_______ ____|__ | (R) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| MEMBER ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸ ³ The DemoMaker v2.00 ³ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ; Copyright (C)1993,94,95 R.Janorkar Release date 06/01/95 Introduction ~~~~~~~~~~~~ The DemoMaker is a powerful software tool that creates professional presentation slide shows for any DOS based (text mode) software. It allows software authors to create live color demonstrations of their products that show all the capabilities of their programs, in the form of compact self executing presentations. BBS Sysops can use the DemoMaker to create slide shows of their systems to graphically demonstrate all the features their BBS has to offer. Screen effects produce eye catching results. A configurable dialog box allows you to provide informative text for each screen. The DemoMaker is a powerful and easy to use tool! What's New? ~~~~~~~~~~~ Version 2 introduces screen special effects! The EXEcutable presentations are also more user friendly, offering online help and will now work on virtually any PC or compatible computer. The full screen is now usable (version 1.x lacked the bottom line on the display). The entire program has been overhauled and several minor improvements have been made to virtually every feature. Disclaimer ~~~~~~~~~~ The DemoMaker is provided with NO warranties, expressed or implied. Use it at your own risk. The author of this software will NOT be liable for any damages, direct or indirect, arising from the ability or disability to use this software package. The use of this program on your computer system indicates your acceptance of these disclaimers. Association of Shareware Professionals -------------------------------------------- "This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442-9427 USA, FAX 616-788-2765 or send a Compuserve message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536" The DemoMaker has been released as fully functional shareware. All features are available in the unregistered version to allow you to evaluate all facets of the program completely. The self executable presentations created will, however, display unregistered messages. Registration provides you with a valid registration number to eliminate the unregistered messages, the latest release on disk, and an illustrated printed bound user manual. This serial number will be valid for all minor updates to the DemoMaker (v2.x), major updates may require a reasonable upgrade fee. Current v1.x registered users should have already received their new registration number, if you have NOT received one please contact the author with your old serial number. To register this software, please mail the enclosed ORDER.FRM along with the registration fee of US $35.00 (US funds only) to: Ron Janorkar DemoMaker Registration 52-A Carmine Street #555 New York, NY 10014 Voice Support: (temporarily unavailable) FAX: 212-691-3627 (attn. R.Janorkar #555) Authors BBS: 212-941-0526 @28.8 DS EMail: RIME -> 5648 FIDONET 1:278/328 INTERNET ron.janorkar.5648@rime.com The author monitors several echo mail networks for product support such as RIME, Intelec, ILink, and FidoNet (Shareware Conferences). Concepts ~~~~~~~~ The DemoMaker swaps itself out of active memory to allow you to execute the program that you wish to make a demonstration from. Even though the DemoMaker is not active, it is still resident (TSR). As you execute your application, you call the DemoMaker by pressing the Hot key combination. The DemoMaker suspends the application that is running, swaps itself back into memory, and captures the displayed screen image. It then allows you to enter text into a configurable dialog window. You may type in your text and position the dialog box at this time, or edit and reposition the dialog box later. The DemoMaker then swaps itself out of active memory, and restores your application at the exact point where it was interrupted. You can repeat this cycle indefinitely, the DemoMaker keeps track of all your screen captures. Once you have completed capturing all the screens that you require, terminate your application and return to the DOS prompt. Summon the DemoMaker again with the Hot key combination. You can now edit the text and color of the dialog windows, select screen effects, and delete or rearrange the order of screen captures that you have made. If need be, you can restart your application and add more screen captures at a later time. After you are satisfied with the appearance of all the screens, the DemoMaker will create a self executing demo program that you can distribute freely! The sample presentation program SAMPLE.EXE shows exactly how the DemoMaker can be utilized! Simply run this program to watch the slide show. Upgrading from prior versions ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Make a backup copy of all DemoMaker program files, and any existing display data files. Copy the new release over the old program files. The DemoMaker will automatically update older datafiles to the new format when you use them. Using The DemoMaker ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You must run the DemoMaker from the DOS command line ONLY. It is important that you do NOT use any DOS Shell or Menu program such as Windows to load this program! The DemoMaker can ONLY work with DOS based text mode programs. A batch file called RUN.BAT is included in the archive, it first SETs an environmental variable for the DemoMaker and then executes the program. It is recommended that this batch file be used to start the program. Simply type RUN on the DOS command line and the program will be executed. You will see a menu in the center of your display. There are five options in the menu, but the first three options will be shaded out and unavailable until later. The menu options are: View/Edit Demo screens Kill screens & restart Write presentation EXE Execute an application Unload and Quit to DOS View/Edit Demo screens - This option only comes active if you have used the DemoMaker before and have at least one screen saved. A detailed description follows. Kill screens & restart - This option only comes active if you have used the DemoMaker before and have at least one screen saved. It deletes all saved screen information in the current display datafile and starts afresh. Write presentation - This option only comes active if you have used the DemoMaker before and have at least one screen saved. It creates an EXEcutable presentation program using the screens that you have saved. The saved screens are retained, allowing you to make changes if necessary and recreate the presentation at a later time. Execute application - This option allows you to drop out of the DemoMaker and run your application. It will return you to the DOS prompt to execute the application that you wish to make the demo from. A detailed description follows. Unload and Quit to DOS - This option unloads the DemoMaker from memory completely, and returns control to DOS. Always exit the program with this option to ensure that the datafiles are updated properly. Making our first demo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Change to the directory in which the DemoMaker has been installed. Start the DemoMaker from the DOS command line, by using the RUN batch file included. When the menu appears, select the option to Execute your application. Use the Up and the Down arrow keys to navigate the menu; or press the first letter of your choice and select with the Enter key. The DemoMaker will swap itself out of active memory, remaining resident and return you to the DOS prompt with a message: "Ready to create a demo of your application." "Execute the program now, and press both LEFT-SHIFT and RIGHT-SHIFT" "keys simultaneously to activate the DemoMaker." "To access the control menu after you have completed all screen" "captures, return to DOS and press both the hot keys together." You may now execute your application program. To capture a screen and save it, simply press the Hot keys Left-Shift and Right-Shift simultaneously. Your application will be suspended, and the DemoMaker will swap itself back and take control. You will see a dialog box superimposed over the original screen, with a list of available commands on the bottom of the display: "F10 save, Esc cancel, Ctl resize, Ctl move, Ctl +- colors" You can now type your information about the screen displayed into the dialog box. The Control + arrow keys change the size of the dialog box, any text that exists is reformatted to fit in the provided space. You have a limit of 512 characters in the text, any more will be ignored. If your text occupies more lines than are visible, the hidden text will remain hidden, you must resize the dialog box to best fit your text. You may leave the dialog box empty and update it at a later time. The number that appears in the upper left corner of the dialog box is the current screen number, this controls the order in which the screens will appear in your final presentation and can be changed later with the View/Edit option. The number in the upper right corner of the dialog box is the active screen effect. The Control + PageUp, PageDown, Insert and Delete keys move the entire dialog box around the screen. Control + PageUp moves the box up, Control + PageDown moves the box down, Control + Insert moves the box to the left and Control + Delete moves the box to the right. You can only move the dialog box within the confines of the display dimensions. If you leave the dialog box empty with no text, the DemoMaker will not add a dialog box to the screen when the presentation program is created. This is useful if you wish to display a full screen image. The empty dialog box will remain visible when you View/Edit the screen, to allow you to add text. You can change the colors of the dialog box and text by pressing the Control + [PLUS] keys for the foreground color, and the Control + [MINUS] keys for the background color. Once you have entered your text and positioned the dialog box, save the screen information by pressing the F10 key. To discard your changes press the Escape key. You may edit the text and change the colors or position of the dialog box at a later time by using the View/Edit option. After you save (or discard) the screen, the DemoMaker will swap itself out of memory again, and restore your application to the exact state it was before the interruption. You may now continue to use your application and create more screens using the same process explained above. It may take the DemoMaker a few seconds to swap itself in and out of active memory. If any EMS memory is available, it will be used for faster swapping. Do NOT load any other TSR programs after the DemoMaker is resident! Once you have a collection of screens saved, quit from the application and return to the DOS prompt. Press the Left-Shift and the Right-Shift Hot keys simultaneously. The DemoMaker knows when it is summoned over a DOS prompt, and will offer its menu. Select the View/Edit option. You will see the first screen that you have saved, along with the dialog box and your text. You can now edit the text, resize, move, change the colors of the dialog box or change the screen effect. The F10 key saves changes and goes to the next saved screen. If you were at the last screen this will return you to the menu. The Control + BackSpace key takes you to the previous screen. If any changes were made, they will be lost, you MUST save all changes by pressing the F10 key. Pressing the Escape key takes you to the next saved screen. If any changes were made, they will be lost, you must save all changes by pressing the F10 key. If you were at the last screen this will return you to the menu. The Control + J key jumps to a specified screen number. You will be prompted to enter which screen number to jump to. The Control + K key kills the current screen. When a screen is deleted a flashing DEL message is seen in the lower left corner of the dialog box. Pressing Control + K at a deleted screen will revive the screen, making it active again. Deleted screens are ignored when the final presentation is prepared, but they are visible during editing to allow resurrection. The Control + O key changes the order of saved screens. You will be prompted to enter the new order number to assign the screen. If two screens are assigned the same order number, the screen that was created first will appear before the other. The Control + T key will allow you to change the screen effect for that screen. There are several different effects available, use the arrow keys to navigate the list and select with the Enter key, or press the Escape key to retain the original choice and quit. Screen effects can only be viewed after the final EXEcutable presentation has been created. The Control + Q key will return you to the menu immediately. Once you are satisfied with the appearance and order of all the active screens, select the "Write Presentation EXE" option. You will be prompted to enter a filename for the executable program. The default presentation filename is DEMO.EXE, simply press the Enter key to accept the default name. A file extension of .EXE is assumed if one is not entered. The DemoMaker will now create the presentation EXEcutable program, displaying each screen as it progresses, in the order that you have specified. Deleted screens are not included in the final presentation, and any screens with empty dialog boxes will NOT have a box included in the image. After a few seconds of disk activity, the DemoMaker will display the message: "Presentation file created! Press any key ..." Pressing any key will return you to the menu. You may now Unload and Quit to DOS to run and view the presentation program that you have just created. Once the final presentation program has been completed, you can select the Kill screens & restart option allowing you to create a new demo for another application. The DemoMaker can also accept an alternate datafile name as a command line parameter, which it will load/create instead of the default DISPLAY.DMK file. For example, to retain an existing screen set and create a new datafile, call the RUN batch file with the new file name as a command line parameter: RUN SOMEFILE A file extension of .DMK is assumed if one is not entered. If the specified datafile does not exist, a new datafile will be created. You can use several different datafiles by using this method, but the DemoMaker must be Unloaded and restarted with the new datafile name on the command line. The DemoMaker creates some temporary files while it is running and even while it is memory resident, do NOT delete any of these files! If you attempt to run the DemoMaker while it is already in memory (and suspended), it will remind you that it is already active and will not load itself again. If any errors occur, it will attempt to unload itself from memory and terminate with an error message. Viewing the Presentation ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The demo EXEcutable created by the DemoMaker is a regular DOS program, and can be distributed as a stand-alone program. End users can simply run the presentation program to view the demonstration. Within the demo, pressing any key advances to the next screen. Pressing the Backspace key or the [MINUS] key will show the previous screen. Pressing the F1 key will show a brief help screen. Pressing the Escape key will terminate the demo and return to the operating system. Presentations created with an unregistered copy of the DemoMaker will display a brief unregistered message upon startup. All screens will also have a flashing UNREGISTERED at the bottom of the dialog box. Registered copies do not have these reminders. Advanced Features ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The DemoMaker offers an optional Quick Mode, that takes an instant snapshot of the screen when making screen captures. If you wish to use the Quick Mode, you must SET the DEMOSET environmental variable, for example: SET DEMOSET=BADCURS;E0;QUICK A musical tone will sound as soon as the DemoMaker has completed the quick screen capture. You can also instruct the DemoMaker to use a random color combination in each dialog box by using the option COLOR, for example: SET DEMOSET=BADCURS;E0;QUICK;COLOR Additionally, you can use a random screen effect for each screen by using the option EFFECT, for example: SET DEMOSET=BADCURS;E0;QUICK;COLOR;EFFECT Note that the random color and effect features will ONLY work if the QUICK mode is activated. You can View/Edit the captured screens at a later time and change the dialog box colors and screen effect. Problems? ~~~~~~~~~ Do NOT run the DemoMaker under DesqView or Windows! They do not get along very well, use the program under DOS only. The DemoMaker will NOT work with graphics screens! Only text video modes are supported. Several VGA cards will cause the cursor to appear abnormal while the DemoMaker is being used. The RUN.BAT file that is provided SETs an environmental variable DEMOSET with the option BADCURS to prevent cursor madness. It is recommended that this RUN.BAT file be used to start the program since it will set the DEMOSET variable automatically each time. The DemoMaker uses EMS memory, XMS memory, or if neither are found, disk space to swap. EMS and XMS memory swapping is much faster than disk swapping. MS-DOS 6.x users MUST use the RUN BATch file to execute the DemoMaker. The E0 option is critical under MS-DOS 6.x to prevent random crashes and lockups! Do not use any TSR programs that remap the keyboard, especially the DOSKEY utility! Thanks go to ... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The áeta test team: Mufutau 'Field Marshal' Towobola, Harris 'Speedy' Lam, Rick 'Trekky' Alvey, Rick 'Mega' Burwell, Joe 'Wave' Eversole, Dane 'BABBLE' Beko, Joe '100' Sitko, Vern 'Earnest' Hall, Richard 'Robo' Hsiung, Edwin 'Multi' Million, Joe 'Rock' Johnson, Joe 'Gameboy' Siegler Stuart 'Calico' Krivis, Luis 'El Caz' Casas, Updates ~~~~~~~ Updates to the DemoMaker can be found at the following Official Distribution Sites arranged by area code. Support BBS - Photographers Network BBS, NY 212-941-0526 @28.8 DS ~~~~~~~~~~~ The Systematic BBS, NY 718-716-6198 @28.8 DS BBS Name ST Phone #1 Phone #2 Phone #3 Michelange II BBS +32-67211838 ? NorthPaul BBS +44236458256 14.4 +44235457650 14.4 North Wales Computer +44745886967 14.4 Schizophrenic Wolf BB +44772456526 16.8 Twin-Box +49819180215 14.4 The Magic BBS +49821605539 14.4 Starship Junkyard +61-72028498 2400 Land of Oz +61094471805 14.4 LiveWire BBS! +91332481356 14.4 +91332488763 14.4 Devil BBS +97235597740 ? T.E.R.N. BBS NJ 201-399-4772 28.8 Garden of Eden BBS NJ 201-839-5401 16.8 201-616-9760 14.4 Fun Investing BBS CT 203-834-0490 16.8 Pony Express! BBS WA 206-367-9131 14.4 Third Millennium ID 208-664-2983 14.4 208-765-1154 28.8 Computerized AIDS Min NY 212-222-2135 ? Walter's BBS NY 212-749-3268 9600 Lunatic Fringe TX 214-235-5288 USR 214-235-5764 16.8 214-235-5872 16.8 Robin's Egg BBS TX 214-964-8726 14.4 Camers Proving Ground PA 215-248-2319 14.4 UnNamed BBS PA 215-540-0141 14.4 Perry-I Host Systems PA 215-698-7677 9600 215-698-7394 14.4 Happy Hacker BBS OH 216-992-6930 14.4 216-992-6931 21.6 USR DS Merrifield PC BBS MN 218-829-6340 14.4 Michiana On-Line Mess IN 219-674-0555 28.8 Old Timers BBS MD 301-645-1049 9600 "US" Project BBS DE 302-529-1650 14.4 Manx Cat BBS FL 305-258-0002 14.4 Looking Glass BBS FL 305-452-5226 28.8 Great Escape BBS CA 310-676-3534 14.4 310-676-4282 16.8 310-676-2219 16.8 Stephanie's Nightmare KS 316-686-7585 28.8 316-686-6956 14.4 Stalker's BBS IN 317-773-7154 14.4 HearthStone BBS IN 317-831-9227 28.8 PUMA Wildcat! BBS LA 318-443-1065 14.4 318-442-0669 14.4 Cyber Zone BBS RI 401-732-0258 16.8 Pendragon BBS RI 401-765-6659 14.4 Dark Raven Tower RI 401-826-8419 2400 Eager Beaver AB 403-285-7167 9600 Wild Turkey BBS GA 404-918-9618 14.4 404-918-8499 28.8 Data Dimension GA 404-921-1186 14.4 404-564-9498 28.8 404-921-0963 28.8 Thompson Towers BBS GA 404-941-0746 14.4 Grigadoon TX 409-321-4637 14.4 Chesapeake FreeNet MD 410-820-6734 14.4 Lions Den BBS MD 410-827-7675 14.4 410-827-5598 ? Eastern Shore On-Line MD 410-827-8789 2400 Solomon World BBS KY 502-276-9675 14.4 TrekKy! BBS KY 502-762-6963 14.4 FireBurners BBS Onlin OR 503-336-4538 28.8 503-336-1039 14.4 Emerald Online BBB OR 503-343-1308 14.4 503-343-1823 14.4 503-343-1437 28.8 Swamp Thang BBS LA 504-347-8152 9600 MidNight Express PCBo NM 505-831-4581 14.4 505-831-3579 14.4 Software Creations BB MA 508-368-7036 28.8 508-368-7139 ? 508-365-9352 28.8 Belly of the Beast MA 508-797-5112 9600 Bingo Parlor BBS WA 509-244-6253 28.8 Night Voyager BBS WA 509-926-1686 14.4 MADDOG! BBS CA 510-483-0203 ? 510-895-8089 ? Utopia Tech BBS NY 516-579-7507 28.8 The UpAllNite BBS ON 519-351-4364 14.4 519-351-5037 14.4 GeoApplications PreCa AZ 520-881-5836 ? Final Countdown MS 601-425-9795 28.8 Coffee Club BBS AZ 602-945-0363 14.4 Salmon Siding Saloon BC 604-357-9942 14.4 Message Center BBS BC 604-426-8604 2400 604-426-5386 14.4 Michael's Mess BBS KY 606-886-2881 14.4 Don's BBS NJ 609-435-1663 14.4 The Tholian Web PA 610-929-2229 ? DRAGnet MN 612-753-1943 16.6 The INFERNO BBS! TN 615-245-8990 14.4 Lone Mountain BBS TN 615-494-7024 14.4 Hillbilly Host BBS TN 615-689-9899 28.8 Ryan's Bar BBQ MI 616-456-1845 16.8 616-456-5342 14.4 Channel 1 MA 617-354-3230 14.4 617-354-3137 16.8 Nexus BBS VA 703-898-7205 14.4 703-898-3835 14.4 Exchange BBS NC 704-573-2115 14.4 Hi-Tech Gateway BBS GA 706-694-3295 16.8 Warp Speed BBS IL 708-677-6824 ? Nishna Valley Net IA 712-624-9071 14.4 My New BBS TX 713-726-0445 9600 Radio-X BBS TX 713-789-4068 2400 Abinitio's TX 713-957-1413 28.8 Point BBS WI 715-345-1327 14.4 Flying Fortress PA 717-597-7654 28.8 Queens Software Excha NY 718-628-6661 2400 Icebox BBS NY 718-793-8548 14.4 Desktop Daredevil NY 718-904-9432 9600 Computec Data Systems NY 718-983-9152 16.8 Dungeon BBS UT 801-393-0531 14.4 Glory Bound BBS SC 803-592-5208 14.4 The UnWanted BBS SC 803-821-2220 9600 Straight Board BBS VA 804-468-6454 16.8 804-468-6528 14.4 Metro Connection VA 804-768-8621 14.4 C Pro Run VA 804-857-4090 14.4 Visible Spectrum BBS CA 805-237-8025 28.8 Twilight Zone BBS CA 805-258-0413 16.8 Off Roaders BBS CA 805-274-1554 16.8 805-274-1568 ? 805-274-2842 ? The Wetspot CA 805-736-7066 14.4 Midnight Express BBS CA 805-946-4107 14.4 Seaside BBS CA 805-964-4414 14.4 805-964-4766 14.4 The OutLaw BBS TX 806-435-9113 14.4 Refiner's Fire MI 810-664-0437 14.4 Black Realms IN 812-424-3781 14.4 Bay Area Gazette! BBS FL 813-920-2434 14.4 813-920-2646 9600 813-920-2720 28.8 COBRA BBS FL 813-986-3578 14.4 Express BBS PA 814-362-6546 2400 Darby Research System PA 814-825-7905 28.8 814-825-9296 14.4 814-825-5217 28.8 Computer Works TX 817-589-1517 14.4 Star Trek BBS TN 901-377-6419 14.4 Maranatha BBS TX 903-465-4022 14.4 Night Owl BBS FL 904-472-5714 14.4 The Mini Dome 905-336-0083 ? Club Cave BBS ON 905-796-1400 28.8 Altered Illusions NJ 908-329-3216 28.8 908-329-6384 16.8 DATALAND! BBS NJ 908-572-9233 14.4 908-572-5762 2400 Wild Bill's BBS NJ 908-671-2528 14.4 908-671-9091 14.4 Graphics Unlimited BB CA 909-862-5319 14.4 909-862-1723 28.8 Byte Exchange NC 910-627-5190 14.4 Southern Charm BBS GA 912-934-8079 14.4 Publishing BBS KS 913-784-7171 14.4 The Shuttle BBS NY 914-482-3239 14.4 Lost Carrier BBS NY 914-964-0419 28.8 Racers Net CA 916-546-2095 28.8 916-546-9113 28.8 Katt's Meow BBS OK 918-478-9508 14.4 Broken Wings OK 918-534-3759 14.4 FIDO freq sites: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1:278/328 (Authors BBS, NY) 1:150/420 (US Project, DE) 1:124/2113 (Lunatic Fringe, TX) 1:2619/101 (Utopia Tech, NY) 1:231/1400 (Hearthstone, IN) 1:3652/5 (Glory Bound, SC) Internet ftp sites: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ftp.crl.com in the directory /users/em/emillion/pub/tagx kaiwan.com in the directory /user/rhsiung/tagx ftp.primenet.com in the directory /users/d/dbeko/