Disk No: 2234                                                           
Disk Title: VPT, VFONT, READ, SEL, SNOOP, V7CURS                        
PC-SIG Version: S1                                                      
                                                                        
Program Title: VPT                                                      
Author Version: 3.50                                                    
Author Registration: $20.00                                             
Special Requirements: VGA.                                              
                                                                        
Anyone who wants to improve their color VGA system's look by setting    
their own VGA color shades should try out VPT.                          
                                                                        
This program allows VGA or MCGA users to view the quarter-million       
(262,144) available VGA colors.  It's interactive and easy to use.  It 
has a graphical-type display, there are no "magic numbers" to type.         
                                                                        
Users can also set any text-mode attribute to any color out of the      
quarter-million; control the overscan (a.k.a. border) color (not        
available on MCGA systems); have the colors "stick" with almost all     
programs; load and save their favorite settings in color files, and use 
the program in a command-line mode (for batch files).                   
                                                                        
VPT operates in text mode and allows setting of any or all of the       
sixteen attributes available in text mode.                              
                                                                        
Program Title: VFONT                                                    
Author Version: 4.35                                                    
Author Registration: None.                                              
Special Requirements: VGA.                                              
                                                                        
This program is for anyone tired of the default VGA text-mode font.     
VFONT contains and loads replacement fonts for VGA systems; it includes 
two variations of a "modern" font, and a handwritten "scrawl" font.     
                                                                        
The DOS version is a "terminate-and-stay-resident" program that takes up
approximately 4.5K of RAM, and works only in text modes.  The OS/2      
version calls the OS to request a new font.  OS/2 version only works in 
full-screen sessions.                                                  
                                                                        
The four fonts are modern solid-line, modern double-line,              
scrawl-straight-line, and scrawl-scrawled-line.  Modern is a pleasing,   
san-serif font.  Scrawl is a handwritten-looking "scrawled" font.      
                                                                        
VFONT remains in place even if your software sets the video mode. This  
means the font won't "go away" like with some other font programs.  The 
OS/2 version is saved and restored by the OS when switching between     
screen groups.                                                          
                                                                        
                                                                        
Program Title: Read                                                     
Author Registration: None.                                              
Special Requirements: DOS 3.3 or 4.0                                    
                                                                        
If you are a batch file writer who needs interaction and the use of DOS'
environment variables, here are a couple of utilities to make your life 
easier.                                                                 
                                                                        
Most batch file utilities return results in the ERRORLEVEL.  These      
utilities set an environment variable, which means direct character     
results can be communicated between programs.  If you ask for a Y or N,  
you can test for a Y or N.                                              
                                                                        
READLN and READKEY are programs that get input from the keyboard and    
place it in environment variables.  They're perfect for making          
interactive batch files and much easier to use than utilities that use  
ERRORLEVEL to communicate the results.                                  
                                                                        
READLN displays the prompt (which must be in double quotes) and waits   
for input.  All input up to an ENTER is placed in specified environment 
variables.  If the first letter of var is capitalized, so will the 
input.
                                                                        
READKEY displays the prompt (again in double quotes) and waits for      
input.  ONE character is read (no ENTER is needed) and it is placed in  
the environment variable var.  If the first letter of var is            
capitalized, so will the input character.  If an extended key (function 
key, arrow keys, etc.) is pressed, the ASCII representation of the       
hexadecimal scan code for the key is placed in the variable. If a       
Carriage Return, Escape, BEL, or TAB is pressed, the ASCII              
representation of the character's ASCII code is placed in the variable. 
                                                                        
Program Title: SEL                                                      
Author Version: 6.05                                                    
Author Registration: None.                                              
Special Requirements: CGA, and ANSI driver.                             
                                                                        
SEL is an ANSI color selector for DOS or OS/2 for those who use any ANSI
screen driver (ANSI.SYS, NANSI.SYS, &c. under DOS; ANSI ON for OS/2).   
                                                                        
SEL allows easy color selection using mnemonics instead of numbers; has 
a random color selection mode; and sets the prompt to a contrasting     
color.                                                                  
Program Title: Snoop                                                    
Author Version: 3.93                                                    
Author Registration: None.                                              
Special Requirements: EGA, or VGA.                                      
                                                                        
This isn't an end-user program; rather, it's for programmers and 
advanced users who wish to snoop around a part of the VGA BIOS.  SNOOP 
is a program to show various EGA and VGA pointers maintained by BIOS, 
and display the contents of the tables these pointers point to.  These      
tables include the user palette override table, the alpha character     
override table, and the SAVE_PTR table.  The program also displays the  
current contents of the VGA color registers.                            
Program Title: V7CURS                                                   
Author Version: 1.01                                                    
Author Registration: None.                                              
Special Requirements: VGA with the V7VGA chip set.                      
                                                                        
For anyone who hates blinking cursors and owns a VGA card based on the 
V7VGA chipset, such as the FastWrite VGA and VRAM VGA.                  
                                                                        
V7CURS exploits the non-blinking hardware cursor built into the V7VGA   
chipset by Video-7/Headland Technologies.  It is a small TSR that turns 
off the blinking attribute, leaving you with an "XOR" cursor; this mode 
shows what's underneath the cursor.                                     
                                                                        
PC-SIG                                                                  
1030D East Duane Avenue                                                 
Sunnyvale  Ca. 94086                                                    
(408) 730-9291                                                          
(c) Copyright 1989 PC-SIG, Inc.                                         
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