Module SHOWTEXT.DMO
(Control file: SHOWTEXT.DKL)

1. This is a rather more sophisticated message displayer compared to 
the simple module MESSAGE.DMO. It too displays up to 3 lines of text
on a blank screen.

2. This module uses SpeedoGDOS and will return an error message if 
Speedo is not loaded. It makes use of the scalable outline fonts of 
Speedo and therefore must have access to the Speedo fonts at all times 
- not a problem for hard drive users, but possibly so for floppy 
users.

3. Click on Message... in the control panel to enter the message. In 
this dialog box you can also enter the name of the outline font you 
want to use. The name you enter must match exactly the name of one of 
the currently active Speedo fonts in your system, e.g. Dutch 801 Bold 
or Bitstream Cooper Black. If the module can't find this font, or if
you don't enter a name, it uses the system font instead (obviously, 
this is not scalable).

4. Flag 1 sets a variety of VDI text effects - italic, underlined, 
etc. These were never intended for use with outline fonts and the 
results are not always particularly good, but try them anyway.

5. Variable 1 sets the text height, ranging from 10 to 72 pixels, and 
note that these are pixels and not point sizes. All sizes are allowed 
for outline fonts.

6. Variable 2 sets the time in seconds during which the message 
remains on screen, before being removed and the screen cleared. The 
message will then be redisplayed on another part of the screen. The 
time ranges from 1 to 10 seconds (approximately).

7. This module is dependent on the cache sizes for SpeedoGDOS being 
large enough. If you find that the module doesn't work (i.e. text is 
not displayed and on activation the module just returns control to 
DarkLord), try increasing the cache sizes and see what happens. This 
tends to be a matter of trial and error, so you may have to experiment 
a little.

Steve Pedler
26th February 1994