============================================================================== *** NEW as of version 4.50 *** Modified the EZB program to allow unregistered versions to actually run a program, *BUT* with one of those typically annoying delays and a mandatory key press. (sorry!) Added a user defined data file (EZBSAVER.DAT) which allows the user to use his own text for the screen saver option (registered version only). Read the EZBSAVER.DAT file for info. This option was available in version 4.00 but was undocumented and was called EZBSAVER.TXT.... Corrected an error concerning the creation of GAMES.BAT. Under certain conditions, it would not get created properly and would error out of the program. (Found a small typo within the program which I believe was causing the problem) Corrected an error concerning the "SHOW" and "DEL" parameters. The "SHOW" and "DEL" parameters were not finishing up cleanly. No harm would be done, but I made the change anyway. A minor reference correction in the documentation. Adjusted the checking of the configuration file, so that if random garbage was manually entered, then EZBatch now shows an error screen. (Before, it *COULD* lock up the system) ============================================================================== *** NEW as of version 4.00 *** Mouse support has been added. A little screen saver has been added for the Magic Menus. This feature is only meant to work if mouse support is active. If mouse support is not active, then EZBatch drops to the DOS prompt and leaves you in control and therefore the screen saver is disabled. The screen saver will NOT be active while your programs are in operation....it is ONLY WHILE the Magic Menu is active! EZBatch will attempt to auto-install itself. You may copy the EZBatch onto your hard drive and install from there. (instead of having to install from the floppy, like past versions). EZBatch WILL install itself into the "C:\EZBATCH" directory (no matter where you place it). So....if you copy the files into some other directory, they will still be there, after you run the install. A new command line paramter has been added: "EZBATCH CFG". This will bring up a configuration screen. In here, you can set some defaults such as Sound (ON/OFF), Mouse (ON/OFF) and the screen saver timer (0-9). In the unregistered version, Sound and Mouse are not usable at all and the timer can only be set for either 0 or 1. Registered users can turn the mouse, and sound off and can adjust the screen saver timer from 0 to 9 minutes as they see fit. Since the "CFG" parameter has been added, I got rid of the "SOUND" parameter. The "CFG" parameter will take it's place...see above note! Got rid of the "UNINSTALL" parameter.....just erase the EZBatch files if you don't want to use them anymore. ============================================================================== *** NEW as of version 3.30 *** Sometimes when trying to create an EZBatch file when one existed with the SAME name, EZBatch would get confused would "error out" of the code. The new batch file WAS being made correctly, but I found that I had a programming error which was causing the problem. It should be corrected now. If anyone experiences this problem, please let me know!! Modified the EZBFIX program cosmetically and added a couple more options. Previously, you ran EZBFIX GAMES which basically updated the EZBatch Game files in the C:\EZBATCH\GAMES directory. Now you can run: EZBFIX GAMES to update the GAMES submenu EZBFIX MAIN to update the MAIN menu EZBFIX ALL to update GAMES and MAIN! This will put a new reference within the batch files showing the current version of EZBatch and the current date and time from your system when the EZBFIX was run. This way you can keep everything current and fresh! ============================================================================== *** NEW as of version 3.02 *** This is a MINOR update. There were errors within the EZBFIX.EXE program. (Leftovers from the 3.01 update). In some instances the program would "error out" of the code and not finish making all of the modifications to the GAME files. What this caused is that when the "unmodified" games would run, the GAME menu was not coming back up, you were taken to the MAIN menu instead. ============================================================================== *** NEW as of version 3.01 *** This is a MINOR update. There were a few lockup problems associated with the 3.00 version. One lockup was with the EZBFIX.EXE program. Some lockups could occur with EZBATCH.EXE when specifying wrong parameters. ============================================================================== *** NEW as of version 3.00 *** Added a "GAMES" submenu. This allows the user to keep any games seperate from any other applications and utilities. Making an EZBatch file FROM WITHIN the GAMES subdirectory will create a new file in the GAMES menu. Making an EZBatch file from anywhere else on the hard drive will create the file within the MAIN EZBatch menu. Added a converter program which modifies your old batch files which you moved to the GAMES subdirectory. There is a help screen on this when you run it. More information is available in the EZB-DOC file included. All parameters WERE being converted to uppercase letters. Some programs insist on receiving lowercase parameters for certain features (PKZIP is one). The problem is fixed. Now it supports lowercase parameters. Updated the doc files to provide info on the new features and added a small section that helps with trouble shooting. ============================================================================== *** NEW as of version 2.10 *** Very minor internal changes. A few cosmetic changes on some of the screens. reduced the number of available EZB files in the unregistered version! Documentation changes regarding NEW BBS NUMBER and new address info. ============================================================================== *** NEW as of version 2.00 *** I made several changes to the internal error checking. the program will now BEEP when errors are encountered This is to properly warn the user of a probable typing error. I corrected a typo in the "EZB-QUIK.TXT" file which stated that you had to change the PATH statement in your "CONFIG.SYS" file.... The PATH statement should be in the "AUTOEXEC.BAT" file. I apologize for any confusion it may have created to users. I did not hear from anyone about it, so hopefully most users did realize where the PATH should have been placed. IF the program did not seem to work right....you probably put the PATH statement in the wrong file !! I added some file creation information to the batch files that EZbatch creates. EZBatch now makes a note of the version which created the given batch file. If a batch file no longer works for any reason, it should help me (and you) track down where/when the batch file started having problems. It also makes for a better record keeping in case you print out your batch files from the SHOW parameter. I added the ability to "print screen" a mail in registration form from the "REGISTER" parameter. Just type "EZBATCH REGISTER" and follow the instructions. ============================================================================== *** NEW as of version 1.10 *** I deleted the "VER" parameter. EZBatch will now show the available parameters when executed without any parameters. I added a "HELP" function which shows the autohelp screen. (instead of the old way which showed it when no parameter was used) These two changes make the program "feel" more natural, so that now when you are not quite sure what your choices are, you may simply execute EZBatch by itself and get a better idea of what is going on. I corrected a problem which caused a problem when you tried to use subdirectories as the location for the program you wanted to run. ============================================================================== *** NEW as of version 1.03 *** A few minor changes from version 1.02, concerning the SHOW parameter. I made some adjustments to the way it handled errors. PKLITE (1.15) compressed the code, reducing the executable files. ============================================================================== *** NEW as of version 1.02 *** I added a "SHOW" parameter. This allows you to display the EZB file on your screen. Optionally you can print it out if you wish. I added support for calling batch files. Some programs want you to run their predefined batch file. This version will make a CALL to their batch file (if it exists in the program's directory). If a batch file does not exist, EZB will search for a (COM) file and if not found, will search for an (EXE) file. I used PKLITE (1.15) to compress the code, reducing my executable files. ============================================================================== *** NEW as of version 1.01 *** A minor bug fix. Version 1.00 was not properly upgrading correctly from some of the beta versions. It would go part way through the install and then give an error. It also would lose the batch files. If you tried to do the install a second time, it would have upgraded,but still would have lost the batch files. The problem was actually with the beta versions. I have revised the code so as to protect from the beta problems. I used PKLITE to compress the code, thus reducing the executable programs. ============================================================================== *** NEW as of version 1.00 *** The ENTIRE program has been RE-WRITTEN using Microsoft QuickBasic 4.5 . The general format is the same as before, but I will be able to incorporate better error checking and better screens with QuickBasic. You DO NOT need ANSI loaded with this version (nor with future versions). You DO NOT need to use CAPITAL LETTERS for the command parameters. I got rid of the "CFG" parameter. EZBatch will now configure itself to use "C:\EZBATCH" as the installed location. If another program uses that directory you must relocate those files to a different directory. (If you want to keep them seperate !!). **IF** "C:\EZBATCH" was your "OLD" EZBatch directory, everything will be fine as it is. When you install the NEW EZBATCH VERSION everything will be upgraded as needed. I added an "INSTALL" parameter. This will unite the old "CFG" parameter and auto-install/upgrade as one process. You should still run the "INSTALL" from a floppy drive. First time users will run "EZBATCH INSTALL" to auto-install EZBatch onto their hard drive and it will automatically configure EZBatch as well. Users that are upgrading to a newer version of EZBatch will also need to run "EZBATCH INSTALL". This will auto-upgrade their old configuration file to the new one. It will then transfer the old EZB files to the new configuration and replace the old EZBatch program and documentation files with the new ones. I added a "REGISTER" parameter. Once the registration fee is paid, the user will have an assigned registration number. The number allows the user to register the program. Once registered, the screen will display up to 144 batch files on the screen (instead of 24), the duration of the sounds will be much shorter and optionally may be disabled if you like. I added a "SOUND" parameter. This will toggle the sound ON or OFF as desired. Simply run "EZBATCH SOUND" to toggle the sounds "OFF" and repeat to turn sounds "ON" again. This feature is only active upon registration. I am going to be working on the cursor and mouse support options and HOPE to have them ready in the not so distant future. (depending on your support) ============================================================================== *** NEW AS OF BETA-10 *** Adjusted the magic menu display to allow more files on the screen without having a scrolling problem. A user would get a problem when trying to display a lot (about 80 or so) of EZB files. I implemented a limit on the UNREGISTERED copies of EZBATCH. The unregistered copy will allow a total of 24 batch files to be displayed while the REGISTERED copy will allow 144 batch files to be displayed. This will completely fill the screen without having to go to a second or third screen (which would defeat what I wanted to accomplish). ============================================================================== *** NEW AS OF BETA-09 *** Corrected several typos in the docs and on the help screens. Corrected a programming error which did not allow EZBatch on a system on which SHARE.EXE was loaded. It should work correctly now ! (Thanks ** Philip Ensley for informing me of the problem.) ============================================================================== *** NEW AS OF BETA-08 *** Corrected several typos referring to the wrong beta version in the following: EZB-DOC.TXT EZB-QUIK.TXT CRC.EZB (sorry for the confusion,if any !) Corrected the automatic sort of the directory listing. (The sort that was added in the last version would not work with MSDOS 3.3). This new sort update will be automatically updated (of course !) when the new version is installed from a floppy disk. Added a file called EZB.EXE (compiled QUICK BASIC 4.5) which handles the directory color display and sorting routines. It will be placed into the proper directory by the auto install/upgrade procedure. Added additional internal error checking. Re-worked the EZB file display window. It now displays the EZB files in color !! It DOES NOT display the file extension. (makes it much more readable) It allows more files to be displayed in a much smaller area. featuring "EZBATCH MAGIC MENU" as the directory display. ============================================================================== *** NEW AS OF BETA-07 *** Added an automatic alphabetical sort of the directory listing. This feature will be automatically updated when the new version is installed from a floppy disk. When you add EZB files , they will be sorted automatically when they are displayed anytime one of the EZB files is run OR whenever GO is typed from the DOS prompt. ============================================================================== *** NEW AS OF BETA-06 *** Re-worded some of the documentation for the features mentioned below and for other cosmetic purposes. The parameter [WIPEOUT] is no longer used. Added an additional parameter [p4] which may be passed to the executable file. Added an additional parameter [DEL] which is used to delete an existing EZB file that you no longer need. (i.e. you do not use that program any more) Added additional parameter [UNINSTALL]. This actually replaces [WIPEOUT]. This is a better term for what this parameter does. Plus it is less likely to be confused with the new parameter [DEL] (mentioned above) EZBatch now checks the [filename] parameter for an available executable file. If NO executable exists (either a COM or EXE) a screen will tell you of the error. Auto upgrade will now delete the EZB-QUIK.TXT file from your hard drive as the file serves NO purpose other than to aid in installation. It still will copy the EZB-DOC.TXT file to the hard drive. Auto install will no longer copy the EZB-QUIK.TXT file to your hard drive as it serves NO purpose other than to aid in installation. It will still copy the EZB-DOC.TXT file to the hard drive. ============================================================================== *** END OF NEW SECTION ***