be entitled to discounts on other products. Your registration fee will make new development possible. Quality software and customer satisfaction are my primary concerns. If this product is broken, I am interested in fixing it, if possible. Registered users may submit problem reports to the address below. For faster problem resolution, I may be contacted on CompuServe via Compuserve Mail. Please provide your name and registration number and a description of the problem. You will be assigned an incident number and will be contacted when a correction is available. If you have any suggestions for improvements in this product or ideas for additional features, I am very interested in hearing them. Please jot them down and send them to me at the address below. Tom Donnelly Computer Software P.O. Box 3856 San Dimas, CA 91773 Compuserve Id: 73200,1323 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION ...1 ======================================================================== Screen Saver is a utility designed to "shut off" the video image produced by your monitor during idle periods. This protects the screen from "burn-in", a phenomenon that causes a screen image to be permanently etched into the phosphor of the monitor, even after it has been shut off. Pressing any key or moving the mouse will restore the image exactly as it was. The program also allows you to manually blank the screen. This is very helpful if you are doing sensitive work and you are subject to people interrupting you. You can simply press the "hot-key" and your screen image will "disappear", to be recalled at the touch of any key. Screen Saver includes an optional passive security lock. After a prescribed interval, the keyboard will lock. This will prevent anyone from issuing commands until the proper password has been entered. This is NOT intended as a total security system. It cannot prevent someone from throwing "the big red switch" and re-powering up your computer. However, it can be an aid in preventing a casual intruder from disturbing your 7-hour spreadsheet recalculation. Screen Saver consists of five programs: A setup program (SCSAVINS.EXE), used to select various permanent default options, a resident program (SCSAVER.COM), which performs the blanking and locking, an application loader (SCSLOAD.EXE), used to temporarily set or change options before running problem applications, a password change program (SCSAVPSW.EXE) and a program to remove the resident code from memory (SCSREMOV.EXE). The setup program should be run first to select the desired options. These defaults are saved in a file called SCSAVER.DAT. The resident program should be included in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, so that it is run each time your system is booted. The resident program will take less than 4K of memory and can be loaded into high memory when an appropriate memory manager is present (such as DOS 5.0, QEMM or 386^Max). The resident program may also be run from the command-line after booting. This allows you to change options (such as ON, OFF or LOCK, described below) or immediately incorporate new permanent defaults selected by the setup program. Any time ScSaver is run from the command-line, it will determine if it is already resident. If Screen Saver is not resident, it will make itself so. If a resident copy is found, Screen Saver will replace the parameters in the resident copy. In most cases, you will NOT need to reboot your computer to activate new default options. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION ...2 ======================================================================== The application loader may be used to change options during the execution of particular applications and then restore the original options when the application terminates. This may be used for special cases where an ill-behaved application requires "special handling" by Screen Saver. The password change program allows the security password to be changed without allowing other options to be altered. This can be useful if you wish to allow others to maintain the password, but do not want them to alter other settings. The resident code remover program will unload the resident program from memory. This may be used in cases where you do not want Screen Saver to be loaded, but do not want to reboot. Certain criteria must be met to allow removal of the resident program. These criteria are fully described later in this document. MACHINE REQUIREMENTS AND INSTALLATION ...3 ======================================================================== Screen Saver supports the following hardware and software: IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 or 100%-compatible computer. MDA, CGA, MCGA, EGA or VGA adaptor and monitor. 128K of temporary free memory for the setup program. (This memory is released after the setup program exits). 4K of free memory for the resident program. (When loading into upper memory, a 12K free area is required during initialization. This will shrink to less than 4K when the program goes resident.) MS-DOS or PC-DOS 2.1 through 5.0. Mouse drivers by Microsoft, Mouse Systems or Logitech. To install Screen Saver, perform the following steps: 1. Follow the instructions contained in README.DOC for installing and/or unpacking the program from floppy or from the archive you received. You may then copy the files to any directory included in your PATH statement, if desired. 2. Run SCSAVINS and select desired options (detailed information on SCSAVINS is described later in this document). 3. Edit your AUTOEXEC.BAT file using a straight ASCII editor such as KEDIT, EDLIN or SideKick Notepad. Most word processing programs such as WordPerfect are NOT suitable for this purpose. Add the command SCSAVER ON or SCSAVER LOCK (refer to the section "OPERATION OF RESIDENT PROGRAM" for details about the ON and LOCK options). The command should be placed after your mouse driver (if you use one) and before programs such as SideKick. This will load the resident program each time your computer is booted. 4. Reboot your computer by pressing CTL-ALT-DEL. Screen Saver is not particularly sensitive to the order in which it is loaded and will run without problems with most other relatively well-behaved TSR programs. However, sometimes there can be conflicts. If you have trouble getting the screen to blank or the hot-key to work, try moving SCSAVER to a different position in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Generally, Screen Saver should be loaded early in the AUTOEXEC (but after the mouse driver, if you use a mouse). OPERATION OF RESIDENT PROGRAM ...4 ======================================================================== The resident program (SCSAVER.COM) should be run from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. This will insure that Screen Saver is loaded each time your computer is started. If you are using a mouse or mouse-compatible trackball, you should run Screen Saver AFTER the mouse driver program has been loaded. After the resident program has been loaded the first time, ScSaver may be run from the DOS command line at any time. This allows you to change the state from ON to OFF or LOCK or to load new command-line options or options selected by the setup program, without requiring a reboot. ScSaver may also be run from a batch file. SCSAVER [ON|OFF|LOCK|LOCKONLY|BLANK n|LOCKNOW] [switches] The options ON, OFF, LOCK, LOCKONLY, BLANK and LOCKNOW are mutually exclusive (only 1 of these options may be specified per run). ON specifies that the timer-driven blanking system is to be turned on. The interval that will be used is that selected during setup or via command-line switch /B. The ON option also disables security locking. If the program is not yet resident, this is the default if no command-line option is specified. OFF specifies that timer-driven blanking and/or locking is to be turned off. LOCK specifies that the timer-driven blanking system AND the timer-driven security keyboard locking system is to be turned on (ie, LOCK implies ON and includes security locking). The security locking interval and password are selected during setup or via command-line switch /L. If no password was selected during setup, locking will not occur. LOCKONLY specifies that only the security lock should be active, not the screen blanking timer. BLANK n specifies that the screen is to be blanked in n seconds. The n parameter is optional and defaults to 2. This normally gives the system enough time to finish any video output before the screen is blanked (since any video output will reset the blanking count-down). This parameter may be any numeric value between 1 and 999 seconds. It is intended to be used from a batch file to blank the screen during set-up of some unattended system. Note that, in order to use the BLANK parameter, the Screen-Saver system must have been previously loaded with either the ON, OFF, LOCK or LOCKONLY option. LOCKNOW specifies that the security lock should be engaged immediately. Note that, in order to use the LOCKNOW parameter, the Screen-Saver system must have been previously loaded with either the ON, OFF, LOCK or LOCKONLY option. OPERATION OF RESIDENT PROGRAM ...5 ======================================================================== SWITCHES The command line switches may be used to override the permanent defaults settings selected with the setup program, SCSAVINS, or to alter individual options after Screen Saver has made itself resident. This is quite useful in batch files where you need to temporarily alter the defaults for a particular situation. You may specify any number of command-line switches. The first time ScSaver is run, it will use the options stored by the setup program and override any option specified by a command line switch. On subsequent executions of ScSaver, if any command line options or switches are included, only those options will be changed in the resident code. To reload the default setup options, run ScSaver without any command line parameters. /B:nn specifies the amount of idle-time (from 1 to 59 minutes) before the screen is blanked. /L:nnnn specifies the amount of idle-time (from 1 to 3600 seconds) before the keyboard is locked (if the LOCK or LOCKONLY option was specified). /P+ specifies that, if the screen has been saved after the security lock has engaged, the password will be required before the screen will be restored. /P- specifies that any key will restore the screen, even though the password may be required to unlock the keyboard. /C+ specifies that the case of alphabetic characters in the password is to be respected during validation. This means you must type the characters exactly as originally set. /C- specifies that the case of alphabetic characters in the password is to be ignored during validation. Upper and lower case alphabetics are treated as identical. /R+ specifies that the key that is pressed to restore the screen will be passed on to the running application. /R- specifies that the key that is pressed to restore the screen will be ignored (ie, NOT passed to the running application). /V+ specifies that video activity will reset the idle timer. /V- specifies that video activity will be ignored and will NOT reset the idle timer. OPERATION OF RESIDENT PROGRAM ...6 ======================================================================== SWITCHES (continued) /M+ specifies that mouse activity will reset the idle timer. /M- specifies that mouse activity will be ignored and will NOT reset the idle timer. /U+ specifies that the VGA, if present is unusual. Typically, this will be indicated by the screen acting strange (rolling or producing graphics patterns) when the blanker engages. You should only specify this option if you experience problems or on the advice of technical support. This option may be used to correct some problems caused by the use of VGA registers (even on compatible VGA systems). /U- specifies that the VGA is 100% compatible. This is the default. /K+ specifies that Screen Saver should use the enhanced keyboard BIOS if it is detected. This is the default and should be used in most cases. /K- specifies that Screen Saver should use older keyboard BIOS calls, regardless of whether the machine has an enhanced keyboard BIOS or not. This option may be required for some machines that do not correctly implement the enhanced BIOS functions. /Q specifies that the system should load in Quiet mode and suppress most of its status displays. /BIOS specifies that Screen Saver should use BIOS output routines for displaying its messages instead of the DOS Standard Output routines. /H or /? displays a list of these options on the screen. For example, to load Screen Saver with a 2 minute idle timeout and ignoring video activity, you would type the following: SCSAVER ON /B:2 /V- OPERATION OF SETUP PROGRAM ...7 ======================================================================== Although you can set Screen Saver options with command-line switches, it is sometimes more convenient to save permanent default options in a disk file. The setup program, ScSavIns, allows you to create and maintain this file of permanent default options. This file of permanent options is loaded the first time ScSaver is run after booting or if ScSaver is run without any command line parameters. ScSavIns will search all directories on your PATH to see if an existing option file (SCSAVER.DAT) exists. It will use the options already defined in this file and allow you to modify them. To force creation of a new option file, use the /NEW argument on the command line when starting ScSavIns (ie, SCSAVINS/NEW). When upgrading to a new version of Screen Saver, it is necessary to resave any existing option file by running the setup program ScSavIns. This adjusts any release dependant options used by the resident program. If you do not wish to change any options (for example, when upgrading to a new release), you may run SCSAVINS with the /SAVEONLY option. This will bypass the initial menu and simply resave your option file. When you run ScSavIns without the /SAVEONLY parameter, you will see a menu of options. To select an option to change, press the highlighted number or letter next to the option, or move the mouse-cursor to the desired item and click the left mouse button. Numeric options such as "Blanking Interval" and "Lock Interval" may be keyed in directly or you may increment/decrement the displayed values using the PLUS/MINUS keys. Press <ENTER> (or click OK) to accept the new value. To leave the diaglog box without changing the existing value, press <ESCAPE> (or click CANCEL). Check-box options are displayed as [√] when they are ON or [ ] when they are OFF. These are "toggle" options. To toggle the option from ON to OFF, press the spacebar (or click the check box with the mouse). You will see the check-mark disappear and reappear as the option is toggled. Press CR (ENTER) (or click OK) to accept your new choice. Press ESCape (or click CANCEL) to restore the option setting to the value it had before you changed it. 1-Blanking interval (/B:nn) The blank interval is the amount of idle time (in minutes) before the screen automatically blanks. You may key in a new interval value from 1 to 59 minutes. OPERATION OF SETUP PROGRAM ...8 ======================================================================== 2-Hot-key for blanking The hot-key is a key that will cause the screen to be blanked. You may press a new key combination that will be used as the blanking hot-key. Some keys are not allowed to be used as hot keys. The list below shows which keys are eligible to be used as hot keys. 3-Lock interval (/L:nnnn) The lock interval is the amount of idle time (in seconds) before the keyboard automatically locks. You may key in a new interval value from 1 to 3600 seconds. You must also enter a password (option 4) before locking will occur. 4-Password for lock The password is a series of keystrokes used to unlock the keyboard after it has been locked. This password is invisible as you type it. When you have typed the new password, press return (or enter). The setup program will ask you to retype the password you have entered. This is for verification purposes. If you mistype the password on either the first or second time, the password will not be changed. 5-Master Lock Hot-key The hot-key is a key that will cause the screen to be locked, even when SCSAVER was loaded without the LOCK parameter. You may press a new key combination that will be used as the blanking hot-key. Some keys are not allowed to be used as hot keys. The list below shows which keys are eligible to be used as hot keys. The key you select must also be different from the key selected for blanking. 6-Restore screen after lock (/P+) When this option is checked and both the lock interval and the blank interval have expired, the screen will not be restored until after the correct password has been entered. To allow the screen to be restored ANY TIME a key is pressed, remove the check mark. 7-Respect upper/lower case of password (/C+) When this option is checked, the case of alphabetic characters in the password will be respected (that is, upper and lower case letters are considered different). If not checked, then upper and lower case characters are considered equal (case ignored). This option is used when validating the password after the lock is engaged. OPERATION OF SETUP PROGRAM ...9 ======================================================================== 8-Pass screen-restore key to application (/R+) With this option checked, after the screen has been blanked, any key pressed will restore the screen (unless the password is required for restore). The key that was pressed will be passed on to any application running (or DOS). If you prefer that the key you press to restore the screen NOT be passed to the application, remove the check mark. 9-Monitor video when determining inactivity (/V+) When this option is checked, Screen Saver will reset its count-down timer each time a video operation is performed. Some programs constantly update the screen, even in an idle state. Frequently, this is to update an on-screen clock or some other information. This constant video updating may prevent Screen Saver from blanking the screen (since it thinks the system is busy). To prevent Screen Saver from resetting its blanking timer when a video operation is performed, remove the check mark. This can be helpful if you find that the screen doesn't blank at the selected interval while some programs are running. A-Monitor mouse when determining inactivity (/M+) If Screen Saver has been loaded after your mouse driver program, checking this option will cause Screen Saver to reset its count-down timers whenever the mouse has been moved or clicked. If, for some reason, you want Screen Saver to ignore mouse movements, remove the check mark. Please note that, if you have already loaded the resident program without mouse activity monitoring (/M-) you will have to reboot your computer to enable mouse movement monitoring. B-Use enhanced keyboard BIOS, if present (/K+) Screen Saver will detect an enhanced keyboard BIOS, if it is present when it is loaded. This allows function keys F11 and F12 to be used as hot-keys. By removing this option, Screen Saver will force the use of older keyboard BIOS calls, even if the machine has an enhanced BIOS. This is to compensate for incompatibilities in certain machines. If you turn off this option, you will not be able to use the extended function keys (like F11 and F12) as hot-keys. OPERATION OF SETUP PROGRAM ...10 ======================================================================== C-System has an unusual VGA (/U-) If your VGA system acts strange (rolling or producing graphics patterns) when the blanker engages, your VGA may not be entirely compatible. Checking this box will cause Screen Saver to use EGA-mode blanking techniques that may work better on your system. You should not check this box option unless you experience problems or on the advice of technical support. D-Default Quiet Option This box, if checked, will cause Screen Saver to load with quiet mode as the default. Quiet mode normally will suppress the display of parameter settings being loaded. E-Invalid Password Change Limit The program SCSAVPSW will allow the password to be changed without changing other default parameters. SCSAVPSW requires the user enter the existing password before allowing a change. This value may be set to limit the number of invalid attempts at typing the existing password. A value of zero (0) will allow an unlimited number of invalid attempts. This limit only affects the number of attempts at specifying the current password to SCSAVPSW. It does not affect the number of attempts when the resident lock engages. S-Save changes to SCSAVER.DAT To save the changes you just made, press S from the menu. The changes will be written to the file listed on the menu. If Screen Saver is already resident, you may simply run ScSaver to have the changes applied to the resident code. This prevents having to reboot each time you make a change. X-Exit without saving To leave the setup program without saving any changes, press X from the menu. You may also press ESCape or click the right mouse button to exit without saving. You will be returned to DOS. H-(or F1) Help To obtain help on the setup program and its options, press H (or F1) from the menu. OPERATION OF APPLICATION LOAD PROGRAM ...11 ======================================================================== Sometimes it is desirable to be able to override selected Screen Saver options only for the duration of a certain application. The application load program (SCSLOAD.EXE) has been provided to accomplish this. SCSLOAD will allow any of the command-line options valid for SCSAVER.COM to be set and then load an application program. After the application program terminates, the original options will be reset. The syntax for SCSLOAD.EXE is as follows: SCSLOAD screen-saver-options application-command-line Screen Saver override options are specified following the SCSLOAD command. Any of the option switches described in the OPERATION OF RESIDENT PROGRAM section may be specified (ie /V, /B, /L, etc.). In addition, the switches /ON, /OFF, /LOCK or /LOCKONLY may be specified and correspond to the resident program's ON, OFF, LOCK and LOCKONLY parameters. Following these switches is the application command-line, beginning with the program name. For example, to disable video monitoring for the duration of a program (let's say WordPerfect) and have the option restored when the application exits, issue the following command: SCSLOAD /V- WP51 This command will turn off Screen Saver's video monitoring, then load the program WP51. After WP51 terminates, Screen Saver's options will be reset to the values it had prior to running SCSLOAD. Although SCSLOAD.EXE is not a TSR, it uses less than 2K of memory to perform the option saving, setting and loading of the application program named on the command-line. This memory is released after the application program terminates. SCSLOAD will search the DOS PATH to locate the program named on the command-line. The program named on the command-line following the Screen Saver options must be a .COM file or .EXE file (not a .BAT batch file). SCSLOAD is particularly useful under DesqView or the DOS Shell, since you may name SCSLOAD.EXE as the program to be executed and name your application program in the parameters. SCSLOAD will temporarily set Screen Saver options and then load your application automatically, restoring the options after the application terminates. OPERATION OF APPLICATION LOAD PROGRAM ...12 ======================================================================== SCSLOAD also has a local option that has no corresponding SCSAVER parameter. The /VTRAP option will cause SCSLOAD to set a vector trap which will monitor attempts to replace the keyboard interrupt vector and insure that Screen Saver informed of keyboard activity. If you find you are running a program and the screen blanks after the prescribed interval, but pressing a key doesn't restore the screen, this program may need to be loaded with /VTRAP. This condition has been observed most frequently with some computer game programs which usurp the keyboard interrupt and don't cascade as they should. /VTRAP option should not be used unless you discover a problem where the screen won't restore. The command line shown below illustrates how to load the Apogee Software Products' game PAGANITZU (which has the problem described above), using the /VTRAP option: SCSLOAD /VTRAP /V- PAGA1 Even though using SCSLOAD with the /VTRAP option will permit most of Screen Saver's features to work, you may still find that its hot-keys are disabled. This is a restriction of the application program, not of Screen Saver. OPERATION OF PASSWORD CHANGE PROGRAM ...13 ======================================================================== The Password Change Program (SCSAVPSW) may be used in situations where you wish to allow someone to change the lock password, but don't want other options changed. In addition, SCSAVPSW requires that the user supply the current password before a new password can be defined. SCSAVPSW modifies the same option file used by SCSAVINS and SCSAVER. If a new password is selected and saved, SCSAVER.COM is automatically called to reload and activate the new password. When SCSAVPSW is run, it checks to see if a password was assigned by the setup program, SCSAVINS. If there is an existing password, the user will be prompted to key in that password before being allowed to continue. The number of incorrect attempts at keying this password is controlled by the setup option "Invalid Password Change Limit". If this limit was set to zero (0), there is no limit on the number of attempts. (This limit only affects the number of attempts at specifying the current password to SCSAVPSW. It does not affect the number of attempts when the resident lock engages.) After the current password has been validated, the user is prompted to key in a new password. This password is masked (not displayed) while it is being typed. Because of this masking, the user will be prompted to key in the password a second time. If the first and second entries do not match, the user will be given the opportunity to try the operation again. Otherwise, the user is asked if they wish to save the new password and reload it into the currently resident code. Please note that, while this keeps casual users from altering setup options, a determined user with a hex-editor can alter the data in the option file (or erase the option file altogether). OPERATION OF RESIDENT CODE REMOVER PROGRAM (SCSREMOV) ...14 ======================================================================== The Resident Code Remover program (SCSREMOV) can be used to remove Screen Saver from memory, returning all resources to the system. SCSREMOV will unhook all interrupt vectors and release the memory it was using. In order for SCSREMOV to operate successfully, SCSAVER.COM must have been the LAST program loaded. For example, if you load SCSAVER, then load a print spooler (or network driver), you will be unable to remove SCSAVER from memory. This is partly a DOS restriction due to the way DOS handles memory allocation and partly because SCSREMOV can only restore interrupt vectors SCSAVER has hooked. To remove Screen Saver from memory, type SCSREMOV at the DOS command prompt. You may also run SCSREMOV from a batch file. However, memory released by SCSREMOV will not be returned to the system until the batch file terminates (another DOS quirk). ENTERING THE PASSWORD AFTER LOCK HAS ENGAGED ...15 ======================================================================== When Screen Saver has engaged the security lock, you are required to enter the password you picked in SCSAVINS before normal keyboard and mouse activity can resume. Version 5.0 and later changed the way passwords are entered. In previous versions, whenever the characters that made up the password were keyed, Screen Saver would unlock the system. This means that if the password was LOW it would unlock the system when words like SLOW and LOWER were keyed. Beginning in version 5.0, you must terminate the correct password with the ENTER (RETURN) key before a password is considered correct. If you discover you have typed an incorrect character of the password, you will need to press ENTER/RETURN before starting your next attempt. In addition, the /C+ and /C- (and the corresponding options set by SCSAVINS) determine how alphabetic keys are handled. With /C+ (Respect case), upper and lower case alphabetic characters are considered not matching. With /C- (Ignore case), upper and lower case alphabetic characters are considered a match. The /C+ and /C- have no effect on special keys used as part of the password (ie, Alt-F, F1, Ctl-C, etc.). HOT-KEYS THAT MAY BE USED ...16 ======================================================================== The following hot-keys may be used to trigger on-demand screen blanking. When these keys are defined as hot-keys, they will be unavailable to any other running programs. F1 through F10 ShiftF1 through ShiftF10 CtlF1 through CtlF10 AltF1 through AltF10 CtlLeftArrow CtlRightArrow CtlEnd CtlPgUp CtlPgDn CtlHome Alt0 through Alt9 Alt- and Alt= AltA through AltZ If your computer has an enhanced keyboard that is supported through your hardware BIOS, you may also use the following keys: F11 and F12 ShiftF11 and ShiftF12 CtlF11 and CtlF12 AltF11 and AltF12 Just because you may have the keys on your keyboard doesn't necessarily mean that the BIOS routines support them. This is particularly true of replacement keyboards that have been purchased separately. Generally, if the keyboard is the one that came with the machine (and has F11 and F12), you probably have the BIOS support necessary to define these keys as "Hot Keys". COMPATIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS ...17 ======================================================================== WINDOWS Screen Saver does not support screen blanking under Microsoft Windows. However, Screen Saver will detect when Windows has been started and switch itself off. If Windows is ended, Screen Saver will reactivate itself automatically. The application load program (SCSLOAD) will not attempt to change options while Windows is active. SCSAVINS may be used to load new options into the resident program, but these options will not be used until Screen Saver reactivates itself (after Windows terminates). DESQVIEW Screen Saver has been tested under DesqView and has been found to work successfully in almost every case. Since Screen Saver watches mouse activity even while running a program that uses the mouse, it is preferred over the DesqView screen blanker. DesqView's screen blanker stops monitoring the mouse whenever you run a program that uses the mouse. Screen Saver should be loaded before DesqView is run, so as to be available in all windows (and while using the mouse for DesqView control functions). Screen Saver may be loaded into high memory with QEMM's LOADHI program. PC TOOLS DESKTOP If you experience problems using the DeskTop utility from Central Point Software, try turning on the DeskTop option "RESTORE HIGH INTENSITY ON EXIT". This has proven to be necessary in some circumstances. Also, Screen Saver should be loaded BEFORE the DeskTop utility, if you run DeskTop in its resident (TSR) mode. GAME PROGRAMS AND OTHER ILL-BEHAVED APPLICATIONS If you find the screen blanks and won't restore, your application may be grabbing the keyboard interrupt and not properly cascading to other programs (like Screen Saver). Since Screen Saver never sees any activity it blanks the screen. To overcome this condition, load the program with SCSLOAD and the /VTRAP option. See the section of this document describing the Application Load program for more information. Even with /VTRAP, you may find that the hot-keys are disabled while the application is running. MOUSE-RELATED PROBLEMS AND CONSIDERATIONS ...18 ======================================================================== In order to detect mouse activity, Screen Saver must hook the mouse interrupt (INT33h) after the mouse driver has been loaded. Most programs have no trouble with this technique, since all requests coming through INT33 are passed to the mouse driver. However, a special case occurs when using "menu" programs supplied with some mouse drivers. For reasons known only to the mouse manufacturers, these menu programs not only require the driver be resident, they also require that it be THEIR driver that is resident. Therefore, Mouse Systems menu programs won't work with Logitech's driver and Logitech's menu program won't work with Microsoft's driver and so forth. Because Screen Saver has replaced the INT33 vector after the mouse driver was loaded, the menu programs can't find their literal in the memory around where INT33 points. Therefore, they declare that the mouse driver is not loaded! In order for Screen Saver to be compatible with various mouse drivers, it adopts some of the same techniques used by the individual mouse drivers to identify themselves to the menu programs. These techniques have been tested with the mouse drivers and menu programs supplied by Microsoft, Mouse Systems and Logitech. I'm sure that there are other mouse manufacturers out there that have implemented yet another egotistical security check scheme. If you install Screen Saver and start receiving messages about "Mouse Driver Not Loaded", please be sure to let me know. I want to incorporate as many of these "non-standard" techniques as possible so as to support as many different mouse drivers as I can. LOADING ORDER FOR SCREEN SAVER AND MOUSE DRIVERS Screen Saver should be loaded after your mouse driver and before any mouse-menu programs. Here are some sample AUTOEXEC.BAT files illustrating the loading order: Echo Off Echo Off Prompt $p$g Prompt $p$g mouse MscMouse /A8 /2 ScSaver On ScSaver On logimenu /12 PopUp click M_DOS MOUSE-RELATED PROBLEMS AND CONSIDERATIONS ...19 ======================================================================== WORDPERFECT 5.1 AND MOUSE ACTIVITY If you wish to have mouse activity reset the blanker while using WordPerfect 5.1, make sure to configure WordPerfect to use "Mouse Driver (MOUSE.COM)" in its set-up. You will need to load the mouse driver from either your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT. MEMORY USAGE AND MOUSE SUPPORT In order to conserve memory usage in those systems that do not require mouse-support, Screen Saver will omit portions of its code from memory if a mouse driver is not found (or the /M- option is specified). If this happens, you will be unable to activate the mouse support of Screen Saver until your system is rebooted. Screen Saver's mouse support uses approximately 800 bytes of memory. To have Screen Saver monitor the mouse, be sure that your mouse driver is loaded before SCSAVER (either in your CONFIG.SYS file or in your AUTOEXEC.BAT). Then, either specify /M+ or use set the corresponding permanent option with SCSAVINS. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...20 ======================================================================== Special thanks to Dixie Swanson for her analysis and design contributions and for her testing of beta releases. Microsoft and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. DesqView and QEMM are trademarks of Quarterdeck Office Systems. IBM is a registered trademark of the International Business Machines Corporation. PC/AT, PC-DOS, PC/XT and PS/2 are trademarks of the International Business Machines Corporation. WordPerfect is a registered trademark of WordPerfect Corporation. PcTools is a trademark of Central Point Software. Compression and Decompression routines were used from the Async Professional by TurboPower Software. Async Professional is a trademark of TurboPower Software. REGISTRATION FORM Screen Saver Version 5.0 ...21 ======================================================================== INDIVIDUAL AND SITE LICENSE REGISTRATION FORM ============================================= Screen Saver Version 5.0 License fee: 1 copy - $20.00 6-25 copies - $100.00 26-50 copies - $200.00 51-100 copies - $400.00 Unlimited copies - $500.00 Date: ____/____/____ (SCSV50) Contact Name: ________________________________________ Company Name: ________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________ City: ____________________ State: ____ Zip: __________ Telephone: (______) _________________ Ext: _______ Compuserve ID: _____________ Monitor Type: _______ Make of Computer: ___________________ Amount of RAM: _______ Size of Floppy Disk: [ ] 5.25" [ ] 3.5" Number of copies: _____ Amount enclosed: ______ TERMS: No credit cards or CODs, please. Make checks payable to: Tom Donnelly Computer Software Checks drawn on a U.S. bank in U.S. funds. International bank or postal money orders in U.S. funds. Purchase orders will be accepted and invoiced. Please attach your check and mail to: Tom Donnelly Computer Software P.O. Box 3856 San Dimas, CA 91773 THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING SHAREWARE.