Copyright: Copyright 1995 Kevin R. Jones


Advantages

Originally, I did not set out to design and program Meter Master. Instead, I evaluated several demo versions of other metering software, with the intent to purchase whichever one best fit my needs. That is when I discovered a fundamental flaw in the way most of them handled the metering.

The basic principle is this:

You launch your application through the metering software.  The metering software then creates a control file and launches the application. When the application is closed the control file is deleted and the metering software removes itself from memory.

So what's the flaw?

What if the user's application locks up, stops responding, or they simply turn off their computer (ouch)? The control file never gets deleted. This causes the permanent loss of that license and requires intervention by the system administrator or supervisor to manually clear out the control file before anyone can access that license again. Sounds counter-productive, doesn't it?

This is Meter Master's strong point:

Rebooting or locking your system up will not cause a false lockout. That means that whether you are allowing a single instance or fifty, your users will get maximum use out of the application. And it doesn't require unnecessary time on the part of the administrator to keep everything running smoothly.

While you're at it, why not check out some of Meter Master's other advantages.


Application title setup

Application Title

Enter a text description for the title of the application to be metered. The title is used for message box titles such as the access denied message.


Clear log button

Clear Log

Clicking the Clear Log button will clear all user log entries since the last time the log was cleared.


Known Incompatabilities

"WinCheck" by Wilson Window Ware

This program does not always release it's Windows module handle when exiting. Although this does not cause a problem with Meter Master's metering or logging capabilities, you will sometimes not be able to re-launch "WinCheck" until restarting Windows.

Meter Master is capable of dealing with this error, and will display a message to the user's screen explaining that the application did not terminate normally and that Windows should be restarted.

If you experience this problem with any other Windows applications, please let me know. See technical support for information on how to contact me.


Contents Page

Contents for Meter Master Help

Overview

Advantages

Other Advantages

Installation

Setup

Troubleshooting

Technical Support

Registration Information

Copyright Notice

Notice:	All brand names, product names, numbers, and symbols are used for reference purposes only, and are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.


Copyright

Meter Master

Version 1.0

Copyright 1995 Kevin R. Jones.

All rights reserved.


Control Files

Control files are necessary for nearly all metering utilities. The concept is to create a file (eg. NOWINUSE.TMP) as the metering software launches the application. If the control file is already on the disk, then another session must be using the application. This results in a message to try again later. When the first user finally closes the application, the metering software takes over and deletes the control file so other sessions may access the software.

Meter Master uses control files, but not in quite this manner.


Denied Access

This occurs when the number of active sessions of an application is equal to the preset value on the Meter Master setup screen. A message box is displayed to explain that all available sessions are in use and to try again later.


Find file button

Find File

Click this button to choose the executable file to monitor.  A dialog box will appear showing all executable files in the current directory. Simply pick the appropriate file and click on OK.


How to Run Setup

   Make sure that the Meter Master executable (MTRMSTR.EXE) and the help file are located in the directory of the application you wish to meter.

   From the Windows Program Manager choose FILE | RUN. Enter the drive and directory from above plus "MTRMSTR.EXE /S". This will run Meter Master in setup mode.


Installation

It is reccommended that the system administrator or workgroup manager perform the installation of Meter Master because of the technical nature of the installation and the requirement for full file access to the destination directory.

System Requirements

Test Installation:

If you would like to see how Meter Master works without fear of affecting any applications you currently use, try the following...

Make a temporary directory on your hard drive. Place the Meter Master executable and help file there, and a copy of a simple Windows application (calc.exe for example).

Launch the Meter Master executable from this directory with the "/S" command line switch (MTRMSTR.EXE /S) to run in setup mode.

Click on FIND FILE and select "CALC.EXE" as the metered application.

Provide an appropriate title such as "Calculator".

Enable metering and set to one instance.

Enable the user log.

Choose SAVE and then exit.

Next, add Meter Master to one of your Program Manager Groups. Make the Icon title "Calculator" and change the Icon to Calculator's icon.

Now, when you double-click on the new Calculator Icon. Calculator will launch as usual, but it is being metered.

Minimize the newly launched calculator, and launch another calculator session. This time, Calculator does not load because you have reached the maximum number of instances. If you had selected User Logging during setup, you can run Meter Master in setup mode to view the newly created log file.

Normal Installation:

You can follow the steps above to install Meter Master for any other Windows application you wish to meter. Simply make sure that the Meter Master executable is in the same directory as the application's executable file and that users have read and write access to this directory.

Optional Installation:

If you have already installed your application on the server and the network users have been using the application, try renaming the application's executable file to the name of your choice (but keep the .EXE extension). Rename the Meter Master executable file to the original name of the application. This step avoids the need to reconfigure the launch icon at the individual workstations. This method of installation may not work with Windows Applications that refer to themselves by name while running.


Internal-File Handling

Determines how Meter Master uses its internal files.

Settings

Hide when possible	Meter Master will attempt to hide its internal files such as the log file, configuration file, and control files if this box is checked.

Delete after use	This causes Meter Master to delete any internal files that are not in use. The advantage is that it saves space (not much). By leaving the box unchecked, Meter Master will re-use any previously created files which can help keep disk fragmentation to a minimum.


User logging setup

User Logging

When building the user log, Meter Master checks several places to find a valid user name. If Meter Master cannot find one, it checks a DOS environment variable called "USERNAME". If Meter Master is having trouble locating your user names, you may need to set this environment variable. One method of doing this is by placing an entry in the users AUTOEXEC.BAT file or in your network login script. An example AUTOEXEC.BAT statement looks like this.

set USERNAME=John Doe

Similar statements can be placed directly inside a network login script. If you are using Novel Netware 3.X a valid entry might look like this:

dos set USERNAME = login_name

Please consult your network documentation for further information.

Settings

Disabled	Turns logging off.

Enabled	Turns logging on. Two tools are provided for controlling the log through the setup screen: View Log and Clear Log.


Log Information

The master log tracks the user name, date, time in, and time out for each use of the metered application. If a user is denied access, they are also logged but in place of "time in" is the comment "-denied-".


Metering setup

Metering

Determines whether or not application metering is in effect.

Settings

Disabled	Turns metering off (users will have unlimited access to the application).

Enabled	Turns metering on. The number of simultaneous instances is then determined by the enabled scroll bar. Meter Master version 1 has an internal limit of 255, however, registered users will also be limited by the number of Meter Master licenses purchased.


Other Advantages

Here are some other advantages to Meter Master that are more or les "Side Effects" of Meter Master's operation.

User Logging:

The greatest advantage of user logging is that a system administrator or supervisor can view a log containing information about the use of a metered application. This information can be valuable when determining whether or not to purchase more licenses for an application, or in determining the peak usage times for an application.

Stealth:

While in use, Meter Master will be completely invisible to the user. All messages sent to the user will be in the name of the metered application. Meter Master even removes itself from the desktop, task-list, and the alt-tab switching order. In fact, the only way you can detect that Meter Master is running is through the use of third party tools for monitoring active windows.


Overview

Meter Master was designed specifically to regulate the use of Windows applications on networks. The main uses for an application such as this are:

Regulate network (un)aware applications:

Some Windows applications are just not network friendly. For example, a data storing application. If this application does not exercise record locking, unknown damage could be done to the data structure if two users attempt to access the application at the same time. Meter Master can be set to allow only one instance of the application to be running at a time on the network. This is a huge advantage (and safeguard) for users of older Windows applications that do not have built-in network support.

Limit application instances:

Another advantage of Meter Master is the ability to limit the number of instances to a preset amount. For example: If your company has purchased a 10-license-pack of some software, Meter Master can ensure your company is following the legal use of the software by allowing up to 10 instances across the network at a time. This will at least show INTENT OF LEGAL USE if your company ever finds itself in a license dispute with the software manufacturer.

Would you like to see more of Meter Master's advantages?


Registration

Why and how to Register?

In order to register, complete the registration form (ORDER.TXT) and send it with the registration fee to:

Kevin R. Jones

5203 SE 78th

Portland OR 97206

USA

Payment can be in Cash, money order & checks. Payments in checks must be in US funds drawn on a US bank. CASH payment can be in ANY currency whatsoever. It is not reccommended, however, that you send cash.

In return, you will receive a registration number that you should enter after running the program in setup mode and choosing the Register option from the menu.

Advantages of registration:

The Limited-Evaluation notices will no longer appear.

You will receive a printed manual.

You will receive the most receint version available.

If you supplied an E-Mail account, a notice for each new version release will be sent to you.

You will have FREE technical support should you have any problems.

You will receive my phone number.

Meter Master can save you literally hundreds and hundreds of dollars by allowing you to exploit the concurrent licensing agreement provided by many software manufacturers.

Your support will encourage me to continue to update Meter Master with enhancements and new features.

The guilt from using unregistered software will go away.


Save button

Save

The Save Button on the Setup Form will save the current Meter Master settings to disk.


Setup

How to run setup

Setup Options

Windows Application to Meter (executable file)

Application Title

Metering

User Logging

Internal-File Handling

Command Buttons

Find File, View Log, Clear Log, Save, Exit

Menu Commands

Register	The menu-item "Register" will open the online registration form. See Why and How to Register.

Re-Register	"Re-Register" appears only after you have completed the on-line registration form. This option allows you to increase the number of users should you decide to purchase additional licenses of Meter Master.


System Requirements

CPU:	80386/compatabe or better

O/S:	Windows for Workgroups (preferable)

Windows 3.1 or higher (requires SHARE.EXE)

VIDEO:	Users	Any

Setup	Color VGA works best


Technical Support

If you have not done so already, review the troubleshooting section in this help file. If you still have a question or need assistance, help is available from the following source:

Write to me at any of the following addresses:

Kevin Jones, 5203 SE 78th, Portland OR 97206, USA.

krjones@teleport.com	(internet E-Mail)

72722,3273	(Compuserve E-Mail)

Registered users may also receive telephone support. The phone number is located on the front page of the printed manual.

When you do report a bug or have a techninal qusetion please provide information about: the hardware you are using, version of windows, vesrion of the orerating system (like the DOS or Windows version number), version of Meter Master software that you are using, a list of the exact symptoms, and what you have done so far in order to solve the problem.

If you have any suggestion on how the product can be improved, please send those too.


Troubleshooting

Common Questions and Answers:

Even though I enabled metering, users do not seem to be limited to the number of instances I have preset.

You should make sure that the workstations are running SHARE.EXE. This is normally not necessary with Windows for Workgroups in 386 Enhanced Mode. Make sure this file is present in the user's AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

The user may not be launching the application in question through Meter Master. Once Meter Master is set up for a particular application, make sure that the users are launching the Meter Master executable instead of launching the application directly. You may need to modify the user's Icon to refer to the Meter Master executable instead of the original application. See installation for more details.

When the users end their application, they receive the error message "File Not Found."

See the answer to question 1 above concerning the use of SHARE.EXE.

After closing a metered application, the user can't launch the application again until restarting Windows. Or, the user receives an error message indicating that the application did not terminate normally and that Windows should be restarted.

See the section on known incompatabilities for further information.

If the above information does not solve your problems, please see the section concerning technical support.


View log button

View Log

Clicking the View Log button will display all user log entries since the last time the log was cleared, provided that LOGGING has been enabled.


Windows application name

Windows Application

This is the exact location and name of the Windows application (the executable file) to meter. To set the application name click on the Find File button.