* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Holiday Lights v2.0 * * * * November, 1995 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Copyright (c) 1994-95 Don Metzler All Rights Reserved. Please register this copy if you have not already done so. (See RegForm.doc) The unregistered version will stop after five minutes of use. Registered users are entitled to maintenance updates. See the Suggestions / Troubleshooting section below for information about problems you may have with this product. Note: This version DOES NOT work with previous versions of Windows. If you are still running Windows 3.1, please contact us for a previous version of XMas Lights. System requirements: -------------------- Windows 95 (Does not work with previous versions of Windows) Works with any video display driver. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diskette/ZIP contents: ---------------------- LIGHTS95.EXE Main xmas lights program README.TXT This file. REGFORM.DOC The registration form. BWCC32.DLL Borland 32-bit custom controls. XMASTUNE.MID Default Holiday music MIDI file. Please distribute the unregistered LIGHTS95.ZIP file to as many places possible. DO NOT distribute a registered copy!!! Installation: ============= Copy the above files to a directory of your choice on your hard drive. User settings are stored in this same directory when the program is run. Therefore, to uninstall or remove Holiday Lights from your hard drive, simply delete the folder where it was installed. Running: ======== To run the program, double-click on the file (LIGHTS.EXE). The lights will be hung from the top of the Windows 95 desktop and an icon will be placed on the taskbar. To change the Holiday Lights options, click on the light icon on the taskbar. You may also right-click on the taskbar icon to present a menu of options for Holiday Lights. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Settings: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flashing Mode: ============== None: Select this to leave lights on (no flashing). Random: This allows lights to flash independently. All At Once: All lights flash on and off at the same time. Chase: Lights "chase" each other. Alternating: Every other light in the string is on at the same time. Some Flash: Some of the lights in the string flash, the other remain lit at all times. Bulbs: ====== Check these options to simulate real-world burnt-out and broken light bulbs. (Note that the broken bulbs only work on the normal bulbs.) You may also select the bulb type from the combobox. Note that the broken option only works with the normal bulb type. You may select the bulbs from either the combobox or the popup bulb icon in the group. Flash Rate: =========== Selects the speed at which the lights flash. You may select very slow, slow, medium, fast or very fast. Color: ====== Selects the colors of the light bulbs. The first option allows random colors for each light. The last three options allow red & green, multi-colored light or blue sets. You may also select the options which use the same color bulb for the entire string of lights. Note that the color option does not affect some of the light bulbs. Show Options at Startup: ======================== If this box is checked, the option dialog is shown when Holiday Lights is started. Music: ====== Play Music: Check this box to turn on the music. Selected entries in the music list will be played in sequential order. Power: ====== Turns the lights on/off. Pressing the "Help" pushbutton on the settings dialog to show this information. Screen Saver: ============= Select the screen saver type from the combobox. Checking the enable box will enable the Holiday Lights screen saver. Pressing the "Test" button shows what the selected screen saver will look like. Pressing the "Setup" button allows the parameters for the screen saver to be changed. Screen Saver Setup options: =========================== Select the default timeout period before the screen saver turns on. Check the Ignore Win95 saver box to prevent the default Win95 screen saver from becoming active. Check the mouse movement and mouse click boxes to determine if either task will stop the Holiday Lights screen saver. Misc: ===== More Lights: Check this box to have more lights in the string. Zoom F/X: Check this box to turn on the zoom effects when windows open/close. Sound F/X: Check this box to have sound effects turned on. Flash LEDs: Check this box to have the keyboard status lights on your system flash. Suggestions / Troubleshooting: ============================== Holiday Lights works best when the taskbar is at the bottom of the screen and there are no icons at the top of the Windows 95 desktop. If windows or icons are dragged "behind" the lights, the lights will "stick" to the object being dragged. This is not completely desirable, but a known side effect due to the way the lights are drawn on the desktop. Registered users will be updated if/when this can be fixed. The Holiday Lights program does not show up on the taskbar as a running application, but rather as a utility in the icon tray next to the clock in the taskbar. Click the light bulb icon with the left button to bring up the options dialog. Click the icon with the right button to bring up a menu of options. If you cannot hear music, check the following: Is the power switch on? Is the Play Music box checked? Are there any songs checked in the listbox? Are there any song files listed in the listbox (which are in the same directory as the LIGHTS95.EXE)? To add other music, copy MIDI files of your choice into the same directory where LIGHTS95.EXE resides. You may then select the music in the Holiday Lights Options dialog. If your Windows95 screen saver does not work when Holiday Lights is running, check to ensure that Holiday Lights is not ignoring the default Win95 screen saver. You can see this option by pressing the "Setup" button in the screen saver options in Holiday Lights. This does nothing to diable the Windows95 screen saver when Holiday Lights is not running. Window zoom effects are best enabled when running on a Pentium and/or using a graphics accelerator card. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information about this program, comments, feedback and tech support: Don Metzler 839 Welsh Court Louisville, CO 80027 USA CompuServe: 71174,2675 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- file: README.TXT