Dr. Windows 3/dr win3.zip/dr win3/GRAPHICS/WWPLUS.ZIP/README.TXT

Text File | 1994-01-17 | 26KB | 582 lines

NOTE: THIS PROGRAM REQUIRES VBRUN300.DLL, NOT NECESSARILY
INCLUDED WITH IT.  SEE SECTION V. FILES BELOW FOR DETAILS.

WinWall Plus 1.3
Windows Wallpaper Manager/Changer/Editor

Print this file for easy program instructions.

If you are upgrading from an earlier version, see HISTORY.TXT
for features that have been added or changed.

See the file FORMATS.TXT for information on the graphics
formats recognized by WinWall Plus and the pros and cons of
using them as Windows wallpaper.

⌐1992-1994 All rights reserved

By Don Bradner
Arcata Pet
600 F Street
Arcata, CA  95521

Compuserve address 76130,1007

Contents of this file:

   I.  Program Description
  II.  Program Requirements
 III.  Installation
  IV.  Getting Started
   V.  Files that make up WinWall Plus
  VI.  Troubleshooting
 VII.  Obtaining wallpaper images
VIII.  Registration and distribution

I. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION.

WinWall Plus is a program for organizing and displaying Windows
3.1 wallpaper files. With this program you can easily maintain
a collection of wallpapers, automatically change them at an
interval you select, and use image formats (GIF, PCX, TGA, TIF
and .JPG) that would otherwise not be usable by Windows as
wallpaper. GIF and PCX provide compression of 256-color images,
and .JPG provides compression for 16-million color images, thus
saving disk space.

WinWall Plus has editing features and file conversion routines
built in, which allow you to change images to suit your wallpaper
needs.  You can crop, resize, stretch, rotate, mirror, flip, and
adjust brightness and contrast.

Wallpapers may be tiled (small images displayed in multiples to
fill the entire screen) or not, individually determined.  Each
non-tiled wallpaper may be precisely positioned anywhere on the
screen, not just centered (the Windows default).

Multiple sets of wallpapers called "queues" may be built, with
easy changing of queues.  A wallpaper may appear in more than
one queue.  Most program configuration items are maintained
with the queue.

All of the images installed in a wallpaper queue may be displayed
simultaneously in "thumbnail form" for easy maintenance.  A
single image selection my be previewed on the main screen
before deciding to edit it or make it the current wallpaper.

Changing interval may be as short as 6 seconds (0.1 minutes)
for "slideshow" effect, or as long as 999.9 minutes.

If an active application is maximized (shown full screen), the
program timer will be suspended so as to avoid annoying screen
jumps when the wallpaper changes.  This generally means that
screensavers (which typically use the whole screen) will
suspend the program.

When adding files there is a "preview" option in the dialog
box.  If you do not recognize a file name, you may use this
option to view a thumbnail of the image before choosing to load
it.

There is an additional option to have the icon "disappear" when
the program is running.  If you select this option and then
need to access the program to make changes, open the group
where you have installed WinWall and double-click the icon.
Instead of starting another copy of the program, the running
version will be restored.

Full documentation is included in the form of a Windows Help
file.  When you desire help, press your F1 function key for
context-sensitive help, or press the help key if you are in a
file dialog box.

II. Program requirements.

WinWall Plus requires an IBM compatible 286 or better, running
Windows 3.1, with at least 4 megs of RAM and VGA or better
graphics.  Manipulating large images may require 8 megs or more
of memory, and more is always better.  A monitor and video card
capable of 256 colors is recommended for viewing of
photographic images. If your monitor/card setup is capable of
true color (16 million colors), WinWall Plus will handle files
with that color depth. Generally, such cards will perform best
at 32,000 or 65,000 colors rather than 16 million, and it is
unlikely that any quality will be lost.

Some operations require a mouse.

Graphics files can be quite large, particularly with true-color,
so a large hard disk is recommended.  WinWall Plus will require
about 1 meg for installation.

III. Installation.

If you obtained WinWall Plus by downloading it from a computer
Bulletin Board (BBS) or another online source, one necessary
file may not have been included.  You will need a file called
VBRUN300.DLL, which is almost always available from any source
that would have WinWall Plus.  On BBS systems the file will
usually be called VBRUN300.ZIP or VBRUN3.ZIP.  If you obtained
the program on disk, the file should be included and may be
called VBRUN300.DL_.  If it is missing, contact the supplier of
the program.  Registered versions obtained from the author
should always include VBRUN300.

To install WinWall Plus, insert the disk in your computer and
choose File/Run from the Program Manager.  Enter A:Setup or
B:Setup as appropriate and follow the prompts.  At the end of
the setup operation you will be given the option of adding
WinWall Plus to your Startup Group.  Doing so will cause the
program to start whenever you start a Windows session.  This is
the recommended procedure; you can always delete the icon from
the group at a later time if you wish.

NOTE: Setup will not run if any other program is using
VBRUN300.DLL or any other library file used by the program,
including recent versions of WinWall or WinWall Plus.  An error
message will be generated, and you must end all such
applications before retrying the installation.  To be safe, it
is best to have only Windows running before installing WinWall
Plus or any other program.  Keep this in mind for the future,
particularly if you have WinWall Plus running as a hidden Icon
- you should end the program before installing other software.

IV.  Getting Started.

If you did not choose the option to install the program in the
Startup Group, you should install the program icon in a
different Program Manager group (such as Accessories) to make
access easier.  Open the group that you want to add the
program to, and choose New from the File menu.  Select Program
Item, and then browse for the program.  It is WWPLUS.EXE in
your Windows directory (unless you selected a different
directory/path during the setup process).  You do not need to
select the Run Minimized option, since the program
automatically does that after the first time.

Now you will need one or more wallpaper images to use with the
program.  These files may be located in any directory on any
drive, but management will be simplified if you place them all
in one directory.  A directory named WALLPAPR is recommended,
either as a root directory on your C: drive or a subdirectory
under the \Windows directory.

Windows comes with a few wallpapers in .BMP format.  If you do
not have any other images, you can make some simple drawings
with Windows Paintbrush and save them as either .BMP or .PCX
files.  For further information on obtaining images see section
VII below.

Double-click the WWPlus icon to start the program.  The first
time that the program starts it will be a full program window.
Once you have one or more wallpapers installed, the program
will start as an icon, which you may double-click at any time
to show the main window.  If you have chosen the hidden icon
option, the program will not be visible when started.  Simply
start it a second time; the first instance will become visible
and the second will end itself.

Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the program elements
on screen.  If you press the F1 key, a help file will be
displayed, and you may graphically choose different program
elements to see an explanation of their function.

Now click the Add button (or choose Add from the Wallpaper
menu).  Use the dialog box to browse for images in any of the
supported formats.  If you do not know from a file name what
the image looks like, click the preview button and you will see
a small representation of the image.  The size of and numb