
















                                       HANDBOOK

                                     Version 1.31
                                   September, 1991 

                                   The Nit Orchard
                                  2225 Desert Drive
                                 Las Cruces, NM 88001





                                      USER GUIDE




                                  BRIEF DESCRIPTION
           
          HANDBOOK  is designed to produce a 3-1/2" by 5-1/2" handbook from
          a specially formatted ASCII text file. The handbook is printed on
          both  sides of 8-1/2" by 11" paper,  eight pages to a sheet, laid
          out for staple binding. 
           
          An   alternate  layout,  Mini-Manual,  prints  5-1/2"  by  8-1/2"
          double-sided  pages   suitable  for  loose  leaf   binding  in  a
          medium-sized notebook. 
           
          HANDBOOK  is intended to run on IBM PC compatible computers using
          MS/PC-DOS 2.11 and higher. 

          No display graphics capability is required, however HANDBOOK  can
          take advantage of EGA and VGA extended text modes, if available.
           







                                      OPERATION

                                  Starting HANDBOOK
           
          To start HANDBOOK, enter HANDBOOK <Enter>. There are  no required
          command-line arguments.

          HANDBOOK has only two menus, MAIN and CONFIGURE.

          Your choices at  the main  menu are to  (P)rint, (V)iew,  (E)dit,
          (C)onfigure, get (H)elp, or e(X)it to DOS.

          The  first time  you run  HANDBOOK, you  must review  the default
          configuration. You  may change any parameter,  get (H)elp, (S)ave
          the configuration to disk, or e(X)it  to the Main Menu. The first
          time you  run HANDBOOK, the configuration  is saved automatically
          upon exit.

          Optional /m and  /c command line  arguments allow your  disabling
          automatic  color or  monochrome operation.  /m  forces monochrome
          mode,  and  /c  forces color  mode.  It  is  possible that  these
          parameters  may be  useful for  LCD displays  or to  provide grey
          scale on monochrome monitors.

          The configurable  parameters  are  (D)ata  drive,  (W)ork  drive,
          (P)rinter,  (C)opies, (F)orms,  (L)ayout,  (T)ext File,  (E)ditor
          Name, Video (M)ode, and Video (A)ttributes.

          "Data drive" refers to the drive that contains your Handbook text
          file. Any valid drive can be selected. (Handbook tries to prevent
          you from selecting  a non-existent  file, so  the current  (T)ext
          file name may change when a new data drive is selected.)

          "Work drive" refers  to the drive used to  build a temporary work
          file  during the  Handbook Print  and View  routines. Again,  any
          valid  drive  can  be   selected.  Approximately  1.5  KBytes  of
          temporary work file space is required for each Handbook page.

          "Printer"  provides a  menu  of printers  supported by  HANDBOOK.
          Select an appropriate printer by menu number.

          "Copies" allows  you to  print up  to nine  copies of  a Handbook
          without  having to  intervene until  all copies  of side  one are
          printed and it's time to turn over the paper and print side two.

          "Forms" lets you choose continuous forms or cut sheets  (manually
          loaded) for your handbook. Continuous forms is by far easier, but
          if you  must use manually loaded  cut sheets, you should  be able
          to. (Select "Continuous Forms" when using  a Laserjet printer and
          most cut sheet feeders.)

          "Layout" refers to whether you will print a pocket-sized Handbook
          or a sheaf of medium-sized loose leaf pages.







          "Text File" is  your Handbook  text data file.  The current  data
          drive is scanned for files  ending with ".HBK", one of  which can
          be selected by  menu number.  Select "New File"  to create a  new
          Handbook data file. (Handbook tries to prevent the selection of a
          non-existent file, so the current file name may change when a new
          data drive is selected.)

          "Editor Name" is the complete path and filename of the editor YOU
          want to use to edit a Handbook file. Handbook does not include an
          editor, and the  default editor is  simply "edlin", the  standard
          line  editor provided with MSDOS  since day one.  HANDBOOK can be
          configured  to  use any  editor which  will  fit into  the memory
          available  while HANDBOOK  is loaded.  The available  memory will
          vary from PC to PC. The memory constraint may preclude the use of
          larger Word Processors, such as WordStar, WordPerfect and similar
          fare.  HANDBOOK has been tested  with edlin, DOS  5.0 Edit, QEdit
          2.1,  vi (from MKS Toolkit), and VDE (Video Display Editor) 1.61,
          all of which are acceptable.

          "Video Mode" refers to the number of 80 character lines displayed
          on  the  monitor.  25x80  is available  to  all  video  hardware,
          monochrome or  color, and is  the standard mode  most PCs  run at
          startup.  43x80 is available with  EGA and VGA  hardware, and has
          the advantage  of  allowing  the  (V)iew  feature  to  present  a
          Handbook as  facing  pages.  50x80 is  only  available  with  VGA
          hardware,  and offers  the  additional capability  of viewing  an
          entire  Mini Manual page  on one  screen rather  than in  top and
          bottom  halves. Extended  modes  can  be  selected even  if  your
          hardware  does not support them, however only the number of lines
          supported by the video  hardware will be displayed, and  the part
          of the  display which would have  been below line 25  will not be
          visible.

          "Video Attributes"  refers  to  the colors  and  bold  and  blink
          attributes assigned to various parts of the HANDBOOK display. Use
          the arrow keys to move the brackets or highlight to the attribute
          you want to  change, then use  function keys F1  to F8 to  select
          foreground  and  background  colors, and  F9  and  F10  to toggle
          foreground bold and blink attributes. When using monochrome video
          adapters, selecting colors and attributes will have no effect. If
          a color  adapter is  used with a  monochrome display, you  may be
          able to adjust grey scale attributes using this routine.

          Running HANDBOOK is not very difficult, and the best way to learn
          how is simply to get started.







                                Entering Handbook Text
           
          Select (E)dit from  the Main  Menu to edit  the current  Handbook
          data file. 

          If you  want to begin  a new  Handbook data file  you must  first
          select (C)onfigure from  the Main Menu,  then select (T)ext  file
          from the Configure Menu. Next, select "New File" from the list of
          data files and enter a  valid file name when prompted. It  is not
          necessary  to enter the file extension, ".HBK". The new data file
          will be  created on the  data drive and  assigned as  the current
          Handbook data file.

          Prior to version 1.20, both Handbook and Mini-Manual layouts used
          36  lines  and columns  per  page.  Mini-Manual  layout has  been
          expanded to 46 lines and columns to make better use of the larger
          page. (Thanks to Richard Scott for this suggestion...)

          Use  the ASCII,  or NON-document  mode of  a word  processor when
          entering  your  handbook text.  HANDBOOK  has  been tested  using
          several editors,  including WordStar,  PC Write, VDE,  QEdit, and
          MSDOS 5.0 Edit, all of which are equally sufficient. 

          Current versions  of several popular word  processors may require
          more  memory  to  run  than  is  available  within  the  HANDBOOK
          environment. If this is the case  with your editor of choice, you
          can still use it by exiting HANDBOOK and  running the editor from
          the DOS prompt.

          If you force  HANDBOOK to  process a word  processor format  file
          such as those normally  produced by WordStar or  WordPerfect, and
          especially if  picture graphics are used,  the resulting handbook
          will most likely  be unusable. You should expect  similar results
          with most other  special word processor  file formats. Stay  with
          ASCII, DOS Text, NON-document, or a similar mode.

          HANDBOOK  can print  graphics CHARACTERS, such  as those  used to
          draw  menu boxes on the  monitor screen, if  the printer supports
          the IBM PC extended character  set without translation. Most late
          model dot matrix printers  can print these characters, especially
          if the printer can emulate the IBM ProPrinter.

          You  can enter extremely long  lines, and HANDBOOK  will wrap the
          words to the next  lines, but you'll probably get  better results
          if you enter your text just as you want it to appear.

          A  handbook need not take  advantage of any  advanced features in
          order to be useful, especially if  it is quite short, for example
          a two or three page list of phone numbers.

          However,  if your handbook text file is larger than ten kilobytes
          in  size,   adding  headers,  subheaders,  and   an  accompanying
          alphabetical index may be desirable.







                               Formatting Handbook Text

          All  special  formatting  features   are  controlled  with  "dot"
          commands, similar to those used with  WordStar. HANDBOOK uses dot
          commands  to control  headers, indexing,  page breaks,  and blank
          lines. All dot  commands begin with  a period (.) in  column one,
          have  two specific  characters, either  upper or  lower  case, in
          columns  two and three, and may accept a parameter starting after
          column three.

          The valid dot commands are: 

               .pa                 Start a new page 

               .pa #               Start a  new page  if less than  # lines
                                   left on the current page. 

               .bl                 Leave a line blank 

               .bl #               Leave a block of  # lines blank. Start a
                                   new page  if less  than # lines  left on
                                   the current page.

               .h1 [text]          Start a  new page,  using [text]  as the
                                   header at the top. If room, print [text]
                                   double  width  and  centered.  Create  a
                                   major  index entry of  [text]. Leave one
                                   line blank under [text].

               .h2 [text]          Start  a new  page only  if less  than 6
                                   lines  left  on current  page. Otherwise
                                   leave  one  line  blank,   print  [text]
                                   centered, and leave another  line blank.
                                   Create a minor index entry with [text].

               .ix [text]          Create a major index entry with [text].

               .sw                 Print  header  (.h1)  text using  single
                                   width characters.

               .dw                 If room,  print header (.h1)  text using
                                   double width characters.

               .ns                 Do  NOT  sort  index. (Handy  for  Roman
                                   Numerals)

               .ca                 Insert a six-month calendar  starting on
                                   a  new page,  using the  system  date to
                                   determine  the  first  month.  Create  a
                                   major index entry for the calendar.

               .ca mm-dd-yyyy      Insert a six-month calendar  starting on
                                   a   new   page,   using  mm-dd-yyyy   to
                                   determine the first month.







               .ca prompt          Prompt for valid calendar starting date.


               .dt                 Insert current system date.

               .ta #               Set Horizontal  Tab interval to 2, 4, or
                                   8  column  intervals. A  parameter other
                                   than  2, 4,  or  8  leaves the  interval
                                   unchanged.

               .wi #               Set  Word  Wrap  Indentation to  #.  The
                                   default  is  2, and  the valid  range is
                                   from  zero to  one  third  of  the  page
                                   width.  An  invalid  parameter   has  no
                                   effect.

               .no                 Insert "NOTES" page.

               .mn #               Set  Minimum  Number  of  "NOTES"  pages
                                   added after the index. Valid numbers are
                                   1 to 20.

               .. [text]           Comment,  not  processed. Also,  illegal
                                   dot commands are treated as comments and
                                   the entire line will be ignored.







                                        Index
           
          The  index is sorted so  as to keep .h2 entries  in a group under
          the .h1 entry immediately preceding them.

          The  idea with  this type of  index is  to use  broad descriptive
          names or titles as .h1 text, while using more pertinent labels as
          .h2 text.

          This will produce  an index  in which  it is  relatively easy  to
          locate a topic, under which several specific items are indexed. 

          Index entries created using .ix are sorted as a major index entry
          with no group of minor entries.

          Use  of the .ns  (no sort) command anywhere  in the handbook file
          disables the sorting of the index for that file.

                                     Notes Pages

          HANDBOOK appends at least one and as many as twenty three "NOTES"
          pages after the  index has  been processed.  The default  minimum
          number  of "NOTES" pages  is three, which  can be changed  to any
          value from one to  twenty using the minimum notes  (.mn) command.
          Additional  "NOTES"  pages may  be  appended  to  ensure  that  a
          bindable number of pages is printed.

                                    Suggestion...
           
          Try printing  the sample handbook  text using HANDBOOK  and again
          with  the  command, "COPY  SAMPLE.HBK  PRN", to  compare  the dot
          commands with  their results. Extremely  long lines were  used in
          that file to allow it  to fill to the margins in  either Handbook
          or Mini-Manual layout.







                                 Viewing the Handbook

          (V)iew  provides an  opportunity  to preview  what will  actually
          print on each page  BEFORE printing. View uses text  video modes,
          and does  not require  graphics capability, however  HANDBOOK can
          take advantage of  EGA and VGA  extended text modes  if they  are
          available.

          In viewing  a Handbook using a  standard 25 row video  mode, each
          page  is presented on a single screen,  the top half on the left,
          the bottom to the  right. In EGA 43 row,  or in VGA 50 or  60 row
          modes, the Handbook pages are shown as facing pages.

          In standard  25 row and EGA  43 row modes, Mini  Manual pages are
          split  between two screens,  each showing half  the printed page.
          When VGA 50  row mode is  used, the entire  page is shown  on one
          screen.

          Press "PageDown" to view the Next  page, or "PageUp" to view  the
          Previous one. 

          View  the First  or  Last  page  by  pressing  "Home"  or  "End",
          respectively. 

          To view a particular page, enter the page number and press Enter.

          When viewing a Mini  Manual in 25 row or 43 row modes, either the
          (T)op  or (B)ottom half of the page  can be displayed. When a new
          page  is selected, the top  half of the  page is displayed first.
          View the bottom half by pressing "B".

          Press  "S" to  (S)earch  for text,  selecting any  combination of
          (G)lobal, (I)gnore case, and (B)ackward search parameters to make
          the search more versatile. 

          With  no parameters, the search begins on the NEXT page, proceeds
          to the END of the Handbook, and IS case sensitive. 

          (B)ackward  causes the search to  begin on the  PREVIOUS page and
          proceed toward the First page. 

          (G)lobal causes the  search to start with the First  or Last page
          depending on whether the (B)ackward parameter is also specified. 

          (I)gnore case means that Upper and Lower case letters are treated
          alike. 

          Abort a search by pressing the Escape key.

          The search text and parameters entered are remembered, unless the
          search is  aborted using  Escape. This allows  successive similar
          searches without having to do a lot of retyping. 







          To change the search text or a parameter, delete the character to
          the left of the cursor using Backspace, or Erase the entire field
          with Control E (This  means hold down the "Control" key and press
          E, then release both keys). Control D performs the same function.

          After  the search  is complete,  a status  line will  display the
          results of the search.  If the search is successful,  the page on
          which  the text  was found  is displayed,  with the  "found" text
          highlighted (Color) or in upper case (Monochrome). 

          While browsing through the Handbook, if search text happens to be
          found  on the displayed page,  it will display  highlighted or in
          upper case.

          Press "Esc" to return to the Main Menu.







                                Printing the Handbook

          Select "P" from  the Main  Menu to (P)rint  the Handbook or  Mini
          Manual.

          HANDBOOK is designed  to print on both  sides of 8 1/2 x  11 inch
          paper,  positioning the printed pages so that they can be trimmed
          from the sheet and bound using staples in the case of a Handbook,
          or punched for a loose leaf or spiral binder for a Mini Manual.

          The paper must be fed through the printer twice in order to print
          on both sides. Handbook pages are printed from the outside of the
          Handbook  to the center, and  Mini Manual pages  are printed from
          the start of the Mini Manual  to the end. When printing side two,
          the "back" side of the  paper, be sure to  feed the paper in  the
          same direction as when  side one, the "front" side,  was printed,
          so that the pages are in  the correct order for binding. Also, be
          sure that the paper is turned over so the printing is now done on
          the "back" side.  Positioning the paper can be a bit confusing. I
          should know  this program well  enough to  be able to  load paper
          correctly in my sleep, but I still goof it up occasionally.

          If you  are using a LaserJet  printer or a cut  sheet feeder, the
          page order will have to be reversed before reloading the pages in
          the cassette to print side two.

          For a  LaserJet, the pages should be loaded for side two with the
          blank  side up and  the top  of the page  toward the rear  of the
          printer, the first  page to be printed on the  top of the stacked
          sheets. 

          HANDBOOK does not support HP LaserJet-IIId Duplex Mode.

          For a cut  sheet feeder, the first page to be  printed must be on
          the top of the stack, the blank side on  the back, and the top of
          the printed page at the bottom of the bin so that the top edge of
          the printed page feeds through the printer first. 

          Remove  any  "curl" the  pages  acquired  during the  first  pass
          through  the  printer to  reduce  paper  feed problems.  Usually,
          pulling them gently across the edge of a desk is enough to do the
          trick without making them curl the other way.

          Plus  (+) signs are printed  alongside the Handbook  text to help
          determine where to cut, fold (spindle, mutilate),  and staple the
          pages. When printing a  Mini Manual, a combination of  minus (-),
          plus (+),  and vertical  bar (|)  signs are  used to outline  the
          pages.

          It  may be  necessary to  adjust the  horizontal position  of the
          paper slightly in order  that the printing on the  front and back
          sides  align correctly.  With most  printers, a  position  can be
          found where the paper  does not need to be  adjusted horizontally
          between  printing the  front and  back sides.  On the  C.Itoh and







          Epson printers used  to test HANDBOOK,  that position causes  the
          leftmost plus signs to print 1/4 to 5/16 of an inch from the edge
          of the paper.

          The  vertical position of the  paper is critical  for a Handbook,
          less important for  a Mini Manual.  For a handbook,  the top  and
          bottom  margins of the sheet should be  equal. If you are using a
          C.Itoh ProWriter or Draft printer, a set of plus signs will print
          exactly over  the perforations  between sheets when  the vertical
          alignment is correct.

          Two  short  Handbook   files,  "hbkalign.hbk"  (one  sheet)   and
          "minialgn.hbk" (two sheets) have been included to help locate the
          proper  starting points  for Handbook  and Mini  Manual printing,
          respectively.

          For cutting out the pages, the best  tool I have tried is a paper
          cutter.

          For  a  Handbook,  the  paper  should  be  cut  exactly  in  half
          horizontally, to that each  Handbook page is 5 1/2" high.  If the
          paper was positioned perfectly during printing, the cut should go
          exactly through  the horizontal row  of plus signs  between sheet
          halves. 

          The  side margins  should be  trimmed to  be equal.  Since it  is
          simplest  to make as  few cuts as possible,  I recommend that the
          left margin NOT be trimmed to the plus signs. Rather,  extend the
          right margin a matching distance past the right plus signs.

          Next, stack the pages in order, starting with page 1 face down on
          the left  (you will then  be looking at  page two and  the second
          from  last   page),  separating   pages  still  connected   by  a
          perforation.

          A cover  the same size as  the Handbook can be  cut from heavier,
          perhaps colored, paper to protect the printed pages.

          Insert two  or three staples from the  outside of the Handbook to
          bind  it together. Be careful  to center the  staples between the
          facing Handbook pages.

          The final steps  are to fold the  Handbook and, if necessary,  to
          trim the page edges a final time to make them line up properly.







                                       DETAILS

          An  MS-DOS service  is used  to determine  how many  legal drives
          exist  in the  system. This  determines how  many drives  will be
          presented as  legal drives during configuration.  Prior to MS-DOS
          version  3, this  service always  returned  the proper  number of
          drives. However,  beginning with  MS-DOS version 3,  this service
          returns a value of five or  the value corresponding to the  drive
          code  contained in the  LASTDRIVE entry,  if any,  in CONFIG.SYS.
          This  means  that if  no LASTDRIVE  entry  is used,  HANDBOOK may
          erroneously  report that drives A: through E: exist, when in fact
          there may be fewer or more. In any event you should restrict your
          selection  of a drive to drives which actually exist, even though
          more may be listed in the drive menu.
           
          When you select  "Draft Printer" and "Handbook" layout, you must,
          before you start  printing, set your printer  for Pica Compressed
          Pitch (17 characters per inch) and Eight Lines Per Inch linefeeds
          (1/8" linefeed). If  you cannot do this on your printer, then you
          cannot properly print "Handbook"  layout. When "Draft Printer" is
          selected, only text  (NO printer  control codes) is  sent to  the
          printer,  forcing  you to  set  the printer  manually  before you
          start. Try it...

          A  bug which  prevents HANDBOOK  from running  on a  Leading Edge
          Model  D computer  and on  a  true blue  IBM PC  has  come to  my
          attention.  The  effect is  that  HANDBOOK  apparently loads  but
          displays  nothing,  locking up  the PC.  Cold  boot time.  On the
          Leading Edge,  even a "do  nothing" QuickBASIC program  locks up,
          however  the   IBM  will   run  some  QuickBASIC   programs.  I'm
          investigating this...

          When HANDBOOK encounters, during  the (P)rint or (V)iew routines,
          an  invalid date  or the word  "Prompt" as  a parameter  to a .ca
          (insert  calendar) dot command, you  will be prompted  to enter a
          valid date, press X <Enter> for no calendar, or <Enter> alone for
          a calendar  based upon the current  system date. If you  elect to
          enter  a new  date, you  MUST (!)  enter the  date in  the format
          MM-DD-YYYY, INCLUDING LEADING ZEROS AND HYPHENS.

          If you  use an  editor which  employs word  wrap,  set the  right
          margin to 35 (not 36) for  a Handbook, or 45 (not 46) for  a Mini
          Manual.  Many editors leave the  space character between words on
          the  end of  each  wrapped  line,  and  HANDBOOK  will  wrap  any
          characters beyond column 36  (or 46) to  the next line. This  can
          result in blank lines occasionally being inserted by HANDBOOK for
          no apparent reason. HANDBOOK could be designed to ignore trailing
          spaces,  but I  have  mixed feelings  about  programs that  think
          they're smarter than  the typist.  I am open  for suggestions  on
          this one...







                                      SHAREWARE
           
          HANDBOOK is NOT in the public domain and it is NOT free.

          HANDBOOK  is the Copyrighted Property of The Nit Orchard, and all
          rights are reserved exclusively to The Nit Orchard.
           
          If  you  are  in the  business  of  acquiring  software and  then
          attempting  to restrict  further  distribution of  that software,
          then  you are cautioned that  HANDBOOK is NOT  available for such
          acquisition and/or restriction.

          HANDBOOK is being released under the "ShareWare" concept.

          ShareWare is unique  in that you have a reasonable  time in which
          to "test drive" a program before paying for it. If  you decide to
          use the  program on a  regular basis, you  are expected to  pay a
          "Licensing  Fee"  or  "Registration   Fee"  to  the  author.  The
          licensing fee is usually less than  $50 and is almost never  over
          $100.

          This compares very  favorably with purchasing  a program in  your
          favorite store  for a large  sum of  hard-earned plastic  credit,
          with no recourse if the program turns out to be unsuited for your
          application.  In  that event,  you  are out  the  purchase price,
          perhaps several hundreds of dollars.

          With ShareWare,  you are out NOTHING with  the possible exception
          of a few bucks' shipping if you paid somebody to send you a copy.

          It  has been my experience that few people actually pay ShareWare
          licensing  fees, the rationale being that nobody needs to pay for
          something they already have. I think that the tendency to fail to
          pay for ShareWare  may herald the  ultimate undoing of  ShareWare
          distribution. If ya don't use it, ya lose it...

          ShareWare has  the potential to provide quality  programs at very
          low  cost compared to the  prices charged by  many large software
          publishers.

          This  seems a  good idea.  It  can do  no less  than force  large
          software   publishers  to  reduce   their  prices  to  reasonably
          competitive  levels. We can look  at advertisements in nearly any
          computer  magazine and see that there are some very nice software
          packages available, at very attractive prices.

          Only a  few years ago,  this was not  the case. I  paid well over
          $100  for a GW-BASIC interpreter, and another $150 for a GW-BASIC
          compiler, both of which were riddled with bugs.  I also paid over
          $300 for P-System, but I digress...

          Compare that situation  with a package like Borland's Turbo BASIC
          or Microsoft's QuickBASIC,  to mention only two,  either of which







          are available from many sources for under $100, and which are far
          superior programming environments in comparison to GW-BASIC.

          Certainly  ShareWare is  not the  only factor  affecting software
          prices over the last few years,  yet it IS a factor, and software
          would not be  available so  reasonably today had  not there  been
          steady pressure to reduce prices in competition with ShareWare.

          The reason  for this lengthy prose is to encourage you to PAY for
          ShareWare,  not only this program, but all programs that you use.
          If few users pay for ShareWare, an author has  far less incentive
          to continue to develop  enhancements and improvements to existing
          software, or to begin the development of new software.

          So, by paying for ShareWare, you send the author a clear message:
          "This is a worthwhile program. Keep working on those upgrades." 

          I think the ShareWare concept is an important one to support, and
          the  asking price  of HANDBOOK  is  beyond a  shadow  of a  doubt
          reasonable. If  you find HANDBOOK useful enough to use regularly,
          then you should pay for it.

          If  you wish  to use  HANDBOOK  without paying  for it,  then you
          certainly can do so, though with my express disapproval. You will
          have only yourself to answer to.

          In the case of HANDBOOK, which can be registered for as little as
          FIVE DOLLARS, THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE TO NOT PAY  FOR IT if
          you  use it regularly. Certainly, FIVE DOLLARS is not too much to
          pay for any useful program.







                               LICENSING AND MARKETING

          If you use HANDBOOK, or a document you produce using HANDBOOK, on
          a regular basis, then you are  responsible for voluntarily paying
          a licensing fee described in detail below, to: 

          The Nit Orchard
          2225 Desert Drive
          Las Cruces, NM 88001

          There are three ways to license HANDBOOK:

          Send your Name and Address, and...

          1. Send a FIVE dollar licensing fee. Your name will be added to a
          list of registered  users, and  The Nit Orchard  will respond  to
          correspondence or questions on  HANDBOOK. Your conscience will be
          clear...

          2. Send  a TEN  dollar licensing  fee. The  Nit Orchard  will, in
          addition to  the above,  mail you  printed documentation  and the
          latest version of HANDBOOK on 5 1/4" or 3 1/2"  diskette. We will
          also  notify you in  writing of the  next two major  revisions of
          HANDBOOK, which you may request for a five dollar handling fee.

          3. Send a TWENTY dollar licensing  fee. The Nit Orchard will mail
          the latest version of HANDBOOK, as above, and  will also mail the
          next  two major  revisions of HANDBOOK  without waiting  for your
          request, and free of any additional handling fee.

          HANDBOOK is available by mail directly from The Nit Orchard using
          either the TEN or TWENTY dollar licensing options above.

          Please address your request to:

          The Nit Orchard
          2225 Desert Drive
          Las Cruces, NM 88001

          HANDBOOK  may be  available for  downloading from  Bulletin Board
          Systems.  Look for  a  file  called  HNDBKnnn.EXE,  HNDBKnnn.ZIP,
          HNDBKnnn.ZOO, etc, where nnn is the version number.

          Some  Shareware   Suppliers  have  included   HANDBOOK  in  their
          offerings. You should be  aware that The Nit Orchard  receives no
          part of the fee you may pay these suppliers, and  that you should
          still  license  HANDBOOK  with The  Nit  Orchard  if  you use  it
          accordingly.







                                      PACKAGING

          HANDBOOK consists of the following files:

          HANDBOOK.EXE   The HANDBOOK Program
          HBKCFG  .EXE   The Configuration Program
          HANDBOOK.HLP   Help Text displayed by HANDBOOK
          HANDBOOK.TXT   This documentation
                              To Print: COPY HANDBOOK.TXT PRN
          SAMPLE  .HBK   A  sample  handbook text  file  demonstrating most
                         features
          HBKALIGN.HBK   A  short (one  sheet) handbook  text file  to help
                         align paper for Handbook layout.
          MINIALGN.HBK   A  two  sheet  handbook  text file  to  assist  in
                         alignment of paper for Mini Manual layout.

          HANDBOOK is also distributed  electronically as a self-extracting
          library,  HNDBKnnn.EXE, where  nnn  is the  version number.  When
          HNDBKnnn.EXE is run, it creates the files named above.

          The  reason  for  distributing  HANDBOOK  electronically in  this
          manner  is that it is  much simpler to back  up one file and keep
          track of it than three.

          Another  consideration is  that during  the library  process, the
          member files are compressed significantly,  so less disk space is
          required to back up a library than the individual files.

          Bulletin  Board   System  operators   generally  keep   files  in
          compressed library  format to conserve  disk space and  to reduce
          expensive transmission time, as well.
           
          If you  want to upload  this program to a  Bulletin Board System,
          you should upload  only the library, to make  life easier for the
          SysOp.







                                      FINE PRINT

          NCR  and  Decision  Mate  V  are  registered  trademarks  of  NCR
          Corporation, and/or AT&T.

          IBM is a registered trademark of IBM Corporation.

          QuickBASIC, GW-BASIC, and Microsoft  are registered trademarks of
          Microsoft.

          WordStar is a registered trademark of WordStar Corporation and/or
          MicroPro International.

          WordPerfect is a registered trademark of WordPerfect Corporation.

          Borland  and   Turbo-BASIC  (and  Turbo   Everything  Else)   are
          registered trademarks of Borland International.

          LaserJet and Hewlett Packard are registered trademarks of Hewlett
          Packard.

          QEdit is a registered trademark of SemWare.

          PC Write is a registered trademark of QuickSoft.

          VDE (Video  Display Editor) is  the copyrighted property  of Eric
          Meyer.

          All other trademarks are owned by their respective companies.

          The  Nit  Orchard makes  no  representations  or warranties  with
          respect  to HANDBOOK  and  the contents  hereof and  specifically
          disclaims any implied  warranties of  merchantability or  fitness
          for any particular purpose. Further, The Nit Orchard reserves the
          right to revise this publication and to make changes from time to
          time in  the  content hereof  without  obligation to  notify  any
          person or organization of such revisions or changes.

          The HANDBOOK  software and  documentation is  provided AS  IS and
          without warranty as to performance. While  The Nit Orchard firmly
          believes this to be a high quality product, and has run extensive
          tests to ascertain  just that, the USER MUST ASSUME  ALL RISKS OF
          USING THIS PROGRAM.







          <whew>...
                                       SUPPORT

          Having  said all that legal stuff, I  should let you know where I
          stand with reference to HANDBOOK.

          It is my  intention to  continue to upgrade  HANDBOOK to  correct
          bugs  and to  be  responsive to  users  who may  have  questions,
          criticisms, compliments,  or whatever. I do,  however, maintain a
          record  of LICENSED  USERS, and  will handle  correspondence with
          LICENSED USERS before any other.

          When a  program such as HANDBOOK  is released, the  author has to
          make a decision  as to  whether further support  is intended.  If
          not, then the program should be  released to the public domain so
          that others can  modify and  improve the program  as suits  their
          needs or fancy.  If the author  intends to retain  rights to  and
          control of  the  program, then  further support  is an  automatic
          moral, though not legal, obligation.

          HANDBOOK, including all source code, executable program code, and
          documentation is the copyrighted property of The Nit Orchard. All
          rights  to  and  control of  HANDBOOK  are  reserved  by The  Nit
          Orchard,  and that morally, though not legally, obligates The Nit
          Orchard to a minimum of support.

          I admit to having mixed feelings about supporting HANDBOOK. While
          I want it to be bug-free and for users  to be able to run it with
          confidence,  I don't want to  be married to  it. My wife objects.
          So, supporting HANDBOOK is hereby limited to part-time status.

          HANDBOOK is  a pretty good  program, a  reliable and  predictable
          performer, and will  probably require very little support  in any
          case. (Famous last words...)

          When you license your  copy, please take time  to include a  note
          letting me  know what you  think of  HANDBOOK, with a  mention of
          problems encountered and any suggestions for improvement.

          If, on the other hand, you think HANDBOOK stinks and  you have no
          intention  of  using it,  then of  course  you won't  license it,
          either.  I would  still like  to hear  from you  to find  out why
          HANDBOOK was so inappropriate  for your use, in order that  I can
          attempt to improve this  and other programs and make  them better
          products in the future.

          Thanks for giving HANDBOOK a try.







                                    IN CLOSING...
           
          I  hope that HANDBOOK is as useful for you as it has already been
          for myself  and others, and that  it becomes one of  those "handy
          little  programs" that keep getting used again and again. I think
          that that  hope is  how  these things  get written  in the  first
          place... 

          I wish to thank those  of you who have registered your  copies of
          HANDBOOK, and  all of you who provided  constructive criticism of
          the program in addition to letting me know what is right with it.

          The original idea for this program, and its first implementation,
          is credited to Tony  Vasilakis, who needed a  tiny phone list  to
          shove in his pocket for easy reference. 
           
          Pete  Cosman expanded  the phone  list into  NOTEBOOK, coding  in
          Microsoft MBASIC on an NCR Decision Mate V PC under CP/M-80.

          HANDBOOK   is  a   complete  rewrite   of  NOTEBOOK,   with  many
          enhancements,  and is implemented  under Microsoft QuickBASIC 4.5
          with some help from Microsoft Macro  Assembler 5.1, running under
          MS/PC-DOS 2.11 and above. 

          It is  axiomatic that  programmers should  never be permitted  to
          produce their own  documentation. Previous  versions of  HANDBOOK
          provided a few pages of useful instructions, and  twenty or so of
          general "grumble, grunt, and  snort", or words to that  effect. I
          hope that the documentation is now more useful. My sincere thanks
          to  Evelyn Stewart  of  Milford, New  Jersey,  for her  pertinent
          comments.

          Special Thanks to Richard  Scott, of Hobbs, New Mexico,  for your
          constructive  criticism,  and  your  consistently  excellent  and
          valuable  help. And  thanks for  helping me  through those  first
          stumbling trials when my Decision  Mate V was new and all  I knew
          about computers was how to play Adventure...

          Again, thanks for giving HANDBOOK a try. 

          Chuck Sterling 
          The Nit Picker... 
