Copyright: Copyright ® 1992, 1993 Mark Woollard


Index

The File Manager Inside

WINDOWS DIALOG EXTENSIONS v1.44

3D DIALOGS EXTENDER

The 3D Extender adds an overall sculpted 3D effect to most dialogs in Windows.  It is controlled by a Control Panel entry. 	Note to existing users

FILE DIALOG EXTENDER

The File Dialog Extensions attach a number of buttons to the bottom of a file load or save dialog from the commdlg.dll library supplied with Windows 3.1. Most Windows applications use this library for obtaining file names from the user. Thus when you go to load or save data from within an application the buttons will be available on the file dialog displayed allowing the manipulation of existing files without having to switch to the File Manager. The buttons that appear are configurable, as is the size that file dialogs are displayed. The buttons that may be added to the bottom of the file dialogs are:-

The extensions library also adds new items to the System Menu of file dialogs. These entries are the same as the buttons above (click on them for details) plus:-

Options...	Help...	About...

Other topics:

Disabling the Extensions in selected applications

I see no buttons...

How to register

Disclaimer

Known Limitations

Uninstalling WiDE

This product is distributed as Shareware on 28 day trial basis.


Make Directory
DIRECTORY

Clicking on the Make Dir button or system menu entry will allow a directory to be created in the current directory (as displayed to the top right of the file dialog).

You will be asked for the name of the directory; enter this and click OK to create it. If the directory is created successfully the file dialog will update to show the new directory. If an error occurs when trying to create the directory an error message box will be displayed. Click Cancel to exit the Make Directory dialog without attempting to create a directory.


DELETE FILE

Clicking on the Delete button or system menu entry will delete the currently selected file. This is the file highlighted in the file dialogs list of files. If no file is selected the  button will be disabled and no deletions can take place.

If the Deletes option is enabled you will be asked for confirmation of the deletion; click Yes to delete or No to retain the file. If Deletes is not enabled the deletion will take place immediately after you click the OK button. The file dialog file list will update after the deletion. An error message box will be displayed if the deletion fails.

If the application using the file dialog allows multiple files to be selected all the selected files will be deleted. If the Deletes option is enabled you will be prompted to confirm deletion for each file in turn. Selecting Cancel on a confirmation dialog will stop the deletion of the currently displayed file and all further selected files.


RENAME FILE

The Rename button and system menu entry allow the renaming of the currently selected file. This is the file highlighted in the file dialog's list of files. If no file is selected the  button will be disabled and no renaming can take place. Clicking on the Rename button with a file selected results in a dialog asking for the new name for the file. This should be entered and Yes clicked to rename it. Click No to keep the existing file name. An error message box will be displayed if renaming of the file fails.

If the application using the file dialog allows multiple files to be selected you will be prompted for a new name for each selected file in turn. Click Yes to rename, No to skip to the next file and Cancel to cancel the renaming of the current and all further selected files


FILE INFORMATION

The Info button and system menu entry will display information about the currently selected file. This is the file highlighted in the file dialog's list of files. If no file is selected the Info button will be disabled. The information displayed for a file is its name, size, and date of last modification and its attributes. This information is not editable apart from the attributes; select or clear the required check boxes to change the file attributes. Click on OK when finished viewing the information.

If the application using the file dialog allows multiple files to be selected you will be shown details of each selected file in turn. Click OK to move to the next file and Cancel to stop viewing the selected list of files.


Make Backups
BACKUP

The Backup checkbox and system menu entry are only enabled when saving. If it is checked before selecting to save a file, a backup will be made of any existing file with a name matching that of the file being saved. This is done by copying the existing file to a similarly named file with the extension .bak. An error message box will be displayed if the backup fails.


ABOUT DIALOG

Selecting About... from the Menu of a file load or save dialog will bring up the file extensions About dialog box. If the copy is registered it will show the registered user and serial number. If it is unregistered it will show *** UNREGISTERED COPY *** and Number : XXXXXX. Clicking OK on an unregistered copy of the extensions will result in the Shareware Reminder dialog being shown, offering the user the chance to register the program. Clicking OK on a registered copy simply returns to the file dialog.


Options Dialog Check Boxes
The Show checkboxes control which of the possible five extension buttons are added to file dialogs.


Options 'Options' Check-box
The Options section currently has one checkbox allowing the enabling or disabling of the Deletes dialog when deleting files.


Dialog Size Selection
The Dialog Size buttons allow this to be adjusted. Small is the same as the standard commdlg.dll file dialog, Medium has two columns in the file list box and is slightly deeper and Large is almost full screen on a VGA monitor and gives three columns in the file list box.

Note that the file list on the medium or large settings is a multi-column list and you scroll it horizontally to display any files 'off screen'.

Sometimes you will find the size buttons disabled (shown shaded); this occurs when the library is being used with an application that supplies its own dialog template rather than using the one in commdlg.dll. Because of this the extensions library doesn't know what the dialog will look like and so does not attempt to resize it and also disables the size buttons on the Options dialog when called from such a file dialog. The library still attaches the file buttons to the bottom of such a dialog and these can be used as normal.


OPTIONS DIALOG

Selecting Options... from the Menu of a file load or save dialog will bring up the file extensions options dialog box. This dialog allow the customisation of the extensions and covers three areas.  Click on the picture below for information.

Click OK to set the selected options and Cancel to ignore the changes.

The options selected in the dialog are saved in a section in the .ini file and will be used in later windows sessions.


Help
Displays this help file


.INI File
The Dialog Extensions store all their settings in SP-SERV.INI in your Windows directory, apart from your registration details and an optional pointer to SP-SERV.INI which appear in the WIN.INI file.


Selective Disabling
SELECTIVELY DISABLING WiDE

There is a chance that some applications may prove incompatible with WiDE.  The two 'Disable' check boxes on the options dialog allow you to mark the application that generated the current dialog box to be marked so that, next time you execute it, WiDE will not attempt to alter it's dialogs.

You may also tell the Extensions not to touch dialogs used by such applications by creating a new section in SP-SERV.INI like this:

[Commdlg ext disable]

fullname.exe=OFF

where the filename you give must be the name of the program you're finding troublesome.  The dialog extensions will then avoid this program.

You can similarly disable the 3D dialogs the same way with a section called:

[Dlg3D Disable]

If for any reason you wish to re-enable a particular application, you will have to edit SP-SERV.INI to do so.


NO BUTTONS?

Well, something must have gone wrong!  The most likely problem is that there is another version of COMMDLG.DLL on the path somewhere; use a utility such as SWEEP or DEDUPE to find all the instances of COMMDLG.DLL and remove the unwanted ones.

Another possibility is that the program you're using draws its own dialogs (Microsoft Word is a prime example).  Sorry, there's nothing we can do if people don't stick to the standards!

Check that all the following are in your WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory:

COMMDLG.DLL	as supplied with this

COMMDLG2.DLL	as supplied with Windows

DETAILS.DLL

... and nowhere else!


Entering Registration Details
ENTERING YOUR REGISTRATION DETAILS

When you receive your registration details enter the name, registration number and serial number as supplied into the appropriate fields on the Registration dialog and click on OK. These must be entered exactly as supplied. Once entered successfully the Shareware reminder and timeout will be disabled and your name and serial number will appear on the About dialog box.

You get the registration dialog by selecting the Register button from the Shareware Reminder dialog box. This will appear after closing the About dialog on an unregistered copy of the program. The About dialog is available from the system menu of a file open or close dialog of an application (that uses commdlg.dll) when WiDE is installed.

Thank-you for registering!


HOW TO REGISTER

In short, send £10 or $20 to:

SP Services

PO Box 456

SOUTHAMPTON

SO9 7XG

United Kingdom

or fax/e-mail your credit card number to:

Fax:	+44 703 322416

CIS:	100016,1625

Internet:	sphipps@cix.compulink.co.uk

We accept Visa, Mastercard or American Express.

Please send your name and address.  We know you have the software because you're reading this, so we won't send a disk unless you order one (£5/$10 extra).

What to do with a registration certificate...

Full details of registering & terms


Full Terms
FULL ORDERING DETAILS

Registration and initial support contact for this software is handled by the software publishers SP Services. A wide variety of payment options are available; choose the method most convenient to you. Please note that payment is required with order except from UK government organisations and UK plc companies, who may request invoicing at an additional charge of £5 per month unpaid after 30 days. Exceptions can be arranged for international orders for multiple copies - please call.

To register a copy of WiDE send your name and address plus either a Cheque, Postal Order or International Money Order for the required sum, made payable to SP Services, or your Visa, Mastercard orAmerican Express number plus the card expiry date, to:-

   SP Services

   PO Box 456

   Southampton

   SO9 7XG

   United Kingdom

or fax the card number, expiry & address details to 0703 322416 (international:  +44 703 322416), or leave them on the answering machine on 0703 550037 (international: +44 703 550037), or send them by e-mail to sphipps@cix.compulink.co.uk or to account 100016,1625 on CompuServe, or transfer sterling funds pre-paid to the following account:

Royal Bank of Scotland, 1 College Place, Southampton,

Sort code 16-31-37, account 00237689, name SP Services

Payment may be made (fully pre-paid please) in US dollars to account number SPSERVUSDC at the same bank.  If you use bank transfer, please also fax or mail confirmation of the transfer and order.

Pricing for WiDE is a follows:-

   Up to 5 copies	£10.00 each

   6-10 copies	£8.50 each

   over 10 copies	£8.00 each

   over 30 copies	please call

Note that NO DISK is included in this price as you already have the software! If you really want a disk, send an additional £5 to cover the extra costs involved. You can also request a disk at any time (so as to get the latest version) also for £5.

All credit card payments are charged in pounds sterling; conveniently, your credit card company conduct all the messy business of currency exchange for you at relatively low cost.

Cheque, postal order and bank draft payment may be made in pounds sterling or US dollars, pricing in dollars to be calculated at $2 to the pound. Please indicate whether you need a receipt when you order.  EEC VAT is not charged by SP Services at this time.

You can calculate the price for the number of copies required by entering the number of copies you require into the 'copies' field on the program's Registration dialog. The price will then be displayed on the dialog.

Site licences for over 30 copies may be obtained at a reduced cost by contacting SP Services by post or email.

Any person or organisation wanting to distribute the WiDE for profit must first contact SP Services by post or email for authorisation.

Disclaimer & license agreement

Trademarks


Disclaimer
DISCLAIMER AND AGREEMENT

Users of WiDE must accept this disclaimer of warranty. If you do not accept this disclaimer, do not use the programs.

THE WiDE SYSTEM IS SUPPLIED AS IS. THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND OF FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. THE AUTHOR ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES, DIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL, WHICH MAY RESULT FROM THE USE OF THE WINDOWS DIALOG EXTENSIONS, EVEN IF THE AUTHOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

THE LICENCE AGREEMENT AND WARRANTY SHALL BE CONSTRUED, INTERPRETED AND GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF ENGLAND AND WALES. YOU MAY HAVE OTHER RIGHTS WHICH VARY FROM ONE STATE TO ANOTHER.

Copyright for this software remains the property of:

   Mark Woollard

   29 Baskerville Lane

   Lower Shiplake

   Henley-on-Thames

   Oxon RG9 3JY

   United Kingdom

All contact should be made with SP Services in the first instance.


Control Panle for 3D Extender
3D Effect Control Panel

The 3D Dialog Extender is controlled from a panel displayed from the standard Windows Control Panel. The control panel functions are documented by clicking on the picture below.

Remember that, for the 3D effect to appear, you must first run 3DDIALOG.EXE - from your Statrtup folder, RUN= or LOAD= line or as a BackMenu @ entry if you want the effect as soon as Windows starts.

If you want to remove the 3D effects during a session, running 3DDIALOG.EXE a second time will achieve this.


Name Change Note
Please note that, as from version 1.4, the name of the executable to activate the 3D effect was changed from DIALOG3D.EXE to 3DDIALOG.EXE to avoid a name conflict with Ventura Publisher, which had a DLL called DIALOG3D.DLL resulting in a module name conflict when the two were run at the same time.

Also, all saved values have been moved to SP-SERV.INI in your Windows directory.


Credit Card Restrictions
NOTE ON CREDIT CARDS

Paying by credit card is best because it costs least in currency exchange and because most transactions are covered by the card company's own insurance scheme.

BUT please note:

If paying with credit card via mail or fax please include your signature on your registration request.

We sadly cannot accept credit card payments if yours is a PO Box address.

Please ensure the address you cite is the same one your credit card statements are sent to.

All these conditions are imposed by our bank and are outside our control - sorry.


Cash Payments
Please ensure that payment is either made in sterling or that an allowance for the cost of currency conversion (it costs us at least £6) is included in your payment.

Please make all payment orders payable to "SP Services"


Corel Draw!
It seems that Corel DRAW! uses custom code within the file open/save dialogs even though it uses COMMDLG as a framework.  Consequently, the list of files does not get updated as you change directories unless you re-select the file type.  We are trying to fix this but we can't figure out how right now - you'll have to add it to the exclusion list.


Quicken
For some reason, Quicken (and Visual Basic v3 and perhaps others) sometimes complains about COMMDLG.DLL being in use when it tries to install.  We've reported this to Intuit, but for now you'll need to temporarily return COMMDLG2.DLL to being COMMDLG.DLL just during installation of Quicken.


White Bands on Dialogs
Sometimes, dialogs appear with white stripes when 3D is enabled.  This is because there is a privately coded control in that spot which we're unable to apply the 3D effect to. We've tried hard to catch every combination of options, but this one seens to slip through the net sometimes.


KNOWN LIMITATIONS

Here are all the problems we knew about on August 1st 1993:

Word for Windows

Corel DRAW!

Quicken for Windows and Visual Basic v3

White Bands

(all trademarks acknowledged)


Word for Windows limitation
Word and several other older Microsoft packages use custom routines to draw their own dialogs rather than using COMMDLG.DLL; consequently, WiDE cannot customise the dialogs in these packages - sorry.


Shareware
WiDE is shareware, and are provided at no charge to users for evaluation. Feel free to share it with your friends and colleagues, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system. The essence of shareware software is to provide computer users with quality software without high prices, and at the same time to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products.

If you find WiDE useful, and you are continuing to use it after the trial period of 28 days, you must make a registration payment as indicated in the How to Register section of this document. In return you will be given a user name, serial number and registration number to disable the shareware reminders. This information will be good for all future shareware releases of the extensions. You will be informed when major releases become available (or of all releases if you ask to be added to our CompuServe mailing list).


BackDesk
BackMenu and BigDesk are part of the BackDesk package.  BackMenu offers an easily configured cascading menu that pops up when you click the mouse on the desktop; BigDesk is a virtual desktop that offers you up to 64 times more space on your Windows desktop.  BackDesk costs £30 including a disk and is available from SP Services or your usual shareware supplier.


Enable 3D Dialogs
Check this box to enable or disable the 3D effect throughout Windows.  Note that you must have run 3DDIALOG.EXE for the effect to appear.


Frame Type
Select Normal for your dialogs to have the standard box around them, or bevelled if you want them to seem to be bevelled at the edges:

Normal

Bevelled (with Raised selected)


Background Effect
Select how you want the bacground to your dialogs to look (all with Bevelled selected):

Raised

Sunken

Flat


Trademarks
WiDE and the WiDE logo are trademarks of SP Services

Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation

Other trademarks acknowledged.


UNINSTALLING WiDE

The effect of WiDE may be removed by the following steps:

1)	Leave Windows

2)	Copy \WINDOWS\SYSTEM\COMMDLG2.DLL to \WINDOWS\SYSTEM\COMMDLG.DLL

3)	Edit WIN.INI and remove 3DDIALOG.EXE from the RUN= line if you added it there.

You may then restart Windows without the benefit of WiDE.