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Text File | 1996-06-25 | 13.2 KB | 294 lines

ABOUT THIS PROGRAM --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : SmallSave Version : 1.15 (25 Jun 1996) Purpose : Small, fast screensaver Author : © Andrew Berry, 1996 Licence : Freeware. Please see conditions at the end of this file. SmallSave supports Interactive Help, and is now *nearly* Risc PC compatible. See the section ‘Risc PC’ below for details. PURPOSE --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This program was written because I have yet to find a screensaver which is small AND fast and has the options I want. I was looking for the ‘dancing lines’ pattern, but although many screensavers contain this pattern is it often too slow, or only in black and white. I decided to write my own screensaver to my own specifications and SmallSave is now part of my boot sequence. USING --------------------------------------------------------------------------- SmallSave contains a number of options, and these are set from the Options window. This is opened by clicking on the icon bar or selecting ‘Options...’ from the icon bar menu. The top box in the window shows the screensaver which is currently selected. This will be used when the screen is blanked, and can be changed by clicking in the box with MENU, or on the menu icon to the right. This brings up a new window with a list of savers. See the section ‘selecting a saver’ for details. SELECTING A SAVER --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The left hand side of the saver window contains the 5 savers which are currently implemented. The sixth option, Random, is explained below. On the right hand side of the window is an option for Steady or Fading colours. All savers except Flashing stars will work in either mode. When Steady is selected either one or two colours are used. These are changed periodically but the lines do not ‘fade’ between colours. When Steady is selected the saver will run in any screen mode. Selecting Fading causes the lines to constantly change colour. The colour at any moment is calculated from the screen coordinates of one of the points. This only works in 16 colour modes, so an appropriate mode is entered if required, with the original mode being reselected on return to the desktop. The final saver option is Random. This causes a saver to be selected at random, and Steady or Fading to also be randomly chosen. As well as this, a new random saver will be selected after a period of time which can be set from the savers window. THE SAVERS --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following savers are currently implemented. Lines (1 group) =============== This is the common ‘dancing lines’ saver and is mode independent, i.e. it will run in any mode, taking up the whole screen. It looks best in hi-res 16 colour modes, but will work in most modes which are likely to be used. Mirrored lines (1 group) ======================== This is similar to Lines, except a kaleidoscope effect is achieved by reflecting the lines in horizontal and vertical axes along the middle of the screen. This is also mode independent. Lines (2 groups) ================ Similar to Lines except 2 groups of lines move independently of each other. Quadrilateral ============= Four points are joined to form a quadrilateral which constantly changes shape as it’s corners move around the screen. Flashing stars ============== This is a simple effect with stars which flash on and off at random. An appropriate 16-colour mode is entered if necessary. Random ====== Explained above. OTHER OPTIONS --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blank time is fairly self-explanatory, and any time from 1 to 999 seconds can be entered. If ‘Blank after specified time’ is selected then the screen will be blanked after the time which has been entered. You may wish to turn this feature off, so that the screen is only blanked when the hotkey is pressed (see following paragraph). If instant blank is selected then pressing Control and Insert together will start the screensaver. This has been improved since version 1.13 so that the saver only starts when Control and Insert are *released*. In previous versions, holding one of the keys down slightly too long caused the saver to start and then stop again as it detected the keypress. If ‘Ctrl-Insert to return from instant’ is selected then ONLY Ctrl-Insert will return from a screensaver which has been started using the Instant method. In other words, if the saver is started automatically after a period of time then any mouse movement or keypress will kill the saver, but if Ctrl-Insert was used to start the saver then ONLY Ctrl-Insert will kill it. This means that the computer is locked in screensaver mode until Ctrl- Insert is pressed again. This feature may be improved in the future to support password protection. If ‘Slow down on Risc PC’ is selected then the savers will be made to run more slowly. I have used the utility module version to determine whether the program is being used on a Risc PC. As Acorn have said that they will not be releasing the ARM 610 or 710 for earlier machines, then this shouldn’t cause a problem. Selecting ‘Hide icon on startup’ in the options window causes SmallSave to start up without placing an icon on the icon bar. This only takes effect from when the program is next loaded. To hide the icon temporarily the icon bar menu should be used. Problems can occur if both SmallSave and the standard RISC OS screenblanker are active. To overcome this, select ‘Disable standard screenblanker’ which will issue the command *BlankTime 0 on startup. This doesn’t affect the configuration in any way. The four icons along the bottom of the window are as follows: Demo : This will enter screensaver mode with the saver which is displayed at the top of the window Restore : Loads the options file from disc Save : Saves the new options to disc OK : Closes the window, remembering any changes. If any of these four icons are selected while the Savers window is open, then it will be closed, with the loss of any changes. THE ICON BAR MENU --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This contains only 4 items, including Info and Quit. ‘Options...’ opens the options window which is described above and ‘Hide Icon’ removes the icon from the icon bar without affecting the options settings. HIDING THE ICON --------------------------------------------------------------------------- If ‘Hide Icon on startup’ is selected from the options window then next time the program is loaded no icon will appear, although the program will be active. This should be the normal situation once you have set the options. If you wish to hide the icon temporarily then the icon bar menu should be used. In both cases the icon can be unhidden by pressing Ctrl-Home. SETTING UP THE PROGRAM FOR INCLUSION IN A BOOT SEQUENCE --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Select the saver and blank time required and set any other options. Make sure that ‘Hide icon on startup’ is selected and click on Save, followed by OK. Insert a line in your boot file such as Filer_Run ADFS::IDEDisc4.Boot.Apps.!SmallSave The program will be loaded from the boot file. No icon will appear on the icon bar but the program will be running with the options which you saved. On a Risc PC the SmallSave application should be placed in the Tasks directory ($.!Boot.Choices.Boot.Tasks) from where it will load automatically on startup. RISC PC --------------------------------------------------------------------------- SmallSave will run satisfactorily on a Risc PC, but at the moment only the old style modes are used. I am in the process of writing some Risc PC savers which should be included in a future version. NOTE ON POWER-SAVING MONITORS --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Many monitors, for instance the AKF60 supplied with the Risc PC, support DPMS (Display Power Management Signalling) which causes the monitor to ‘shut down’ after a specified period of time, providing the appropriate option is set in the monitor definition file. Under RISC OS 3.5 and later this is controlled by the ScreenBlanker module, meaning that programs such as SmallSave are at an immediate disadvantage because they only blank the screen, and as far as I know is not possible for a program to control the DPMS state. The solution I have found is as follows. Use this program as normal, with the blanking time set to, for instance, 5 minutes. Make sure the ‘Disable standard screenblanker’ option is unset and configure the standard screenblanker to, for instance, 10 minutes. With this setup SmallSave will start up after 5 minutes, and after a further 5 minutes the standard screenblanker will cut in and activate the power saving feature. HISTORY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.00 (17 Jun 1995) : • First version. Three savers, instant blank, hide icon, variable blank time. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.10 (08 Jul 1995) : • Blanktimes over 255 seconds are now saved correctly in the options file • Selecting ‘Hide Icon’ in the options window no longer removes the icon immediately - ‘Hide Icon’ added to icon bar menu to do this • Blanking after a specified time can now be turned off • Savers now selected by a window instead of a menu • Instant blanks can be killed only by Ctrl-Insert (optional) • Option to disable standard screenblanker on startup • Two extra savers added • Option to select a saver at random --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.11 (15 Jul 1995) : • ‘Stars’ saver now works in any 16-colour mode --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.12 (13 Aug 1995) : • Fixed bug introduced in 1.10 - saver didn’t start after the delay time, regardless of the setting in the options window --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.13 (07 Jan 1996) : • Option for Steady or Fading colours • Random change delay • Two new savers --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.14 (12 Feb 1996) : • Added option to slow down savers on Risc PC • Now supports interactive help • When using Instant Blank the saver now only starts when Control and Insert have been released. Similarly for the Demo button. • Savers selection window is now closed if Demo/ Restore/Save/OK are clicked in options window --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.15 (25 Jun 1996) : • Small changes to program and documentation. FOR A FUTURE VERSION --------------------------------------------------------------------------- • Add support for new Risc PC modes. • Password facility DISTRIBUTION NOTES --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This program is Freeware, NOT public domain. This means that I retain the copyright but give everyone the right to distribute it by any means, as long as all files are supplied and I am fully credited. If you would like to include this program on a magazine cover disc then please contact me first to obtain the latest version. If you run a PD library and did not obtain this program from me, then you may like to write and I’ll send you the latest versions of all my programs followed by regular updates as they become available. PLEASE NOTE --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Although this program has been fully tested, I (the author) cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage caused by the use or misuse of this program. It is used entirely at your own risk. CONTACT --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please write to me at the address below. I would be interested to hear if you have ideas for improving the program or have found any bugs. New versions of all my programs are always sent first to APDL and The Datafile or can be obtained by writing to the below address, enclosing either a cheque for £1.00 or a disc and return postage. The file !SmallSave.Docs.Others contains details of my other programs. Please write to: Andrew Berry 39 Lancaster Avenue Sandiacre Nottingham NG10 5GW ---------------------------------------------------------------------------