			Stdemo Player 1.3 
		Copyright (c) 1992,1993 Mik Kvitchko

-----------------------------
| Mikhail Kvitchko          |
| 361-A Crowells Road,      |
| Highland Park, NJ 08904   |
| USA                       |
| mik@bhsw.com              |
-----------------------------

This package consists of the following files:

HIST.TXT	- History of changes
README.TXT	- This File
SCRIPT.TXT	- Stdemo Player example script
STDEMO.DIZ	- Stdemo Player short description.
STDEMO.EXE	- Stdemo Player program
STHOOK.DLL	- Stdemo Player DLL

What is this?
=============

Stdemo Player is the application that you can use to create demos, 
tutorials or manually prepare scripts to "play" them into any Windows 
application. It allows you to write a script, which will start one or 
several Windows application, perform a series of keystrokes or mouse 
actions aimed to demonstrate the application or to perform some pre-
defined sequence of actions. While your script is being "played", you 
can disable completely keyboard and mouse, so that user will not be 
able to interfere with the running demo and to cause a conflict. At 
certain points of you script you may interrupt it in order to interact 
with user. These interactions allow:

-	to show the "text" box with some explanatory text before script 
	will continue ( this is the main idea of how demos
	and tutorials are to be designed);

-	to show the "menu" box where user can select one of several 
	choices, and therefore control the script's execution;

-	to show the "input" box, where user can answer questions and 
	enter some text, which later can be used in script.

There are many varieties of these boxes in order to make your demo 
flexible, and they can be forced to be shown in some convenient places 
on the screen. Moreover, user can move them across the screen to be 
able to see different parts of the covered windows.

Even if you are not interested in preparing demos, you may find Stdemo 
Player useful. For example, you can replace your complete Startup Group 
to the single Stdemo Player script which will launch
all your "startup" applications, and even perform some initial actions 
for every of them: set up default options, load files, etc.

How to play the script?
======================

When you run stdemo.exe without parameters, it looks for the file 
"script.txt" in the current working directory, and if it is there - 
"plays" it. 

Also you may pass the name of the script as a parameter to stdemo.exe. 
This name may include the full path.


How to write a script?
======================

Script is a plain ASCII text file. It may include:

-	keystrokes;
-	commands;
-	interaction breaks;
-	comments.

Every keystroke, command or interaction break is a unit. Stdemo Player 
reads units from the script one by one and executes them. After one 
unit is executed, Stdemo Player waits for some time (time-out tick, 
which can be set or changed at any point in the script) and then 
executes the next unit. Time-out doesn't affect the interaction breaks 
(which are "text", "menu" and "input" dialog boxes). Once one of this 
boxes is shown - only user may continue or stop script execution, 
selecting "Continue" or "Stop" button on the box. Comments are ignored, 
as you may expect, and cause no time-out delays.

1. Keystrokes.
--------------

Any text in the script which is not a command, interaction break or 
comment is a set of keystrokes, i.e. every symbol of the text causes a 
keystroke to be sent into the current window application (see  below).
There are also several special symbols which allow to simulate 
different keyboard keys.

Any keystroke can be preceded by one or more special symbols 
("@" - Alt, "#" - Shift or/and "%" - Control) as you see in the 
following example:

@A	Alt-A
#A	Shift-A
%A	Ctrl-A
#%A	Shift-Ctrl-A

There are also many special keys which are coded by "escaping" them 
with the "]". They are follows:

]|	Down
]^	Up
]<	Left
]>	Right
]~	Tab
]!	Return
]-	PgUp
]+	PgDn
]\	Backspace
]Z	Esc
]I	Ins
]D	Del
]H	Home
]E	End
]0	F10
]1	F1
...........
]9	F9
]]	]
]@	@
]%	%
]#	#
]:	:
]$	$

This is not a full set of the keyboard keys, as you may note - but it 
covers most of usable ones (I hope).

2. Commands.
------------

All commands start from the colon sign ":". Some of the commands must 
be coded as a separate line in a script, others can be mixed with the 
keystrokes. The rule of a thumb is: if a command has fixed format or 
ends with the special separator - it can be placed anywhere, otherwise 
it has to be coded as a separate line of the script. The general format 
of a command is:
	:<code><parameters>
<code> is a single letter or some other symbol;
<parameters> may vary; one parameter can be a letter, text or number; 
parameters follow the code without blank, and in some cases are 
separated one from another by the special separator "|".

The commands are:

:=x			set time-out tick to x milliseconds.
			Default time-out is 1 millisecond.
	Example:
	:=1000	set time-out tick to 1 sec.

:T			skip 1 time-out tick.
	Example:
	abc:T:T:Tefg	enter "abc", then wait for three 
			current time-out ticks, then enter
			"efg".

:Dtext			change current directory to "text". 
	Example:
	:Dc:\windows\system

:<caption string|x	find and activate already running application;
			flag x may be coded as one digit 0..2 after the 
			separator and affects the size of the
			application window: 0 (default), 1(maximize),
			2(minimize).
	Examples:
	:<Notepad - (Untitled)|1

:)			kill the last application in stack (if exists).

	Note:	Stdemo Player allows to start several applications.
		It keeps track of the applications being started in 
		the internal stack ( max. 10 entries). When you start
		a new application, the following keystrokes will be 
		sent into the new application window, as it will
		get focus after the launch. You must issue ":)" -
		kill last application - command, even when you finish
		the application using it's menu commands - so that
		Stdemo Player could handle the stack of current
		applications properly.
		There is no command ( so far ) to switch focus from
		one application to another. Though you can do this by
		simulating mouse clicking in the proper window. Just
		make sure that you close applications in the reverse
		order as you started them, and issue correspondent
		":)" commands in the same reverse order.
		
:Iab		enable/disable Windows input;
			parameter "a" must be coded as one digit:
			0 - disable input, 1 - enable input;
			parameter "b" is also 1 digit:
			0 - temporarily, 1 - permanently.
	Example:
	:I10	enable input until the next interaction break.

	Note:	When stdemo starts, it disables Windows input
		(keyboard and mouse buttons) in order to prevent
		user's intervention into the actions being played.
		When one of the interaction breaks occurs, the input
		is partially restored to allow user interaction 
		inside the dialog box only. When script continues,
		the state is restored as it was before the break.
		"Temporarily change the state of Windows input" means
		"until the next interaction break occurs". Permanent
		change affects all subsequent script play and can be 
		changed with the next ":I" command only.

:Cab		show/hide Windows cursor;
			parameter "a" must be coded as one digit:
			0 - hide cursor, 1 - show cursor;
			parameter "b" is also 1 digit:
			0 - temporarily, 1 - permanently.
	Example:
	:C11	show Windows cursor until further ":C" command.

	Note:	When stdemo starts, it hides Windows cursor.
		When one of the interaction breaks occurs, the cursor
		is restored to allow user interaction inside the
		dialog box only. When script continues, the state is
		restored as it was before the break.
		"Temporarily change the visibility of cursor" means
		"until the next interaction break occurs". Permanent
		change affects all subsequent script play and can be 
		changed with the next ":C" command only.

:Ltext			assign the label "text" to the current point in
				the script.

:Gtext			goto label "text".

	Note: 	these two commands apparently do not require
		explanation. Just note that so far there is no
		conditional "goto" command. So you can use ":G"
		command to code the loop, or to skip part of the
		script during debugging. Labels are required when
		you program a "menu" interaction break (see below).

:$ntext		set variable n to "text" (n=0..9).
	Example:
	:$1Hello 
	:$2, how are you?

	Note:	variables can be used among the keystrokes, i.e., 
		using previous example, script "$1 Joe$2" will
		play "Hello Joe, how are you?". Variables are 
		extensively used in the "input" interaction breaks
		(see below).


:+x			set interaction breaks' time-out tick to x seconds.
			Default time-out is 0. (Maximum is 65 seconds).
	Example:
	:+10	set interaction breaks' time-out tick to 10 sec.

	Note:	The :+x command allows to set the special timer which will affect
			execution of interaction breakes (TEXT, MENU and INPUT). Setting the value
			of this timer somewhere in a script means that for all subsequent
			communication breaks (dialog boxes) the "continue" button 
			will be "pressed" automatically after x seconds since
			this dialog box was initially shown. :+0 disables this feature. 

:Ra		disable/enable 3-D effect for interaction breaks.
			parameter "a" must be coded as one digit:
			0 - disable 3-D, 1 - enable 3-D.

:Xa		disable/enable/show/hide the "Stop" button on interaction breaks
			parameter "a" must be coded as one digit:
			0 - hide "Stop" button, 1 - disable "Stop" button, 
			2 - enable "Stop" button.

:Ya		disable/enable/show/hide the "Continue" button on interaction breaks
			parameter "a" must be coded as one digit:
			0 - hide "Continue" button, 1 - disable "Continue" button, 
			2 - enable "Continue" button.

:Fx		set the minimal point sizesfor the font; 
			parameter "x" must be coded as a number and represents the
			minimal point sizes for the font which is used when all
			text doesn't fit into a text box. If it
		   	is impossible to fit all text using the font bigger than
		   	minimal - the defaul font will be used with the scrollbar
		   	enabled. (Default is :F8).

:bx		command allows to change the background color for text,
			menu and input fields;
			parameter "x" must be coded as a number and represents the
			index of the color in system palette;
			(default is blue - :b18).

:fx		command allows to change the foreground color for text,
			menu and input fields;
			parameter "x" must be coded as a number and represents the
			index of the color in system palette;
			(default is black - :f0).

The following commands are to be used when you want some mouse actions 
to be played from your script. It is not always possible to get a 
reliable results with the mouse actions, assuming that your script can 
be played with different display drivers in different Windows modes and 
display resolutions. In order to cope with this, you must use "virtual" 
coordinates, i.e. before using any command which has coordinates as a 
parameter, you have to set "virtual screen/window size" and then all 
following coordinates must be coded according to this size. When your 
script will be played, Stdemo Player will determine the real current 
screen/window size, and then adjust all your virtual coordinates 
according to virtual/real ratio. You have to understand, that it is not 
a perfect solution - for example, dialog boxes sizes are not 
proportionally changed for different display resolutions, they depend 
on the size of the system font rather than on display mode. But if you 
code your mouse actions inside the dialog box, based on the dialog box 
virtual size - it will work. 
You may sometimes need to use absolute coordinates instead of relative,
define this in the :O command.

:Sx|y			set virtual screen/window size.
	Example:
	:S1024|768
	:S100|50

:Oabc			set coordinates origin.
			parameter "a" must be coded as one letter:
				S - screen, A - application main window,
				F - current focus window;
			parameter "b" is also 1 letter:
				C - client area, W - window area.
			parameter "c" is also 1 letter:
				V - virtual coordinates (default), 
				A - absolute coordinates.
	Examples:
	:OSWV
	:OACA
	:OFW

:Mx|y|n		move mouse cursor to (x,y) in n steps.

	Examples:
	:S200|200
	:OAC
	:C11
	:M100|100|1	set cursor in the center of the client area
			of the main application window.
	:M0|200|100	move cursor in 100 steps to the bottom-left
			corner of the client area.

	Note:	Make sure that your coordinates agree with the
		current modes set in ":S" and ":O" commands.

:Bab			mouse button action.
			parameter "a" must be coded as one letter:
			L - left button, R - right button, M - middle;
			parameter "b" must be coded as 1 digit:
			1 - press, 0 - release, 2 - double-click.

:Kab			set keyboard state for some special keys. 	
	
			parameter "a" must be coded as one letter:
			S - Shift key, C - Control key, A - Alt key;
			parameter "b" must be coded as 1 digit:
			1 - down, 0 - up.

	Example:
	:KS1:BL1:BL0:KS0	click the left mouse button when the
				Shift key is down.


3. Interaction breaks.
----------------------

These are various dialog boxes which can be shown at any point of you 
script, allowing therefore some interaction with user. There are three 
classes of these boxes: "text", "menu" and "input". Each class contains 
from 3 to 5 similar boxes, which vary by their size and by the number 
of fields in them.
All boxes are coded in the script differently, but the common pattern 
is:

<header line>
<one or more body lines>
<end-of-box delimiter line>
 
3.1 TEXT interaction break.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Every TEXT box has a single text field which fills the dominant area of 
the box.

The header line is:
:#sxy
	parameter "s" defines the size and must be a letter:
	S - small, M - medium, L - large, W - wide, N - narrow;
	parameter x defines the position along the x-axis:
	L - left adjusted, C - centered, R - right adjusted;
	parameter y defines the position along the y-axis:
	U - up adjusted, C - centered, D - down adjusted.

The body of this break consists from the text only, which will be shown 
in the single text field of the box. Text may be coded as one or more 
lines in the script, but it'll be placed continuously in the box, 
applying word wrap. There are two special commands which can be entered 
into the body of the TEXT box:
.N	causes the following text start from a new line in a box;
.S	causes to skip one line and continue to fill a box with the
	following text.

The delimiter line is:
#

Example:

:#NCC
This is the narrow box, centered on the screen.
.S
This text starts after the empty line.
.N
This text starts from the beginning of the new line.
#

Notes:		1. The amount of text you can place into the text box 
		   depends on the current display mode ( VGA, SVGA, 	
		   etc. ) and fonts supported by your current display 
		   driver. This creates a problem: the text you placed 
		   into the box might not fit when you run your demo on 
		   a different system. In order to make sure, that it 
		   will not happen, Stdemo Player checks if the whole 
		   text fits into the box, and if not - it is trying to 
		   reduce the font size, until the whole text fits. If 
		   the system doesn't have a small enough font - the 	
		   scroll bar will be added to the text field, so that 
		   user can read the whole text by scrolling it.


3.2 MENU interaction break.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Every MENU box has a header text field on a top and from 2 to 9 menu 
item fields ( radio buttons).

The header line is:
:*sxy
	parameter "s" defines the size and must be a letter:
	S - small, M - medium, L - large;
	parameter x defines the position along the x-axis:
	L - left adjusted, C - centered, R - right adjusted;
	parameter y defines the position along the y-axis:
	U - up adjusted, C - centered, D - down adjusted.

The body of this break consists from the text which will fill the 
header text field of the menu box, and two or more menu lines. 
Text may be coded as one or more lines anywhere in the body; it'll be 
placed continuously in the header field, using word wrap if 
appropriate. Text line should not start from a digit.
Every menu item line has the following format:

nlabel|item text  	

"n" is a menu item field number (1..9);
"label" - is a label in the script where control will be passed if this 
item will be selected from the menu box.
"item text" is a text to fill the menu item field.

The delimiter line is:
*

Notes:		1. The "small" menu box has 2 menu fields, the 		
		   "medium" - 5 fields, and the large - 9 fields.
		
		2. If there is no text for the header - the header 	
		   field will not be shown in the box.
		
		3. If there is no lines for some menu items - the 	
		   correspondent item field will not be shown in the 	
		   box.
Example:

:*MCU
Select one of the three:
1l1|This is the first item
3l2|This is the second item
5l3|This is the third item
*
:Ll1
:#SCC
You've selected the first.
#
:Gcont
:Ll2
:#SCC
You've selected the second.
#
:Gcont
:Ll3
:#SCC
You've selected the third.
#
:Lcont


3.3 INPUT interaction break.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Every INPUT box has a header text field on a top of the box and from 1 
to 9 edit fields. The small box has only one edit field, the medium has 
5, and the large has 9. Every edit field in the medium and large INPUT 
boxes has the correspondent description field on a left of the every 
edit field.

The header line is:
:%sxy
	parameter "s" defines the size and must be a letter:
	S - small, M - medium, L - large;
	parameter x defines the position along the x-axis:
	L - left adjusted, C - centered, R - right adjusted;
	parameter y defines the position along the y-axis:
	U - up adjusted, C - centered, D - down adjusted.

The body of this break consists from the text which will fill the 
header text field of the menu box, and one or more input lines. 
Text may be coded as one or more lines anywhere in the body; it'll be 
placed continuously in the header field, using word wrap if 
appropriate. Text line should not start from a digit.
Every input line has the following format:

nDescription_Text  	

"n" is a input field number (1..9); the correspondent input field will 
be filled with the current value of the variable $n. If the variable is 
empty - the field will also be empty.

"Description_Text" is a text to fill the description field for the "n"-
th input field.

The delimiter line is:
%

Notes:		1. The "small" input box has 1 edit field, the 		
		   "medium" - 5 fields, and the large - 9 fields.
		
		2. If there is no text for the header - the header 	
		   field will not be shown in the box.
		
		3. If there is no line for some edit field - the 	
		   correspondent edit and description fields will not
		   be shown in the box.

		4. After user entered some text in the input field -	   
		   this text will be assigned to the correspondent 	
		   variable ($1..$9).
Example:

:(notepad.exe|1
:$2John
:%MCU
Please correct your name.
2Your first name:
4Your last name:
%
Hello, $2 $4!
:#SRD
Is my greeting correct?
#
:)


4. Comments.
------------

Any line in the script outside the interaction breaks, which starts 
from "//" is being treated as a comment.


Future.
=======

I'm sure you noticed that the program can be further extended
( for example, auto recorder would not do any harm ). Please,
share your ideas with me, if you are interested.

Acknowledgments.
================

1. Thanks to CompuServe and all participants of the WinSdk
   forum - you were my teachers, when I started programming
   Windows.

2. Thanks to Brent Rector, whose book "Developing Windows 3
   Applications" (and once he personally) helped me along
   my way of learning Windows.

3. Thanks to my employers and friends Ken Winston and Michael
   Markov; their enthusiasm kept me busy enough to grow.

Legal Stuff.
============

Stdemo Player is shareware.

If you like Stdemo Player, a registration fee of $20 - $30 would be 
appreciated. I think, it is a fair price. But if you think that the 
price is too low or too high - send me whatever amount you find 
appropriate.

When you register, I can replace irrelevant "MIK" icon on all dialog 
boxes to another one (you may send your icon to me) and
will send the updated copy to you. Provided that your cash will cover 
at least diskettes, time and postal expenses. If you support my 
efforts, I can even customize Stdemo Player according to your needs.

Please, send check or money order to:

Mikhail Kvitchko
361-A Crowells Road,
Highland Park, NJ 08904
USA


Comments? Questions? Suggestions? 
I will be glad if you contact me at:

Internet:	mik@bhsw.com
CompuServe: 	Mik Kvitchko [71250,1660] (checked irregularly).

You may make copies of this program and give them to others as long as 
all files are included and unaltered.


Disclaimer.
===========
I've taken great care to ensure the program performs as stated. Still, 
I cannot guarantee this will be the case on every system. As such, you 
agree NOT to hold me responsible for ANY damages directly or indirectly 
related to the use of Stdemo Player. The author of this software is not 
responsible for any damage due to use of this program.  This software 
is provided without warrantee of any kind.

A Personal Note...
==================

I write C better than English. Please excuse my mistakes and funny 
constructions in the above text, if you noted some (I'm sure, you 
did!). Especially articles... They are incomprehensible!

Thanks!
