Bill Reid's WinExpand 16 Bit
Copyright Bill Reid, 1994, 1996
breid@ebicom.net
http://www.ebicom.net/~breid		

Function Summary:

Program expands files that utilize Microsoft's LZW compression scheme.

Requirements:

Visual Basic 4.0 16 Bit runtime files, not included in this distribution
for space considerations.  These files are available at several distribution 
points on the internet; pls don't message me asking for me to deliver these
files to you.  They are fairly large and publicly available at most shareware
distribution sites under "Runtime files" or similar designation.

Also utilized is the file LZEXPAND.DLL which should already be on your HDD.
If not, copy this file from the installation directory to your /WINDOWS/SYSTEM
folder.  Otherwise, it may be safely deleted.

Description:

Are you the type that's installed so many shareware/freeware apps that you think
you could pretty much do the setup by hand?  This app gives you the chance to do it
occasionally.  

When you receive a setup archive done by Visual Basic or similar apps, you see the
files that will be installed; the last letter of the filenames replaced with a "_".
You can use this app to unpack these files to their original state, saving you the
time and trouble of running another long setup app and possibly overwriting OCXs or
DLLs that may not be up to date.  

A couple of caveats:  

This won't acceptably install the app for many programs.  Some setup apps do registry 
additions and specific file placements that can't be ignored.

The program can't figure out what the extension should really be.  You have to do that
by specifying the correct output filename.  Most of them are unique enough to guess
easily, but all of them won't be.

However, many simple programs will be prime targets for this app.  You're probably 
familiar with the type - you just dl'ed a very simple sounding app and it has 1.5 
megs of runtime files.  You know you have all those runtimes on disk, so you can use
this program to unpack the EXE, HLP and DOC files and go from there.

If you got through reading this section and can't think of a time in the past you
could have used it, it's probably not for you - delete it and go on.  Those of you
who have groaned through the re-installation of VB runtime for the 50th time will
recognize the program's value immediately.

Known bugs:

-App isn't very good at reporting its errors.  I didn't work an error handler into
the routines due to lack of time, so if the file doesn't unpack like you expect it
to, check the parameters you specified again for mistakes.

Licence:

BR Command Line is offered as freeware for non-commercial uses.  This means that 
although I retain the copyright to this program, you are free to use and distribute 
it without making payment of any sort to me as long as you're just using it for your
own personal enjoyment and not to fulfill the goals of a business or business venture.  
You are also not licensed to resell the product by itself or as part of a larger package.
This is because while I enjoy sharing my creations with others who can use them, if 
anyone gets paid for the use of this program it should be me :)

I would appreciate your comments by email.  Email is cheap enough that it
won't inconvenience you and I'd just like to know how many people actually 
got some use out of this program.  The responses of satisfied users is basically what
keeps me posting my apps, so be sure and let me know if you liked.

Support Policy:

As I receive no payment for this program, I guarantee no support of any
kind.  You may send questions via email, and I will attempt to answer 
them at my leisure, but use of this program in no way guarantees technical
support of any kind.  It is known to be quite funky in places, so you blaze forth
at your own risk.

Disclaimer:

I do not guarantee (expressly or implied) that this program is suitable for
your use or free from bugs.  Every effort has been made to properly test it
for my own use, but this is not to be seen as a statement of quality.  You
use this program at your own risk; I will not be held responsible for any
losses incurred as a direct or indirect result of using this program.