Copyright: Copyright® 1994 DPM Computer Solutions


Contents


About The Publisher

The Shareware / Freeware Report

Editor-in-Chief: David McCarter

The Shareware / Freeware Report is published by:

DPM Computer Solutions
8430-D Summerdale Road
San Diego, CA 92126-5415 USA.

InterNet:DPMCS@AOL.COM
CompuServe: 74227,1557
America On-Line: DPMCS

All  brand names and product names used in this newsletter are rademarks, registered trademarks or trade names of their respective holders.

Material in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

Copyright 1994, DPM Computer Solutions, all rights reserved.

Non-Biased

To keep our reviews as non - biased as possible, TSFR is not affiliated with ANY software developer, BBS system or on-line service (CIS, AOL etc.).

A New Direction

TSFR is now Freeware! To make this newsletter available to as big of audience as possible, we will no longer offer paid subscriptions. TSFR will be made available via BBS, InterNet and On-Line systems. In order to accomplish this, we will accept advertising from shareware developers and BBS sysops. We will also great fully accept donations to TSFR from anyone that believes in the shareware concept as much as we do and want to help keep this project going.

As part of this new direction, there will only be one issue per year. This issue will be updated about every two months. In each update there will be more reviews added and features added and updated. For 1994, the file name to look for is: TSFR94xx.ZIP, where xx is the version number.

  The Editor

 Automatic Distribution via CompuServe

 Automatic Distribution via InterNet

 Where To Find New And Old Issues Of This Newsletter

Special Thanks:

People That Donated Money To This Project:

•	Stephen Long - Melbourne, Australia

•	Al Rubottom - San Diego, CA


Automatic Distribution via CompuServe

New for CompuServe users:

If you are joined to CompuServe and would like to automatically receive each new issue of TSFR the day it's released, please follow the instructions below:

•	Send me a e-mail message via CompuServe. My address is: 74227,1557.

•	In that message, please state that you would like to automatically receive updates. Also state that you will accept the charges for the upload.

Updates are released about every two months.


Automatic Distribution via InterNet

Unfortunately, we are not able to at this time to offer automatic distribution via InterNet. The $150 dollars a year it would take to have this ability is beyond our reach at this time (since this newsletter is free).

If you would like to make a small donation to TSFR to help us get InterNet access, please send a check or money order to:

The Shareware/Freeware Report
8430-D Summerdale Road
San Diego, CA 92126-5415

Please make checks payable to: David McCarter. Also write on the memo line "InterNet Donation".


Where To Find The Shareware Freeware Report
Where To Find The Shareware/Freeware Report

CICA- FTP InterNet Site:

ftp.cica.indiana.edu [129.79.20.17]

Windows-R-Us - BBS (San Diego, CA):

(619) 944-7368 or (619) 944-8583.  **Offical site of TSFR! Carries all programs reviewed and the latest issues. Join conference SFREPT for file listings or to leave messages for the editor.**

CompuServe:

GO WINSHARE. Use the keyword DPMCS to search for the latest version.

America On-Line:

Can be found in the Windows shareware area.


Attention Developers

We Need Your Programs!

Rules for submitting your program:

1 	 All programs submitted must be  compatible with DOS 6.x or Windows 3.1x.

2 	Programs must not be crippled in anyway or missing features (the ASP guidelines apply).

3 	Submit a fully registered version of your program. Register it to David McCarter. This is used for full evaluations and to mention the difference between the registered version and the "Shareware" or "BBS" version in the review. Programs sent for reviewed will not be returned.

4 	Submit the "Shareware" or "BBS" copy of your program. This file will be put on offical TSFR BBS sites for readers to download.

5 	Programs must be submitted on a 3 1/2 floppy disk mailed in a floppy disk mailer (NO ENVELOPES).

6 	Supply the easiest way to get in contact with you. I prefer CompuServe, AOL or InterNet.

7 	Supply where readers can download your programs (InterNet sites, CompuServe etc.). Also provide ZIP file name and sizes.

If you do not follow the above rules for submitting your program, your program might not be reviewed!

Send Your Programs To:

The Shareware / Freeware Report
Attn: Reviews
8430-D Summerdale Road
San Diego, CA 92126-5415 USA

When reviewed you will receive notification in what issue it was reviewed in and where to obtain a copy (via E-Mail).

TSFR Offers Low Cost Advertising For Developers and BBS Sysops

TSFR is now offering low cost advertising to developers of shareware and BBS sysops. This will keep TSFR free to users. This will lead to a larger number of readers who can read your advertisement and purchase your product.

Since there is one issue per year of TSFR with updates released about every two months, your advertisement will be carried in TSFR for an entire year.

For more information about advertising in TSFR, write to the address above or send an e-mail message to us.


Back Issues

Vol. 1 #1- Nov./DEC. 1993

TSFRV1N1.ZIP

Windows Programs

•	MicroLink 1.04

•	FontShow 5.1a

•	PrintEnvelope 2.32c

•	UltraClip 1.7

DOS Programs

•	PostCardMaster 4.11

•	The Invoice Store 3.0

•	SkyGlobe 3.5

Games

•	1993TRIS 6.0

Programmer Utilties

•	MessageBox Value

Beta Issue - Aug. 1993

S&FBETA.ZIP

Windows Programs

•	Paint Shop Pro 1.01

•	WinGif 1.4

•	Graphics Workshop 1.0e

•	Rockford 2.0

DOS Reviews

•	Over_LAZ 3.0

•	CopyQM 3.02

•	MicroMacroBat

Games

•	WinWheel 1.6


BBS Systems
Windows-R-Us


Windows R Us
Windows-R-Us

We carry ALL Windows & Windows NT echos! 24 hours a day!

(619) 944-7368 FREE

Subscription-Node 2

(619) 944-8583

Windows-R-Us Is The First Official Site Of The Shareware / Freeware Report!

All reviews and programs reviewed in TSFR will be available on Windows-R-Us in San Diego, CA. Until the next issue is released, everyone will be able to access TSFR conference "SFREPT". When the next issue is released, only users with TSFR subscriptions will be able to access the conference. Users with subscriptions will also be able to access the high speed line FREE!


CMPQwk 1.4

For those of you that already use BBS systems to read and leave messages, did you know that most systems have the capability to download mail to your computer! That's right, this way you can take your time reading all those messages off-line.

As some of you might know, I also publish the Visual Basic Tips & Tricks newsletter. Some of the source for that newsletter is from InterNet user groups. I belong to only two groups and receive about 200 to 300 messages each week. Reading them off line is much easier, I can save them on my computer, print them and respond to them whenever I have time. Reading them off line also makes the BBS Sysops happier because more people can access their system.

This is where CMPQwk comes in. Most BBS systems will create a mail packet and downloads it to your computer. The most common type of packet is called QWK. This packet contains a specially formatted and compressed collection of messages and message attachments (files) extracted from the BBS system's mail database.  CMPQwk will uncompress this packet and load it into the program. You can then read and respond or create new messages at your leisure. You can also read bulletins and browse the new files listing for the BBS. Specific attributes of the QWK packet (message limits, conferences and new file listing) are set by you on the BBS system.

After you are finished with reading, creating and responding to messages, using CMPQwk, you create a reply packet to be uploaded to the BBS. After you have uploaded the packet, the BBS will automatically uncompress the packet and put the messages in their appropriate conferences.

Now that I'm done with a short introduction to BBS mail, lets get to the features of CMPQwk. This program has so many, I will try to focus on the ones I use the most. CMPQwk has PKZip capability built right into it. This means that when it's compressing a reply packet or decompressing a mail packet, it does not have to drop to DOS to do so. This makes the process very fast.

After unzipping the mail packet, the main screen consists of a message window, conference window and message list window. The message widows is the area that contains the actual e-mail message. To move from message to message you can either use the icon bar at the top of the program or click on messages in the message list window. You can jump from conference to conference in the same manner. All three of these windows can be moved around to your liking. CMPQwk will save their locations for the next session.

In the message window, not only does it display the message, sender name, to name and subject it also displays the conference and message number. The status of the message (private or non-privite), indicate if you have already read the message. It displays message x of x and if there are any attachments (files) to the message .

While you are reading your messages, you can do many things with them. You can copy text from the message to the Windows clipboard. Save messages as a text file. Print the current message. Even save the message to a folder for temporary or permanent storage. Of course you can also reply to any current message.

Replying to a message is easy. Just click on the reply button and it launches you into the message header dialog box and then into the reply editing window. You can custom configure CMPQwk on how you want your reply to be formatted. You can configure quote headers, quote original text, your reply signature and more. For bad spellers like myself, the message editing window even comes with a spell check!

Writing a message is just as easy! Just pick your forum and press the create message button. Again, the header dialog box appears and asks you who the message is to, the subject, tag line and file attachment. Most of the text boxes have a drop-down list box attached to them to quickly add who the message is to or what tag line you would like to use.

Also when writing or replying to a message you can add pre-defined "rubber stamps". These are just text you have already written and can easily copy into your message. I use this extensively when I answer mail on where to get this news letter. Instead of writing the answer over and over, I just put it into a rubber stamp.

When you are done with your session, simply close the file or exit the program and CMPQwk will save your reply packet to upload to the BBS next time you call. You can configure CMPQwk to automatically delete old message packets. I have mine set at 14 days. This frees-up space on my hard drive.

If you read a lot of BBS mail, then checking this program out is a must. I've tried many others and this is the best I've found. I've used it with Windows 3.1, Windows 3.11 and Windows for Workgroups 3.11 with no problems. CMPQwk is HIGHLY configurable.

CMPQwk Is Developed By:

Derek Backus
1930-B East Alosta Ave. Ste 432
Glendora, California 91740
Registration Fee: $40


CopyQM 3.10

In October of 1993, Sydex released their latest version of CopyQM. This DOS based program is the best disk copy program I've been able to find (DOS or Windows).

These are just some the new features in version 3.10:

•	Uses Direct Hardware Access as the default control access. BIOS Access is still available for users who plan to use CopyQM under Windows or OS/2.

•	Comment records may now be added to diskette image files (registered version only).

•	Allows the user to copy Apple Macintosh high-density diskettes without special processing.

The new program comes with a new, better looking interface. Sydex also states that the new version is faster. I did a quick test using 3.02 and 3.10. I used no special switches. The new version seems to be a little slower then the older version. Still, CopyQM is still fast, especially when making massive copies of disks. I still don't recommend using CopyQM under Windows, it really slows down the process.

This program is a must for any shareware developer. It will save you a lot of money and keep your frustration level down.

CopyQM Is Developed By:

Sydex, Incorporated
PO Box 5700
Eugene, OR 97405
Phone: 503.683.6033 - Fax: 503.683.1622 - BBS: 503.683.1385

Registration Fee: $25
Original Review: August 1993 (S&FBETA.ZIP)
Original ScoreCard Grade: A


Corrections

The Invoice Store - Nov/Dec 1993 Issue

There were a few erros in the review of The Invoice Store 3.0. The registration fee for version 3.0 is $95 not $35. Non-whole numbers can be entered into the quanity field if the item is marked as a 'Service'. We stated that it did not print well on a HP DeskJet. The laser forms were designed to work with a fully compatible HP LaserJet printer... the HP DeskJet is not fully compatible.


Cosmo
Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure- The Forbidden Planet

If you are looking for a fun, entertaining and nonviolent game for your kids, then try Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure! It's so fun, parents will enjoy it too.

This DOS based game, is about a space creature, Cosmo. Cosmo's space ship was hit by a comet and crash landed on a planet. While Cosmo's dad was fixing the ship, Cosmo decided to go out and play. When he came back, he discovered that his parents were taken by a hungry alien creature. Cosmo's mission is to rescue his parents before it's too late.

This adventure comes with ten different levels, The first few levels are fairly easy, then they become increasingly difficult. Each level is a different part the planet. One level is a scary forest with ghosts. Another is a underground cave with falling rocks with faces on them. There is also an ice cave and a structure with flames shooting from tubes, just to name a few.

Cosmo defeats a wide variety of creatures by either jumping on them or exploding bombs next to them. Cosmo earns points by collecting stars, strawberries and other items. He collects health by collecting molecules. He can also collect more bombs to help defeat his enemies.

The graphics for this game is excellent! The game also supports sound cards (I have a SoundBlaster). The keyboard is re-mappable to suit your liking. The sound and music can be toggled on or off.

The shareware version of Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure is the first game in a series of three adventures. To save Cosmo's parents, you need to purchase the other two adventures. Registration goodies include the latest versions of all three adventures, a secret cheat-mode password, hints and secrets guide and a free bonus game.

Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure Is Developed By:

Apogee Software
PO Box 476389
Garland, TX 75047

Registration Fee: $39
File Name: #1COSMO.ZIP


DOS Reviews

 Rundown


Rundown

If you own a laptop, then you need Rundown. Why? The answer is simple... to extend the life of those $100+ laptop batteries.

Rundown helps to extend the life of the battery by draining it charge as much as possible. The reason why you need to do this is because rechargeable batteries, over time, will develop a memory. If this happens, the battery will never fully charge. The author of Rundown explains it better than I can:

"Most batteries  used to power  laptop computers will  be subjected  to a  repeated partial  rundown and  re-charge during normal  use. This partial  discharge/charge cycle  will cause the battery to  develop  a "memory".  The  battery will  soon  act  as  if the  total discharge state  is the level of partial discharge that  it is repeatedly taken to  and subsequently charged  from (i.e. if you use  50% of the total capacity of  your battery and  recharge it from that  point often enough, the battery will act as if it has only 50% of its rated capacity)."

The way Rundown "rundowns" you battery is by keeping your computer busy. It constantly writes text to the screen and at regular intervals, writes a file to your hard disk. The disk size and write interval is configurable. Rundown can also display a record of the last 23 times you ran Rundown.

I tested this program on a brand new Toshiba T1950CT DX2/40 laptop. It worked just fine except it failed to keep the screen display from shutting down. It still worked (maybe just not as fast) by writing to the disk. This program was written in '92, so it might not be up to speed with the newer laptops.

No laptop owner should be without Rundown! I just wish I had a similar device that would dis-charge my camcorder battery and all those rechargeable my kids toys use!

Rundown Is Developed By:

CSD, Inc.
4437 Ormond Trace
Marietta, GA 30066

Voice (404) 926-9565
Fax (404) 926-9590

Registration Fee: Freeware
File Name: RUNDOWN.ZIP


Drag And View Gold 1.0

Did you ever want to view a file and did not want to go thru the hassle of starting the program it was create it in? Drag And View Gold solves this problem. It can view files created by word processors, databases, spreadsheet programs, graphic programs in their native format. They can also be viewed in a ANSI, OEM or hexadecimal format.

Using Drag And View Gold is very simple. Just drop the file from File Manager onto the Drag And View Gold icon. The program figures out the file format and displays it accordingly. If it does not recognize the format, then it will display it in the hexadecimal format.

Once your file is displayed, besides viewing it, all or a portion of the file can be copied to the Clipboard. You can even zoom in on it up to 5 times the original size. If a database or spreadsheet program is begin viewed, you can search for a record number. All file formats (except graphics and sound files) can be searched for a string of characters. All files formats can be printed. Text files will be printed using the default font of the printer. You can even launch the program associated with the file being viewed.

File Formats Supported

ANSI, OEM, Hex, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Word for Windows, Microsoft Works, Microsoft Works for Windows, Windows Write, WordPerfect, WordPerfect for Windows, Ami Pro, Q&A Write, Q&A Write for Windows, dBase (as seen in the graphic below), FoxPro, Clipper, Paradox, Paradox for Windows, Excel, Lotus 123, Symphony, Quattro, Quattro Pro, Quattro Pro for Windows, Windows Metafile (WMF), BMP, ICO, PCX, GIF, TIFF, JPEG, DCX/DCF, ZIP, LZH, CoreDraww version 3 (CDR), AutoCad (DXF), Micrografix Designer (DRW), Harvard Graphics 3 (HC3/ST3), Encapsulated Post Script/Adobe Illustrator (EPS/AI), Hewlett Packard Graphics Language (HPGL), Lotus (PIC), Computer Graphics Metafile (CGM/CTM) and WordPerfect Graphics (WPG).

Drag And View Gold can be added to the File Manager (during the installation program) so that every time File Manger is loaded, so is Drag And View Gold.

Requirements:

Drag And View works with all versions of Windows, including Windows for Work Groups.

Drag And View Gold Is Developed By:

Canyon Software
1537 Fourth Street Suite 131
San Rafael, CA 94901

Phone: 415.382.7999
Fax: 415.382.7998
E-Mail: CompuServe: 71320,1277

Registration Fee: $35


Drag And Zip 3.2

Have you ever wanted to zip and unzip files in Windows using PKZip instead of going to the DOS prompt ? Well now you can, using the File Manager and the program Drag And Zip. This new version of the progam now supports the new PKZip 2.04G.

Unzipping Files

Unzipping a file is as easy as double clicking on the file in File Manager. That brings up a Zip Viewer that gives you the opportunity to view any file in the zipped file, delete a file, run a file, extract one or more files or make a .EXE file! Running a file (like a Windows Write file) will automatically extract the file and bring it up in the appropriate program. After editing the file, it can be zipped back into the original zip file.

Drag And Zip can also scan your zip file for viruses (providing you have a virus scanning program). It also has a feature called "Check Out". Check Out temporarily unzips a file and puts the extracted files in a "Check Out" program group so you can try them out.  When you're all done you can delete the extracted files and the "Check Out" group automatically, or if you want to keep the group, you can save it under another name.

Zipping Files

To zip a file or group of files or a directory, simply highlight them in File Manager and drop them onto the Drag And Zip icon! A dialog box will appear asking you for the file name, output directory and also let you enter command line arguments. If you are like me and alway forget the arguments, the handy 'browse arguments' features will allow you to coose the arguments you want and will automatically add them.

The program also comes with a handy icon that allows you to launch the File Manager and Drag And Zip at the same time.

Requirements

To use Drag And Zip you must be using Windows 3.1 and have your own copies of PKZIP, PKUNZIP and ZIP2EXE.

DragAndZIP Is Developed By:

Dan Baumback
Canyon Software
1537 Fourth St. Suite 131
San Rafaell CA 94901

Registration Fee: $25


Dupe 1.4c

Running out of disk space on your hard drive? Before you run out and purchase Stacker or another hard drive, check out Dupe. Dupe will scan any drive for duplicate files. Due to the nature of Windows programs that have either no install program or a poorly written one, you might have the same file located in many different directories on your fixed drives. The biggest culprits are DLL, VBX, COM or even EXE files.

Files such as DLL's or VBX's are for the most part, common files. This means that they are used by many different Windows programs. In most cases they should be located in the Windows system directory. When some programs install, they might put those files in the program directory, the Windows directory or ideally in the Windows system directory. This can cause many duplicate copies of the same file.

Files such as COM or EXE are usually duplicated when a new version of a program is installed. For instance, if you upgrade to DOS 6.2, it will copy to the DOS directory new versions of Smartdrive, EMM386 and Ramdrive programs. These programs also reside in your Windows directory. Not only should you use the new versions, you can free up disk space by deleting the old files.

Dupe makes this process very easy. As many drives as you want can be configured to search. Specific directories can be searched as well as specific file types (*.*, *.bat etc.). Searches are performed either by name, size or contents. Checksums can also be used. Minimum and maximum file sizes can be set as well as checking for hidden files and subdirectories. After starting the search, the multi-tasking switch can be set and Dupe can be minimized. Dupe works so well the background, you won't even notice it running. When it's done the  "Search Results" box will display.

The "Search Results" box displays each group of duplicate files. The files can be compared to each other to make sure they are the same. If they are, one or more can be chosen to be deleted. The files are not deleted at that time. When you are finished reviewing the duplicate files and choose "Exit and Delete", you will be given one more chance before they are really deleted.

Be for warned!! When it comes to program files (EXE, COM, DLL, VBX etc.), if you are unsure if the file can be safely deleted, DON'T DELETE IT! It's a good idea to run Dupe every once in awhile to keep your drive free of duplicate files.

Dupe 1.4 Is Developed By:

Babbacombe Computers Ltd
397 Meanwood Road
Leeds
West Yorkshire
UK
LS7 2LL

Phone: 44 532 459673, within the UK this is 0532 459673

E-Mail:
share@babbacom.demon.co.uk
tprinn@cix.compulink.co.uk
CompuServe: 100016,2726

Registration Fee: $25
File Name:DUPE14C.ZIP


Editorials


Game Reviews

 Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure- The Forbidden Planet


GT Toolbar Kit 1.2

GT Toolbar Kit VBX, makes creating a professional looking toolbar in your Visual Basic for Windows, quick and easy. The kit actually contains two tools, GT Toolbar and GT Panel.

GT Toolbar:

GT Toolbar can be used to create a toolbar of as many picture buttons as you want. It uses only one graphic to contain all the pictures for the buttons. It already comes with a set of Windows "standard" pictures for open file, close file, etc.. With the registered version, you can create your own graphics. The graphic includes the enabled picture and the disabled picture.

GT Panel:

GT Panel is primarily used in conjunction with GT Toolbar or it can be used to create a 3-D panel. It makes a great container for GT Toolbar buttons. If you disable the panel, it automatically prevents the buttons in GT Toolbar to register a mouse click event. It's also easy to create a "help" status bar with this control.

I use GT Toolbar Kit in one of my shareware programs. It works like a charm! There is no noticeable flicker when clicking the buttons. The author says that this VBX takes up very little system resources.

Run-Time Version:

The registered version comes with a runtime VBX that is 7K smaller than the VBX used for development.

Requirements:

As far as I know, GT Toolbar Kit works with Visual Basic for Windows 3.0 Pro, I'm not sure about other versions.

GT Toolbar Kit 1.2 Is Developed By:

George R. Torralba
8728 Phinney Ave. N #8
Seattle, WA 98103

E-Mail: grtorlba@seattleu.edu

Registration Fee: $15


Hall Of Fame

The section contain all the programs that receive a grade of "A" or "A+" from previous reviews. Refer to this section to find the best shareware or freeware programs on the market!

CopyQM

This DOS based program the the best full featured disk copier around! A must for anyone who does a lot of disk copying (like shareware or freeware developers).
Shareware fee is: $25
Developed By: Sydex
Issue Reviewed In: August 1993 (S&FBETA.ZIP)
Overall Grade: A

Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure- The Forbidden Planet

If you are looking for a fun, entertaining and nonviolent game for your kids, then try Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure! It's so fun, parents will enjoy it too.
Shareware fee is: $39
Developed By: Apogee Software
Issue Reviewed In: 1994 #1 (TSFR9401.ZIP)
Overall Grade: A

GT Tool Bar Kit

GT Toolbar Kit VBX, makes creating a professional looking toolbar in your Visual Basic for Windows, quick and easy. The kit actually contains two tools, GT Toolbar and GT Panel.
Shareware Fee: $15
Developed By: George Torralba
Issue Reviewed In: 1994 #2 (TSFR9402.ZIP)
Overall Grade: A

FontShow

This program is fantastic for creating catalogs of all those fonts loaded in Windows. FontShow is compatible with Adobe Type Manager, Bitstream Facelift, SuperPrint, Publisher's PowerPak and TrueType fonts.
Shareware fee is: $15
Developed By: Harvey J. Kaye
Issue Reviewed In: Nov/Dec 1993 (TSFRV1N1.ZIP)
Overall Grade: A

MessageBoxValue

This programmer tool for Visual Basic gives you the message box value for a set of defaluts that you define. A must for those of us that can never remember what the values are
Freeware
Developed By: Gavin Lazarow
Issue Reviewed In:  Nov/Dec 1993 (TSFRV1N1.ZIP)
ScoreCard Grade: A+

MicroLink

This is the best Windows based communications program around. Even better than any commercial package I've found.
Shareware fee is: $35
Developed By: MicroWerks
Issue Reviewed In: Nov/Dec 1993 (TSFRV1N1.ZIP)
Overall Grade: A

PerCnt

This VBX for Visual Basic for Windows programmers easily creates a percentage status bar.
Shareware fee is: $12
Developed By:James Shields
Issue Reviewed In:  Nov/Dec 1993 (TSFRV1N1.ZIP)
Overall Grade: A+

PrintSwitch

This program makes it as easy as a click of the mouse button to change the default printer. It can also change others aspects of printing.
Shareware Fee: $10 plus shipping
Developed By: Graphic Impact
Issue Reviewed In: 1994 #2 (TSFR9402.ZIP)
ScoreCard Grade: A

RunDown

This DOS program will run down your laptop battery as much as possible. This will prolong the life of it.
Freeware
Developed By: CSD , Inc.
Issue Reviewed In: 1994 #2 (TSFR9402.ZIP)
ScoreCard Grade: A

SkyGlobe

If you are into astromony, then you can't pass-up this DOS program. SkyGlobe is packed with lots of features. Enough to satisfy the hard-core astronomer and the not - so - hard - core.
Shareware fee is: $20
Developed By: ClassM Software
Issue Reviewed In:  Nov/Dec 1993 (TSFRV1N1.ZIP)
ScoreCard Grade: A

SysUse 1.3

This program displays your CPU status, memory used, resources used and disk space left on a drive. Also compacts fragmented memory.
Shareware Fee: $5.95
Developed By: Jonathan Reed
Issue Reviewed In: 1994 #1 (TSFR9401.ZIP)
Overall Grade: A+

UltraClip

This Windows program allows multiple pasting in and out of the Windows Clipboard. UltraClip is a great timesave when moving graphics or text from one program to another!
Freeware
Developed By: Doug Overmyer
Issue Reviewed In:  Nov/Dec 1993 (TSFRV1N1.ZIP)
Overall Grade: A

WinImage

This is the best Windows disk copier available. Can store disk images, convert format types, add/delete files and directories to images.
Shareware Fee: $20
Developed By: Gilles Vollant
Issue Reviewed In: 1994 #2 (TSFR9402.ZIP)
ScoreCard Grade: A

WinZIP

This program zips and unzip files in Windows without using PKZip. Other features include checking out programs then deleting them, uninstall option and much more!
Shareware Fee: $29
Developed By: Niko Mak Computing, Inc.
Issue Reviewed In: 1994 #2 (TSFR9402.ZIP)
ScoreCard Grade: A

WINWHEEL

WINWHEEL is a Windows games just about the same as Wheel-Of-Fortune. Great for anyone who loves the show. Shareware fee is $21.
Developed By: Russel Mueller
Issue Reviewed In: August 1993 (S&FBETA.ZIP)
Overall Grade: A


Letters To The Editor

Your publication is very useful and it has already come in handy.  However, I think you should put the names of the software files as found on anonymous FTP sites.  I am having a difficult time finding Font Show.  Also, some of these programs may be only found on Compuserve and I think that you ought to add that to your review so that we don't waste our time searching the net.

Patrick Binning

I just read your TSFR-Report and find it very nice made. My only criticism can be that I am missing a better description where to find all the nice reviewed programs. My archie server for example does not find the copyqm 3.10. An exact description of the filename on common ftp servers would very much help.

Christoph Passon

I use to search the InterNet to see where readers could download (ftp) the files from. Unfortunately, this became very time consuming. I feel that time could be used better by providing more in-depth reviews.

All programs reviewed in TSFR can be downloaded from the Windows-R-Us and High Country BBS's here in San Diego. Click on the "BBS System" button on the main screen for more information.

If anyone would like to search the InterNet for locations, please feel free to volunteer. I could provide you with a list of files to search for.

The Editor

We Welcome Your Comments On TSFR!

Please write the editor with any comments, questions and suggestions you might have on TSFR:

The Shareware/Freeware Report
Attn: Editor
8430-D Summerdale Road
San Diego, CA 92126-5415

InterNet - DPMCS@HIGH-COUNTRY.COM
CompuServe - 74227,1557


New And Improved
CopyQM 3.10

Rockford! 3.5

WinZip 5.5


Rockford 3.5
Rockford! 3.5

In April OsoSoft updated all it's major programs, Rockford! included. Rockford! now uses the Visual Basic 3.0 engine. This upgrade added many new features to this business card creating program.

Version 3.5 now gives the user to change printers on the fly, something the old version did not do. It's added many more pre-defined cardstock layouts. It's easier to add lines, graphics and adding color to your cards is a snap. One fancy new feature is rotating text!

The new version is not without some new and old problems. It still does not display fonts correctly all of the time. It crashes when I run another program that uses the Visual Basic run-time engine. It also crashed on me when I was viewing the help file. Speaking of the help file, it does not come with a Windows Help File, they've made their own, that is not very easy to use.

Even with it's problems, Rockford! is still the best shareware business card maker. It's what I use to create my business cards.

Requirements

Rockford! requires a 386/486 CPU, Windows 3.1, a hard disk and mouse, plus a
minimum of 2 MB of RAM and 2 MB of hard disk space, VGA or better graphics and a Windows compatible graphics printer  You'll also need about 6 MB of free disk space on the disk where you store .TMP files for Temporary files. This program supports only TrueType and Adobe Type Manager fonts.

Rockford! Is Developed By:

OsoSoft
1472 Sixth Street
Los Osos, CA  93402
OsoSoft BBS: (805) 528-3753
Voice Order Line: (805) 528-1759

Registration Fee: $20
Original Review: August 1993 (S&FBETA.ZIP)
Original ScoreCard Grade: B


WinZIP 5.5

This version of WinZIP as many new and exciting features. Here is a brief discription of just some of them:

Install/Uninstall Feature:

This feature is a real disk saver for people who try a lot of shareware programs that are zipped (like me). WinZip   will run the installation program in an archive, give you a chance to try the program, and optionally offer to restore your system to its original state. The uninstall step can selectively remove files, icons, or program groups created by an install program, and can restore any altered INI files. You have complete control over the uninstall process, and no changes are made without approval.

Move/Copy/Rename/Delate Archive Management:

This feature makes it easy to to move, copy, reanme and delete archive files without leaving WinZIP. A great way to use this feature is to move files to floppy disk to keep your hard drive uncluttered.

File Manager Extensions

This adds a menu selection to the Windows File Manager to allow easy access to WinZIP.

Smart DOC Handling:

This feature allows viewing of text files and viewing of documents by their appropriate word processor.

Reuse WinZIP Windows:

Thie feature prevents your desktop from becomming filled with different WinZIP windows. Instead of opening an additional WinZip window an existing WinZip window is reused to display the selected archive.

WinZip Is Developed By:

Nico Mak Computing, Inc.
P.O. Box 919,
Bristol, CT 06011-0919

E-Mail:  CompuServe 70056,241

Registration Fee: $29
Original Review: 1994
Original ScoreCard Grade: A


Newsletters Goal

Our Mission

Since most computer publications totally ignore shareware and freeware programs, our goal is to provide a forum to report to computers users which shareware and freeware programs are available.  There are hundreds of these programs that are as good or even better than their "off the shelf" counterparts.  We will review if they are worth the down load time and money, how much they cost, where they are available and when updates on current programs are released.

We will review DOS and MS Windows programs only.

This report will be written with the common PC user in mind.  We will try not to use too much off-the-wall computer jargon, so that most everyone will understand what is written.

The source of most programs reviewed will be from BBS systems, InterNet FTP sites and developers.

We also welcome comments from developers and users on any shareware and freeware program.

We hope everyone will find this report useful.  We will continue to publish this report if there is enough interest. Please fill out the questionnaire.

Non - Biased

To keep our reviews as non - biased as possible, TSFR is not affiliated with ANY software developer, BBS system or on-line service (CIS, AOL etc.).

A New Direction

TSFR is now Freeware! To make this newsletter available to as big of audience as possible, we will no longer offer paid subscriptions. TSFR will be made available via BBS, InterNet and On-Line systems. In order to accomplish this, we will accept advertising from shareware developers and BBS sysops. We will also great fully accept donations to TSFR from anyone that believes in the shareware concept as much as we do and want to help keep this project going.

As part of this new direction, there will only be one issue per year. This issue will be updated about every two months. In each update there will be more reviews added, features added and updated. For 1994, the file name to look for is: TSFR94xx.ZIP, where xx is the version number.

The Editor


PerCnt

Any programmer that uses Visual Basic 3.0 for Windows,  either knows about or might use the Gauge VBX that comes with it. If you are like me, I like to use horizontal percent bars to let my users see the status of an operation. There is one limitation that this VBX has, when the percent bar crosses the percent numbers, the numbers do not change color. This makes in hard to read and not very professional looking. The Gauge VBX is also very time consuming to design and use during run-time.

There is a alternative, PerCnt! This VBX is very easy to use and easy to design. It can be designed to look plain or the 3D features can be used (something that's not in Gauge VBX). Just some of the properties are: BevelBar, BevelInner, BevelWidth, BevelWidthBar, TextBackColor and TextForeColor.

Best of all, PerCnt is fast and works great with VB 3.0 Pro. When I need a horizontal percent bar, PerCnt is the only VBX I use.

PerCnt Is Developed By:

James Shields
Mabry Software
P.O. Box 31926
Seattle, WA  98103-1926

Registration Fee: $12
File Name: PERCNTR.ZIP


PrintSwitch 3.0b

There are many shareware Windows utilities released every month. Utilities to make things easier on the Windows user. If I gave out awards for "Utility Of The Month", PrintSwitch would get one.

PrintSwitch simply makes it much easier to change the Windows default printer. In this day-of-age, a person using a single printer is almost non - existent. Many of us print to multiple devices. For example, this is a list of all the printers I have installed on my system at work: Laser Printer to a printer port, Laser Printer to a file, Network Laser Printer, Color Printer to a printer port, Network Color Wax Printer and a driver to print directly to my fax modem. Most software programs have a setting "Default Printer" in their printer setup. So changing the device the document is going to print to is a snap with PrintSwitch.

Without PrintSwitch, to switch any of these devices, I must use the printer setup in the Control Panel. There are many mouse clicks involved in this process and can be quite irritating. PrintSwitch takes the drudgery out of this process. There are two ways to change your default printer with PrintSwitch:

PrintSwitch can list all available printers in a small window that stays on top of your desktop. Simply click on the printer you want to become default. From one of the small icons at the bottom of the window, the printer setup can be changed or the landscape and portrait orientation can be toggled. Clicking on the right mouse button anywhere on the window allows you to configure PrintSwitch. Just some of the configuration settings are: set it always to be on top, define printer alias names, enable/define hot keys, set the Print Manager priority, set the screen position and many more.

PrintSwitch can also be used minimized as an icon. Depending how PrintSwitch is setup , clicking on the icon with the right mouse button will either cycle through printers to set the default or change the paper orientation.

Hot-Keys can also be used to do the following: toggle the Print Manager on/off, toggle paper orientation, cycle thru printers, re-size from icon to full size, access the printer setup, toggle on top status and toggle from visible to invisible.

All of these choices make PrintSwitch very easy to use. They also make it very configurable. This program is a must for anyone with more than one printer device.

PrintSwitch 3.0b Is Developed By:

Graphic Impact
5241 Mission Oaks Blvd., Suite 377
Camarillo, CA  93012-5425

Phone: (805) 378-7232
Fax:  Fax (805) 482-6213
E-Mail:  Compuserve 73027,3307  OR  America Online at MikeH1259

Registration Fee: $10 plus shipping
File Name: PSW30B.ZIP


Programmer Tools

 PerCnt

 GT Toolbar Kit 1.2

 Wise Installation System 2.0 Pro


Wise Installation System 2.0 Pro

I do most of my programming in Visual Basic for Windows. The Setup Wizard that comes with it to help programmers make installation disks is terrible. Even though Microsoft has made many updates since it release, it still is slow and hard to work with. So about a few months ago, I started on a search to find "the best" shareware or freeware installation program for my projects. This was not easy, I have very specific needs that I will talk about later. I downloaded every program I could find and even used one of them on a couple of issues of VB Tips & Tricks. Well, my search has finally ended when I found the Wise Installation System. This system not only meets my needs but went much farther!

Wise will make a very professional installation of your program quickly, easily and has the most options of any program I've found. First lets start out with the feature any installation program MUST have (most don't). This is checking file versions of files, mostly common Windows shared files such as DLL's, OCX's and VBX's. The reason an installation program needs this is if you are installing one of these common files into the any of the Windows directories, it needs to be the most up to date version. You don't want to write over a newer version or another program to overwrite your newer version. With Windows, the developer of these types of files can embed version information into the file to prevent this. Simple date and size checking in not enough protection! In Wise, you can turn this feature on or off for any file you are installing.

The second biggest feature I believe an install program must have is the ability to create an installation log of what happens during the install process. This file can be used by the user to uninstall your program, if they need to. Not only does Wise support this feature, it goes one giant step farther by providing a uninstall program that reads this installation log file. The user can then choose an automatic uninstall or a manual one.

Besides all these musts in an installation program, the feature that really hit me when I first started using Wise was that instead of compressing each file to save room on diskettes, it takes the entire install program, files and all, and makes one executable file. This one file can even span multiple disks. I really like this feature because I don't have to worry about files not getting on the disk. Also, I can just upload this one file to on-line systems like CompuServe.

Wise also comes with a script writing front-end. A "script" is just all the commands for the installation program to use to install your program. This single feature will save you hours of time in not only creating scripts but save time in the learning curve. Most other programs do not come with a script writing font end like this, which makes making installs very long and hard because you basically have to learn someone else's script language. Wise will also lets you test you program by actually seeing it in action before you do the final compile.

The scripting in Wise if VERY powerful, so say the least. You can have IF/ELSE branching.  Create/edit INI files, AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS file and the system path. Wise has a components installation dialog to let the user choose what parts of the program they want to install. It also has a select directory browse feature and select from a list of Program Manager groups. You can even add a font to the system. In one of my programs I let the user choose weather they want the common Windows files installed to the program directory or WINDOWS/SYSTEM directory. Of course Wise will install and delete Program Manager groups and icons.

Wise can even call external programs to retrieve information you write or call a DLL. Wise even comes with a Dll that will get the system colors count or restart windows (just to name a few).

You can also display one or more graphics during the install cycle. This makes your installation program look just a professional as one from Lotus or Microsoft. The graphics can be position anywhere on the screen that you like. You can also replace graphics to display a new one.

Wise also has a dependency feature. This checks your program EXE to make sure you have included all external programs or files your program calls. If you forgot, Wise will give you the option to add them to your script. I wish I had Wise when I shipped out a beta test of one of my programs. This would have kept the beta testers from calling and complaining I forgot to ship one lousy file!

Wise has so many other features, I can't bring out all of them. You'll just have to download a copy and try it. You won't be sorry! If you are, I'll eat a floppy disk (as long as I can put ketchup on it).

Wise Installation System Pro Is Developed By:

Great Lakes Business Solutions, Inc.
39905 Lotzford, Suite 200
Canton, Michigan  48187
E-Mail: CompuServe-71355,470

Registration: $35, Pro Version $70


Read Only Reviews
Read Only!


SameSame
Same<>Same 2.2

This Windows shareware program makes it easy to transfer files from one computer to another via floppy disks. This program is a must if you take files to and from work. It can also be used around the work place to transfer files from PC to PC quickly and easily.

Version 2.2 has been the result of months of work to make the transfer of files easier and faster. Same<>Same is colorful and easy to use. All push buttons on the main screen include icons for better understanding and ease of use. The program shows the status (percentage of used space) for up to five drives. Percentage bars indicate the status of the upload or download. Display boxes show which group and files are being processed. Same<>Same will even calculate the estimated upload/download time and the estimated time left.

Requirements

Same<>Same is highly configurable and is designed to work under Windows 3.1.  It will accept any size of floppy diskettes, even floppies compressed with Stacker® 4.0.

Same<>Same Is Developed By:

Mail:
DPM Computer Solutions
8430-D Summerdale Road
San Diego, CA 92126-5415

E-Mail:
InterNet-DPMCS@AOL.COM
CompuServe: 74227,1557
America On-Line: DPMCS

How can I get it.

 CompuServe Registration

 Telephone Registration

 Mail Registration


SameSame Compuserve Registration
Same<>Same Compuserve Registration

To register through CompuServe, you need to have a CompuServe account.

•	Log on to Compuserve

•	At any prompt type "GO SWREG"

•	Select registration ID#2423

The registration fee will be billed to your CompuServe account ($25).


SameSame Telephone Registration
Same<>Same Telephone Registration

You can order with MC, Visa, Amex, or Discover from Public Software Library by calling:

•	800-2424-PSL

or

•	713-524-6394

or by FAX at

•	713-524-6398

or by CIS Email to 71355,470.

You can also mail credit card orders to:

PsL
P.O.Box 35705
Houston, TX 77235-5705.

Make sure to specify "WinDIZ"  order #11137, $25.00 will be billed to your credit card. If you order by mail or Fax be sure to include the expiration date of your credit card.

THE ABOVE NUMBERS ARE FOR ORDERS ONLY. Any questions about the status of the shipment of the order, registration options, product details, technical support, volume discounts, dealer pricing, site licenses, etc, must be directed to DPM Computer Solutions.


SameSame Mail Registration
Same<>Same Registering By Mail

Please register my copy of WinDIZ. I am sending a check or money order for the amout of $25 (this includes shipping and handeling).

Name:

Address1:

Address2:

City:	State:

Zip/Country:

Tel:	Fax:

E-Mail:

Send Completed Form To:

DPM Computer Solutions
8430-D Summerdale Road
San Diego, CA 92126-5415

Please Make Check Payable To: David McCarter


Score Cards

Each program is ranked in the following categories:

Bang For The Buck

This grade just means how much program your getting for the money. Many programs are overpriced for what they do. For example, a Windows screen save that costs $25-$30, would score low because for a simple utility type program, it's overpriced.  A grade of "A" or "A+" indicates that this program is very useful and being priced right is a must! A grade of "C" to "B+" in this category would be average to above average. I would not bother with any program with a grade of under "C". For scoring purposes, freeware and shareware will be scored the same. Even though freeware programs cost nothing, it does not indicate that it's any good.

Ease Of Use

This grade indicates how easy the reviewed program is to learn and use. Most shareware / freeware programs should be very easy since most are not as complex as commercial programs. Windows programs should adhere to the Windows standards put out by Microsoft. A grade of "B" to "A+" indicates that most users should be able to learn and use the programs easily. A grade of  "C" and below indicates that the user will have to devote much time trying to learn and use the program.

Help System

This grade shows how much on-line help or documentation is available. This grade is VERY important and greatly affects the other scores.  Any program that is not very easy to use needs a good help system and / or good written documentation. All Windows programs should have a Windows Help File. A Windows Help File should be written so that it provides help! I've seen many Help Files that developers don't take the time to do it right and it ends up not being any help at all, just a waste of disk space. If a Windows developer writes a Help File correctly, I don't see any reason to provide documentation.  Even though it's harder to provide on-line help in DOS programs, developers should try as much as they can. If there is no on-line help (or very limited), then the developer should provide well-written documentation in ASCII format.

Other things that could effect this score:

•	How easy it is to contact the developer. Many developers only provide support through the mail. In most cases this is unacceptable. Developers should be available through e-mail (CIS, AOL, InterNet etc..). I can almost guarantee that a user would rather not use a program than write a letter and wait a week or two for a response.

•	A Grade of "B+" to "A+" indicates that the program has good to excellent help. A grade of "C" to "B" indicates that the help system is average and could make things hard for a computer novice.  A grade under "C" would indicate that the program sorely lacks  in this area and would make it difficult for most users to use or understand.

Overall

This is the average of the other scores. A grade of "B+" to "A+" would indicate that this program is excellent and is worth the download time and registration fees. A grade of "C" to "B" would indicate an average to above average program. A grade of "D" indicates that the program below average and should be heavily considered before downloading or registering. A grade of under "F" indicates that the program needs much work and should not (in our opinion) be considered by users. It would not be worth the download time (especially if you use CIS or AOL).


Shareware Software
 Same<>Same 2.2

 Visual Help

 WinDIZ 1.2


Visual Help Demo

Visual Help is a powerful, easy-to-use development environment for creating Windows help files. Compared to conventional methods of creating Windows help files, Visual Help's intuitive drag-and-drop interface makes the assembly of help systems fast and easy.
A Windows help file is created from a Visual Help project. Visual Help projects are divided into topics. A topic is defined as the help information displayed in one window by WinHelp during runtime.
Each topic has its own window in the Visual Help development environment. A topic's help information is originally placed there when the author drags objects off Visual Help's Objects Toolbox onto that particular topic window.
These objects include titles, headings, subheadings, paragraph text, footnotes, and graphics. The author enters text into these objects. This design later becomes what the end user sees in the WinHelp window upon opening a help file.
In addition to text and graphic objects, the toolbox contains jump objects that you can drag onto your topic windows. Jumps provide pathways between topics and create the structure through which the user will "navigate."
At any time during assembly of the Visual Help project, the author can test the jumps in the file by pressing the play button on the main window toolbar. A simulation of the compiled version of the help project appears on the screen, opening to the contents topic. This feature saves a great deal of time by eliminating the need to compile the project every time testing is performed.
After assembling and testing the project, it is compiled into a form which WinHelp can open. This is an automated process which executes the Windows help compiler, hc31.exe. Upon successful completion of the compilation process, the help file is now ready for use. The final product has an ".hlp" extension, and can be used as a stand-alone document or referenced in the source code of the parent application.

How can I get it.

 CompuServe Registration

 Telephone Registration

 Mail Registration

Note: if you would like to get the shareware version of Visual Help, you can download it from CIS MSBASIC forum,  WinSDK forum or WinSIG BBS at 714-363-9802, file name is "VH.ZIP".


VH Compuserve Registration
Compuserve Registration

To register through CompuServe, you need to have a CompuServe account.

•	Log on to Compuserve

•	At any prompt type "GO SWREG"

•	Select registration Id# "891".

The registration fee will be billed to your CompuServe account.


VH Telephone Registration
Telephone Registration

You can order with MC, Visa, Amex, or Discover from Public Software Library by calling:

•	800-2424-PSL

or

•	713-524-6394

or by FAX at

•	713-524-6398

or by CIS Email to 71355,470.

You can also mail credit card orders to:

PsL
P.O.Box 35705
Houston, TX 77235-5705.

Make sure to specify "Visual Help"  order #10851, $49.00 will be billed to your credit card. If you order by mail or Fax be sure to include the expiration date of your credit card.

THE ABOVE NUMBERS ARE FOR ORDERS ONLY. Any questions about the status of the shipment of the order, registration options, product details, technical support, volume discounts, dealer pricing, site licenses, etc, must be directed to WinWare.

Questions, Support, and site licenses contact

WinWare
P.O. Box 2923
Mission Viejo CA 92690

or

CompuServe 70272,1656.


VH Mail Registration
Registering Visual Help V2.0

(To print the following form, select Print Topic from the File menu.)

Please register my copy of Visual Help. I am sending a check or money order for the amount of $49.00.

Name:

Company:

Address1:

Address2:

City:	State:	Zip:

Country:

Tel:	Fax:

Email:

Single-User Registration

Single user	.................................................................................$49.00

Multi-User Registration (Site license)

10 to 20 users	...............................................................................$400.00
21 to unlimited	...............................................................................$700.00

Amount enclosed	...........................................................................................

Send completed form with payment to

WinWare
P.O. Box 2923
Mission Viejo CA 92690

Where did you here about Visual Help

Notes


WinDIZ
WinDIZ 1.2

WinDIZ 1.2 is a Windows shareware program that makes it easy to read and create ID files for zipped files for BBS systems.  ID files contain the description of the uploaded or download file. Most of the more popular BBS systems automatically extract the ID file and place the description in their file listing. This frees the user uploading the file from manually typing in the description, saving on-line time. This program is a must for software developers and people who download/upload a lot of files to BBS systems. WinDIZ can also be used to write and read ID files for archived files for business or home use.

WinDIZ is very easy to use, just drop files from the File Manager onto the program. WinDIZ will check that all the files dropped are compressed using PKZip and also check to see if the file has a ID file embedded in it.  From there the user can open the embedded ID file or edit/write an ID file. All commands are evoked using the icon tool bar. When editing text, the user can erase, cut, copy and paste text. WinDIZ allows ID files up to 1K in size and even displays the amount of space used on the percent bar at the bottom of the screen.

Requirements

WinDIZ is designed for Windows 3.11 or Windows For Workgroups 3.11. WinDIZ supports the FILE_ID.DIZ and DESC.SDI file ID formats.

WinDIZ Is Developed By:

Mail:
DPM Computer Solutions
8430-D Summerdale Road
San Diego, CA 92126-5415

E-Mail:
InterNet-DPMCS@AOL.COM
CompuServe: 74227,1557
America On-Line: DPMCS

How can I get it.

 CompuServe Registration

 Telephone Registration

 Mail Registration


WD Compuserve Registration
WinDIZ Compuserve Registration

To register through CompuServe, you need to have a CompuServe account.

•	Log on to Compuserve

•	At any prompt type "GO SWREG"

•	Select registration ID#2424

The registration fee will be billed to your CompuServe account ($15).


WD Telephone Registration
WinDIZ Telephone Registration

You can order with MC, Visa, Amex, or Discover from Public Software Library by calling:

•	800-2424-PSL

or

•	713-524-6394

or by FAX at

•	713-524-6398

or by CIS Email to 71355,470.

You can also mail credit card orders to:

PsL
P.O.Box 35705
Houston, TX 77235-5705.

Make sure to specify "WinDIZ"  order #11138, $15.00 will be billed to your credit card. If you order by mail or Fax be sure to include the expiration date of your credit card.

THE ABOVE NUMBERS ARE FOR ORDERS ONLY. Any questions about the status of the shipment of the order, registration options, product details, technical support, volume discounts, dealer pricing, site licenses, etc, must be directed to DPM Computer Solutions.


WD Mail Registration
WinDIZ Registering By Mail

Please register my copy of WinDIZ. I am sending a check or money order for the amout of $15.

Name:

Address1:

Address2:

City:	State:

Zip/Country:

Tel:	Fax:

E-Mail:

Send Completed Form To:

DPM Computer Solutions
8430-D Summerdale Road
San Diego, CA 92126-5415

Please Make Check Payable To: David McCarter


SysUse1.3

There seems to be a new system resources monitor program released every week lately. Sometimes I think that there is a collage professor out there using this as a project for his students. The best and most useful one I've found is called SysUse. This program constantly updates your CPU status, memory used, resources used and disk space left on a drive.

Other features include:

•	Re-calibrate the CPU to reinitialize it

•	Compact the Windows global memory

•	Select one or more drives to be monitored

•	Configure SysUse to stay in front

SysUse displays this information either in a window or a icon using gauges. The best feature that I use is the compacting of the Windows global memory. Sometimes when a program won't start due to low memory, I just compact the memory and it will usually start. Using SysUse resident requires only 1% of my system resources.

SysUse Is Developed By:

Jonathan Reed
1575 Agnes Ave.
Palm Bay, FL 32909.

Registration Fee: $5.95
File Name: SYSUSE13.ZIP


Windows Reviews

 CMPQwk 1.4

 Drag And View Gold 1.0

 Drag And Zip 3.2

 Dupe 1.4C

 PrintSwitch 3.0b

 SysUse 1.3

 WinImage 2.0

 WinZip 5.0a


WinImage 2.0

Ever since I started using Windows, I've been looking for a good, fast program for copying disks and creating disk images that worked well in the background while I did other work. I never could find one, that's why in a previous issue I reviewed a DOS program called CopyQM. That program was the only good one I could find. To tell you the truth, I gave up looking for Windows based disk copy program. Well, my search has ended with WinImage 2.0.

At first I was very  skeptical, and did not really want to even look at it. One night I decided to give it a try. Was I surprised!!! Not only did it do what most Windows based disk copy programs perform, it goes much further to add fantastic features that I have yet to see in any other shareware, freeware or commercial program!

Features

First lets go over the basic operations. WinImage has an easy to look at and easy to use interface. Most commands are assessable thru the toolbar at the top of the window. The rest of the main window is used for showing you what files are contained on the disk (no other program I've seen does this). To read a disk, simply click on the button and WinImage makes an image of the disk (volume name and all) in memory. I my tests this operation takes 1:03 minutes for a 1.4MB floppy disk. After you have read the disk you can either write the image to another disk or save it to your floppy drive for retrieval later.  This is particularly useful and saves time when making install disks for your programs. You don't have to read a master floppy every time you want to make a copy. Writing the image to a floppy takes 2:09 minutes. WinImage can also format a floppy while it's writing to it. This takes about 3:45 minutes.

Like most other disk copy programs, WinImage can convert images to different floppy formats. This just means you can take the contents of a 720K floppy and copy it to a 1.4MB floppy or even a 1.2MB 5¼ floppy.

Unique Features

The rest of this review will talk about the features that WinImage has that separates it from the others. The best of these features is that it can add and delete files or directories to the image! This means if you just need to change some of the files or directories of the disk, instead of changing the floppy and re-reading it, just change the files with WinImage. Files can even be dragged  and dropped onto WinImage from File Manager. Changing files in this manner is so fast, it will save lots of time on your part.

WinImage has a feature call Batch Assistant. This feature allows you to copy a set of disks (or saved images) to a set or sets of disk. This is great for making backup disks of your software or distributing software. This feature is a must for any software developer that does their own in-house disk coping.

Some other features include launching files directly from the image. Defagment the image so the files are already defragmented when they are copied to the disk. You can edit the disk label (volume name). Disk and image can be compared to make sure they are the same. The file/directory display can be sorted just like they can in File manager.

WinImage is very configurable! The setting "ignore empty tracks when reading", "ignore empty tracks when writing" and  "Verify Writing" can be toggled on or off to save time. Though I don't recommend turning off "Verify Writing". The risk of sending out a bad disk is not worth the time savings. There are other options too including what language you speak. This program is designed for use by English, French and German speaking users.

Problems

The only problem I could find with WinImage is with the Batch Assistant. When I was making a backup copy of Windows For Workgroups, I mistakenly inserted a 720K disk and Batch Assistant just gave me an error message and bombed. It did not give the chance to put in the correct disk. Also, not that you will need it, the help file for WinImage is poorly written.The developer makes up for it in speedy answers to e-mail questions.

Try this program out! At $20 registration cost, it's worth every penny.

WinImage 2.0 Is Developed By:

Gilles Vollant
13, rue François Mansart
91540 Mennecy
France

Phone  : (33) (1) 64 99 75 23
E-Mail: CompuServe - 100144,2636

Registration Fee: $20
File Name: WINIMA20.ZIP


WinZip 5.0a

WinZip is, hands down, the fastest and easiest program to use if you need to zip and unzip files in Windows! If tried and used many programs of this type and this is "the" one that I use.

What makes it so fast is that WinZip has PKZip built into it! Which means no shelling to DOS to zip and unzip files. WinZip will also work with ARJ, ARC and LZH files, though these methods are not built-in.

Unzipping files is easy. Just double click on the zip file in File Manager and WinZip will invoke and read/display the contents of the file. From there you can use the icon bar to extract any or all files or view a file (such as a text file). One useful feature is if you double click on any file displayed, WinZip will instantly unzip the file and invoke it. For example, double clicking on a WRI file will start Write and load the file. Double clicking on a EXE file will start it.

Another feature is Check Out. Using this will create a Program Manager group containing one icon for each file in the archive.  Double click on the icon in the Program Manager group to run the file or to view the file with the program associated with the file .  WinZip will optionally delete the Program Manager group and related files when you close the archive or close WinZip. Files can also be scanned for viruses when they are unzipped by Check Out.

Zipping files is just as easy. To create a zip file or add files to it, either drop files onto WinZip from File Manager or click on the "New" or "Add" button. Any PKZip function can be used when zipping files. Such as maximum compression,  use of EMS memory, recurse subdirectories and save extra directory info.

WinZip can also create EXE files from zipped files and span disks, but theses features are not supported internally. To use either of those features, a external copy ZIPTOEXE.EXE and PKZIP.EXE are required.

WinZip is highly configurable to your liking. This program is very well written and I have yet to find a bug in it or have it lock-up on me. The only feature I wish it had is unzipping multiple files at a time.

WinZip 5.0a Is Developed By:

Nico Mak Computing, Inc.
P.O. Box 919,
Bristol, CT 06011-0919

E-Mail:  CompuServe 70056,241

Registration Fee: $29

 WinZIP 5.5 Update


ANSI

American National Standards Institute


AOL

America On-Line


ATM

Adobe Type Manager


Bad CRC

When using the Z-Modem protocol a bad CRC is usually caused by noise (static) on the phone line.  This usually can not be avoided.  With using a package such as this one in the Windows environment, a bad CRC is caused when the modem buffer becomes full and tries to write to the hard drive while another program running in Windows is trying to write or read from the hard drive at the same time.


Baud

Transfer rate of a modem. 2400=240 characters per second. 9600=960 characters per second and so on.


BIOS

Basic Input/Output System


BMP

The BMP, DIB, and RLE files are known as "Device Independent Bitmap" files, or "DIB's".
RLE files are Windows "DIB" files that use one of the RLE compression routines.  Thus, saving an image as a "DIB" using
one of the RLE compressions would produce an identical file as saving the image as an RLE file.  The only difference would be
the file name extension.


CCITT

Consultive Committe International Telegraph and Telephone


CIS

CompuServe


CLP

Windows Clipboard format


CMOS

Complementary MetalOxide Semiconductor


Coprocessor

An integrated circuit that works with the main microprocessor to rocess floating point (decimal) numbers faster. Since your microprocessor is confusted by any number other than whole numbers, software has to jump in and break the calculation into pieces it can handle. A numberical coprocessor plugs into the main system board, and allows your computer hardware to do the floating point calculations. This is much faster and allows your main microprocessor to run the rest of the program without holdups.


CPS

Characters Per Second


CPU

Central Processing Unit


DIB

The BMP, DIB, and RLE files are known as "Device Independent Bitmap" files, or "DIB's".
RLE files are Windows "DIB" files that use one of the RLE compression routines.  Thus, saving an image as a "DIB" using
one of the RLE compressions would produce an identical file as saving the image as an RLE file.  The only difference would be
the file name extension.


Diskcache

DISK CACHE CONTROLLER... An and-on card for your computer that contains RAM memory, where those frequent little read and write commands are colledted, then performed in large chunks. This allows less moving of the read/write heads and speeds up the process a lot.


DPI

A measure of the resolution of printed or displayed output. The average laser printer has a resolution of 300 dpi, which results in passable letter quality. Many impact printers also claim resolution in the 300 dpi range, although their dots are much larger, so the dpi rating doesn't tell the whole story.


EMS

Lotus-Intel-Microsoft Expanded Memory Specification


FDD

Floppy Disk Drive


GIF

GIF files were designed to create the smallest possible image files for uploading and downloading from electronic Bulletin
Board Systems (BBS).


GUI

GUI (Graphical User Interface)
Usually pronounced "goo-ee", a user interface that employs pull-down menus and dialog boxes as opposed to a text command line. Instead of typing in commands, a GUI can take input as a pointer on a screen full of buttons. The execution of the program is controlled by the user clicking on those buttons with the pointer, usuall driven by a mouse. The purpose is to make the computer more accessible to average people, instead of forcing a long learning period of typewritten commands before any useful work can be accomplished.


HDD

Hard Disk Drive


HMA

High Memory Area


I/O

Input/Output


ICO

Windows Icon File


IMG

IMG files were designed to work with the GEM environment.  The files were originally the result of the GEM Paint program.  Since
the application Ventura Publisher worked in the GEM environment, it also supported the IMG file format.  In order to maintain
compatibility, various other desktop publishing applications have added support for importing and exporting this format.


IRQ

Interrupt ReQuest ... it is a method by which hardware devices to get mmediate attention from the CPU.  for example, a com port has a few byte buffer in it, and can "Get" an incoming character by itself, but if  the hardware buffer gets filled up, characters will be lost. So as soon as a character is received, it generates an IRQ to allow the CPU to move this character from the hardware to a memory "buffer" that is bigger. On a PC-XT there were IRQ 0 to 8. On AT and later machines, there are Hardware IRQ's 0 to 15.


JAS

The JAS format files were designed to create the smallest possible image files for 24 bits-per-pixel color images and 8
bits-per-pixel grey scaled images. JAS uses a discrete cosine transformation to alter the image data and then compresses that
data.  This process results in a substantial reduction of the file size when the image is saved to the disk.  Saving and retrieving
an image using the JAS file format will result in some loss of image data.  The amount of loss is dependent on the compression
level that you use.


JPEG

[Joint Photographic Experts Group]
Another standard named after the committe that generated it. JPEG is a method of storing graphic images in a compressed format.


LCD

Liquid Crystal Display


LIM-EMS

Lotus-Intel-Microsoft Expanded Memory Specification


MAC

MAC files come from the Macintosh program MacPaint.  Large libraries of clip art exist in the MAC format.  When the MAC files
started migrating from the Macintosh to the PC world, a header was added to the file format.


MSP

MSP files come from the Microsoft Paint program (that came with Windows versions prior to version 3.0)


OLE

Object Linked Embedded


PCMCIA

Personal Computer Memory Card Internation Association


PCX

PCX files were originally created for use with the Zsoft Paintbrush program. With no standard to the industry, this format
became the standard by default. This format is supported by more applications than any other format.


PIC


PIM

Personal Information Manager


Printer Driver

Program code that translates in generic output of a software application into commands that drive your printer.


RAM

Random Access Memory


RAS

RAS files are Sun Microsystems raster file format files.


RLE

The BMP, DIB, and RLE files are known as "Device Independent Bitmap" files, or "DIB's".
RLE files are Windows "DIB" files that use one of the RLE compression routines.  Thus, saving an image as a "DIB" using
one of the RLE compressions would produce an identical file as saving the image as an RLE file.  The only difference would be
the file name extension.


ROM

Read-Only Memory


SIMM

SIMM (single In-Line Memory Module)... The package that RAM chips come in. For your PC, you need the 9-bit version. Most other computers use the 8-bit sytle. Remember that for your 386/SX you need to buy pairs of SIMMs. for 386/DX and above, you buy        sets of four to give you 32-bit chunks of RAM.


TGA

The Targa TGA format was developed by Truevision for their Targa and Vista products.  It is an industry standard although
not as widely supported as PCX or TIFF formats.  TGA files may be saved as non-compressed or compressed (run-length
encoded).


TIFF

The Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) was designed to become the standard format.  In order to become the standard, the
format was designed to handle just about any possibility.  The result of this design provided the flexibility of an infinite number of
possibilities of how a TIFF image is saved.  Therefore, no application, can claim to support all TIFF
variations.  The best that an application can do is to support as many TIFF variations as possible, but there will always be an
obscure variation that will cause a problem for some applications.


TSFR

The Shareware/Freeware Report


UART

Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter


UMB

Upper Memory Block


VB

Visual Basic


VGA

Video Graphics Array


WMF

Windows Metafile Graphic


WPG

WordPerfect Graphic


WYSIWG

What You See Is What You Get


XMS

eXtended Memory Specification