Collection of Tools & Utilities/Collection of Tools and Utilities.iso/menus/kgmnu115.zip/MENU.DOC

Text File | 1992-11-29 | 7KB | 183 lines

KGMNU115.ZIP - Kids graphics menu, easy for small kids to use, reqs EGA & Mouse

I tried to make this program easy for kids to use.

    Easy to use, just point to a square and click.
    Executes batch, exe, and com files.
    Screen blanker (only while menu displayed).
    TSRs installed by any executed batch files removed.
    Can use environment variable to locate data file.
    Uses single data file, not batch files.
    Can change colors and data file easily.
    Requires EGA/VGA and mouse.
    Counts number of time a program is executed.


Requirements:

This program was written to run on an IBM PC, XT, AT, and / or
a clone.  It requires a hard disk, EGA or VGA graphics adapter, and a
mouse.  The mouse driver must be installed for proper operation.


Standard Disclaimers.

I am not responsible for anything this software does.  If you use this
program you do so at your own risk.


Installation:

Make a directory on your hard disk, and copy all the files into
it.

If you were using a previous version of KGMNU, you must convert your
data file(s) before using this version.  Use the CONV program included
with this release.  It will either use the environment variable 'MENU'
or if not present, use the directory it is in to locate the data file to
convert.

The program will look for all of its files via either an
environment variable if present, or the path used to execute the
main menu.exe file if the environment variable is not present.
MENU.EXE is the only file required to be in your path if you wish
to return to the menu from any DOS prompt.  The environment variable
can be set by the following command:

    set MENU=c:\menu

Notice that there are no spaces after the 'M'.  The c: says the
files are on drive C.  The \menu says the files are in the menu
sub directory of the root directory.


Use:

To execute the program, just type menu at the DOS prompt. The menu
should appear on your screen.  If you wish to customize the menu
to your system (which I strongly recommend) read the next section.


Customization:

The colors, title, and entries may be easily customized.  Changing
an entry or title is as simple as selecting the item to change by
placing the mouse cursor over it, and typing the <insert> key.
The colors can be modified by typing the <F2> key.  Help for the
needy can be reached via the <F1> key.

Changing the color scheme of things is simple.  Type the <F2> key
and a color selection screen will appear.  At the top will be
four boxes allowing you to select the background color, fill color,
foreground color, and exit.  The next item down on the screen is a color
bar chart.  Select either a color to change or exit via pointing to the
appropriate box with the mouse, and clicking any button.  After selecting
which color to modify, just point to the new color on the color chart
and click.  The sample menu will indicate what the finished product would
look like.  When you like the color combination selected, just select exit.

    The background color will fill the screen behind the menu boxes
    The fill color will be for the background color inside the menu boxes.
    The foreground color is the color used for text and lines.

Changing the menu title is also easy.  Just put the mouse cursor
over the title and type the <insert> key.  An edit window will
open at the top of your screen.  You enter this window in
'overtype mode', this means anything you type will type over the
current character at the cursor.  You can change to insert mode by
typing the <insert> key. Insert mode, inserts the characters you
type at the cursor position, and moves the following characters to
the right. The <escape> key will erase the entire line.  The <F10>
key will accept what you have entered, and return to the menu
screen. <home> places the cursor on the beginning of the line
<end> puts the cursor on the last character.  The cursor arrow keys
will move the cursor within the line.

Changing the menu entries is a little more difficult.  You select
the entry to change by placing the mouse cursor over the item, and
then typing the <insert> key.  An edit window will appear at the
top of your screen.  You now have several items to edit.  All of
the edit commands are the same as above with the addition of the
up / down cursor keys and the enter key, these will move the
cursor from one item to the next.  The fields to edit are:

    Title: 8 characters to represent the program to run.

    Path: The full path including the drive where the
    executable file exists.

    File: The filename.ext of the program to be executed
    when this item is selected.

    Wait: Do you wish to wait after executing this file before
    returning to the menu.  This is useful if you wish to read
    a screen of data before overwritten by the menu screen.

    Count: The number of times this program has been executed
    by MENU.  This number is changed via <ESC> to clear it
    or <left arrow>, <right arrow>, <space> and <backspace> to
    increment or decrement it.


Exceptions:

The only menu entry that is special, is the last one in the last
row.  It will return you to DOS.  It also contains the menu title.
This entry is not editable within MENU.  It may be edited with a
standard text editor.  The count field in this entry is a total count
of the number of times MENU is executed.


EDIT COMMANDS:
    Cursor keys    Move cursor
    ESC        Clears line
    Home        Beginning of line
    End        End of line
    CTRL-C        Exit menu
    Insert        Enter insert mode
    F10        Exit and save edit
    Enter        Go to next line

Comments:

This program is being put into the public domain as freeware.  There are no
fees required for its use.  This can be freely distributed as long as this
menu.doc file accompanies the programs.  Credit must be provided for the
original author.

The source, written in Turbo-C (2.0), is available for a small sum.  Please
contact me if you are interested.

If you really love this program I am willing to accept contributions!

I would appreciate a postcard or email if you find this program useful.
Any flames should be directed to /dev/null.  Suggestions are also welcome.

    Sheldon Kolansky        Internet: [e-mail]
    10 Jarvis Way
    Westford, Massachusetts 01886-3944
    USA

Known Bugs:

I only know of one problem at this time.  One of my sons programs will not
run when started from the menu.  The program things that the Metafile driver
has been loaded, and does not reload it.  The program then won't run because
the driver was not loaded.


Fixed in version 1.15

The paths in both the environment variable and the menu entries may
or may not end in a '\'.

Exiting to DOS returns you to the same drive and directory you started from.

When programs are executed, MENU will look for COMMAND.COM where the
SHELL environment variable specifies, and it not there will look for
COMMAND.COM in root.

Each time a program is executed a count is incremented.  This count
shows up when editing an entry.  The DOS entry includes the total number
of times the menu program was succesfully executed.