---------------------------------------------------------------
                   VB-Res (Freeware Version)
---------------------------------------------------------------
                 Copyright  1996 Gregg Irwin
                     All Rights Reserved.
---------------------------------------------------------------

This software is FREEWARE. You may use it as you see fit for 
your own projects but you may not re-sell the original or a 
derivative. If you redistribute it you must include this 
disclaimer and all original copyright notices. 

No warranty is inferred or implied, as always seems to be the
case with software these days. Use at your own risk. Keep away
from small children. Don't exceed recommended dosage. I'm not
liable, I'm not liable, I'm not liable.

A commercial or shareware version may be forthcoming but that 
will depend on how much value people see in a tool like this.
i.e. is it worth the effort to add all the features a commercial
version should have?

I haven't intentionally crippled the freeware version in any 
way. If you think a critical feature is missing it's just 
because I didn't have, or couldn't justify, the time to put it 
in. Of course I may not have thought about it either.<g>

Things like resource memory load options and a floating File
Browser would be nice to have, I agree, but they don't impede
the general usefulness of VB-Res.

If you have any suggestions on how to improve VB-Res, or if 
you find bugs, I would be more than happy to hear about them.

-- Gregg Irwin [72450,676]


---------------------------------------------------------------
What is VB-Res?
---------------------------------------------------------------
VB-Res is a resource compiler. It creates RES files for use 
with your VB projects. It was written entirely in VB, using 
no VBXs or OCXs. It can create both 16 and 32-bit RES files 
from either the 16 or 32-bit version of VB-Res. It's a Windows 
program so you no longer have to run RC.EXE from a command 
window.

It doesn't support Dialog, Menu, or Accelerator resources
because they can't be used from VB. It does support Bitmap,
Icon, Cursor, StringTable, and custom resources.

VB-Res will require all the runtimes that any VB EXE requires.
They are not included, and there is no setup program. This 
means you have to have VB4 installed on your system in order
to use VB-Res. Why? Because it's freeware, designed for use 
*with* VB, and corners had to be cut somewhere. 

---------------------------------------------------------------
How it works, basically
---------------------------------------------------------------
1) Create a new project.
2) Add resources (ICO, BMP, etc.). 
3) Save your project.
4) Compile your project.

Voila! 

---------------------------------------------------------------
Creating a New Project / Project Options
---------------------------------------------------------------
Select File|New. Pretty tough, eh?

At this point you have an empty, nameless project. 
Not very useful.

When you save the project the first time, VB-Res 
will use the filename as a default "Name" for the
project. The project Name is not linked to the file
name so you can put anything you want in the Name
field under Project|Options. The Name is what will be 
used in the title bar of the project window.

You can also add a description for the project that
will be shown at the bottom of the project window. You
might use this as a note field as well.

The 16 and 32 bit RES file names are the target files
that will be generated by the compiler. Default names
are set when you save the file the first time (or if
you delete the names at some point).


---------------------------------------------------------------
Adding Resources to Projects
---------------------------------------------------------------
You can:

a) Select File|Add File, which will give you a common
   dialog.

b) Drag and drop files from the File Browser onto a 
   project.

c) Double click a file in the File Browser

d) Select a file in the File Browser and hit <Enter>

e) Drag and drop a file from another project

When you add a resource to a Project it is assigned
a default resource ID. You can change the resource ID
to be a different number or a string. 

To do this, first select the resource in the list, 
then right-click on the list. Select Properties from 
the popup menu and change the ID to whatever you want. 

If the first three items in the popup menu are disabled 
it means that no item is selected in the list. 

You can't change the memory options for the resource at 
this time. They will always be disabled in the freeware 
version.


---------------------------------------------------------------
Editing Resources
---------------------------------------------------------------
The first thing to do is configure VB-Res to use the editor(s)
you want. Use the Options/Editors menu item to do this. Then...

To edit a resource:

a) Select a resource, right-click, and select Edit from the 
   context menu.

- or -

b) Double click a resource in the list.

Editors are launched with the resource file name as a command
line parameter. Your editor must support this method in order
to be used with VB-Res. Any decent editor should do this.


---------------------------------------------------------------
Project Files
---------------------------------------------------------------
.VBR files are project files. It's basically a MAK/VBP file
for a VBRes project.


---------------------------------------------------------------
String Tables
---------------------------------------------------------------
.STB files are stringtable files. The format is:

<ID> = <String>

One string per line.

Example:
'-------------------------
'-- VB-Res StringTables
'-------------------------
&H1	= VB-Res
&H2	= Freeware Version 
&H3	= Copyright  1996 by Gregg Irwin


ID *must* be a number, no names allowed. You can use Hex 
notation, if you want, by prefixing the number with "&H".

No quotes around strings.

Strings are Trim'd when compiled.

Expressions (e.g. 1 + 2 ) are not supported for ID's.

Comments in STB files can start with a semicolon or 
single quote (; or ').

If the file extension for the stringtable file is *not*
.STB then the first line in the file must be a header
line indicating that it's an STB file. The header is:

VBRES_STB_100


---------------------------------------------------------------
Credits
---------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks to the brave beta testers who risked life and limb in 
the pursuit of easier RES file creation.

Dan Barclay
Eric Brierley
Michiel de Bruijn
Craig Clearman
Paul Clement
Jim Deutch
Dick Grier
L.J. Johnson
Ibrahim Malluf
Doug Marquardt
David McCarter
Enis Moran
Gary Nelson
Karl Peterson
Pete Roberts
Ron Schwarz
(I Hope I didn't forget anyone!)

Extra thanks to Craig Clearman who provided some valuable 
snippets of code to help with long filename support.

Extra special thanks to Karl Peterson who was the original
guinea pig long, long ago when I first got the wild idea to 
write a resource compiler with pure VB code.

Thanks Guys!

--Gregg


---------------------------------------------------------------
Version History
---------------------------------------------------------------


Version 1.00   April 9, 1996
---------------------------------------------------------------

* Initial release

