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***************************************************************** * * * **InfoDisk** * * * * The Newsletter-on-a-Disk Creator! * * * * and * * * * **DataMake** * * * * The Automated **InfoDisk** Data File Maker * * * * Copyright (c) 1991 * * by John L. Hutchinson * * * * Distributed by * * Fair Dinkum Technologies * * Post Office Box 2 * * Los Alamos, New Mexico 87544 * * USA * * * ***************************************************************** *************************** NOTICE **************************** **InfoDisk** and **DataMake** are copyrighted Shareware programs which comprise a complete newsletter-on-a-disk environment shell. They may be freely distributed as long they are accompanied by this documentation but may not be sold for profit or altered without the written consent of the author. If you think your organization could benefit through the use of this program, send $20 shareware fee to: Fair Dinkum Technologies Post Office Box 2 Los Alamos, New Mexico 87544 USA Registered users will receive printed documentation and the latest version of this software by return mail. Customized versions, designed specifically for your organization are also available. Suggestions for improvement and requests for technical support from registered shareware users are welcome as well. ************************* ANOTHER NOTICE ************************* This version of **InfoDisk** makes use of the shareware program 'Deluxe Slideshow 2.0' (DSLIDE2.PRG) with the permission of: John Brochu Advanced Software 21 Northend Street Peabody, MA 01960 USA Consistent users of this excellent, multi-format picture viewing utility are strongly encouraged to make the modest $10 shareware donation that John requests. >>> Keep shareware alive! Support your shareware authors! <<< ================================================================= INTRODUCTION: ------------ **InfoDisk** is a utility written especially for Atari ST User group newsletter editors who wish to put together an ST disk based newsletter. Based on an original concept by Tom Bellucio, author of the public domain program NEWSDISK, **InfoDisk** has been designed to afford the editor maximum flexibility and ease of use while providing an intuitive user interface. **InfoDisk** was originally developed for the exclusive use of ACE-NSW, a superb Atari users group based in Sydney, Australia. After a year of development and hands-on use, it's now released as shareware to the general public. The author wishes to express his sincere thanks to all members of ACE-NSW for their patience during **InfoDisk** development and in particular to their newsletter editor, Greg Smith, for his support and valuable suggestions. WHAT IT DOES: ------------ **InfoDisk** allows your readers to display or send to a printer ASCII text files, view DEGAS/Elite/Tiny/Spectrum pictures, and execute standalone programs from a familiar GEM menu environment. Run the sample INFODISK.PRG program on this disk in either medium or high resolution to get the idea how it works for the user, then follow the instructions below to create your own newsletter disk. SPECIAL FEATURES: ---------------- -- Automatic display of an optional title screen. -- Automatic display of 0-9 welcome text files. -- Automatic display of 0-9 advertisement text files. -- Automatic display of 0-9 advertisement picture files. -- Automatic display of table of contents. -- On-line help facility, default or user defined. -- Supports ST Medium and High Resolutions. -- Supports optional custom shaped mouse cursors. -- Ability to run demo programs from within **InfoDisk**. -- Display text files on screen or send to a printer. -- View multi-format picture files on screen. -- Up to 6 user definable menus with up to 120 menu items. -- Separate **DataMake** program for easy configuration. ================================================================= ==================================== HOW TO CREATE YOUR NEWSLETTER DISK ==================================== Creating your own disk-based newsletter is essentially a 3-step process: 1) Prepare a master disk, 2) Place newsletter files on master disk, 3) Use **DataMake** to create the INFODISK.DAT file. ------------------------- PREPARE THE MASTER DISK ------------------------- 1. Format a single or double-sided disk to become your "master" newsletter disk. Then create the following folders (directories) on the disk: ART\ DATA\ DEMOS\ TEXT\ 2. Copy INFODISK.PRG and READ_ME.TXT onto the root directory of your master disk then copy DSLIDE2.PRG and DSLIDE.DOC to the ART\ directory of your master disk. ------------------------ PLACE NEWSLETTER FILES ------------------------ Now you must assemble the various files which will become the electronic "pages" of your disk based newsletter. These may consist of three types: - text files (articles, reviews, letters, etc), - graphics files (pictures and artwork), - executable programs (PRG, TOS or TTP types). There are certain rules for each of the file types which must be strictly adhered to for **InfoDisk** to function as it is intended: 1. TEXT FILES... Text files may be created with any word processor or text editor as long as they are no more than 80 columns in width and are saved in pure text (ASCII) format. They may be of any reasonable length but _must_ carry the filename extension of TXT (e.g., REVIEW1.TXT). Place a copy of all text files into the newly created TEXT\ folder on your master disk. 2. GRAPHICS FILES... Thanks to the multi-format support provided by DSLIDE2 by John Brochu (see the shareware plea at the top of this file), **InfoDisk** supports Degas, Elite, Neo, Tiny and Spectrum graphics formats. DSLIDE2 also includes the ability to convert color pictures for display on monochrome monitors. You can recognize the different graphic file formats by their particular filename extension as shown below: DEGAS ELITE NEO TINY SPECTRUM ----- ----- --- ---- -------- Low res PI1 PC1 NEO TN1 SPC Med res PI2 PC2 --- TN2 --- Hi res PI3 PC3 --- TN3 --- All Degas and Neo compatible files are uncompressed, i.e., approximately 32000 bytes. Degas Elite files, on the other hand, are compressed files and require considerably fewer bytes of disk storage space for the same image. While Degas/Neo files require more disk space, they can be loaded and displayed slightly faster than Degas Elite files. Spectrum files provide impressive 512 color displays on color monitors but require considerable disk space and longer loading times. Tiny format pictures support all resolutions, as does Degas. If disk space is at a premium, consider using the Degas Elite format; otherwise, it is recommended that you use the standard Degas format for all your graphics. Place a copy of each graphic picture file you wish to be available for viewing from the **InfoDisk** 'Art Show' option into the newly created ART\ folder of your master disk. Note that **InfoDisk** has the ability to display low resolution DEGAS/Elite graphics files (PI1 or PC1) in medium resolution. As low resolution graphics are usually more colorful than medium resolution, **InfoDisk** will give priority to low resolution files if duplicates exist. 3. EXECUTABLE PROGRAM FILES... On occasion, you may wish to include a small demo program in your newsletter disk that the user can access from within **InfoDisk**. This is usually no problem as long as the program file: - has a filename extension of PRG, TOS or TTP, - is less than 30000 bytes, - is not a memory hog, - and is fairly "well behaved". The user should be able to select the demo program, execute it, then return to the **InfoDisk** program shell just where he left it. Your best bet here is experimentation under trial and error. Place a copy of any such executable program you wish to include in the DEMOS\ folder of your master disk. If you don't want to include any demo programs on your newsletter disk, you may delete the DEMOS\ folder as it is not otherwise required. NOTE: Actually, **InfoDisk** supports running executable programs from ANY folder, not just the DEMOS\ one. However, it is best to be consistent by not mixing *.PRG and *.TXT files together in the same folder. -------------------- USING **DataMake** -------------------- Now that you have your text, graphic and executable files on your master disk, you must create a file called INFODISK.DAT which will contain all your customized settings for the **InfoDisk** program. While the INFODISK.DAT file could be created with any text editor, it is much easier and more dependable to create it with the standalone companion program, **DataMake**. 1. Run DATAMAKE.PRG by double-clicking on it from the desktop. Once loaded, you will be presented with a skeleton drop-down menu system with which you will customize for your disk newsletter. The "Desk" and "Options" menus are required for use by **InfoDisk** and may not be altered but all the other menus and even the window title are editable. For a bit of on-line help using **DataMake**, select "Help" under the '"Options" menu. 2. First, select "CHANGE WINDOW TITLE" with your left mouse button. A dialog box will pop up allowing you to change the window title from "**InfoDisk**" to whatever you desire (e.g., "ACE News, November 1991"). Use the ESC, Backspace and Delete keys to change the title. Note that you are limited to a maximum of 20 characters for a window title. Press Return when you are satisfied and your new window title will appear in the window title space on screen. 3. Now select the button labeled "CHANGE MENU 1 NAME". In the pop-up dialog box, change the name of menu 1 to your liking (e.g., "Articles") in the same manner as you did in changing the window title. You are limited to a maximum of 10 characters for menu names. When you are satisfied, press Return to record the change. 4. Now change the remaining menu names as desired. You do NOT have to use all 6 drop down menus. You may use as few as 1 but no more than 6 (plus the non-editable "Desk" and "Options"). Just leave menu names unchanged for those you don't need and they will be automatically deleted later. 5. Now select one of the 20 drop down menu items from one of your renamed menus. When the dialog box appears, change the menu item to something descriptive of the text file you wish to link to it (e.g., "Spectre GCR"). Note that you are limited to a maximum of 15 characters for menu item names. 6. Now select the button labeled "LINK TEXT/PRG FILE". Doing so brings up an alert box which will remind you that you must now select the menu item that you wish to link a text file to. Close the alert box and a standard fileselector box will appear from which you must select the desired file. Remember, text files must have a TXT filename extension and must reside in the TEXT\ folder of your master disk. Repeat steps 8 and 9 for all text files in the TEXT\ folder. 7. Once all text filenames have been linked with a menu item, you may now link executable program files (PRG, TOS or TTP filename extensions) in a similar fashion. Select the button labeled "LINK TEXT/PRG FILE" to bring up the fileselector box and select an executable program file from the DEMOS\ folder. 8. Then immediately select the menu item with which the executable program is to be linked. Again, change the menu item to something more descriptive (e.g., "Color Demo"). Repeat steps 7 & 8 for all executable programs in the DEMOS/ folder. NOTE: If you don't want to have any executable demo programs on this disk, just leave off the DEMOS\ folder. It's not mandatory that it always exist on the disk. 9. At this point, your customized menu structure should be completed. Insure that your master newsletter disk is in drive A and is not write-protected. Then select the button labeled "SAVE INFODISK.DAT" to write your custom INFODISK.DAT file to the DATA\ folder on the disk. NOTE: You may make non-selectable menu items by prefacing the menu item name with a hyphen (-). A row of hyphens making a dashed line appearance is often used as a non-selectable menu item to create a physical separation between menu items. In order to keep these items editable under **DataMake**, a temporary tilde (~) character will be substituted for the first hyphen in the line. Under **InfoDisk**, these temporary characters will be removed thus making the menu item unon-selectable as intended. 10. To double-check your work, select the button labeled RESET **DataMake**" to clear the customized menu entries. Then select the button labeled "LOAD INFODISK.DAT" and load your previously saved INFODISK.DAT file from the DATA\ folder of your master newsletter disk. Once loaded, your customized menu entries should appear exactly the way they will in the finished product. Double- check your spelling and file/menu item linkages until you are satisfied and resave the INFODISK.DAT file if you made any changes. NOTE: Keep in mind that a medium or high resolution monitor is only 80 characters wide so you may need to make some compromises to obtain the best fit and appearance. While **DataMake** supports up to 6 user-defined menus (plus the required "Desk" and "Options"), you may not be able to use them all if your menu or item names are too lengthy. Again, experimentation will provide you the best results. Select 'Quit' from the 'Options' menu when you are satisfied with the appearance and linkages of your menu structure. ================= SPECIAL OPTIONS ================= While your newsletter disk is basically ready at this point, there are several special options available to improve its utility, appearance, and ease of use. TITLE SCREEN... If you would like a title screen to automatically appear whenever INFODISK.PRG is executed, add a DEGAS or Elite format graphics file to your ART\ folder and name it TITLE.???, where ??? is the appropriate filename extension (either PI1, PI2, PI3, PC1, PC2, or PC3). Don't forget to include versions for both color and monochrome monitors if required by your users. Sorry... at this time only DEGAS or Elite formats are supported for optional _title_ screens. WELCOME TEXTS... As an option, you may have up to 9 short text files automatically appear immediately after the title screen. To set this up, just add the text files to the TEXT\ folder and give them the filename WELCOME?.TXT, where ? is a number from 1-9. These "welcome" text files will be displayed in numerical order and are handy for important announcements, editorials, etc. TEXT ADVERTISEMENTS... You also have the option of having up to 9 short text files automatically displayed immediately after the "welcome" text files, if any. These are intended to be used as paid advertisements (since they are automatically displayed, users _MUST_ see them) but may be used as desired. To use this feature, just add the chosen text files to the TEXT\ folder and name them AD?.TXT where ? is a number from 1-9. NOTE: WELCOME?.TXT and AD?.TXT files are not intended to be lengthy compositions. They should be limited to a single screen's worth of information or a maximum of 23 lines for each file. PICTURE ADVERTISEMENTS... As still another option, you may choose to have up to 9 DEGAS or Elite picture files automatically displayed immediately following their AD?.TXT counterparts. To implement this feature, just add the chosen graphics files to the ART\ folder and name them AD?.??? where ? is a number from 1-9 and ??? is the appropriate filename extension for the graphics type (PI1, PC2, etc). Only DEGAS or Elite picture formats are supported for picture advertisements. So, a typical run-time sequence could be: 1. Show title screen. (TITLE.PI1 or TITLE.PI3) 2. Show welcome1 text. (WELCOME1.TXT) 3. Show welcome2 text. (WELCOME2.TXT) 4. Show ad1 text. (AD1.TXT) 5. Show ad1 picture. (AD1.PI2 or AD1.PI3) 6. Show ad2 text. (AD2.TXT) 7. Show ad3 text. (AD3.TXT) 8. Show ad3 picture. (AD3.PI1 or AD3.PI3) etc, etc, NOTE: Don't forget to include BOTH color and monochrome versions of any TITLE or AD picture files if you want to support both monitor types. It won't cause a major problem if you don't do this however, as the program will just skip over any missing picture files. HELP... **InfoDisk** includes a built-in help facility which may be called by selecting HELP under the "Options" menu or simply by pressing the HELP key on the keyboard. If you wish, you may create your own help text file which will take precedence over the in-built help text. Just include a file called HELP.TXT in the TEXT\ folder and it will be loaded and displayed whenever HELP is called. Your HELP.TXT file must be limited to one page and no more than 20 lines. CONTENTS... If you wish a table of contents to be available to your users, create a text file called CONTENTS.TXT and place in the TEXT\ folder. If such a file exists, it will automatically be shown to the user immediately upon entering the **InfoDisk** main screen (after displaying any welcome and ad files). Users may conveniently call up this contents page by pressing the "C" key on their keyboards. The CONTENTS.TXT file may be no longer than 10 screens or about 200 lines of text. CUSTOM MOUSE SHAPE... **InfoDisk** supports an optional custom shape for the mouse cursor by reading from a file called MOUSE.DAT in the DATA\ folder. MOUSE.DAT must be an ASCII text file containing 32 decimal (word) values which define a custom mouse shape. A sample custom mouse shape is included but if you do not wish to use it, simply delete the MOUSE.DAT file. NOTE: For you programmers out there, the first 16 words of the MOUSE.DAT file form the bitpattern for the mask (background) and the last 16 words form the bitpattern for the cursor (foreground). The hotspot (upper left) and cursor color (red) are not user-definable. AUTO-BOOTING... as **InfoDisk** is a GEM program, it cannot be auto-loaded from an AUTO folder unless TOS 1.4 or later is used. Unless you can insure that all your users have TOS 1.4 or greater, you should use a utility such as HEADSTART or STARTGEM to enable auto-booting. Consult the documentation files of these fine utilities for specific information. Once you have made all the final adjustments, execute INFODISK.PRG from the desktop to test your efforts. Ensure your options (title screen, welcome text, ad text, ad pictures, contents text and help text) all display as intended. At the **InfoDisk** main screen, select each menu item to ensure text and program file links are correct. You should also select "ART SHOW" and view all graphics files with DSLIDE2 to ensure they display properly. Once you are satisfied, exit **InfoDisk** and make a back-up copy of your master newsletter disk to avoid any unforeseen disasters. >>> Congratulations... you're all done!!! <<< Now get someone else to make disk copies for mailing to all your group members. After all, _YOU_ did the creative work, right? ==================== USING **InfoDisk** ==================== **InfoDisk** may be ran in either ST medium or high resolution. Once the main screen of **InfoDisk** appears, the user has full control of the program via selection of the drop-down menus: Desk... "About **InfoDisk**" will provide author and shareware information about the program. Options... "Output: Screen" (the default) will cause all chosen text files to be displayed on screen. "Output: Printer" will make a printed copy of each chosen text file provided the user has an on-line printer connected to his system. "Art Show" will sequentially display each graphics picture file in the ART\ folder (utilizing the DSLIDE2 utility in the ART\ folder). "Help" will display the default help screen or the HELP.TXT file in the TEXT\ folder if it exists. The hotkey "Help" also activates this function. "Quit" will return the user to the desktop. The hotkeys "Q" and "Undo" also activate the "Quit" function. Menus 1-6 (editor defined)... Selecting menu items linked to text files will cause the file to be displayed on screen or sent to the printer depending on the choice made under "Options". A number of commands are available while displaying text on screen: Clr Home top of file Shift+Clr Home bottom of file Up arrow up one line Shift+up arrow up one page Right mouse button " " " Down arrow down one line Return " " " Shift+down arrow down one page Left mouse button " " " Selecting a menu item linked to an executable program file in the DEMOS\ folder will cause that program to be executed. When the program is finished, the user will be returned to the **InfoDisk** main screen. Special hotkeys... The 'M' key toggles between 'arrow' and 'hand' shaped mouse cursors and a custom mouse cursor (if a MOUSE.DAT mouse configuration file exists in the DATA\ folder). The 'C' key will display the CONTENTS.TXT file if it exists in the TEXT\ folder. The HELP key will display either the built-in help screen or HELP.TXT if it exists in the HELP\ folder. The 'Q' key is the same as selecting 'Quit'. ================================================== CREATING AN INFODISK.DAT FILE WITH A TEXT EDITOR ================================================== While it is highly recommended to use the standalone companion program, **DataMake**, to create the necessary INFODISK.DAT file, you may elect to create it with a word processor or text editor. If you do so, the file must be saved to your DATA\ folder as INFODISK.DAT in pure text or ASCII format. You may define up to 6 drop-down menus and each one may have up to 20 items so use your imagination! Be sure to test your menu structure first, however, to insure you don't exceed the physical size limitations of your monitor. ============= FINAL NOTES ============= That's it! Again, if you or your user group enjoy this program and decide to use it, please send your $20 registration fee as a shareware user to FAIR DINKUM TECHNOLOGIES at the address shown at the top of this file. Your suggestions for improvement, bug reports, special requests, love letters and hate mail (well, maybe not so much the latter) are invited as well. Hope you enjoy using **InfoDisk** and **DataMake**. John L. Hutchinson GEnie mail address: JOHN-HUTCH ================================================================= Version 4.15 15 Sep 91