        
                        Runner -- A Desktop Alternative
        
                                    STARTUP
                       Starting Runner and the Menu Screen

        
                       Copyright (C) 1993 by Dave Thorson
                       Version 1.61     November 18, 1993


        Be sure to read SETUP.HLP before reading this file.  SETUP.HLP 
        describes how to install Runner on your system.

        
$$      Starting Runner

        Double-click on RUNNER.PRG to start the program.  Hold down the 
        Control key as Runner starts if you do not want it to load a 
        picture file.  Runner will determine where its "home" directory 
        is (see SETUP.HLP), and load a RUNNER.CFG file and background 
        picture as appropriate.
        
        If you have a picture or list file named "RUNNERA.PIx" (or .PCx, 
        .PLx, where x=1, 2 or 3), then you can load it on startup by 
        pressing the "a" key as soon as you see the initial Runner 
        copyright message.  For "RUNNERB.PIx", press the "b" key, and so 
        on.  All letter and number keys can be used this way as Runner 
        starts.
        
$$      The Menu Screen

        A typical Runner menu screen might look like this:
        
         --------------------------------------------------------------
        |  Desk  File  Menus  Colors                           09:44:32|
        |==============================================================|
        |                                                              |
        |                      Mr. Dave's Runner                       |
        |                                                              |
        |                      ^ Exit Runner                           |
        |                      * Communications                        |
        |                      * Games                                 |
        |                      * Graphics                              |
        |                      * Music                                 |
        |                      * Programming                           |
        |                      * Word Processing                       |
        |                                                              |
         --------------------------------------------------------------
                
        When you first start Runner you will see a screen such as this, 
        with the title line, "Mr. Dave's Runner" (don't worry, you can 
        change it!) and an exit line that reads "Exit Runner".  The GEM 
        menu bar at the top of the screen (hopefully) acts as you would 
        expect; for more information see MENU_BAR.HLP.  The time display 
        in the upper right can be changed (see KEYBOARD.HLP for 
        details).  If you don't see a date or time, press the Backspace 
        key to change it from none to time to date to time+date and back 
        to none.  The "[" and "]" keys change the time and date formats.

        Left-clicking the mouse on the title line is one way to call up 
        a file selector to view files or run programs not in your menus 
        or any of the standard things a file selector lets you do (see 
        FILSELCT.HLP for details).

        Left-click on the exit line to exit Runner; an alert box will 
        pop up asking you if you do indeed wish to exit.  If you make 
        any changes to your menus that you want to save, or to picture 
        configuration information (menu location, colors, Regions 
        stuff), remember to SAVE these before exiting -- Runner will 
        warn you that changes may be lost.

$$      That leaves the menu list area itself, those lines below the 
        exit line.  In the example above, the lines all contain menu 
        names as indicated by the asterisks (*).  Runner uses the same 
        symbol found in desktop windows and file selectors to denote 
        folders, but the "*" will have to do in this documentation.  Up 
        to fifteen items can appear in the menu area, and they can be 
        menu names, programs, or document/data files.  All menu items 
        can be set to appear only in certain screen resolutions (for 
        example, Word Writer cannot be used in Low Res so you can set it 
        to appear in menus only in Medium and Hi Res).

        Left-clicking the mouse on a menu item selects it.  For the menu 
        names show above, a new menu is opened; Runner moves one level 
        deeper into the menu structure.  If Graphics were selected, the 
        new menu might look like this:

         --------------------------------------------------------------
        |  Desk  File  Menus  Colors                           09:46:27|
        |==============================================================|
        |                                                              |
        |                      Graphics                                |
        |                                                              |
        |                      ^ Up One Level                          |
        |                      * Conversions                           |
        |                      * Slide Shows                           |
        |                        Art Director                          |
        |                        Degas                                 |
        |                        Plans for Movie                       |
        |                        Spectrum 512                          |
        |                                                              |
         --------------------------------------------------------------

        A few things have changed on this menu.  The title line now has 
        the name of the menu choice (Graphics) selected to get here.  It 
        becomes the name of this menu.  You can still Left-click on this 
        new title line to call a file selector.  The exit line now says 
        "Up One Level" instead of "Exit Runner".  Left-clicking on the 
        exit line now exits to the next higher menu level instead of 
        exiting Runner.  At the highest menu level it changes back to 
        "Exit Runner".
        
        Clicking the right mouse button takes you back to the top level 
        menu, no matter how many levels deep you have wandered.

        There are still two menu names in the menu list, and Left-
        clicking on either of these would take you to a still deeper 
        menu level.  There are also several programs listed.  Left-
        clicking on a program will run it.  When the program exits, the 
        menu screen reappears and you can select another program.

        There is also a document called "Plans for Movie".  Depending on 
        how this document file has been defined to Runner, a left-click 
        on this line might display the file with Runner's File View 
        feature, or it might load the file into a word processor.  You 
        decide what actions should be taken, what menu and program names 
        to use in menu lists, and how to organize your menus.
        
        
        $$      Feel free to "tour" through the sample RUNNER.CFG file 
        provided by loading it into Runner.  See how I structure my 
        menus.  I try to avoid going more than two levels deep (too much 
        like opening folder after folder after folder to get to the 
        program I want), and I try to group similar programs together.
        I don't have document/data files in my example menus (but then, 
        I didn't have that feature before) but a lot of people have 
        requested that capability.  One person said he wanted to place 
        ".DO" files for Flash (a communications program) in menus so he 
        could select a .DO file to be loaded into Flash when it starts.  
        The .DO files could be set to connect him to GEnie, Compuserve 
        or other bulletin board services, or to one or more computers 
        where he works.  One mouse click within Runner and the .DO file 
        will cause Flash to be loaded, configured, and even logged into 
        the system of his choice.  Automation is here!

                
        You should take the time to read through the other .HLP files 
        provided with Runner learn how to use the GEM menu bar functions 
        (MENU_BAR.HLP), the add/change dialog box which lets you set up 
        Quickkeys, install applications, set resolutions and force Mini-
        Run to be used for selected programs (DIALOG.HLP), keyboard 
        equivalents and additional Runner commands (KEYBOARD.HLP) and 
        how to use the companion programs Mini-Run, Regions, Rpicname, 
        Rpicsel and Rconvert (OTHERS.HLP).
        
        Runner's help files can also be added to a menu as document 
        files so they'll only be a mouse-click or two away.  "Create a 
        Help" menu and add each help file just like you would add a 
        program.  For flopyy disk users, you could put the help files 
        all on one floppy disk; just be sure to insert it in the disk 
        drive before selecting a help file from the menu!


$$      NOTE: Many of the functions in Runner have an alternate way to 
        use them.  To access these alternate functions (as described in 
        lots of places below), hold down the Control key when pressing 
        the appropriate key or mouse button.  Then release the Control 
        key.  [Users of prior versions: the Alternate key used to work 
        this way, but has now been disabled when selecting pull-down 
        menu choices -- Pressing Alt-N now shows a file selector for 
        drive N: instead of selecting "iNitial" screen colors to be 
        active for the current picture].
        
        The Shift keys are NEVER needed or used except when accessing 
        the "shifted" set of QuickKeys or when loading a picture file 
        (as defined within Regions) by using Shift-0 through Shift-9.  
        Don't worry, all this is explained as needed in the other .HLP 
        files.  For now, just remember that Control causes many 
        functions to behave differently.

        
        [end of STARTUP.HLP]
