MonSTEr 0.3
===========

(C) 1990 by Branch Always Software. Program by Darek Mihocka.

MonSTEr 0.3 is being made available as freeware. It may be freely
distributed under the condition that the MONSTER.PRG and MONSTER.DOC
files are kept together and not modified. MonSTEr works on any Atari
ST or Atari STE computer in color or monochrome. TOS 1.2 or higher
is required.

MonSTEr is a high resolution monitor emulator. It fools GEM into 
thinking that it is using a larger screen than it really has. In
monochrome, the virtual screen size is 1280 x 960, identical to that
of a Moniterm monitor. In medium resolution, the virtual screen
size is 1280 x 480, and in low resolution, it is 640 x 480. In all
resolutions, the virtual screen size is almost five times larger than
the real screen.

What MonSTEr displays on your monitor is a window of the virtual
screen. For example, in monochrome, the monitor still displays a
640 x 400 pixel screen, which is a 640 x 400 pixel window on the much
larger 1280 x 960 virtual screen. To move the window around, simply
move the mouse pointer to the edge of the screen, and continue to
drag it. The window will then drag along with the mouse.

MonSTEr will detect the presence of an Atari STE and make use of the
STE's hardware fine scrolling features to move the window. On a standard
ST, software scrolling is used, which causes slight jerkiness in the
mouse movement.

To run MonSTEr, copy the file MONSTER.PRG to the AUTO folder of your
boot disk, then reboot the computer. As it is booting, MonSTEr will
prompt you to press a key, or Esc to disable MonSTEr. Due to the
way GEM works, the only way to switch from normal 640 x 400 mode to
1280 x 960 mode (or vice versa) is to reboot. GEM also does not seem
to function properly in color if an attempt is made to change from low
resolution to medium, or vice versa. Therefore, when using MonSTEr on a
color monitor, do not change the resolution.

MonSTEr is fully compatible with Quick ST II, the software screen
accelerator. Due to the fact that the screen is almost 5 times larger,
some graphics operations may slow down, and so it is a good idea to
use Quick ST II. Note that the demo version has MonSTEr/Moniterm
compatiblity disabled. Quick ST II is available from Branch Always
Software, or from an Atari dealer near you for only $19.95.

Note that not all software is compatible with non-standard screen sizes.
It is well known that programs like Tempus and Flash do not run on the
Moniterm monitor, and similarly do not run using MonSTEr.

Other programs, such a Pagestream, work great with MonSTEr. By creating
a large screen, Pagestream is capable of displaying an entire page
on the screen at once, and so it is not necessary to constantly click
on the slider bars to move around the page.

There is one peculiarity of GEM that is not widely known that will
reveal itself when using MonSTEr. On a wide screen, GEM displays
the text in disk directory windows using 3 columns instead of the
usual 1 column. This is NOT a bug and also happens on the Moniterm.

MonSTEr was inspired by the public domain program Bigscreen. MonSTEr
adds a few extra features though, such as switching resolution immediately
instead of only after the AUTO folder boots, and making use of the STE's
hardware scrolling.

Look for future versions of MonSTEr soon. New features will include the
ability to emulate other screen sizes, such as 800 x 496 (Hyperscreen),
1024 x 1024, 1280 x 400 (double width), or 640 x 800 (double height).
These modes require less memory than the 1280 x 960 display.