----> Welcome to "Plug-In for Windows, Version 2.11" <---- _______ ____|__ | (R) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| MEMBER PLUG-IN FOR WINDOWS README.TXT (May 31, 1994, Version 2.11) This file contains the following sections: - What is Plug-In for Windows? - What is new in Plug-In for Windows, Version 2? - Installation Notes - Installing Over a Previous Version of Plug-In - International Issues - Conflicts With Other Utilities - Update Issues for Owners of Plug-In 1.x - Ordering the Update Diskette if you Currently Own Plug-In 1.x - Details on Plannet Crafters T-Shirts - Where can I obtain the Talking Clock files? - The Plannet Crafters Support BBS - Now That We've Got Your Attention! - How to De-Install Plug-In - Change History - How to Contact Plannet Crafters WHAT IS PLUG-IN FOR WINDOWS? Plug-In Fills the holes in Windows! Plug-In is an enhancement utility for Windows. It seamlessly integrates with Windows and works with any Windows Desktop. Plug-In feels like a natural extension of Windows... It is Winner of Windows Magazine's Win 100 Award (1993 & 1994) and Byte Magazine's / Jerry Pournelle's User's Choice Award (1992 & 1993). The registration fee is only $20 Major features include: - Control Center dialog coordinates all of Plug-In's functions. - Lots of enhancement for Program Manager (Nested Groups, custom icons, custom titles, etc.) - Title Bar displays (date, time, resources, stopwatch, etc.) - Power Button (sits next to the System Menu button on active applications) gives instant access to the QuickRun menu. The QuickRun menu is very full-featured, and includes multi-level menus, fixed window sizing, task lists, dynamic Program Manager groups, etc. - Custom Cursors. Change all the standard system cursors. Now includes a "Cursor Wrap" feature. - Full Sound Support. General and application-specific events, chimes, talking clocks. - Resource Alerts. Monitors memory, system resources, and disk drives. Ability to display a message, play a sound, and/or launch a program when the alert thresholds are passed. - Screen saver enhancements. Instant-On/Instant-Off HotSpots, Shortcut Key. - Alarm and Scheduler facility. Very sophisticated alarms ... display messages, play sounds, and launch programs. Lots of option. - System Information. Displays lots of useful information about your system and the Windows environment. - Install Application. Painlessly install applications from floppy or CD-ROM. Allows you to view README files before proceeding with the install program. - Run with History. An enhanced run command with history list. WHAT IS NEW IN PLUG-IN FOR WINDOWS, VERSION 2? Lots! In fact, there is so much new functionality that it could be considered a new product. It has all the features of Plug-In 1.x, plus the following: - Plug-In now works with any Windows Desktop ... but we didn't forget those who use Program Manager! New in Plug-In V2 is full support for nested groups! - Title bar display of date/time/resources/stopwatch, etc. This is VERY configurable to suit your needs - Greatly enhanced QuickRun menu. Accessible from any application by clicking on the "Power Button" in the titlebar. Also, you can click your right-mouse-button on the Windows desktop to active the QR menu. - Full Sound support. If you have a sound card, you're in for a treat! Assign sounds to application events, talking clocks, chimes, InstaSound shortcut key, etc. - Custom Cursors have been enhanced to include the I-Beam as well as the other standard cursors. You can also invert and wrap the cursor at the screen edge. - A powerful Alarm and Scheduling facility allows you to keep track of appointments and schedule programs to run at specific times. The configuration settings for each alarm is very complete, including repeating alarms, sounds, etc. - The Resource Alerts have been enhanced to include custom dialogs. In addition to system resources and memory, you can now monitor free disk space. - Screen Saver hotspots and instant-on shortcut key. INSTALLATION NOTES Once you have unarchived (or copied) all of Plug-In's files to a directory on your hard disk (e.g., C:\PLUGIN), run PLUGIN.EXE from Windows. Plug-In has a built-in install program which will copy a few small files to the Windows directory and create the initialization file. If you are updating an existing version of Plug-In, see the next section. INSTALLING OVER A PREVIOUS VERSION OF PLUG-IN NOTE: If you are installing from Plug-In's master diskette (which you receive when you purchase Plug-In), simply run INSTALL.EXE from the diskette (Hint: Use Plug-In's Install Application feature!). If you are installing by using the "freely distributable" software, please read these notes: 1) If you already have a version of Plug-In running on your system, you must first shut it down before running the new version of Plug-In V2! For Plug-In 1.x, select "Options | Configure Plug-In | Shutdown" from Program Manager's menus For Plug-In 2.x, select "Shutdown Plug-In" from the Plug-In Control Center dialog (double-click on the Power Button, or select Configure Plug-In from the QuickRun menu. 2) UnArchive Plug-In V2. You can overwrite the existing Plug-In files if you wish. PLEASE NOTE: If you are updating over an existing installation of Plug-In V2, you might get a message such as "unable to copy" or "sharing violation" while trying to overwrite PISYS200.DLL. You should just bypass this file and continue extracting the rest of the archive. There have not been any functional changes to PISYS200.DLL, so there is no need to update the file. As an alternative, you can hold the SHIFT key down while selecting "Yes" from the MessageBox that asks, "Are you sure you wish to Shutdown Plug-In?". This will force a full unload of PISYS200.DLL from memory. 3) Run PLUGIN.EXE from the Plug-In V2 home directory, and you are on your way. If you are running the pre-release version of Plug-In, it is recommended that you restart Windows after doing the previous procedure. This will unload the pre-release DLLs from memory. INTERNATIONAL ISSUES Plug-In has fairly complete support for international (non-asian) countries. We support international date/time formats and even the Talking Clock feature has the ability to use 24 hour format. One major thing that is missing in this release is the ability to customize the menu items that are inserted into Program Manager's menus. We hope to have this in a later release. While most of the international options can be controlled via Control Panel and/or Plug-In dialogs there is one that needs to be done manually in the PLUGIN.INI file. If you wish to change the 3-character abbreviations used for displaying the day of the week and the month, please do the following: In PLUGIN.INI (in your Windows directory), add the following lines to the [Settings] section, replacing the text as appropriate: Days=Sun_Mon_Tue_Wed_Thu_Fri_Sat Months=Jan_Feb_Mar_Apr_May_Jun_Jul_Aug_Sep_Oct-Nov_Dec These lines must be EXACTLY the same length as they are here or the changes you make won't take effect. CONFLICTS WITH OTHER UTILITIES There are several programs on the market (both commercial and shareware) that offer some overlapping functionality with Plug-In. While most of these programs do not cause serious conflicts, you might see some unexpected behavior. For example, if you are using another utility that displays information on active title bars, you will see both applications fighting to paint on the title bar. Another example is utilites that assign sounds to system events. Please note that almost everything in Plug-In is configurable. If there is a feature you don't desire, check the Control Center. Chances are you can disable it or modify the settings to your liking. We are currently aware of two utilities that have problems when Plug-In is running: 1) Icon Hear-It and Icon Do-It. If these programs are loaded prior to Plug-In AND you have icon movies assigned to group icons, the group icons with the movies will appear as black squares. The solution is to have Plug-In load prior to these utilities. Please note that due to the way Plug-In initializes, this workaround is only possible in the registered version of Plug-In. 2) Wired for Sound Pro. This program can cause a GP Fault in Program Manager if Plug-In is running. At this point-in-time, we do not know of a workaround, other than to disable Wired for Sound Pro. UPDATE ISSUES FOR OWNERS OF PLUG-IN 1.X The registration scheme has changed in Plug-In V2. As a current owner of Plug-In 1.x, you are entitled to a complimentary Plug-In V2 registration. If you wish to order the update diskette, your new registration info will come with the package. Please see the next section, "Ordering the Update Diskette..." for full details. If you want your new registration info, but do not desire the update diskette, please send us mail, fax, or e-mail (no phone calls, please). Include your name, address, and phone; and specify that you are a registered user and want the new registration info. We will mail your registration info to you. ORDERING THE UPDATE DISKETTE IF YOU CURRENTLY OWN PLUG-IN 1.x If you currently own Plug-In 1.x, you can obtain the released version on diskette. This diskette contains lots of new icons, cursors and sound files (including the Plug-In Talking Clock). To order the update, contact Plannet Crafters by phone or send us an order via mail, fax, or e-mail. The cost for the new master diskette is: $8 (including shipping / handling in the U.S. and Canada) $10 (including shipping / handling for International orders) Please be SURE to include your full name and address so that we can verify your ownership status in our database. Also, Georgia residents must add 6% sales tax ($0.48). DETAILS ON PLANNET CRAFTERS T-SHIRTS We have a ne logo - the galactical diskette - and have put it on high quality ash gray Jerzees t-shirts. Our logo colors are shades of blue with an olive green saturn ring. The image appears large on the back and small over the left breast. They are available in Large and Extra-Large and cost only $10. Shipping and Handling is $3 (no S&H if ordered with another Plannet Crafters product), and we use Priority Mail. Contact us to place your order today! WHERE CAN I OBTAIN THE TALKING CLOCK FILES? Due to size constraints, the Talking Clock files are packages in a separate archive. The filename is PITALK2?.ZIP, where "?" is the current revision level of Plug-In. So, if you obtained PLUGIN21.ZIP, look for PITALK21.ZIP. The size of this file is approximately 390K. If you can't find this archive locally, you can always obtain it from the Plannet Crafters BBS (see below). Of course, when you purchase the product, we ship you a master diskette which contains the Talking Clock files, plus lots of other goodies. Once you obtain the Talking Clock files, place the contents in the same directory as Plug-In. Note that the Talking Clock feature requires a sound card and will NOT work with a PC speaker driver! THE PLANNET CRAFTERS SUPPORT BBS This BBS is your best means of detailed support. We provide individual answers to your questions. We will also be providing a seris of "Tech Tips" on Plug-In which will contain lots of useful information not available elsewhere. Also, our BBS is the best place to guarantee that you are obtaining the most current version of our software products. The phone number is 404-740-8583, it supports high-speed (14.4 KBPS) modems, and is operational 24 hours/day. NOW THAT WE'VE GOT YOUR ATTENTION! We want to thank all of you for making Plug-In 1.x a major success for us! It is your enthusiasm that has driven us to create this major upgrade to the original Plug-In. We hope you enjoy it! Also, a quick note about the documentation. This project took us much longer than anticipated, as we added so much new functionality. We take pride in the quality of our documentation and on-line help, but we also had pressures to get the product "out the door". The result is that the current documentation is far from perfect. We plan to continue enhancing it as we release minor updates. Of course, our hope is that Plug-In is intuitive enough that you really don't need to access the help very often ;-) HOW TO DE-INSTALL PLUG-IN If you wish to de-install Plug-In from a system, do the following: 1) If you have used Plug-In's nested groups (with Program Manager), you should first un-nest all nested groups by dragging them to Program Manager's desktop. 2) Disable "Run Plug-In when Windows starts" in the General Config dialog and press the OK button. (If you fail to do this, you must manually remove the Plug-In entry from either the StartUp group or the "Load=" line in the WIN.INI file.) 3) Shutdown Plug-In by selecting "Shutdown Plug-In" in the Plug-In Control Center dialog. 4) In the Windows directory, delete the following files: PLUGIN.* and GROUP.EXE 5) Delete all files in Plug-In's home directory (assuming this directory contains ONLY Plug-In files!) CHANGE HISTORY Version 1.00 Version 1.31 - The original Plug-In for Program Manager, released on 28 September 1992. Version 2.00 - Very major update from Version 1.x. So many new features that it is really a new product! Version 2.10 - Fixed a bug in Application-Specific Events (sound support) that would cause application errors. - Save Settings was fixed to avoid a problem whereby an open nested group would become permanently open. - Disallow operations on a group with the title of "Groups". It is not permitted to have a group named "Groups" because of the way Plug-In interfaces with Program Manager. - Fixed some problems with udpating the Title Bar displays - Several smaller fixes - Cleaned up the Help file a bit. Version 2.11 - Fixed an interaction with some video drivers that could cause strange behavior when running full-screen DOS apps (e.g., no text displayed, but typing seems to work). - Running Plug-In on HP OmniBooks would display a message stating that "Program Manager could not be found". - Several smaller fixes. - Several changes / updates to the README.TXT and online help files. HOW TO CONTACT PLANNET CRAFTERS If you have any questions about Plug-In, please contact us at: Plannet Crafters, Inc. P.O. Box 450 Alpharetta, GA 30239-0450 USA phone (404) 740-9821 (9-5 Eastern U.S. Time) fax (404) 740-1914 (24 hours /day) bbs (404) 740-8583 (14.4 KBPS; 24 hours/day) EMail addresses CompuServe: 73040,334 Internet: 73040.334@compuserve.com DMandell@AOL.com America Online: DMandell GEnie: D.MANDELL1 Prodigy: VSFB48A MCI Mail: 572-7179 Thank you for trying Plug-In for Windows!