Windows Online(tm) "the Weekly" May 2, 1992 - Issue 39 ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ Windows Online "the Weekly"(tm) (WOLW) is published electronically every Saturday and distributed through many well known on-line services. WOLW contains articles and weekly columns by WOL's staff and freelance writers. Subject matter includes all aspects of MS Windows(tm) and its associated applications and utilities. Also covered are OS/2, Computer News, Communications and other GUI subjects. If you are interested in writing for "the Weekly" contact us through the numbers listed at the end of this publication. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ Windows Online "the Weekly" Written for the WOLW by Randy Wong Computer News SNMP Support For Windows ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ Microsoft Corp. is getting ready to endorse a standard set of programming interfaces that developers can use to build Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) support into their applications. The applications will be able to run in either the Microsoft Windows environment or the upcoming Microsoft Windows NT operating system. The set of programming interfaces, called WinSNMP, was developed by NetMange Inc. WinSNMP was based on WinSock, a joint project between Microsoft and NetManage. WinSock is a set of application programming interfaces for developers to build TCP/IP applications interoperating under Microsoft Windows. With WinSNMP, developers can write SNMP management applications that send management information to SNMP based systems, such as SunConnect's SunNet Manager or Hewlett-Packard's OpenView. The interfaces will let multiple management software to send data to another management system. This function would let multiple management applications live together without interfering with each other. NetManage are shipping a WinSNMP version of its developer's kit. Using the kit, developers will be able to insert SNMP agents into their Windows application. These Windows applications are managed by SNMP management systems. Intel's Speed Doubler ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ Intel has extended the 486 processor group, with the new i486DX2. The chip clocks internally at 50 MHz, but to the external bus, it is running at 25 MHz. The new chip contains a technology called Speed Doubler, which allows the internal frequency of the processor to operate at double to the rest of the system. This in turn will assist the hardware venders to configure a 50 MHz system for the price of a 25 MHz, using the same bus structure. The price of these chips are $500 each for a lot of 1,000. A 66 MHz version of the i486DX2 will be available later this year. Remember the Intel ad, a big coprocessor space next to the 486SX chip, and the saying 'Room To Upgrade.' Well, it is here. Intel announces the OverDrive Processor. This chip also uses the same Speed Doubler technology, and take's advantage of the built-in upgradability of the Intel 486SX. This chip was designed to fit in the coprocessor socket on any 25 MHz i486SX motherboard. The new chip is clocked at 50 MHz, and appears to the rest of the system as a 25 MHz processor chip. Calling It Off ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ Delrina Corp. and WordStar International, Inc. have canceled their plans to merge. The companies reported management issues, accounting problems, and legal issues. Legal complications arise from merging a Canadian company and an American company listed on different stock exchanges. Many of Delrina's shareholders are Canadian institutions. They own the shares through usage of pension funds or other investment funds. WordStar International would have turned Delrina's Canadian stocks to United States stocks, forcing many shareholders to sell abruptly, causing them to face capital gains' taxes from the increased stock's value. IBM Using The Pen ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ IBM unveiled the IBM ThinkPad, a pen computer that runs the GO Corp.'s PenPoint operating system. Weighting in at six pounds, the notebook is 9 3/16 inches wide, 12 1/4 inches long, and 1 3/8 inches thick. The ThinkPad sports the 20MHz Intel 386SX microprocessor, has 20 Mbytes of removable storage, and comes with either 4 or 8 Mbytes of RAM. IBM hopes to include with the computer, several pen computing software, such as the Slate Corp.'s Day-Timer Pen Scheduler and Sitka Corp.'s network communication software. IBM has added it's own handwriting recognition technology to the PenPoint operating system. This product will ship sometime in July, and there is no pricing yet. E-Mail For Windows ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ Chord Corp. has introduced eNOTE, a LAN electronic mail utility running on micro computers with Microsoft Windows environment. eNOTE automatically alert users when new mail messages are delivered and cut the need for the user to load an E-mail application to check the messages in the mailbox. It runs on several popular LAN networks, such as Banyan Systems' Vines, Microsoft's LAN Manager, and Novell's NetWare. The product is available now, and is priced at $49.00. One Fast Modem ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ Motorola Codex unveiled a string of analog modems for use at asynchronous transmission of up to 115.2 kilobits per second. These modems will be the first to incorporate the new V.Fast protocol, the next step after v.32bis. V.fast is a Motorola standard, and is not going to be ratified by the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee for another year or so. The new line of modems is called the 326XFast Series. These modems were taken from the Motorola 326X Series of v.32 and v.32bis modems, and just added the V.fast option to them. This new line has four modem models and range from $1,395 to $1,695. The 326XFast modems will be available in July. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ Windows Online "the Weekly" Researched, compiled and edited for the WOLW By Rich Young Micrographix Picture Publisher v3.0 Summary Micrografx has done more than improve Picture Publisher. With the release of version 3.0, Micrografx will take a value-leadership position in PC-based image-editing software. Picture Publisher 3.0 is so fast and easy to use that buyers can edit and enhance photographic images almost immediately, while enjoying the highest-value product in the image-editing category. Micrografx, Inc., the first and leading developer of Windows-compatible graphics applications, announces that Picture Publisher 3.0 has shipped. This product sets a new standard for value and ease of use in image editing for the PC, according to George Grayson, president and chief operating officer of Micrografx. Picture Publisher 3.0 is designed to satisfy the high-end demands of photo designers and for business users who want to add visual impact to proposals, newsletters, documents and presentations. With Picture Publisher 3.0, users can scan color or black-and-white photographic prints, slides and line art using flatbed or hand-held scanners, or still-camera video capture devices. These images can support everything from desktop publishing to multimedia presentations and sophisticated annual reports. Picture Publisher 3.0 retails for $795. As a special promotion, the program is being bundled at no additional cost with the industry's leading hand-held color scanner, the ColorArtist(tm) from Mustek Inc. (formerly Marstek), until June 30, 1992. Picture Publisher has been awarded PUBLISH magazine's "Reader's Choice" award as the best PC image-editing software for three consecutive years, in 1989, 1990 and 1991. The product also received COMPUTE magazine's "Editor's Choice" award in 1991, and in a recent study by analyst firm BIS Cap International, Picture Publisher had the dominant market share among PC scanner users. Improved Speed, Ease of Use Several steps were taken to accelerate the product's speed and ease-of-use characteristics. The Micrographix goal for future product development were clearly defined: speed and ease of use are the constant criteria for success in this software category They have developed display and output technologies that will assist users in being productive within the Windows environment. Version 3.x now supports full 24-bit video boards and uses an MDI (multiple document interface). These are the crucial areas that enable users to get their work done in a timely fashion with a minimum of effort. Closely related to speed is the desire for ease of use. This is accomplished in Picture Publisher 3.0 through an extremely intuitive, invitingly friendly user interface. All tools are grouped into logical categories. Once a feature is selected from within a group of tools, all options for that feature appear automatically in the ribbon area. In addition, a full-feature hint line allows for additional pertinent information to be presented to the user. Innovative New Features New features in Picture Publisher 3.0 include enhanced masking, an added text tool, new drawing tools, a color shield, textures and a selection of special effects. Also, special filters such as 3-D, emboss, crystallize and graphic pen have been added, at no charge. File formats supported include TIFF, PCX, TARGA, BMP, GIF and export of EPS and DCS. Additional tools such as airbrush, texture, paint and smear give users the ability to create high-level painting effects. Mask Editing Picture Publisher's masking capabilities have always been applauded as the most advanced of any software in the field. Now they are taken to new heights. Masking tools include Smart Mask, Freehand Mask, Mask Transform and Mask Point Editor. With the Mask Transform tool, users can rotate, skew, tilt and distort masks with precise control. The capability to use multiple masks, delete individual masks and save and use masks in subsequent work sessions increases user productivity significantly. The program's Color Shield feature (the only function of its kind in the industry) allows users to select or protect up to eight separate areas based on the color selected. Enhancing Poor Photographs Users of Picture Publisher 3.0 can interactively manipulate the hue, saturation and lightness in photographic images using several unique color mapping tools. Primary among these tools is the product's powerful Quartertone feature, which improves even poor-quality photographs. Output and Color Separation Picture Publisher can print to any Windows-supported device. This includes black-and-white Hewlett-Packard LaserJet and compatible printers, color PostScript devices and high-end image typesetters. With Picture Publisher's unique output calibration, users can adjust the program to compensate for limitations in their output device. For output or color separations, Picture Publisher supports binary PostScript files to maximize production speeds. Users have complete control over UCR (undercolor removal), black ink generation and device/dot gain corrections, and can change the shape, frequency and angle of halftone screen values. Pricing and System Requirements Stand-alone copies of Picture Publisher 3.0 are priced at $795. Initial upgrade pricing for registered owners of any previous version of Picture Publisher, either retail or OEM, will be $99.95, not including the Mustek hand-held color scanner. The upgrade price for the bundle is $499.95. The promotional bundle and upgrade pricing will be good through June 30, 1992. (All prices are U.S. retail.) The system requirements for Picture Publisher 3.0 include a 386 IBM PC, PS/2 or compatible; 4MB RAM; a 40MB (or more) hard drive; Windows 3.0 (or higher); DOS 3.1 (or higher); a mouse (or other Windows pointing device, including WACOM); and a VGA display (SuperVGA recommended). For professional photo design, more memory, a larger hard drive, and a 16- or 24-bit video card are recommended. Micrografx, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGXI) has been developing innovative graphics application and system software for the IBM PC market for nearly a decade. Micrografx developed the first drawing program for the IBM PC and one of the first applications for Windows. Since then, it has continued as a leader in graphics for Windows by creating products that help people work more efficiently. Today, in addition to Picture Publisher, Micrografx markets Micrografx Designer(tm), the only precision illustration program for Windows, retailing for $695; Windows Draw(tm), a low-cost, entry-level drawing program, retailing for $149.95; Charisma(tm), a presentation graphics package for business users, retailing for $495; and Micrografx ClipArt(tm) Collections, retailing for $149.95 each. Micrografx has offices in nine countries and more than 270 employees worldwide. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ Windows Tips by Hugh Hardie ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ The StartUp Group Controlling the Actions of Users Uncle Bill's Tip of the Week The StartUp Group One of the new and helpful features of Windows 3.1 is the ability to create a group which will cause all the programs identified in the group to be started when you start Windows. This ability to have programs start when Windows starts is not new. It has always been available through the LOAD and RUN commands in the WIN.INI file. The StartUp group makes the process orders of magnitude easier and gets around one of the problems with old way of doing it. The LOAD command could only see a certain numbers of characters on the line. Thus, if you had more applications to start than there were characters that the LOAD line could see, you were out of luck. Creating the StartUp group is easy. With the Program manager open and with no groups open, select FILE/NEW. The program manager will open a dialog box showing two choices, one being to create a Program Group, the default, and the other to create a Program Item. Simply accept the default and click on OK. The next dialog box asks for the name of the group. Enter StartUp and click on OK. Program Manager will create its own group name. It is important to enter the name of the group exactly as spelled here. That is the way that Windows recognizes it as containing the applications that you want started when Windows starts. Program manager will now present you with a Group Window named StartUp with nothing in it. Open whichever group contains the application you want started automatically and copy it from its present group to the StartUp group. This is done by holding down the CTRL key as you click on the application icon and, while holding it down, copy the icon to the StartUp group. Be sure to save the changes in the configuration before you exit Windows. I find it useful to have a group called NoStart. In cases where I do not want to start an application automatically that I have been starting previously, I move it to the NoStart Group. If, after experimenting with whatever I want to try, I decide to start it automatically again, I can simply move it from the NoStart group back to the StartUp group without having to worry about which group it came from in the first place. Controlling the Actions of Users Although the point of Personal Computers is to provide the power of the computer to those who need it, in a way that lets them perform their work in the best fashion for them, there comes a time when control over the users' activities is required. In larger organizations, standards are required in order to maintain order across the system with users who have varying degrees of knowledge and experience with computers. In that instance, it is useful to be able to restrict certain users, or groups of users, from carrying out specific tasks. Such access controls are available in many software packages sold today. Windows 3.1 has introduced several access controls which can be instituted to define the limits of action of users. These controls are implemented through the use of entries in the PROGMAN.INI file. Changes to these parameters are not supported by any of the system utilities that come with Windows, e.g., Control Panel. The entries must be made in the PROGMAN.INI file manually. Use whatever text file editor you are most comfortable with whether it is in DOS or in Windows. In Windows, NOTEPAD is the easiest solution. Load NOTEPAD and open the file PROGMAN.INI which is in the Windows directory. The parameters which you can create and alter are: NoRun= NoFileMenu= NoClose= NoSaveSettings= EditLevel= We will discuss the first three in this edition and the last two in next weeks edition of Windows Online Weekly news. The NoRun parameter allows you to prevent users from starting any applications with the FILE/RUN command. 0 following the command allows use of RUN/FILE and 1 removes the RUN command from the File Menu. NoFileMenu, as you might expect, removes the entire File Menu from the menu bar. 0 enables the file menu and 1 removes it. NoClose allows you to stop the user from exiting Windows. This is useful when the computer in question is intended for 24 hour operation. Again, 0 allows exiting and 1 prevents it. This, of course, does not stop the user from rebooting the machine or turning it off. More in the next issue! Uncle Bill's Tip of the Week This week's tip speeds up the creation and/or modification of a program's properties as stored in Program Manager. It is really two tips in one. When you have a program group open on the screen, you can find out about the properties of an application by selecting FILE/PROPERTIES from the File menu. This is rather tedious since the item is quite far down the File Menu. There is a shortcut alternative. Place the mouse pointer on the top of the icon of the application that you wish to examine and press ALT/Double Click with the left mouse button. This will bring the Program Item Properties dialog box up and allow you to alter any of the parameters. The second part of the tip is that if you press ALT/Double Click on a blank part of the Program Group Window, it will invoke the FILE/NEW command and allow you to create a new Program Item. Thanks, Uncle Bill! ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ VISUAL BASICS By Barry Seymour Drag and Drop -- With a Twist! When I first started working in Visual Basic, drag and drop was a drag, so I dropped it. (Sorry, I *had* to use that line.) In my opinion the VB manual doesn't cover drag and drop clearly enough, so over the weekend I figured I'd knock together a simple example. After I did I felt like a bit of a con artist. My drag and drop operation simulated the dropping of a control into another control by hiding the source control and copying it's picture into the destination control. I wanted to do the real thing and put that control inside the other. What I did was use the API call SetParent to actually make the dragged control a child of the destination control. When the control is dragged OUT of the destination control, it's made a child of the form again. The advantages are sublte, but powerful. All the code for the dragged control can be encapsulated into that control. Many examples I've seen have code spread out over several controls; with this technique that could be avoided. The non-linearity of Visual Basic can be tough enough to track; encapsulating the code for this control can keep things simpler. VBEX11.MAK has a control array called SourcePic which consists of three pictures which you can drag around the form. There is another control array of two large pictures (DestPic), one which will allow you to drop a control into it, the other which won't. (I'll leave it to you to guess which is which...) There are a number of events the system is prepared to respond to: the trick is knowing where they are and how to define them. They are.. 1. The user clicks and holds a mouse button on a movable control. 2. The user drags that control over the form, possibly over other controls 3. The user drops the control on a destination control and it responds accordingly. Let's follow the chronology of a simple drag and drop operation to see what we have to see... ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸ ³ NOTE TO THE READER: I'm using a new LINE JOIN identifier which isn't³ ³ found in Visual Basic; this allows a simple global search and replace³ ³ throughout all sample code. The identifier is <+>. Replace all of ³ ³ these with a null string and your code will be OK. ³ ³ ³ ³ If you wish to recreate this experiment in full on your Visual Basic ³ ³ system, this column in WRITE 3.0 format plus sample code is available³ ³ on the Windows Online BBS in Danville, California, phone 1 510 ³ ³ 736-8343. This column and source code is in VBEX11.ZIP, and may be ³ ³ distributed as freeware. ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ 1. The user clicks and holds a mouse button on a movable control. We place code in the Source control to capture this action. Specifically, we put a Drag statement in the control's MouseDown event . You want to obtain the handle of the control so you can set it's parent later, and you also want to save to variables the X and Y coordinates of the mouse within the picture, so when the user drops the control later we can drop it in the right place. We'll use the form-level variables MouseWOffset and Mouse HOffset variables to do that. The code is like this... Sub SourcePic_MouseDown (Index As Integer, Button As Integer, <+> Shift As Integer, X As Single, Y As Single) DestPic(1).Picture = LoadPicture() ' clear picture MouseWOffset = X MouseHOffset = Y SourcePicHandle = GetFocus() SourcePic(Index).Drag End Sub At this point the user will see an outline of the picture move around the form while he moves the mouse while holding down the button. 2. The user drags the control over the form, possibly over other controls. We use the DragOver event from each control to catch this one -- sorry, no encapsulation here! If the user drags the control over a forbidden destination we need to change the MousePointer of the control. In this example, the first member of the DestPic control array has been made a 'forbidden' destination; the second is OK. This is handled in the DestPic_Dragover event. Sub DestPic_DragOver (Index As Integer, Source As Control, <+> X As Single, Y As Single, State As Integer) 'if over picture 0 then indicate that a drop isn't allowed. If State = 0 And Index = 0 Then Source.MousePointer = 12 Else MousePointer = 0' Change pointer to no drop. End If If State = 1 Then Source.MousePointer = 0 ' Use default mouse pointer. End Sub The State parameter indicates whether the dragged control is entering (0) or leaving (1) the area bounded by the control. Note that the code always changes the Source.MousePointer back to 0 if the source control is leaving the destination control. 3. The user drops the control on a destination control, which responds accordingly. Once again we look to code in the destination control, specifically the DragDrop event. First we'll look at the response of the destination control DestPic(). We evaluate whether or not we can drop a control here; secondly we perform the required action. If the destination is a valid one, use get the handle of the source control to make it a child the destination control using SetParent(). Sub DestPic_DragDrop (Index As Integer, Source As Control, <+> X As Single, Y As Single) Source.MousePointer = 0 ' reset mouse pointer If Index = 0 Then Exit Sub ' DROP NOT ALLOWED ON #1 Z% = SetParent(SourcePicHandle, DestPicHandle) 'note we got DestPicHandle in Form_Load. Source.top = Y - MouseHOffset Source.Left = X - MouseWOffset End Sub Notice we've used the saved X and Y offsets of the mousepointer so we can place the control correctly. Without this information, the best we could do is have the control's top left corner snap to the point of the mousepointer, which would be tres irritating. Bear in mind that every control must be ready to respond to a DragDrop event, including the parent form itself. Note we set the form as the parent -- this handles the circumstance correctly even when the control is being dragged out of a destination control and back onto the form. The same positioning technique also works. Sub Form_DragDrop (Source As Control, X As Single, Y As Single) Z% = SetParent(SourcePicHandle, VBEX11.hWnd) Source.top = Y - MouseHOffset Source.Left = X - MouseWOffset End Sub I've put a little code into the SourcePic_DblClick event to demonstrate the encapsulation I mentioned earlier. Each control can check to see who it's parent is by using the API call GetParent(). Once it does that it can respond to events accordingly. When you paste the following code into your example you'll see what I mean. ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º If you wish to recreate this experiment in full on your Visual Basic º º system, this column in WRITE 3.0 format plus all the code is available º º on the Windows Online BBS in Danville, California, phone 1 510 º º 736-8343. This column and source code is in VBEX11.ZIP, and may be º º distributed as freeware. º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸ ³ Barry Seymour ³ ³ Marquette Computer Consultants ³ ³ San Rafael, CA 415/459-0835 ³ ³ Windows OnLine 510/736-8343 ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ for Windows Online "the Weekly" ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ Desktop Publishing Some Basic Design Tips By Rob Weinstein for Windows Online, "the Weekly" The noted newspaper critic A.J. Liebling once said that "The press is only free if you own one." Desktop publishing has made this possible for virtually everyone. Not that everyone is putting out their own newspaper or newsletter. But doctors, lawyers, realtors, "experts," local commentators, computer consultants, church groups, community organizations and countless others are now able to get their message out to the public, or at least to their mailing list. The result is that an enormous variety of information and opinion is becoming available constantly. But another result is that a large number of publications, flyers, newsletters, etc., are being done by office or computer workers, and not by design professionals. Some are great. Others are ugly. So in hopes of heading off some of the more graphically offensive pieces I retrieve from my mailbox, here are some quick tips. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE This sounds elementary, but it is really the key to producing effective material. And it doesn't mean that you have to do extensive market research before you produce a brochure--it just means use some common sense. Who will read what you produce makes a difference in how it should look, and what it should contain. Here are some examples: --Don't use a broadsheet (fullsize) newspaper format unless readers are going to be able to spread out and enjoy. Commuters do better with tabloid (11 x 17 inches) sizes, because they are easier to carry, handle, and read on the bus or train. Magazine size publications, where the page size is approximately 8 1/2 x 11 inches, are excellent for material with lots of text, since the amount of text on a single page doesn't seem overwhelming. --Use larger, non-condensed typefaces (you don't need expanded faces, just steer away from condensed) for audiences who have a hard time reading. A newspaper in Florida that serves three major retirement communities, uses all 11 point type. Most newspapers use 9 point. I edit a newspaper for building trades workers. They are all literate (they all have high school degrees), but simply don't read much. I use 10 point type. --Make sure your graphics are appropriate for your audience. I once commissioned an illustrator to draw an piece of artwork for a Business Magazine. When it came back it had a Greek god motif with people running around in low slung togas. Stuck for something to run with the story I used it. The magazine never lived it down. TYPESETTING --With the advent of Adobe, Bitstream and TrueType you can have literally hundreds of fonts at your disposal. Don't use them all on one flyer. If you are trying to create a coherent whole, stick to three or four fonts on a page. You can change type sizes and texture (bold or normal) for variation, but too many typestyles is confusing, choppy and difficult to read. --If you are using justified type, make sure you type only one space after a period. Traditionally, typists use two spaces after a period, but that doesn't work with computerized justification. Computer's justify text by adding or subtracting space between words, so the right margin comes out even. Two spaces after a period will allow the computer to put unattractive spaces throughout your text, making it difficult to read. --If you are justifying your text, enable your automatic hyphenation. When justifying text, your computer will break words to try and even out lines. The automatic hyphenation function on your desktop publishing application will do this quickly and easily. But make sure you check the hyphenation. There should be no more than three hyphens in a row (again it make reading choppy), and computers regularly make mistakes in hyphenating words. FOLLOW THE EYE When you are designing a page, flyer, etc., try to look at the entire product and understand where the eye goes on a page. One way to do this with a flyer is to stand away and squint at it. You will see two things--what stands out, and whether everything is straight. If you are working on a magazine or book, you can flip rapidly through the pages, like one of those children's flip card animation games, to see how the eye flows. Quite often something that looks great as an individual page really jogs the eye (and stops the flow) in a magazine. Once you see something that stops you dead, you can decide if that's the effect you want. Here are a couple of other thoughts on eye movement on a page: --On a left hand page the eye usually starts at the upper left corner and drops to the lower right. The movement is exactly the opposite for the right hand page, going from the upper right to the lower left. This flow can be deliberately interrupted or changed by the use of type or graphics. --For newspapers, newsletters, magazines, etc., headlines usually start largest on the top of the page, and get smaller as they move to the bottom, right portion of the page. This is also true of articles, with major articles starting at the top of the page, and diminishing in importance as you move to the lower right corner. --Traditionally, artists saw themselves working with individual pages. For example, you could work on page 2, separately from page 3. In recent years that has changed. Now facing pages are seen as potentially one space that can be combined together. Don't be afraid to use two facing pages...but make sure they work together. Make sure, for example, that your headlines are aligned evenly from page to page. --Eyes follow graphics. If you are using a photo of a person, try to place it in such a way that they are facing what you want to highlight on the page, because the eye will follow that flow. Don't have a graphic or photo looking off the page, or your audience will look right off the page also. BREAK THE GRAY In black and white publishing in particular, you have three tones to work with, black, white and gray. Be aware of the lines created by your text and pictures, and the tension created by different contrasts on you page. Remember to use the white space on a page. Most people look at a page and see the text and graphics. All too often we try to put as much on a page as possible. But remember, the white space without text or graphics are also an eye catching element of design. One memorable billboard featured a life-size $1.98 Granny Goose potato chip bag mounted dead center in on a large billboard, with the caption "That's Our Bag." You probably don't have a billboard to work with, but you do have plenty of white space you can use. Some additional tips for increasing the contrast of your pages: --Look for graphics that feature strong contrasts and clean lines. A full page of text looks gray, and a gray graphic only amplifies that impression. --Try printing a photograph in high contrast. If you are scanning a photo, try decreasing the number of lines per inch on your screens, or even scanning a photograph as a line drawing. This can create some very interesting effects. --Wrap your text around your graphic. Many desktop publishing programs will do this automatically, or will allow you to do this manually. The use of the graphic and unusually aligned text creates a strong tension on the page. --Ragged right text (unjustified) looks more entertaining and less formal. Justified text traditionally looks more informational and factual. If you are using justified columns, try breaking your columns with enlarged text (pull quotes). --Headlines do a lot to create contrast on a page, and are quick attention getter. But don't put everything in headlines, or they loose their impact. Use capital and lower case letter in headlines. All capital letters are difficult to read. There are just some basic tips, and I will try to put more together next week. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ WINDOWS SOFTWARE REVIEW Written by Brian Parks COMPTON'S MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA Published by COMPTON'S NEWMEDIA PSssst! hey buddy, wanna see a revolving solar system? An erupting volcano? Or maybe you wanna hear some whales calling, or a beating heart? Oh, Oh I get it you must be oneados musical types what listens to that classic stuff by that longhaired guy, whatshisface, Beethoven. Yeah, yeah dats him. Seriously, what ever the subject maybe, I'm sure that COMPTON'S MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA has an article about it in this complete 26 volume research library on CD-ROM that includes the Unabridged Merriam- Webster® Intermediate Dictionary. This has to be one of the best multi- media products on the market for the Windows environment that I have seen to date. I played breifly with an older DOS version and was vaguely impressed by it's capabilities and features but it wasn't until I got my hands on this Windows version that I can say that I was truly impressed. All of the functionality and rules of Windows cut, copy and paste options apply here. Seamless integration into the Windows environment makes working (or learning) with COMPTON'S MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA loads of fun. Although this should be considered a serious research tool, this is a perfect application for the kids or, the kids in us. With over 15,000 pictures that include photos, illustrations, maps, graphs and charts, 60 minutes of audio including historic speeches and music and 45 animation sequences, your biggest question will be... "What do I want to see first?!" Windows multimedia extensions and a CD-ROM are a must in order to use this product and your monitor should be capable of producing VGA with 256 colors. (Standard VGA with 16 colors did not do the pictures available in COMPTON'S MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA justice). The main menu is the first screen that appears when you start up COMPTON'S MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA (CME). It displays the menu bar under the program title bar and the channel buttons located on the right side of screen. The channel buttons are your main entry points, or, what you use to get from place to place in the encyclopedia. There are 8 channel buttons. In the order of appearance they are; The HISTORY channel. Selecting this channel brings up a time line that starts at 1490 and ends with President Bush sending 200,000 troops to Saudi Arabia. Clicking on any of the events in the time line takes you to a summary of the event and gives you an option to view the related article in the encyclopedia. If in reading the article, you run across a word that you want to know the meaning of, simply double-clicking on the word in question pops up a small window showing you the word, it's pronunciation, part of speech, and one or more meanings for it. If you would like to look up another word you can do this now by again double-clicking the word in the definition or by typing in a new word to replace the highlighted word in the search request box and then clicking the LOOKUP button located at the bottom of the window. This feature is available in any channel. The TOPIC TREE channel. Selecting this channel brings up a list all of the articles in CME by topic and subtopic. For example, double-clicking "Arts,The", brings up a submenu that includes the topic Photography, highlighted in blue (among other titles). Double-clicking that topic or any topic highlighted in blue, brings up that article to be read. As with any article that you may be in, you may close it by either clicking the close button located in the upper left corner of the active screen or by selecting another channel. The IDEA SEARCH channel. Here you are presented with 3 boxes. The first box is where you type in words to ask a question or describe a topic. Hitting the return or enter fills the remaining two boxes with Articles and Quick facts. Clicking on a title in the article box brings up the article text and (if available for that article) pictures, animation, charts, tables, sound, maps, and more but we'll get to those goodies later. The FINDER channel. This is the channel you would use if you wanted to search an alphabetical listing to find any article, picture or atlas location anywhere in CME. If you already have a topic, FINDER will easily help you locate any articles or pictures related to it. Or you can just browse through it to find items that interest you. The SCIENCE channel. This channel takes you to 20 of the most interesting science related articles found in CME. These articles are enhanced with sound, animation sequences, illustrations and additional text. If you're looking for information on biology, geography, geology, human anatomy, or conservation and much more, this is where you'll find it. The main menu for this channel is divided into 4 sections and each has a list of related topics. The categories and their topics are: LIVING THINGS Reptiles Insect Animal Plant Spider Birds Whale Fish THE HUMAN BODY Respiratory System Human Anatomy Digestive System Heart INNER EARTH TO OUTER SPACE Ocean Earthquake Volcano Conservation Astronomy GOING PLACES Energy Maps & Globes Directions You may click on any topic listed here to get to the first page of the article. The WORLD ATLAS channel Selecting this channel allows you to use and explore all of the maps of all of the places on earth that CME has articles for. You choose the place that you'd like to see in the ATLAS section and the map for that place is drawn on your monitor. Using the mouse you can zoom in or out, move from one side of the globe to the other or place lines of longitude or latitude to give you added information. When you've finished globetrotting, pull up the articles on the places that you just visited to get a better understanding of the land, people and culture by just double- clicking on the name of the place you see on the globe. The PICTURE TOUR channel. Clicking on this channel presents you with a slide show of some of the most interesting pictures found in CME, or you may choose to manually browse through the pictures one at a time. When you run across a picture that you would like more information about simply click on Article button and you will be at page 1. The GO BACK channel. Clicking this channel takes you back one step in your research path. MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 80286 or better, Windows 3.0, VGA display, mouse, CD-ROM drive, 2MB of ram, hard drive. A sound card is not required. To get sound simply plug your headphones or external amplified speakers into the headphone jack on your CD-ROM drive. Please don't think that I have covered everything there is to know about COMPTON'S MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA. I have only skimmed the first layer of this truly exciting program. There is so much more to see and talk about than this small article will allow for. COMPTON'S MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA for WINDOWS is shipping now for $895.00 . (but street prices may be considerably lower) Owners of the DOS version may upgrade to the Windows version for $99.95. Owners of Compton's Family Encyclopedia may upgrade for $149.95. CME also comes bundled with the new MediaVision and PS 1 upgrade. So I would suggest that you rush right out to your local software store and see if they have this excellent addition to your CD-ROM collection. Or, for more information and to find out who has it in your area or, to order it direct, contact; COMPTON'S NEWMEDIA 722 GENEVIEVE SUITE M SOLANA BEACH, CA 92075 1(800) 532-3766 If you've unearthed a rare find, take a minute and drop me a line. Brian Parks c/o Windows Online. Copyright (c) 1992, Brian A. Parks Copyright (c) 1992 HOPSCOTCH RESEARCH SERVICE ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ "the Weekly" is a product of, Windows Online(tm), (WOL), an on-line service dedicated to the MS Windows(tm) operating envoirnment and to other GUI subjects. WOL prides itself on having the most complete and up-to-date library of Windows shareware in the world. WOL currently has over 3,300 Windows 3.x programs and files for download. Call today for your free trial. Consider membership with the Worlds premier Windows on-line service. No reprinting of this document is permitted without the written permission of Windows Online. All articles are copyrighted by their authors. Opinions presented herein are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect those of WOL or "the Weekly." Call Windows Online today! (510) 736-8343 BBS Frank J. Mahaney Publisher and Editor Windows Online(tm) Box 1614 Danville, CA 94526-6614 (510) 736-4376 Voice/Fax Copyright 1992, Windows Online(tm)