ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º Savers 10 Version 4.1 º± º Shareware Version Program Documentation º± º Copyright (c) 1995 Robert Manning, Author. º± ÇÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĶ± º º± º This file contains summary documentation for Savers 10 v4.1; it is º± º not the full documentation. The complete instruction document is º± º only shipped with the registered version of the program. There are º± º several features reserved for the registered version, please see º± º notes below for details. A registration/purchase form can be found º± º in the file REGISTER.TXT. Complete the form and send your payment º± º to: Robert Manning, PO Box 2011, Lomita, CA 90717. º± º º± º RobertM782 on America Online 76022,1630 on Compuserve º± º º± º Come visit South Bay Computer Assistance on the WWW! Point your º± º browser to: http://users.aol.com/robertm782/private/sbcapage.htm º± º º± º If using Internet Email, please address RobertM782@AOL.COM º± ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ± ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º What is ShareWare? º± º º± º ShareWare is a method of distribution, not a type of program. The º± º programs are created and distributed by this means to save on the º± º high cost of marketing, packaging, and physically distributing the º± º software. Most ShareWare programs are of the same high quality that º± º you can expect to find on your local computer stores' shelves (and º± º in many cases are superior). º± º º± º ShareWare is commercial software that you can try before you buy. º± º It is not free software. After a reasonable period of time, which º± º allows you to 'test drive' the program, you are expected to buy the º± º program from the author (commonly called Registering the program). º± º Should you decide the program is not for you, just delete it from º± º your system. º± º º± º Purchasing ShareWare programs entitles the user to support, and a º± º number of other features not found in the unregistered version, in º± º most cases. This is true for Savers 10 V4.1. Your purchase of this º± º program will grant you a number of substantial benefits. Please see º± º the documentation to follow for all details on the benefits of º± º registration. º± º º± º Robert J. Manning, Author South Bay Computer Assistance º± ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ± ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ Introduction and Description ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ Thank you for your interest in Savers 10 Version 4.1! Savers 10 is a DOS Screen Show / Saver program. It serves two main purposes: To entertain, and to help prevent monitor burn-in. Monitor burn-in starts to occur when your system is inactive for a prolonged period of time, and the same display is left on your monitor. Over a period of time, the display that is left on your screen will actually cause a deterioration of the pixels in your monitor, leaving the shadow of the display present, even if the monitor is turned off! Savers 10 not only serves the utilitarian purpose of preventing monitor burn-in, it is a form of entertainment as well! You can display your favorite PCX graphic images with the Slide Show, leave someone a message with Screen Message, or display the current time, with a starfield sim- ulation in the background! Each of the shows can be changed or config- ured in a variety of ways; There are more than just 10 screen shows! There are many different ways to change the basic display in each show. Savers 10 V4.1 can be run in DOS as well as under Windows. Please see the section to follow for installing a program item for Savers 10, if you wish to use it in Windows. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ What's New in Savers 10 V4.1 ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ The main improvement in version 4.1 over version 4.0 is the ability to run most shows without the minimum of 512kB video ram. The Doodle show will not run in less than 512kB. Various other minor improvements and additions have been made. The program will now default to 320x200x256 color standard VGA mode if less than 512kB video ram is found. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ System Requirements to operate Savers 10 V4.1 ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ * 80386 or better IBM PC/Compatible. * DOS 3.0 or higher. * VESA compliant VGA video card (VESA TSR may be needed). * 512kB video memory recommended, 64kB minimum; 600kB+ RAM memory. * 100% MicroSoft compatible mouse, for the Doodle show, and optionally for menu command selections with a mouse. * Sound Blaster for music in Serenade show. In many cases, as long as your video card is VESA compliant, you do not need to load a VESA TSR video driver. However, some video cards require such a driver to run Savers 10 V4.1, and you should also load it if you plan on running the program from within Windows. If the program runs, but does so extremely slowly, then you must load a VESA bios TSR to use it. This will eliminate the slow response. There are some cases where Savers 10 V4.1 may not seem to run on a VESA compliant video card. You should check both the utilities disk that came with your video card, as well as with the store it was purchased from, and the manufacturer. These drivers may also be found on the major networks, such as America Online and CompuServe. Known cards/systems that Savers 10 V4.1 will not operate with: 1) Diamond Stealth 64 DRAM VLB video card, with 2M video RAM installed, S3 (Integrated) DAC on board 2) Compaq LTE 386sx/20 Notebook (possibly insufficient video RAM). *************************** --------------------------- BEFORE RUNNING THE PROGRAM: --------------------------- *************************** Please do several things before you try Savers 10 for the first time: 1) Run SETUP.EXE, to properly create the SOUND.CFG file. 2) Run SX4TEST.EXE, to make sure that your system is capable of handling the minimum requirements to run the program. 3) If you run from within Windows, please install a VESA TSR before starting the program, and before starting Windows. Edit the enclosed windows .PIF file, and add the proper command line and working directory, as you have installed the program. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ Savers 10 V4.1 Registration and Benefits ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ Registering your copy of Savers 10 V4.1 (ie, legally purchasing it) will grant you with a number of substantial benefits: -You will be sent an enhanced version of the program. The enhancements are detailed below. If desired, the logo can also be changed to display your name, company or business name. -You'll receive copies of all of the previous versions of Savers 10 (three additional programs), including the source code for the first version, all registered to you. -Full support for all the programs, via Email (America Online, Compu- Serve, and Delphi), by post mail, or phone. -Discounts (50%) on future versions of the program. The following features will be enhanced in the Registered Version: -The PCX slide show will display up to 150 images instead of 5, and search the current directory *or* the PATH for image files. -Passwords can be changed to any eight characters. -More than four times the number of image frames for Night & Day. -Program included to add your own planet images to the Time and Space show (requires a paint program, not included), as well as image patterns for other shows, including Menagerie and Serenade. -Full set of music files for use in Serenade (48), including many popular Christmas tunes. -Image file conversion (if needed) for IBM PC Compatibles, offer good for limited time after purchase. You can find the registration form for Savers 10 V4.1 in the file REGISTER.TXT. To print this form, make sure your printer is on, and enter this command in DOS: TYPE REGISTER.TXT > PRN Complete this form, enclose your check or money order made out to Robert Manning for $20 ($10 if you have registered a previous version of Savers 10), and mail to the author at the following address: Robert Manning, PO Box 2011, Lomita, CA 90717 Your registered programs will be sent via post mail ASAP. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ Starting Savers 10 V4.1, and Command line arguments ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ Before you run Savers 10 V4.1, be sure you have run the program SETUP.EXE to install/change the Sound Blaster configuration, and SX4TEST.EXE to confirm compatibity for running the show. To run Savers 10 V4.1, type SAVERSX4 at the DOS command line, and press Enter. The program supports a command line argument, for starting a show without seeing the main menu screen. The command line arguments are not case sensitive. The usage would be as such: SAVERSX4 showchoice (press Enter) Where 'showchoice' is the highlighted letter from the show name you want to run. If you wanted to start the program in the PCX slide show, for example, the command would be: SAVERSX4 P (press Enter) You may also start the configuration menu by itself, and it also accepts a command line argument for the menu choice. For example, SX4MENUS M (press Enter) Would activate the settings menu for Mirror III. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ PCX Slide Show Images ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ There is a limit of 5 PCX files for the Shareware version of the show, and only images in the same directory will be used. The registered version can display up to 150 images, and search either the current directory or the PATH for files. Additionally, the program is being modified to accept up to 1024x768 images, but this modification will only be added to the registered version. The Slide Show will display your .PCX image files, of up to 640x480 image size. Additionally, the images must use 256 color palettes. The screen mode used to display the image is set automatically, and will be set to the closest matching size. For example, images of 320x200 size or less will be displayed on a 320x200 screen. An image with a size of 300x480 will be displayed using a 640x480 screen. A 400x400 image will use a 640x400 display screen. The aspect ratio is maintained, and the image will be centered as needed on the screen. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ Time and Space - Adding Your Own Planets (*Registered Version*) ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ Savers 10 comes with a utility that will enable you to add to or create your own Planet images, that will be used in this show! A Template file is enclosed (TEMPLATE.PCX) which can be used to create Planet images, or any small image you wish. The image is 33x33 pixels in size, and must use the standard 256 color VGA palette. This utility is not included with the Shareware version. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ Conclusion ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ The author again wishes to thank you for trying this program! It is sincerely hoped that you find it entertaining, and pleasing to the eye. Please feel free to drop me a line with your comments about the program, whether or not you decide to register. Thank you...! Robert Manning, author. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ Credits ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ First and foremost, to my wife Chris ... I thank the powers that be for her patience and understanding during the development of this program. To Borland, for their outstanding C++ compiler/editor, which saw a great deal of use! To Mr. Jeff Orth (OrthWare), for his SVGA256 Borland Graphics library, which was invaluable to the development of this program. To Mr. Jeffrey Fullerton, for his MusicBox Sound Blaster program and music creator. The creators of the Persistence of Vision Raytracer (POVRay), which was used for Night & Days' images. The creator of Daves' TGA Animator, Mr. Dave Mason; also used for Night & Day. To the dedicated crew of volunteer Beta Testers, from CIS's SWBETA forum. To many friends who graciously allowed me to test the programs' operation on their systems. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ History ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ Summer '92 to Summer '93 Various experimental programs written for monochrome, EGA systems, and as utilities in other programs. Many initial experimental programs written; no public distribution. First official version under development. September '93 First public version distributed on America Online, granted to the public domain (Freeware). Contained ten shows, three program settings, written in MicroSoft QuickBasic. Source code still available on AOL. January '94 Began development on version 2. February '94 Version 2 distributed over America Online, as ShareWare. Written in QuickBasic, this version was more of an enhancement to the first version than a new program. Began development of version 3. June '94 Version 3 distributed on America Online. This version was a major overhaul of the program, rewritten in structured style, and over three times the code of previous versions. Enhanced all shows, added settings menus, password protect, various other features to polish the program overall. Development started on version 4. December '94 Released version 3.1 over America Online. ShareWare. During development of version 4, version 3 had a couple bugs that needed to be fixed. Used one palette generator routine from version 4, so show could run without palette files and have more color variety. Fixed minor bug in Mirror that stalled the pattern plots. December '94 Released various version 4 alpha builds on Dave's Hole in the Wall BBS, for test purposes. March '95 Beta testing begun over Compuserves' SWBeta forum. Final polishing of the show. March '95 Release of version 4 of Savers 10 over AOL, CIS, Delphi, various BBS's. Completely recoded in C/C++, first version that is not completely pattern drawing. Major enhancements to the show, added variety of new show types to the program. October '95 Released version 4.1. Main improvement is the removal of the restriction of 512kB video ram to run the show. If less than this amount is found, the show will default to 320x200x256 standard VGA. Doodle will not run in 320x200 mode, though all other shows will, and all shows will operate in 640x400 mode if only 256kB vram found. Several improvements or additions to Doodle, Menagerie, Serenade. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ Trademarks ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ DOS, Windows, QuickBasic, registered trademarks of Microsoft corp. SVGA256 Library, Copyright OrthWare, Mr. Jeff Orth MusicBox, Copyright Mr. Jeffrey Fullerton ÍÍÍÍÍÍ Quotes ÍÍÍÍÍÍ "Will you PLEASE shut that thing off and come to dinner...!" -Chris "Where is the cat...?" -Chris "Behind the monitor..." -Bob "Remind me to put the cover back on next time, before the cat starts nosing around in my system unit..." -Bob "Its' not working again..." -Mel "What command did you use to start it?" -Bob "Guess I forgot how to start it again..." -Mel "Don't worry, the slide show is rated G..." -Bob "What other kind of pictures you got...?" -Mark (Nevermind) "What's a compiler...?" -Chris "So, what else do you write besides screen shows...?" -Rufus "We are having fun NOW!" -Bob "Remind me not to let the cat sit next to the keyboard..." -Bob "If you've read this far, take a break and watch the show!" -Bob :-) "Are you done with that thing yet...?" -Chris ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ (End of document).