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╔══════════════════════════╗
║ WinStart GOLD (tm) ║
╚══════════════════════════╝
Version 1.0.0
Copyright (C) 1992 by:
Jack W Hildenbrand
9500 St.Rt.61
Berlin Hts., Ohio 44814
Phone 1 (419) 588-3608
Distributed By:
Kathi J Hildenbrand
jwh:SoftWare
P.O. Box 410
Berlin Hts., Ohio 44814
-
NOTE !!!!! IN ORDER FOR THIS PROGRAM TO OPERATE PROPERLY YOU
MUST HAVE A PATH STATEMENT TO THE ROOT DIRECTORY,
YOUR DOS DIRECTORY.
THIS PATH STATEMENT SHOULD BE IN YOUR
AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE.
EXAMPLE: PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;
What you need to run WinStart GOLD:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
o.. IBM AT or Compatible with DOS 3.2+.
o.. 640Kb of memory.
o.. A Hard Drive and at least one floppy.
o.. VGA Color Card and Monitor.
QUICK INSTALLATION AND STARTUP.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Make a backup copy of your original disk.
2>- Insert your backup disk into any drive.
3>- Move to that drive and type: INSTALL
4>- Follow onscreen instructions to complete the installation.
5>- Make sure you have a PATH statement in your AUTOEXEC.BAT
to your ROOT, and DOS directorys.
6>- After installation type 'WINSTART' to start WinStart GOLD.
7>- Add 'WINSTART' as the last line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file
if you want WinStart GOLD to automatically start when you
turn your computer on.
ADDING A APPLICATION.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- After you have gotten WinStart GOLD up and running, at the
main menu screen you will see a window with twenty lines
lettered A to T. The letters on these lines will be blue.
These lines represent the folder titles. Before adding any
applications you must first create a folder and give it
a title. To create folder A, simply press the 'A' key and
at this point you will be given a place to enter the
folder title and then press the enter key.
2>- After entering the title for folder A, you will be taken
to a blank folder A. At this time you will also see two
new prompts, Title and Edit Applications. At this point we
want to add a application to this folder, so choose option
Edit Applications.
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-
3>- After selecting the Edit Applications option, you will be
taken to the applications editor. To Add an application,
from the opening menu, select the Add/Edit option by
choosing option 'A'.
4>- After selecting the Add/Edit option, an Applications List
window will be displayed. We will Add an application to
line A, so move the highlight bar to line A, press enter.
5>- After selecting line A, you will be presented with a data
entry screen to fill out. At the first field, enter the
title or name of the application that you want to execute
with this line.
6>- At the Drive field, press the PgDn key and select the
drive that this application resides on. At the directory
field, press the PgDn key and select the directory that
this application resides in. At Run File field, press PgDn
and select the file that runs this application.
7>- If you want this application password protected, enter a
'Y' at the Password field. If you want WinStart GOLD to
pause before execution and ask you for command line
parameters, answer the Command Line Parms field with a 'Y'
NOTE ! If you answer this field with a 'Y', then you must
also include a (+) plus sign directly after the
run filename at the Run File Field.
8>- After completing all fields, press the Esc key to exit the
edit mode.
9>- At this time you will be presented with two more fields.
if you enter any information in these fields, it will be
displayed at application execution or exit. If you do not
want any prompt displayed, simply leave these fields
blank. When you are finished with these two fields, press
the Esc key to exit the edit mode.
10>- At this time you may save this entry by pressing the 'S'
key or abort and not save it by pressing the Esc key.
Pressing the 'C' key will return you to the editor. If
you want, you may also press the 'V' key to display a
sample batch file that is created with the information
you entered for this application.
WinStart GOLD Applications Main Menu.
====================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Exit.............. Selecting this option will exit you to DOS.
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NOTE ! If you want, you may have WinStart GOLD execute a
batch file or application uppon exit by clicking
your right mouse button (or CTRL+X) on the Exit
button and filling out the path information.
Y=Setup........... This option should be used the very first
time you use WinStart GOLD.
Here you will set the program parameters that will make
WinStart GOLD work properly. This option may be accessed
by pressing the letter 'Y' or by pointing the mouse at
the prompt icon and then pressing the left mouse button.
F1 through F9..... Used as hot keys to Applications.
Up-Dn Arrow....... Pressing the up or down arrow keys will
page through the Folder Titles or Folders.
=................. Pressing this icon will access the Folder
or Applications listed on a folder and give
you the option of sorting them.
*................. Pressing this Icon will toggle between the
3D or flat fonts.
?................. Press this Icon to display registration
information.
WINDOWS........... Use this Icon to access Windows or any
other application on your hard drive.
End............... Pressing this Icon will force WinStart GOLD
into screen blanking.
WinStart GOLD Edit Applications Module.
======================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ESC=Exit.......... Using this option will return you back to
WinStart GOLD main menu.
Add/Edit.......... This option allows you to add or change
programs or applications on this folder.
Any application that can run in DOS can be started or executed
with WinStart GOLD.
Adding a new application.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Choose option Add/Edit from the edit applications menu
prompt list then from the applications list select the
application or the line that you want to Add/edit. You
will be presented with six questions to answer.
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-
2>- The first question will be asking you for the title or
name of the program that you want to run. This title or
name can be anything you want it to be, and is only used
as a reference.
3>- The second question will be asking you for the name or
letter of the drive that this program will be running
from. Examples would be: A, B or C. Pressing the PgDn
key will list all available drives on your system.
4>- The third question will be asking you for the name of
the directory that this program is in. Always separate
multiple directory entries with a backslash (\).
Press the PgDn key to list all available directories on
your system.
NOTE ! If you are running this new program from a floppy
and/or the program is in the root directory, just
press <enter> at this prompt.
5>- The fourth question will be asking you for the name of
the file that you normally have to type in to run the
program (The executable file). You may also enter any
command line switches or parameters here. This is a
scrollable edit field that allows entering up to 255
characters.
NOTE ! Multiple commands may be entered at this field.
This is explained further, later in this manual.
ALSO This file will normally have an extension name
of either .EXE, .COM, or .BAT.
6>- The fifth question will be asking if you want to
password protect this program. If you do not want
password protection, just answer this question with a
'N'. If you want password protection for this program,
answer this question with a 'Y'.
7>- The sixth question will be asking if you want WinStart
GOLD to pause before execution of this application so
you may enter a variable DOS command line parameter.
8>- After answering all six questions just press the Esc
key to exit the edit mode.
9>- At this time you will be presented with two more fields.
if you enter any information in either of these fields
it will be displayed with a pause during application
execution or exit. If you do not want any prompt
displayed, simply leave the field blank.
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After completing these fields, you will be given the options
to (S)ave, (V)iew, (C)hange, or Esc. Pressing the Esc key
will exit the editor. Pressing the 'C' key will return you
to the editor to make any changes. Pressing the 'V' key will
display a sample of the command batch file that will be
created and executed when running this app. Pressing the 'S'
key will save this entry to disk.
10>- At this time, if you chose to password protect this
program, you will be given a place to enter the
password that you want to use to access this program.
You are allowed up to six characters or numbers in this
password. After entering this password, you will be
prompted to verify it's validity.
CAUTION !!! This password is totally scrambled before it is
written to disk.
Delete App's...... This option is used to delete or remove an
existing application.
Deleting a listing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Choose option Delete application from the menu list.
2>- After choosing this option, all applications listed on
this page will be listed to screen. Select the one that
you want to delete with the highlight bar and then press
enter. You will be asked to verify your delete
List.............. This option will list to screen, all
applications or programs that are on this
page.
Also at this time you will be given an option to sort all
all entries. If you select to sort all entries, they will
be displayed to screen after the sort is completed and
then you will have the option to save this sorted list to
disk or return without saving.
Edit Title........ This option will allow you to change the
Title or Name that is presently being used
used for this page.
Delete this page.. Choose this option if you want to delete
this page from the menu.
Password Protection
for this Folder...... Selecting this option will give you the
option for entering or removing password
protection for this entire Folder.
Page 5
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WinStart GOLD Setup Module.
==========================:>
This module offers several options for customizing WinStart
GOLD.
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ESC=Quit.......... This option will return you to the WinStart
applications menu.
A >-- Select System Fonts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will take you to a screen with all
available fonts listed for your selection. Select a font by
clicking your left mouse button on the desired font or press
the letter associated with the desired font.
B >-- Add/Edit/Delete System Passwords
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A >- Password Protect Exit To DOS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup, whether or not a user may exit
WinStart GOLD, and go to DOS with or without a password.
B >- Password Protect The Setup Module
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup, whether or not a user may enter
the Setup module, with or without a password.
C >- Password Protect The Edit Applications Module
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup, whether or not a user may enter
the Edit Applications Module, with or without a password.
D >- Password Protect Re-Assigning The Function Key Icons
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup, whether or not a user may
re-assign the function key icons, with or without using a
password.
E >- Setup User ID And Activity Logging
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup ID and password protection at
startup of WinStart GOLD. This option also provides user
activity logging options. More detail is given on these
options later in this manual.
B >- Folder/Applications Sort Option (ON/OFF)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will give you the option of turning
on or off the ability to sort the folders or applications
listed in a folder from the main menu screen.
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C >- Display Logo At Screen Blanking (ON/OFF)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will give you the option of turning
on or of the display of the logo during screen blanking.
D >- Display Logo At Screen Blanking (On/Off)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will allow you to turn on or off the
display of the system logo file during screen blanking.
E >- Toggle Screen Blanking On/Off
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to select whether you want screen blanking
or not. This option will present you with one question that
can be answered by either a 'Y' if you want screen blanking
or a 'N' if you do not.
NOTE ! WinStart GOLD can also be setup to display PCX picture
files during screen blanking. This option is explained
in more detail later in this manual.
ALSO ! This screen blanking only has an effect on WinStart
GOLD's main menu screen and will not interrupt your
applications in any way. During screen blanking, a
logo will dance around on your screen, letting you
know that WinStart GOLD is ready to go at any time by
pressing any key on your keyboard or moving the mouse.
If you have chosen to use the screen blanking option,
you will then be asked to enter the amount of time
(seconds) that WinStart GOLD waits before going into
screen blanking. The time can be any number of seconds
between 1 and 999.
F >------- Setup Opening Screen Mode (Title/Page)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WinStart GOLD will run in either of two screen modes.
Mode 1 >- In this mode WinStart GOLD will display the folder
titles on the first screen, at startup.
Mode 2 >- In this mode WinStart GOLD will display any of the
application folders on the first screen, at startup.
You may select the folder that is first displayed.
When you select option 'F' from this setup menu, you will be
asked if you want the folder titles displayed first. If you
answer this prompt with a 'N', then you will also be asked to
enter the folder title number that you want displayed at
startup. You may enter any folder number between 1 and 40.
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G >---------------- Edit User Logo (WINLOGO.IFO)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to edit or change the WINLOGO.IFO file. This
file contains the information that you will see moving about
during screen blanking. Also the information in this file is
listed to screen on the main menu. After choosing this option
you will be presented with a screen that has this file listed
in a small editing window. You may make any changes you want
to this file and then press the ESC key to exit. You will be
asked if you want to save any changes you have made.
H >-------- View User Activity/Password Log File(s)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to view the user ID and password log files. If
you have chosen to have any of the passwords logged, then they
will be listed in this file.
I >------ Delete User Activity/Password Log File(s)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to delete or completely remove all logged
user ID or password use. You will be presented with a list of
these log files to choose from. You will be prompted to verify
your choice.
NOTE ! If you delete a log file, it will be re-created if
user ID logging or password logging is turned on.
J >--- Add/Edit/Delete Timed Event execution
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will take you to a menu where you may
select any timed event to create or edit from A to J (10). If
you want to setup a new timed event, just select a blank line
and you will be asked to give a description for this event.
After entering the description, you will see it listed as a
selection, just select it and you will be taken to the timed
event editor.
Selecting this option will open a window with data fields for
you to fill in. At the first field, enter the time in 12 hr
format (civilian time) that you want the application or batch
file executed.
NOTE ! From midnight to 12:59 afternoon is considered AM and
from 12:59 afternoon to 11:59 afternoon is considered
PM.
At the Date field enter the date that you want this
application or batch file to be executed.
NOTE ! If you want this execution to be on a daily basis,
leave this Date field completely blank. Then answer
the Yes/No weekday prompts to tell WinStart on what
days you want this application/batch file to be run.
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-
At the remaining three fields, enter the Drive, Path, and the
name of the executable file. After completing all fields,
press the Esc key to exit then press the 'S' key to save them.
At this field, you are allowed to enter multiple commands up
to 255 characters in length.
Assigning applications to the function key prompts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To assign a application to one of the function key prompts,
simply press the Ctrl key plus the corresponding function key
down or click the right mouse button on the function key
prompt. Complete the displayed path information and then save
it by pressing the 'S' key.
Entering more than one command at the Run File field.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option allows entering more than one command at the Run
File field when adding applications to the menu.
The following commands are valid.
* Any legal DOS command line command.
* Any legal DOS batch file command.
* Any legal and existing executable file name.
* The keyboard character ^ (carat key) Shift+6
* The keyboard character + (plus key)
This option will allow doing away with those small batch files
you sometimes need to execute an application with. In other
words, if you have an application that you want to backup
after every time you run it you could enter the following
command:
Drive: C
Directory: CHOICE
Run File: FIRST+^ECHO Insert backup disk.^PAUSE^COPY *.DAT A:
The above command list would first move to drive C, change to
the CHOICE directory, run the executable file FIRST, at exit
of the application it would prompt you to insert a backup
disk, pause for you, copy the DAT files to drive A, and then
return to WinStart GOLD.
Notice the carat character (^) between each command. Also
notice that you can mix DOS command line commands and batch
file commands.
Also notice the plus character (+) after the 'FIRST' run file
name. This plus character tells WinStart GOLD to also ask the
user for a command line parameter at execution.
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NOTE ! Before this plus character will be active, you must
also switch the Parms: Y/N field to 'Y'.
Any number of commands can be executed, just make sure you
separate each command with the carat character (^).
If you experience a problem of WinStart dropping out after
executing a batch file, you might try adding the CALL
statement just before the batch file name.
Example:
Drive: C
Directory: PCTOOLS
Run File: PCTOOLS^CD\BAT^CALL BATCH
The above example would switch to the PCTOOLS directory,
execute the PCTOOLS executable file, switch to the 'BAT'
directory, execute a batch file named BATCH, and then return
to WinStart GOLD.
Example:
Drive: C
Directory: DOS
Run File: CHKDSK+^PAUSE
The above example would first ask you for a command line
parameter, switch to the DOS directory, execute the CHKDSK
application with your command line parameter, pause for you to
press enter, and then return to WinStart GOLD.
Displaying PCX picture files during screen blanking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
During screen blanking WinStart GOLD now first looks for a
script file named PCX.DAT. If this file exists, WinStart will
display the PCX files according to the way you have them
listed in this script file. You may also include a time
parameter with each PCX file that tells WinStart how long to
display each PCX file. The format of this file is as follows:
PCX.DAT < FileName of the script file.
4 < The first line is a number representing
MOUNTANS.PCX 10 \ the number of PCX files listed in this
HOUSE.PCX 10 \ file
UNICORN.PCX 5 > < All remaining lines are used to list
RACECAR.PCX 15 / the PCX files along with the time
(seconds) to display the PCX file.
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All PCX files and the PCX.DAT file must be located in the same
directory that you have WinStart GOLD in.
NOTE ! If this PCX.DAT file does not exist, WinStart GOLD will
still display all PCX files found in the directory.
ALSO ! If you want, you may also have WinStart GOLD display
any PCX file you want during start up. Simply rename
the PCX file you want displayed to OPENING.SCR.
Executing batch files (*.BAT) during screen blanking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you like, WinStart will execute a batch file either before,
instead, or after screen blanking. To use these options,
simply create a batch file and copy it to the drive and
directory that the WinStart files are located in. If WinStart
finds a batch file with the name 'BEFORE.BAT', it will be
executed just before going into screen blanking. If a
'AFTER.BAT' file is found, it will be executed after screen
blanking. If a 'INSTEAD.BAT' file is found, it will be
executed instead of screen blanking.
These batch files may be used to execute applications or do
any system maintenance you would like done at this time.
Sorting Folder Titles or The Applications listed in a Folder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Sort option has been added to WinStart GOLD's main menu to
give you a means of sorting the Folder Titles or the
Applications listed in a folder simply by selecting Sort from
the main menu.
If you select this Sort option while viewing the Folder
Titles, you will be asked if you want to sort the Folder
Titles. If you answer with a 'Y' (Yes), WinStart will sort all
the Folder Titles in alphabetical order and place all blank
lines at the bottom of the list.
If you select this Sort option while viewing the Applications
listed in a Folder, you will be asked if you want to sort the
App's in this Folder. If you answer with a 'Y' (Yes), WinStart
will sort all Applications listed in this Folder in
alphabetical order and place all blank lines at the bottom of
the list.
Page 11
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The End Icon and how it works
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WinStart GOLD has a Icon located at the upper right of your
screen 'End'. This Icon is present in almost all modules
and screens.
Pressing this 'End' Icon at the main menu screen will force
WinStart GOLD into screen blanking.
Pressing this 'End' Icon from any other module or screen will
immediately return you to the main menu.
NOTE !! If you are using the user ID and activity logging
option, pressing this 'End' Icon from any screen
or module will force WinStart GOLD into screen
blanking and log the current user off.
Setting up the user ID and logging
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A feature has been added to WinStart GOLD that allows for
setting up user ID access to WinStart GOLD and along with
this option you can also select to log all user activity.
This user ID and logging is setup through the Setup module,
through option 'B>- Add/Edit/Delete System Passwords' and then
option 'E>- Setup User ID And Activity Logging'.
While at this user ID setup screen, notice, in the window at
left you will see slots for up to 20 user names and ID's. By
pressing the up/dn arrow keys you can move between three
windows, allowing up to 60 users total.
To enter user names and ID's, simply press the Edit Icon, you
will be placed inside the window where you can begin entering
or editing users. In the Users Name fields, enter each users
complete name, at the associated ID field, enter that users
password or ID that he will use to access the system.
After entering all users, simply press the Esc key to quit.
If all is OK with the names and ID's and you want to save
them to disk, simply press the Save Icon.
After pressing the Save Icon, you will be asked if you want to
log all user activity. If you select to log all user activity
you will also be asked as to how large you want to allow the
log files to become before the current one is closed and a new
one is created. A suggested size for these files is around
340kb. This allows copying or saving them to 360kb diskettes.
These log files can be viewed or deleted at any time from the
Setup module options 'H' and 'I'.
Page 12
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NOTE !! This user activity logging can be turned on or off
at any time by returning to this setup menu and
selecting the Log On/Off Icon. This Icon will toggle
logging on or off.
ALSO You may return to this user ID setup menu at any time
and add/edit/change user names and passwords.
VGA Problems...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WinStart GOLD has built-in VGA detection that will prevent it
from being run on any system that is not equipped with a VGA
color card and monitor.
New VGA Color cards are coming out every day from new and
existing manufacturers, due to this, you may experience some
problems getting WinStart GOLD to run on these new cards.
If you know that you do have a full VGA system and yet you
still cannot get fastmenu GOLD to run, a way has been built-
in to WinStart GOLD to bypass this VGA detection.
Create a file named: SKIP-VGA.DAT
This file should have only one line in it and that line should
read: VGA You may use any text editor or wordprocessor to
create this file.
This SKIP-VGA.DAT file should be copied to the same directory
that you have installed WinStart GOLD to.
--------------------------------------------------------------
This version of WinStart GOLD was written and compiled using
MicroSoft QuickBASIC v4.5.
About 30% of the code is in QuickBASIC including all of the
VGA screens and windows. The rest of the code is comprised
of super fast compiled assembly language routines.
New Version and Update Policy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Registered users of WinStart GOLD can obtain a copy of any
updated version for one year from the date of registration by
sending $8.00 to the below address. New updates are sent out
on HD 5 1/4 in, and HD 3 1/2 in disks. A full manual (on disk)
is included with each update.
Registered users over one year from registration date can
obtain a new updated version by sending $19.00. With this type
of update, you will receive a copy of the latest version, on
HD 5 1/4 in, and HD 3 1/2 in disks, a full printed manual, and
one full year of support.
Page 13
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DISCLAIMER
Users must accept this disclaimer of warranty: This
application supplied as is. The author disclaims all
warranties, expressed or implied, including, without
limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness
for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages,
direct or consequential, which may result from the use of this
manual or the application it describes.
jwh: SoftWare
PO Box 410 9500 St.Rt.61
Berlin Heights, Ohio 44814
Phone (419) 588-3608
WinStart GOLD is a product and copyright (c) 1992 by:
Jack W Hildenbrand. All rights reserved.
WINDOWS is a product and copyright (c) by:
The Microsoft Corporation.
MicroSoft QuickBASIC is a product and copyright (c) by:
The Microsoft Corporation.
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