Please feel free to distribute this package far and wide but please keep it in tact and also do not modify it in any way.
OVERVIEW:
StartUpScreenManager is essentially an extension (INIT) that activates during startup, randomly chooses a new startup picture from the available pictures, and immediately terminates, thus using absolutely no memory. If you happen to like certain pictures more than others, you can give them a higher weight, so they will be displayed more often.
Since not everybody is familiar with Resedit, StartUpScreenManager has an add button allowing you to easily import pictures of type 'PICT', MacPaint and 'SCRN' - the original startupscreen format. Furthermore, you can look in all files - including programs - for picture resources, and you can use the clipboard to import and export pictures.
Unlike other similar utilities, StartUpScreenManager:
• Does not patch any traps so it is more compatible with your other programs.
• Allows you to install pictures without much hassle.
• Uses very little RAM.
StartUpScreenManager requires System 7, is 32 bit clean and is 68040 compatible. If you ’d like to see a system 6 version, let me know. If I get enough requests, I’ll do it.
INSTALLATION:
Drop the file named “StartUpScreenManager” onto your system Folder. StartUpScreenManager must be placed in the Control Panels folder to function correctly.
HOW IT WORKS:
When you open the control panel, StartUpScreenManager will look for a file called “StartUpScreen” in your System Folder. If the file is not found, it will be created.
The StartUpScreenlist shows all installed StartUpScreens. For each screen, it lists the name, the size and the relative weight. The item shown in bold is the screen that will be shown at next startup.
You can change the screen to be shown at next startup by option - clicking a title.
Use the slider to change the relative weight of the screen. A screen having a weight of zero will never be shown (unless it is the only screen installed). The higher the weight, the more likely it gets for a screen to be shown.
You can use the “show” - button to show the currently selected screen, or you can double-click a title. If the screen to be shown is larger than your monitor, StartUpScreen Manager will ask you whether to scale the picture to fit your monitor, or to display the picture as it will really look.
The “Add” - button allows you to add a picture to the startup list.
You can choose from ‘PICT’, MacPaint or ‘SCRN’ files (‘SCRN’ files are pictures in the original startupscreen format). When you select a picture, StartUpScreen Manager will show you a preview, display the file type and the size.
If you want to import PICT - resources, i.e. pictures that are in a resource file such as an application, check the “Resource” checkbox. StartUpScreen Manager will display all files. If you select a file, StartUpScreen Manager will tell you the number of pictures it contains. If you open such a file, a dialog box showing all pictures living in the file will be presented.
Use the “Remove” - button to permanently remove a picture from the list. No warning will be given, and remove can not be “undone”, so be careful.
If you want to rename a picture, use the “Rename” - button.
Finally, the “Init Disable” checkbox disables StartUpScreen Manager, so no new screen will be selected.
SHAREWARE:
If you find yourself using StartUpScreenManager for more than 20 days, you are asked to send $15 for each copy you use to the author. In return, you will be entitled to the next updated versions of StartUpScreenManager at no cost and will be considered a registered user for life. Supporting shareware will ensure that more and better programs will be made available to the public, by independent developers everywhere.
ATTN.: StartUpScreenManager Registration.
Do not send any checks, unless they are drawn on a Belgian bank!
This is our first shot at the shareware market, and we really haven’t got an idea as what to expect. So, if you like StartUpScreenManager, please pay up. If you think there’s anything wrong with the product, please let us know. We do not know this market (yet), so any insight will help us provide products better suited to you.
NOTE: Once you pay, you are entitled to a free update to any other non-commercial version of StartUpScreenManager.
Site licenses are available. Contact the author for more information and a rate schedule.
WHO DID THIS:
Putteneers Consultancy is a small Belgian company. We are making a living doing client - server projects (Oracle, SequeLink, DAL, PowerBuilder), turn - key programming (4D, C, C++) and consulting.
StartUpScreenManager was born when a certain somebody was working on an INIT, and realized that half of the time he was “working” was spent looking at the same picture. So he wrote a quick hack. A few months later, we thought it might be a nice start to explore the shareware market, so we cleaned it up a bit, added a control panel, and well… here it is.
If this has any success, we’ve got some other stuff that can be published as shareware. So, if you are using StartUpScreenManager, please pay your fee and we will continue to publish.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
The slider and checkbox CDEF are part of the MacGadgets package created by Devil Mountain Development and are copyright of John C. May.
Special thanks to Ricardo Noulez for helpfull suggestions and for taking the risk to betatest.
DISTRIBUTION AND COPYRIGHTS
There are no restrictions on making and distributing unmodified copies of StartUpScreenManager, provided this document is included. Nonetheless, the application may not be commercially sold or distributed, without written permission by the developer. However, permission is granted for making the software freely available on any bulletin board and computer on-line service. In addition, StartUpScreenManager may also be freely distributed on floppy disks by Macintosh User Groups, if no more than actual cost is charged. StartUpScreenManager is copyright Herbert Putteneers.
WARRANTY DISCLAIMER
StartUpScreenManager is provided "as is." You may use it at your own risk and discretion, without warranty of any kind. Neither the developer, nor suppliers of the software, shall be liable for any damages arising out of your use, or possible misuse, of this product. So there!
