Sign It! (TM) README.TXT File Copyright 1995 Specialized Data Systems All Rights Reserved Subject Page --------------------------------------- What is Shareware? 1 ASP Ombudsman Policy 1 Limited Warranty 2 Installing Sign It! in Windows 3.x 3 Installing Sign It! in Windows 95 4 Expanding the Archived Files 5 The Sign It! User Manual 6 Technical Support 6 Distributing Sign It! 7 Requirements for Commercial Vendors 8 Purchasing the Licensed Version 9 Inexpensive Graphics Tablet Vendors 10 Page 1 What is Shareware? Shareware distribution gives users a chance to evaluate software before buying it. If you try a shareware program and want to use it, you are required either to register it, or to purchase the licensed version, as is the case with Sign It!. Individual programs differ on details; some request registration while others require it. Some programs may specify a maximum trial period. With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using the software to an updated program with a printed manual. Copyright laws apply equally to shareware and retail software, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions, as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just like retail authors, and their programs are of comparable quality. The main difference between retail software and shareware is the method of distribution. Shareware authors specifically grant the right to copy and distribute their software, either to all or to a specific group. Some authors require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy and distribute their shareware. Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that meets your needs and your budget, whether it is retail software or shareware. The shareware system simplifies the process of determining if a program meets your needs, because you can try a program before you buy it. Since shareware overhead is lower, prices are also lower than comparable retail programs. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee: if you decide that a product does not meet your requirements and you are not going to use it, you don't have to pay for it. ASP Ombudsman Policy This program was written by 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 49442-9427 USA, or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. Page 2 LIMITED WARRANTY AND DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY THIS SOFTWARE AND ACCOMPANYING WRITTEN MATERIALS (INCLUDING INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE) ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. FURTHERMORE, SPECIALIZED DATA SYSTEMS (SDS) DOES NOT WARRANT, GUARANTEE, OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE, OR THE RESULTS OF USE, OF THE SOFTWARE OR WRITTEN MATERIALS IN TERMS OF CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, CURRENTNESS, OR OTHERWISE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE IS ASSUMED BY YOU. IF THE SOFTWARE OR WRITTEN MATERIALS ARE DEFECTIVE, YOU, AND NOT SDS OR ITS DEALERS, DISTRIBUTORS, AGENTS, OR EMPLOYEES, ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR CORRECTION. THE ABOVE IS THE ONLY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, THAT IS MADE BY SDS ON THIS SDS PRODUCT. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE GIVEN BY SDS, ITS DEALERS, DISTRIBUTORS, AGENTS OR EMPLOYEES SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY OR IN ANY WAY INCREASE THE SCOPE OF THIS WARRANTY AND YOU MAY NOT RELY ON ANY SUCH INFORMATION OR ADVICE. YOU MAY HAVE OTHER RIGHTS WHICH VARY FROM STATE TO STATE. NEITHER SDS NOR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION OR DELIVERY OF THIS PRODUCT SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, AND THE LIKE) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE SUCH PRODUCT EVEN IF SDS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. This Limited Warranty shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. ACKNOWLEDGMENT BY USING THE Shareware VERSION OF Sign It! YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ THIS LIMITED WARRANTY, UNDERSTAND IT, AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY ITS TERMS AND CONDITIONS. YOU ALSO AGREE THAT THE LIMITED WARRANTY IS THE COMPLETE AND EXCLUSIVE STATEMENT OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PARTIES AND SUPERSEDES ALL PROPOSALS OR PRIOR AGREEMENTS, ORAL OR WRITTEN, AND ANY OTHER COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE PARTIES RELATING TO THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THE LIMITED WARRANTY. Page 3 Installing Sign It! in Windows 3.x Before you can use Sign It! you must run the Sign It! setup program from Windows. You cannot just copy the files from the Sign It! Setup Disk to your hard disk. The files on the distribution disk have been compressed to save space. The setup program decompresses these files and installs them to your hard disk. 1. Start Windows 2. Place the Sign It! Setup Disk in a disk Drive 3. Make Program Manager the active window 4. Open the File Run Dialog Box by selecting File | Run 5. If the Sign It! disk is in Drive A, type: a:setup If the Sign It! disk is in Drive B, type: b:setup Then press the ENTER key or click the OK button 6. During the installation process, you will be asked where you want the Sign It! files to be installed on your hard drive The default location is c:\signit You can change this location to a drive and directory or your choice. Sign It! Setup will create this directory, if necessary, and then decompress the Sign It! files and copy them to this location. 7. You will be asked if you would like to add Sign It! to the program manager. You should select YES If desired, you can move the Sign It! program icon to another program later and delete the Sign It! program group. 8. The setup program will notify you when the installation is complete Page 4 Installing Sign It! in Windows 95 Before you can use Sign It! you must run the Sign It! setup program from Windows. You cannot just copy the files from the Sign It! Setup Disk to your hard disk. The files on the distribution disk have been compressed to save space. The setup program decompresses these files and installs them to your hard disk. 1. Click the Start button Windows 95 2. Place the Sign It! Setup Disk in a disk Drive 3. Point to Settings and then click on Control Panel 4. Double Click Add/Remove Programs 5. Click Install... then click the button labeled Next> 6. Click the button labeled Finish 7. Ignore the warning message that the file A:\DDEML.DL_ cannot be copied because the destination file is already in use (Click the OK button) 8. During the installation process, you will be asked where you want the Sign It! files to be installed on your hard drive The default location is c:\signit You can change this location to a drive and directory or your choice. Sign It! Setup will create this directory, if necessary, and then decompress the Sign It! files and copy them to this location. 9. A Sign It! program group will be created Page 5 Expanding the Archived Files If you receive the self-extracting archive file SIGNV107.EXE, you will need to expand the files before you run the SETUP.EXE program in install Sign It! Enter: SIGNV107.EXE c:\xyz where: c:\xyz is the location to which the expanded files should be placed. (If c:\xyz is omitted, installation will take place into the same directory as SIGNV107.EXE is located) Then run SETUP.EXE from Windows as described above. Page 6 The Sign It! User Manual The User Manual for Sign It! is provided on-line. You can access this manual after starting Sign It! by selecting HELP | User Manual or by pressing the F1 key. Alternatively, you can click on the icon Sign It! Help in the Sign It! Program Group. If you need to print individual topics in the manual, you can do so by selecting File | Print Topic Sign It! Technical Support Technical support for Sign It! can be obtained from: Specialized Data Systems 356 Holmecrest Road Jenkintown, PA 19046-3820 Phone: 1-215-572-7721 Fax: 1-215-572-7721 Internet: sctw41a@prodigy.com It is suggested that you either fax your questions or send them by e-mail, providing as much detail as possible as to the problem you are experiencing. Please provide information about the system you are using (processor, RAM, video card, graphics tablet, etc.). Providing listings of the following files may also be helpful to us in diagnosing the problem: CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT, WIN.INI, and SYSTEM.INI. The first two files will be in your root directory (e.g., c:\) while the latter two files will be in you windows directory (e.g., c:\windows). Please leave a phone number and a time when it you are generally available at that number. Someone from SDS will contact you and try to resolve the problem. Page 7 Distributing Sign It! You are encouraged to pass a copy of the shareware version of Sign It! along to your friends and colleagues for evaluation. Please encourage them to register and purchase a licensed copy if they find that they wish to use it. All registered users will receive a copy of the latest version of Sign It! You may not copy or distribute the licensed version of the program under any circumstances except as stated below: You may make a single (1) copy of the licensed version that you have purchased for archival and backup purposes only. After the 30 day evaluation period, you must own a licensed copy of Sign It! for each computer on which Sign It! is installed. Sign It! will continue to work for a short period of time after the 30 day evaluation period to allow time for your order to be shipped back to you. If you copy and distribute the shareware version, you must provide the entire set of Sign It! shareware version files, as listed below: cmdialog.vb_ signit.do_ vendor.doc commdlg.dl_ signit.ex_ ddeml.dl_ signit.hl_ msafinx.dl_ signit.sm_ readme.txt signit.wc_ readme.tx_ signit.xl_ setup.exe signit1.bm_ setup.lst signit2.bm_ setup1.ex_ vbrun300.dl_ setupkit.dl_ ver.dl_ As an alternative, you may distribute the archived version of these files that are contained in the self-extracting archive file: SIGNV107.EXE (This file was created with LHA version 2.13) Sign It! must be installed using the SETUP program. Page 8 Requirements for Commercial Vendors The shareware version of Sign It! may be freely distributed, with the following restrictions: Written permission must be received from Specialized Data Systems to distribute Sign It! on retail racks, on CD ROM's, or bundled with any other product. BBS's - You may assemble the full set of Sign It! shareware files as a zip file. Please name this file sign106.xxx (e.g., sign106.zip or sign106.exe). ASP approved vendors will automatically receive the latest version of Sign It!. Non ASP vendors may receive the latest version of Sign It! by contacting Specialized Data Systems by telephone or FAX at 215-572-7721 or by e-mail at sctw41a@prodigy.com Disk Vendors, Shareware Distributors and BBS(s) may charge a nominal fee for distribution of the program. Written authorization must be obtained from Specialized Data Systems by anyone distributing Sign It! for any kind of remuneration. This authorization will be granted automatically to distributors recognized by the Association of Shareware Professionals as adhering to its guidelines for shareware distributors. These ASP approved vendors may begin offering Sign It! immediately, although Specialized Data Systems must be advised, in writing, that such distribution has commenced. The recipient of Sign It! must be informed, in advance, that the fee paid to acquire Sign It! does not relieve the recipient from purchasing the licensed version of Sign It! if the recipient continues to use Sign It! beyond the 30 day evaluation period. Page 9 Purchasing the Licensed Version You may use the shareware version of Sign It! for a 30 day trial period. If you want to continue to use Sign It! after the 30 day trial period, you are required to purchase the licensed version of Sign It! from Specialized Data Systems. No other vendors are authorized to sell you a copy of the licensed version of the program. You must own a licensed copy of Sign It! for each computer on which Sign It! has been installed. When you purchase the licensed version of Sign It! you will receive a disk with the most recent version of Sign It! Page 10 Inexpensive Graphics Tablet Vendors For those of you who do not own a graphics tablet, the following is a list of 800 numbers for several vendors who offer inexpensive ($100-$200) tablets. These tablets come with software drivers that allow you to replace your mouse. Most are in the 5"x5" size range and install to a serial port. Some are packaged with drawing programs. Company Product Phone Number ------------- ----------------------- -------------- ACECAD Acecat II 1-800-676-4223 Mutoh America Kurta Pen and Tablet 1-800-445-8782 Summagraphics SummaPAD Drawing Tablet 1-800-729-7866 Wacom Wacom Art Pad 1-800-922-6635