------------------------------------------------------------------------------ LangWin 2.4 (C) Copyright Allen L. Lang, 1993,1994 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- LangWin is a QuickBASIC program development toolkit. It contains a library of functions and subroutines that can be used to easily create standard Graphical User Interface (GUI) features in your compiled text-mode QuickBASIC or BASIC PDS programs (sorry, LangWin CANNOT be used with the QBASIC interpreter in DOS 5.0 or later). GUI features supported include: opening/closing windows with drop-shadows, scrollable text, push buttons, click boxes, dialog boxes, editable input fields, etc. LangWin's GUI routines support both mouse and keyboard input. Windows created by LangWin can be moved and resized (mouse only). LangWin also contains stand-alone routines that can be used to add mouse support to your QuickBASIC programs that do not use LangWin. Mouse features include: initialization, get/set position, get button status, hide/show cursor, set horizontal/vertical limits, etc. Finally, LangWin has several functions that allow you to get the default drive and directory, change the default drive/directory, and extract all file/sub-directory names from the current directory. LangWin supports both the QuickBASIC 4.5 and BASIC PDS 7.1 compilers. If you do not have both compilers, you can save disk space by deleting the LangWin files for the compiler that you do not have. See "LangWin's Files" below for a description of each file. If you haven't already done so, I recommend that you create a separate directory (LWV24) on your hard disk for all LangWin 2.4 files. If you have a previous version of LangWin, you can delete those files. LangWin's Files: ================ These files are always needed: ------------------------------ LANGWIN.DOC - LangWin User's Guide (read this file). LANGWIN.BI - LangWin's include file (used by compiler) WINHELP.BAS - Online help text for each LangWin function These files are only needed for the QuickBasic compiler: -------------------------------------------------------- LANGWIN.LIB - QuickBASIC LIB LANGWIN.QLB - QuickBASIC quick library These files are only needed for BASIC PDS compiler: --------------------------------------------------- LANGWINP.LIB - BASIC PDS LIB LANGWINP.QLB - BASIC PDS quick library These files contain sample source code. They demonstrate many LangWin functions, and they will help you understand how to create GUI programs using LangWin. See "Getting Started" below for instructions on how to load and run the sample programs. ---------------------------------------------------------------- SAMPLE01.BAS SAMPLE02.BAS SAMPLE03.BAS SAMPLE04.BAS SAMPLE05.BAS These files contain GUI programs developed with LangWin. -------------------------------------------------------- WINCOLOR.EXE - assists in selecting color combinations for windows FINDFILE.EXE - search hard disk for files NUKEFILE.EXE - completely delete files This file is only needed to create LangWin's files. You can delete this file from your hard disk (keep it on your floppy). ------------------------------------------------------------------------- LWV24.ZIP - Creates LangWin's files Getting Started =============== After installing LangWin, you will only be able to use it from the installation directory (LWV24). Attempting to use LangWin from another directory will result in the following error message: Cannot find file (LANGWIN.QLB). Input path: To avoid this error, you must copy some of LangWin's files to the QB or PDS program directory. See "2.0 Getting Started" in LANGWIN.DOC for instructions on what files to copy and where to copy them. I've found there are two categories of computer users: those that read the documentation first then dig into the application, and those that go right for the application without examining the documentation. If you are the type that likes to read the documentation first: * Open LANGWIN.DOC with any text editor/browser. LANGWIN.DOC describes all of LangWin's functions and features. This is a long file and will take awhile to read, but if you want to be able to take advantage of all LangWin's functions, you will have to read LANGWIN.DOC. * Run QB and load the WINHELP module. Hit F2 to see a list of all LangWin's routines. Select a routine to see its purpose, parameters, return codes, notes for usage, etc. You can keep the WINHELP module in the QB environment while doing development and have instant access to reference information on all LangWin routines. * Load the SAMPLE programs and run them to see what they do, and how they use LangWin's features. * Run WINCOLOR to help you pick color combinations for your windows. If you like to jump right in, or want to get a quick start, then change to LangWin's directory (LWV24) and enter one the following (see note at beginning of this section, you MUST be in the LWV24 directory when you start QB): qb /ah /L langwin --- if you use QuickBASIC or qbx /ah /L langwinp --- if you use BASIC PDS This will load your QuickBASIC or BASIC PDS environment, along with the LangWin quick library. Then: select File select Open Program ... select SAMPLE01.BAS run the program You'll see some examples of what can be done with LangWin. You can examine the code to see how it works. Open and run the other sample programs. If you want to take full advantage of LangWin, then you should: * take the time to read all of LANGWIN.DOC * review all members in WINHELP.BAS * review all sample programs. This will take an investment of your time. However, you'll gain a better understanding of LangWin's functions, and be able to take advantage of all its features to produce programs with a professional quality GUI. Allen Lang 121 Windsor Commons Cranbury, NJ 08512 Internet address: all@cc.bellcore.com 9/17/94