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LangWin 2.4 (C) Copyright Allen L. Lang, 1993,1994       ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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LangWin is a QuickBASIC program development toolkit. It contains a library
of functions and subroutines that can be used to easily create standard
Graphical User Interface (GUI) features in your compiled text-mode
QuickBASIC or BASIC PDS programs (sorry, LangWin CANNOT be used with the
QBASIC interpreter in DOS 5.0 or later). 

GUI features supported include: opening/closing windows with drop-shadows, 
scrollable text, push buttons, click boxes, dialog boxes, editable input 
fields, etc. LangWin's GUI routines support both mouse and keyboard input. 
Windows created by LangWin can be moved and resized (mouse only). LangWin
also contains stand-alone routines that can be used to add mouse support to your 
QuickBASIC programs that do not use LangWin. Mouse features include: 
initialization, get/set position, get button status, hide/show cursor, set 
horizontal/vertical limits, etc. Finally, LangWin has several functions that 
allow you to get the default drive and directory, change the default 
drive/directory, and extract all file/sub-directory names from the current 
directory. 

LangWin supports both the QuickBASIC 4.5 and BASIC PDS 7.1 compilers.
If you do not have both compilers, you can save disk space by
deleting the LangWin files for the compiler that you do not have.
See "LangWin's Files" below for a description of each file.

If you haven't already done so, I recommend that you create a separate
directory (LWV24) on your hard disk for all LangWin 2.4 files.
If you have a previous version of LangWin, you can delete those files.



LangWin's Files:
================

These files are always needed:
------------------------------
LANGWIN.DOC    - LangWin User's Guide (read this file).
LANGWIN.BI     - LangWin's include file (used by compiler)
WINHELP.BAS    - Online help text for each LangWin function 
                  

These files are only needed for the QuickBasic compiler:
-------------------------------------------------------- 
LANGWIN.LIB    - QuickBASIC LIB
LANGWIN.QLB    - QuickBASIC quick library


These files are only needed for BASIC PDS compiler:
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LANGWINP.LIB   - BASIC PDS LIB
LANGWINP.QLB   - BASIC PDS quick library


These files contain sample source code. They demonstrate many
LangWin functions, and they will help you understand how to
create GUI programs using LangWin. See "Getting Started" below 
for instructions on how to load and run the sample programs.
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SAMPLE01.BAS
SAMPLE02.BAS
SAMPLE03.BAS
SAMPLE04.BAS
SAMPLE05.BAS


These files contain GUI programs developed with LangWin.
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WINCOLOR.EXE   - assists in selecting color combinations for windows
FINDFILE.EXE   - search hard disk for files
NUKEFILE.EXE   - completely delete files 


This file is only needed to create LangWin's files.
You can delete this file from your hard disk (keep it on your floppy).
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LWV24.ZIP      - Creates LangWin's files




Getting Started
===============
After installing LangWin, you will only be able to use it from
the installation directory (LWV24). Attempting to use LangWin from another
directory will result in the following error message:
	
	Cannot find file (LANGWIN.QLB). Input path:
  
To avoid this error, you must copy some of LangWin's files to
the QB or PDS program directory. See "2.0 Getting Started" in LANGWIN.DOC
for instructions on what files to copy and where to copy them.


I've found there are two categories of computer users: those that read the 
documentation first then dig into the application, and those that go right 
for the application without examining the documentation.

If you are the type that likes to read the documentation first:

    * Open LANGWIN.DOC with any text editor/browser.
      LANGWIN.DOC describes all of LangWin's functions and features.
      This is a long file and will take awhile to read, but if you want
      to be able to take advantage of all LangWin's functions, you
      will have to read LANGWIN.DOC.

    * Run QB and load the WINHELP module. Hit F2 to see a list of all
      LangWin's routines. Select a routine to see its purpose, parameters,
      return codes, notes for usage, etc. You can keep the WINHELP module
      in the QB environment while doing development and have instant access
      to reference information on all LangWin routines.

    * Load the SAMPLE programs and run them to see what they do, and how 
      they use LangWin's features.

    * Run WINCOLOR to help you pick color combinations for your windows.

        

If you like to jump right in, or want to get a quick start, then
change to LangWin's directory (LWV24) and enter one the following
(see note at beginning of this section, you MUST be in the LWV24
directory when you start QB):

        qb /ah /L langwin	--- if you use QuickBASIC

            or

        qbx /ah /L langwinp     --- if you use BASIC PDS

This will load your QuickBASIC or BASIC PDS environment,
along with the LangWin quick library. Then:

        select File
        select Open Program ...
        select SAMPLE01.BAS
        run the program

You'll see some examples of what can be done with LangWin.
You can examine the code to see how it works. Open and run the other
sample programs.



If you want to take full advantage of LangWin, then you should:
	* take the time to read all of LANGWIN.DOC
        * review all members in WINHELP.BAS
        * review all sample programs. 

This will take an investment of your time. However, you'll gain a better
understanding of LangWin's functions, and be able to take advantage of all
its features to produce programs with a professional quality GUI. 






           Allen Lang
           121 Windsor Commons
           Cranbury, NJ 08512

           Internet address: all@cc.bellcore.com

           9/17/94   

