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1992-04-24
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THE VIRTUAL TABLET INTERFACE
DIGITIZER TECHNOLOGY
VERSION 1.20
(April 24, 1992)
USING NOTEPAD TO VIEW THIS DOCUMENT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* If you enlarge Notepad to its maximum size, the following document
will be easier to read. To do so, click the Maximize button in the
upper-right corner of the Notepad window. Or open the Control menu
in the upper-left corner of the Notepad window and choose Maximize.
* To move through the document, press PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN or click
the arrows at the top and bottom of the scroll bar along the right
side of the Notepad window.
* To print the document, choose Print from the Notepad File menu.
* For Help using Notepad, press F1.
NOTES ON VIRTUAL TABLET INTERFACE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This document contains important information not included in the User's
Guide to the Virtual Tablet Interface or on-line Help. Topics include:
* Required hardware and software for installation.
* Getting help and product support.
* Installing from Windows or MS/PC DOS.
* Copying files from the installation disks.
* Required device drivers for utilities and programs.
* Conflicts with other digitizer drivers and software.
* Printable Documentation in Windows Write Format.
* Windows 3.1 Compatibility and Features.
* Using the DOS driver with Windows.
* Windows driver installation and configuration.
* Windows enhanced mode driver installation.
* Control Panel Applet under Windows 3.1
* DOS driver installation and configuration.
* Unimplemented Editor graphics file formats.
* Updating the Virtual Tablet Interface.
* Removing the Virtual Tablet Interface.
REQUIRED HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE FOR INSTALLATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following hardware is required to install and use the Virtual
Tablet Interface drivers, utilities and programs:
* A Summagraphics, CalComp, Kurta or compatible digitizer.
* An 80286 microprocessor or higher.
* An EGA display system or higher.
* MS or PC DOS 2.0 or higher.
* Microsoft Windows 3.0 or higher.
GETTING HELP AND PRODUCT SUPPORT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you need technical assistance, you may send electronic mail to
Digitizer Technology on CompuServe at account [74000, 2506]. Please
include your registration number and a full description of the problem
or request which will be responded to within one working day (sometimes
one hour!). This is the fastest and preferred method of obtaining help
from Digitizer Technology.
If you need telephone assistance, you may call Digitizer Technology
Monday-Friday at (206) 868-3246 between 8:00 am and 10:00 pm, Pacific
Standard Time. Please have your registration number ready and a copy of
your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files along with information on the
circumstances in which the problem occurred.
If you would like to mail your questions or comments to Digitizer
Technology, we can be reached at: Digitizer Technology Company, 16541
Redmond Way, Suite 195C, Redmond, WA 98052.
INSTALLING FROM WINDOWS OR MS/PC DOS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To run the SETUP.EXE utility from within DOS, enter the command line
below at the DOS prompt:
WIN [drive:] SETUP.EXE
Or, if you are already running Windows, enter the command line below in
response to the Run command from the Program Manager:
[drive:] SETUP.EXE
COPYING FILES FROM THE INSTALLATION DISKS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The files on the Virtual Tablet Interface installation disks are
compressed and are not usable until expanded. The SETUP.EXE utility
expands the compressed files as it copies them onto your hard disk.
The Windows expand utility and other public domain compression programs
will not work with the installation files since they contain
proprietary compression and error correction codes.
REQUIRED DEVICE DRIVERS FOR UTILITIES AND PROGRAMS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You must install the Windows dynamic link library VTABLET.DLL in order
to install and use the Virtual Tablet Editor and Virtual Tablet
Loader. However, you do not have to make it the Windows mouse driver
unless you intend to use your digitizer as the Windows mouse.
You must install the DOS device driver VTABLET.SYS in order to use the
AutoDesk Device Interface and DOS segment of the Virtual Tablet Loader.
You should answer 'yes' when asked to update the CONFIG.SYS file if you
install the DOS driver. However, you do not have to update the path
variable for your installation directory depending on the files you
installed or change to the directory before starting the DOS utilities.
CONFLICTS WITH OTHER DIGITIZER SOFTWARE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SETUP.EXE may not detect other types of digitizer drivers and software
runnning under Windows or DOS. This will often show up as the error
"Comm Port Missing" reported on the 'Status=' line in the [Virtual
Tablet] section of SYSTEM.INI.
If you are installing the Virtual Tablet Interface over other digitizer
software, make sure that software is disabled either before or right
after installation. Refer to the software manual for those products
and check your AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI files.
PRINTABLE DOCUMENTATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you are a registered owner, the manual is provided on disk in
Windows Write format. Choose "Documentation" from within SETUP.EXE to
install, update or remove.
The demo version manual must be downloaded separately from the file
VTDOCS.ZIP and expanded using PKZIP. Do not install the manual using
the demo version of SETUP.EXE since the files will be expanded already.
The manual is formatted for letter size portrait paper (8 1/2 by 11
inches) and contains numerous bitmap images. For best results, print
the Cover, Contents and Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 on a laser printer.
SAMPLE TEMPLATE FILES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you are a registered owner, sample templates are provided on disk
for use with the Virtual Tablet Editor. Choose "Sample Templates" from
within SETUP.EXE to install, update or remove.
The demo sample templates must be downloaded separately from the file
VTSAMS.ZIP and expanded using PKZIP -d VTSAMS.ZIP. Do not install the
samples using the demo version of SETUP.EXE since the files will be
expanded already.
Sample templates may be edited and compiled from with the Virtual
Tablet Editor and may contain imported images. For best results,
configure your tablet type and print them on a laser printer.
WINDOWS 3.1 COMPATIBILITY AND FEATURES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE: If you are installing the Interface over an existing digitizer
driver under Windows 3.1, you may receive an error indicating that
VTABLET.DLL cannot load because the comm port is not installed. Under
Windows 3.1, the mouse driver may block the port from access by other
applications (including SETUP.EXE). You must remove or comment out with
a semi-colon (;) the line in the [Boot] section of SYSTEM.INI that
reads 'mouse.drv=' before running SETUP.EXE. You'll lose mouse input
until Windows restarted with VTABLET.DLL as the mouse driver.
VTABLET.DLL is compatible with Windows 3.1 whether specified as the
mouse pointer or not. However, there are some subtle differences in its
behaviour depending on how it is loaded...
If loaded as the mouse pointer, then the virtual tablet will function
as the mouse input device, execute template pointers and allow tracing.
Use the new Control Panel icon to configure the driver.
If loaded as the pen tablet, the virtual tablet will function as the
pen input device, execute template pointers and allow tracing. Use the
new Control Panel drivers applet to configure the driver.
If loaded as an installable driver, the virtual tablet will function as
a mouse input device, execute template pointers and allow tracing. Use
the new Control Panel drivers applet to configure the driver.
In sum, the Windows driver can do just about anything you want it to
whether you have another input device and how you load it. The best
solution is to load it as the mouse pointer or the pen tablet if you
have Pen Windows. If you have a mouse (and want to use it) but don't
have Pen Windows, try loading it just as an installable driver.
USING THE DOS DRIVER WITH WINDOWS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Windows driver will not load if the DOS driver VTABLET.DLL is open
and in use. For example, if the AutoDesk Device Interface is running,
you cannot launch Windows with the VTABLET.DLL specified as the mouse
driver. You can launch Windows otherwise, but the Editor and Loader
will not execute.
A bug in the real mode Windows kernel currently crashes the system if
the mouse driver cannot be loaded. If this happens, a hard re-boot will
generally be required. This is not so in the 286 and 386 Windows
kernels which simply abort the Windows startup.
If your experience problems loading the driver or any other Windows
utility or application, look for an error message in the SYSTEM.INI
file under the section titled [Virtual Tablet] and the key 'Status='.
WINDOWS DRIVER CONFIGURATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
VTABLET.DLL provides the interface between Microsoft Windows and the
digitizing device. The library may be specified as the Windows mouse
driver or loaded independently by Windows applications and supports the
following functions: mouse driver, Pen Windows driver, template manager
and tracing input. To load the library as the Windows mouse driver,
the [Boot] section of the Windows SYSTEM.INI file must be modified as
follows:
mouse.drv=VTABLET.DLL
Upon loading, the driver looks in the SYSTEM.INI file under the
[Virtual Tablet] heading for the following information which may be
modified by the user (note some information is required):
Comm=n Use serial communications port n where n is 1 or 2. The
driver defaults to Comm 1.
Filter=n Filtering of packets to smoooth screen jitter where n is
between 0 and 5. Zero disables filtering and 5 provides the
highest level. The default is three.
Tablet=n Select digitizing tablet n corresponding to the tablet
numbers defined in Appendix D of the User's Guide. The
driver defaults to tablet 2, a SummaSketch MM1 1201.
xExtent=n Sets the tablets horizontal axis which defaults to a VGA
screen resolution of 640. The xExtent must be between 0 and
32,767. Higher values will map to quicker cursor movement
on the screen. This value is ignored under Pen Windows.
yExtent=n Sets the tablets vertical axis which defaults to a VGA
screen resolution of 480. The yExtent must be between 0 and
32,767. Higher values will map to quicker cursor movement
on the screen. This value is ignored under Pen Windows.
Absolute=n Sets cursor tracking to absolute or relative positioning.
A non-zero value sets absolute positioning on, and a zero
value (default) sets relative positioning off. This value
is ignored under Windows 3.0 and Pen Windows.
ReportRate=n Sets the report rate speed to n where 0=Slow, 1=Normal
(default) and 2=Fast. Reports are relative to each
particular digitizer but can affect system performance
depending on other peripherals and the mode in which
Windows is running (see AutoEnhance below). This
parameter usually need not be changed.
AutoEnhance=n Sets AutoEnhance mode detection to n where 0=Off
(default) and 1=On. When enabled, AutoEnhance mode will
automatically lower the tablet's report rate under
Enhanced Mode Windows and leave it alone otherwise. This
value is ignored under Real and Standard mode Windows and
cannot set the report rate below 0 (Slow). Set this
parameter to 1n if your Enhanced Mode sessions are
sluggish or even crash with many DOS sessions open.
VTABLET.DLL will fail to load if the configuration information in the
SYSTEM.INI file is incorrect, or the DOS driver is currently in use.
All errors encountered in loading are written to the SYSTEM.INI file
under the topic [Virtual Tablet] on the line beginning with 'Status='.
Normal loading sets this entry to 'Status=OK'.
If VTABLET.DLL is not specified as the mouse driver under Windows 3.0,
cursor movement in templates will be inhibited (though template
commands and tracing functions will continue to work). Under Windows
3.1, the driver may be loaded independently of the mouse driver and
continue to manage the screen cursor in conjunction with another
pointing device.
Only one virtual tablet is permitted per system unless one is used for
DOS and the other for Windows. VTABLET.DLL disables the DOS driver
until Windows is exited. The DOS device driver is not required for use
with Windows and therefore need not be loaded thereby saving some
memory in the DOS and Windows environments.
WINDOWS ENHANCED MODE DRIVER INSTALLATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The enhanced mode Windows driver, VTABLET.386, provides a significant
performance improvement and works in conjunction with VTABLET.DLL. The
setup utility will install this driver for you in the [386Enh] section
of SYSTEM.INI by adding the statement 'device=vtablet.386'. This driver
virtualizes the comm port listed under the [Virtual Tablet] section of
SYSTEM.INI and redirects tablet interrupts into VTABLET.DLL regardless
of how it is loaded.
If entries in [Virtual Tablet] are incorrect, VTABLET.386 may not load
(nor should VTABLET.DLL) but can not output user diagnostic messages.
The error, after attempting to load VTABLET.DLL, can be found on the
'Status=' line under [Virtual Tablet] in SYSTEM.INI.
CONTROL PANEL APPLET
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you are running Windows 3.1 or later and have installed VTABLET.DLL
as the mouse driver, pen driver or an installable driver, the Control
Panel will display an icon which can be used to configure the driver.
After selecting the icon, the dialog box for the virtual tablet driver
is displayed.
The dialog box allows you to configure system pointer functions such as
the tracking and double-click speed, double-click height and width, and
number of mouse trails on the display at any time. The driver's
filtering value may be also be set. For more information on setting
these values, please refer to the Windows User Guide or text files for
changing WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI that came with your Windows disks.
When you have completed your changes, click the OK button or press the
ENTER key and restart Windows to have the changes take effect.
Otherwise, you can cancel your changes by clicking the CANCEL button or
pressing the ESCAPE key. you can return the values to their Windows
defaults at any time by clicking the RESET button.
DOS DRIVER CONFIGURATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
VTABLET.SYS provides the interface between applications, utilities and
the digitizer for DOS-based applications including the Autodesk Device
Interface. The invocation in CONFIG.SYS is:
device=VTABLET.SYS [/Cn] [/Tn] [/An] [/Sn]
Upon loading, the driver looks on the command line for the following
information which may be modified by the user (note some information is
required):
/Cn Use serial communications port n where n is 1 or 2. The driver
defaults to Comm 1.
/Tn Select digitizing tablet n defined in Appendix D of the User's
Guide. The driver defaults to tablet 2, a SummaSketch MM1 1201.
/Sn Sets the report rate speed to n where 0=Slow, 1=Normal (default)
and 2=Fast. Reports are relative to each particular digitizer but
can affect system performance depending on other peripherals.
This generally does not need to be changed.
/An Sets the Autodesk Device Interface software interrupt vector for
the digitizer interface such as /A121. It must be a decimal
value between 120 and 128.
Only one driver is permitted per system unless one is configured for
DOS and the other for Windows. However, regardless of configuration,
only one instance of the DOS driver may be loaded even if specified
with port designators. The Windows driver, VTABLET.DLL, disables the
DOS driver until no longer needed. However, the DOS device driver is
not required for use with Windows and need not be loaded thereby saving
some memory in the DOS environment.
UNIMPLEMENTED EDITOR GRAPHICS FILE FORMATS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tagged Image File (TIF), Encapsulated Postscript (EPS) and Drawing
Exchange Files (DXF) are not implemented in the Virtual Tablet Editor.
They will be, along with several other file formats, probably in the
next major version -or- just Object Linking and Embedding (OLE). For
now, the recommended file format for importing or exporting is the
placeable (also known as Aldus) Windows Metafile.
UPDATING THE VIRTUAL TABLET INTERFACE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From time to time, updated versions of the Virtual Tablet Interface
will be posted on public bulletin boards such as CompuServe, etc. If
you are a registered user, you may download minor version updates and
install them on your system. Note this only applies to minor, not
major, version updates. You will have to upgrade major versions
directly from Digitizer Technology for a modest fee.
To upgrade your registered version, download the new files to a
temporary directory and run SETUP.EXE from your registered disk, NOT
the downloaded demo version of SETUP.EXE. Choose "Update" in the setup
options and then, when prompted, fill in the directory where the new
version files are located.
Do not attempt to update drivers and utilities that have not been
previously installed. Install them first from your registered disk and
then update over them as described above. Also, it is not a good idea
to copy the new files to your registered disk and then run SETUP.EXE.
If you do, and there are any problems with the newer version, you will
be unable to restore the previous version.
REMOVING THE VIRTUAL TABLET INTERFACE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you need to remove part or all of the installed files from your
system, select Remove instead of Install from within the SETUP.EXE
utility. Removing Virtual Tablet Interface files cannot be undone with
DOS 5.0 or other undelete commands. Reinstall the files instead.
You cannot remove the Windows driver if loaded or specified as the
Windows mouse driver. You must manually change the SYSTEM.INI file
under the [Boot] section to remove the driver, restart Windows, and
then run the SETUP.EXE utility again.
NOTE: If you are removing the Virtual Tablet Interface because you are
dissatisfied, please let us know the reasons why and we'll do our best
to correct any problems.