Copyright: Copyright 1994, W. Scott Thoman


Contents
                      SolSys 1.0 - February 18th, 1994

What is SolSys?

Installing SolSys
Configuring SolSys
Changing the icon's title
Planet Colors window
Current Date/Time window

SolSys and Screen Savers
Troubleshooting
Acknowledgements
Revision History

Author Information
Other related programs

Registering SolSys


What is SolSys?

    SolSys is a shareware MicroSoft Windows 3.x program that displays the current
position of the nine planets in our Solar System in an icon.  You can specify
the icon's title to display the current time and/or date in many different
formats, or specify it to show the orbital degree position of any planet(s) you
wish.  You can show from 1 to all 9 planets at once, and select how many of them
to show.  This is an interesting icon-program for all amateur astronomers or for
anyone who is curious about the universe around them.


Installing SolSys

    Simply use the Program Manager to create a New Program Icon in the group of
your choice and set the Working Directory to the subdirectory where you installed
the program files.  You may place the files in the subdirectory of your choice,
but the software must be able to find it's SOLSYS.INI file there.

     If it cannot find the .INI file, then the About box will be displayed each
and every time you start SolSys.  See the section Troubleshooting for more information.

     I also recommend placing the Program Icon in the Startup group so it loads
every time you start Windows.

     If you don't already have the file BWCC.DLL, make sure you copy it to your
Windows SYSTEM subdirectory and erase any other older copies of it.  See the
file BWCC.TXT for more information.


Configuring SolSys

    Before you use SolSys, you might want to tell it what background color
you want to use.  Black is, of course, the default.  You might also want to use the
"always on top" feature to keep the icon visible at all times.

     The Planet Size and Sun size options let you change the size of the
planets and the Sun in the icon.

     The Orbit Selection box lets you choose how many planets to
display in the icon at once.

     Once you have finished setting the above options, you will probably want to
have a look at how you can change the icon's title.


Planet Size

    You can change the size of each planet from one pixel to two pixels
(the default).  Please note, however, that the scale of the Solar System is exaggerated
when the larger pixel sizes are used, but the icon is easier to view from a
distance this way.


Sun Size

    You can change the size of the Sun just like you can change the size
of each planet.  The size of the Sun can be changed to either "None", 1
pixel, 2 pixels or 4 pixels (the default).  Please note, however, that the
scale of the Solar System is exaggerated when the larger pixel sizes are used,
but the icon is easier to view from a distance this way.

     If the Sun size is set to "None", no Sun is drawn.  This makes it much
easier to view the planets when they're positioned very close to each other.


Orbit Selection

    You can select which planets to display using the Orbit Selection
box.  The default is Show the Inner Planets, showing the positions of Mercury,
Venus, Earth and Mars.  You can also select Show the Outer Planets to show
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and the Pluto/Charon double-planet system.

     If you wish, you can choose to display only one planet, all the planets at once,
or any combination in between.  Just select the first planet and the last planet
you wish to see, and SolSys will display them.


Changing the icon's title

    You can change the title beneath the icon to whatever you like.  More
importantly, you can have the time and/or date, and other information, displayed
here as well.

     The About box has the default icon title set to "M.~g1 V.~g2 E.~g3 M.~g4", which
is a special "code" to display the current orbital positions of Mercury, Venus, Earth and
Mars.  Note how you can add spaces between the various options to cause them to "wrap"
down to the next icon title line, if desired.

     If you prefer, you can change the title to be just a simple word or two, like
"Our Solar System".  This may be necessary to work with some screen savers.

All the available options are listed below:

Clock options:
   ~1 =	12-hour format
   ~2 =	24-hour format
   ~a =	"am" or "pm"
   ~A =	"AM" or "PM"
   ~p =	"a" or "p"
   ~P =	"A" or "P"
   ~w =	Weekday name as "Mon", "Tue", etc.
   ~W =	Weekday name as "Monday", "Tuesday", etc.
   ~m =	Month name as "Jan", "Feb", etc.
   ~M =	Month name as "January", "February", etc.
   ~h =	Month number (1-12)
   ~d =	Day of the month number (1-31)
   ~y =	Year as "94", etc. (Year without the century)
   ~Y =	Year as "1994", etc. (Year with the century)
   ~o =	Ordinal suffix of "Day of the month" as "st", "nd", "rd", "th",
etc. (as in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.)

Other options:
   ~g1 =	Show Mercury's orbital degree position (Use ~G1 to the nearest 1/10th)
Use the numbers 1-9 to specify other planets (i.e. Earth is 3)
Zero degrees is to the right, 90 degrees is at the top, etc.
   ~r1 =	Show Mercury's Right Ascension in hh,mm format.  (~R is the same as ~r)
Use the numbers 1-9 to specify other planets (i.e. Mars is 4)
Note: Of course, Earth (3) has no meaning.
  ~E1 =	Show Mercury's Declination in degs,mins,secs
Use the numbers 1-9 to specify other planets (i.e. Mars is 4)
Note: Of course, Earth (3) has no meaning.

Example icon titles:

   Title:	Displays as:
   "M.~g1 V.~g2 E.~g3 M.~g4"	M.79° V.332° E.138° M.307°
   "~1~a ~w ~m ~d~o"	9:05pm Fri Feb 18th
   "~2 ~W ~m ~d~o"	21:05 Friday Feb 18th
   "~1~A"	9:05PM
   "~W ~M ~d ~Y"	Friday February 18 1994
   "~y.~h.~d"	94.02.18
   "Our Solar System"	Our Solar System

Feel free to experiment with different combinations to suit your taste.


Background Colors

    You can select one of many different background colors.  The default is
black, but you can select white or a shade of gray if you prefer.  The
"transparent" color allows you to display the icon with no background,
appearing on top of whatever is beneath it.


"Always On Top" feature

    You can click the Icon is always on top of windows button on to have
the SolSys icon stay visible when other windows are covering it.  When on, the
icon will always appear "on top of" the other windows instead of being "hidden"
beneath them.


Planet Colors

    You can set the colors of the planets by changing the Red, Green and
Blue values to the ones you want.  Each color value is from 0 (no color) to
255 (full color).  By mixing and matching the values, you can create any
color you wish.


'Current Date/Time' window

    When you select the Current Date/Time window, the current date, time and
icon are displayed in a small window and updated once a second.

   Press the Minimize button in the upper right corner to shrink the window back to
an icon.


SolSys and Screen Savers

    In the default configuration, SolSys displays a clock beneath the icon.
Since this will automatically update the icon's title once per minute, this may cause
some screen savers, which can sense such activity, to never activate.  A simple
solution is to change the Icon Title field in the About box to some simple word
or words, such as "Our Solar System".  You will not be able to use
SolSys's clock feature (although you could still display the date), but your
screen savers should work again.


Other related programs

    Look for EARTHSxx.ZIP, a Windows icon that shows the current sunlit side
of Earth, GREDSPxx.ZIP, a Windows icon that shows the current position
of Jupiter's Great Red Spot and the four Galilean Satellites, and MARSICxx.ZIP,
a Windows icon that shows the current view of the planet Mars.  All are available
at the Internet FTP site oak.oakland.edu and it's mirrors, ftp.cica.indiana.edu
and it's mirrors, and at the Software Creations BBS (508) 365-2359 (2400,N,8,1),
all in the USA.  All users receive the shareware versions of these programs when they
register.  The current versions are EARTHS26.ZIP, GREDSP36.ZIP and
MARSIC26.ZIP.


Registering SolSys

    Print out the file ORDER.FRM to get a quick order form for registering
SolSys.  This shareware version is not cripple-ware, nag-ware or
free-ware, although it will remind you every 5 times to register until the
evaluation period expires.  When you do register, you will receive the latest
executable version that allows UNLIMITED use of the program with no reminder
box and no expiration.

     All future versions/upgrades of this program are FREE to registered users.
When a new shareware version becomes available, just download it and copy
the new files to the registered version's subdirectory.  It's that simple!

     The cost of the diskette and the mailing charges are all included
in the US $10 registration fee.  Personal checks, money orders and American
Express traveler's checks are all accepted (sorry, I do not yet accept credit
card orders).  You also receive the full Borland C++ 3.1 source code and
Windows resource files used to make this program as well.  The source
code for each future version will be available free for registered
users.

     If you find SolSys useful, please upload it to other bulletin
boards and/or Internet FTP sites so other people can enjoy it, too!


Order Form
                    SolSys 1.0 - Order Form

Return this form along with US $10 to:

                        W. Scott Thoman
                        41 Lee Road
                        Dryden, NY  13053  USA

Registered users are entitled to ALL upgrades AT NO EXTRA COST!
When a new shareware version becomes available, download it and
copy the new files to your registered version's subdirectory.
It's that simple!

You will receive the latest executable version PLUS the Borland
C++ 3.1 source code and Windows resource files on the disk size
you specify below.  Personal checks, money orders and American
Express traveler's checks are all accepted.  (Sorry, I do not
yet accept credit card orders).  You will also receive the
shareware version of three other related icon-programs, one for
the planet Earth (EarthSun; EARTHS26.ZIP), one for Jupiter
(GRedSpot; GREDSP36.ZIP) and one for the planet Mars (MarsIcon;
MARSIC26.ZIP)

   Name ____________________________________

Address ____________________________________________________

        ____________________________________________________

        ____________________________________________________

        ____________________________________________________

Internet/CompuServe Address: _______________________________

Can I e-mail it to you?  ___ .ZIP file ___ UUENCODEd  ___ No

Where did you hear about SolSys? ___________________________

____________________________________________________________

Disk size:   ___ 5.25"   ___ 3.5"

Comments: __________________________________________________

                           THANK YOU!


Troubleshooting

    If you get the About box each and every time you start the program, make
sure you have the program icon's Working Directory set to the directory
where you have the SOLSYS.EXE file.  This allows the program to properly find it's
.INI file.  Make sure your SOLSYS.INI file is in the same subdirectory as the
SOLSYS.EXE file; if it isn't, move it to that subdirectory.  This is the recommended
way to keep all of SolSys's files together.

     If you prefer, you may also set the Working Directory to your Windows subdirectory
explicitly, or just leave it blank to have it default to your Windows subdirectory.  Again,
just make sure that SOLSYS.INI is, indeed, located there.

     Finally, make sure the .INI file is marked as read/write (this is the default);
do NOT mark this file as read-only.


Acknowledgements

    Many thanks go to Mike Andersson (anderss@u.washington.edu) for beta-testing
the initial release.


Acknowledgements2

    Hi Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Brian, Joe, and my wife, Robin.


Revision History

                       SolSys - Revision History

02/18/94 Version 1.0 - Initial Release.


Author Information

    Any suggestions, bugs, ideas, complaints?  Let me know what you think of this
program so I can improve it!  Please include the version number you are using
in all correspondence; this is version 1.0.

Mail Address:

   W. Scott Thoman
   41 Lee Road
   Dryden, NY  13053
   USA

Internet E-Mail Address:

   thoman@law.mail.cornell.edu

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Thank you for using SolSys!
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