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.