'Lectric Toolbox Version 2.0

Copyright © 1993 by James Robinson

All rights reserved.

'Lectric Toolbox is a program launcher for your programs.  'Lectric Toolbox appears as a grid like toolbar on the screen.  This arrangement allows you to have all of your most used programs in an easily accessible window that takes up a minimum amount of your screen real estate.

Introduction

'Lectric Toolbox features

Program requirements

License agreement

What is shareware?

Registering 'Lectric Toolbox

How to

Install 'Lectric Toolbox

Launch programs

Add programs

Add a toolbox

Change a tools properties

Remove a program

Remove program properties

Use 'Lectric Toolbox as the Windows shell

Commands

System menu commands

Options menu commands

Quick control keys


Features
Features:

'Lectric Toolbox keeps your most used utilities and applications within easy reach. You may configure toolboxes for many tasks such as file maintenance or as a quick way to launch frequently used applications.

Lectric Toolbox  has extensive support of drag & drop.  'Lectric Toolbox will let you launch your applications by clicking on their icons or by dragging & dropping files onto your programs icons.

Dragging and dropping is not limited to Windows 3.1 applications.  Any program can be a drop target in 'Lectric Toolbox, even a DOS batch file!

With 'Lectric Toolbox your toolboxes are not limited to a skinny toolbar on the side of the screen.  The size of your toolboxes are configurable from a single icon to a 18 x 18 grid.

You are not limited to just one toolbox. You may have as many toolboxes defined as you need.

'Lectric Toolbox remembers its size and position when you save your toolbox,  so you don't have to rearrange your desktop when you open a new toolbox.

You can quickly hide and unhide the toolbox by moving your mouse cursor to the bottom corners of the screen.

You can drag and drop icons from one toolbox to another.

'Lectric toolbox can be the Windows shell.  replacing program manager with a more compact visual way to launch programs.


Program Requirements

'Lectric Toolbox Requires Microsoft Windows 3.1, a color or gray scale video driver and a mouse.


Microsoft is a registered trademark and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.


Installing 'Lectric Toolbox
Install 'Lectric Toolbox

To use 'Lectric Toolbox, copy BWCC.DLL into your Windows system directory  and TOOLBOX.EXE somewhere in your PATH.  I suggest placing TOOLBOX.EXE and any toolboxes you create in their own directory.

You may then add TOOLBOX.EXE to any Program Manager group that you prefer.  One way to do this is by  using the File New Menu option in Program Manager or by dragging TOOLBOX.EXE from the File Manager and dropping it into the group of your choice.


The windows system directory is \WINDOWS\SYSTEM on most systems.


Program Manager is the default Windows shell that is used to execute windows programs.


File Manager is a windows application that is used to do file maintenance in Windows.  You can also drag files from the File Manager windows and drop them into the "Lectric Toolbox window to be processed.


The PATH usually appears in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file and specifies which directories on your hard disk will be searched when a command is executed.


System Menu

To access the system menu click the left mouse button on the box in the upper left corner of the toolbox window.  From this menu you may save the toolbox you have created, load a toolbox previously saved, start designing a new toolbox, run a program, or change the way your Toolbox looks and behaves.

Commands

Move to corner

New

Open

Save

Save As

Arrange Icons

Run


Options Menu
Options Menu:

The Options menu is used to change the way the Toolbox window looks and behaves.  It can be accessed by a control key or from the system menu.

See also

system menu

Commands
Stay on Top
Allow Hide
Auto Arrange
Confirmation
Title Bar
Minimize Button
Window Border
Tile Size
Caption Text
Startup Toolbox


Ctrl-P will pop up the Options menu.


Stay On Top

When the Stay on Top item is checked the Toolbox window will stay on top of all the other windows even when other windows are maximized.


Allow Hide

When checked the Allow Hide option will allow you to hide the toolbox by moving the mouse pointer to the bottom left corner of the screen.  To unhide the toolbox move the mouse pointer to the bottom right side of the screen.


Auto Arrange

When the Auto Arrange item is checked all of the icons will be packed as closely together as possible whenever you resize the Toolbox window.


Confirmation

When the Confirmation item is checked you will be prompted when ever you attempt to delete a program from the Toolbox.


Title Bar

When the Title Bar item is checked your Toolbox window will have a caption bar.  In addition to being used to move the Toolbox windows around on the screen the title bar is used to display the name of the toolbox or the selected Toolbox icon.  If you want your Toolbox window to have a minimize button you must also have a title bar.

See also

minimize button


Minimize Button

If the Minimize button item is checked your Toolbox will have a minimize button.  When pressed the minimize button will reduce the Toolbox window to an icon.  In order to have a minimize button your Toolbox window must also have a title bar.

See also

title bar


Window Border

If the Window Border item is checked you Toolbox will have a border that will enable you to resize the Toolbox.


Tile Size

When you choose the Tile size menu item you can set the size of the Tiles that will be displayed.  The valid range is from 20 to 200 but values between 30 & 40 look best.


Caption Text

The  Caption Text item allows you to change the toolbox title.  This text will not be visible if your toolbox does not have a title bar.

See also

title bar


Startup Toolbox

The Startup Toolbox item will allow you to specify a TBX file that will be loaded automatically when 'Lectric Toolbox is started and no filename is specified on the command line.


The term command line refers to the file name and parameters that were used to start a program.


Move to corner

The Move to corner menu item is located on the system menu.  When invoked he Move to corner menu item moves the Toolbox to the nearest corner of the screen.

See also

system menu


New

Selecting New from the System menu will clear all of the programs from the toolbox.


Open

Choosing Open from the System menu will pop up a File open dialog box that will allow you to select the toolbox file that you wish to work with.


Save

Choosing Save from the System menu will save the current toolbox to disk.


Save As

Choosing Save as from the System menu will pop up a dialog box that will allow you to choose the file name that you wish to give the current toolbox.


Arrange Icons

The Arrange Icons menu item packs the items in the toolbox as close together as possible.


Run

When selected the Run menu item will prompt you for a command line to be executed.

You may type the name of any program that you wish to execute.  If the program is not in the current directory or in the PATH you must type the complete filename including the path (Ex C:\WINDOWS\NOTEPAD.EXE).


Add programs

The easiest way to set up a toolbox is to drag a file from the file manager and drop it into the desired cell in the toolbox window.

You may drop any type of file into the toolbox as long as it is executable or any file that is associated with an application (WRI, BMP, etc.).

Windows executable files will be represented by their embedded icon.  If a program does not have an icon it will be represented by a "no windows icon" symbol.

If a file is associated with an application it will appear raised in the toolbox.  All other executable files will appear recessed.

See also

Adding Programs Manually


Most executable files are files with the extension of EXE, COM, or BAT.


Launch Programs

You may launch the "tools" that you have placed in the toolbox by double clicking on the programs icon.

Alternately you may drag files to be manipulated to your tool and the program will be launched with the file loaded.

You may run programs that do not appear in your toolbox by typing the name of their executable file into the Run dialog box.


Change a tools properties

You may change a tools properties by clicking the right mouse button on the icon of the tool you wish to change, then click on the change properties menu item.  This will bring up the Properties dialog box.  From this dialog box you can change any of the programs properties.

How to

Change the icon

Change the startup directory

Change the command line

Change run options

Accept multiple files

Minimize on use


Change a program's icon

You may want to change the appearance of a tool in you toolbox.  You may do so by following this procedure:

1.  Open the tools property menu by right clicking on the tool's icon.

2.  Select Change Properties.

3.  Select the enter the name of the file which contains the icon you wish to use in the Icon field.

4.  To advance to the next icon in the current file press the choose icon button then use the scroll bars to advance through the available icons until you find the one you are looking for.

5.  After you have selected the icon you wish to use press the OK button.


Startup directory

If you want a program to start up in the same disk directory each time you start it follow this procedure:

1.  Open the tools property menu by right clicking on the tool's icon.

2.  Select Change Properties.

3.  Type the startup directory into the directory field.

4.  Click on OK


Command line

If you launch 'Lectric Toolbox with a filename specified on the command line, 'Lectric Toolbox will launch the specified program with the file loaded (if the program accepts files on its command line).

If you place TOOLBOX.EXE in one of your toolboxes you can specify a TBX file to be loaded when it is launched.  This, in effect, allows you to have unlimited nested toolboxes.

You can add a file to a tool's command line by following these instructions:

1.  Open the tools property menu by right clicking on the tool's icon.

2.  Select Change Properties.

3.  Type in or use the BROWSE button to enter the programs command line.

4.  Click on OK

OR

You may hold down the Ctrl key while you drag a data file from the file manager and drop it onto the tool of your choice.


Run options

By selecting the one of the radio buttons at the bottom of the preferences dialog box you can choose to start a program as minimized, maximized, normally, or hidden.

NOTE:

Use the hidden option with caution.  If the program will not terminate on its own there is no way to shut it down (short of quitting Windows) unless you have an enhanced task manager.  The Windows 3.1 task manager can not shut down hidden programs!


Accept multiple files

'Lectric Toolbox behaves one of two ways when you drop multiple files onto a tool.  The default behavior launches a separate copy of the tool for each file dropped.  The alternate behavior launches a single copy of your program and loads all of the files at once.

To enable a tool to accept multiple files follow this procedure:

1.  Open the tools property menu by right clicking on the tool's icon.

2.  Select Change Properties.

3.  Check the Accept multiple files box.

4.  Press OK.

Repeat the procedure to disable this option.


Minimize on use

If you want the Toolbox to shrink to an icon when you run a program check the Minimize on use item in the Options section of the properties dialog box.

To configure the toolbox to minimize when a program is run follow this procedure:

1.  Open the tools property menu by right clicking on the tool's icon.

2.  Select Minimize on use.

3.  Check the Accepts multiple files box.

4.  Press OK.

Repeat the procedure to disable this option.


Add programs manually

If you want to change a program in the tool box without dragging and dropping from the file manager, you may key the program name into the properties dialog box yourself.

If the cell in the tool box is empty:

1.  Open the tools property menu by right clicking on the tool's icon.

2.  Select Add Program

3.  Type in or use the BROWSE button to enter the name of the program that you wish to add.

4.  Click OK.

If there is already a program in the cell:

1.  Open the tools property menu by right clicking on the tool's icon.

2.  Select Change Properties.

3.  Type in or use the BROWSE button to enter the programs file name into the program  field.

4.  Click on OK


Rearranging tools

To move tools around in your toolbox or to move tools between toolboxes, simply drag & drop them from one location to another.  If a tool already occupies the destination cell the two tools will exchange places in the toolbox.

If you hold down the control key you can copy a tool.


When a tool is copied the original tool stays in place and an exact duplicate is created and placed in the destination cell.


Remove a program

If you wish to remove a program from 'Lectric Toolbox altogether follow this procedure:

1.  Open the tools property menu by right clicking on the program's icon.

2.  Select Remove program.

OR

Drag the program's icon out of the toolbox window and release it.


Remove program properties

Removing the command line file parameter

Removing a program's icon


Removing the command line file parameter
Remove the command line file parameter

To remove the command line file parameter:

1.  Open the tools property menu by right clicking on the tool's icon.

2.  Select Change Properties.

3.  Position your cursor on the Command field of the dialog box and delete the text.


Remove a program's icon

To remove an icon file:

1.  Open the tools property menu by right clicking on the tool's icon.

2.  Select Change Properties.

3.  Position your cursor on the Icon File field of the dialog box and delete the text.


Quick Control Keys

'Lectric Toolbox provides several quick keys to access menu item functions quickly.  These quick keys are most handy when the system menu is not visible.

Ctrl-V	 	moves the toolbox to the nearest corner

Alt-F4  	closes 'Lectric Toolbox

Ctrl-Esc 	pops up the task manager

Ctrl-N 	starts a new toolbox

Ctrl-O 	pops up the file Open dialog box.

Ctrl-S 	saves the current toolbox.

Ctrl-A 	pops up the Save as dialog box.

Ctrl-P 	pops up the Toolbox options menu.

Ctrl-I 	arranges the toolbox icons.

Ctrl-R 	pops a run dialog box.


'Lectric Toolbox as the Windows shell

In order to use 'Lectric Toolbox as the system shell you must edit your system.ini file.  This file is usually located in the Windows sub-directory.  Use notepad or any other text editor to edit this file.  The line you must change is the shell line.  If you are currently using program manager as your windows shell you will see something like shell=progman.exe.  To make 'Lectric Toolbox the Windows shell change this line to shell=toolbox.exe. If toolbox.exe is not in a sub directory that is in the current path you must also supply the path on the shell line (ex.shell=c:\lectric\toolbox.exe).


License Agreement

'Lectric Toolbox is shareware it is not public domain software, nor is it  free software.  'Lectric Toolbox you are required to pay for it. The current fee for registration as of October 21, 1993 is $20.00.  You may not charge a fee for this program beyond a reasonable fee for the media and a copying fee. This product must be distributed whole and in unaltered form.

This software is provided "as is" without any warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose,  The entire risk as to the quality and performance of the software is with you.  Should the software be defective, you assume the entire cost of all necessary servicing, repair or correction.

In no event shall I be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information, or other pecuniary loss) arising out of the use or inability to use this product, even if I have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Users are licensed to use this program on one computer.  A limited license is granted to copy and distribute "Lectric Toolbox for the trial use of others but it may not be distributed in conjunction with another product without written permission from the author to do so.  'Lectric Toolbox must be distributed in unmodified form complete with all documentation files and this license agreement.

Use of 'Lectric Toolbox for any length of time constitutes your acceptance of this agreement and subjects you to its contents. If you do not agree to the terms of this agreement, destroy all of your copies of the software.  This is your sole remedy.


Registering 'Lectric Toolbox

To print this form select Print Topic from the Help File menu.

Lectric Toolbox 2.0 registration form

 Name:       _____________________________________________________

 Company: _____________________________________________________

 Address:   _____________________________________________________

      _____________________________________________________

 City:   ________________________  State:______  Zip:___________

 Phone: (______)_________________    Country:________________

 # of copies of

 'Lectric Toolbox ____ X $20.00 U.S. =  Total _________

 Where did you get your copy of 'Lectric Toolbox?

 ____________________________________________________________

Send this form along your total payment to:

    James Robinson

    2809 Brookside Circle

    Paragould, AR 72450

    USA

 All funds must be U.S.

 Make checks payable to James Robinson.

 Checks must be drawn on a US bank.

Please allow 4 to 8 weeks for delivery.  This is just an estimate.  Orders mailed in the U.S. can be delivered in approximately one or two weeks.  Overseas orders can take longer depending on how you send your order.  Obviously sending you letter by ship will take a very long time indeed  (about 1 month by sea).  Return orders will be sent by First class mail in  the U.S. and foreign orders will be sent by Air mail.

You will receive a registration number that will disable 'Lectric Toolbox's nag screens.

The latest version of this software may be found on the Atlanta Windows BBS 404-516-0048.


Shareware

This program is shareware.  Shareware is a method of software distribution it is not free software.  You are granted permission to evaluate this program for a period of 30 days.  If, within the trial period, you decide you wish to keep the program, you must register it.  Use of this program beyond the initial 30 day trial period, without registering, is prohibited and a violation of the license agreement.  If you register the software you will receive a registration code which will disable the programs start up screen and the registration reminder dialog box.  In addition to the disabling of these messages your registration will encourage me to continue to improve this program and to write other low cost high quality programs.


Add a toolbox

You may add a toolbox by clicking the right mouse button on the icon of the tool you wish to change, then click on the Add toolbox menu item.  This will bring up a dialog box similar to the Open file dialog box..  From this dialog box you can choose a TBX file to be added to the toolbox or you may specify a filename for a new TBX file.  If the file is a new file it will not be created until you launch your new toolbox from the current toolbox.  After you launch it for the first time you may configure the new toolbox any way you wish.