----> Welcome to "Plug-In for Windows, Version 2.0" <---- _______ ____|__ | (R) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| MEMBER PLUG-IN FOR WINDOWS README.TXT (May 3, 1994, Version 2.00) This file contains the following sections: - What is Plug-In for Windows? - What is new in Plug-In for Windows, Version 2.0? - Installation Notes - Updating From a Previous Version of Plug-In - International Issues - Conflicts With Other Utilities - Ordering the Update Diskette if you Currently Own Plug-In 1.x - Details on Plannet Crafters T-Shirts - The Plannet Crafters BBS - Now That We've Got Your Attention! - How to De-Install Plug-In - How to Contact Plannet Crafters WHAT IS PLUG-IN FOR WINDOWS? Plug-In Fills the holes in Windows! Plug-In is an enhancement utility for Windows. It seamlessly integrates with Windows and works with any Windows Desktop. Plug-In feels like a natural extension of Windows... It is Winner of Windows Magazine's Win 100 Award (1993 & 1994) and Byte Magazine's / Jerry Pournelle's User's Choice Award (1992 & 1993). The registration fee is only $20 Major features include: - Control Center dialog coordinates all of Plug-In's functions. - Lots of enhancement for Program Manager (Nested Groups, custom icons, custom titles, etc.) - Title Bar displays (date, time, resources, stopwatch, etc.) - Power Button (sits next to the System Menu button on active applications) gives instant access to the QuickRun menu. The QuickRun menu is very full-featured, and includes multi-level menus, fixed window sizing, task lists, dynamic Program Manager groups, etc. - Custom Cursors. Change all the standard system cursors. Now includes a "Cursor Wrap" feature. - Full Sound Support. General and application-specific events, chimes, talking clocks. - Resource Alerts. Monitors memory, system resources, and disk drives. Ability to display a message, play a sound, and/or launch a program when the alert thresholds are passed. - Screen saver enhancements. Instant-On/Instant-Off HotSpots, Shortcut Key. - Alarm and Scheduler facility. Very sophisticated alarms ... display messages, play sounds, and launch programs. Lots of option. - System Information. Displays lots of useful information about your system and the Windows environment. - Install Application. Painlessly install applications from floppy or CD-ROM. Allows you to view README files before proceeding with the install program. - Run with History. An enhanced run command with history list. WHAT IS NEW IN PLUG-IN FOR WINDOWS, VERSION 2.0? Lots! In fact, there is so much new functionality that it could be considered a new product. It has all the features of Plug-In 1.x, plus the following: - Plug-In now works with any Windows Desktop ... but we didn't forget those who use Program Manager! New in Plug-In 2.0 is full support for nested groups! - Title bar display of date/time/resources/stopwatch, etc. This is VERY configurable to suit your needs - Greatly enhanced QuickRun menu. Accessible from any application by clicking on the "Power Button" in the titlebar. Also, you can click your right-mouse-button on the Windows desktop to active the QR menu. - Full Sound support. If you have a sound card, you're in for a treat! Assign sounds to application events, talking clocks, chimes, InstaSound shortcut key, etc. - Custom Cursors have been enhanced to include the I-Beam as well as the other standard cursors. You can also invert and wrap the cursor at the screen edge. - A powerful Alarm and Scheduling facility allows you to keep track of appointments and schedule programs to run at specific times. The configuration settings for each alarm is very complete, including repeating alarms, sounds, etc. - The Resource Alerts have been enhanced to include custom dialogs. In addition to system resources and memory, you can now monitor free disk space. - Screen Saver hotspots and instant-on shortcut key. INSTALLATION NOTES Once you have unarchived (or copied) all of Plug-In's files to a directory on your hard disk (e.g., C:\PLUGIN), run PLUGIN.EXE from Windows. Plug-In has a built-in install program which will copy a few small files to the Windows directory and create the initialization file. If you are updating an existing version of Plug-In, see the next section. UPDATING FROM A PREVIOUS VERSION OF PLUG-IN 1) If you already have a version of Plug-In running on your system, you must first shut it down before running the new version of Plug-In 2.0! For Plug-In 1.x, select "Options | Configure Plug-In | Shutdown" from Program Manager's menus For Plug-In 2.x, select "Shutdown Plug-In" from the Plug-In Control Center dialog (double-click on the Power Button, or select Configure Plug-In from the QuickRun menu. 2) UnArchive Plug-In 2.0. You can overwrite the existing Plug-In files if you wish. 4) Run PLUGIN.EXE from the Plug-In 2.0 home directory, and you are on your way. If you are running the pre-release version of Plug-In, it is recommended that you restart Windows after doing the previous procedure. This will unload the pre-release DLLs from memory. INTERNATIONAL ISSUES Plug-In has fairly complete support for international (non-asian) countries. We support international date/time formats and even the Talking Clock feature has the ability to use 24 hour format. One major thing that is missing in this release is the ability to customize the menu items that are inserted into Program Manager's menus. We hope to have this in a later release. While most of the international options can be controlled via Control Panel and/or Plug-In dialogs there is one that needs to be done manually in the PLUGIN.INI file. If you wish to change the 3-character abbreviations used for displaying the day of the week and the month, please do the following: In PLUGIN.INI (in your Windows directory), add the following lines to the [Settings] section, replacing the text as appropriate: Days=Mon_Tue_Wed_Thu_Fri_Sat_Sun Months=Jan_Feb_Mar_Apr_May_Jun_Jul_Aug_Sep_Oct-Nov_Dec These lines must be EXACTLY the same length as they are here or the changes you make won't take effect. CONFLICTS WITH OTHER UTILITIES There are several programs on the market (both commercial and shareware) that offer some overlapping functionality with Plug-In. While most of these programs do not cause serious conflicts, you might see some unexpected behavior. For example, if you are using another utility that displays information on active title bars, you will see both applications fighting to paint on the title bar. Another example is utilites that assign sounds to system events. Please note that almost everything in Plug-In is configurable. If there is a feature you don't desire, check the Control Center. Chances are you can disable it or modify the settings to your liking. ORDERING THE UPDATE DISKETTE IF YOU CURRENTLY OWN PLUG-IN 1.x If you currently own Plug-In 1.x, you can obtain the released version on diskette. This diskette contains lots of new icons, cursors and sound files (including the Plug-In Talking Clock). To order the update, contact Plannet Crafters by phone or send us an order via mail, fax, or e-mail. The cost for the new master diskette is: $8 (including shipping / handling in the U.S. and Canada) $10 (including shipping / handling for International orders) Please be SURE to include your full name and address so that we can verify your ownership status in our database. Also, Georgia residents must add 6% sales tax ($0.48). DETAILS ON PLANNET CRAFTERS T-SHIRTS We have a ne logo - the galactical diskette - and have put it on high quality ash gray Jerzees t-shirts. Our logo colors are shades of blue with an olive green saturn ring. The image appears large on the back and small over the left breast. They are available in Large and Extra-Large and cost only $10. Shipping and Handling is $3 (no S&H if ordered with another Plannet Crafters product), and we use Priority Mail. Contact us to place your order today! HOW TO DE-INSTALL PLUG-IN If you wish to de-install Plug-In from a system, do the following: 1) Disable "Run Plug-In when Windows starts" in the General Config dialog and press the OK button. (If you fail to do this, you must manually remove the Plug-In entry from either the StartUp group or the "Load=" line in the WIN.INI file.) 2) Shutdown Plug-In by selecting "Shutdown Plug-In" in the Plug-In Control Center dialog. 3) In the Windows directory, delete the following files: PLUGIN.* and GROUP.EXE 4) Delete all files in Plug-In's home directory (assuming this directory contains ONLY Plug-In files!) HOW TO CONTACT PLANNET CRAFTERS If you have any questions about Plug-In, please contact us at: Plannet Crafters, Inc. P.O. Box 450 Alpharetta, GA 30239-0450 USA phone (404) 740-9821 (9-5 Eastern U.S. Time) fax (404) 740-1914 (24 hours /day) bbs (404) 740-8583 (14.4 KBPS; 24 hours/day) EMail addresses CompuServe: 73040,334 Internet: 73040.334@compuserve.com America Online: DMandell GEnie: D.MANDELL1 Prodigy: VSFB48A MCI Mail: 572-7179 Thank you for trying Plug-In for Windows!