Damsel Software Group presents ... STEVE'S DIGITAL ABSTRACT ART SCREEN SAVER Shareware Edition Compatible with Windows 3.1, 3.11, Windows 95 and NT. ******************************************************** * For Power Users who want to get right to the program * * the Screen Saver is now loaded. Exit this text file * * and go right to where Windows stores its own screen * * savers. This screen saver will be listed in that * * group as Steve's Digtl Share. Select it. That's it. * ******* For more cool info, keep reading. ******** ******************************************************** To read this file easily, click on your "expand window size" symbol. Thanks! This file contains information on the following subjects: 1. Product Registration 2. The Association of Shareware Professionals 3. Copyright Information 4. Minimum System Requirements 5. Setting Up Your Screen Saver 6. Screen Saver Function and Features 7. JPEG Image Compression 8. Monitor Display 9. Wallpaper and Image List 10. Uninstalling Your Screen Saver 11. Warranty Information 12. Registration Form In order to assist the reader, the older Windows 3.x instructions have been left intact. Windows 95 instructions, where different, are either given their own sentences or are indicated by the use of parentheses. This is the only time this README.TXT file will appear automatically. In the future you can read the file by coming back to your Windows 3.x Notepad, located under Accessories in your Program Manager menu, and opening the README.TXT file found in the SDA1SHAR directory, or by two clicks on the filename directly from within File Manager. In Windows 95 the Notepad is reached from the Start button followed by Programs\Accessories\Notepad. You may also read the file from your C:\> DOS prompt by typing TYPE C:\SDA1SHAR\README.TXT | MORE. You may exit this file at any time by clicking on the minus sign of Windows 3.x's Notepad window at the upper left-hand corner, or by clicking on the "X" Close button in Windows 95's Notepad upper right-hand corner. This README.TXT file can be printed in a variety of ways. In MS-DOS you can print it at any time from your C:\SDA1SHAR> prompt by typing COPY README.TXT PRN and pressing Enter. Within Windows it can be printed from the Notepad or from any other word processing program that can open a .TXT file. In Windows' Notepad you should set File\Page Setup\Left Margin to as low a value as possible before printing to insure that each line will print in its entirety. This text file will not appear during the actual running of the screen saver. 1. PRODUCT REGISTRATION If you like the screen saver and intend to use it now or in the future, you should register your screen saver within 30 days by sending a check for $14.95 in U.S. currency drawn on a U.S. bank or by using MasterCard/Visa. Either method can make use of the Registration Form found at the end of this file. Send the completed form to: Damsel Software Group P.O. Box 713 Concord, NH 03302-0713 Call our phone/fax at 603 485-2677 if you desire verification. You may print out and use the registration form found at the end of this README file to insure we receive your mailing address. $14.95 entitles you to a registered copy of Damsel's 24-image Steve's Digital Abstract Art Screen Saver complete with User's Guide, lifetime tech support, and a free catalog of Damsel products with future updates. The User's Guide contains a brief description of each of the images. The registered version includes the six images contained in this Shareware version plus four images in .BMP format suitable for use as Windows wall- paper. The Shareware version does not contain any pictures usable as wall- paper. The registered version takes up less than 5MB of hard disk space and is shipped in a handsome CD case on two 3.5" virus-free diskettes. Send US$14.95 and get it all, .. PLUS free shipping and handling on this, your first order. FLASH !!! Here's part of what you will find in the catalog! If you like this screen saver you can order more great screen savers immediately by writing a check or money order in U.S. currency drawn on a U.S. bank, or by using the MasterCard/Visa section of the order form found at the end of this file. Send payment and form along with your order to the Damsel address above. Shipping charges on these orders are: add $4.00 shipping in the U.S. $6.00 Canada/Mexico All screen savers require 386 machines $8.00 South America minimum with a 256-color VGA display. $12.00 All other foreign for shipping the added order. And, here's another screen saver deal designed to save you money. If you order two additional screen savers, you will get a third one of your choice FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE! Here are your selections. Use your scroll bar if you want to move quickly to the rest of your Shareware documentation. Screen Savers / Wallpaper Price ($US) ------------------------- ----------- Dave's Digital Abstract Art, Vol.I $14.95 25 computer-generated images of varying sizes by artist David Martsolf. Two 3.5" diskettes are shipped in JPG format with a User's Guide in a CD case. Four images are in BMP format. David Martsolf, Surrealist $14.95 27 640 x 480 scans of the surreal work of artist David Martsolf. Most are images of the entire work. Some are detail closeups of portions of complex canvases. The artist has been recognized in national juried competitions. Two 3.5" diskettes are shipped in JPG format with a User's Guide in a CD case. All images are 256-colors, some in BMP format. New Hampsire Wilderness, Vol.I $14.95 24 640 x 480 scanned photos of mountains, waterfalls, forests and lakes in JPG format shipped on two 3.5" diskettes in a CD-case, with a User's Guide containing full documentation on features and functions, including a short description of each of the 24 scenes. All images are 256-colors. Several are in BMP format for use as wallpaper. Eastern Skies $14.95 24 640 x 480 scanned photos of sunrises, sunsets, clouds, storms and other meterological formations, shipped on two 3.5" diskettes in a CD case, with a User's Guide containing full documentation on features and functions, including a short description of each of the 24 scenes. All images are 256-colors. Six are in BMP format for use as wallpaper. New England Wildflowers, Vol.I $14.95 24 640 x 480 scanned photos of New England's wildflowers from early summer to late fall in an assortment of colors and shapes, shipped in a similar package as the Eastern Skies collection, but with only three images usable as wallpaper. Neoplastic Designs Collection $14.95 A collection of 640 x 480 images of original interpretive artworks based on the style of the early 1900's Dutch abstract painter Piet Mondrian. This collection is painted entirely in 16-color format suitable for all computers running Windows 3.1 or higher, especially early 386-type microprocessors whose graphics cards cannot display the richer 256-color format. In this CD case of two 3.5" diskettes are two independent screen savers, both based on Mondrian's artistic material. Damsel Bitmap Collection, Vol. I & II $14.95 (sold separately) Collections of 640 x 480 and tiled images of original artwork and scanned photos representative of the other Damsel collections shown above. Shipped on two 3.5" diskettes, with a User's Guide, but without a CD case. Note that Volume I is available as a Shareware product. Damsel Screen Saver Sampler $14.95 A collection of 24 640 x 480 images of scanned photos representative of four of the other Damsel collections shown above. All images are in the .JPG format which cannot be used by Windows as wallpaper. Shipped on two 3.5" diskettes, with a User's Guide, but without a CD case. Note that this collection is available as a Shareware product. 2. THE ASSOCIATION OF SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS Damsel Software Group is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI USA 49442-9427, Fax 616-788-2765, or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. THE SHAREWARE CONCEPT Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs differ on details -- some request registration while others require it, some specify a maximum trial period. With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using the software to an updated program with printed material. Shareware differs from public domain software in that there is the under- standing of payment IF the user continues to actively employ the software. Shareware is also copyrighted where public domain software is not. Copy- right restrictions vary from author to author. Damsel's Bitmap Collection is copyrighted. The details of this copyright follow below. Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it. 3. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION The images contained in Damsel products may be used as wallpaper or as baseline images for private processing without restrictions. All commercial uses of the images contained within this screen saver are prohibited without prior authorization or arrangement with Damsel Software Group. The images cannot be resold as stand-alone graphics without the expressed written consent of Damsel Software Group. The screen saving functions cannot be redistributed under any conditions. 4. MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS All of the images contained in this Damsel product are built on at least a 256-color palette. A video display board with a minimum of 512K RAM and 256-color capability for display on a VGA or SVGA monitor is essential for pleasing viewing of these images. The images are of varying sizes. They do not fill the normal 640 x 480 VGA screen format, but will be centered in the screen with a black border. You will need an IBM-compatible PC with a 386 or higher-type microprocessor (486 recommended), 4MB RAM, and a hard disk with 2MB free disk space. Damsel products run with MS-DOS 3.1 or higher using Windows 3.1 or higher. Damsel products are fully compatible with Windows 95 and Windows NT. 5. SETTING UP YOUR SCREEN SAVER Exit this README file by clicking on the minus sign or the Close ("X") button of the Notepad window. Then, turn off any other screen savers you may be using unless they are the ones linked directly to your Desktop (Display) Accessories module, following the manufacturer's instructions. *** ACCESS IN WINDOWS 3.X *** To access your Damsel screen saver from Windows' Program Manager, 1. Double click on your Main icon. 2. Double click on the Control Panel icon. 3. Double click on the Desktop icon. 4. Once you are in the Desktop dialog box open the list in the Screen Saver area by clicking the button at the right of the box titled "Name:" (or by pressing TAB several times to go to the box, followed by ALT+DOWN ARROW). 5. Scroll on the slide bar until you find the screen saver titled "Steve's Digtl Share". Click once on the title to select it. You may also select the "Delay" time (of inactivity) in minutes which will precede the initiation of any screen saver selected. Password protection is also available and is described in the next section. 6. After selecting Steve's Digtl Share screen saver choose OK in the upper right-hand corner of the dialog box and exit back to the opening screen. The screen saver will now appear after the initial chosen period of inactivity passes. *** ACCESS IN WINDOWS 95 *** 1. Press or click your mouse on the Task Bar's Start button. 2. Highlight or click on Settings, from the first menu. 3. Click on Control Panel, from the second menu. 4. When the Control Panel window opens, double click on the Display icon. 5. Click on the tab titled Screen Saver. 6. Scroll down the list of screen savers and click on the name "Steve's Digtl Share". At this point you can also set the screen saver's "Wait" time or enter a password. Password details are available in the next section. 6. SCREEN SAVER FUNCTION AND FEATURES All of Damsel's screen savers have preset display times and transition effects (the methods used to transition between one image and the next). Most of this screen saver's image files are stored in the JPEG format. The length of time required to decompress each image and perform transition effects will depend directly on the size and speed of your microprocessor (386, 486, or Pentium) and the power of your video graphics card. Damsel has set the display times to be approximately 20 seconds for each image using a 486-type machine running at 33 Megahertz. Faster 486 and Pentium machines will exhibit slightly shorter display times. Users with 386-type machines will notice longer display times and an initial blank screen lasting up to one minute as the microprocessor decompresses the first image. Additional blank screen time of up to one minute between images will also appear on slower machines when decompressing the larger JPEG files. Your screen saver has been installed in the "Mouse Aware" mode, meaning that any movement of the mouse will disengage the screen saver. Disengagement may take several seconds if the program is interrupted during one of the image transitions. This wait could last up to a full minute on 386-type machines. 486-type machines are recommended. The screen saver's "Mouse Ignore" mode (where only a depressed key on the keyboard will deactivate the screen saver) is not functional at this time. The program will recommence using the next image in its sequence when the selected delay time reactivates the screen saver. To access the Password setup choices click on the Setup (Settings) button of the Screen Saver section of the Desktop (Win95's Display) dialog box (accessed by the Program Manager\Main\Control Panel\Desktop command sequence in Windows 3.x, or by Windows 95's Start\Settings\Control Panel\Display\ Screen Saver command sequence). Damsel screen savers have incorporated the same Password protection scheme offered by the original Windows screen savers. A click on the Password button (Key icon) brings up a screen with the "Enter New Password" entry line. As you type in your selected password, asterisks will appear for each letter. Clicking on the OK button will bring up a confirmation screen where you will be asked to reenter the same password. Clicking the OK button here will return you to the original Setup (Settings) screen. Note that if you have several Damsel products, they will all use the same password. A change to a password for one screen saver will affect them all. Exiting will activate your password protection. With the screen saver activated, any motion of the mouse will bring up an Enter Password dialog box. The password must be correctly entered in order to gain access back to the active Windows environment. If you forget your password your best option is to copy PGX.INI from your original Disk #1 directly to your WINDOWS directory and then enter a new password, if desired. If you wish to change or remove the password you must return to the Setup (Settings) screen of the Screen Saver section of the Desktop (Display) dialog box. To enter a new password follow the same procedure as described above. You will first be asked to enter your current password. To remove the password simply click on the OK button of both the Enter New Password input screen and the Reenter New Password screen without filling in the input line. 7. JPEG IMAGE COMPRESSION In order to save space on your hard disk Damsel uses JPEG graphics file compression techniques on most images used in this screen saver. JPEG, a standard developed by the Joint Photographic Experts Group, is a complex compression method that gives the developer control over the degree to which a file is reduced in size for storage. This method does result in loss of image fidelity since individual pixel data is not maintained. At high compression ratios , the mathematical algorithms average large groups of pixels resulting in a reduced number of colors and image blockiness when displayed. Any developer using this method must make judgment calls concerning image quality versus file size. A full 640 X 480 256-color image in Microsoft BMP format (used in Windows wallpaper) is over 308K bytes in size. By contrast, full-screen JPG (JPEG) image files used in a screen saver such as Microsoft's Scenes average around 33K bytes per image. Damsel Software Group has elected to set the trade-off between disk space and image quality a bit more in the direction of high image quality. Damsel's JPG format results in file sizes typically over 70K bytes per image. Each image is manually optimized to meet image resolution requirements without sacrificing valuable hard disk space. 8. MONITOR DISPLAY The program configures the image display to your screen by first reading your on-line graphics display format. If your monitor is not configured for 256 colors, the program will display 256-color images by constructing a 16-color standard VGA dithered image from the colors available in this format. Usually, the result of this mathematical process is visually grainy, looking much like a needlepoint design for the images in this screen saver meant to use 256 colors. If you find the images barely recognizable and you have a minimum of 512K RAM on your video display board, there is probably a driver you can load which will support 256-color display. Consult your machine and Windows documentation for more information regarding your specific situation. The JPEG format performs its original compression from the 24-bit color (also known as 16.7 million colors or True color) graphics level. The 256- color display will show part of the compressed information, but a computer which can show 24-bit color will show an even more realistic image. In the case of these computer graphics the major benefit is in areas of subtle graduated shadings. Soft or foggy color transitions will suddenly flow with 24-bit color instead of showing distinct stepped gradations in the 256-color mode. 9. WALLPAPER AND IMAGE LIST To use Damsel's JPG images as wallpaper for Windows the picture file format for must be changed from JPG to Microsoft BMP format. Your Windows program does not have this capability, it must be purchased from a third party vendor. These programs can be purchased as stand-alones for under US$100.00. If you have the ability to reformat the JPG images into the BMP format, the following list can be used to match individual image titles to filenames. Image Title On-screen Filename Image Dimensions --------------------- ------------ ---------------- Apex Apex2.jpg 480 x 360 pixels This image appears as the background image of the Shareware title screen. In the registered version this image appears as one of the freestanding artworks. Parquait Parquay.jpg 550 x 380 Bug Spine Bugspin.jpg 380 x 380 Rainbow Birth Rainbow2.jpg 500 x 300 Dungeon Dungeon.jpg 395 x 380 Glass Furnace Glasfurn.jpg 582 x 380 New Leaf Newleaf.jpg 380 x 380 10. UNINSTALLING YOUR SCREEN SAVER Your screen saver has been loaded to a directory named SDA1SHAR unless you chose otherwise during the installation procedure. In order to enable you to access the screen saver Damsel has loaded two additional files into your WINDOWS directory, SDA1xxxx.INI and SDA1xxxx.SCR, where 'x' is any number. If you have chosen a password, the program has also copied PGX.INI to the WINDOWS directory. To remove the screen saver from your hard disk simply delete all files in the SDA1SHAR directory (or your own directory name chosen during install- ation) and the SDA1xxxx.INI and SDA1xxxx.SCR files located in your WINDOWS directory. This can be done quickly from your Windows 3.x File Manager, found in your Program Manager's Main menu, or from your Windows 95 My Computer or Explorer applet. Also, remove PGX.INI if present. If PGX.INI contains an active password and you do not remove the file, the next time you load any Damsel screen saver you will find that the old password has immediately been attached to it. If you have forgotten that old password, you will have to manually copy the new PGX.INI file into your WINDOWS directory in order to overwrite the old pass- word. You can find this screen saver PGX.INI file either in the SDA1SHAR directory or on your original installation Disk #1. 11. WARRANTY INFORMATION The publisher makes no warranty concerning the function or fitness of any programs or graphics files reproduced on diskettes included in this package. Neither Damsel Software Group, or its authorized agents shall be held liable for consequential, special, indirect, or other similar damages or claims, including loss of profits or any other commercial damages, and in no event will the liability for any damages to the purchaser or any other person ever exceed the price paid for the license to use the software, regardless of any form of the claim, even if Damsel Software Group has been advised of the possibility of such damages, or for any claim by any other party. Damsel Software Group specifically disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose or application. Windows and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. 12. REGISTRATION FORM - - Cut - - here - - for - - registration - - form - - - - - - - - - - - - DAMSEL SOFTWARE GROUP REGISTRATION FORM P.O. Box 713 Concord, NH 03302-0713 phone/fax 603 485-2677 STEVE'S DIGITAL ABSTRACT ART, VOL.1 SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFER Yes, I want to receive a registered version of Damsel's Steve's Digital Abstract Art Screen Saver, and take advantage of lifetime technical support, a free catalog with updates, and free shipping, all for only $14.95 in U.S. currency drawn either on a U.S. bank or ordered by MasterCard or Visa. I understand the collection will be shipped only on 3.5" diskettes. Additional screen savers may also be ordered following the guidelines presented in Section 1. I have enclosed $ _________________ in U.S. funds as a check or money order. or, I have elected to order with ____ MasterCard or ____ Visa (check one). MasterCard/Visa orders require: Card Expiration Date: __________ Card Number: __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Cardholder Signature: __________________________________________ Please ship my 3.5" diskettes and other documentation to: Name ___________________________________________________________ Address ________________________________________________________ City, State, ZIP _______________________________________________ DAMSEL SOFTWARE GROUP DAMSEL SOFTWARE GROUP ***************************** End of File ***************************