Copyright: Visual Help ® 1993-1994 Firas Bushnaq


Contents

Introduction

Welcome to Convert for Windows. Everyday usage of the program should be fairly intuitive and, therefore, you should rarely need to consult this help file. Just in case anything is confusing, however, this file reviews all the program basics and also gives some tips on harnessing Convert's great configurability to adapt the program to your specific needs.

Convert for Windows is a shareware program and registration is required after an evaluation period if you find it useful and wish to continue using it. If you have already registered Convert, thank you. If not, I hope you find it meets your needs.

About the Author

Techie Stuff

Registering Convert for Windows

What's New in Convert 3.0

Product Support

General Procedures

Main Screen Commands and Options

Toolbox Commands and Options

Customizing the data files

Modifying CONVERT.INI

Reference

Index


About the Author

Gordon Haff and Bit Masons produces a wide variety of Shareware and Freeware for PC's.

My DOS-based file management program, Directory Freedom, is perhaps the smallest and fastest program of its type yet one of the most powerful with extensive customization options.  Features such as SmartViewers, a very complete system information screen, and the ability to create archives mean that Directory Freedom has features usually found only in much larger and slower programs. Even many Windows users attach DF to an icon for quick and dirty file management tasks under Windows.

the last word is a DOS-based quotations trivia game which breaks away from the usual multiple-choice answers and, instead, matches the user's answers against a list of acceptable responses with a sophisticated pattern recognition algorithm.  PC Computing called it "a nice break from less thoughtful, shoot-'em-up action games."

In addition to the above Shareware products, Bit Masons has released a wide range of Freeware utilities for both DOS and Windows.

For more information or to order, contact:

Gordon Haff
Bit Masons Consulting
3205 Windsor Ridge Dr.
Westborough MA 01581
(508) 898-3321
CIS: 72561,2637
Internet email: 72561.2637@compuserve.com

Bit Masons now also has a WWW home page from which you can access all my latest software releases, obtain information about known problems and workarounds, checkout the latest hot links and more. The URL is:

http://www.channel1.com/users/ghaff


Techie Stuff

For those of you who are interested in such things, here are the primary software tools used to develop Convert for Windows.

•	Borland C++ 4.5 with OWL 2.0 and BWCC

•	Protoview's Protoview Interface Component Set (PICS)

•	Turbo Power's WinSys Library

•	WinWare's Visual Help

The primary development system was a Gateway 2000 DX2/66 with various and sundry additional hardware running Windows for Workgroups 3.1. The software was also tested on a Gateway 2000 P90.


Registering Convert for Windows

Convert for Windows is a fully functional Shareware product.  Shareware is a computer program distribution and marketing method that permits potential buyers to thoroughly try the program prior to purchase. It is NOT free and it is not in the Public Domain.  If, after evaluating the program, you find it useful enough to use on a regular basis, you are expected to pay for it by registering with the author.

The standard registration fee is $15 for one user. The button on the left in Convert's Toolbox takes you to a form which you can quickly and easily fill out and print to send in with your registration.

In addition to standard registration, attractively-priced site licenses (as low as 2 user and up to unlimited) are available. I can also produce custom versions of Convert which incorporate custom graphics such as a company logo and which use units specific to a particular industry. The charge for this is as for an unlimited site license ($1,500) plus customization charges. This can be a great giveaway for your customers!


Whats New in Convert 3.0
What's New in Convert 3.0

Although much will seem familiar to Convert 2.0 users at first glance, there have actually been significant changes made in Convert 3.0. In fact, Convert 3.0 is a ground-up rewrite. On top of the new feature set, this means that some of the annoying conflicts and problems which users (or attempted users) of earlier revisions have seen should now be gone. Probably the most significant of these is the "Kernel Not Present" error seen by some which was the result of an interaction between a thrid-party library and some system configurations (probably video driver related).

All that aside, however, here are some of the enhancements made in Convert 3.0:

•	Info Window added which displays information about the currently selected unit. This makes Convert into somewhat of an educational tool though the (optionally displayed) information should be interesting to all.

•	Some minor corrections to the UNITS.DAT conversions

•	CATS.DAT is no longer needed or used. The categories information is now parsed directly from the UNITS.DAT file.

•	Various program settings (window position and currently selected category and units) is memorized and stored in the initialization file. This can significantly improve ease-of-use for some purposes.

•	Window position is checked to make sure that the main program window is within the screen borders.

•	Rewritten help file significantly improved


Product Support

Registered Users

Full technical support is available to registered users of Convert for Windows.  I have found that the most effective product support can be delivered through electronic services.  If this option is not open to you, however, I also offer full product support through the mails, or, if the problem absolutely cannot wait, the telephone (no collect calls please).  I will do my best to resolve any software bugs in a timely manner and I am always open to incorporating new features or changes which are appropriate to the nature of the product.

Unregistered Users

I will attempt to respond to software trouble reports made by non-registered users if the problems concern the general functionality of the program.  Such users should not, however, expect product support beyond initial aid in determining whether the program is suitable for their needs.

If You Have a Problem

I ask that, before calling or writing, you take the following steps:

1 	Check this help file and the README.CVT file.  We all sometimes approach a piece of software with preconceived ideas about how it ought to work which may not correspond to how it actually does work.  (Of course, I'm interested in your input if you have this sort of experience.)

2 	If you have access to the World Wide Web, check out my home page. I will be adding known problem lists and workarounds as they become available.

3 	Please make a note of your machine environment including hardware (CPU, video card, mouse, etc.) and software (Windows revision, other active software, video driver, etc.). While this sort of information doesn't always help, it does happen that seemingly unsolvable problems sometimes can get isolated to some common hardware or software thread.

If you follow these steps, it will help me solve your problem in a more efficient and timely manner. For contact information, see:

About the Author


Main Screen

Calculating the Answer

The following steps are followed to calculate a conversion:

•	Select a category

•	Select both To and From units

•	Enter an input value

•	Press one of the following buttons:

The Go Button calculates the answer based upon the currently selected units and input value. Go is the default button for the screen so pressing the <Enter> key will always act as if this button had been pressed.

The Swap Button swaps the selected item in the Units boxes from the left-hand side to the right-hand side and vice versa.  The answer is automatically recalculated.

Edit Commands

The Clear Button blanks input and answer fields.

The Copy Button copies the contents of the answer field to the Windows clipboard.

The Paste Button copies the contents of the Windows clipboard to the input field.

The Copy and Paste Buttons can be combined to either chain calculations within the Convert program or to transfer results from Convert to another program such as a Windows calculator.

Setting the Answer Format

The Main Screen settings box can be used to modify the format of the answer by selecting either decimal or exponential notation and by selecting the number of digits to the right of the decimal point you wish to display.

The answer will automatically be displayed in exponential notation if its magnitude is such that the decimal display would not fit in the available space.

Info Window Button

Pressing this Button will create an Info Window which provides information about the currently selected unit in the left-hand unit selection box.

Additional information about Info Window


Default


Toolbox

Set Units Data File

Use the New File Button to select a new units data file. Normally there would be no reason to change this setting unless you either move the default UNITS.DAT file or create a new alternative data file. The INFO.DAT file (for the Info Window) is assumed to reside in the same directory as the units data file.

The Text Editor Button invokes a built-in text editor to modify the units data file. The editor has standard features such as clipboard support and search and replace. See also

Modifying CONVERT.INI

for information on disabling the edit feature.

Units Info Window

 Enable Check Box.

Checking this box enables the Info Window button on the main screen. Otherwise that button will have no effect.

The Font Button provides a standard Windows Font Change dialog from which you can select a font for use in the Units Info Window.

Register Buttons

The following two buttons show only if you have not registered your copy of Convert for Windows and entered the serial number you receive when you register.

The Register Button takes you to a registration form. This form can be quickly and easily filled out and then printed for your use in registering this program.

Once you register the program, use this button to enter the serial number you receive. All registration reminders (including this button) will be gone the next time you run Convert.


Modifying CONVERT.INI

CONVERT.INI stores settings used by Convert. If Convert cannot find CONVERT.INI in either the same directory used by CONVERT.EXE or in the Windows directory, it will create a new CONVERT.INI file (in the same directory as CONVERT.EXE).

Most settings in CONVERT.INI are maintained by the program itself, on the basis of either user-settable options (e.g. Number of Decimal points) or by reading certain settings on exit (such as the currently selected units and categories).

Only the following two infrequently used settings should need to be changed manually with a text editor if desired:

•	Always Small=

Set to 1 if you always want to use the main window design for 640x480 displays, even if you have a higher screen resolution. The design for higher resolution displays has an arrangement which I think is generally preferable for screen sizes which can accommodate it and will normally be used automatically if the screen resolution is 800x600 or higher. Default is 0 (Automatically match window design to screen resolution).

You may want to use this setting if you use (or are responsible) for multiple PC's with different display resolutions and want an identical interface on all.

•	DisableEdit=

Set to 1 to disable the text editor button in the Toolbox. This will make it more difficult for the casual user to corrupt or otherwise modify the units data file. Default is 0 (Editor enabled).


Customizing Data Files

Convert is supplied with two data files: UNITS.DAT and INFO.DAT. By default, these files are expected to reside in the same directory as CONVERT.EXE although this location can be changed through Toolbox settings.

When modifying these fails, note that any inputs used for matching (for example, categories and units in the INFO.DAT file with categories and units in the UNITS.DAT file) must match EXACTLY including capitalization and spaces.

UNITS Data file

The format of UNITS.DAT is as follows:

cat1,unit1,MultFactor[,AddFactor]
cat1,unit2,MultFactor[,AddFactor]
cat2,unit3,MultFactor[,AddFactor]

where cat1 and cat2 are the names of categories such as length or volume, unit1, unit2, and unit3 are units which correspond to the various categories, and MultFactor and AddFactor and multiplicative and additive conversionfactors (respectively) for each of the entries.  The AddFactor is optional and, if not present in an entry, is assumed to be 0.

Category and unit names can contain spaces and commas but cannot contain vertical lines ( | ).

The following formula is used to calculate the answer:

NumberTo = (NumberFrom + AddFrom) * ConvTo/ConvFrom - AddTo

If you want to create you own data files, the best thing for you to do is probably to look at the existing UNITS.DAT file and puzzle it out (temperature has Add factors).

Any text editor can be used to create the data files.  If you use a word processor, be sure to save the file in ASCII mode.  If you save in your word processor's standard format, you will likely make Convert very unhappy.

You can, of course, also use the internal text editor which can be accessed from the Toolbox.

INFO Data File

The format of INFO.DAT is as follows:

cat1|unit1|InfoText
cat1|unit2|InfoText
cat2|unit3|InfoText

where the categories and units are as above and InfoText is the information about the selected unit which you wish to display in the Info Window.

Text strings (categories, units, and InfoText) can contain spaces and commas but cannot contain vertical line ( | ) characters.

Any text editor can be used to create the data files.  If you use a word processor, be sure to save the file in ASCII mode.  If you save in your word processor's standard format, you will likely make Convert very unhappy.

INFO.DAT cannot be edited internally from within Convert at this time.


Index

A

About the Author

Answer format

B

Bit Masons

C

Clear Button

Contents

CONVERT.INI

Copy Button

Customizing Data Files

D

Data files

E

Edit Buttons

Editor, disabling

Enable Checkbox

F

Fonts Button

G

Go Button

Gordon Haff

I

Index

Info Win

Info Window Button

Info Window, settings

INFO.DATA

M

Main Screen

Main window dialog format

Modifying CONVERT.INI

Modifying data files

N

New file Button

P

Paste Button

Product Support

Product Support

R

Register Button

Registering Convert for Windows

S

Serial Number Button

Set Units Data File

Swap Button

T

Techie Stuff

Technical Support

Technical support

Text Editor Button

Toolbox

U

UNIT.DAT

UNITS.DAT, editing

W

Whats New in Convert 3.0


Info Win
Info Window

The Info Window is an educational new Convert feature introduced in version 3.0. When active, the Info Window displays information about the currently selected unit.

For example, if the category length and the unit Points are selected, you could see the following information in the Info Window:

Points are one of the standard English units of measure used in the Printing industry. A point is 1/72nd of an inch and is the basic unit of typeface design.

Info Window use is completely optional. The Info Window button on the Main Screen can be disabled from the Toolbox. If, as is more likely however, you think this is a great new feature, you can modify the font used in the Info Window display from the Toolbox instead.

The information used in the Info Window is contained in the file INFO.DAT and can be easily modified.

The Info Window feature is new and the unit information is therefore still somewhat incomplete and cursory in places. Anyone who makes significant contributions to this information for future revisions will have my thanks and will receive some suitable token of appreciation.

See Also

Main Screen

Toolbox


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