EASY SOFTWARE MENU-FOR-WINDOWS ............................................................... This is a single user version. It is suitable for Windows 3.1 or Windows 95. It is also suitable for Windows for Workgroups where each workstation loads Windows from it's own local hard disk. It is not suitable for networks where each workstation loads windows from a single copy of Windows on the server. ................................................................ OVERVIEW Menu-For-Windows is an icon-less desktop for Windows 3.1 or Windows 95. It has two modes of operation, administrator and user. User mode provides a reasonable degree of security by denying users access to programs. In user mode (menu locked) the user cannot alter the menu structure nor access any program or sub menu which has been annotated administrator only. Programs or sub menus which are available to some users but not others can be password protected. User mode can also be configured to prevent access to the DOS prompt when shutting down Windows. Menu-For-Windows can be run as a program from your normal desktop but the security features are only implemented when you select "Control Windows from Menu-For-Windows" in the Configuration Window and restart Windows. ADDING PROGRAMS TO THE MENU To add an item to your menu, click "Add Item" on the Administrator Window. If the Administrator Window is not visible then right click on the menu to bring it to the front. There is also a shortcut key (F2) which will bring up the Add-Item window without accessing the Administrator Window. The Add-Item window appears with the cursor in the menu-text field. Enter the text you wish to be shown on the menu for the item. To the right of this field is a button marked "Menu Branch". This is used to create sub menus and is described later. To move to the next field, "Start Command" you can use the down arrow, the enter key or click on the field. The first time the cursor enters the "Start Command" field the directory- file browse window will open automatically. Select the program that you wish to run and click "OK" or press F2. The program you have selected will now be shown in the "Start Command" field. If there are parameters to add on the command line just add them at the end of the start command. The "Working Directory" field will also have been filled with the directory that the program is in. If you wish to set another directory as the working directory, you can edit this. You can now set various options for the program. Access to the program can be Open, Password or Administrator. If you select "Password", a field appears to the right into which you type the password for the program. When the menu is locked to User Mode this program will not start without the password. If you select "Administrator" then the item will only show on the menu when in Administrator Mode. It will disappear when the menu is locked. The Window Style buttons set the initial state of the program when it is started - Normal, maximized or minimized. For DOS programs, Menu-For-Windows can create a temporary program information file (.PIF) automatically. To use this facility, click "Make PIF" and select either the Full Screen or Window button. If you are running Windows 95, a third option button allows you to set the screen saver on or off. The PIF file which Menu-For-Windows creates uses default settings for everything except the full screen or window options. These defaults are suitable for the vast majority of DOS programs. If you have a DOS program which requires other PIF settings then create your PIF file as normal and make your PIF file the start command. Please use the "Make PIF" option for your DOS programs. If you run a DOS program without this option then it will probably leave an inactive window when it terminates. If you select the Load on Startup button, the program will be started automatically when Windows starts. This is similar to adding a program to the Start Group in Program manager. Programs with this option set are only started once you set "Control Windows from Menu-For-Windows". If you select "Allow multiple Loading" then clicking the item on the menu after the program has been started will start another copy of the program. With the default setting, "No", clicking the menu item after the program has started brings the running copy to the front, restoring it if it has been minimized. The Multiple Loading option only works with programs which allow it. Click on Save to add the program to the menu and repeat the process for your other programs. When you add a program to the menu, it is added at the end. If you wish to re-arrange the items use the cut copy and paste buttons on the administrator window. Cutting or Copying applies to the currently highlighted item and paste inserts the cut or copied item above the currently highlighted item. There are shortcuts to all the functions on the Administrator Window - Click "Shortcut Key List". SUB MENUS To create a sub menu, click Add Item as usual. This time click the Menu Branch button. All the options disappear except the access buttons. Enter the menu text for the branch and set the access options. Save the item then click on it on the menu. The sub menu appears overlapping the main menu to the right. With the sub menu to the fore, the administrator buttons and shortcut keys now apply to the sub menu. If you delete a sub menu item and that sub menu has items on it then the sub menu itself is not deleted, only the item which calls it. You can call the sub menu again by selecting Add Item and clicking Menu Branch. Any existing sub menus will be listed for you to choose from. If you delete all the items on a sub menu and then delete the call to it, the sub menu is deleted. You can call sub menus from sub menus but only one sub menu is displayed at a time. When a sub menu is visible, moving the mouse between main and sub menus sets focus automatically. To modify or delete an item, click the appropriate button on the Administrator Window (or use the shortcut key) All actions on the Administrator Window apply to the currently highlighted item on the foremost menu. As the menus are sticky, use the right mouse button to jump directly to the Administrator Window without accidentally moving the highlight bar. The right mouse button also brings the Administrator Window to the fore if it has been closed. SYSTEM ACCESS The Administrator window has four system access buttons, Run, DOS Prompt, File Manager and Control Panel. These can also be accessed by shortcut keys. The File Manager button, by default, calls Winfile.Exe. If you prefer another file manager, you can connect this button to any other program from the Configuration Window. Menu-For-Windows does not have pre defined Diskcopy or Format options as you will probably wish to make these available on user menus. If you are unsure how to do this see appendix 1. CONFIGURATION To configure your menu, click the configuration button on the Administrator Window or press F12. The Configuration Window is in three general sections. The first section controls the appearance of your menu and desk top. The second section contains the operating options and the last determines whether your system is controlled by Menu-For-Windows or your current desk top. As most of the operating options are only effective when Menu-For-Windows is controlling your system, it is suggested that you change over to Menu-For-Windows at this stage. In the bottom section you will see two buttons. The lower button is depressed, coloured red and has, as its caption, your current desk top controlling program. This will be "Progman.exe" if you have standard Windows 3.1, "Explorer.exe" if you have standard Windows 95 or the name of your current desk top if you have a custom desk top installed. Changing to Menu-For-Windows is simply a case of selecting the upper button "ES Menu-For-Windows" and clicking on "OK" or pressing F2. However, as the change over requires Windows to be restarted you should close down any other programs you have running first. When you click on "OK" a dialog box opens with two sets of option buttons. Click the "yes" button to prevent access to the DOS prompt on shutdown. With this option set, a user shutting down Menu-For-Windows with the menu locked to user mode has no option but to turn off the computer. To restart Windows with Menu-For-Windows in control click the "Restart Windows Now" button. If you have got to this point and realize that you still have other programs running you can click the "Cancel the Change" button, shutdown those programs then return to configuration to change over later. You can revert to your previous desk top at any time by clicking the lower button in the "Control Windows From" section. When Windows has restarted, bring up the Configuration Window again. In the top section, set the desk top colour , Pattern or wallpaper. Set your preferred colours for Main Menu, Sub Menu and error messages. You can also select one of three sizes for your menu, small, medium or large. The operating options section has the following options. AUTO-HIDE ADMINISTRATOR WINDOW With this option set, the Administrator Window will disappear automatically whenever the mouse pointer moves over the menu. To retrieve the Administrator Window at any time, right click on the menu. This option is most useful when your menu is fully set up and you occasionally wish to assess the System Functions. KEEP MENU ALWAYS ON TOP With this option set, the menu will always be visible above other running programs. MINIMIZE ON USE With this option set, the menu will shrink to an icon each time you run a program from it. It will also self-restore when no other windows are open. To get the best from your Menu-For-Windows, always select this option and always re-launch minimised programs from the menu rather than from their icon. FILE MANAGER BUTTON CALLS Click the Custom button to connect another program to the File Manager button on the Administrator Window. CHANGE ADMINISTRATOR PASSWORD Click here to change the Administrator password. If you do not wish the Administrator Window to be password protected, leave the New Password Field blank. RUNNING IN USER MODE To switch to User Mode, click the "Lock Menu" button at the foot of the main menu. The button caption changes to "Administrator" and the Administrator Window disappears . Only the programs on your menu can now be run. To revert to Administrator Mode, click the "Administrator" button and enter your password. If you are using the Evaluation Copy, the password will be shown on screen. If you have just installed the registered version over an Evaluation copy, the password will be the last password used on the evaluation copy. If you have just installed a registered copy as a new installation the Administrator Window will not be password protected until you enter a password from the Configuration Window. To set one, enter the password in the new password field and leave the old password field blank. In User Mode, you shut down Windows by closing the Main Menu Window. If you chose the option to prevent access to DOS on shutdown then the Windows 95 shutdown screen will not have the option to restart in DOS Mode and Windows 3.1 will terminate with the message :- It is now safe to turn off your computer. FINDING THE MENU In either mode, you will need to bring the menu to the fore before you can use it. If you have set the option Keep Menu Always on Top, this will not be a problem. If not, then hold down the Alt key and press the tab key until the ES icon is highlighted. If you have set Menu-For-Windows to control Windows then you can also bring it to the fore By right clicking anywhere on the desktop or by pressing Ctrl + Esc. APPENDIX 1 (Diskcopy and Format) To put these items on your menu, add items which run Diskcopy.Com and Format.Com. These programs can be found in your DOS directory if you are running Windows 3.1 and in your Windows\Command directory if you are running Windows 95. Both these programs have required parameters. For Diskcopy, you must supply the drive to copy from and too. To diskcopy in drive A: the start command for a Windows 95 system would be :- C:\windows\command\diskcopy.com A: A: For Format, the drive to format is required. To format drive a: the start command for a Windows 95 system would be :- C:\windows\command\format.com a: (This formats the disk to the default size for the drive. To format to other sizes, see the Format.com parameters in your DOS documentation.) Both these programs are DOS based and you should use the Make PIF option to run them either full screen or in a Window. APPENDIX 2 (System Alterations) When you install Menu-For-Windows the installation program makes no changes to any of your system files and no files are installed to your Windows directories. If you have not set Menu-For-Windows to control your system then uninstalling is simply a case of erasing the files in the directory to which it was installed. When you set Menu-For-Windows as your desktop program it makes the following alterations. 1. In your System.Ini file [boot] section, it puts ESMENU.EXE on the shell= line and adds a line Esmenureplaced=(Your last desktop) immediately following it. 2. It renames Taskman.exe as Taskman.spr. If you decide to uninstall Menu-For-Windows after putting it in control then reset to your old desktop first. Menu-For-Windows then reverses these changes. In the unlikely event that you delete the Menu-For-Windows files without resetting to your last desk top then you will either have to reinstall Menu-For-Windows from DOS or edit your System.Ini file manually and rename Taskman.spr to Taskman.exe. If this happens under Windows 3.1, Windows will fail to start with the message "Error loading Progman.exe". Just use a DOS editor to make the changes. If it happens under Windows 95 then Windows will fail to start with the message "Error loading Esmenu.Exe" - "You must reinstall Windows". You DO NOT have to reinstall Windows. What you do have to do is reboot your computer with a DOS boot disk to make the changes. To reinstall Menu-For-Windows, insert the installation disk in a floppy drive, change to that drive and type "Install". (If you have not erased all the Menu-For-Windows files then erase them first so that the registered install disk makes a full installation and not an Evaluation Copy Conversion.) To revert to your old desk top, edit the file System.Ini shell= line to shell=progman.exe for Win 3.1 or shell=explorer.exe for Win95 and remove the Esmenureplaced= line. APPENDIX 3 ( DLL space saving ) Menu-For-Windows installs several DLL and VBX files in it's directory. You may already have some of these files in your Windows\System directory and if you are an experienced Windows user you will know that you can delete the duplicate copies from the Menu-For-Windows directory and the program will still run. We strongly recommend that you DO NOT DO THIS for the following reason. If you are using Menu-For-Windows as your shell program and you install another program which has one of these files and the installation program attempts to write that file directly into your Windows\System directory then the installation will fail as Windows prevents any DLL or VBX file which is in use from being overwritten. APPENDIX 4 (Installed files) The Menu-For-Windows installation program installs the following files:- ESMENU.EXE This is the program executable file DONOTRUN.EXE This is not. It is used internally. ESMENU.DAT ESMENU.DPF ESMENU.D9F ESMENU.HLD ESMENU.MEN MANUAL.TXT ORDER.TXT CBK.VBX SBC.VBX SBCKBD.VBX MHGDIR.VBX MHGDRL.VBX MHGFIL.VBX MHGFRM.VBX MHIN200.VBX MHSPLIT.VBX MUSCLE.VBX DWSPYDLL.DLL MHRUN500.DLL VBRUN300.DLL All of these files are required - do not delete them. The additional files:- ESMENU.( A NUMBER) Your sub menu files ESMENU.DIR A directory of sub menus ~.PIF The temporary PIF file Are created when the program is used. APPENDIX 5 (Evaluation Licence) If this is an Evaluation copy, you are licensed to use it for thirty days. If you wish to continue using Menu-For-Windows beyond the evaluation period you must purchase a registered copy. At the end of the Evaluation period, should you still be running the evaluation copy, it will remind you of this obligation. At no time, however, will it cease to function. Full copies of Menu-For-Windows cost:- $25 for private home use on a single machine $40 for commercial use on a single machine Site Licenses are available for commercial use. A site licence consists of a single copy of the software together with a licence to duplicate and use that software on multiple machines. Copies made under a site licenses are for in-house use by the licensee and may not be resold. To calculate a site licence price, multiply the price for a single copy by the number of copies required and apply the following discounts: 2 40% 3-7 60% 10-16 70% 25-56 80% 75-133 85% 200-500 90% 1000+ 95% KNOWN PROBLEM ( Installing other programs ) Most Windows program setup routines are flexible and work with any desk top manager. There are however exceptions ! Setup programs created with the Visual Basic Setup Wizard cannot be used to install programs when Menu-For-Windows is running. If you try to install a program which has been shipped with one of these setup programs it will terminate with the message "One or more Visual Basic Applications are running - Close them down and try again." This is due to a problem with the Microsoft Setup Wizard and not with Menu-For-Windows. You can reset to your original desk top, install the program and then reset to Menu-For-Windows. The installed program will run from Menu-For-Windows it is only the setup program that has the bug. Some setup programs just assume that Windows will be running from Program Manager and attempt to add a program group without your permission. Many of these programs will terminate with a message saying "Unable to establish DDE conversation with Program Manager. If you get this message when installing a program, the program will almost certainly have been installed and you can add it to your menu. It was only the attempt to add icons to your desktop that failed. If you have any problems installing other programs, you can always switch back to the standard Windows desk top to install them. Please let the program suppliers know that their setup program is unsuitable for custom desk top managers. HINTS To get the best from your Menu-For-Windows :- Always set Menu-For-Windows to control Windows Always set the minimize on use option Always use the Make PIF option for DOS programs Always restore minimized programs from the menu, not their icon