EasyRun© Version 1.1 Release 1 CopyRight© 1995 by John M. Merrill 17490 Meandering Way Unit 907 Dallas, Texas 75252 Internet Email: merrijm@RT66.com Compuserve: 103221, 326 MSN: merrijm Please see license.txt for licensing information and disclaimer before using EasyRun. What is it? EasyRun is a minimal filelauncher/buttonbar. It is designed to be small, quick, and unobtrusive to desktop real estate. EasyRun supplies 27 configurable buttons and a run box with browsing abilities and a 10 item run history. EasyRun also supplies time and date as well as percent system free resources. **** Screen dump of EasyRun****** (See Note on Readme.Zip below) Contents of this file: 1. Installation 2. Configuration 3. Features and Usage 4. Keyboard Shortcuts 5. Registration, Future Versions, and Distribution 6. Acknowledgments 1. Installation The EasyRun package should come with the following files --EasyRun.EXE --Threed.VBX --CMDialog.VBX --MSGBlast.VBX --COMMDLG.DLL --Readme.TXT --Readme.WRI --Readme.Zip* --License.TXT --Orderfrm.TXT --History.TXT *Note: Readme.Zip contains "EasyRun.Wri". This file, unlike Readme.Wri, contains the screen captured bitmaps of EasyRun's various screens which can be referred to when reading this file. Otherwise, both files are identical. Both files are in Windows Write format. If you would like the file with the screen captures to come up when you press the "View Readme.WRI" button on the "About EasyRun" dialog instead of this file, after unzipping "Readme.Zip", rename the file "EasyRun.Wri" to "Readme.Wri". ***EasyRun also requires the file vbrun300.dll. Vbrun300.dll is a common file used by many software products; it is likely already on your system. To save download time, vbrun300.dll is not included in EasyRun1.zip when you download it. If vbrun300.dll does not exist in your Windows system directory, you will need to put it there. For those who received EasyRun on disk, simply copy the file to the Windows system directory (if the vbrun300.dll is already there, check the dates of each and keep the latest one). For those who downloaded EasyRun, if you do not have vbrun300.dll in your Windows system directory, you should be able to obtain the file online. If you have trouble finding vbrun300.dll, contact the author. -To install EasyRun, copy EasyRun, Readme.WRI, License.TXT, History.TXT, Readme.TXT and Orderfrm.TXT into a directory of their own or a directory of your choice (For help on creating a directory, consult your Windows documentation). --Threed.VBX, CMDialog.VBX, MSGBlast.VBX, and COMMDLG.DLL should be copied into your Windows system directory. Before copying these files, check the Windows system directory and the Windows directory to see if they already exist there. If so, compare the date of the files included with EasyRun to the date of the files existing in your Windows system directory or Windows Directory. The most recent version of each file is the one that you should have in your Windows System directory. -The first time you execute EasyRun, it will create an EasyRun.ini file in the directory which EasyRun.EXE resides. In addition, btninfX.res (where X indicates the button number) files will be added to the same directory for each button you configure (a total of 27 files if all buttons are configured, the 27 files will total approximately 27kb on your hardrive). *******Configure buttons screen dump******** 2. Configuration (please refer to the screen captures of EasyRun's forms to identify objects) Button Configuration Configuration of the buttons is as simple as right clicking them. When you right click a button you will get the "Configure EasyRun's Buttons" screen. This screen allows you to enter a path and a file name, as well as a name/tip (which will appear in the Tips panel), or you can use the "Browse" button to browse through your disk(s) for a file or program to add to the current button. If you type in the path and file name, be sure to click the box titled "Current Icon", to make sure the icon for the chosen file is extracted. If no icon exists for the file you have chosen, you will get a message indicating such. You can use the "Choose Another Icon" button to add an icon from another icon file (icons supplied with Windows are in the Progman.exe file and the moricons.dll file). If the file you have chosen for the icon (either the file given in the path or the file you have chosen using the "Choose Another Icon?" button) contains more than one icon, you can browse through the icons available using the "Next", "Previous", and "First" buttons. Note: If you choose an icon from another file, that file does not have to be available to EasyRun once the "Save" button has been clicked. The image has been extracted from the original resource and saved in one of the btninfX.res files. When you first run EasyRun, the first set of nine buttons will be visible. To configure the second and third set of buttons, click the "Button Set Toggle" button. This button will have a number on it indicating the current visible button set. You can now configure the subsequent sets of buttons. Buttons can also be configured by dragging a file from the FileManager/Explorer to the button you wish to configure. To do this you will need to first double click somewhere on the Tips panel frame. The Tips panel frame will turn red and the Tip caption will say "Drag to configure enabled". After you finish dragging and dropping to configure, double click on the Tips panel frame again. The Tips panel frame will go back to its gray color and the Tips caption will read "Drag to configure disabled". If the dragged file has an icon it will be used, if the file has multiple icons, the first one will be used. If the file does not have an icon, the button will be given the default icon (EasyRun's icon). The name/tip (appearing in the Tips panel) will be the file name of the dragged file. The name/tip and icon can be changed by right clicking on the button. To save this information and finish configuring the button, click the "Save" button. If you want to clear a button (Remove all configuration from the button including the btninfX.res file) click the "Clear Current Button" button. This will remove all configuration for the button you have right clicked. *******screen dump of options******** Options Options of how EasyRun reacts to user actions can be configured using the "EasyRun Program Options" dialog. To bring up this dialog click the "Options" button on EasyRun's main screen. Refer to the screen capture of the "EasyRun Program Options" dialog above. From this dialog, you can set EasyRun to do the following: -float EasyRun on Top To do this, simply check the check box next to the "Always on Top?" label. -start up EasyRun in anyone of the three size modes The above screen captures show what each size mode looks like. To have EasyRun start in one of these modes, click the option box for the mode you want. ******screen dump of size modes -return EasyRun to the size mode of your choice after running your program If you want EasyRun to return to the small or tiny mode after running your program, choose the check box for "Return to Tiny?" or "Return to Small?". Click the "checked" check box to have EasyRun revert back to Normal. -minimize (traditional minimize) EasyRun when the "Size" button is right clicked To have EasyRun minimize in the traditional way as opposed to resizing EasyRun to "Tiny" mode when the "Size" button is right clicked, click the "Minimize when "Tiny" Button Pressed?" check box. If either option in the "Size After Execution" section of the Options dialog is checked, then EasyRun will minimize after execution. -make EasyRun the shell or return the former shell in place of EasyRun To make EasyRun the shell, click the "Make EasyRun the Shell?" check box. This changes the shell line in your system.ini to point to EasyRun.EXE. It will add an "OldShell=" line to your System.ini and set it equal to your previous shell. If you uncheck the "Make EasyRun the Shell?" check box, the "Shell=" line will be set equal to the "OldShell=" value, thus making your previous shell active again. If you make EasyRun the shell by editing the System.ini yourself, then you must also edit the EasyRun.ini, adding (or changing) "AsShell=True" to the Options section. Otherwise, Easyrun will not exit Windows properly and will not execute the load and run lines in the Win.ini. As the shell, EasyRun will run the programs listed in the Win.ini load and run lines, but will not currently run the programs in the startup group of the program manager. EasyRun will work as the Win95 Shell, but has not been thoroughly tested as such. In addition, EasyRun will not execute the files contained in the startup directory if used as the Win95 shell (but will execute the load and run lines in the Win.ini). 3. Features and Usage EasyRun usage is simple and straight forward. After configuration, the nine user buttons are ready to use. Using the Run box Any valid path and file name can be typed into the run box and executed by clicking the "OK" button or by pressing the "Enter" key. In addition, any file name which is in the autoexec.bat defined path can be typed in the run box without the full path. For example, typing "progman" in the run box and clicking "OK" will run the program manager (or restore it and/or bring it to the top if it is already running) whose file name and path are "c:\windows\progman.exe" for a system in which the Windows directory resides on the c:\ drive. The run box keeps a history of the last 10 valid entries executed from it. Clicking in the run box should drop down a list of these entries (unless the run box already has the focus, in which case you will have to click the "down arrow" to the right of the run box to drop down the list of entries). After the list box has dropped down, clicking an entry will execute that entry. If you don't know the path to an application or file you wish to run, you can click on the "Browse" button (to the right of the "down arrow" for the run box"). This will bring up a dialog box allowing you to browse your available drives and directories to find the file you want. When you have picked a file and clicked "OK" on the "Browse" screen, the file name and path will appear in the run box. Clicking the "OK" button will run the file. You can also add a file name and path to the run box by dragging the file you want from the filemanager/explorer and dropping it on the run box. The file name and path should appear in the run box. You can execute the file by clicking the "OK" button. Sizing EasyRun EasyRun has three different size modes as shown in the screen captures above; they are "Normal", "Small", and "Tiny". To toggle EasyRun between "Small" mode and "Normal" mode, left click the "Size" button. To toggle EasyRun between "Tiny" mode and "Small" mode, right click the "Size" button. To toggle EasyRun between "Tiny" mode and "Normal" mode, alternate left and right clicks on the "Size" button. Moving EasyRun You can move EasyRun by clicking and holding down the left mouse button on any part of the background screen of EasyRun while moving the mouse. There is a small area just below the "Size" button when EasyRun is in "Normal" or "Small" mode specifically left for moving EasyRun. EasyRun will remember where you left it when you close it or exit Windows and will startup at that position when next executed. Exiting EasyRun Right clicking the "OK" button will exit EasyRun. If EasyRun is the shell then: -right clicking the "OK" button will exit windows -right clicking the "OK" button while holding down the shift key will restart Windows -right clicking the "OK" button while holding down the control key will reboot the system Other Features -Clicking on the Clock panel will toggle it between the time and the date. -Clicking on the "System Free Resources" panel will cause it to refresh -Right clicking on the "Browse" button will bring up the file manager -Right clicking the "Options" button will bring up the program manager -Double clicking the "System Free Resources" panel brings up the notepad -Double clicking the "Tips" panel brings up the Windows control panel 4. Keyboard Shortcuts -PageUp resizes EasyRun into "Small" mode -PageDown resizes EasyRun into "Normal" mode -Home resizes EasyRun into "Tiny" mode -Alt-F4 -Exits EasyRun if it is not the shell -Exits Windows if it is the shell -End toggles between the three sets of buttons -Alt-Home returns EasyRun to the upper left corner of the screen (in case it gets lost)* *Note: Occasionally, EasyRun may be lost off the screen. This is due to resolution switching or may occur when one of the options under "Size After Execution" (on the Options dialog) is checked. When EasyRun is set to "Return to Tiny ?" and the upper left corner of EasyRun is off the screen, clicking one of the user buttons will cause EasyRun to return to tiny mode after executing the assigned program. This may cause EasyRun to be completely off the screen. In order to get EasyRun back on the screen you must give EasyRun the focus (by using the taskmanager or using "alt-Tab" to Tab through the running programs) and use the "alt-Home" key sequence. This will bring EasyRun to the upper left corner of the screen. You can now reposition EasyRun; exiting EasyRun will save it's present position for the next time it is executed. Alternatively, you can edit the EasyRun.ini file which resides in the same directory as EasyRun.exe, deleting or changing the values in the section [WhereAmI]. You must first exit EasyRun if you choose to change positioning by editing the EasyRun.ini file. *******About screen dump******** 5. Registration, Future Versions, and Distribution EasyRun is ShareWare and requires registration if you continue to use it. Please see license.TXT for licensing information. This file can be viewed by clicking the "License" button on the "About EasyRun" screen. To order EasyRun, use the "Order Form" button on the "About EasyRun" screen. Fill in this form and print it out (if you want to save the filled out form, you will have to save it under another name, the order form will be opened with its' read only attribute set). Mail it to the provided address with your check or money order. You will be provided a registration code through your choice of communications (email is preferred). Once you have the registration code, use the "Register" button on the "About EasyRun" screen to input the code. If registration is not successful, contact the author. If there is significant interest in EasyRun (mostly in the form of registered users): -I will continue to try to improve EasyRun (while still maintaining a minimalist approach) with my own and users suggestions. -I will port the code to 32-bit and provide a version which takes advantage of Win95 -I will provide an easier method of payment, such as Compuserve or direct credit card If there is not significant interest, I will still provide any bug fixes and minor feature changes/additions as well as technical support, to registered users. EasyRun updates will be made available at the following sites if possible: Cica ----- ftp.winsite.com MSN Compuserve Others Questions, comments and criticisms are welcomed, flames are not. You can contact the author through any of the routes listed at the beginning of this document. 6. Acknowledgments: Thanks to Gordon Masten and Mike Merrill for their time and effort (and suffering) in beta testing EasyRun.