
     Thank you for downloading Multimedia Manager!

Note: If you have problems reading this document, please check the Word Wrap command under Notepad's Edit menu.

This ReadMe document provides basic information about Multimedia Manager.  If you have any questions about how to use this product, please refer first to the program's online help.  Also, visit the Multimedia Manager pages on our web site (http://www.tropicalwares.com) for updates and more information.


Table of contents

 1. System requirements
 2. Installation
 3. What is Multimedia Manager?
 4. Purchasing Multimedia Manager
 5. Technical support
 6. Providing feedback and suggestions
 7. Distribution policy
 8. Release notes


1. System requirements

- Windows 95/98 or Windows NT 4.0 or higher
- 486-DX2/DX4 or Pentium-compatible systems
- 8 MB RAM (16 MB recommended)
- 3 MB available hard drive space for program files
- Windows-compatible pointing device
- True Color or HiColor display adapter and monitor (recommended)
- Properly installed MCI drivers to play MOV, MPG and DAT files



2. Installation

If you receive this package as a ZIP file, unzip it using PKZIP or WinZIP and run the setup program. Or if you receive this package as a single EXE file, just run the EXE file to install Multimedia Manager.


3. What is Multimedia Manager?

Multimedia Manager is an all in one multimedia software that lets you view images, play audio/video clips, and manage files in style. It supports BMP, JPG, GIF, animated GIF, PNG, TIF, TGA, PCD, PCX, ICO, WMF, MID, WAV, RMI, AVI, MOV, ANI, etc. You can stretch, tile, flip, rotate, resize or zoom image easily and you may print or scan image as well. Moreover, you can add special effects and filters to the image (blur, mosaic, oil paint, spray, wave, half tone, sharpen, soften, engrave, and much more...).

Key features include:

- Powerful graphics viewer 
Supported formats: BMP, JPG, GIF (including animated GIF), TIF, TGA, PNG, PCX, WMF, PCD, and ICO. Fast image decoding, best image quality, and support image dithering for true color image in 16 or 256 color resolution. You can stretch, tile, flip, rotate or zoom image with some mouse clicks. Since version 1.3a, you may print or scan image as well.

- Built-in audio and video player
Supported  formats: MID, WAV, RMI, AVI, MOV, MPG and DAT. MOV, MPG and DAT file require properly installed MCI drivers to play.

- Support cursor file (ANI and CUR)

- User friendly interface that help you to manage files easily. It is designed to be easy to use for novice users and also to be efficient and flexible for experienced users.

- Clipboard support to copy image to clipboard or paste image from clipboard

- Can convert images to BMP, JPG, GIF, PNG, PCX, TIF, and TGA. Save resolution: monochrome, 16 color, 256 color, true color, or JPEG grayscale. Supported TIFF compression method: CCITT, FAXCCITT3, FAXCCITT4, LZW or PACKBITS. Support JPEG smoothing and interlaced PNG.

- Advanced slide show feature
You can choose to run slide show whether in manual or automatic mode. Also you may display pictures in random order.

- Support to configure desktop wallpaper 
And moreover you can use any graphics file supported by Multimedia Manager as desktop wallpaper. Multimedia Manager will handle the conversion problem for you.

- Full DDE support
You can associate image and audio file types (BMP, JPG, GIF, PCX, MID, etc) with Multimedia Manager.

- Easy installation and uninstallation

- and other useful and handy features...


Plus these powerful features:
-----------------------------

- Special effects and filters to manipulate image (bleed, blur, border fade, blur, dark, curl page, engrave, gamma correction, halftone, jiggle, mosaic, oil paint, polar, spray, wave, and much more...)

- Allow resizing multiple images at once (ideal for creating thumbnails for web page)

- Cool and versatile toolbar to manipulate image quickly (tile, zoom, etc) (** NEW **)
The toolbar is dockable and floatable (hard to believe until you try it!)

- Built-in ZIP functions (** NEW **)
Since version 2.0, Multimedia Manager's incorporated full ZIP support into its powerful features. You can compress files to ZIP, extract ZIP files and view ZIP files as well. All compression settings (speed, method, spanning, zip comments, password, etc) are fully configurable. 

- Built-in text/binary file viewer (** NEW **)

- Email support (** NEW **)
You can send your multimedia files as email attachments directly using Simple Messaging API (MAPI).

- Powerful files management capability
Combined with list box feature and drag'n drop support, Multimedia Manager is  a powerful and reliable file manager to manage your files. Moreover, you may select files with filters to select multiple files at once.

- List box to ease you managing files
With this unique feature, you can select files from many directories and then you can copy or move those files at once.

- You can create collection of favorite files

- Drag and drop support
You can drag and drop files FROM Multimedia Manager TO Explorer, or vice versa! 

- Auto skip feature
With this feature you can view an image file and quickly load the next/previous image file in the current directory skipping other files with different type. Very handy.

- Explorer support
You can run Explorer to explore any folder by right clicking the folder and select Explore Folder. Very easy.

- Bookmark feature to mark your most used directories


4. Purchasing Multimedia Manager

Multimedia Manager is available for sale here:
http://www.tropicalwares.com/mmanager.html

There you can purchase Multimedia Manager through a secure order form using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology. All major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, Diner's Club, and JCB) are accepted. Once your payment has been processed, you will receive a link from which you can download your fully-licensed copy of Multimedia Manager.

The price for the licensed version is $24.95 USD.

If you experience payment, purchasing, or download problems, please send email to sales@tropicalwares.com


5. Technical support

Technical support is available by email. Please send your report to support@tropicalwares.com.


6. Providing feedback and suggestions

Your comments and suggestions on how to improve our software are most welcome. Please send them to support@tropicalwares.com. Thank you in advance for your time and support.


7. Distribution policy

You can distributed the evaluation/trial version of Multimedia Manager freely. You may give it to your friends, clients, or anyone that you think might be interested. No additional fee is required. Please inform us if you want to distribute it on a CD-ROM or other media, just to make sure you are including the latest version. And please keep the archive unaltered and in its original state. If you want to distribute it in a different archive format like ARJ, LHA, RAR, or any other compression formats, you may contact us first for confirmation and support.

If you want to post a little review on newsgroup, magazine, TV, etc, and you need more references, you can find them on these pages:
http://www.tropicalwares.com/mmanager.html
http://www.tropicalwares.com/awards.html
http://www.hotfiles.com/?000OSQ

Contact us if you need additional information. 


8. Release notes

See WHATSNEW.TXT for complete release notes.


Copyright 1998,1999 Tropical Wares. 
All rights reserved.

