Copyright: (c) 1992 Robert F. Nee


Help Index
 Auto-Raise for Windows Version 1.16

Help Index.  Click on a topic for more information

Getting Started

Introduction

Installation and Setup

Network Considerations

Procedures

Using Auto-Raise

Lowering a Window

Configuring Options

Hiding Auto-Raise

Uninstalling Auto-Raise

Information

User Registration

License Agreement

Support

Contacting the Author

Revision History


Introduction

Auto-Raise is a utility program for Microsoft Windows Version 3.1 or later.  Windows allows users to run more than one application at a time.  Each application runs in its own overlapping window.  When a user wishes to switch to another application the user clicks in the desired window bringing it to the front.  Auto-Raise allows the user to switch among windows on the screen simply by placing the mouse cursor over a window.  After a short delay the desired window is automatically brought to the front.  The delay is user configurable.

In addition, any window may be pushed to the bottom of the "stack" of open windows by clicking the right or middle mouse button on that window's title bar.  You can now see what is behind the active window without closing or minimizing the application.  This complements the left mouse button's normal function of selecting the active window.

Once the user becomes accustomed to switching among windows with Auto-Raise, the speed and ease of use of the Windows environment increases noticeably.


Windows is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corporation


Installation and Setup

Note:	Auto-Raise Version 1.1 is designed for use with Windows 3.1.  It should not be used with Windows Version 3.0.  No harm will be done, however it may not work properly.  Users of Windows 3.0 should consider upgrading to version 3.0.  If this is not possible Auto-Raise version 1.14 is still available from the author.  See Contacting the Author for more information.

Auto-Raise consists of two program files (RAISE.EXE and RLIB.DLL) and a Help File (RAISE.HLP.)  These are the only files required for it's operation.  In addition a file named RAISE.INI is created in the same directory as the program files to store configuration information.  If you are upgrading from versions earlier than 1.12 Auto-Raise automatically copies your configuration information from the WIN.INI file and removes all references for you.  If you are running on a network please see the section on Network Considerations These files may be placed in any subdirectory the user wishes.  They need not be in the path.

If you wish Auto-Raise to run every time Windows is started you may set it up to autostart in one of two ways.  The first involves editing the "Load=" or "Run=" lines in your WIN.INI file in your Windows directory to include RAISE.EXE.  If Auto-Raise is installed in a subdirectory not listed in your path an explicit path must be specified.  Assuming you placed RAISE.EXE in a directory named \WINDOWS\UTILS, the WIN.INI file should look similar to the following:

[windows]

load=\windows\utils\raise ...

.

.

.

Note however that Auto-Raise always runs as an icon.  Adding it to the "Run=" line will therefore have the same effect as the "Load="

The second way to autostart Auto-Raise is to place it in the group named "Startup" in the Windows Program Manager.  Any program added to this group will automatically run when Windows is started.  Consult your Windows documentation for more information on creating new icons in the Program Manager.  As with the above method, Auto-Raise always runs as an icon.


Network Considerations

Auto-Raise makes every attempt to keep the users hard disk free of clutter and spurious files.  This involves attempting to create the RAISE.INI configuration file in the same directory as the program files (RAISE.EXE and RLIB.DLL.)  This may cause problems on networks if the directory is write-protected.  Auto-Raise will attempt to use the same RAISE.INI file for all users thereby confusing each users configuration information.  In order to prevent this situation it is recommended that Auto-Raise be installed on a read-only network subdirectory and that no RAISE.INI file exist in this directory.  This will cause Auto-Raise to revert to the default Windows directory for .INI files and allow each user to maintain their own RAISE.INI file.

If this situation poses a problem for your installation please contact me for further assistance.  See Contacting the Author


Using Auto-Raise

Once Auto-Raise is installed and running it is no longer necessary to click on a window to switch to it and make it the active application.  Simply place the mouse cursor in any window and it will become the active window.  In addition pointing at an icon will open that application.  There is a user defined delay before a window will become active.  This allows the user to cancel Auto-Raise by moving the mouse cursor into a different window or onto the Windows background before the window becomes active.  The default delay is 3/4 of a second.  Auto-Raise will not raise a window that has a dialog box open unless you point at the open dialog box.

It may take some practice to become accustomed to Auto-Raise.  You must learn to keep the mouse pointer on the application you are working with or you may inadvertently switch applications.  It is recommended that you leave the raise-delay set to the default initially.  Once you get the hang of it try decreasing the delay to a comfortable level


Lowering a Window

Another feature of Auto-Raise is the ability to push a window to the bottom of the "stack" of open windows.  Clicking the right or middle mouse button on the title bar of the active window will lower it to the bottom.  The next open window in the stack will become active.  This feature is a handy complement to the Auto-Raise feature when windows are obscured by others.  This feature is also useful if all windows are maximized.  Right-clicking the title bar will cycle through maximized windows without having to minimized them first.  Attempting to lower a dialog or other child windows has no effect.

You must choose either the right or middle (for three button mice) mouse button to use as the lower button.  The default is to use the right button.  See Configuring Options for more information.


Title Bar


Configuring Options

The Options dialog-box on the Auto-Raise menu allows the user to alter the way Auto-Raise behaves.  The following configuration options may be specified:

Raise Delay

Lower Button

Auto-Raise Program Icon

Ignore Icons

Don't Raise If Current Window Would Be Obscured

Choosing OK automatically saves this configuration for the next time Auto-Raise is run.


Raise Delay

When the mouse pointer is placed over a window Auto-Raise pauses before raising it.  This prevents windows from being raised inadvertently. This option allows the user to choose how long Auto-Raise delays before raising a window.  Use this scroll bar to specify in milliseconds the delay.  The range is 0ms to 4000ms.  Selecting a delay of 0ms causes Auto-Raise to raise the window immediately.


Millisecond

One millisecond is 1/1000 of a second.


Lower Button

Selects the mouse button to use for the Lower Window function.  You may choose the middle or right mouse button.  The middle button if for use with three-button mice.  The default setting is the right mouse button.  If this feature conflicts with some of your software or you do not wish to use it, select disabled.  For information on how this feature is used see Lowering a Window.


Auto-Raise Program Icon

This option allows the user to specify how the Auto-Raise program icon is displayed.  Auto-Raise may be configured to hide its icon or to display it at the bottom of the screen.  A third option shows the Icon for a few seconds at startup to let you know that it is running and then hides itself automatically.  Note:  the option to hide the icon is available only to registered users.


Ignore Icons

Normally if the user points to a minimized program's icon Auto-Raise will restore that window and make it the active window.  If you wish Auto-Raise to ignore minimized applications select this option.


Don't Raise If Current Window Would Be Obscured

This prevents Auto-Raise from raising a window if it would totally obscure the currently active window.  This is handy if you have the raise-delay set very low and are having trouble with windows and dialog boxes disappearing behind other windows.


Hiding Auto-Raise

Note: This option is only available to registered users.

Once Auto-Raise is configured properly, the program icon may be hidden to get it out of the way.  It may also be configured to hide itself on start-up.  See Configuring Options for more details.  To hide the icon choose Hide from the system menu.  This icon will disappear but Auto-Raise will still be active.  If you wish to unhide Auto-Raise once it has been hidden, simply run a second copy of the program.  The second copy unhides the first and immediately exits.


Uninstalling Auto-Raise

Auto-Raise was designed to be easy to install and uninstall.  It makes as few changes to your system as possible.  In order to remove it from your system you need only delete the two program files, (RAISE.EXE and RLIB.DLL) the Help file (RAISE.HLP.)  You should also remove the configuration file that Auto-Raise creates (RAISE.INI.)  This file will in most cases be located in the same directory as the other files.

If you configured your system to start Auto-Raise when Windows starts you will have to change your startup parameters to remove any references to Auto-Raise.  These references may be in the Program Manager's Startup group or in your WIN.INI "Load=" or "Run=" lines.  Consult your Windows documentation for more information.

Auto-Raise makes no other changes to your system.  This should be the case with all programs but unfortunately it is not.


User Registration

Auto-Raise is not provided free.  You are permitted to use Auto-Raise for 30 days free of charge.  If you continue to use it after this trial period you are asked to please register and pay the registration fee of $10.  Registered users will receive a registration number that will enable the Hide Icon feature as described above.  This is not crippleware, I am simply trying to provide an incentive for users to register.  Besides who wants to pay for something they already have?

Once you receive your registration number, click on the Register button in the About box and enter your name and registration number.  This information will be saved and the Hide Icon option will be enabled.

If you have any suggestions for future improvements, or if you are experiencing problems with Auto-Raise please feel free to contact me.  Thank You.

To Print a registration for choose Registration Form and select File-Print Topic.  Registration Form.

Internet mail address:	<nee@fininst_10.sbi.com>

Compuserve address:	70461,2034

Snail mail address:	Robert F. Nee

222 Willow Avenue #2A

Hoboken, NJ 07030


Registration Form

Send To:	Robert F. Nee

222 Willow Avenue #2A

Hoboken, NJ 07030

(201) 798-1344

_____ Copies of Auto-Raise V1.16 at $10.00 each:  $_________

Name:	____________________________________________

Address:	____________________________________________

Address:	____________________________________________

City:	___________________  State: _____  Zip: __________

Phone #:	__________________________

Compuserve #:	__________________________

Internet Address:	__________________________

Disk Size:	3 1/2 ________   5 1/4 ________

Registration numbers will be promptly forwarded as soon as payment is received.


Licensing Agreement

TERM:

The license to use this program is effective until terminated and is non-transferable.  You may terminate the license by destroying all copies of this program.  Failure to comply with any of the terms of this license will also result in termination.

WARRANTY:

THIS PROGRAM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED.  In addition, Robert F. Nee specifically disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose with respect to defects in the program license granted herein.  In no event shall Robert F. Nee be liable for any claims for lost profits or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential or other damage.  In no case shall Robert Nee's liability exceed the license fees paid for the right to use the licensed software.

Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you.


Support

As a registered user you are entitled to support and upgrades free of charge as long as you hold the license.  See Contacting the Author for details on how to obtain support.


Contacting the Author

I can be reached for questions and assistance in a number of ways.  Please feel free to contact me in whatever way is most convenient for you.

By mail

Robert F. Nee

222 Willow Avenue #2A

Hoboken, NJ 07030

By Email:

Compuserve	70461,2034

Internet	nee@fininst_10.sbi.com

Fidonet

ILink

Smartnet	I monitor the Windows conferences on these 3 networks

By Phone

201-798-1344	Evenings are best.  If you wish to leave a message please leave a brief description of the problem so I can be best prepared when I return your call.


Revision History

Version 1.16 (4/5/93)

Auto-Raise now handles applications that use multiple ownerless windows.  This allows Auto-Raise to switch between multiple overlapped windows created by the same application.

Auto-Raise now supports a "Do Not Obscure" feature that prevents Auto-Raise from switching windows if the new active window would totally obscure the currently active window.

Version 1.15 (1/19/93)

Fixed a problem that caused Auto-Raise to sometimes raise the last window pointed to instead of the window currently pointed to.

Improved the Options Dialog Box

Added the option to choose the "Lower" button.

Version 1.14

Previously Auto-Raise would not open an Icon that was active.  While this prevented the "menu-detach" described in version 1.11 it detracted from the consistency of the open-icons feature.  A new method for implementing this feature has been added to correct this.  (Thanks Alan F.)

Version 1.13

Improved checking of ownerless popup windows.  Auto-Raise used to think these windows belonged to a different application.  This was obvious in the Dialog Box Editor in the SDK.

If you are switching to a window with an open dialog box Auto-Raise will now raise the application as well as the dialog box.  Please note that you still can't switch to a window with an open dialog box by pointing to the application.  You must still point to the open dialog box.

Version 1.12

The "lower window" feature has been enhanced to work with maximized applications.  If all windows are maximized right-clicking the title bar will cycle through them.

Auto-Raise no longer responds to right-button clicks on icons as if they were right button clicks on the title bar which would perform a "lower-window".  This problem was most apparent in WinPost (Thanks N. Higashiyama)

Auto-Raise now maintains a private RAISE.INI file.  It should be in the same directory as RAISE.EXE.  If RAISE.INI does not exist, one will be automatically created.  If you are updating from a previous version of Auto-Raise, your old settings will be copied to this new file and removed from WIN.INI.

Version 1.11

The dreaded "Full screen DOS" bug has been fixed.  This caused Auto-Raise to sometimes throw the user back into windows after going full screen with Alt-Enter.  Auto-Raise now checks that the mouse really moved before doing an activation change.

Auto-Raise now checks if the system menu of an icon is open before opening the icon to a window.  This fixes a small, non-fatal problem that would cause an icon to open and leave its system menu on the bottom of the screen

Version 1.10

First major upgrade to Auto-Raise!  A "lower window" feature has been added to complement raising.  Clicking the right mouse button on the title bar of a window will lower it to the bottom and make the next window active.

Auto-Raise now works better with Back-Menu.

Auto-Raise no longer needs to have the "Ignore Icons" option set in order to work properly with the Magic screen saver.

Version 1.05

Fixed a bug in the handling of icons.  If you pointed to the icon's caption but not the icon itself, it would be highlighted but the window wouldn't open.  The window couldn't be opened again until the icon was unselected.  (thanks Ken G.)

Version 1.04

Users may now unhide Auto-Raise after it is hidden by running a second copy of the program.  Auto-Raise will inform the user that another copy is running and unhide the original.  This prevents that sense of loss after Auto-Raise hides itself.

Resegmented to allow more efficient use of memory.

Version 1.03

Fixed an oversight on my part that would prevent Auto-Raise from working properly with some screen savers (Magic.)  This problem also caused Auto-Raise to forget it should be working sometimes.

Version 1.02

Added a warning message when the user attempts to run multiple copies of Auto-Raise.  This is important to registered users who may have hidden the original Autoraise icon. (thanks Jeff C.)

Version 1.01

Fixed a bug that caused owned popup windows to lose focus to their parent window.  An example (the one that brought this bug to my attention) is the NOTES window in CROSSTALK for Windows.

Version 1.0

Original shareware release