-------
PROGRAM
-------

     BLANKER.EXE         1/1/91

     Copyright (c) 1991, by Michael C. Robert.
     Portions Copyright (c) 1991, Turning Point Software, Inc.
     All rights reserved.



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PURPOSE
-------

     Screen Blanking Application to save those pesky little phosphers
in your CRT.



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VERSION
-------

     1.00 Beta.  (Yeah, that's right, beta.  I sincerely hope that it
doesn't crash your machine.  Really, I do.  (Just kidding!))



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AUTHOR
------

Michael C. Robert
13 Mansfield St. #3
Allston, MA 02134
(617) 782-2424



----------------
SHAREWARE NOTICE
----------------

     This product is Shareware.  You are free to evaluate it for 30
days, but thereafter you are required to send a $15 remittance to the
AUTHOR.  With this you will become a registered user, and will also
make the AUTHOR very happy, help put his kid through college, etc.
etc.

     What do you get for being a registered user?  Well, um, I, ah,
hmmm.  Let's see...  First off you get a personal and unique entry in
my database.  Yeah, yeah, and then...  Hmmm.  Oh, yeah, if I write
any more programs, which I probably won't do if you don't send the
remittance (plug, plug), then I'll drop you a postcard letting you
know about them.  I'll also send you information on updates to the
program and the upgrade fee if you want me to send you a disk.

     Also, feel free to pass around the ZIP file to your favorite
friends and fiends, and to upload it to the BBSs you subscribe to,
PROVIDED that the following files are all and the only ones included
and that they have not been modified in any way: README.TXT,
BLANKER.EXE, TPS.DLL, SBCLOCK.DLL, SBPUZZLE.DLL, SBMELT.DLL,
SBFLASH.DLL, and SBORBIT.DLL.



-----------
BETA NOTICE
-----------

     Since this release is a Beta, any unique bugs you report will
entitle you to a FREE registration (ooooo, ahhhhh), and a free copy
of the final 1.00 version.



---------------------
WARRANTY & DISCLAIMER
---------------------

     This product is sold AS IS, and provides no inherent warranty. 
It'll do what I designed it to do, which may not agree with what YOU
think it should do.  But if you drop me a line, I'll give your
suggestions consideration.  If I incorporate them, you get an
honorable mention in the About Box, as well as a free copy of the new
release.  (But only if you are a previously registered user (plug,
plug)).

     The AUTHOR makes it known that he will not be responsible for
any damages incurred during the use of this product.  I.E., if
through MISUSE, it somehow mangles your computer and/or data, which
it won't do by itself, by the way, then don't come to me with your
problems.  This especially applies to any third party DLL's not
directly supplied with this product.  

     Okay, Nasty Mode Off.



---------
FILE LIST
---------

     File           Purpose
     ----           -------
     README.TXT     This text file

     BLANKER.EXE    The screen blanking application

     TPS.DLL        Turning Point Software DLL

     SBCLOCK.DLL    Roving clock DLL
     SBPUZZLE.DLL   Turns the screen into a puzzle DLL
     SBMELT.DLL     Melts the screen DLL
     SBFLASH.DLL    Roving flashlight(s) DLL
     SBORBIT.DLL    Particle orbit DLL



------------
INSTALLATION
------------

     Install all the files listed above into the same directory that
Windows is installed into, or if you want, install it in another
directory that is listed in your PATH statement.  If you modify your
PATH statement, don't forget to reboot.



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INVOKATION
----------

     Run BLANKER.EXE as you would any other Windows application. 
After you run it, it will remain as an icon while waiting to blank
the screen.  Double click on the icon to bring up the Screen Blanker
Options Dialog.

     If you want BLANKER to be run automatically every time you start
another windows session or re-invoke the program, add the filename
BLANKER.EXE to the LOAD= line in the [Windows] section of the WIN.INI
section.  If you are unsure of how to go about this, look it up in
the Windows User's Guide.

*********
*       *
* Hints *
*       *
*********

Once the program is running bring up the Screen Blanker Options
dialog and use the Add... Push Button to add the Screen Blankers to
the Choices List Box.  Select the Save Check Box so that all the
Screen Blankers will be preserved.

Then set the options and parameters as described below. Use the Demo
Push Button freely to get a feel for the different backgrounds and
when you are satisfied with their behavior use the Save Check Box.



-------------------
DIALOG DESCRIPTIONS
-------------------

Screen Blanker Options Dialog:
-----------------------------

Choices List Box:

     Contains the list of Screen Blankers that have been loaded by
BLANKER in addition to the <None> and <Random> items.  Selecting
<None> will cause the screen to just go to black when blanked,
<Random> means a random Screen Blanker will be activated when blanked,
and specifically choosing a Screen Blanker means that only that one
will be activiated when the screen is blanked.

Add... Push Button:

     Allows you to add a new DLL to BLANKER.  See the Add Background
dialog description for more information.

Setup... Push Button:

     Allows you to change some of the parameters for a particular
Screen Blanker.  Use the Choices List Box to select the Screen
Blanker that you want to modify, and if it has user selectable
parameters, then this button will be active.  If the Screen Blanker
that you choose does not allow you to modify its parameters, then
this control will be grayed out and inactive.

Demo Push Button:

     Allows you to preview a demo of the Screen Blanker selected in
the Choices List Box.

Inactivity Period Group:

     Click on the Radio Button for the time period of inactivity that
you want to elapse before the screen is blanked.  The bottom radio
button allows you to specify an arbitrary number of seconds from 1 to
32767 (which if you're interested is 9 hours, 6 minutes, and 7
seconds).  Click on it and type in the number of seconds that you
desire.

Save Check Box:

     When checked, causes all parameters that you have modified to be
saved for the next Windows session or when you re-invoke the program.

Disable Check Box:

     Disables BLANKER from operating while checked.  This allows you
to suspend operation during DOS typing activity.

Exit Push Button:

     Causes the BLANKER program to terminate.

About... Push Button:

     Causes the About Screen Blanker Dialog Box to be activated.

OK Push Button:

     Indicates that you accept the current options.

Cancel Push Button:

     Indicates that you don't want the current options to take
affect.  Note: this doesn't cancel any parameter changes that you
made to individual Screen Blankers.


Add Background Dialog:
---------------------

Filename Edit Field:

     Allows you to enter the name of the file specifically, or alter
the wild card mechanism.  Only whole filenames with a .DLL extension
will be accepted by the OK Push Button when you want to complete the
Dialog, though you can list other files with different extensions if
you want as long as you use wildcards.  Note: if this field contains
wildcards, a drive designator, or a path designator, the behavior of
the OK button will be to list new files, switch to the drive, or
switch to the path specified respectively.

Directory Text Field:

     Displays the current directory path.

Files:

     List of files that match the current wildcard lookup as
specified in the Filename Edit Field.  Single clicking on an item
will place it in the Filename Edit Field.  Double clicking will cause
the OK Push Button to be automatically activated.

Directories:

     List of the current subdirectories available at the current path
level in addition to a list of the drives on the system.  Single
clicking on a selection will cause the Filename Edit Field to be
updated to include the selection.  Double clicking will automatically
activate the OK Push Button.  See note above for the Filename Edit
Field.

OK Push Button:

     Causes the contents of the Filename Edit Field to be processed. 
If it contains a .DLL file specification, except as noted above, then
that DLL will be loaded into BLANKER.  Note: you have to select the
Save Check Box in order for BLANKER to remember the new DLL for new
Windows sessions or when you re-invoke the program.

Cancel Push Button:

     Cancels the Add Background operation.



--------
GLOSSARY
--------

BLANKER

     Refers to the main application program, BLANKER.EXE, while it is
running.

Screen Blanker

     A DLL that controls what happens to your screen while it is
blanked, i.e. the Orbit DLL is a Screen Blanker.

Background

     Synonym for a Screen Blanker.

DLL

     Dynamic Link Library.  There, now you know just as much as you
did before.  Okay, okay, I'll tell you some more.  A DLL is a way for
a developer, namely yours truly, to add functionality to a program
without having to rewrite and redistribute the program itself.  I.E.
all I have to do to add a new Screen Blanker is to write the DLL for
it and then just distribute that DLL.  Neat, eh?  I think so.  This
is the greatest boon of DLL's, though unfortunately very few
companies out there seek to use it.  Most just use it as a glorified
library mechanism.  Do they want to improve the world?  Make it
better for you and me and our collective children, not to mention all
the furry animals?  Noooooooooo.  But I'll stand alone, if I have to,
to trumpet the news to the corners of the globe...  I'll...  Oh,
sorry, this is just supposed to be user documentation, right?  Ooops. 
Ha ha.  Sorry.



-----------
LIMITATIONS
-----------

     BLANKER can not currently detect typing activity in a DOS
session, hence it will interrupt that session when it wants to blank
the screen because it thinks you aren't doing anything.  (Maybe you
really aren't doing anything, catch my drift, but I don't think
BLANKER should be making value judgements of that sort.)

     There are two ways to get around this: (1) make all your DOS
sessions Exclusive using the Settings... option, this will prevent
BLANKER from running at all while that session has the focus
(consequently it will also suspend any other Windows applications
currently running, oh well); (2) use the Disable Check Box in the
Screen Blanker Options Dialog to disable BLANKER for extended DOS
typing sessions.

     If you hadn't guessed it, this is a major limitation of this
program, and if the other Screen Blankers out there are any
indication, this is a fairly common problem.  But, if you know a way
around this and share the info with me, I'll cut you a check for a
fair fee.  (Can you say: Bribe?)



----
BUGS
----

     What?  Bugs???  My software has bugs????????  You must be
incorrectly interpretting a feature.



------
THANKS
------

Thanks.



-----------
Windows is a Trademark of Microsoft, Inc.
