Copyright: WWPlus 1.4 ® 1992-1995 Don Bradner


WWPlus Overview

For help on any area of the WWPlus screen, click on that area.

Program Description

Registration Info

Table of Contents


Program Description

WWPlus is a program that provides various tools to manage Windows Wallpaper.  It is a wallpaper changer, editor, and file converter.  The program includes a Screen Saver module that turns your wallpaper files into screen-covering images for entertainment, security, and to avoid image burn-in.

Users gain substantial disk space by using compressed image formats not normally usable as Windows wallpaper.  WWPlus includes tools that will convert images to and from these additional formats.

Editing features include: Crop, Rotate, Re-size, Stretch, and alteration of Brightness and Contrast.

Individual wallpapers may be positioned on the screen, and the program will "remember" their positions for future display.

WWPlus has a provision for reducing the colors in a 256-color image to 16 for VGA display, and for reducing True-Color (16 million colors) images to 256 (or 16) colors.

A Thumbnail function will display a small copy of all the wallpapers in a queue for easy selection.

Multiple "queues" (configuration files) may be maintained, each saved under a distinctive name.


Reduce colors to 16

Reduce colors to 256

These menu options are enabled when there are more than 16 colors or more than 256 colors, respectively, in the image displayed in the Picture Editor.  When an option is selected, WWPlus will "dither" the image to 16 or 256 colors


Caption Bar

The Picture Editor's caption bar will display information about the displayed image.  The format is NAME WIDTHxHEIGHTxCOLOR DEPTH.  During crop selection routines, the caption will show "crop" with the size of the selected area.


Table of Contents
Table of Contents:

Adjusting wallpaper placement on screen

Author Support

Bitmaps

DDE: Controlling WWPlus from other applications

Display Order

Distribution of WWPlus

Files included with WWPlus

Multiple wallpaper queues

Photo Scanning Service

Picture Editor

Print Registration Form

Registration Info

Screen Saver

Slide Shows

Special Multipurpose Icon

Speed vs. File Size

Thumbnail display

Troubleshooting

For information about controls on the main screen, choose Contents and click on the specific control on the display.


Thumbnail Display

Small images of each of the bitmaps in your Wallpaper Queue are shown when you select the "View image thumbnails" option on the Images menu.  Depending on your computer speed and the number of images, it may take quite a while to load all of the images.  After loading once, subsequent displays will be much faster.  You may stop the load at any time by pressing the "Stop Loading" menu option (only visible while the images are loading), and then resume the load by pressing "Resume Loading" (only visible when the load has stopped short of completion).  Another option available during loading is "Cancel Load" which will erase the preview screen.

Once the images are loaded, you can move an image to the Picture Editor by double-clicking the image.  If you want to know the file name and path for a displayed image, press the mouse button down while the mouse cursor is over the image.  The window caption will change to display the file name.  When you select an image by clicking on it the border of that image will turn red.  You may then edit or delete the image with the appropriate File menu command.

Using the thumbnail for manual wallpaper changes:  While the thumbnail display is on screen, the timer is disabled and the main program window is hidden.  You can minimize the thumbnail display and then use it to select wallpapers.  double-click the thumbnail icon to restore the display, click once on your selection and then either use the file menu to Make Current Wallpaper, or use the keyboard shortcut (CTRL-M).

The thumbnail file will slow some operations down, particularly wallpaper deletions.  If you are deleting several files in a row it is best to choose the "Clear thumbnail file" option from the images menu, perform your deletions, and then let the thumbnail file rebuild the next time you use it.

It is possible for the thumbnail display to get "out of synch" with the wallpaper queue.  If that happens, clear it and rebuild it.


Speed vs. File Size

There is a tradeoff between program speed and the amount of compression used on images.  This is particularly noticeable when using the Thumbnail option.  Uncompressed .BMP files will display far more rapidly than the most compressed .GIF files, with .PCX between for both speed and compression.  .TIF and .TGA are normally used for pictures containing 32,000 or more colors; neither offers significant compression over .BMP, and both are slower.  For 24-bit (16-million color) images, WWPlus can use .JPG format, which offers great compression, but is very slow and will cause some loss of image quality.

When the screen saver is active, moving the mouse or pressing a key will not restore your screen while an image change is in progress.  If you are using large compressed images (particularly .JPG) there may be a significant delay before you can get your screen back again.

For more information about the pros and cons of the file types, see the text file FORMATS.TXT included with WWPlus.


Display Order

The Display Order option in the Preferences submenu of the Wallpaper menu or on the toolbar allows you to choose Random or Sequential display.  Random display will cycle through the list of wallpapers in no apparent order.  Sequential will display them in the order in which they are listed in the Wallpaper Queue.  When changing from random to sequential, the display will continue from the currently displayed wallpaper.  Sequential order is good for slide show effects.


Up and Down Buttons

Use these buttons to organize the files in a queue in a desired order (for sequential display, or simply to manage the files better).  The buttons will only be visible when a file has been selected in the queue.  If the first file in a queue is selected, the Up button will not be visible, and if the last file in a queue is selected the Down button will not be visible.


List Full File Path/List File Name Only

This button controls the entries in the queue.  File Name Only will remove drive and path information, while Full File Path will include all directory/subdirectory information for each file.  In the latter case, the file name may be scrolled off to the right of the queue, making the entries difficult to read.  In any case, the listing for the current wallpaper will include full path information.


Monitor Com Port

Selected from the Preferences submenu of the Wallpaper menu, this option allows you to select a particular com port to monitor.  If WWPlus detects that another application has opened this port, it will not allow the timer to cycle (which otherwise might interrupt serial communications).  This option is intended to be used only with a port that has a modem attached.  It will probably not work with other devices such as serial printers.  If an application normally keeps a port open, such as a Fax/Modem application, then wallpaper changes will never occur.


Add Button

The "Add" Button is used to add a new wallpaper to the Wallpaper Queue.  Pressing this button is the same as choosing "Add Wallpaper" from the Wallpaper menu; the keyboard shortcut is CTRL-A.  Pressing this button will cause a dialog box to appear for browsing through drives and directories looking for bitmap files which can be selected for addition to the queue.  Files can have .BMP, .RLE,.GIF, .PCX, .TIF, .ICO, .TGA, or .JPG extensions.  You may use the tiling option buttons to turn tiling on or off for the added files - the default will be the condition of the the Tiling on/off Option at the time the Add Button was pressed.  You may change the tiling for an individual wallpaper later, by first clicking on the filename in the Wallpaper Queue and then changing the Tiling on/off Option. The image will be positioned according to the setting of the default origin point.

Multiple file selection is allowed.  If the files are not contiguous in the directory, hold down the CTRL key while clicking each file.  Maximum number of files at one time is approximately 200.

You may add an image to the queue more than once to increase its display frequency.


Preview

Preview will give an "advance look" at a wallpaper before choosing it for editing, deletion, or making it the current wallpaper.  A wallpaper must be selected in the queue for this function to be active.  Command a preview by clicking the preview button or double-clicking the gray preview display area.


Changing Queues

WWPlus allows multiple configuration file called "queues."  A queue file a list of the wallpaper files for that queue.  Wallpaper files may appear in many different queues.  When a queue is loaded, its name will appear above the Wallpaper Queue listing.

The "Queues" selection in the Wallpaper menu has four options: "Start New Queue," "Change Queues," Clear Queue, and "Save Queue As."


Delete Button

The "Delete" Button will be disabled (grayed) unless an entry has been selected in the Wallpaper Queue.  Pressing this button is the same as choosing "Delete Wallpaper" from the Wallpaper menu; the keyboard shortcut is CTRL-D.  If a selection has been made, it will be deleted.

The program will offer two choices: delete from queue only or from the queue and your hard drive.  The latter will delete the file itself.  This will not affect the current visibility of the image if it is showing on the desktop.  If the wallpaper is listed more than once, only the selected occurrence will be deleted.  In that case, if the file was deleted, an error message will occur when the program attempts to display the image.


Change Wallpaper Button

The "Change Wallpaper" Button functions differently depending on whether an image has been selected in the Wallpaper Queue.  Pressing this button when an image is selected is the same as choosing "Make Current" from the Wallpaper menu (keyboard shortcut: CTRL-M), which makes the selection the current wallpaper and displays on the desktop immediately.  The timer will reset automatically.

When there is no image selected in the queue, this button will cause a change of wallpaper exactly as if the timer had cycled.  The next image will be either randomly or sequentially selected depending on the setting of the Display Order option in the preferences menu.


Erase Button

The "Erase" button will clear any wallpaper showing from the screen.  Pressing this button is the same as choosing "Clear Screen" from the Wallpaper menu; the keyboard shortcut is CTRL-C.  Close the program or turn the timer off to keep a wallpaper from being displayed when the timer cycles.


Wallpaper Queue

The "Wallpaper Queue" is a list of bitmaps that are available for use by WWPlus as wallpapers.  You can show all of the images in the queue in "Thumbnail" form by choosing View Image Thumbnails from the Images menu.  You can add any appropriate bitmap image to the list via the Add Button or Import Button.  You can make a specific image occur more often by adding it to the queue more than once.  You may also add images to the queue by means of Drag and Drop from the File Manager.

You may have multiple queue lists; see Changing Queues

For any of the following actions, you must first select a wallpaper in the queue.  This means that you must click once on a file name, then perform the action.

Delete Button.

Preview

Tiling on/off

Position Wallpaper

The Change Wallpaper Button.  is a special case where the function will change depending on whether a selection is current in the queue.


Change Delay

The box to the right of the caption "Minutes delay between changes" may be directly edited.  Allowable times are 0.1 to 999.9 minutes.  A delay of 5-30 minutes is suggested - there is a noticeable jump-delay on the screen when the wallpaper is changed, and this can be annoying if the timer cycles too frequently.  On the other hand, when the computer is not being used, a short time interval may be used to produce a "Slide-Show" effect.

This setting will have no effect if the Timer switch is off.

Changing the delay time will cause the timer to reset (if it is on) and the "Minutes to next change" will become the new setting.


Timer on
Timer on/off

The "Timer on off" icon determines whether the wallpaper will change at the interval set in the "Minutes delay between changes" box.  The icon will retain its setting between sessions of the program.  You may wish to turn the timer off if you are working on a project where you would be annoyed by the screen "flicker" that occurs during a wallpaper change; you can accomplish much the same thing by simply maximizing the program with which you are working.  Turning the timer off and then on again will reset the timer, and the "Minutes to next change" field will revert to the timer interval.


Minutes to next change

This field will display the time, in tenths of a minute, until the next scheduled wallpaper change.  The field is blank when the timer is turned off.  Countdown is suspended when the active application occupies the full screen (Maximized), which generally includes screensaver activity.


Centered/Tiled Option
Tiling on/off Option

Wallpapers may be displayed either Tiled or not.  The Tiling Off option means that the wallpaper will be shown once at the origin point (see Adjusting wallpaper placement on screen).  With Tiling on, wallpaper that is smaller than the screen size will be shown in multiple images to fill the entire screen.  The position of this switch when a new wallpaper is added to the queue will determine the initial setting for that wallpaper.  To change a wallpaper's setting, select it in the queue and then change the switch.


Registration

Don Bradner

Arcata Pet

600 F Street

Arcata,CA 95521-6301

WWPlus copyright 1992-1995 by Don Bradner.  WWPlus is Shareware.  Click here to print a Registration Form and send it with $15.00 to the author at the above address.  California residents please add $1.09 for state sales tax, and Non-US users please add $1.00 for Air Mail service. See Author Support for information on contacting the author

Compuserve members may register on-line for $20.00 (higher price reflects costs imposed by CIS), includes any applicable tax or foreign shipping.  To use this method, GO SWREG.  The program registration number is 2213.  Regardless of the method of registration, you will receive a copy of the most recent version of WWPlus and a registration key that will eliminate the startup screen for this and all future versions of WWPlus.  Some high-resolution photographic images in .GIF format will also be included..

Commercial use:  WWPlus may be used commercially, as long as there is a registered copy for each computer/terminal that is using it.  The author is willing to discuss customization of the program for commercial/large scale application, including use as presentation software.


Author Support

The author is very interested in providing support for this program.  Feel free to contact him in any of the following ways:

Mail:

Don Bradner

Arcata Pet

600 F Street

Arcata, CA 95521-6301

FAX: (707) 822-6570

Phone: (707) 822-6350 10am-5pm Pacific Time, ask for Don

Compuserve: 76130,1007

AOL: DBirdMan

Internet: dbirdman@aol.com


Current Wallpaper

The Current Wallpaper area at the bottom of the WWPlus screen displays the complete path for the currently displayed bitmap.  If there is no wallpaper displayed, the listing will be "(None)"


Edit Wallpaper
Edit Image

Pressing this button is the same as choosing "Edit Image" from the Image menu; the keyboard shortcut is CTRL-E.  If you have previously selected an entry in the Wallpaper Queue, clicking this button will open the Picture Editor with the selected entry displayed, ready to edit.  Otherwise the editor will open with the file load dialog to load an image.  Use the latter technique to edit an image that is not in your current queue.


Picture Editor

The Picture Editor is a major feature of WWPlus.  You can access the Picture Editor by selecting a file in the Wallpaper Queue. and pressing the Edit Button.  You can also access the Editor from the Thumbnail Display by double clicking on a displayed image.  When the image is displayed, you may edit it in a variety of ways.  Choose an option below to learn more about the use of editing features.

Caption information

Edit Options:

Resize

Re-size to 640x480

Re-size to 800x600

Re-size to 1024x768

Stretch

Crop

Rotate

Mirror

Brightness & Contrast

Reduce colors to 16

Reduce colors to 256

Copy

Paste

File Options:

New

Save

SaveAs

Add to Wallpaper Queue


Add to Wallpaper Queue

Add to Wallpaper Queue in the File Menu will add a listing for the current image in the Picture Editor.  to the WallpaperQueue.  You will only be able to add images in these image types: .BMP,.RLE, .GIF, .PCX, .TIF, .TGA, .ICO, and .JPG.

You may add an image more than once to increase its display frequency.


Copy

The copy option in the Picture Editor's Edit menu will copy a displayed image to the Windows Clipboard, where it can be pasted into other applications.


Paste

The Paste option in the Picture Editors Edit menu will only be active (not grayed) when the Windows Clipboard contains an image that can be read by this program.  The pasted image will replace any image already displayed; a prompt will be issued to save the current image if it has been altered.


Load File dialog box

The Load file dialog is shown when the Add button or Import button is clicked, as well as from the New menu option in the picture editor.  You may browse through your directories to find any image file which WWPlus recognizes.  A handy preview function is included.  Select a file and click the Preview button.  A small "thumbnail" version of the file will appear in the box above the button.  When you have found an image that you wish to load, click OK.  To exit the dialog without making a selection, click Cancel.

Multiple file selection is allowed.  If the desired files are not contiguous, hold down the CTRL key and click each file.  Maximum number of files possible is approximately 200; if more are selected, only the last one will be added.  If multiple files are selected and the preview option is used it will show the last file selected.  Multiple file selection is not available if the Add function originated from the thumbnail view or the Picture Editor.


Save As dialog box

The Save As dialog is shown when a file is Imported, when Save As is chosen in the picture editor, and when Save is chosen in the picture editor but the file is not of a type that can be saved by WWPlus.  You may use the dialog to change the name and/or the file extension.  Note that the file extension is governed by the option selection at the lower right of the screen.  If you name a file "MYFILE.BMP" and select .GIF as the extension, the file will be saved as "MYFILE.GIF" and the type will be .GIF.  When you choose a file type, you may check the "Make Default" checkbox for that extension.  If you change directories, the new directory will be the one showing the next time you use the dialog.  The .RLE and .ICO filetypes that are supported for loading a file are not supported for saving.


Resize

This menu option will allow you to re-size an image in the Picture Editor.  You will see a dialog box with various options.  If you want to re-size an image to 80% of its original size, input 0.8 in the Scale box.  To re-size 125%, enter 1.25.  You may enter a new width and/or height directly - if the Proportional Re-size checkbox is checked, the other dimension will also change to keep the same proportions.  Otherwise, the image will stretch to accommodate the new width or height.

The Preview button allows you to see the effect of your selection without changing the underlying image.  The OK button will alter the image to match the new settings.  Cancel restores the unaltered image.


Resize to 640x480

Operates the same as Resize except that the dimensions are fixed for a VGA screen.  This function always produces an image proportional to the original, which means that if the ratio of the original's width-to-height is less than 1.33 the produced width will be less than 640, and if the ratio is greater than 1.33 the produced height will be less than 480.


Resize to 800x600

Operates the same as Resize except that the dimensions are fixed for an SVGA screen.  This function always produces an image proportional to the original, which means that if the ratio of the original's width-to-height is less than 1.33 the produced width will be less than 800, and if the ratio is greater than 1.33 the produced height will be less than 600.


Resize to 1024x768

Operates the same as Resize except that the dimensions are fixed for a 1024x768 (8514-type) screen.  This function always produces an image proportional to the original, which means that if the ratio of the original's width-to-height is less than 1.33 the produced width will be less than 1024, and if the ratio is greater than 1.33 the produced height will be less than 768.


Stretch

Stretch is also called "Free Re-size."  When this option is selected, the mouse cursor will change to a four-arrow configuration.  You can then "grab" any side or corner of an image and drag it to a new size.  When you release the mouse button, the image will be stretched or compressed to fit the new window size.  When you have finished re-sizing, select the Edit menu again and re-select Stretch to accept the changes or select Undo Stretch to discard your changes.

For re-sizing to specific dimensions, use the Resize option in the Edit Menu.


Crop

Crop allows you to select an area of an image displayed in the Picture Editor.  Make your selection by moving the mouse cursor to a starting corner of the area desired.  Press and hold the mouse button down, "sweeping" over the selected area.  An outline box will display the chosen area, and the Picture Editor top caption bar will display the size of the area chosen (in pixels).  When the cropping selection is completed, release the mouse button.  If a different selection is desired, repeat the above steps; the first selection will be erased as the new selection is begun.

If the region you have selected is not quite right, you may choose to adjust the selected area.  See Adjusting Crop Boudaries

When you have a selection that you wish to use, select Crop from the Edit Menu.  The window frame will shrink to match your selection.


Adjusting Crop Boundaries

Whenever there is an active cropping region, there will be an active entry in the Edit menu of the Picture Editor for "adjusting crop boundaries."  Selecting this option will show a form to enter new offsets for left, right, top, and bottom borders of the cropping region.  You may directly enter new numbers, and the "rubber band" area in the editor will dynamically change to reflect the new settings.  Choose OK to accept the changes or Cancel to restore the original cropping region.


Rotate

The Rotation submenu has options to rotate an image in 90 degree increments left or right (counter-clockwise or clockwise) as well as 180 degrees.  Rotating 180 degrees is not the same as Mirror Vertical, which changes the orientation of the image.  Rotating 90 degrees 4 times in the same direction will restore the original image.


Mirror

There are two mirror choices in the Edit Menu.  Mirror Horizontal will flip the image displayed in the Picture Editor left-to-right.  Mirror Vertical will flip the image top-to-bottom.


Brightness & Contrast

The Brightness & Contrast controls allow some alteration of these characteristics of an image displayed in the Picture Editor.  When this option is selected from the Edit Menu, two slide bars will appear at the bottom of the editor as well as Accept and Reject buttons.  Sliding the top control will affect the image's brightness, while the second bar will affect contrast.  Using the two together will have various effects, which will be immediately visible when the mouse button is released.  When editing is completed to your satisfaction, press the Accept button, or if you feel that the original image is preferable, Reject the edited version in favor of the original.


Load
New

New in the File Menu allows you to place a new image in the Picture Editor, replacing the existing image.  You are not limited to the list of wallpapers in the Wallpaper Queue; any valid image may be loaded in any format recognized by WWPlus:  .BMP, .RLE,.GIF, .PCX, .TIF, .TGA, .ICO, or .JPG.


Save

Save in the File Menu will save the image that is currently displayed in the Picture Editor,as long as the image is in a format which WWPlus can write:  .BMP,.GIF, .PCX, .TIF, TGA or .JPG. .RLE and .ICO, can be loaded but not saved.  If you try to save an image in a format which WWPlus cannot write, you will be prompted to use Save As instead.


Save As

Save As in the File Menu is used to change the name, directory, or file type of an image in the Picture Editor.  You will only be able to save in the wallpaper types, .BMP,.GIF, .PCX,, .TIF .TGA or .JPG.


Import Wallpaper

The "Import" selection in the Wallpaper menu is used to add a new wallpaper to the Wallpaper Queue and change the format at the same time.  The keyboard shortcut is CTRL-I.  Pressing this button will cause a dialog box to appear which will allow you to browse through your directories looking for bitmap files which you can select to add to the queue.  Files may have .BMP, .RLE,.GIF, .PCX, .TIF, .TGA, .ICO, or .JPG extensions.  Tiling works as described in the Add Button topic.  Another dialog box will prompt you for a filename and extension to save the file as, limited to the same extensions less .RLE and .ICO.


Wallpaper Menu

The Wallpaper menu duplicates the various buttons in the WWPlus interface, making it easy to use the functions from the keyboard, and has additional functions as well.  Using the Alt-W key combination will pop up the wallpaper menu, and then you may select an option by pressing the letter underlined in that option or using the arrow keys to move to the option.  Most options also have "hotkey" combinations that are shown to the right of the option.  For example, holding down the control key and pressing 'A' will have the same result as selecting "Add Wallpaper."

Menu items include:

Add Wallpaper

Import Wallpaper

Make Change

Delete Wallpaper

Clear Screen

Preview

Position Wallpaper

The wallpaper menu also includes a submenu to manipulate queues.


Preferences

This menu contains items that affect the way WWPlus works.  It allows you to change a number of defaults to customize the program to your own liking.  Click any of the topics below to get information on that topic.

Change Wallpaper at Startup

RemoveWallpaper at Exit

Special 'Multipurpose' Icon

Screen Saver Setup

Display Order

Set Default Origins

Smart Captions

Monitor Com Port


Change Wallpaper at Start

By default, WWPlus does not change your wallpaper when the program is started.  If you want it to do so, check this option.  If WWPlus is in your Program Manager Startup Group, you will get a new wallpaper whenever you start a Windows session.


Remove Wallpaper at Exit

When this option is enabled, WWPlus will clear any wallpaper when the program ends.  This can be useful if you normally have WWPlus running all of the time, and the only time it exits is when you exit Windows.  With this option, there will be no wallpaper when you next start Windows, resulting in a quicker load time.


Special 'Multipurpose' Icon

This option, found under the Preferences sub-menu of the Wallpaper menu, allows control of a number of the program functions without having to restore the main WWPlus screen.  Checking this option will replace the regular icon with a small multi-function icon as shown above.  NOTE: This option has no effect if you have chosen to hide the icon.

The icon panels correspond to the same icons in the main WWPlus toolbar.

The eraser portion of the icon will immediately clear the screen of any wallpaper.  The timer portion will toggle the timer on and off; it will be green when on and red when off.  The small monitor image turns the Screen Saver off and on, and the change portion at the lower right will change the wallpaper and reset the timer to its starting value.  Double-clicking the Control Box will restore the main WWPlus window.  The top bar can be used to drag the icon to a desired location, it will return to that location in the future.

There is an Always On Top option in the control menu that will make the Multipurpose icon float above other application windows.

Keyboard shortcuts:  When the icon is active (the top bar will have the color of an active window), you may use the following shortcuts:

CTRL+T will toggle the timer.  CTRL+C will clear the screen.  CTRL+S will start the screen saver.  The Spacebar will change the wallpaper.  ENTER will restore the main window.  ALT+F4 will end WWPlus.  F1 will provide this help screen.


Set Default Origins

This item in the Preferences sub-menu sets the default location for each newly added wallpaper image.  You may change the individual setting later - see Adjusting wallpaper placement on screen


Images Menu

The Images menu has four options: Edit Image will load the Picture Editor, either with a file selected from the queue or with a load dialog if no image was selected.  Batch File Conversion, as the name implies, allows you to convert the format of a number of files at one time.  View Image Thumbnails will load small sketches of each image for viewing/editing (see Thumbnail Display) and finally Clear Thumbnail File will erase the thumbnail file produced by the preceding command.  Clearing the thumbnail is often preferable when several files are going to be deleted from the queue, since there will be long delays while the thumbnails are updated.


Help Menu

The Help Menu provides several options: Overview, which will display an image of the program where you can click on an element to see its description; Contents, which displays the table of contents; Search for help on..., which allows the helpfile to be searched by key word; Author Contact & Support, which takes you to that topic, and About, which provides current version information for WWPlus.  The help icon (question mark) is the same thing as Help/Overview.


.BMP

Files with .BMP extensions are bitmapped images created by tools like Windows Paintbrush.  .BMP is the native format for Windows wallpaper.  There are a few .BMP files distributed with Windows specifically for use as wallpaper.


.GIF

.GIF, pronounced "Jiff" is a format developed by Compuserve Information Services.  It provides the most compression possible without loss of image quality.  It is the format of choice for images distributed through on-line services and BBS services, since it reduces the time necessary to transmit.  Storing your wallpapers as .GIF files will use the least amount of space, and WWPlus will take care of converting the format for Windows as required.  Because this conversion takes a small amount of time, it could result in an unacceptable delay on slower computers.


.PCX

.PCX is a format developed by the Z-Soft corporation for their line of PC Paintbrush programs.  Windows Paintbrush is also able to read and save this format.  It provides some compression when compared to .BMP files, but not as much as a .GIF.  Like .GIF, .PCX can not be used as a native wallpaper format, but WWPlus will take care of the translation.  There is less noticeable delay when using .PCX than with .GIF.


.TGA

.TGA is called "Targa."  It is primarily a format for storing 24-bit (true-color) 16-million color images.  WWPlus can read the format, and use it as a wallpaper, but there is no space advantage and it will load slower than .BMP.  If you have a Targa image that you would like to use, Import it and save it in .BMP format (or convert it to .GIF if it has 256 colors or less).


.TIF

.TIF is the extension used with Tagged Information File Format (TIFF) files  It is primarily a format for storing 24-bit (true-color) 16-million color images and gray-scale images in desktop publishing.  WWPlus can read the format, and use it as a wallpaper, but there is no space advantage and it will load slower than .BMP.  If you have a Tiff image that you would like to use, Import it and save it in .BMP format (or convert it to .GIF if it has 256 colors or less).  Tiff files may contain more than one picture.  If that is the case, WWPlus will only read the first image.  An exception is the .TIF file used to store WWPlus's own Thumbnail files.


.JPG

Files with .JPG extensions are "JPEG" compressed.  JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Committee.  This format is only suitable for 24-bit (16-million color) images, although WWPlus will allow you to save 256 color images in this format, and is "lossy," which means that the compression involves some loss of quality.  The resulting file size is quite small, but takes a long time to decompress and display.  When saving an image in the JPEG format you may select a quality factor from 5 to 95; the higher the number, the less compression and greater quality.  There is no particular speed advantage to any of the settings.


.RLE

Files with .RLE extensions are compressed bitmap images.  RLE stands for "Run-Length Encoded."  RLE files may have an extension of .RLE or .BMP, however the .RLE extension avoids confusion as to whether the file is compressed.  Windows has no problem using .RLE files as wallpaper, but Windows Paintbrush will not load or create them, nor can WWPlus save a file in this format.  A third-party tool must be used.


.ICO

Files with .ICO extensions are Windows icons.  You may use these 32x32 pixel 16-color images as wallpaper, presumably tiled to fill the entire screen.  WWPlus does not have the facilities to create or save .ICO files.


Wallpaper

Wallpaper is the term used to describe an image being displayed on the Windows desktop as a background.  It can be a small image that is repeated many times, or a single image of any size up to the full screen size.


The Author


Bitmaps

A bitmap is an image stored as a pattern of dots.  These images can be stored in a number of graphics formats, but the only formats which can be used as wallpaper directly by Windows are .BMP and .RLE.  With WWPlus, you may use .GIF, .PCX, .BMP, RLE, .ICO, .TIF, .TGA, and .JPG as wallpaper, and the program will interpret the files as necessary for use by Windows.

Where to get bitmaps

Several .BMP files are included with Windows for use as wallpaper.  Additionally, you can draw your own bitmaps with Windows Paintbrush.  If you have a scanner, you can scan images and store them as bitmaps.  Many computer stores and printing businesses offer custom scanning to order.  On-line services have thousands of files which can be used as wallpaper.  Most of these files will be in .GIF format, which cannot directly be used as wallpaper except with this program.

The author of WWPlus now offers a scanning service, with free scans when registering the program.   See the file SCANNING.TXT in your WWPlus directory.


Files

Several files make up the complete WWPlus package.  A brief discussion of each follows:

Files included with WWPlus

In the distribution package, most of the following files will have their last letter replaced with an underscore (_).  This indicates that they are compressed files, which are expanded by the setup program.

WWPLUS.EXE This is the program file.  Default installation is to C:\WWPLUS, and it will be added to a WWPlus program group.  For normal operation it is recommended that the icon be added to your Startup Group, so that it automatically runs whenever you run Windows.

WWPLUS.HLP The WWPlus help file which you are reading now.  Placed in you WWPLUS directory, with an icon in the WWPLUS program group.

IMK.DLL

JPEGIO.DLL

KNIFE.VBX

WWPLIBR.VBX

These are "custom-control" libraries that WWPlus uses for some of its functions.  These files must be in your Windows\System directory for proper operation of WWPlus.

WWPSAVR.SCR

WWPSAVER.EXE

These are the WWPlus Screen Saver modules.  WWPSAVR.SCR must be in your Windows directory, and WWPSAVER.EXE is in your WWPLUS directory.

SETUP.EXE

SETUP.LST

SETUPKIT.DLL

SETUPWWP.EXE

VER.DLL

These files are used by the Setup program, which installs WWPlus.

README.TXT A text file explaining the nature, installation, and operation of WWPlus.

HISTORY.TXT A text file that describes the changes made to WWPlus with each release.

FORMATS.TXT A text file explaining each of the graphics formats, with the pros and cons of using each.

SCANNING.TXT A text file explaining photo scanning services offered by the author.

These files are placed in your WWPLUS directory, and have icons added to the WWPLUS group.

FILE_ID.DIX A program description file for BBS operators.

VENDOR.DOC A program description file for shareware vendors.

These text files are included with WWPlus, but are not installed on your hard drive.

Registered users will have one additional file: WWP_REG.KEY.  This file must be in your WWPLUS directory, and will keep the startup shareware screen from appearing.  If you upgrade to a new version of WWPlus, do not delete this file - it will work with all future versions.

Files maybe not included with WWPlus

VBRUN300.DLL A "runtime" library for programs written in Visual Basic 3.0.  This file is almost always available from any source for WWPlus.  From on-line sources, look for VBRUN3.ZIP or VBRUN300.ZIP.

Files created by WWPlus

WWPLUS.BMP  This is a "temporary" file that WWPlus uses to translate non-standard images so that they can be used by Windows.  It is destroyed and recreated each time the wallpaper changes and the new image is not a .BMP file.  It is located in your WWPLUS directory.

*.QUE These are queue files used to store information about images in a queue.  They do not have to be in any particular directory, but the default is your WWPLUS directory.

*.TIF files  These are multiple image files used to speed the display of thumbnail images.  There will be one for each queue in which you access the thumbnail option.  These files are maintained in your WWPLUS directory.

WWPlus also creates some other temporary files with .TMP extensions.  Under normal use, the program will clean these up when it exits.  If the program crashes, it will clean them up the next time it is run and then exited normally.


Distribution

WWPlus is shareware and may be freely distributed as long as all of the files are included and no fee is charged beyond a reasonable fee for distribution.  Registered users note:  Do not distribute your WWP_REG.KEY file.

All rights are reserved by the author (see Registration).


Troubleshooting

If your difficulties are related to slow operations with specific images, see Speed vs. File Size

Other difficulties running the program may be associated with a missing file, or a file that needs to be in the Windows or Windows\System directory but isn't.  See Files for details.  Another problem is a corrupted WWPLUS.INI file.  It is sometimes possible to fix a corrupted file; if you are an experienced Windows user and regularly alter .INI files, you may want to load WWPLUS.INI into Notepad and see if anything is obviously bad.  If you are not comfortable with this, or cannot determine the problem, rename the file (it is in your Windows directory) to WWPLUS.OLD and restart the program.  This will not delete any of your wallpapers, but you will have to re-add them to your Wallpaper Queue.  If the program now runs correctly, and you do not want to completely rebuild all of your settings, you can compare the contents of the newly created WWPLUS.INI with the old file and look for bad settings in the old file.  If you can correct them, you can rename the .OLD file back to .INI and go on from there.

There is a specific Windows problem that causes Windows to hang if a wallpaper with more than 256 colors is loaded when a 256 color display is in use.  Waiting a long time (often several minutes) will usually result in a completed load.  WWPlus will not let you do this - it changes the file to 256 colors before displaying it.  However, if you are running a display at more than 256 colors (such as 32K, 64K or 16 million colors), the wallpaper can have that many colors.  If you then change display drivers to 256 colors, Windows will crash and not load.  If this happens, you have two options.  You can run setup from the DOS prompt within your Windows directory and change to a 16 color driver or a true color driver, and reload Windows.  Clear the wallpaper and then proceed to change to the 256 color driver.  Alternatively you may use the DOS Edit function to edit your WIN.INI file and delete the wallpaper file reference.  It is best to avoid this situation by always using the "Clear Screen" function before changing display drivers.


Using WWPlus to create presentation Slide Shows

WWPlus can be used to make continuously cycling slide shows by setting a short display interval and then minimizing your Program Manager and any other running programs.  Setting the Display Order to Sequential will display images in the order they are listed.  The thumbnail view can help you see the "slides" as they will be shown.  Using this feature in conjunction with the ability to setup different queues can make for interesting self-running displays.  See Changing Queues.

You can manually cycle a slide show by using the "Special 'Multipurpose' Icon" option in the Preferences sub-menu of the Wallpaper menu.


Saving Disk Space
Adjusting wallpaper placement on screen

Changing the wallpaper's location

By default, there are only two ways to display a wallpaper in Windows: Tiled, or single/centered.  Tiled wallpapers are repeated as necessary to cover all of the screen background.  With tiling off, wallpapers are displayed just once on the screen, normally in the center.  If the Wallpaper is the same size as the screen, tiled and centered will look exactly the same.  You may change the location of a non-tiled wallpaper by setting the wallpaper origin (upper left corner position).

Setting the wallpaper origin

For all of the following, remember that a setting of 0 (zero) for X or Y coordinates will center a wallpaper on that axis.  You cannot set the upper left corner of a wallpaper to 0,0; use 1,1 instead.

First, select a default origin.  Click the Wallpaper menu on the main program screen, click Preferences, and then click Set Default Origins.  A dialog box will prompt you for settings and take care of the details.  The next wallpaper change will incorporate the new settings unless a specific origin is set for that wallpaper.

To select a specific origin for a wallpaper, directly position the wallpaper, or change the settings. In either case, first select the file in the Wallpaper Queue. Choose Position Wallpaper in the Wallpaper menu.  The program screen will be replaced by the image, which you may move by pressing and holding down your left mouse button.  When you have the image positioned where you want it, release the mouse button.  Double-click on the image or press the Enter key to "fix" the placement.  Press the escape key to exit without setting a new position.  Alternatively, you may enter the numbers directly in the X and Y coordinate boxes after selecting the file in the queue.  If either of the coordinates end up being zero, the box will read "centered" to remind you that it is not a true zero.


Registration Form
WWPlus Version 1.43

Registration Form

Thank you for registering

There are several registration methods available:

With a credit card you may order by FAX:	(707) 822-6570

  or Phone:	(707) 822-6350

By mail, with check, credit card, or money order in US Dollars to: 	Don Bradner

Arcata Pet

600 F Street

Arcata, CA 95521-6301

Compuserve members may register on-line:  GO SWREG, program registration number is 2213.  Note that this costs US$20.00 (includes any sales tax or Air Mail costs).  This is a slightly higher price than by other methods, due to the added costs imposed by Compuserve.

Registration price is US$15.00, including postage within the US.

Number of registrations desired _____ x 15.00 = 	$____________

   California residents add $1.09/registration sales tax ____________

   Non-US add $1.00/registration for air mail 	  	  ____________

Total	  ____________

Software will be sent on 1.44 meg 3-1/2 inch disk.  Send disk to:

Name:                 	____________________________________________________

Mailing Address:      	____________________________________________________

City/State/Country:  	____________________________________________________

Phone number (______)______________________

If paying with a credit card: Card type  VISA    MasterCard   AMEX    Discover

Card Number:  ___________________________________ Expiration Date: ________

Signature to authorize charge: ________________________________________

(optional) Where did you get WWPlus?

BBS or other on-line service.  Which one?_____________________

Software/Shareware Service.  Which one? ______________________

Shareware CD-ROM.  Which one?__________________________

Friend

Other _________________________________________

(optional) What do you like about WWPlus:

_______________________________________________________

(optional) What would you like added or changed in WWPlus:

_______________________________________________________


Hiding the icon
Hiding the program icon

While WWPlus is running an icon will normally be displayed at the bottom of your screen.  Once you have made all of the wallpaper selections that you desire, you may "turn off" the icon by selecting that option.  The icon on the program screen will change ('Xed'-out).  The program icon will not be visible, and the program will not show up in the Task Manager list.  If you need to change something in the program, go to your startup group (or whatever group the program is installed in) and double-click the icon.  This will not run a new copy of the program, rather the existing copy will become visible.


WWPlus Screen Saver

WWPlus is distributed with two modules that allow you to use your wallpaper images as a screen saver. Screen savers have several purposes.  Traditionally, they are used to prevent screen burn-in, which is a persistent image that shows even when the monitor is turned off.  Modern VGA and better screens do not usually exhibit burn-in problems, but it may be comforting to have the screen not remain static anyway.  Now the primary purpose for screen savers is entertainment and minimal screen security.

The WWPlus screen saver meets all of these purposes.  Cycling different wallpapers will avoid screen burn-in, provide entertainment, and provide security.  Security means that prying eyes will not see open windows on your screen, and can include optional password protection.

The screen saver uses a number of the configuration items from WWPlus, such as the display order, and has a number of other configuration items of its own.  Setup and configuration can be done from WWPlus via the Setup Screen Saver button and preference menu items or from the Windows Control Panel, Desktop icon.  Either method will give you access to the Screen Saver Configuration Dialog.

WWPlus must be running in order for the screen saver to work.  If WWPlus is not running, either when the screen saver is started either due to inactivity or in reponse to the test button in the Windows Control Panel, the screen saver will attempt to start WWPlus.  If it is unable to do so it will post an error message and terminate.  If you move the location of the WWPlus program, it will normally register itself with the screen saver the first time you run it.

Turning the regular WWPlus timer off and using the screen saver option can remove the problem of wallpaper changes disrupting your regular computer work.  All changes will occur only during idle times.

Speed and performance issues affect the screen saver in the same manner as anything else involving graphics in the Windows environment.  If the system is in the middle of a complicated decompression of a large image when you move the mouse or press a key there will be no response until the new image is displayed.  You may have to re-move the mouse or press another key at that point.  If your images take a long time to decode you may find that a fairly long cycle time will minimize the likelihood that an image change is occurring when you want to go back to work.


Screen Saver off/on button

This button, which also occurs on the Special Multipurpose Icon, turns the screen saver off or on.  When the screen saver is off, the small monitor image will be red, and when the screen saver is on the image will be green.  Configure the screen saver by using the Setup Screen Saver button. For general screen saver information, see the WWPlus Screen Saver topic.


Setup Screen Saver

The Screen Saver Setup button gives you the opportunity to change screen saver options from WWPlus without having to use the Windows Control Panel.  There are options to change the inactivity delay and to configure or test the screen saver. For general screen saver information, see the WWPlus Screen Saver topic.

Delay

This setting determines how long an inactivity period must be for the screen saver to automatically activate.  Allowable range is 1 minute to 99 minutes.  If a larger or smaller setting is made, WWPlus will adjust to the allowable minimum or maximum.  Inactivity means no mouse movement or keyboard presses.

Configure

This button will invoke the Screen Saver Configuration Dialog, from which you may make changes in the way the screen saver operates.

Test

Pressing the test button will immediately start the screen saver.

Hot Corners

Moving your mouse to a Hot Corner will immediately activate or disable the screen saver.  On the small representation of your screen, the immediate activation corner is shown as a plus (+) sign, and the disable corner is shown as a minus (-) sign.  To use a different corner, click in a blank corner and respond appropriately to the dialog.  For hot corners to function, you must have the WWPlus screen saver turned on.


Queue Title

The Queue Title is the file name for the queue currently in use.  See Changing Queues for general information on this topic.


Screen Saver Configuration Dialog

The Screen Saver Configuration dialog is accessed from the Setup Screen Saver button on the WWPlus screen or from the Windows Control Panel.

Entry Options:

Timer  - Turn the image-change timer on/off and set the time between image changes.  Range of values is 10-6000 seconds.

Background color - Choose your regular desktop color or black.

Image Position - Choose center, or use whatever position is set in WWPlus for that wallpaper.

Monitor Port - If you select a Com Port, the WWPlus Screen Saver will check to see if that port is open before changing images.  If it is, no activity will occur.  An application that keeps the port open, such as a Fax/Modem application, will suspend changes indefinitely.  This is a shared option with WWPlus.  Changes made in WWPlus or here will affect the other application.

Dont Start - Available only with a monitored port, Dont Start means that the screen saver will check the port before activating and abort if the port is open.  If this box is not checked, the startup will occur regardless of port activity.

Exit Options:

Wallpaper - Sets the wallpaper condition on exit from the screen saver.  Last Screen Saver will set the last image used as the current wallpaper.  This is the slowest option, and will cause a delay between the time the mouse is moved or a key is pressed and the restoration of your working screen.  Restore Prev will leave the wallpaper as it was when the screen saver activated, and None will clear the screen completely.

WWPlus Wallpaper Timer - establishes the condition of the wallpaper timer in WWPlus when the screen saver terminates.  The options are On, Off, and Restore previous.

Mouse movement required to exit - Determines the amount of travel required to terminate the screen saver.  Movement is stored up, so a series of small moves will result in termination.  This storage is reset whenever the image changes.

Exit if image change has not occurred in x seconds - The WWPlus Screen Saver communicates with WWPlus via DDE.  During the DDE process, the screen saver will appear to hang and will not respond to the mouse or keyboard.  If something should happen to the DDE connection, the screen saver will terminate after a specified wait period.  The default of 60 seconds should be adequate, but if you use large highly-compressed images that take longer than a minute to decode you will want to lengthen the time.  If WWPlus has not completed the image conversion within the specified time then the screen saver will interpret it as a DDE failure.

Password Protect - You may establish a password that must be entered to end the screen saver.  This provides a minimal security for your computer when you are away from it.  The password you enter is recorded only for the WWPlus Screen Saver, and is not shared with other Windows screen savers.

For general screen saver information, see the WWPlus Screen Saver topic.


 Position Wallpaper Button

Pressing this button, active only when an image is selected in the queue, is the same as choosing Position Wallpaper in the Wallpaper menu.  For more information, see the Adjusting wallpaper placement on screen topic.


Queue Menu Button

Displays the queue menu.  See Changing Queues for general information on this menu.


Smart Captions

Smart captions are small black-on-yellow labels that give a text caption for an icon.  When you position your mouse pointer over various of the WWPlus screen elements a caption will pop up that describes the element.  Once you are familiar with the screen you may want to turn these captions off, which you can do in the preferences menu.


Change Password

Use this dialog box to set a password for the screen saver.

Choose one of the following for more information about the dialog box.

Old Password

New Password

Retype New Password


Old Password

Use this option to specify the old password.  This box is unavailable if you are specifying a password first time.

⇒	Type your old password in the box.


New Password

⇒	Type your new password in the box.

Passwords can contain up to 20 characters, including punctuation, and are not case-sensitive.  An asterisk (*) appears in the box for each character you type.


Retype New Password

Use this option to confirm your password.

⇒	Type your new password again in the box.


Photo Scanning Service

Arcata Pet now offers a photo scanning service.  Turn your own photographs into custom wallpaper and screen saver images.  We have the hardware and software to produce high resolution images from your prints or 35mm slides.  As an incentive to try the service, and a bonus for registering WWPlus, we will produce two scans for free, with no shipping charges.

There is an order form for scanning services in the file SCANNING.TXT which installed in your WWPlus directory

To be fair for those who registered WWPlus before this offer was available, or who decide to try it later, this offer is extended to include prior registrants.  In that case, please include the shipping charges, and write "Already Registered" on the order form.


Drag and Drop

WWPlus supports Drag and Drop of files to the queue.  The program must be running when this is done.  Select image files in the File Manager and drag them by holding the left mouse button down until you are over the WWPlus window, or the icon for the minimized program.  Release the mouse button, and the files will be added to the queue.  If you drop files that do not have extensions recognized by WWPlus those will be ignored without harm.


DDE: Controlling WWPlus from other applications

If you are familiar with DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange), you may write macros in other applications that control two WWPlus applications: the Timer, and Change Wallpaper.

The information needed is as follows:

Application: WWPLUS

Topic: Wallpaper

Item: Command

DDE Function: DDEExecute

Available commands:  TimerOff, TimerOn, Change