About Profile
Profile 1.0 for Windows

Profile for Windows is shareware.  That means that after a 30-day trial period, you should register it.  This program is not crippled in any way, so you are on the honor system.  To register, open the file register.txt in a text editor, and either print it out or e-mail it.  The price for registration is $5 per copy.  Site licensing details are in register.txt, or you can discuss it via e-mail.  The author can be reached as follows:

Postal mail:	Tao Yue

8 Lynnwood Road

Edison, NJ 08820

e-mail:	taoyue@juno.com

Introduction

Each Windows 3.x program generally keeps its own configuration file, with a name similar to winfile.ini.

Profile effectively allows the user to keep multiple configurations for a program.  Most other multiple-configuration programs work at boot time, but often you want to change configurations without booting.

You keep several .INI files, each with a different configuration for the program (e.g. prog1.ini, prog2.ini, joe_prog.ini).  Profile asks the user which configuration to use.

It copies that file (eg. joe_prog.ini) onto the program's .INI file (e.g. winfile.ini).    Then it starts the program, which will read its own file (winfile.ini), which is now identical to the configuration you selected (joe_prog.ini).

Usage

To get detailed step-by-step instructions for using Profile, open the file usage.txt in a text editor.

Technical Notes

Profile is mostly for power users.  It does not include a configuration utility that monitors changes in programs, because often trivial changes, such as the last open file, are saved.  When you make a change in a program's settings, you must manually copy that file into a separate configuration file.

This approach allows Profile to handle many programs.  Whereas some other multiple-configuration programs only work for the Operating System (e.g. MS-DOS, Windows, Linux), or only for one program (e.g. Eudora Light, Pegasus Mail), Profile works for all programs that use one (1) .INI file.

Because Windows NT and Windows 95 (4.0) programs store their configurations in the System Registry, Profile 1.0 will not handle them.  However, Windows 3.1 and Win32s programs running under Windows 95 can be handled by Profile.

Confused?  You are welcome to ask the author via e-mail or postal mail.  I will soon have an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) up.

Future Plans

Plans for Profile Version 2.0 include operability for 32-bit Windows programs, and the ability to automatically monitor changes in configuration files and to update them when necessary.  Also in the works is a prettier interface - 3D using CTL3DV2.DLL.

I would appreciate any feedback you may have about the program, or any bug reports.

MS-DOS, Windows, Windows 95, and Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.