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 File ▄
  ▀▀▀▀▀
ò
The file menu has options that will allow you restore the original configuration, save the configuration, and quit without saving the configuration '#
 File │ Revert ▄
  ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
┴Revert will reload the previous configuration profile from ShowGIF and overwrite your current configuration.  You can think of this as a "Global Undo" which will undo all the changes you made. '
 File │ Save ▄
  ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
░
Save will write your configuration changes back to showgif.exe  Use this option if you're certain that the changes you made are correct and you want them to become permanent. '-
 File │ Quit ▄     (Alt - X)
  ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
t
This option will exit the configuration program immediately without saving any of the changes you might have made. '
 Video ▄
  ▀▀▀▀▀▀
y
This menu allows you to set up the chipset, video modes and various other tidbits of information relative to your card. 
Note: G
You do not have to worry about these options if you have a VESA board 	╨'-
 Video │ Autodetect ▄
  ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

Autodetect will attempt to determine what type of video card you have installed in your computer.  The reliability of this function is somewhat indeterminate, so be sure to check to make sure that its results are correct by using the following two commands. 
Note: t
VESA boards are autodetected at runtime by ShowGIF.  If you have such a board, no video configuration is necessary 	9'1
 Video │ Choose Board ▄
  ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
¡
If autodetect was unsuccessful, this option will allows you to pick out the chipset and board manually and/or verify that the results of the autodetect logic were correct. 
Note: t
VESA boards are autodetected at runtime by ShowGIF.  If you have such a board, no video configuration is necessary 6
	τ'-
 Video │ Mode Setup ▄
  ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
╜
This option allows you to edit the modes one by one, delete modes, add new modes and test to see if the modes that either autodetect or Choose Board have added actually work on your card. 
Note: t
VESA boards are autodetected at runtime by ShowGIF.  If you have such a board, no video configuration is necessary ⌐
╖	≤'╜
Support for the VESA-Standard Video BIOS has been added in ShowGIF 5.5.  If the VESA bios is detected when ShowGIF is first loaded, ShowGIF will obtain all of its information from the BIOS, overriding any previous video information (either default or setup by this configuration program).  For this reason, if you have a permanent VESA driver (either implemented at the BIOS level or as a TSR), you do not need to do any further configuration. Γ
If you have difficulty getting ShowGIF to properly drive your video card, it is not a bad idea to try installing your card's VESA driver before running ShowGIF.  The VESA driver must be installed prior to installing ShowGIF. '
 Options ▄
  ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
É
Options allows you to set up the other parameters for ShowGIF, including the default memory model, default detection states, and other options ')
 Options │ Memory ▄
  ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
M
This will allow you to control which model decoder ShowGIF uses by default. '/
 Options │ Detection ▄
  ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
p
Detection refers to how ShowGIF will go about detecting whether or not you are downloading a .GIF format file. '+
 Options │ Display ▄
  ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
g
Display options refer to the miscellaneous options not covered in the above two categories, including h
After picture delay time Wait for key Abort and Blank-Now hotkeys Show Gif sizes in interactive viewer '¢
The options in this dialog box control how and when ShowGIF activates. Stream detection means ShowGIF will attempt to monitor the data going to and from the hard drive in order to determine if the file is a GIF. Extension detection means ShowGIF looks at the filename to determine if the file is a .GIF.  You should have at least one of the four modes of detection enabled or else ShowGIF will never start up. I╓'d
Stream detection was first included with ShowGIF 5.1. Stream detection has several advantages.  The most significant is that it is able to pick out a .GIF format file under a variety of circumstances. These include the file not having a name which ends with .GIF or if the picture is enclosed in an archive file (provided that no compression was used).  The only disadvantage to this is that all data going to the hard drive must be analyzed.  This may cause a drop in hard drive throughput on the very slowest PC's (I have never confirmed any complaints of this happening, not even on 10MHz XT class machines) 
Stream detection is particularly useful in cases of BBS's which require that even .GIF files be compressed or more so in the case of terminal programs which rename the download files (such as Datastrom's PROCOMM or System Enhancement Associates SEALink). á
The usefulness of upload stream detection is debatable.  Unless you frequently upload archived .GIF format files, I see no practical reason for enabling this. ;
One offshoot of stream detection is feasibility checking. 		:2*'├
When examining the flow of data to or from the hard drive the only way ShowGIF can officially detect a .GIF file are by the header identifer.  This header identifier consists of the three letters ('GIF') followed by a version number ('87a' or '89a').  This may seem satisfactory until you consider that there are many times when the 'GIF' signature may occur in passing.  When the stream detection sees this, it will generate a false alarm of sorts. s
The feasibility check is designed to filter out these false alarms.  The feasibility check consists of two parts: @
1) Version check:  The file should be either format 87a or 89a ╓
2) Size check:  Most pictures have an X resolution between 320 and 1280.  If the X resolution is outside this, ShowGIF considers the picture to be garbage. Similarly, the Y resolution should between 200 and 1024. m
The downside to all of this is that ShowGIF may interpret a perfectly valid picture as being a false alarm. 'G
Extension detection has been with ShowGIF since its first creation. It is the simplest mode of detection and merely involves ShowGIF looking at the extension names of files being created.  Simply stated, if the file ends in .GIF then ShowGIF will start decoding it.  This detection alone is satisfactory for most applications 	'I
  ┌───────────────────┐
  │ [X] Upload Stream │
  └───────────────────┘
²
ShowGIF will analyze the data as it comes off your hard drive and goes out to the modem (Stream Detection).  This option is only useful if you put several .GIF files together in an archive of some sort and still want to view them as they are uploaded. I
  ┌───────────────────┐
  │ [ ] Upload Stream │
  └───────────────────┘
\
The stream of data going from your hard drive to the modem will not be analyzed by ShowGIF ñ'R
  ┌──────────────────────┐
  │ [X] Upload Extension │
  └──────────────────────┘
┐
ShowGIF will examine the name of the file that you are uploading. (Extension Detection) If the filename ends with the extension ".GIF"  ShowGIF will interpret the file as being .GIF format. R
  ┌──────────────────────┐
  │ [ ] Upload Extension │
  └──────────────────────┘
?
ShowGIF will not examine the filename which you are uploading ê
Note:  If you have both upload stream and extension detection disabled, then ShowGIF will never activate when you are uploading a file ù'O
  ┌─────────────────────┐
  │ [X] Download Stream │
  └─────────────────────┘
T
ShowGIF will analyze the data as it comes from your modem. (Stream Detection) If a .GIF header is found then it will start decoding the data.  This option is useful if the board from which you are downloading has archived all their .GIF files, or if you are using a terminal which dynamically renames the file (such as Procomm or Sealink) O
  ┌─────────────────────┐
  │ [ ] Download Stream │
  └─────────────────────┘

If you are certain that none of the problems discussed in previous paragraph will occur when you are downloading, you may disable download stream detection in order to obtain marginally faster disk access.  (This difference is noticeable on most computers) ì:É'X
  ┌────────────────────────┐
  │ [X] Download Extension │
  └────────────────────────┘
¼
ShowGIF will look at the filename of the program which you are downloading. (Extension Detection) If it ends in the extension .GIF then ShowGif will attempt to decode it. X
  ┌────────────────────────┐
  │ [ ] Download Extension │
  └────────────────────────┘
L
ShowGIF will ignore the name of the file which you are trying to download. B
Note:  We do not recommend that you disable both download extension and stream detection.  Doing so would completely defeat the purpose of ShowGIF as a "View as you download" program.  Disabling all the above options is completely inadvisable, as with no way to activate, ShowGIF will do nothing more than occupy memory. º'ê
ShowGIF is actually contains two .GIF decoders.  The small model decoder is fairly efficient with memory but somewhat slower. The large model decoder other decoder is much faster, but requires an additional 50k of RAM in order to operate.  You can force ShowGIF to use either the large or small model or you can allow it to select whichever one is appropriate by choosing the default model. 7äz
'I
  ┌───────────────────┐
  │ (∙) Default model │
  └───────────────────┘
Σ
Default is a hybrid model of sorts.  When viewing .GIF files interactive, the large model will automatically be selected.  When ShowGIF is loaded as a TSR, the small model will be selected so that ShowGIF will use less memory. _'C
  ┌─────────────────┐
  │ (∙) Large Model │
  └─────────────────┘
╒
This option forces ShowGIF to use the large model all of the time.  This might be useful if you are using a high speed modem on a relatively slow computer, or have plenty of high memory for ShowGIF to load into. q'C
  ┌─────────────────┐
  │ (∙) Small Model │
  └─────────────────┘
ß
The small model viewer is somewhat more accurate than the large model viewer. If your tastes tend towards hand draw "Cartoon" .GIFs which are largely composed of single color areas, this mode will greatly improve rendition. O'[
  ┌─────────────────────────┐
  │ [X] Delay After Picture │
  └─────────────────────────┘
!
This command was included for historical reasons and I cannot think of any practical reason why you would want it enabled, but if enabled, ShowGIF will wait for a keypress after the decoding is complete, giving you sometime to admire your picture (even though you are still online [!] ). [
  ┌─────────────────────────┐
  │ [ ] Delay After Picture │
  └─────────────────────────┘
à
This is the default setting.  After the file download is complete, ShowGIF will immediately return control to you terminal program. L
  ┌────────────────────┐
  │ [X] Show Gif Sizes │
  └────────────────────┘
∞
This command applies only to interactive mode.  If you fill in this checkbox then ShowGIF will load the sizes for ALL of the pictures in the current directory.  If you have particularly large directories, this option may take a while. L
  ┌────────────────────┐
  │ [ ] Show Gif Sizes │
  └────────────────────┘
~
The Default setting;  ShowGIF will just show the filenames and DOS filesizes for each of the GIF's in the current directory. 4
  ┌────────────┐
  │ Delay Time │
  └────────────┘
Σ
This is how long ShowGIF will hold the result code on the screen before returning to your terminal program.  The number is in timer ticks, meaning that you will have to take the desired number of seconds and multiply it by 18. :
  ┌──────────────┐
  │ Blank Screen │
  └──────────────┘
∙
This defines the key to activate ShowGIF's demand screen blanker.  This is primarily useful for when you are downloading an X-Rated picture and the spouse / kids begin to open the door.  It should be defined to a key which you can easily remember. ╢
In order to define this key, hit ALT-B to highlight blank screen, hit space, then hit whatever key you want to use.  The key should appear to the right of the blank screen command. w
If you are using a mouse, click the text describing the currently defined key then press the new key on the keyboard. 4
  ┌────────────┐
  │ Abort View │
  └────────────┘
╨
This key will terminate the ShowGIF decoder without stopping the transfer. Ordinarily, you won't be using this key.  Aborting the transfer using your terminal's key (usually ESCape) will also abort ShowGIF. A
This key is defined in the same manner as the blank screen key. .
  ┌──────────┐
  │ Password │
  └──────────┘
σ
If you put a word in this input prompt, ShowGIF will request a password before you view your first GIF in the interactive viewer.  The interactive viewer will not allow any pictures to be viewed before this password is entered. f
Note:  The GIF's themselves aren't password protected.  They still can be viewed with another viewer I
  ┌───────────────────┐
  │ Registration Code │
  └───────────────────┘
D
You will recieve a code to put in this input prompt when you register your copy of ShowGIF.  This prompt is CASE SENSITIVE, meaning 'a' is not the same as 'A'.  Be sure to double check your code.  CSHOWGIF will not warn you if the code you entered is incorrect, so be sure to enter it carefully and double check your code. 'E
Unless you are fairly familiar with your video setup, you will have to look through the manual that came with your video card to supply the information for this section.  The best you can do is select that options that look the most familiar.   After you select a card, you may try testing the mode in the setup modes menu. 

Chipset: 2
The chipset refers to the vga chip manufacturer. 
Name: ╡
The name refers to the actual name of your card.  For the most part all of the names represent the same configuration.  The exceptions to this rule are EGA/VGA and Trident 8800CS. 	
Memory: N
The memory installed effects which modes ShowGIF will install.  For instance, if you card has only 256k of ram ShowGIF will not install modes which require 512k such as 640x480x256.  Memory sizes below 256k are used for determining if 640x350x16 is appropriate on EGA boards only.  ShowGIF assumes all VGA boards have at least 256k. 4'÷
This dialog box allows you to directly edit the modes which ShowGIF will try to use for viewing pictures.  The modes re listed in the order which ShowGIF will attempt to use them according to its search algorithm.  This menu contains 5 options: 
 Edit ▄
  ▀▀▀▀▀
╘
This brings up the Edit menu.  It allows you to specify all the gory details for the mode that you have highlighted.  You can use this to verify that the mode ShowGIF has selected actually applies to your card. 
 Add ▄
  ▀▀▀▀
"
This allows you to add a new mode to the list of modes your card supports. It will bring up the Edit menu.  The menu will be set up for a typical VGA mode.  The mode which you have created will automatically be inserted in the correct place for the search algorithm to find the best mode. 
 Delete ▄
  ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
æ
This deletes the currently highlighted mode.  This is useful if the mode Test fails and the mode isn't listed in your video card documentation. 
 Test ▄
  ▀▀▀▀▀
n
This function switches to the selected mode and draws several lines.  The routines used by this function are exactly the same as those which drive ShowGIF, so if a mode works here, chances are, it will work inside of ShowGIF. If you have a standard VGA board, the only mode you really have to test is the 360x480 Tweaked VGA mode, as it doesn't work on some cards. 

 Ok ▄
  ▀▀▀
ª
This option accepts the modes as they are listed.  Make use of this option after you have made sure that all of the modes listed work properly using the test option  ■'
3
 Options │ Directories ▄
  ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
s

This menu allows you add default directories for ShowGIF's interactive viewer. If you don't intend on using ShowGIF's interactive viewer, you can leave this dialog box blank.  If you DO use ShowGIF's interactive viewer, then it is a good idea to put the list of your most frequently used .GIF directories in this box.  There are several options which you can use here: 
 Edit ▄
  ▀▀▀▀▀
Q
This brings up a dialog box that allows you to edit the current directory name. 
 Add ▄
  ▀▀▀▀
5
This adds a new directory onto the end of the list. 
 Delete ▄
  ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
3
This deletes the currently highlighted directory. 

 Ok ▄
  ▀▀▀
Z
This option accepts the directories as they are listed and returns you to the main menu. 'G
This dialog box allows you to add/edit ShowGIF's default directories. 

 Ok ▄
  ▀▀▀
ë
Ok either adds the resolution which you've edited or modifies the resolution you've selected (depending on how you've entered this box) 
 Cancel ▄
  ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
B
This quits out of the current box without performing any action. '╒
Tweaked VGA generally refers to the "undocumented" 360x480 mode.  With this mode comes some good news and some bad news.  The good news is if you have a standard VGA board, it allows you to view pictures with nearly super-vga quality.  The bad news is if your VGA card isn't truly register compatible with the PS/2 VGA standard, this mode may not work.  For this reason, it is very important that you test this mode using the test option in the Video|Mode setup menu. 'é
This menu allows you to change all of the parameters which ShowGIF needs to use a particular mode.  This menu has several zones: 3
 Adress Mode
 Color Depth
 Screen Size
 Registers
!à%Æ(ƒ)¼	'W
There are three types of addressing modes.  They refer how ShowGIF addresses the screen.  Which you should choose is largely dependant on what mode you are using. 16 color EGA modes should use the EGA multiple plane mode.  256 color VGA modes should use the VGA single plane mode.  The X13 addressing mode is reserved for 360x480 Tweaked VGA L'X
  ┌────────────────────────┐
  │ (∙) EGA Multiple Plane │
  └────────────────────────┘
2
The EGA mode is usually used for 16 color modes. !b'R
  ┌──────────────────────┐
  │ (∙) VGA Single Plane │
  └──────────────────────┘
3
The VGA mode is usually used for 256 color modes. !\'O
  ┌─────────────────────┐
  │ (∙) X13 Tweaked VGA │
  └─────────────────────┘
'
The X13 mode is serves a dual purpose g
1) It informs ShowGIF that it has to go through a special sequence of command to output to the screen c
2) That is has to manipulate the CRT Controller after switching the graphics mode using the BIOS. j
The X13 mode should only be used the AX Register set to 19, or else there will be unpredictable results. !Y)j'ì
The Color Depth option is more dependant on the card which you are using than the mode itself.  For EGA boards, 2 bit color should be selected.  For VGA boards, 6 bit color should be selected.  6 bit color allows 64 independent values for Red, Green and Blue, providing a total of 262,144 colors.  Similarly, 2 bit color provides 4 independent values of Red, Green and Blue, providing 64 colors. S
This is associated with the mode instead of with the card for historical reasons. '7
  ┌─────────────┐
  │ (∙) 2 Color │
  └─────────────┘
⌐
This should really only be selected for EGA type boards.  Note: I said EGA boards, not EGA modes.  If you have a VGA board, you should always use the 6 bit color mode. '7
  ┌─────────────┐
  │ (∙) 6 Color │
  └─────────────┘
 
This is default for all modes. '█
This pretty self explanatory.  The width is the number of pixels which make up a row on the screen.  The height is the number of pixels in a column.  Number of colors is either 16 for an EGA mode or 256 for a VGA mode J
     ┌─────── Width
    ─┴─
    640x480
        ─┬─
         └─── Height
'╝
The regs refers to the AX, BX, CX, DX registers which must be set on entry to interrupt 10h to set the video mode.  You can obtain these values from the documentation for your video card.  Keep in mind that these values must be entered in decimal.  You will need to convert these values to decimal if your video card documentation lists them in hex.   If your manual just lists a single mode number (and most do) than that value goes into AX. *'û
Converting Hex numbers to Decimal is fairly easy.  Most numbers that you come across are two digits.  Each of the digits may be one of the following @
 0   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   A   B   C   D   E   F

which translate into A
 0   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15
c
The first digit of a hex number is multiplied by 16 and added to the second number.  For instance O
A7 is  10 x 16 + 7  or 167 in decimal or 2E is   2 x 16 + 14 or 46 in decimal 'l
There has been a great deal of innovation between version 5.2 and 5.5, we hope it has been worth the wait: º
* A full featured interactive viewer which allows you to view .GIF format files like you would using a traditional graphic viewer.  This interactive viewer includes: x
- Change directory, move, and copy files using either a user input directory or a directory from a user specified list 9
- The ability to erase files without exiting the viewer V
- The ability to instantly view all of the GIF file sizes with the press of a button G
- Security option to prevent unwanted viewing of "sensitive" material (
* The .GIF file decoder has been completely re-written with speed in mind.  The large model viewer is perhaps 4 times faster than ShowGIF 5.1.  The small model viewer uses considerably less memory with only a minor loss in speed.  Both decoders are as fast or faster than the dedicated viewers. h
* ShowGIF is capable of viewing .GIF's while you are uploading them as well as when you download them. ]
* Built in hardware handshaking helps to increase reliability in at speeds above 9600 baud. r
* Automatic utilization of your machine's high memory (either Dos 5.0, Qemm, NetRoom, 386MAX, Qram or the like). o
* Optional use of 360x480 "Tweaked" VGA mode in order to obtain superior image quality on regular VGA boards. %
* Support for the VESA vga standard º
* Intelligent screen saver makes sure your screen is restored in exactly the condition it was left (even in odd screen sizes (e.g. 80x50) and unusual character sets) ^
* Very easy to use configurization program with video autodetection, context sensitive help. AÇ│≈8■▌	C'/
Installation is fairly simple.  All you have to do is first go through configuration.  Once you have ShowGIF set up for your particular video board simply create a batch file for running ShowGIF before your terminal program. A sample batch file has been provided for you to look at.  All the Batch file need do is to run SHOWGIF /r to install before running your terminal and SHOWGIF /u to uninstall after you finish.  After you have your batch file completed, all you will have to do is load your terminal program and SHOWGIF will be automatically handled. -σ'A
This is the batch file which I use to load Qmodem on my system. W
   @ECHO OFF
   C:
   CD\QMODEM
   SHOWGIF /r
   TAG
   QMODEM
   TAG u
   SHOWGIF /u
 
Tag is another TSR which I have written for marking files.  The most important thing to notice is that TAG and SHOWGIF are removed from memory in the OPPOSITE ORDER in which they were loaded.  If you don't do it in this manner, memory will become fragmented and your computer may crash. '▌
Performing the setup is fairly simple, just go through each of the menus and select whatever options are appropriate.  If you have any questions, you can press F1 at any time to obtain help on whatever option you are on '=
The following options can be entered from the command line: X

  /R        Resident
  /U        Unload
  /SU:+/-   Stream detection on upload
  /SD:+/-   Stream detection on download
  /EU:+/-   Extension detection on upload
  /ED:+/-   Extension detection on download
  /P:+/-    Pause after display
  /D:xxx    Message delay
  /H:x      Hardware handshaking on port x
  filename  View filename and exit
	0L1a2t3¢4─5ε76:
8T'╖
This command line switch forces ShowGIF to go resident in your machine's memory.  ShowGIF will check to make sure that you don't have any previous instances of it hanging in memory. /'
This command line switch will attempt to remove ShowGIF from memory. ShowGIF will attempt to determine if it is safe for it to unload.  If ShowGIF is not in memory, this switch will do nothing.  If ShowGIF cannot be unloaded safely this command will do nothing. /'
This switch will force stream detection on uploads.  If this switch is invoked, it will override whatever settings you have defined when you have configured ShowGIF.  This switch may be useful to invoke temporarily if you absolutely must upload an archived GIF file to a board. /'¿
This switch will force stream detection on downloads. If this switch is invoked, it will override whatever settings you have defined when you have configured ShowGIF. /'Æ
When you give ShowGIF this switch, it will force extension detection on uploads. It will override any changes you've made in your configuration. /3'ë
This switch will force ShowGIF to use extension detection on downloads. It will override any changes you've made in your configuration. /( '║
This controls the length of time the result code remains on the screen after the transfer is complete.  The number is in system clock ticks, which means that you will have to take the number of seconds and multiply it by 18 to obtain the number to put in this area.  This may be set easily in the configuration in the Options|Display dialog.  Any changes made at the command line will override any changes made in the configuration program. '.
In most cases, you will not need to use this option.  If you have it enabled, it will force ShowGIF to pause after each picture after you finish downloading it.  This does not effect interactive mode viewing.  Interactive mode will ALWAYS pause after the picture when you are viewing them one by one. A╣'
Unlike the other configuration commands, this one cannot be substituted by a change in the configurization program.  You will have to enter this one by hand each time you go to use ShowGIF.  (If you use this command, the need for a Batch File becomes very important) ╞
Hardware handshaking is only important if you are using an error-correcting modem which is capable of sending information to the computer faster than it is receiving it.  What hardware handshaking attempts to do is to block the flow of data from the modem as ShowGIF decodes the picture and as DOS physically writes the data to disk.  This forces the data to be stored in your modem's internal buffers until the terminal program is ready to receive it. ╔
If you do not have an error correcting modem, there isn't any buffer built into modem and it will more than likely ignore ShowGIF's request to block data flow, so use of this switch is probably moot. 3
Many terminal programs already have built in support for hardware handshaking. If your terminal supports this, then I highly recommend telling your terminal to do the hardware handshaking (usually termed as "RTS/CTS support" [which should be _ENABLED_] or "RTS during write" [which should be _DISABLED_]). g
You may want to examine terminal programs and communications protocols for more specific information. -Ω
9Φ.'p
ShowGIF has been tested using several of these terminal communications programs and external protocol drivers: q

    Qmodem        (version 4.31)
    Procomm Plus  (version 2.1)
    Telix         (version 3.15)
    Telemate

    BIModem
    DSZ/GSZ

    DesqView
;w:ÿ<╕=┘@τ?≤B'»
Testing with Procomm plus was successful.  If you have hardware flow control (RTS/CTS in ALT-S modem setup) you shouldn't need to enable showgif's own hardware flow control. £
Zmodem writes its data immediately after obtaining it, so there shouldn't be any problems.  As always, ShowGIF will not auto-resume along with the zmodem. ≈
Other Protocols write the data in 10k steps, so you'll have to wait for 10k of data to pass before ShowGIF can process it.  This will cause data loss to occur if you are using ShowGIF with a 9600+ baud modem on a machine slower than a 12 MHz AT. 'Ü
I personally feel that Qmodem is a fantastic terminal program.  I have not have any trouble with ShowGIF and Qmodem since ShowGIF's initial development. ═
If you have a high speed modem, make sure that you have "RTS during write" disabled.  This really won't affect your throughput, it should be automatically turned off if you've used the quick modem setup. '│
Telix somewhat defeats ShowGIF by writing data in fairly large steps.  If ShowGIF does not activate immediately after the transfer starts, don't worry, it will eventually start. '3
ShowGIF can be used effectively with Telemate.  You have to keep several things in mind when ShowGIF is in use.  Foremost, I don't recommend doing anything fancy such as opening additional windows during the transfer and trying to multi-task. Secondly, be sure to familiarize yourself with the abort procedure.  Unlike many terminal programs, which accept a single "ESC" to terminate the transfer, you have to hit "ESC y".  You will not see the confirmation dialog box when ShowGIF is active, so you will have to fly by instrument or use the abort view command. ';
There are several other protocols that are worth mention: 
 DSZ/GSZ
 Bimodem
?>@G'f
At normal speeds, we haven't experienced any problems with DSZ, you can use ShowGIF with confidence. ÿ
At speeds at or above 9600 baud, you must enable hardware handshaking in showgif, using the /F option.  If you don't do this, GSZ/DSZ will loose data. '╔
I have tested ShowGIF using Bimodem and haven't encountered any specific problems, but my beta testers have informed me that ShowGIF has a tendency to skip every other file during a bimodem transfer. '3
There are many features in the interactive viewer P
Moving around is performed in a manner similar to many other viewing programs. ]
The cursor keys can be used to move the blue bar among any of the filenames. If you press an alphabet key, it will immediately jump the next filename beginning with that letter.  If you press the space bar it will mark the filename for either viewing/moving/copying.  To either view the current file or all of the marked files, merely press enter. ╫
Changing directories is fairly simple.  Simply press ALT-D and a menu will come up giving you the option to enter the name of a specific directory or to pick out one of your default .GIF directories.  If you want to change to one of your default directories, simply move the red cursor down to the directory and press enter.  If the directory you want to move to is not on the list, move to the very last entry and press enter.  You will then be prompted for directory. φ
Copying files is very similar to changing directories.  If you want to copy just one file, move the cursor to the file you want to move and hit ALT-C. Next select a directory in the same manner as you have when you changed directories. ⌐
Moving files is similar to copying files, except the original files are removed providing the copy was successful.  If the copy failed, the original will be preserved. ╟
For safety purposes, erasure can only be performed one file at a time.  Only the file highlighted by the cursor will be erased.  If you have several files marked, they will be ignored by the ALT-X. '└
The screen saver routine is capable of detecting DesqView.  If DesqView is resident, ShowGIF will avoid low-level video I/O in saving and restoring the screen.  This should allow most implementations of DesqView to maintain control of the video screen.  Because the 8088 and 286 architectures are unable to dynamically remap RAM and maintain control of the video memory, I don't recommend using DesqView on anything less than a 386 based machine. ≥
ShowGIF has been tested successfully in both text mode (coresident with Qmodem) and in graphics mode (coresident with Windows 3.0 standard mode) under DesqView 2.24 using an Orchid Prodesigner II.  Other setups should yield similar results. '

 ┌─────────────┐                     ┌────────┐┌───────────┐
 │ ┌─────────┐ │                     │ ┌──────┘└┐ ┌─┐ ┌────┘
 │ │         │ │                     │ │        │ │ │ │
 │ └────────┐│ └────┐┌─────┐┌─┐   ┌─┐│ │        │ │ │ └──┐
 └────────┐ ││ ┌──┐ ││ ┌─┐ ││ │┌─┐│ ││ │ ┌────┐ │ │ │ ┌──┘
          │ ││ │  │ ││ │ │ ││ ││ ││ ││ │ └──┐ │ │ │ │ │
 ┌────────┘ ││ │  │ ││ └─┘ ││ └┘ └┘ ││ └────┘ │┌┘ └┐│ │
 └──────────┘└─┘  └─┘└─────┘└───────┘└────────┘└───┘└─┘
                                                version 5.5
▐

       I.     Introduction
       II.    Setting up ShowGIF
       III.   Using ShowGIF interactive mode
       IV.    Other Programs
       V.     Hardware/Software credit
       VI.    What's New?
       VII.   Credit
C,9AZ9çEñ+╦Dσ'π
How many times have you called your favorite board and downloaded a graphic file that was quite possibly the most tasteless collection of pixels the world has yet to see?  It has happened to me many times, then I came up with the idea, wouldn't it be great to actually SEE the picture as its coming across then to stare in horror after the transfer was complete?  Soon afterwards I began to develop a .GIF file decoder.  The original idea was to connect this viewer to a Zmodem protocol in order to give it the capability to view pictures as they're being downloaded.  After about a day fumbling with some obscure UNIX based DSZ source code, I thought that there had to be a better way.  As it turned out there was. Instead of writing a completely new protocol driver, why not write something that adds the "view as you download" ability to existing protocols.  This way the protocol is as reliable as it has always been and there is no added hassle of adding a completely new protocol driver. 

Three years later, ShowGIF has become the viewer of choice for nearly 30 people worldwide.  Several hundred hours of programming, beta testing, brainstorming, and just plain procrastinating have gone into this latest version, we hope you enjoy it as much as we do! 'Z
I'd like to thank the following people who have helped to make ShowGIF what it is today: 8
 Dave "Shamus" Sharpless                   (Co-Author)
│
I'd like to thank Dave for writing the interface for the interactive viewer and all of his useful insights and ideas.  Without his help, ShowGIF 5.5 would be much less complete! A
 John Sharpless                            (Distributor/Tester)
╟
John was responsible for most of the distribution of version 3.5.  If he wouldn't have sent it to as many boards as he did, I don't think anybody would be using it (or would even have heard of it!) 5
 John James "Graphic Munger"  Donaldson    (Tester)
î
His high praise of the program helped keep me going through the endless list of problems which occurred during the testing of version 5.5. 5
 Robert "Cuspid" Novello                   (Tester)
T
If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have been aware of the many problems which occur using Procomm Plus.  He also brought it to my attention that AMI is about the only BIOS manufacturer who has the sense to point the single byte interrupt to an IRET if there isn't a debugger resident (more specifically he said "It crashes when I load it!") 5
 Mike "Tyrant" Lutheran                    (Tester)
.
For continually reminding me about the result code window and pointing out the problem with the 1024x768 pictures.  If it wasn't for him, I probably would have forgotten to put that one in and people would have to go back to version 5.2 to rip their favorite Teleguard BBS off when downloading .GIF's 5
 Jim Condon                                (Tester)
▓
For pointing out the fact that I don't read the messages posted in the ShowGIF 5.5 message base!  There were a few good ones in there by the time I got around to looking at it. 7
 James Taylor                              (Onlooker)
8
I hope this version works with DesqView on a ramdrive! \

In closing, I'd like to recommend these boards if you're ever in the mood for a good .GIF O
The Gif Cache 419/531-2693 14.4k HST Dual Standard (v.32) $5/Month (Optional) "
BaudVille 313/848-8837 14.4k HST  
Electric Blue BBS 908/241-7982 ]
The McHenry BBS 815/385-7113,9011,9936,9013,9347 14.4k HST, v.32, Compucom $60/Year (Req'd) ~
PriZm Image Center 508/697-3508 (v.32) 508/697-7771 (Dual Standard) 508/279-1552 (HST) $8/Month (Volume discounts available) f
NiteLog Imaging 408/655-1096 (2400 new user line) 408/655-8294 (HST/v.32) 408/655-8297 (HST/v.32bis) '
Shareware: ì
**VPIC is a first rate picture file viewer and converter. 4.5 is the newest version at the time of this writing. VPIC may be obtained from: J
        BOB MONTGOMERY
        132 PARSONS RD
        LONGWOOD FL  32779
_
**Qmodem 4.31 is the newest version at the time of this writing. Qmodem can be obtained from: ]
        THE FORBIN PROJECT, INC.
        POST OFFICE BOX 702
        CEDAR FALLS, IA  50613
q
**Procomm Plus is a noteworthy terminal package made by: Version 2.1 is the latest at the time of this writing. ^
        DATASTORM TECHNOLOGIES, INC
        POST OFFICE BOX 1471
        COLUMBIA, MO  65205
\

**Telix is a noteworthy terminal package made by: ShowGIF was testing using version 3.15. Y
        EXIS, INC
        POST OFFICE BOX 130
        WEST HILL, ONTARIO
        M1E R4
\

**Mark & Release are TSR management programs and are copyrighted by Turbo-Power software: a        TURBO-POWER SOFTWARE
        POST OFFICE BOX 66747
        SCOTTS VALLEY, CA  95066-0757


Trademarks: @
**PC, XT, AT are trademarks of International Business Machines ;
**GIF is a trademark of Compuserve, an H&R Block company. 
**386 is trademark of Intel. 
Commercial software: <
**DesqView, Qemm, and Qram are copyrighted by Quarterdeck. &
**386^Max is copyrighted by Qualtis. -
**Netroom is copyrighted by Helix Software. (
**DOS 5.0 is copyrighted by Microsoft. 'F≡Ç╛«ë6'Θ^ΣÅB─o
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