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1993-08-04
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A R J P A P E R
v1.0
by
Ted Trost
August 4, 1993
Copyright (c) 1993 by Ted Trost
ARJPAPER Page 1
PURPOSE
=======
ArjPaper is a DOS-based program which automatically changes the
Windows wallpaper settings so that each Windows session will have a
different wallpaper background.
FEATURES
========
Here are the features of the ArjPaper program:
1. All wallpaper BMP files are stored in compressed form in an
archive file created with the ARJ compression utility, thereby
conserving disk space. (Note: ARJ is a stand alone program
(written by Robert Jung) and is neither supplied with, nor part
of, ArjPaper).
2. You specify the pool of BMP files (which are contained in
the archive) from which Windows wallpaper may be selected. This
enables you to store all of your BMP files in one compressed
archive (thereby conserving disk space) with the added benefit
of only using the BMP files you specify.
3. You specify whether a particular BMP file is to be tiled or
untiled wallpaper.
4. You may choose either sequential or random BMP selection.
5. You specify the directory + name of the WIN.INI file.
6. You specify the directory + name of the archive file containing
the BMPs.
7. You specify the directory + name of the Windows wallpaper file.
8. You specify the directory + name of the ARJ compression utility.
9. The parameters for all of the above options are kept in an
easily editable file called ARJPAPER.INI.
ARJPAPER Page 2
ARJPAPER.INI
============
Parameters for ArjPaper are stored in ARJPAPER.INI. This file must
reside in the same directory as the ArjPaper program. The format of
the ARJPAPER.INI file is as follows:
1. [Options] section
- Contains the following program options:
a. Mode = Random | Sequential
- Indicates whether to choose the next wallpaper
candidate randomly or sequentially.
- Examples:
Mode = Random
Mode = Sequential
b. CurrentBmp = <bmp file number>
- <bmp file number> is the position of the current
wallpaper file in the [Bmps] section. Files without
the BMP extension and files which are commented out
are not counted.
- This parameter indicates which BMP file is being
used as the current Windows wallpaper. It is
updated automatically by ArjPaper after the BMP file
is chosen. The user may also change this value if so
desired.
- Example:
CurrentBmp = 5
- The 5th BMP file in the [Bmps] section is the
current Windows wallpaper.
ARJPAPER Page 3
2. [Paths] section
- ArjPaper needs to know where certain files reside on your
system. This section provides that information.
- The required parameters are:
a. WinIniName
- This is the full name of your Windows WIN.INI file.
- Example:
WinIniName = c:\windows\win.ini
b. ArjProgName
- This is the full name of your ARJ compression program.
- Example:
ArjProgName = d:\utility\arj.exe
c. WinPaperName
- This is the full name of the Windows wallpaper file.
- Example:
WinPaperName = c:\windows\walpaper.bmp
d. ArchiveName
- This is the full name of the ARJ archive file which
contains the BMP files.
- Example:
ArchiveName = e:\win\graphics\bmps.arj
ARJPAPER Page 4
3. [Bmps] section
- Contains the names of the BMP files (stored in the archive
file) from which to select the Windows wallpaper, and
whether the BMP should be tiled or untiled. IMPORTANT: the
file must have a 'BMP' extension or it will be ignored!
Currently, you may specify up to 497 BMP files.
- Format is:
<filename>, 0 | 1
where <filename> is the name of the BMP file, and
0 indicates 'untiled', or
1 indicates 'tiled'.
- Examples:
LEAVES.BMP, 0
MARBLE.BMP, 0
SCENERY.BMP, 1
4. Comment lines
- Any line beginning with a semi-colon (;) is considered a
comment line. This is useful for inserting descriptive text
or temporarily removing a line from consideration by ArjPaper.
- Example:
;This is a comment line.
5. Miscellaneous
- Blank lines, blanks within lines, and upper/lower case text
are permitted.
- Any line which does not fit into the sections/categories
mentioned above is ignored.
- If the [Options] section is missing or incorrect, ArjPaper
assumes sequential mode and uses the first BMP file in the
[Bmps] section. ArjPaper will continue based on these
assumptions; however, the ARJPAPER.INI file will not be
updated.
- If the [Paths] section is missing or incorrect, ArjPaper
displays a message indicating which files it cannot locate.
ArjPaper will then terminate since it cannot find the files
it requires.
ARJPAPER Page 5
5. Miscellaneous (continued)
- If the [Bmps] section is missing or there are no files listed
with the BMP extension, ArjPaper displays an error message
and terminates. If a file with an extension other than BMP
is found in this section, the file is ignored. If
untiled/tiled (0 | 1) is not specified for a particular BMP
file, tiled is assumed.
- Errors returned by the ARJ compression program itself are
displayed by ArjPaper for the benefit of the user (e.g. file
not found in the archive). Since ARJ is a standalone program,
it is up to the user to determine the cause of the error
generated by the ARJ utility.
The following is a sample ARJPAPER.INI file:
; This is a sample ARJPAPER.INI file.
[Options]
CurrentBmp=4
Mode=Sequential
[Paths]
WinIniName=c:\windows\win.ini
ArchiveName=e:\bmp\bmp.arj
WinPaperName=e:\bmp\walpaper.bmp
ArjProgName=c:\util\arj.exe
[Bmps]
EARTH.BMP,0
LEAVES.BMP,1
CALNHOBS.BMP,0
MARBLE.BMP,1
FLETCHER.BMP,0
NCC1701.BMP,0
In the above example, the current Windows wallpaper is BMP #4 in
the [Bmps] section, i.e. MARBLE.BMP, and it would be tiled. Since
the selection mode is 'Sequential', the next Windows wallpaper will
be FLETCHER.BMP, and it will not be tiled.
ARJPAPER Page 6
USING ARJPAPER
==============
Before using ArjPaper, it must be configured. This is a very easy
process consisting of the following steps:
1. Using the ARJ compression utility, place all of your BMP files
in a single ARJ archive file.
2. Using a text editor, create the ARJPAPER.INI file. Remember,
the ARJPAPER.INI file must reside in the same directory as the
ArjPaper program.
3. To run ArjPaper, at the DOS prompt, simply enter:
ARJPAPER
ArjPaper will run and choose the next Windows wallpaper file
based on the parameters in the ARJPAPER.INI file. The next time
you start Windows, it will use the new wallpaper file selected
by ArjPaper.
4. That's all there is to it!
HINT
====
To run ArjPaper automatically prior to starting Windows, place
the ARJPAPER command in a batch file, followed by the command you
use to start Windows.
For example, if the ArjPaper program and your Windows program are
both in directories declared in your system's path statement, you
could use the following batch file to run ArjPaper and then start
Windows:
rem W.BAT
rem
rem This batch file runs ArjPaper prior to starting Windows so I
rem always have a new wallpaper background!
rem
rem Run ArjPaper
ARJPAPER
rem
rem Start Windows
WIN
ARJPAPER Page 7
HOW TO CONTACT THE AUTHOR
=========================
Comments and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. You may
reach me by writing to the following address:
Ted Trost
Box 38, Group 13, SS1
Winnipeg, MB R3C2E8
Canada
HOW TO REGISTER ARJPAPER
========================
ArjPaper is ShareWare.
You may make copies of this program and give them to others as
long as the documentation is provided with the program, both
unaltered.
If you like ArjPaper, a registration fee of $5.00 would be
appreciated. See above for address.
DISCLAIMER
==========
The author of this software is not responsible for any damages or
loss of data due to the use of this program. No warrantees are given,
either express or implied.
DEDICATION
==========
For Fletcher...gone, but not forgotten.