Resource Alert 1.1 Resource Alert is a program designed to help you keep track of the Windows resources that you have available so you can avoid program crashes and loss of data. Although the resources (such as memory) available to Windows seem vast, they are finite. It can be easier than you think to fill up all available resources by loading too many programs or too much data into Windows. Theoretically, Windows should handle this handle this problem automatically. In practice, it often fails. If you have too many programs or too much data loaded, Windows can crash. If this happens unexpectedly, you can lose the data you have been the working on for the last few hours. Resource Alert constantly monitors the status of the four major resources used by Windows. If you see that one or more of these are getting dangerously low, you can take protective measures such as unloading some unnecessary programs or saving the data you are working on. Resource Alert can run in various modes to provide you with various levels of protection. Installing Resource Alert for Windows To install Resource Alert (RA), simply put all the files that come with the program (RESALERT.EXE, RESALERT.TXT, RESALREG.TXT, etc.) in your Windows subdirectory. DO NOT create a separate subdirectory for the Resource Alert files. Once you have these files in the Windows directory, run Windows. Select New from Program Manager's Files menu. When it asks if you are installing a program group or program item, select Program Group and click on the Ok button. On the next windows, ignore the "Description" box and click on the "Group File" box. Type RESALERT and then click on the Ok button. The Complete Program Deleter group will be installed. Note: This program requires that the library VBRUN200.DLL be in either the WINDOWS or WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. This is a common Windows library available from many sources, such as CompuServe, GEnie, America Online, or MicroSoft. Because it is so widely available and is a rather large file, it may not be included in the RA archive that you receive. General Operation While it is running, Resource Alert displays five pieces of information: 1) Resources - This is the percentage of general resources that Windows is not using at the moment. 2) GDI space - This is the percentage of Graphic Device Interface space available. Without getting too technical, this is the space reserved for fonts, display and printer drivers, graphic objects, and other graphic related functions. 3) Form space - This is the percentage of space available to store the forms such as windows and menus displayed on the screen. When this runs out, Windows cannot load any more window forms. Note that some programs do not load all the window forms they use into memory as soon as they run. They may only load a form when they need it. Therefore, a program that is already loaded and running may suddenly crash when it tries to load and display an input window or similar form. 4) Memory - This is the amount of memory available to load new programs or data. It is expressed in bytes. 5) Tasks running - This is the number of programs you are currently running under Windows, not counting Windows itself, Program Manager, or Resource Alert. This information is displayed to help you unload programs when your resources start getting low. As a general rule of thumb, you should start unloading unnecessary programs when Resources, GDI space, or Form space falls below 15% or Memory falls below 2,000,000 bytes. Of course, if you know that you are about to load an unusually large program or data file, you should revise these figures upward dramatically. The box in which the information is displayed is resizable. This means that you can grab the side or bottom of the box with the mouse and change its shape. This is so you can reduce the size of the box if you really want to make it smaller without totally minimizing it to an icon. Note that raising the bottom of the box can hide the information listed at the bottom of the list. You may, for example, decide that you do not want to keep track of how many tasks are running and you want the box to be smaller so it does not hide as much of you application when it is on top. You can therefore raise the bottom of the box so the Tasks running item does not show. Options The menu bar at the time of the Resources Alert box contains two selections: Options and Help. The following is a list of your choices under Options. Keep On Top - This option causes Resource Alert to remain visible (on top of other programs), even if the other program is the active program and has the focus. Resource Alert will not interfere with your program's operation, although you may need to more it around the screen occasionally by grabbing the title bar if it is in the way of the program you are working on. The Keep On Top option is a toggle function. If you click on it while it is inactive, it is turned on. If you click on it when it is active, it is turned off. There is a check mark beside this item on the options menu when Keep On Top is currently active. Alarm On - If this option is active, Resource Alert will automatically beep and pop up on top of your program if any of your Windows resources fall below certain set levels. (This will happen even if Resource Alert is minimized to an icon, as long as you have not actually exited the program.) You set these levels with the Set Alarm Levels option described below. This is designed to allow you leave Resource Alert in the background and still have it warn you if your resources are getting dangerously low. You would not normally have Keep On Top and Alarm On active at the same time, although you can if you want to. Like Keep On Top, Alarm On toggles on and off each time you click on this item in the options menu. It has a check mark beside it when it is active. When Alarm On is active, the alarm is triggered as soon as any one of the four resources drops below the set level. Once the alarm goes off, the alarm is put on "snooze". That is, it does not continue to sound as long as the resource is low. When all the resources go above the preset level again, the snooze is turned off. If any resource then goes below the preset level again, the alarm goes off again. The theory is that once the alarm is triggered, you will unload something to free up some resources and restore the resources to a safe level. This will reactivate the alarm trigger and it will go off again the next time any resource falls below the acceptable level, and so on. Refresh time - This is the time, measured in seconds, that elapses before Resource Alert rechecks the level of resources and updates its display. For example, if you set the refresh time for 1.5 seconds, Resource Alert will check the resources and display the current levels in its window once every 1.5 seconds. This is also the time that elapses before Resource Alert makes sure it is visible on the screen and pops up over other programs when the Keep On Top function is active. If you select this item from the Options menu, Resource Alert will display a box that allows you to input the refresh time. Input any time period in seconds (including decimal fractions such as .5) and either press ENTER of click on the Ok button. The current setting is the default and is displayed in the input box. Set Alarm Levels - This option allows you to set the level of each resource that triggers the alarm function. If you pick this option, you will see a form containing a box for each of the four resources. The current setting is the default and is displayed in each box. You can change any that you like and then click on the Ok button. Note: Setting these values does not automatically set the alarm function on. You must still set the Alarm On function in the Options menu. Remember that this option will be checked if the alarm is turned on. An additional effect of setting these alarm levels is that any value that falls below the alarm level will be displayed in red in the Resource Alert box. This happens regardless of whether you have the alarm turned on. Exit - This ends the program and unloads it from memory. Once you have done this, Resource Alert cannot warn you of low resources. When you set any of the parameters in the Options menu, the settings are automatically stored in the RESALERT.INI file. This allows the program to restore all settings as soon as it is run. You do not need to reset these values, such as Alarm On or Alarm Levels, each time you run the program. Help The Help menu contains three choices: Instructions - This choice pops this instruction manual up, using Windows NotePad. You can read the manual using the normal Notepad functions such as the scroll bar or the Find option. When you are finished, you should exit NotePad using the Files/Exit function to free up Windows resources. Registration - This option pops up the registration form using Windows NotePad. You can print it using the Files/Print function of NotePad to make it easier for you to register Resource Alert (hint, hint. See below). About - This pops up the same screen as the title page. Registration If you find Resource Alert useful enough to continue using it after a one-month trial period, you are legally required to pay for it (register it) by sending $15.00 (US$) to: David Leithauser Leithauser Research 4649 Van Kleeck Drive New Smyrna Beach, FL 32169-4205 Registration should be made in US dollars, drawn on a US bank. If it is not possible to make payment drawn on a US bank, a US postal money order or American Express money order is acceptable. As a last resource, US dollars drawn on a foriegn bank MUST have the proper routing information at the bottom of the check. In addition to a clear conscience, you will receive a disk containing the latest version of Resource Alert and a bunch of other shareware and freeware files from Leithauser Research. You will also receive a letter that tells you how to turn off the title page, the nag screens, and the Registration option on the Help menu. Once you have registered Resource Alert, you are automatically registered for any future versions, even if the new version has a higher registration price than the version you registered. Distributing this program Regardless of whether you register this program, you are free to distribute this shareware program to others. There are a few restrictions. You must distribute all the files that come with Resource Alert, including (but not limited to) RESALREG.TXT and RESALERT.TXT. You may not modify any of these files in any way, including the program, the registration form, or the instruction manual. You may, however, change the archive format if necessary. For example, if you received the files in a self-extracting archive and you wish to post them on a BBS that only accepts ZIP files, you are free to extract the files and rearchive them into a ZIP file, provided you include all the files. Comments, complaints, bug reports, etc. If you need any additional information or have a problem with Resource Alert, you can contact David Leithauser at the address listed above for registering the program. You can also sent a message to the following EMAIL addresses: Compuserve: 74046,1556 GEnie : D.LEITHAUSER America Online: Leithauser Internet: 74046.1556@compuserve.com In case of extreme emergency, you can call (904)-423-0705. Note: Resource Alert may give a slightly different report than some other sources for the percent of resources or the amount of memory available. The difference will be only a few percent and is a matter of interpretation. Please do not call or write to report this difference. Custom programming The primary function of Leithauser Research is creating custom programs to customer specifications. This can be a program you need for your own use, or one you intend to sell once you have developed it. If you have need for custom programming, please feel free to contact Leithauser Research at any of the above addresses. What's New (Upgrade information) Version 1.1 takes up less memeory when running than version 1.0.