About Draggin' Viewer --------------------- Welcome to Draggin' Viewer (DV), Shareware Version 2.20S! Draggin' Viewer is a drag & drop file viewer/program launcher utility for Microsoft Windows, Version 3.1 or later. (Sorry, this application will not work with Windows 3.0 or earlier.) DV appears as an icon on the Desktop. Select one or file names in the Windows File Manager, or other drag & drop server. Drag the names to the Draggin' Viewer icon, and the files will be opened for viewing or editing in their originating applications, or in the program "associated" with their filename extension in Windows. If there is no associated application, the file will be opened in Windows Notepad or Write, depend- ing on its size. (Notepad is limited to text files of less than about 48500 bytes.) Executable files are handled as follows: Files with .EXE and .COM extensions will "launch", or start-up; files with the .BAT extension (DOS batch files) will be opened in Notepad or Write, as above, and .PIF files will be opened in the PIF Editor. Options for Draggin' Viewer are accessed by clicking on the icon and selecting an item from the system menu. One option is the ability to launch a Windows drag & drop server, such as the Microsoft File Manager, at the same time as Draggin' Viewer. Version 2.x is a major update of Draggin' Viewer. The major enhancement is the ability to start all applications associated to files, as well as Notepad, Write and Pif Editor. Another feature is that DV will warn the user if he/she is about to open a Windows library or a file containing non-ASCII characters in an ASCII file editor. Since changes to a library or any other binary file can be disastrous, VB Expressions recommends cancelling the file open. Version 2.20S, allows the user to select to close down Draggin' Viewer along with its drag & drop server. Draggin' Viewer Installation ---------------------------- The archive file you just unzipped, DRAGGN.ZIP, contains this file and the file DVV220S.ZIP. Copy DVV220S.ZIP to a temporary directory, and unzip it. It will create the following files: Name Size Date Time ------------ -------- -------- -------- DRAGGIN.EXE 21849 05-31-94 9:12p SUBEZ.VBX 17408 03-11-93 4:09a Copy DRAGGIN.EXE to your Microsoft Windows default directory, normally named \WINDOWS. SUBEZ.VBX is a support file for Draggin' Viewer; copy it to your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. We recommend the use of the Windows File Manager for these tasks, and would NOT overwrite a file of the same name but with a later date. Windows Write, Windows Notepad, the File Manager and the PIF Editor must be in a directory in your DOS path for Draggin' Viewer to function properly. One additional support file is required to use Draggin' Viewer 2.20S: VBRUN300.DLL, the runtime module for Visual Basic 3.0. If you run any other Visual Basic 3.0 programs, you have this file, probably in your \WINDOWS or \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. Otherwise, VBRUN300.DLL is available from the same BBS, on-line system or software distributor where you obtained DRAGGN.ZIP. To execute Draggin' Viewer, add its icon to a Program Manager Program Group, or click on DRAGGIN.EXE in File Manager. If you use Draggin' Viewer to launch a drag & drop server, you might want to change the Draggin' Viewer icon to the server icon in the Program Manager group. Do this by clicking "Change Icon..." from the Program Manager Properties box, and specifying the file name of the server in the "File Name" input box. Then choose your favorite server icon! NOTES ABOUT THIS VERSION ------------------------ 1. The ability to open all registered and associated Windows applications is the major enhancement of Version 2.x of Draggin' Viewer. The performance of this feature depends on your applications and their programmers. "Proper" Windows 3.1 apps will register themselves in the Registration Database, along with instructions for Windows on how to start the application and load files. For instance, when multiple .SAM or .XLS files are dragged onto the DV icon, Version 3.0 of Ami Pro and Version 4.0 of Excel know how to load the files as child windows, even if they are already active. However, Halo Desktop Imager (a drag & drop client like DV, by the way) will load only the first file, then pop up a dialog box telling you the application is already loaded. If your programs allow multiple allow multiple copies (instances, really) of themselves to run, like Notepad, Write, PaintBrush and Sound Recorder, then DV will start as many copies of the programs as files dropped. If you don't like the way DV works with a particular applications' files, we would encourage you to contact the publisher of that app, asking them to conform to Windows standards more closely. The apparent difference is the DDE support in the application. It is impossible for VB Expressions to a anticipate all the behaviors of your apps. However, we think you will pleased with the behavior of DV with most Windows applications. 2. We believe this version of Draggin' Viewer to have significant advantages over its competition. This program support all files you have associated in File Manager or registered in the Windows Registration Database. You NEVER have to upgrade Draggin' Viewer if you upgrade your applications. When you use Draggin' Viewer, you are ready to edit the files you wanted to view. 3. Draggin' Viewer is a drag & drop client. The Microsoft File Manager is the most available drag & drop server. Draggin' Viewer gives you the option to start it or any drag & drop server along with the Draggin' Viewer application. By default, Draggin' Viewer will start the Microsoft File Manager. To select another server, click on the Draggin' Viewer System Menu, then click on "Select &D+D Server". A dialog box will allow you to select any executable as your server. We leave it to the user to choose an appropriate application! (This option can be used to launch another file other than a drag & drop server of course - we leave the possibilities to your imagination!) Draggin' Viewer defaults to start up the server; to change this option, uncheck the "Start D+D Server" option in the Draggin' Viewer System Menu. Draggin' Viewer will store the last setting of "Start D+D Server", when closed normally, in the file DRAGGIN.INI and restore the setting when restarted. "Closed normally" means shutting down either Draggin' Viewer or Windows itself before turning off the power. Turning off your computer before exiting Windows is bad computer hygiene! 4. Draggin' Viewer can be set to close down with the drag & drop server selected in 3.) above. It defaults to close down; to change, uncheck the "Quit With Server" option in the Draggin' Viewer System menu. This option will function whether the server was started with Draggin' Viewer or not, but only if the server is running BEFORE Draggin' Viewer is started. 5. Draggin' Viewer initially defaults to "Always On Top" mode. This keeps it visible when another window covers it. If you are annoyed by holes in your maximized documents, toggle "Always On Top" off by clicking the System Menu option. Draggin' Viewer will also store the last setting of "Always On Top" in the file DRAGGIN.INI, and restore it on start-up. 6. Close Draggin' Viewer by clicking on "Close" from the System Menu. 7. Help can be obtained by selecting "Help..." from the System Menu. 8. Adding PIF Editor launching to Draggin' Viewer "corrects" a Windows problem: clicking on a .PIF file will launch the DOS program the .PIF file describes, rather than the PIF Editor. With Draggin' Viewer's ability to launch .BAT files for editing, one can edit both the .PIF and the .BAT files needed to control non-Windows programs. 9. Users of the version 1.00S of Draggin' Viewer have a file named SYSMENU.DLL in their \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. You may delete this file IF and ONLY IF Draggin' Viewer is the only program you have that uses it (which is likely.) SUBEZ.VBX performs the function previously provided by SYSMENU.DLL. 10. The Windows libraries that DV warns about before opening are files with extensions: .DLL, .DRV, .VXD, .FON, .CPL, .386, .FOT, .TTF, .GRP, .VBX, .2GR, .3GR, .ACM, .OCX, .FLT, .CNV and .SCR. Note that this last is for Windows screen-savers - certain applications may use this extension for SCRipt files, which will PROBABLY open as proper text files. NOTICE ------ Draggin' Viewer is NOT Public Domain or Freeware. Please REGISTER Draggin' Viewer if you use it beyond a fifteen day trial period. Send your (modest) $5 registration fee to: VB Expressions 64 Burning Brush Drive Rochester, NY 14606-4642. Kindly include the Version number and the source where you got Draggin' Viewer. Registrants of Version 1.00S, 1.10S, 1.20S, 1.20SE or 2.00S, 2.05S, 2.06S or 2.10S need not re-register; your support is greatly appreciated! You can also look for other VB Expressions utilities: additional Desktop Assistants (like Draggin' Viewer) include Printer's Daemon, a drag-and-drop file printing utility, and Trash Free-K!, a drag-and-drop file deletion utility. Smartclp is a Windows Clipboard enhancer, PM Fonts allows you to change your Program Manager fonts from the Microsoft default to any installed screen font and PM Group Sorter allows you to choose the order of your Program Manager Groups. Finally, the DOS/Unix Text Translator lets you translate between these two popular computing environments. Good stuff (if we may say so ourselves!) We'd be interested in your comments or suggestions on Draggin' Viewer. You can reach us by Email on CompuServe, ID 73457,3603 or AmericaOnline, ScreenName PMChefalo. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Draggin' Viewer - Copyright 1992,1993,1994 by P.M. Chefalo Revision History ---------------- Version 1.00S - First Shareware Version Version 1.10S - Added .PIF file launching of PIF Editor. Updated to Visual Basic 2.0. Moved "Help..." to system menu. Corrected "bad behavior" when Draggin' Viewer caption was clicked, or when Draggin' Viewer was switched to by Task Manager. Added .INI file capability to restore last "Always On Top" setting. Added Win 3.0 detection and error message. Switched to SUBEZ.VBX for system menu support. Version 1.20S - Added File Manager launching capability. Changed Notepad/ Write select point to 48500 bytes, due to further experience. Version 1.20SE - Special Edition of Draggin' Viewer created especially for the WinOnLine Review, Shareware Edition. DV was Wolly's Choice! The normal DV icon was replaced (most of the time) by a WOLR icon. Version 2.00S - Upgraded to Visual Basic 3.0. Added ability to launch programs other than Notepad, Write and PIF Editor. Added checking for library or non-ASCII files. Version 2.05S - Corrected flaws on opening files associated with Notepad, in detection of size and non-Ascii characters, and Windows libraries with non-File Manager drag & drop servers. Version 2.06S - Added .ACM files (audio compression) to Windows library files. Version 2.10S - Added the ability to select any drag & drop server to start with Draggin' Viewer. "Nailed down" the DV icon, to improve compatibility with advanced Windows shells. Version 2.20S - Added capability to quit with selected drag & drop server. Added .OCX files (OLE Custom Control) and .FLT and .CNV files (MS conversion libraries) to Windows library files.