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-
-
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Version 3.96
- Shareware Issue
- -----------------------------
-
- The Screen Capture Program
- for MS-DOS and IBM PC Compatibles
-
-
- DOCUMENTATION AND TECHNICAL NOTES
- February 13, 1993
-
- Copyright 1992, 1993 by
- Gerald A. Monroe
- All rights reserved except
- as expressly provided.
-
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) is being marketed in this special form as shareware.
- This means you have the opportunity to use and evaluate it before
- you decide whether to buy. If you regularly use GRABBER, or any
- of its "offspring" programs, then you are required to register
- according to the instructions on page 3 of this document. (The
- cost as of this writing is $29.00 or $59.00 U.S. per single-user
- license, depending on the features you desire. For site license
- information, please contact the publisher.) When you register,
- you receive a copy of the latest registered version of GRABBER,
- which includes the features listed on pages 2 and 3 of this
- document, plus any enhancements that may have been added since
- this document was released. Using this shareware issue for more
- than 10 days constitutes "regular" use under this license, and
- requires the user to register.
-
- If you obtained this program from a shareware disk distributor,
- then you have paid only for the service of copying this disk, but
- you have not paid for the program itself. The publisher receives
- no part of the price you may have paid to a disk distributor for
- this disk.
-
- +---------------------------------------------------------------+
- | |
- | Notice to Distributors, Publishers and User's Groups: |
- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
- | Please consult the last page of this document for important |
- | license information and restrictions. |
- | |
- +---------------------------------------------------------------+
-
-
-
-
- IBM and PC are trademarks of International Business Machines
- Corporation. MS-DOS and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft
- Corporation. Hercules is a trademark of Hercules Computer
- Technology.
-
-
- Thank you for trying GRABBER!
- *******************************
-
- Thank you for your interest in the GRABBER screen capture system!
- Users who register their use of the program receive a copy of one
- of the registered GRABBER packages. The registered GRABBER
- packages include the most recent versions of the programs and
- documentation included in this shareware issue (with exceptions
- noted below).
-
- THE SCREENS CAPTURED BY THIS VERSION OF GRABBER INCLUDE A REGIS-
- TRATION REMINDER MESSAGE IN THE LOWER RIGHT CORNER. SCREENS
- CAPTURED BY THE REGISTERED VERSIONS OF GRABBER DO NOT INCLUDE
- THESE MESSAGES. For more information, please see page 15 below.
-
- There are two registered packages you can choose from, depending
- on your needs. One is currently available for $59.00 U.S., and
- the other for $29.00.
-
- The $59 registered package is designed with the graphics power
- user in mind. If you need a program that can capture high reso-
- lution Super-VGA and 8514/A graphics, or if you want to convert
- the image files created by GRABBER into a format that can be
- imported into other software applications for displaying or
- printing, then the $59 package is for you. The $59 package
- captures text images of every size, plus CGA, EGA, Hercules, VGA
- and Super-VGA graphics up to 1024 x 768 in 256 or 16 colors.
-
- The $29 registered package is suited for users who do not have
- intensive graphics needs which require super-VGA hardware support
- or graphics format conversion, but who still need a product that
- can capture and display high-quality graphics on IBM EGA and
- VGA-compatible computers. The $29 package captures text images
- of every size, plus CGA, EGA, Hercules, and VGA graphics up to
- 640 x 480 in 16 colors, or up to 320 x 200 in 256 colors.
-
- The $59 package includes the GR2PCX and GR2GIF graphics conver-
- sion utilities which you will find in this shareware issue, as
- well as a third graphics conversion program, GR2PIC (for creating
- .PIC-format graphics). The $29 package *does not* include the
- GR2PCX, GR2GIF or GR2PIC conversion utilities.
-
- $29 Registration $59 Registration
- ------------------------ ----------------------------
- * GRABBER.EXE * GRABBER.EXE
- up to 640 x 480 x 16 up to 1024 x 768 x 16
- up to 320 x 200 x 256 up to 1024 x 768 x 256
- * GRTXT.EXE * GRTXT.EXE
- * GREDIT.EXE * GREDIT.EXE
- * GR2ASCII.EXE * GR2ASCII.EXE
- * GR2ANSI.EXE * GR2ANSI.EXE
- * GR2PCX.EXE
- * GR2GIF.EXE
- * GR2PIC.EXE
- * GR4AI.EXE (for 8514/A)
- * GRAI2PCX.EXE (for 8514/A)
- * GRAI2GIF.EXE (for 8514/A)
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 3 of 44
-
-
-
- ORDERING INFORMATION
- ---------------------
-
- The prices of the registered GRABBER packages are subject to
- change after December 31, 1993. The latest shareware issue of
- GRABBER, which includes the most up-to-date information on
- pricing and new features, is always posted for downloading in
- these three places:
-
- * CompuServe IBMSYS and GRAPHSUPPORT forums (look for a
- file named GRABBR.ZIP)
-
- * PC-Ohio BBS, "The Best BBS in America" for 1992, at
- (216) 381-3320, in Directory #1. (File name is
- GRABBxxx.ZIP, where "xxx" indicates the version number.
- For example, GRABB396.ZIP means Version 3.96)
-
- For information on site licenses or volume discounts of five (5)
- or more copies, please contact the publisher.
-
- If you are reading this document after December 31, 1993, it
- might not be current. To make sure you have the latest informa-
- tion on pricing and availability of new features, contact the
- publisher or look for the latest shareware release of GRABBER in
- one of the places listed above.
-
-
- TO ORDER BY CHECK
- ---------------------------
-
- To obtain either the current $59 or $29 registered release of the
- GRABBER package, register by sending the order form below (on
- page 5) with your check or money order for $59.00 or $29.00 U.S.
- per copy, payable to Gerald A. Monroe. Send your order to:
-
- Gerald A. Monroe
- P.O. Box 770906
- Lakewood, Ohio 44107
- U.S.A.
-
- Canadian and overseas users: please use a check which states on
- its face that it is payable at a bank in the U.S.
-
-
- TO ORDER BY CREDIT CARD
- ---------------------------------
-
- You can use your Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover
- card to obtain the latest release of the $59 or $29 registered
- GRABBER package, by ordering through the Public Software Library
- of Houston, Texas. Please note that there is a handling charge
- of $4.00 per order when you register through PSL (e.g. one copy
- costs $63 or $33, depending on the version).
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 4 of 44
-
-
-
-
-
- CREDIT CARD ORDERS (continued)
- -------------------------------
-
- Credit card orders are shipped directly by the publisher, usually
- within 48 hours after reciept by PSL. Please specify to PSL your
- choice of the $59 or $29 registered version, and your choice of
- 5.25" or 3.5" diskette.
-
- To order by credit card, contact PSL at one of the following
- numbers:
-
- * (800) 242-4775 (Toll-Free)
- * (713) 524-6394
- * CIS 71355,470 (CompuServe Mail)
-
- Or, complete the order form below on page 5, and mail it to:
-
- Public Software Library
- P.O. Box 35705
- Houston, Texas 77235-5705
- U.S.A.
-
- Or, complete the order form below on page 5, and "fax" it to:
-
- * (713) 524-6398 (FAX only)
-
-
- If you are mailing your credit card order, please be sure to mail
- it to PSL, not to the publisher. Credit card orders mailed to
- the publisher will be returned.
-
- Please note that the PSL telephone numbers and mailing address
- are for ordering only. For information about volume discounts,
- site licensing, shipping, returns, latest version numbers or
- other technical information, contact the publisher at the address
- shown below on page 41.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 5 of 44
-
-
-
- +--------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | |
- | I wish to license _____ copy/copies of the latest release of the |
- | GRABBER programs. I have enclosed $59.00 and/or $29.00 for each |
- | single-user license, as indicated. (Prices subject to change.) |
- | |
- | Number of copies: _____ $59.00 version; _____ $29.00 version |
- | |
- | Name ___________________________________________________________ |
- | |
- | Company (if applicable) ________________________________________ |
- | |
- | Address ________________________________________________________ |
- | |
- | City _______________________________ State ______ Zip ________ |
- | |
- | Country & postal code (outside the U.S.) _______________________ |
- | |
- | Telephone (_____)__________________ ____ day; ____ evening |
- | |
- | I prefer: _____ 3.5" disk; _____ 5.25" disk |
- | |
- | FOR CREDIT CARD ORDERS ONLY: |
- | |
- | Circle one: Visa MasterCard American Express Discover |
- | |
- | Card Number ________________________________ Expiration: _______ |
- | |
- | Cardholder Name (please print) _________________________________ |
- | |
- | Cardholder Signature _____________________________________ 3.96 |
- +--------------------------------------------------------------------+
-
- TO ORDER BY CHECK: Mail this order form, together with your
- check or money order, to:
-
- Gerald A. Monroe
- P.O. Box 770906
- Lakewood, Ohio 44107 U.S.A.
-
- Canadian and overseas users: Please use a check which
- states on its face that it is payable at a bank in the U.S.
-
-
- TO ORDER BY CREDIT CARD: Call the Public Software Library at
- 800-242-4775 (toll-free within the U.S.), or at 713-524-6394.
- There is a $4 handling charge when you order through PSL. You
- can also "fax" your completed order form to PSL at 713-524-6398.
- Or, mail your order form to:
-
- Public Software Library
- P.O. Box 35705
- Houston, Texas 77235-5705 U.S.A.
-
-
- Table of Contents
-
- PART 1: CONFIGURING AND USING GRABBER
-
- Shareware registration and ordering information .... 2,3,4
- Order Form ......................................... 5
- Overview of GRABBER ................................ 7
- GRABBER requirements ............................... 7
- What GRABBER can capture ........................... 8
- Starting GRABBER ................................... 9
- How to capture the screen .......................... 10
- Things to know about the filename prompt function .. 11
- Capturing Hercules-compatible monochrome graphics .. 12
- Capturing to different drive/directory ............. 12
-
- Configuring GRABBER for Super-VGA .................. 13
- Capturing from 8514/A-compatibles .................. 15
-
- "Thanks for trying GRABBER" messages ............... 15
- Errors during the screen capture ................... 16
- If the computer is too busy to capture ............. 16
-
- GRABBER configuration options ...................... 16
- PROMPT, NOPROMPT .............................. 17
- MOUSE, NOMOUSE ................................ 18
- SWAPMODE ...................................... 19
- SOUND, NOSOUND ................................ 19
- BATCHCAPTURE .................................. 19
- NOXMS ......................................... 20
- NOEMS ......................................... 21
- UNLOAD ........................................ 21
- DEFAULTDRIVE .................................. 22
- NOVESA ........................................ 22
- VGAREGS, VGAREGS2, tips for capturing games ... 23, 24
-
- PART 2: USING GRABBER's OFFSPRING .EXE IMAGE FILES
-
- Options for displaying offspring files ............. 25
- Fade-in and fade-out screen images ............ 25
- Timed execution: /Tn .......................... 26
- Don't clear screen on exit: /F ................ 27
- Don't wait for any keypress: /N ............... 28
- Keylist and interactive batch files: /K ....... 28
- Sample interactive batch file ................. 29
- Displaying Super-VGA graphics ...................... 32
-
- PART 3: MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
-
- GRABBER and Microsoft Windows ...................... 34
- Porting offspring files from one system to another . 35
- Changing GRABBER's hotkey .......................... 37
- Testing your VESA BIOS Extension with CHKVBE ....... 38
- Calling GRABBER from your own programs ............. 40
- How to contact the publisher ....................... 41
- Hotkey parameter code table (1 of 2) ............... App. A
- Hotkey parameter code table (2 of 2) ............... App. B
- License terms for this shareware issue of GRABBER .. App. C
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 7 of 44
-
-
-
- PART I: CONFIGURING AND USING GRABBER
-
-
-
-
- OVERVIEW OF GRABBER
- --------------------
-
- GRABBER is a program that saves the images on the screen of your
- IBM Personal Computer or compatible PC to a disk file. GRABBER
- does this in a way that makes it very easy for you to summon the
- images back to your screen at a later time, and exactly as they
- were originally displayed. GRABBER is memory-resident, which
- means that after you start it, the program is always waiting in
- the background, while you continue to run other programs. You
- tell GRABBER to capture the image currently being displayed on
- the screen by pressing a combination of keys which GRABBER
- reserves for itself.
-
- GRABBER "captures" the screen in the form of a file on your disk,
- called a GRABBER "offspring" file. When you want to view the
- screen later, all you need to do is run this "offspring" file
- like an ordinary program, because that's what it really is.
-
- If you don't need your screens to be in GRABBER's executable
- program format, but in some other format that you can import into
- other PC applications, then you can use one of the three screen
- conversion utilities included in this GRABBER package, called
- GR2PCX, GR2GIF and GR2PIC.
-
-
-
- GRABBER REQUIREMENTS
- ---------------------
-
- To use GRABBER, you will need:
-
- a) an IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2, or 100% compatible computer;
- b) at least one floppy diskette drive; and
- c) IBM PC-DOS, or MS-DOS, Version 3.0 or later.
-
- You can use GRABBER with either a color or a monochrome display
- screen.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 8 of 44
-
-
-
- WHAT GRABBER CAN CAPTURE
- -------------------------
-
- GRABBER captures screens from programs that run in "real mode" or
- "virtual 8086" mode under MS-DOS. GRABBER captures character-
- based text images up to 132 columns by 60 rows. GRABBER also
- captures many "standard" types of graphic images. The following
- chart details all of the standard video modes which GRABBER is
- designed to work with:
-
- Mode Type X/Y Image No. of Adapters which
- No. of Mode Resolution Colors support mode
- ----- -------- -------------------- ------ ----------------
- 00 text 40 x 25 characters 2 CGA MCGA EGA VGA
- 01 text 40 x 25 characters 16 CGA MCGA EGA VGA
- 02 text 80+ x 25+ characters 2 CGA MCGA EGA VGA
- 03 text 80+ x 25+ characters 16 CGA MCGA EGA VGA
- 07 text 80+ x 25+ characters 2 MGA MCGA EGA VGA
-
- 04 graphics 320 x 200 pixels 4 CGA MCGA EGA VGA
- 05 graphics 320 x 200 pixels 2 CGA MCGA EGA VGA
- 06 graphics 640 x 200 pixels 2 CGA MCGA EGA VGA
- 07+ graphics 720 x 348 pixels 2 MGA (Hercules)
-
- 13 graphics 320 x 200 pixels 16 EGA VGA
- 14 graphics 640 x 200 pixels 16 EGA VGA
- 15 graphics 640 x 350 pixels 2 EGA VGA
- 16 graphics 640 x 350 pixels 16 EGA VGA
- 17 graphics 640 x 480 pixels 2 VGA MCGA
- 18 graphics 640 x 480 pixels 16 VGA
- 19 graphics 320 x 200 pixels 256 VGA MCGA
-
-
- SUPER-VGA GRAPHICS COMPATIBILITY
- ---------------------------------
-
- In addition to the modes listed above, GRABBER can capture the
- following high-resolution graphic modes on most systems that are
- equipped with certain brands of "Super-VGA" graphics adapters:
-
- * 16-color modes: 800 x 16; 1024 x 768
- * 256-color modes: 640 x 400; 640 x 480; 800 x 600; 1024 x 768
-
- GRABBER can capture these high-resolution modes if your system is
- equipped with a video adapter that was manufactured using one of
- several brands of Super-VGA controller chips. In addition,
- GRABBER is compatible with these modes on any Super-VGA adapter
- which fully supports the VESA video BIOS extension.
-
- Unless your adapter fully supports VESA, GRABBER does not auto-
- matically configure itself for your particular type of adapter.
- For instructions on configuring GRABBER for your Super-VGA, see
- page 13 below. For more information on VESA, see page 38 below.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 9 of 44
-
-
-
-
-
-
- STARTING GRABBER
- -----------------
-
- Before GRABBER can start capturing your screen images, it must be
- installed in your computer's memory, or be made "resident in
- memory."
-
- To install GRABBER in memory, enter a command at the DOS prompt
- which follows one of these formats:
-
- (1) GRABBER drive:\pathname
- or,
- (2) GRABBER drive:
- or,
- (3) GRABBER DEFAULTDRIVE
-
- In the first and second examples, [drive] can be a single letter
- for any valid disk drive name in your system, from A to Z. If
- your system has a hard disk drive, you should follow the first
- example. [Pathname] in the first example represents the name of
- an existing directory on your hard disk where you want GRABBER to
- deposit the offspring image files that you ask it to create.
-
- If you have two floppy diskette drives and no hard disk, you
- should follow the second command example. You can specify either
- A: or B: for the [drive:] parameter. Offspring files will be
- placed on the diskette that is in the drive you specify.
-
- Follow the third command example if you have only one floppy
- diskette drive and no hard drive. "DEFAULTDRIVE" does not
- represent some other parameter which you supply; type the word
- DEFAULTDRIVE on the command line after the word GRABBER. Off-
- spring files will be placed on the diskette in your single drive.
-
- Please note that GRABBER will not stay resident in memory until
- you have told it -- according to one of the above examples --
- *where* to place its offspring files.
-
- Also, you may start GRABBER by including a line in a batch file,
- such as your AUTOEXEC.BAT startup file, which is the same as the
- command line you would enter at the DOS prompt.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 10 of 44
-
-
-
- CAPTURING THE SCREEN
- ---------------------
-
- When you install GRABBER in memory, the program displays a blue
- welcome banner on your screen in the upper left corner. The
- banner is your signal that the program is successfully installed
- in memory. (It also contains some other useful information, such
- as your current hotkey combination, the drive/path to which
- screens will be captured, and how much memory GRABBER is occupy-
- ing.) You are now ready to capture display screens to disk.
-
- To capture the screen, you press GRABBER's reserved key combina-
- tion, which is [CTRL =]. That is, you hold down the [CTRL] key,
- press the equal sign key [=], then release the [CTRL] key again.
- From now on, this key sequence will be referred to as GRABBER's
- "hotkey" combination. (Note: If you want to, you can change the
- hotkey combination to something else. See page 37 below for
- instructions.)
-
- The quickest way to test GRABBER is from your DOS prompt. Enter
- these three commands in this order:
-
- CLS
- DIR /W
- DIR /W
-
- This will clear your screen and fill it again with a directory
- listing of the current drive and path. Now, press [CTRL =]. You
- hear a soft beep, and a prompt appears on the top line of the
- display, showing a default file name to which you may save the
- current screen. If you wish to accept the default file name
- which GRABBER is providing, just press <Enter>. If you want to
- type in your own file name, i.e. one which describes the contents
- of the screen better than GRABBER's default name, you may do so.
- After you press <Enter>, the prompt disappears and GRABBER
- immediately begins to create the offspring file on the correct
- drive. When GRABBER is finished capturing the screen, you hear
- an ascending two-tone chirp.
-
- Now, you are ready to display the screen you have just captured.
- It is a program file, ready to be executed just like GRABBER it-
- self. Go to the drive and directory where it was placed (if you
- are not already there), and enter this command at the DOS prompt:
-
- SCREEN00
-
- (or whatever you named your offspring file.) What you see are
- the contents of the screen you created a moment ago when you
- pressed [CTRL =]. This image is contained within the file
- SCREEN00.EXE, a GRABBER offspring. The image will remain on the
- screen until you press a key -- almost any key -- to make it go
- away. The screen then erases itself and you are back where you
- started, at the DOS prompt.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 11 of 44
-
-
-
- When you press [CTRL =] again, GRABBER will create another
- offspring containing the current screen. If you do not supply
- your own file name, it will be called SCREEN01.EXE, then
- SCREEN02.EXE, and so forth, up to SCREEN99.EXE. Each of these
- offspring programs can be executed just the same way as your
- SCREEN00.EXE, either from the keyboard at the DOS prompt, or as a
- line in a batch file.
-
- Your computer does not have to be sitting at the DOS prompt, as
- it was in the example above, for you to capture a screen. You
- can use GRABBER to capture screens from thousands of different PC
- application programs.
-
-
- THE FILENAME PROMPT FUNCTION
- -----------------------------
-
- Here are some things you should know about GRABBER's filename
- prompts:
-
- You cannot change the drive or directory path to which your
- screen will be saved by entering a new one at the prompt. All
- you may supply is a valid one-character to eight-character
- filename, using characters DOS regards as "legal" for filenames
- (i.e., no blank spaces, control characters, wildcards, etc.) If
- you enter a file name that is less than eight characters long,
- don't worry about the blank spaces between the end of the file
- name and the beginning of the ".EXE" extension. GRABBER will
- ignore them.
-
- You cannot change the file name extension at the prompt. The
- extension of any offspring file must remain ".EXE" so that DOS
- will recognize the file as an executable program and allow you to
- view the image later.
-
- All images are saved to the drive and/or directory path which you
- specified when you installed GRABBER according to the instruc-
- tions on page 9, above. If you want to change the drive and/or
- directory path to which your images are saved, you may do so by
- issuing another GRABBER command at the DOS prompt -- see page 12
- below.
-
- If you want to cancel the screen capture operation at the file
- name prompt, just press <Esc> once or twice until the prompt
- disappears. If you make a typing mistake while entering the file
- name at the prompt, use the backspace key to correct the mistake.
-
- For more information about the filename prompt function, refer to
- the section below called "GRABBER Installation Options." That
- section also includes instructions for enabling and disabling the
- filename prompt function.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 12 of 44
-
-
-
- SPECIAL NOTE FOR HERCULES-COMPATIBLE GRAPHICS USERS
- ----------------------------------------------------
-
- When operating in the 720x348 graphic mode, Hercules-compatible
- monochrome graphic adapters divide the video memory into two
- segments commonly known as Page 0 and Page 1. These adapters can
- display a graphic image on either of these two pages, but only
- one page at a time may be displayed on the screen. Due to
- certain technical limitations in the architecture of these
- adapters, it is not possible to determine with certainty which of
- these two pages, Page 0 or Page 1, is being displayed at any
- given time.
-
- Rather than risking an incorrect guess as to which of these two
- pages is currently being displayed, (which would result in an
- offspring file containing only a blank or garbage-filled image),
- GRABBER requires you to choose which page to capture. After you
- press GRABBER's hotkey while in the graphic mode, you will hear
- one short beep. GRABBER is waiting for you to indicate which
- page you wish to capture. To choose the lower Page 0, press the
- [0] key. To choose the higher Page 1, press the [1] key. If you
- press anything other than [0] or [1], you will cancel the screen
- capture request and return to the foreground application.
-
- There are two ways for you to determine, if you are not sure,
- whether the monochrome graphic image is being displayed on Page 0
- or Page 1. The first way is to consult the documentation for the
- application program which is generating the image to see if it
- mentions this. (Some applications in their installation proce-
- dures allow you to force the use of one or the other page.) The
- second way is by trial and error. If you choose to capture Page
- 0 but the resulting offspring file is not what you expected, this
- indicates that you should select Page 1 to capture 720x348
- graphic images generated by that application program.
-
-
- CAPTURING TO A DIFFERENT DRIVE/DIRECTORY
- -----------------------------------------
-
- If you first installed GRABBER to capture offspring files to one
- drive or directory, and you later want to switch to another drive
- or directory (or use DEFAULTDRIVE), you can simply issue another
- GRABBER command at the DOS prompt as described above on page 9.
- GRABBER will display a screen of status information, which
- informs you that the new destination is now in effect.
-
- Switching offspring paths never changes the sequence of the off-
- spring file names. For example, if your next offspring will be
- called SCREEN05.EXE and you switch paths, the next offspring will
- still be called SCREEN05.EXE, although it will be placed on a
- different drive or directory.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 13 of 44
-
-
-
- CONFIGURING GRABBER FOR SUPER-VGA
- ----------------------------------
-
- Before GRABBER is able to capture high-resolution Super-VGA
- images, you must tell the program which type of VGA chipset
- circuitry is used by your adapter.
-
- (If you have a Super-VGA adapter that fully supports the VESA
- video BIOS extension, you should not need to configure GRABBER to
- capture your high-resolution Super-VGA images. However, if you
- experience problems capturing such images with your VESA-compati-
- ble adapter, the following procedure may solve the problems.)
-
- To configure GRABBER for your Super-VGA, include one of the
- following "@" parameters on GRABBER's command line. For example:
-
- GRABBER [other options] @CHIPTYPE
-
- Here are the VGA chipset names which GRABBER recognizes. Use one
- of these in place of "@chiptype" in the example above.
-
-
- @ATI ATI Technologies chips
- @VIDEO7 Video Seven chips
- @HEADLAND Headland Technology chips
- @PARADISE Paradise PVGA chips
- @WD Western Digital WD90C00 chips
- @TSENG3 Tseng Laboratories ET-3000 chip
- @TSENG4 Tseng Laboratories ET-4000 chip
- @STB4 STB adapters using the Tseng Labs ET-4000 chip
- @AHEADA Ahead Systems chip version "A"
- @AHEADB Ahead Systems chip version "B"
- @GENOA Genoa GVGA chip (used by 6000 series cards)
- @OAK Oak Technology OTI-067 chip
- @TRIDENT Trident chips
- @NCR NCR 77C22E chip
-
-
- In many cases, but not all, the chipset names here will match the
- brand name of the adapter. For example, almost all ATI-, Video
- Seven- and Trident-brand adapters use chipsets which carry the
- board manufacturer's own name. However, you should note that
- this is not always true. Very many Super-VGA adapters use
- chipsets that were manufactured by a source other than the
- company whose brand name is on the product. Such manufacturers
- (for example: STB, Orchid, Genoa and Everex) have not always
- produced their own VGA chipsets. Instead, they have built Super-
- VGA adapters using chipsets from other sources, and have marketed
- the finished products under their own brand names.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 14 of 44
-
-
-
- CONFIGURING GRABBER FOR SUPER-VGA (continued)
- ----------------------------------------------
-
- Therefore, this means that if you are not sure which type of VGA
- chipset is employed by your Super-VGA adapter, you should deter-
- mine this by examining the Super-VGA itself, and looking for the
- name printed on top of the VGA logic chip. (Usually, the Super-
- VGA is a card in one of your computer's expansion slots, but
- sometimes it is a section of the main system board itself.)
-
- The other way to determine which of these GRABBER configuration
- settings will work for you is by trial-and-error. If one setting
- does not work properly, try the next setting in the above list.
- (You can issue successive "@chiptype" commands from the DOS
- prompt, without removing GRABBER from memory and reinstalling
- it.)
-
- If you attempt to capture a Super-VGA graphic image and hear one
- single low-pitched beep, it means that GRABBER does not recognize
- or is not configured to capture the specific display mode in
- which the adapter is currently operating. This will happen if
- your video system is not VESA-compatible, and you have not
- configured GRABBER for the correct type of VGA chipset.
-
- You should also note that GRABBER cannot capture some 16-color
- Super-VGA images even though they are of common resolutions.
- Typical examples are ATI's video mode numbered 65h (used for 1024
- x 768 x 16 on older VGA Wonder cards), and the 1024 x 768 x 16
- and 800 x 600 x 16 modes on adapters, such as the Diamond Stealth
- and Orchid Fahrenheit, which employ the S-Cubed 86C911 chipset (a
- chip not supported directly by GRABBER but possibly by way of a
- VESA driver). GRABBER only captures 16-color modes which conform
- to the IBM-standard "four-plane planar" memory organization
- scheme such as that used by the standard 640 x 350 x 16 EGA
- graphic mode. Modes such as the ones mentioned above do not
- conform to the standard memory layout scheme, but use memory
- layouts unique to the particular board manufacturer. Therefore,
- they and similar modes cannot be captured by GRABBER -- but they
- can be captured by GR4AI.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 15 of 44
-
-
-
- CAPTURING FROM 8514/A-COMPATIBLES USING GR4AI.EXE
- --------------------------------------------------
-
- The 8514/A Adapter Interface (AI) is a video standard invented by
- IBM which is now increasingly being recognized by other video
- manufacturers. Although 8514/A supports the common 640 x 480 and
- 1024 x 768 image resolutions, it is a completely different
- standard than VGA or Super-VGA.
-
- There are several types of VGA chipsets which GRABBER.EXE does
- not directly support in high-resolution Super-VGA modes. An
- example is the S-Cubed 86C911 chip, used by recent "accelerator"
- boards marketed by Diamond, Orchid and Genoa. However, if you
- have such an adapter and its manufacturer also supplies a memory-
- resident (TSR) program that allows the board to be compatible
- with the 8514/A AI (and thus "emulate" a true 8514/A card), then
- you can capture high-resolution 640 x 480 and 1024 x 768 images
- from the adapter by using the GR4AI.EXE program included in this
- GRABBER package. Consult the GR4AI documentation file for more
- information.
-
-
-
- "THANKS FOR TRYING GRABBER" MESSAGES
- -------------------------------------
-
- Because this is an unregistered, shareware version of GRABBER,
- the images which you capture using this version will all contain
- a small message in the lower right corner of the screen which
- expresses our "Thanks for trying GRABBER." These messages will
- appear each time you execute a high-resolution graphic offspring
- file, and occasionally when you view a character-based text
- offspring file.
-
- By including these messages, we only hope to remind you that this
- version of GRABBER is shareware, and to encourage you to register
- the program if you continue to find it useful.
-
- Users who register with the publisher will find that the regis-
- tered version of GRABBER which they receive creates offspring
- files that do not include this or any other message superimposed
- on captured screens.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 16 of 44
-
-
-
- ERRORS DURING THE SCREEN CAPTURE
- ---------------------------------
-
- If GRABBER is ever unable to capture your image to an offspring
- file for any reason other than an unrecognized video mode (see
- page 14), it will tell you so by sounding three short beeps on
- your PC's speaker. If you hear this signal, it means the screen
- has not been captured, probably because there is something wrong
- with the disk you are trying to capture it to. Correct the
- condition with your disk, and use the hotkey to try the capture
- again.
-
- Usually, these errors are fairly obvious to detect: you forget
- to put a diskette in the disk drive, or you leave the drive door
- open, or the diskette is write-protected. Some errors, however,
- are not so obvious to the eye. GRABBER will also beep if the
- disk to which you are trying to capture the screen is already
- full, or its directory area cannot fit anymore entries, or there
- is a physical defect on the disk itself.
-
-
- IF THE COMPUTER IS TOO BUSY TO CAPTURE
- ---------------------------------------
-
- There may be times when you request GRABBER to capture your
- screen, but nothing seems to happen. This is usually because the
- foreground program is in the middle of a sensitive task which
- cannot be interrupted. Such situations include any kind of
- reading or writing to a disk by another program; using DOS' Copy
- or Type commands; or while the computer is waiting for your
- response after an "Abort, Retry, Ignore" message. In situations
- like this, GRABBER is aware that you have requested a screen
- capture, and will pop up as soon as it becomes safe to do so.
- Some of these kinds of delays can be overcome by using the
- SWAPMODE configuration option, which is described on page 19.
-
-
- GRABBER CONFIGURATION OPTIONS
- ------------------------------
-
- This section identifies the "command line switches" which GRABBER
- recognizes and responds to. A command line switch is a string of
- characters which you type after the GRABBER command itself,
- whether you are calling GRABBER directly from the DOS prompt, or
- from a line in a batch file.
-
- The purpose of these switches is to allow you to modify the way
- GRABBER performs certain of its operations. Turning GRABBER's
- beep sounds on and off, or enabling GRABBER's use of the mouse
- buttons to capture the screen, are just two examples of functions
- which the command line switches allow you to control.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 17 of 44
-
-
-
- All of the command line switches described in this section may be
- used to configure GRABBER's operations when you initially install
- the program in memory. In addition, after GRABBER is installed,
- you may continue to use most of these switches to communicate
- with the copy of GRABBER that is resident in memory, and recon-
- figure its operations.
-
- Unless the description of a command line switch states otherwise,
- that switch may be used both when you initially install GRABBER
- in memory, and to reconfigure GRABBER's operations after the
- program is made resident.
-
- A single command line may contain as many switch options as you
- desire, in any order, in either uppercase or lowercase letters.
-
-
-
- Option: PROMPT and NOPROMPT
-
- Usage: GRABBER [other options] PROMPT
- GRABBER [other options] NOPROMPT
-
- These switches tell GRABBER whether you wish to be prompted on
- the screen to enter a name for each .exe image before it is
- created, or instead whether each .exe file should automatically
- be assigned a name by GRABBER. The default setting for this
- option is PROMPT (i.e., prompts enabled). The command GRABBER
- NOPROMPT can be used to turn off the prompts. They will then
- remain disabled until the next GRABBER PROMPT command is issued.
-
- While the filename prompt function is disabled, GRABBER automati-
- cally assigns a name to each .exe image file it creates, based on
- a sort of "serial number" scheme. Files will be named
- SCREEN00.EXE, SCREEN01.EXE, and so forth up to SCREEN99.EXE, at
- which point they will again return to SCREEN00.EXE. Please note
- that while GRABBER operates in this mode, it does *not* check
- whether a particular SCREENXX file already exists. For example,
- if there is already a file on your disk called SCREEN05.EXE and
- the next automatic filename to be assigned by GRABBER happens to
- be SCREEN05.EXE also, then the contents of the original file will
- be overwritten with the information for the new screen, and hence
- lost forever. Therefore, if you have SCREENXX files which you
- value, and you plan to disable the filename prompt function using
- the NOPROMPT switch, then you should rename these files to keep
- them out of the way of GRABBER's default filename scheme.
-
- Hercules monochrome graphics users: Please note that the file-
- name prompt function is not available at all when you are captur-
- ing 720 x 348 monochrome graphic images, even though the prompt
- function may be enabled when you are capturing character-based
- text screens. When GRABBER senses such a graphic image, it
- automatically assigns the next sequential SCREENXX name to the
- .exe file that is created.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 18 of 44
-
-
-
- EGA, VGA and Super-VGA users: Some foreground applications which
- operate in graphic modes can be very sensitive to interruptions
- by underlying memory-resident programs like GRABBER. Because of
- this, your filename prompts may sometimes appear in a distorted
- form on your screen when the display is running in a high-resolu-
- tion graphic mode. There is no way to predict when such distor-
- tion might occur, and nothing can be done about it except to
- temporarily disable GRABBER's filename prompts. So, if the
- prompts cause unacceptable side effects on a particular fore-
- ground program, you should issue the command GRABBER NOPROMPT
- before trying to capture screens from inside that program.
- Please note that even though a filename prompt may appear dis-
- torted, GRABBER is not aware of the distortion and still waits
- for you to enter a filename at the keyboard or to cancel the
- operation by pressing <Esc>.
-
-
- Option: MOUSE and NOMOUSE
-
- Usage: GRABBER [other options] MOUSE
- GRABBER [other options] NOMOUSE
-
- The MOUSE switch tells GRABBER to pay attention to the status of
- your mouse buttons, and to capture the screen when both the left
- and right buttons are depressed for more than about one second.
- This "mouse hotkey" function is supported only if your mouse is
- running under the control of a Microsoft-compatible mouse driver,
- as most mice do. The default setting for this option is NOMOUSE
- (i.e., no mouse support). The command GRABBER MOUSE can be used
- to turn it on. The mouse hotkey will then remain enabled until
- the command GRABBER NOMOUSE is issued.
-
- To capture a screen, press and hold both the left and right mouse
- buttons for about one or two seconds. This has the same effect
- as pressing GRABBER's usual hotkey combination at the keyboard,
- and the filename prompt will appear at the top of the screen. If
- you wish, you may now use the keyboard to enter a filename. You
- may also use the mouse buttons to proceed with the screen capture
- or to cancel. The left button acts in the same way as your
- keyboard's <Enter> key, and the right button acts like your <Esc>
- key.
-
- The main purpose of the mouse hotkey function is to allow you to
- capture screens from within applications which so totally monopo-
- lize the keyboard hardware that they allow no software loaded
- before them in memory (such as GRABBER) to be informed about
- events taking place at the keyboard. Many game programs behave
- this way, among others. If you are unable get GRABBER's atten-
- tion either at the keyboard or using the mouse with the MOUSE
- switch, it means that an antisocial programmer has decided that
- he or she is unwilling to share the mouse either, and the screen
- is not capturable until we figure out a way around the particular
- software application.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 19 of 44
-
-
-
- Option: SWAPMODE
-
- Usage: GRABBER [other options] SWAPMODE
-
- The SWAPMODE switch may be used only when you are initially
- installing GRABBER in memory. It has no effect after GRABBER is
- made resident.
-
- This switch tells GRABBER to run in a special "DOS Swap mode."
- When GRABBER is operating in this mode and you request a screen
- capture, GRABBER is able to pop up immediately, without waiting
- for the foreground program or DOS itself to tell GRABBER that it
- may proceed (except during certain uninterruptible foreground
- activities such as disk drive access).
-
- You might find the SWAPMODE switch useful, along with the MOUSE
- switch described above, if you use foreground applications which
- do not allow GRABBER to pop up instantly when you request a
- screen capture. Ordinarily, however, it should not be necessary
- to use the SWAPMODE switch.
-
-
- Option: SOUND and NOSOUND
-
- Usage: GRABBER [other options] SOUND
- GRABBER [other options] NOSOUND
-
- These switches tell GRABBER whether it should beep the computer's
- speaker, or remain silent, when the filename prompt is displayed
- and when a screen capture operation is successfully completed.
- The default setting is SOUND. The command GRABBER NOSOUND can be
- used to silence the program. The beep sounds will then remain
- disabled until the next GRABBER SOUND command is issued.
-
- Please note that GRABBER also makes three low-pitched beep sounds
- whenever it is unable to capture a screen for any reason. Using
- the NOSOUND switch does not disable this error indicator.
-
-
- Option: BATCHCAPTURE or BATCHCAPTURE:filename
-
- Usage: GRABBER BATCHCAPTURE[:filename]
-
- These options tell a memory-resident copy of GRABBER to capture
- the current screen immediately. This is called a "batch capture"
- because the most useful way to use these options is in a batch
- file, when you want to capture the screen without having to stop
- and press a hotkey.
-
- The BATCHCAPTURE options never cause a filename prompt to appear,
- even if the filename prompt function is otherwise enabled for
- screens captured in the usual way by pressing GRABBER's hotkey.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 20 of 44
-
-
-
- If you use BATCHCAPTURE by itself, the captured screen will be
- given a file name according to GRABBER's default "serial number"
- scheme (see page 17 above). If you use BATCHCAPTURE: followed by
- a file name, the image will be captured to a file with the name
- you specify. The "filename" parameter may be any length, and may
- optionally include a drive or directory path specification. For
- example:
-
- GRABBER BATCHCAPTURE:C:\PICTURES\TESTPIC.EXE
-
- If the batch capture is completed successfully, GRABBER passes an
- errorlevel of zero back to the batch file which issued the
- BATCHCAPTURE command. If any error occurs, an errorlevel of 1 is
- returned.
-
- The BATCHCAPTURE options may be used only after GRABBER has been
- installed in memory. Also, any other configuration options which
- are specified on the same command line as BATCHCAPTURE will be
- ignored.
-
-
-
- Option: NOXMS
-
- Usage: GRABBER [other options] NOXMS
-
- The NOXMS switch tells GRABBER not to reserve any extended memory
- to be used as temporary work space during its screen capture
- operations. The NOXMS switch may be used only when you are
- initially installing GRABBER in memory. NOXMS has no effect
- after GRABBER is made resident.
-
- When you initially install GRABBER in memory on an IBM AT-compat-
- ible computer, it searches for 28Kb of available extended memory
- that is controlled by an XMS-compatible extended memory driver,
- such as Microsoft Corporation's HIMEM.SYS program. If GRABBER
- finds 28Kb of available XMS extended memory, it will automatical-
- ly reserve that amount for itself, to use as temporary workspace
- during screen capture operations. This extended memory workspace
- is not required by GRABBER, but it does help to speed up certain
- screen capture operations. XMS extended memory which GRABBER
- reserves for itself is unavailable for use by other programs
- which also use extended memory, and GRABBER will not relinquish
- it until you remove GRABBER from memory by using the UNLOAD
- command line switch, or by rebooting the computer.
-
- If your computer has XMS-compatible extended memory which you do
- not want GRABBER to use, you should include the NOXMS switch on
- the command line when you initially install GRABBER in memory.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 21 of 44
-
-
-
- Option: NOEMS
-
- Usage: GRABBER [other options] NOEMS
-
- The NOEMS switch tells GRABBER not to reserve any expanded memory
- to be used as temporary work space during its screen capture
- operations. The NOEMS switch may be used only when you are
- initially installing GRABBER in memory. NOEMS has no effect
- after GRABBER is made resident.
-
- When you initially install GRABBER in memory on an any computer,
- and there is no available XMS extended memory (or XMS usage has
- been disabled by the NOXMS switch), then GRABBER will search for
- 32Kb of available expanded memory that is controlled by a
- LIM/EMS-compatible expanded memory driver. (LIM Version 4.0
- expanded memory or later is supported; LIM 3.2 memory is not.)
-
- If GRABBER finds 32Kb of available EMS expanded memory, it will
- automatically reserve that amount for itself, to use as temporary
- work space during screen capture operations. This expanded
- memory work space is not required by GRABBER, but it does help to
- speed up certain screen capture operations. EMS expanded memory
- which GRABBER reserves for itself is unavailable for use by other
- programs which also use expanded memory, and GRABBER will not
- relinquish it until you remove GRABBER from memory by using the
- UNLOAD command line switch, or by rebooting the computer.
-
- If your computer has EMS-compatible expanded memory which you do
- not want GRABBER to use, you should include the NOEMS switch on
- the command line when you initially install GRABBER in memory.
-
-
- Option: UNLOAD
-
- Usage: GRABBER UNLOAD
-
- The UNLOAD switch tells GRABBER to search your computer's memory
- for a copy of itself that was previously made resident, and to
- remove the program from memory if found. If removal is success-
- ful, then a message is displayed at the upper left corner of your
- screen which states that "GRABBER is not resident in memory," and
- all memory that GRABBER was occupying will be released and made
- available for other programs. This includes any conventional
- memory, plus any XMS or EMS memory which GRABBER may have been
- using as temporary workspace.
-
- GRABBER cannot be uninstalled if, after you initially installed
- it, you continued to load other memory-resident software which is
- activated by any of the same hardware or software interrupts
- which GRABBER uses. Attempting to use GRABBER UNLOAD under such
- circumstances will not work, and a message to this effect will be
- displayed. You will always be able to uninstall GRABBER if it
- was the most recent memory-resident program to be installed.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 22 of 44
-
-
-
- Option: DEFAULTDRIVE
-
- Usage: GRABBER [other options] DEFAULTDRIVE
-
- The DEFAULTDRIVE switch was described above in the section called
- "Starting GRABBER." This switch can be used both when you are
- initially installing the program in memory, and thereafter when
- you wish to cancel a drive/path destination previously specified
- and start writing .exe files to the default drive and path
- instead.
-
- During the initial installation of GRABBER, the DEFAULTDRIVE
- switch can act as a substitute for the drive and/or path parame-
- ter which is otherwise required to make GRABBER stay resident in
- memory.
-
- If you did not use DEFAULTDRIVE when you initially installed
- GRABBER in memory, you can instruct GRABBER to start placing .exe
- image files in whatever location happens to be known to DOS as
- its current "default drive and path" whenever a screen capture
- takes place.
-
- After you use DEFAULTDRIVE, GRABBER will continue to place all
- .exe image files in DOS's default drive and path until you issue
- another command which includes a specific drive and/or path
- parameter as the first item on the command line after the GRABBER
- command itself. For example, the following command example can
- be used to cancel the effect of a GRABBER DEFAULTDRIVE command
- which was issued previously:
-
- GRABBER C:\PICTURES [other options]
-
-
-
- Option: NOVESA
-
- Usage: GRABBER [other options] NOVESA
-
- (Please refer to the section on VESA BIOS compatibility on page
- 38 below.)
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 23 of 44
-
-
-
- Option: VGAREGS and NOVGAREGS
-
- USAGE: GRABBER [other options] VGAREGS
- GRABBER [other options] NOVGAREGS
-
- These switches affect the way in which GRABBER captures graphic
- images on VGA systems only. They have no effect on non-VGA
- systems, and no effect on text-screen captures.
-
- The VGAREGS switch tells GRABBER to determine certain basic
- parameters about a VGA graphic image by reading information
- directly from the hardware registers of the VGA adapter, instead
- of making assumptions about such parameters based on the ID
- number of the current video mode.
-
- The purpose of this option is to enable GRABBER to capture
- certain types of VGA graphics more reliably, particularly those
- generated by animated game programs which modify the standard VGA
- video modes to achieve faster video performance.
-
- The default setting of this option is NOVGAREGS. If you have a
- VGA graphic application from which GRABBER seems to capture only
- distorted offspring images, you should try the GRABBER VGAREGS
- command before capturing screens from that application. VGAREGS
- may or may not solve the problem. If not, it should be disabled
- by entering the command GRABBER NOVGAREGS.
-
- Please note that the VGAREGS option is primarily for experimenta-
- tion. It will work on some VGA systems but not all, and with
- some types of graphic images but not others. It can be used
- alone or in combination with the VGAREGS2 option described below.
-
-
- Option: VGAREGS2 and NOVGAREGS2
-
- Usage: GRABBER [other options] VGAREGS2
- GRABBER [other options] NOVGAREGS2
-
- This option is similar to, but different from, the VGAREGS
- option. It allows GRABBER to capture screens generated by
- certain types of VGA graphics programs, particularly games and
- other animation programs that use the standard 320 x 200 x 256-
- color VGA mode. The default setting is NOVGAREGS2.
-
- The VGAREGS2 option is designed to allow GRABBER to capture a
- very specific type of VGA graphic screen that is not employed by
- most programs. For most VGA graphics, using VGAREGS2 will cause
- the screen to be captured improperly. You should only experiment
- with VGAREGS2 if you encounter a program that generates images
- that cannot be captured properly with NOVGAREGS2.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 24 of 44
-
-
-
- The VGAREGS2 option can be used alone or in combination with the
- VGAREGS option described above. Experimenting with one, both, or
- neither of these options can help you determine how to capture
- problem images.
-
-
-
- TIPS FOR CAPTURING FROM GAMES
- ------------------------------
-
- Game programs, especially those which generate animated graphic
- screens, are some of the most challenging types of screens to
- capture reliably. You may find a game program from which GRABBER
- seems unable to capture accurate offspring images, or any images
- at all. Here are some suggestions that may help solve the
- problem:
-
- * If possible, capture screens on a VGA-compatible
- system. Usually, it is easier for GRABBER to capture screens
- from VGA-compatible systems than it is from EGA systems.
-
- * Some games require complete control over the keyboard,
- and will not let you use the keyboard to communicate with GRAB-
- BER. Try using your mouse buttons to capture the screen instead.
- See the MOUSE option, which is described above on page 18.
-
- * In some games, GRABBER's filename prompts will leave
- behind garbage on the screen, or cause improper operation of the
- game after the prompt is cleared. Try using the NOPROMPT option,
- which is described above on page 17.
-
- * Some games use non-standard video modes which GRABBER
- cannot capture correctly unless you tell it to query the video
- hardware directly. A common symptom of this is an offspring file
- which looks scrambled, duplicates a miniature form of the image
- several times across the screen, or is totally empty. If you
- have a VGA-compatible system, try using the VGAREGS option, the
- VGAREGS2 option, or both combined. These options are described
- above on page 23.
-
- * Capturing techniques which work with some programs
- might not work with other programs. When capturing from several
- different programs, be prepared to adjust the status of the
- PROMPT, VGAREGS, and VGAREGS2 options as you switch between them.
-
- * You may have to try more than once to successfully
- capture a game screen. If a game screen turns out scrambled, it
- may be because the game was in the middle of a timing-sensitive
- operation at the instant you called GRABBER.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 25 of 44
-
-
-
- PART II: USING GRABBER'S OFFSPRING .EXE IMAGE FILES
-
-
- The method described above on pages 10-11 is the easiest and most
- common way to display captured screen images. This is simply to
- run the offspring program file as a normal command. You remove
- the offspring image from your screen by pressing any key.
-
- Below are described four different options you can use to alter
- the way in which your offspring images leave the screen when they
- are done. Used alone or in combination with each other, these
- options can vastly increase GRABBER's usefulness, especially if
- you know how to use batch files with DOS.
-
- For on-screen help and other useful information with any GRABBER
- offspring image file, include the /? switch on the offspring's
- command line. For example: SCREEN00 /?
-
-
- FADE-IN SCREEN IMAGES: "FADEIN"
- ---------------------------------
-
- (This option works only on VGA systems. It does not work when a
- GRABBER .exe offspring image is displayed on a CGA, EGA or Hercu-
- les monochrome system.)
-
- If you are displaying a GRABBER offspring image on a VGA-compat-
- ible system, you can cause the image to "fade in" from blackness
- by including the FADEIN keyword on the offspring command line.
- For example:
- SCREEN00 [other options] FADEIN
-
- The FADEIN option has the effect of displaying the image as
- though the brightness control on the monitor is being gradually
- turned up from total blackness to its actual current setting.
- Although FADEIN works only when a GRABBER offspring is being
- redisplayed on a VGA system, it can be used with any text or
- graphics image, even if it was originally captured on a non-VGA
- system.
-
-
- FADE-OUT SCREEN IMAGES: "FADEOUT"
- ----------------------------------
-
- (This option works only on VGA systems. It does not work when a
- GRABBER .exe offspring image is displayed on a CGA, EGA or Hercu-
- les monochrome system.)
-
- As a complement to the FADEIN option (see above), you can cause
- the image to "fade out" to blackness by including the FADEOUT
- keyword on the offspring command line. For example:
-
- SCREEN00 [other options] FADEOUT
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 26 of 44
-
-
-
- The FADEOUT option has the effect of removing the offspring image
- from the screen as though the brightness control on the monitor
- is being gradually turned down from its actual current setting to
- total blackness. Although FADEOUT works only when a GRABBER
- offspring is being redisplayed on a VGA system, it can be used
- with any text or graphics image, even if it was originally
- captured on a non-VGA system.
-
- The FADEOUT option can be combined with the FADEIN option de-
- scribed above, and with all other offspring options described
- here, except /F and /N. If you combine FADEOUT with the /F or /N
- switches, FADEOUT will be ignored.
-
-
- TIMED EXECUTION: /Tn
- ----------------------
-
- If you have an offspring file called SCREEN00 and you want to
- display it on your screen only for a certain length of time,
- *and* you don't want to press a key to make it go away, use this
- command at the DOS prompt or within a batch file:
-
- SCREEN00 /Tn
-
- The 'n' character represents a time value, in seconds, which you
- specify. The 'n' value may be any positive integer between 1 and
- 3600. (3600 seconds equals exactly one hour.) For example, if
- you use the command SCREEN00 /T20, then the image within the
- offspring program will be displayed on your screen for exactly 20
- seconds, after which it erases itself and the program exits back
- to the DOS prompt or batch file, just as it would if you had
- entered SCREEN00 alone, without the parameter.
-
- If you want to exit the SCREEN00 image before 'n' seconds have
- elapsed, you can press <Ctrl-C>. Pressing <Ctrl-C> sends and
- "errorlevel" of 255 back to the calling batch file.
-
- You may combine the /Tn option together with the /K keylist
- option described below on page 28. For example:
-
- SCREEN00 /T60 /K:123
-
- In this example, the SCREEN00 image will remain on the screen
- until 60 seconds have elapsed, or until the user presses the <1>,
- <2> or <3> key, whichever occurs first. (Pressing <Ctrl-C> will
- also exit the image with an errorlevel of 255.) If the user
- presses any key other than <Ctrl-C> or the keys specified in the
- /K keylist, the keystrokes will be ignored. For a complete
- explanation of the errorlevel effects you can achieve with the
- keys in the keylist, see the discussion of the /K option starting
- below on page 28.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 27 of 44
-
-
-
- You may also combine the /Tn option together with the /F option
- described below. If you do this, the image will not erase itself
- from the screen (as it normally would) when the offspring program
- exits back to the DOS prompt or to the batch file which called
- it.
-
- The /Tn option is especially useful when you want to run a "slide
- show" routine on an unattended computer. Try this DOS command:
-
- FOR %F IN (SCREEN??.*) DO %F /T5
-
- (Within a batch file, use %%F instead of %F throughout this exam-
- ple.)
-
- You may not use the /Tn option together with the /N option,
- below.
-
-
- DON'T CLEAR SCREEN ON EXIT: /F
- -------------------------------
-
- Unless you tell an offspring program otherwise, it will assume
- that you want the screen to be cleared completely when you exit
- the program. However, if you want to exit an offspring program
- and leave intact the image it places on the display, then use the
- /F switch when you execute it from the DOS prompt or from your
- batch file, like this:
-
- SCREEN00 /F
-
- With character-based text screens, the /F option can enhance the
- appearance of a batch-driven "slide show" or menu system by
- eliminating the blank screens which appear briefly between the
- offspring programs being executed by the batch file.
-
- Please note that the /F option does not affect how long the image
- will remain on the screen, or what keypress (if any) will be
- required to exit the offspring program. The exact method which
- the offspring program uses to exit will depend on whether you
- have also specified any of the other switches described here
- (i.e. /Tn, /N, /K, or no switch at all). All the /F option does
- is to prevent the display from being cleared when the offspring
- program does exit.
-
- The /F option may be used together with the /Tn option (above),
- and with the /N option (below), and with the /K option (below).
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 28 of 44
-
-
-
- DON'T WAIT FOR ANY KEYPRESS: /N
- --------------------------------
-
- Unless you tell an offspring program otherwise, it will assume
- that you want to wait for some keyboard input before exiting the
- offspring program and returning to DOS. However, if you want to
- display the offspring image and exit immediately back to the DOS
- command line or batch file from which it was called, without
- waiting for any keyboard input, then use the /N switch, like
- this:
- SCREEN00 /N
-
- There is no need to also specify the /F switch, described above,
- when you use the /N switch. Whenever you use the /N switch, the
- offspring program automatically assumes that you want the image
- to remain on the display after the program has exited, and sets
- the /F switch for you.
-
- The /N option may be used by itself, or with the /Tn option
- above. However, /N may not be used with the /K option described
- below.
-
-
- KEYLIST OPERATION: /K
- ----------------------
-
- This option is supported for all offspring files. The format is:
-
- SCREEN00 /K...
-
- The format of the "/K..." parameter is explained below.
-
- GRABBER offspring files which you view from a batch (.BAT) file
- can communicate with the batch file using the ERRORLEVEL facility
- built into DOS. This allows you to create offspring screens that
- interact with the user, by branching control within the batch
- file based on the user's keyboard response.
-
- This method of displaying an offspring file works only when you
- display it from within a batch file. If you do not know how to
- create a batch file, or how the ERRORLEVEL principle works, then
- you should consult these topics in your DOS manual before contin-
- uing. It's actually very simple.
-
- Let's set up an example. Say you have created a GRABBER off-
- spring image to use as a menu screen on your PC. This image is
- called MENU.EXE. You want to use this menu to give a user the
- choice to run one of three different programs. The three pro-
- grams are called:
-
- 1. WORDPROC.COM (a word processor)
- 2. SPREAD.EXE (a spreadsheet program)
- 3. CHESS.COM (a game)
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 29 of 44
-
-
-
- And your MENU.EXE image looks something like this:
-
- _____________________________________
- | |
- | To get to... Press... |
- | ----------------- -------- |
- | Word Processing A |
- | Spreadsheet B |
- | Chess Game C |
- | |
- |___________________________________|
-
-
- Now, all you need to do is create a batch file, (say it's called
- SHOWMENU.BAT), which looks something like this:
-
-
-
- Sample batch file SHOWMENU.BAT
- --------------------------------
-
-
- (Line no.)
- _____________________________________________
- | |
- 1 | :BEGIN |
- 2 | ECHO OFF |
- 3 | CLS |
- 4 | MENU /K:A B C |
- 5 | IF ERRORLEVEL 255 GOTO :BREAK_EXIT |
- 6 | IF ERRORLEVEL 3 GOTO :RUN_CHESS |
- 7 | IF ERRORLEVEL 2 GOTO :RUN_SPREADSHEET |
- 8 | IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO :RUN_WORDPROC |
- 9 | :RUN_CHESS |
- 10 | CHESS |
- 11 | GOTO :BEGIN |
- 12 | :RUN_SPREADSHEET |
- 13 | SPREAD |
- 14 | GOTO :BEGIN |
- 15 | :RUN_WORDPROC |
- 16 | WORDPROC |
- 17 | GOTO :BEGIN |
- 18 | :BREAK_EXIT |
- | |
- |___________________________________________|
-
-
- You are ready to go. Execute SHOWMENU.BAT by entering the
- command SHOWMENU at the DOS prompt, or by including it as a line
- (preferably the last line) in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 30 of 44
-
-
-
- WHAT SHOWMENU.BAT DOES
- -----------------------
-
- Lines 2 and 3 of SHOWMENU.BAT clean up the screen in preparation
- for your menu. The action begins at Line 4. At this point, DOS
- runs your MENU.EXE program, which displays the menu screen.
-
- Notice the parameter /K:A,B,C which follows the MENU command.
- This is your Keylist, and it tells the offspring program which
- keys can be used to exit the screen. If the user presses other
- keys, they will be ignored. Note also the order in which the
- keys are specified. This is very important, because the
- ERRORLEVEL which MENU.EXE will assign to a key is determined by
- its position in the keylist "A B C".
-
- If the user presses <A>, then MENU.EXE ends by sending an
- ERRORLEVEL of 1 back to the batch file. This value will be
- ignored by Lines 5, 6 and 7 of the SHOWMENU file, but Line 8 will
- pick it up as a signal to branch to the instructions labeled
- ":RUN_WORDPROC" at Line 15. Following this label is the command
- WORDPROC, which starts up your word processing program.
-
- Likewise, if the user presses <B>, then MENU.EXE will send an
- ERRORLEVEL of 2 back to the batch file, because "B" is the second
- choice in your Keylist. Line 7 takes this as a cue to jump down
- to the instructions beneath ":RUN_SPREADSHEET" at Line 12.
-
- And so forth. Remember one very important thing. When you test
- the ERRORLEVEL values in a batch file, follow the example shown
- in SHOWMENU.BAT by always testing them in descending order.
- Start with the highest possible value and continue down to the
- lowest possible value.
-
- Why does SHOWMENU test for an ERRORLEVEL of 255 in the fifth
- line? This is because there is a always a "back door" exit from
- an offspring program like MENU.EXE which is running under the
- control of a Keylist. This is done by pressing either <CTRL C>
- or <CTRL BREAK> while the image is on your screen, both of which
- produce what is commonly called a "break" signal in your comput-
- er. Whenever you press <CTRL C> or <CTRL BREAK>, the offspring
- program always sends an ERRORLEVEL of 255 back to your batch
- file, and exits the screen.
-
- Note also, that spaces are used to separate the choices in the
- Keylist in Line 4 of SHOWMENU.BAT. If the user presses the
- spacebar, it will be ignored. This is one of several keys which
- GRABBER offspring programs reserve for their own use when examin-
- ing your Keylist. You can use these keys to separate your
- choices for readability, but none can be used to identify a key
- choice. These "reserved" keys are: the comma, the spacebar, the
- Tab key, the colon (:), the semicolon (;), and the slash (/).
- Therefore, each of the following ways of specifying a Keylist is
- identical to the others:
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 31 of 44
-
-
-
- MENU /KABC
- MENU /K a b c
- MENU /k:A b C
- MENU /K a:B:c
-
- The GRABBER offspring program will function identically in either
- situation.
-
- In addition to any alpha key (A through Z) and any numeric key (0
- through 9), you may include in your keylist any of the special
- function keys listed below. Please note that it takes two
- characters to identify any of the following function keys on your
- command line, and the first character is always the backslash
- (\).
-
- To use this PC key Use this code on
- in your keylist... the command line
- -------------------- ------------------
- <F1> \1
- <F2> \2
- <F3> \3
- <F4> \4
- <F5> \5
- <F6> \6
- <F7> \7
- <F8> \8
- <F9> \9
- <F10> \0
-
- <Home> \H
- <PgUp> \P
- <End> \E
- <PgDn> \N
- <Up Arrow> \U
- <Down Arrow> \D
- <Left Arrow> \L
- <Right Arrow> \R
- <Esc> \X
-
-
- The /K keylist option may be used with the /Tn option described
- above on page 26, but not with the /N option described above on
- page 28. If you specify a keylist together with the /N option,
- the keylist will be ignored. You may also use the /K option
- together with the /F option described above on page 27.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 32 of 44
-
-
-
- DISPLAYING SUPER-VGA GRAPHICS
- ------------------------------
-
- If a GRABBER offspring file contains a Super-VGA graphic image,
- then you may have to take special steps to redisplay it properly
- on your screen.
-
- For 16-color graphic screens, "Super-VGA" means that the image is
- larger than 640 x 480 dots. For 256-color graphic screens,
- "Super-VGA" means that the image is larger than 320 x 200 dots.
-
- Remember, you may check a graphic image's resolution, and receive
- on-screen help and other useful information, by executing the
- offspring .exe file with the /? switch on the command line. For
- example: SCREEN00 /?
-
- If you have a Super-VGA adapter that is VESA-compatible, then you
- should be able to redisplay most Super-VGA images just by enter-
- ing the screen name at the DOS prompt or in a batch file, without
- any special parameters. The following types of Super-VGA images
- can be redisplayed on VESA-compatible systems without any com-
- mand-line parameters, assuming the adapter has enough video
- memory installed:
-
-
- * 640 x 400 x 256 * 800 x 600 x 16
- * 640 x 480 x 256 * 1024 x 768 x 16
- * 800 x 600 x 256
- * 1024 x 768 x 256
-
-
- If your Super-VGA adapter is not VESA-compatible, however, then
- you must tell each Super-VGA offspring file which type of VGA
- chipset is employed by your adapter. Use this example:
-
- SCREEN00 [other options] @CHIPTYPE
-
- Super-VGA offspring files recognize the following VGA chipset
- names. Use one of these in place of "@chiptype" in the above
- example:
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 33 of 44
-
-
-
- DISPLAYING SUPER-VGA GRAPHICS (continued)
- ------------------------------------------
-
-
- @ATI ATI Technologies chips
- @VIDEO7 Video Seven chips
- @HEADLAND Headland Technology chips
- @PARADISE Paradise PVGA chips
- @WD Western Digital WD90C00 chips
- @TSENG3 Tseng Laboratories ET-3000 chip
- @TSENG4 Tseng Laboratories ET-4000 chip
- @STB4 STB adapters using the Tseng Labs ET-4000 chip
- @AHEADA Ahead Systems chip version "A"
- @AHEADB Ahead Systems chip version "B"
- @GENOA Genoa GVGA chip (used by 6000 series cards)
- @OAK Oak Technology OTI-067 chip
- @TRIDENT Trident chips
- @NCR NCR 77C22E chip
-
-
- Instead of telling each Super-VGA offspring file what type of VGA
- chipset is installed, you can also set a permanent DOS environ-
- ment variable called "SVGA=" which serves the same function. For
- example, if your Super-VGA adapter employs the Tseng Labs ET-4000
- chipset, you should enter the following command at the DOS prompt
- or in your AUTOEXEC.BAT startup file:
-
- SET SVGA=TSENG4
-
- (If you have a different type of VGA chipset, substitute its name
- from the list above in place of "TSENG4" in this example.) If
- you do not include a "@chiptype" parameter on the command line of
- a Super-VGA offspring file, it will look for a "SVGA=" parameter
- in your DOS environment, and use it instead. Note that on the
- command line, you should precede the chipset name with the "@"
- symbol, but when using the SET SVGA command you should omit the
- "@" symbol.
-
- Finally, as a last resort, if your Super-VGA adapter is not VESA-
- compatible and you do not include a "@chiptype" parameter that
- matches your adapter type, the offspring file will still attempt
- to display the image by looking for an 8514/A Adapter Interface,
- and using it if available. If your video adapter is supplied
- with a memory-resident Adapter Interface driver, you should
- install the driver in memory before running Super-VGA offspring
- files, to make sure that you will be able to redisplay any
- possible type of Super-VGA offspring file.
-
- If you see the message "Unsupported video mode," it means that
- the Super-VGA offspring file was unable to find any way of
- setting the video mode that is required to redisplay the image on
- the video adapter you are currently using.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 34 of 44
-
-
-
- USING GRABBER WITH MICROSOFT WINDOWS
- -------------------------------------
-
- GRABBER is designed to work with programs that run in "real mode"
- or "virtual 8086" mode under MS-DOS. If you are running an MS-
- DOS application while in Microsoft Windows, GRABBER should be
- able to capture screens from that application just as though you
- were running it outside of Windows.
-
- GRABBER is not designed to capture images from the Windows
- desktop itself, or from Windows-specific applications which are
- running in their own individual windows. However, you *may*
- still be able to use GRABBER to capture screens from Windows, if
- you observe the following suggestions. Before starting Windows,
- install GRABBER in memory using these configuration options:
-
- 1. Do *not* use the SWAPMODE option.
-
- 2. Use the NOPROMPT option. Screens will be named according to
- the "serial number" scheme described above on page 17.
-
- 3. Use this option on the GRABBER command line: SHIFT=7
- This will temporarily change GRABBER's hotkey sequence to
- Ctrl-Shift. (See pages 37-38 below.)
-
- 4. On some systems, the VGAREGS option may also be needed.
-
- If you install GRABBER in this way, Windows might allow you to
- capture screens by pressing Ctrl-Shift. Whether your offspring
- screens turn out correctly will depend on what type of video
- hardware is installed, which Windows video driver you are using,
- and what other memory-resident programs are also loaded. This
- procedure has been known to work using the generic VGA video
- driver supplied with Windows 3.1, as well as with recent Super-
- VGA drivers for adapters based on the Tseng Labs ET4000 chipset.
- It may work with other Super-VGA cards. It will not work with
- XGA, 8514/A or other video coprocessor drivers.
-
- After GRABBER captures a Windows screen, it might upset the
- Windows video driver in such a way that garbage is left on the
- screen when you move the mouse, push menu items and buttons, or
- move graphic objects around. To cure this, exit back to DOS and
- restart Windows.
-
- Please note, again, that GRABBER is designed for use only in the
- MS-DOS environment. While it is unquestionably the most reliable
- MS-DOS screen capture program you will find anywhere, it has
- never been advertised (or supported) by the publisher as a
- Windows screen capture program. If this procedure works for you,
- consider it to be one of the fringe benefits of GRABBER's stabil-
- ity. If it doesn't work, and you need to capture Windows
- screens, you should seek out a screen capture utility designed
- specifically for Windows.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 35 of 44
-
-
-
- PORTABILITY ISSUES:
- OFFSPRING FILE COMPATIBILITY WITH OTHER SYSTEMS
- ------------------------------------------------
-
- This section contains important information which you should read
- if you have a GRABBER offspring file which you plan to display on
- a system other than the one from which the image was originally
- captured.
-
- In general, GRABBER offspring files, and particularly graphic-
- mode offspring, are very device-dependent programs. This means
- that with a few types of text-mode offspring and with most
- graphic-mode offspring, you cannot display an offspring image on
- another computer unless the other computer has a video adapter
- that is at least as technically "advanced," or more advanced,
- than the video adapter from which the image was originally
- captured. In this context, how "technically advanced" an adapter
- is depends on the maximum number of colors and the maximum number
- of pixels it can display at one time. Here is a list of the
- video adapters which GRABBER offspring can support, ranked in
- order from least advanced to most advanced:
-
- * Monochrome Display Adapter (MDA)
- * Monochrome Graphics Adapter (MGA; Hercules-compatible)
- * Color Graphics Adapter (CGA)
- * Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA)
- * Video Gate Array adapter (VGA)
- * Super-VGA adapters (SVGA)
- * Adapter Interface (AI) compatibles (incl. 8514/A and XGA)
-
- The following chart lists the different types of text-mode
- screens which GRABBER can capture, and also lists the types of
- video systems from which they can be captured, and to which they
- can be transported. (S)VGA means both VGA and SVGA.
-
-
- CAN BE CAN BE "PLAYED BACK" ON
- TEXT MODES CAPTURED FROM: THESE VIDEO SUBSYSTEMS:
- ---------------- ------------------ -----------------------
- * 80 x 25 color CGA EGA (S)VGA MDA MGA CGA EGA (S)VGA
-
- * 80 x 25 mono MDA MGA EGA (S)VGA MDA MGA CGA EGA (S)VGA
-
- * 40 x 25 color CGA EGA (S)VGA CGA EGA (S)VGA
-
- * 80 x 43 EGA (S)VGA EGA (S)VGA
-
- * 80 x 28 or 50 (S)VGA (S)VGA
-
- * 132-col. modes SVGA SVGA
-
- Most 132-column screens can only be ported to Super-VGAs of the
- same OEM origin, unless the destination system is VESA-compliant.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 36 of 44
-
-
-
- OFFSPRING FILE COMPATIBILITY WITH OTHER SYSTEMS (continued)
- ------------------------------------------------------------
-
- With graphic-mode offspring files, the compatibility issue
- follows a pattern similar to text-mode files. Each mode is
- listed according to its X-resolution, Y-resolution, and number of
- colors, in that order. ("MCGA" represents the Multicolor Graph-
- ics Adapter found in the IBM PS/2 models 25 and 30.)
-
-
- CAN BE CAPTURED CAN BE "PLAYED BACK" ON
- GRAPHIC MODES FROM ANY OF THESE: ANY OF THESE SYSTEMS:
- ----------------- ------------------ -----------------------
- * 720 x 348 x 2 MGA MGA
- * 320 x 200 x 4 (M)CGA EGA (S)VGA (M)CGA EGA (S)VGA
- * 640 x 200 x 2 (M)CGA EGA (S)VGA (M)CGA EGA (S)VGA
- * 320 x 200 x 16 EGA (S)VGA EGA (S)VGA
- * 640 x 200 x 16 EGA (S)VGA EGA (S)VGA
- * 640 x 350 x 2 EGA (S)VGA EGA (S)VGA
- * 640 x 350 x 16 EGA (S)VGA EGA (S)VGA
- * 640 x 480 x 2 MCGA (S)VGA MCGA (S)VGA
- * 640 x 480 x 16 (S)VGA AI (S)VGA AI
- * 320 x 200 x 256 MCGA (S)VGA MCGA (S)VGA
-
- * 800 x 600
- (16/256 colors) SVGA SVGA AI
-
- * 640 x 400 x 256 SVGA SVGA AI
-
- * 640 x 480 x 256 SVGA AI SVGA AI
-
- * 1024 x 768
- (16/256 colors) SVGA AI SVGA AI
-
-
- In order to transport a graphic of Super-VGA resolution to
- another OEM's SVGA adapter, the destination adapter must either
- be VESA-compliant, or employ a VGA chipset with which GRABBER is
- compatible (see page 13 above).
-
- To transport a graphic of Super-VGA resolution to an 8514/A or
- compatible adapter, the destination system must have an Adapter
- Interface (AI) driver resident in memory, such as IBM's or ATI's
- HDILOAD driver.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 37 of 44
-
-
-
- CHANGING GRABBER'S HOTKEY
- --------------------------
-
- (The information in this section applies to the separate GRTXT
- program also.)
-
- GRABBER allows you to change the keystroke sequence which acti-
- vates the program, from the default [Ctrl =] to almost any other
- sequence you choose.
-
- If GRABBER is already active in your computer's memory, you may
- tell the resident copy of GRABBER that you want to start using a
- different hotkey than the one it currently recognizes, and make
- the change become effective immediately. GRABBER also gives you
- the option of making your hotkey change permanent, by saving the
- new hotkey information back to the GRABBER.EXE file itself. When
- you use this option, the hotkey you choose will take effect
- automatically every time you install GRABBER in memory by loading
- the altered GRABBER.EXE file.
-
- Every GRABBER hotkey has two parts. We'll call them the "KEY"
- and the "SHIFT". The KEY can be an alphanumeric key such as the
- letter <A> or the number <4>, or a punctuation key such as the
- <;>, or a function key such as <F10>, <Esc>, <PgDn> or <Del>. In
- GRABBER's default [Ctrl =] hotkey, the equal sign <=> is the KEY
- part.
-
- The SHIFT part of your hotkey can be made up of any combination
- of the following keys on your keyboard: <Shift>, <Ctrl>, and
- <Alt>. In GRABBER's default [Ctrl =] hotkey, the <Ctrl> key is
- the SHIFT part.
-
- You can specify a GRABBER hotkey on the command line both when
- you are initially installing the program in memory, and when
- re-invoking GRABBER after it is already resident. Use this
- syntax:
-
- GRABBER [other options pp. 12-19] KEY=kk SHIFT=ss [SAVEHOTKEY]
-
- "kk" represents a two-character KEY code. Valid KEY codes are
- listed in Appendix A of this manual.
-
- "ss" represents a two-character SHIFT code. Valid SHIFT codes
- are listed in Appendix B of this manual.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 38 of 44
-
-
-
- The SAVEHOTKEY parameter is optional. When you include it on the
- command line together with the KEY=kk and SHIFT=ss parameters, it
- instructs GRABBER to save your new hotkey choice permanently to
- the GRABBER.EXE file. This way, your new hotkey will take effect
- automatically every time you reinstall GRABBER in memory, and you
- won't have to specify your new KEY=kk and SHIFT=ss parameters
- every time you restart the program. If you do not include the
- SAVEHOTKEY parameter, the hotkey you specify will be effective
- only for as long as the current copy of GRABBER remains resident
- in memory, or until you change it again with new KEY=kk and
- SHIFT=ss codes.
-
- Please read Appendices A and B for additional important informa-
- tion.
-
-
-
- TESTING THE RELIABILITY OF YOUR VESA BIOS EXTENSION
- ----------------------------------------------------
-
- As mentioned above on page 8, GRABBER is compatible with VGA
- systems which include support for the VESA BIOS Extension
- ("VBE"). The VBE is a standardized method by which programs can
- take advantage of the enhanced capabilities of high-performance
- video adapters, independently of the adapters' specific hardware
- layouts, which vary among different manufacturers. An adapter's
- support for the VBE can take the form of a set of programming
- routines which are either permanently built into the adapter
- itself, or are added by loading a software VBE driver into your
- computer's memory by way of your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
- Some newer VGA adapters have VBE support built into the adapter
- itself, while most older adapters can be supplemented with VBE
- support by using a software driver which is available from the
- manufacturer.
-
- Although the VBE is now a "standard" in the microcomputer video
- industry, some VBE software drivers (and even some hardware-
- encoded VBE drivers) exist which do not fully conform to the
- official VESA BIOS specifications. In short, they have bugs
- which prevent programs such as GRABBER from working reliably with
- the video hardware.
-
- When you install GRABBER in memory, it checks for the presence of
- VBE support for your video adapter. If it finds VBE support,
- GRABBER will automatically attempt to use it, unless you tell
- GRABBER otherwise. However, if your VBE driver (hardware or
- software) is one of those that are not fully compliant with VESA
- specifications, GRABBER may not function properly.
-
- The purpose of the CHKVBE.EXE program included on your GRABBER
- distribution diskette is to help you identify whether your system
- has VBE support, and if so, whether your VBE driver is fully
- compatible with GRABBER and the VESA specifications.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 39 of 44
-
-
-
- CHKVBE is executed without parameters. If it reports that your
- system has no VBE support, or has VBE support which "appears to
- be compatible with GRABBER," then no further action is necessary,
- and you can install GRABBER in memory as usual.
-
- However, if CHKVBE reports that your system has VBE support which
- "appears to be incompatible with GRABBER," then you should
- prevent GRABBER from attempting to use the VBE by including the
- NOVESA switch on the command line when you install GRABBER in
- memory. For example:
-
- GRABBER [other parameters] NOVESA
-
- (If your system crashes when you execute CHKVBE, you may assume
- that your VBE driver has a serious bug. In this case, you should
- also use the NOVESA switch when you install GRABBER in memory.)
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 40 of 44
-
-
-
- PROGRAMMERS NOTE:
- CALLING GRABBER FROM YOUR OWN PROGRAMS
- ---------------------------------------
-
- If you are a programmer developing your own software, you can
- invoke GRABBER to capture the screen from within your own pro-
- gram, assuming that GRABBER is already resident in memory.
-
- This is accomplished by using GRABBER's external programming
- hook, which is really a customized call to Interrupt 16h,
- described below. You can write a routine to implement this hook
- in 80x86 assembly language or in any high-level programming
- language which supports BIOS-level interrupt calls.
-
-
- CUSTOMIZED INTERRUPT 16H TO INVOKE GRABBER, SERVICE 4752H
- ---------------------------------------------------------
-
- On entry: AX = 4752h
- DL = 0 (to check only if GRABBER is resident)
- DL = 1 (to capture the current screen)
-
- On return: AX = 5247h (if GRABBER is installed in memory)
-
- For DL=0
- or DL=1: BL contains the logical drive to which
- the capture would be attempted (DL=0)
- or was attempted (DL=1). 0=default,
- 1=drive A, 2=drive B, etc.
-
- For DL=1:
-
- No --> Capture successful. ES:DX points to
- Carry an ASCIIZ string which contains the
- Flag [drive:][\path\]filename of the newly
- created offspring (drive also coded in BL).
-
- Carry --> If DX = FFFFh, then a capture attempt
- Flag failed due to a critical disk error or
- Set disk-full error on the logical drive
- encoded in BL. (Speaker beeped in either
- case.)
-
- If DX does not equal FFFFh, capture was
- not attempted. GRABBER was busy servicing
- a prior capture request, or some other disk
- I/O was occurring, or DOS was not in a re-
- enterable state. Try again momentarily.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 41 of 44
-
-
-
-
-
- HOW TO CONTACT THE PUBLISHER
- -----------------------------
-
- If you have any questions about ordering one of the registered
- versions of GRABBER, or would like to tell us about bugs or other
- problems in using the programs, please contact the publisher at
- one of the addresses or numbers listed below.
-
- Also, if you feel there is an aspect of the program which is
- unclearly documented here, we appreciate your suggestions.
-
- Please read all of the documentation carefully before putting
- GRABBER to heavy use, and before submitting a problem report.
- This way you can be certain whether there really is a problem, or
- whether the program is being put to a use for which it is not
- designed or intended.
-
- If you submit a problem report, please be as specific as possible
- about what happens and in what sequence or situation. Be sure to
- list these specific things: (1) all of the technical information
- provided on the screen after you enter the GRABBER command at the
- DOS prompt, with the program already resident in memory; (2) your
- brand and model of PC; (3) your brand and version of DOS; (4)
- your brand and model of video adapter and display screen; (5)
- what software program you are running when the problem occurs;
- and (6) the contents of both your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT
- files. It is difficult to solve a problem without having all of
- this information.
-
-
-
- By mail: Gerald A. Monroe
- P.O. Box 770906
- Lakewood, Ohio 44107
- U.S.A.
-
- CompuServe: 72321,1257
-
- Internet: 72321.1257@compuserve.com
-
- Telephone: 216/521-6060
-
- Fax: 216/521-6060 (9 am to 5 pm Eastern time,
- Monday through Friday)
-
-
- APPENDIX A
- ------------
-
- These are the codes you may use with GRABBER's and GRTXT's
- "KEY=kk" parameter to change their hotkeys. See also page 37 and
- Appendix B.
-
- Key Code Key Code Key Code Key Code
- --------- --------- ----------- ------------------
- A 30 1 02 F1 59 Keypad plus 78
- B 48 2 03 F2 60 Keypad minus 74
- C 46 3 04 F3 61 Keypad 5 76
- D 32 4 05 F4 62 Print Screen 89
- E 18 5 06 F5 63 Backspace 14
- F 33 6 07 F6 64 Enter 28
- G 34 7 08 F7 65
- H 35 8 09 F8 66
- I 23 9 10 F9 67
- J 36 0 11 F10 68
- K 37 F11 87
- L 38 ` 41 F12 88
- M 50 - 12
- N 49 = 13 Tab 15
- O 24 , 51 Esc 01
- P 25 . 52 Ins 82
- Q 16 / 53 Del 83
- R 19 ; 39 PgUp 73
- S 31 ' 40 PgDn 81
- T 20 [ 26 Home 71
- U 22 ] 27 End 79
- V 47 \ 43 * 55
- W 17 Up 72
- X 45 Down 80
- Y 21 Left 75
- Z 44 Right 77
-
- NOTES:
-
- To view this table on your screen, enter GRABBER KEY=?
-
- The asterisk key (fifth from the bottom in the third column)
- refers to the <*> key which is located next to the right-hand
- <Shift> on 83-key PC and PC/XT keyboards (which is also marked
- "PrtSc"), and also to the <*> key which is located on the numeric
- keypad of 101-key PC/AT and PS/2 enhanced keyboards.
-
- The <Print Screen> key (fourth entry in the last column) refers
- to the key which is labeled "Print Screen" on 101-key enhanced
- keyboards only. It does not refer to the "PrtSc" key on 83-key
- keyboards. The "Print Screen" key does not exist on non-enhanced
- keyboards. Do not specify KEY=89 unless your keyboard has a
- "Print Screen" key.
-
- <Up>, <Down>, <Left> and <Right> at the bottom of the third
- column represent the arrow keys. These codes refer to the arrow
- keys on the numeric keypad on all keyboards, as well as to the
- separate arrow-key block on enhanced keyboards.
-
-
- APPENDIX B
- ------------
-
- These are the codes you may use with GRABBER's and GRTXT's
- "SHIFT=ss" parameter to change their hotkeys. See also page 37
- and Appendix A.
-
- Combination Code
- ---------------------------
- No shift keys 00
- Shift 03
- Ctrl 04
- Alt 08
- Alt + Shift 11
- Ctrl + Shift 07
- Ctrl + Alt 12
- Ctrl + Alt + Shift 15
-
-
- NOTES:
-
- To view this table on your screen, enter GRABBER SHIFT=?
-
- If you wish to use a hotkey which does not include any of these
- shift keys (for example, <F10> or <Print Screen> alone), you may
- do so by specifying SHIFT=00 or no SHIFT= parameter at all.
- However, it is recommended that you include some nonzero SHIFT=
- parameter to avoid probable keyboard conflicts between GRABBER
- and other software in your system.
-
- The exceptions to this are the <Esc> and <Enter> keys. If you
- wish to use either of these in your GRABBER hotkey, then you must
- include some nonzero SHIFT= parameter.
-
- GRABBER does not distinguish between the left-hand and right-hand
- <Shift> keys, which are present on all keyboards. Pressing the
- left <Shift> key has the same effect on GRABBER as pressing the
- right <Shift> key, and vice-versa.
-
- If you have an enhanced keyboard which has two <Ctrl> keys and
- two <Alt> keys, GRABBER treats the left and right members of each
- pair identically as well.
-
-
- GRABBER(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 44 of 44
-
-
-
- APPENDIX C: LICENSE TERMS
- ------------------------------
-
- The following files (collectively, the "GRABBER package") are
- Copyright 1992, 1993 by Gerald A. Monroe. All rights are re-
- served except as expressly provided herein: GRABBER.EXE, GRAB-
- BER.DOC, CHKVBE.EXE, GRTXT.EXE, GRTXT.DOC, GR4AI.EXE,
- GRAI2PCX,EXE, GRAI2GIF.EXE, GR4AI.DOC, GR2PCX.EXE, GR2PIC.EXE,
- GR2GIF,EXE, CONVERT.DOC, GREDIT.EXE, GREDIT.DOC, GR2ANSI.EXE, and
- GR2ASCII.EXE.
-
- The GRABBER package is being marketed in this special form as
- shareware. This means you have the opportunity to use and
- evaluate it before you decide whether to buy. If you regularly
- use GRABBER, or any of its "offspring" programs, or any of its
- companion utilities, then you are required to send your regis-
- tration fee to the publisher according to the instructions on
- page 3 of this document. When you register, you receive a copy
- of the latest registered version of GRABBER. Using this share-
- ware issue for more than 10 days constitutes "regular" use under
- this license, and requires you to register.
-
- Whether or not you become a registered user, you are permitted
- under this license to copy and distribute the GRABBER package
- freely, provided that:
-
- a) absolutely no fee is charged, and no donation requested, for
- the copying and/or distribution of the GRABBER package
- without the express written permission of the copyright
- owner (unless you are an ASP-approved distributor, in which
- case permission is hereby granted);
-
- b) all of the files in the GRABBER package are always copied
- and/or distributed together; and
-
- c) none of the files in the GRABBER package is modified, disas-
- sembled or reverse-engineered in any way.
-
- SPECIFICALLY: NO INDIVIDUAL, ASSOCIATION OR CORPORATION, OTHER
- THAN SHAREWARE DISTRIBUTORS APPROVED BY THE ASSOCIATION OF
- SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS, MAY INCLUDE THE GRABBER PACKAGE, OR ANY
- PART OF IT, ON *ANY* MEDIA OR WITH ANY HARDWARE FOR WHICH *ANY*
- MONEY IS CHARGED, OR *ANY* DONATION REQUESTED, WITHOUT THE
- EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER. SUCH FEES OR
- DONATIONS INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, HANDLING FEES, MATERI-
- ALS FEES, AND OUTRIGHT PREMIUMS. NON-ASP-APPROVED INDIVIDUALS,
- ASSOCIATIONS OR CORPORATIONS SEEKING PERMISSION TO DISTRIBUTE
- THESE FILES ON ANY SUCH TERMS, SHOULD APPLY IN WRITING TO:
- GERALD A. MONROE, P.O. BOX 770906, LAKEWOOD, OHIO 44107, U.S.A.
-
- Any use, copying or distribution of the GRABBER package, other
- than as described herein, is unlawful and in violation of this
- license.
-