IconDar 2.0

"The Real Calendar..."

Arti Software Smt.

What Is IconDar?

How Do I Use It?

Why And When Should I Register?

Startup

Controlling Main Calendar Areas

Looking At Other Months

Changing Fonts And Colors

Making Icondar Stay

Making IconDar Borderless


What Is IconDar?

If you are tired of double clicks.

If you want to sit back and relax.

If you want to look at your screen and enjoy it -

Then IconDar 2 is for you. It brings exclusive artwork to your desktop, like the best wall calendars. And yet it combines all the benefits you know your computer can give you - self expression, creativity, and ever-changing designs.

IconDar is what you always wanted your computer calendar to be - it presents a beatiful new picture with every new month, and still let you to set its size, shape and colors.

Among many other things, it offers:

•	Beautiful images, specially designed for IconDar by the European art designer - Matit.

•	Resizing is only limited by your screen size - from a size of an icon (hence the name IconDar) to a full-screen calendar. Because it can be so small, you can let it stay on your desktop, letting you see the current month with one glance. No more need for double (triple, quadruple etc...) clicks.

•	The ability to show your own images, self-created or scanned. You can have your own artwork, pictures of your loved ones, captured images from the Internet - all presented in in your calendar.

•	You can change the fonts and colors of all the "time entities" in IconDar, adding your personal esthetic touch to your calendar.

•	IconDar can show a clock, a month name, it can be set to "always on top" and can be auto-started with Windows in just one mouse click.

In addition, IconDar 2.0 is distributed with an additional 12-month image set (subject: "Water"), available to registered users.


How Do I Use It?

In the ditribution kit you will find a utility named INSTALL.EXE. Run it - and it will do the rest. It will install IconDar, and then run it for the first time. You can now resize it, change its position (as you resize and position any regular window), and then click on "Install for Win startup" to make it start along with Windows.

If you dont want it to start with Windows, just run IconDar.exe whenever you like. It will go up to the same size, to the same position and colors as you left it. It's as simple as that.

IconDar starts with a default set of colors and fonts, and with the Matit's set of months pictures. You can always change IconDars fonts, change its colors and even change its images. To learn how to do all these and more, please read the coming sections...


Why And When Should I Register?

You should register if you like our product and decided it should stay on your desktop. Our motivation is to create beautiful, artistic software, so life in front of the computer will be a little more (or even more...) enjoyable. Our method of distributing this software is by making it a shareware, reaching more people all over the globe. Using this method, we count on your cooperation, and we are sure you do not want any unregistered art hanging on your screen.

IconDar 2.x costs $24. You should register it if you are using it more than 21 days.

The easiest way to register is via e-mail. All you need to do is to fill the attached file, ORDER.TXT, with your credit card details, and send it to:

Compuserve: 100274,2607 or

Internet: 100274.2607@compuserve.com

Within a few days you will receive back a user number, which will give you:

•	The ability to add to IconDar the additional pictures series (Subject: "Water") with no additional cost.

•	The introduction window will disappear. You probably know IconDar by now, so it will appear a bit faster.

•	The "(Unregistered)" text on the months' pictures will disappear.

•	You will be entitled for 2 years of free technical support, reduced prices in our future products, and notices upon releases of new pictures selections.

If you don't have a major credit card, you can always send a check, money order or cash for the amount indicated to:

    Arti Software

    P.O. Box 23730

    TEL AVIV 61231

    ISRAEL


Startup:

After you have double-clicked on the "INSTALL.EXE" utility distributed with IconDar, it has copied all necessary files to your selected directory and then loaded IconDar. This was all so expected... When IconDar run, you can see the introduction and logo window, displaying for 4 seconds, and then arrives IconDar in all its glory. Note, that for registered users, the introduction window is not displayed, for your convenience.

There are 3 areas in IconDar's window:

- The upper area is the image dedicated for this month.

- The main, middle area is where you can see the days of the month.

- In the bottom bar you can see a clock or the month name.

If you'll click on the system-menu box in the upper left corner (or press Alt-Space) a menu with several items will be displayed. Some of the items are new, some are the usual system-menu items.


Controlling Main Calendar Areas:

...Is very simple. If you don't want to see the picture any more, uncheck the item "Picture" in the system menu, and vice versa. If you want to change what you see in the bottom bar, click on the "Options..." menu item and then choose Clock, Month or No Bar from the the left set of radio buttons.


Looking at other months:

...Can't be easier. You may browse by using the arrow keys, or the PgUp/PgDn. Once started to browse, the bottom bar display will show the name of the month and the current year. Once you stop browsing, it will return to the original month in 30 seconds,.


Changing fonts and colors:

Click on the "Options..." item from the system menu. A dialog box will pop up, allowing you to change the following entities:

  - "Days" - all the days of the month, except from the current day.

  - "Current Day" - change the font and color of the current day.

  - "Title Days" - change the font and color of the "M T W T F S" title - the days except Sunday.

  - "Title Sunday" - change the the font and color of the "S" (for Sunday) in the title of the calendar.

  - "Background" - change the color of the background.


Making IconDar stay:

In the Options dialog box, check the "Always On Top" check box . IconDar will stay on top of the rest of your windows.

Making IconDar Borderless:

In the Options dialog box, check the "No Border" check box. Or, you can just double click on any part of IconDar's window. The thick frame, allowing you to size the window, will disappear. If you want to bring it back (for example, if you want to move the window), double click again.

This option is available for you, so you can make IconDar even smaller than the minimal window size.


If you'll take a look at the directory where IconDar is installed, you'll see there a set of BMP files with the names of the months. This indicates how IconDar works: it looks in the current directory for a file with the same name of the current month. So, if you want your picture, self created or scanned,  to be seen at a certain month (at your birthday, perhaps ?) - just save it as a BMP file with the name of that month (please save September images as SEPTEMBE.BMP).

 When that month arrives, or when you'll browse to that month, you will see the picture on the upper pane.

Pay attention to the height-to-width ratio of the image. The default in IconDar is 0.6, so for best result, save your images as such.

If you want to add a new set of images, to be seen on a year different than the current year, just create a new directory, under IconDar's directory, named as that year. Then, put your images there. They will appear once that year arrives, or when you'll browse over to it.

For example, if you have installed IconDar at C:\IconDar2.0, and you want your pictures to be seen in 1997, create a directory called C:\IconDar2.0\1997:

C:\IconDar2.0\

1997\

and put there all your bitmaps, with appropriate names as described above.

If you have a set of images you want to distribute, feel free. Convert them to BMP format, name them after the months and compress 'em down in one file. If you want to make money out of your artwork, send us a note. We provide a program to display 12 images (ADDONDAR.EXE), and making them available upon payment.

Tips For Advanced Users:

To change the size of the image part in IconDar (for example, to display narrower images), add the item Picture_Part to ICONDAR.INI, under the section [IconDar]. You can now set Picture_Part in the range 0.1-0.6, and this reflect the percentage the image takes from the total window size of IconDar.

For example:

[IconDar]

...

Picture_Part = 0.55

Another option you may change is the height-to-width ratio of the image. The default is 0.6, but you can reset it by adding the entry Picture_H2W_Ratio to ICONDAR.INI.

For example:

[IconDar]

...

Picture_H2W_Ratio = 0.55


Order.txt

(Select the Edit menu, Copy item, to copy this text into your e-mail system)

-----------------------------------------------------------

                        IconDar

-----------------------------------------------------------

REGISTRATION FORM

Please e-mail this form with your credit card details to:

Internet: 100274.2607@compuserve.com

        -or-

Compuserve: 100274,2607

Or print and return this form with your payment by cash,

check or money order for the amount indicated below to:

    Arti Software

    P.O. Box 23730

    TEL AVIV 61231

    ISRAEL

You will be registered and receive your own license number, by fax or e-mail or mail.

You will also be entitled to technical support for 2 years, by fax, e-mail or phone.

    Amount                      Registration Fee:

    ----------------------------------------------

    [   ] IconDar2.0                 $24.00

    Total $_______

    Name ________________________________________________

    Company (if applicable) _____________________________

    [ ] Charge my credit card account $__________________

        [ ] MasterCard            [ ] Visa

        [ ] Eurocard              [ ] AMEX

        Account Number ___________________________________

        Expiration Date __________________________________

        Signature (if printed) ___________________________

    [ ] I enclose my check for $__________________________

        Address _____________________________________________

        City __________________________________ State _______

        Zip _________ Phone ______________ Fax ______________

    [ ] Yes, I want to receive notices about new

        selections of add-on pictures.

    E-Mail Address ______________________________________

    PC/CPU/Speed ________________________________________

    Display?  [ ]VGA  [ ]SVGA [ ] Other: ________________

    Where Obtained? _____________________________________

    Suggestions/Comments ________________________________

    _____________________________________________________