Copyright: Copyright 1996 Nelson Ford, PsL


PsL PD/Shareware CD-ROM Access Program

Copyright 1996 Nelson Ford, PsL ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

CONTENTS

Introduction

Installing This Program

The Main Directory Listing

Individual Directory Listings

Getting More Program Details

Viewing Screen Shots

Installing/Copying Files from the CD

Tagging Programs For Later Review

Exporting Directory Listings

Searching for Text

Going to the Full Database Program


Introduction

The PsL Database contains write-ups of

1. The New and Updated Programs:

     Each month we receive over 1000 new and updated programs. Regardless of the section of the month being featured, the new/updated programs can include every type of program we carry (games, business, utilities, etc.) for DOS, Windows and OS/2. We test, review and organize these programs and put them on the monthly CD-ROM. The rapid, low-cost distribution of the latest pd/shareware to users was the founding basis of the PsL Monthly CD-ROM

2. The Section of the Month:

     Each month we put a section of our complete library on the Monthly CD-ROM, in addition to the new/updated programs. Over a *ten-month period, our entire library appears on CD, then the cycle repeats, with each category being updated for the thousands of new/updated programs received during the last *ten months. (*Number of months in the cycle is subject to change.)

Normally, the new/updated programs take up half of the 660MB CD and the section of the month takes up the other half.

When you start the program, you will see a list of the directories on the CD. Double-click on a directory to see its files.

The list for a directory shows for each file the file name, size, and a one-line description. Double-click on the file name for a longer description, registration fee of shareware programs, and author's name.

Press Ctrl-M to return to the main CD directory listing or double-click on the box above the listing which displays the directory name and description.


Installing This Program

This program may be run directly from the CD-ROM. All it needs is VBRUN300.DLL in your path. If you do not have it on your system, you can find that file in the directory, or go to DOS and run the SETUP.BAT file in the root directory.

The first CD to have this program was Vol.4, Num.2. However, any earlier CDs which have a DIRECTRY.TXT file in the root directory should work with this program.

To use this program with earlier CDs, copy PSL_SHRW.EXE and EZAXS.HLP from the _NEWS directory into your WINDOWS (or other) directory on your hard disk.

SPECIFYING YOUR CD-ROM DRIVE:

When the program starts, it will ask you for the letter of your CD-ROM drive. To bypass this prompt, set up an icon for the PSL_SHRW.EXE program in Program Manager and in the Properties window, add the drive letter to the end of the command line.

For example, if your CD-ROM drive is "D:" and you have set up an icon for the PSL_SHRW.EXE program so that "command line" in the Properties window reads "D:_NEWS_SHRW.EXE" then add " D:" to the end of that line so that it reads "D:_NEWS_SHRW.EXE D:".


The Main Directory Listing

The Main Directory Listing is the first listing you see when the program starts. It shows all the directories on the CD, along with a one-line description.

At the end of the list of directories is PsL News for the month.

Double-click on a directory name to see the files in it, or you can press the Enter key or Ctrl-G to "Go to" a highlighted directory or use the Directory menu. Use the cursor keys or the mouse and scroll bar to scroll and page through the directory listing,

When you are in a directory listing, you can press Ctrl-M or use the Directories menu to return to the Main directory.


Individual Directory Listings

When you Go to a directory listing from the Main Directory Listing, you will see a list of all the programs in that directory, showing each program's file name, ZIP file size, and a one-line description.

To return to the Main Directory Listing, press Ctrl-M or use the Directories menu.

Use the cursor keys or mouse and scroll bar to scroll/page through the directory listing.

You can enlarge or reduce the size of the window to see more/less text. You can also change the font size by pressing a key with plus or minus on it. (For the key with "+" and "=" on it, you do not have to press the shift key.) Or you can use the Edit menu to change font size.

See the following pages for information about:

     Getting More Program Details

     Viewing Screen Shots

     Installing/Copying Files From the CD

     Tagging Programs For Later Review


Getting More Program Details

To see more information about a program, including the shareware registration fee, if any, and the author's name, double-click on the line with the file name. You can also just press Enter on a highlighted file name line, or use the Programs & Show-More-Detail menu.

To return to the directory listing, double-click on the file name again, or use the Directories menu to Go to the directory, or press Ctrl-G, or press Enter while on the file name line.

Programs can be installed/copied and screen shots viewed from either the directory listing or the detailed program listing. See the following pages for more information about those functions


Viewing Screen Shots

Screen shots of some programs have been included in the SCREENS directory of the CD. If there is a screen shot for a program, the caption "[SEE SCREEN SHOT]" will appear on the line below the file name.

Double-click on that line to see the screen shot, or press Enter when the SCREEN SHOT line is highlighted or press Ctrl-V or use the Programs menu and select View Screen Shot.

As with the description window, you can resize the screen-shot window by dragging the edges or clicking on the maximize button.

When the screen shot is displayed, you can click on it or press any key to return to the program description window.

Screen shots are a nice bonuse feature unique to PsL's shareware CDs. They allow you to see what a program looks like without having to first install it. Many times a single screen shot can tell you more about a program than the write-up does.

Because of the amount of disk space used by screen shots, we limit them to only the new programs and only the ones of those for which we think the screen shot adds significantly to the write-up.


Installing/Copying Files From the CD

After finding and displaying a program you wish to install or copy, click on the Programs menu. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl-I to install or Ctrl-C to copy a ZIP file from the CD.

Use the drive and directory boxes to select where you want the program installed or copied. The file box is shown just so that you can see the files already in the directories. You can create a new directory if you wish. In fact, it is generally better to unZip to an empty, temporary directory so that it will be easier to delete the files when done. Also, some programs have INSTALL.EXE or SETUP.EXE programs which will install the files into a different directory from the one you unZip into.

Select a dearchiver to use. PKUNZIP and UNZIP are ready to use on the CD-ROM. If you choose to use WinZip, you must install WINZIP.ZIP from the root directory of the CD first.

After you have selected a drive and directory, click Install/Copy. The program will be dearchived from the CD-ROM to the selected directory, then a Program Runner window will show you the files in the directory.

Follow the prompts on the Program Runner window for setting up the program, viewing program instructions, and running the program.

IMPORTANT: A few programs may come in more than one archive file. In this case, the second archive will have a separate entry in the directory listing with a comment to see the first file in the set for a description. When installing or copying the program, you must install/copy each file in the set individually. (In the main database program, all files in a set are copied in one command.)

Files for each program on the PsL CD are combined into an archive file to keep them from getting mixed up with the files from other programs. The PsL program dearchives these files to your selected directory. However, it is not uncommon for there be an installation program which must be run after you have unZipped the files.

We are frequently asked why the user must go through two installations in cases like this. The answer is that many authors require the distribution of their programs in this manner and we must comply.

USING WINZIP:

Since WinZip is a stand-alone program for dearchiving files, you can bypass the Install window by selecting "Load Into WinZip" in the Programs menu or by pressing Ctrl-W when on a line with a ZIP file name.

If you are using WinZip, you can view files in the archive without having to dearchive the ZIP file to your hard disk first. Read the instructions (Help on the menu bar) in the WinZip program for more info.

Hoever, if you use Ctrl-W to bypass the Install window, you will not get the Program Runner window which can make it easier to test programs.


Tagging Programs For Later Review

When looking through program descriptions, you may tag a file to come back to later. (This is often referred to as a "bookmark".) While on a file name line, press Ctrl-T to tag the program, or use the Programs-Tag menu to tag it.

To go back to a previously tagged program, use the Programs-Prior menu or press Ctrl-P. To go to the next tagged program, use the Programs-Next menu or press Ctrl-N.

This feature works whether in a directory listing or in the detailed program listing.

To untag a file, use the Programs-Untag menu or press Ctrl-U.


Exporting Directory Listings

If you would like to export a directory listing for printing, etc., use the Directories-Export menu. This will create a file in the root directory of C: and shell to Notepad to view, print, or edit the file.

The file name in C:will be given the name of the directory with an extension indicating the operating system (example: "GAMES.DOS").

This directory listing will contain just what is shown in the directory listing box. If you want a directory listing with the full descriptions of each program, use File Manager to view the directories and load the FILES.BBS file for the desired directory into your editor or file viewer. NOTE: Some FILES.BBS files are larger than Notepad's 64k limit. To view these files, you can import them into Window's Write or some other full word processor.


Searching for Text

For lengthier directory listings, you can do a text search to locate text easier than scrolling through the listing.

Use the Edit-Search menu to enter the text to find.

Use the Edit-Find-Next-Match menu for the next occurence, or press F3.


Going to the Full Database Program

PsL's full set of CD-ROMs contains over 20,000 different programs. The full PsL PD/Shareware Database Program ("PsL_DB.EXE") on each CD lets you search for and read about all of those programs.

It also lets you search for programs on the current CD by program name, file name, program type, key word, author/publisher's name, as well as by free text search.

PsL_DB displays full contact information, when available, for the authors of all the programs.

PsL_DB will also let you view screen shots, install programs, and perform other functions more technical than in this program.

To run PsL_DB, use the File menu.

NOTE: This program is for use on the PsL Monthly CD-ROMs only. The PsL Monthly CD comes in a wrap-around package with what looks like a CD-ROM floating in space.

Please support and protect the work done by PsL to provide this CD by reporting to us any other use of this program or repackaging of this CD.

Be sure to subscribe to the PsL Monthly CD so that you don't miss a single issue. A subscription is just $19.95 per month plus $4 s&h, billed monthly, cancel any time.

To order, call 800-2424-PsL or 713-524-6394 or FAX 713-524-6398 or visit our Internet site at "http://206.109.101.6" or write to

PsL, P.O.Box 35705, Houston, TX 77235-5705