Firefly Software Systems Corp. Box 5035 Oregon City, OR 97045 Tech support 503-694-2221 Sales 503-694-2282 FAX 503-694-5867 BBS 503-694-2220 ---- For latest updates Compuserve 74774,1421,47 Internet 74774.1421@Compuserve.com On CIS 'GO FIREFLY' The registered version has a new feature where Letter Box can be set up to prevent duplicate programs from being run at the same time. This requires the PIF be marked with a special flag and a switch to be set in the LETTRBOX.INI file. This feature is especially intended to make life easier for corporate support departments. Screen Captures: Text captures can be made using the edit menu options. Or shift-printscreen. Bitmaps of the Windowed session can be made with alt-printscreen or ctrl-printscreen. Mistakes in documentation: Page 5. Programmers interface. wParam = 178h, is not complete. The return is a memory handle, marked GMEM_DDESHARE and the return is in AX, the lowword of the DWORD return. You must GlobalFree the handle when you are done. The line which has 178h, should read: 178h = get entire screen. DX is in the hiword of the return and AX is in the lowword. The Programmers interface in the Pro version of letter box, now returns: For 17B hex, DX:AX returns the status flags. See statusfl.inc in the DDK or contact Firefly tech support for details. The status flags have 32 bits of bit flags, Windowed, in select mode, created, destroyed, etc. Windowed is the 3 bit (zero based). For 17C hex, DX:AX returns the pif file flags. See statusfl.inc in the DDK or contact Firefly tech support for details. The pif file flags have 19 bits of bit flags. Enable close, full screen on start, disable certain hot keys, etc. If you get a message that you have mis-matched video components, run the program supplied with letter box: VFYGRB.EXE. This will tell you which components are wrong. The fix normally is to re-install the video display drivers. Letter Box Pro now has a new enhancement similar to Winbatch, where the programmers interface can be accessed from WINRexx. Personal Rexx for Windows is a product of Quercus Systems, P.O. Box 2157, Saratoga, CA 95070. (408) 867-REXX. For details contact Quercus or Firefly. The solution to problems where starting a DOS session results in an immediate close down of the session, and the error or status message disappears before it can be seen, is to set the 'Close on exit' switch to off. This will cause the DOS session to remain beind as an inactive window, with the necessary message left on the screen. Also: If you have a DOS Icon or other program that closes down as soon as it is started, so fast that you can not even see the error message, try setting the PIF that runs it to "NO CLOSE ON EXIT". That will keep the Window open but the DOS (VM) will be inactive. Then you should be able to see the exit message. If your PATH statement in autoexec.bat does not have a drive letter associated with the Windows Directory strange things can happen to your Windows environment, such as "\windows", instead of "C:\windows". It is a big mistake to attempt to run windows with such a shortened path. If you want your settings (maximized, etc) saved on exit, you must set the "SAVE on exit" switch in the settings dialog box, or in the OEM Fonts dialog box. Windowed/Full screen is NOT saved by this method. This could be changed, but would require some programming work. Please advise if you need this. Some users, new to Windows don't understand about a Windowed DOS session. The reality is that there is a Windows Application called Winoldap(our version: Letter Box), that runs ALL DOS sessions. When a DOS session is windowed, Winoldap is the Window that you are looking at. The DOS screen is mapped to memory NOT visible. While this is happening the DOS screen is rendered into the window by the Windows module known as "the grabber". Every 1/50 of a second or so, the grabber updates the Window. THIS MEANS that the DOS's window is NOT the dos application. 1. Characters typed at the keyboard go to the DOS application. 2. Special characters go to the WINDOW. This also means that to close a windowed or full screen session, you must shut down or exit the DOS application. If command.com is running you must explicitly type "EXIT " The DOS application must be shut down in the normal manner it would require if Windows were not running. If this is still not clear, then understand this. There are 2 modes involved here. If a windowed session has a menu or one of it's dialog windows open, then you are in the WINDOW mode, else you are in the normal mode. In normal mode all keys, (except for a few special keys) go to the DOS application. Window mode includes operations where: mark, select,copy, paste are in progress. When in these operations modes, the window title will be appended to with a string identifying the mode. Firefly Software Systems Corp. Box 5035 Oregon City, OR 97045 503-694-2221 FAX 503-694-5867 BBS 503-694-2220 ---- For latest updates 9-8-94 This program project is named Letter Box. A replacement for WINOA386.MOD from Firefly Software Systems Corp. (Winoa386.mod is the sub system that Windows uses to run DOS applications). Not to be confused with COMMAND.COM, which winoa386.mod RUNS but does not replace. INSTALLATION -------------- There is no automatic setup/install program yet!! Warning!!! in the case of BWCC.DLL, don't copy an older version over a new version already installed. These files are normally found in the Windows\SYSTEM subdirectory. --------- Rename Winoa386.mod to something else like *.ms copy wx.mod to Winoa386.mod. Copy WOLDAPDL.DLL to the same directory with Winoa386.mod Copy the dosfon.fon font to the same directory(not same file as dosapp.fon). Letter Box requires BWCC.DLL, install in the same directory. Copy VTSR___.ttf to the same directory (see note below). ------------------------------------- The next files go in the WINDOWS directory Copy(do not rename) DOSAPP.INI to DOSAPPX.INI. (in windows subdirectory). Copy WX.HLP to Windows subdirectory. The True Type font VTSR needs to be added to the system. Start Windows. Start a DOS session, make it Windowed(Alt-Enter), then Alt-Space to open the system menu. Select the Settings/Install menu item. Select the OK button to finish installing the VTSR font. To verify the VTSR font is installed, choose Font/TrueType from the system menu, "TT Video Terminal Screen" should be one of the fonts displayed. That's all it takes for the install. Latest BWCC.DLL can be obtained from Borland Forum on Compuserve "BCPPDOS", lib #2, "From Borland". Or from our BBS 503-694-2220. (about 50k file). Pifeditor: see section below for method of using our pif editor or the original. To verify that Letter Box is installed. Start a Windowed DOS session. (Alt+Enter, will make a fullscreen session windowed). Select the settings menu item, then the "About" menu item. Problems reported will be fixed, where feasible within minutes. Hours, days, years. As fast as possible. FEATURES: System.ini switches [NonWindowsApps] WinoaLogErrors=1 ; turns on error logging. ; 0 = off, 1 = on, 2 = on and notify w/messagebox Special Features Better error handling Faster -------------- Screen updates (more to come). Starting a second DOS session; much faster. New help file. The User Interface has been improved somewhat. Operations which take some time, more than a second have an hourglass/wait icon displayed. The system/settings menu now has 2 items. This Session, and PIF Editor. Brings up the pif editor and the correct pif file for the present DOS session. New feature: A full screen menu item with "fonts". Causes Windowed session to go full size using largest font that will fit 80x25 or 80x50 completely on the screen. Also a font info dialog box, displays info about current font in use. The Settings dialog box, has a help button for DOS sessions that have gone to sleep and won't wake up. True Type Fixed Fonts in a Windowed DOS session!!!! The dialog box will allow any point size you want to enter manually. If you use a "?" in the pif file in the optional parameters, Winoldap will put up a dialog box prompt asking you to fill in the blank. Our implementation supports a browse button, cancel, help and maybe a history list. Now allows changing the full-screen/windowed option. This feature is quite powerful. An Extended DOSAPP.ini file is now being used. The file name is "DOSAPPx.ini" This extended file will allow new features, including a limit on the number of instances that can be started. A CopyScreen to clipboard menu item. Error logging for system administrators. Log is kept in WINOLDAP.LOG in the Windows directory. More stack space More reliable during startup. Starting 2 dos sessions back to back won't crash your system or make it unstable. More reliable during run time. Critical error messages will always display under worst case. Should be much better on a network. If the grabber file (vga.3gr or whatever) can't be found, you will get a specific message with precise missing file name when you try to start a DOS session. Try it. Rename the vga.3gr in system.ini to vgaz.3gr. Help buttons in all dialog boxes. A True Type Terminal Font by Ed Behl. VTSR____.TTF.(if not included, see below) These type faces are from Ed Behl's type company, in Florida. This VTSR is a True Type but has the PC-8 (OEM terminal) type faces with the high ascii characters and the low ascii ( less than ascii 32), also known as the "funny faces" see ->,