
ClipFile
An Extension for Window's Explorer
Windows 95/Windows NT 4
version 1.0

Readme.txt
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Table of Contents
----------------- 
	Honest Disclaimer
	Introduction
	Installation Instructions
	Registration Instructions
	Registration Form
	Contacting the Author

Honest Disclaimer:
-----------------
     We don't claim that this product is good for anything.  If you think
it is: great, but it's up to you to decide.  If something doesn't work:
tough.  If you lose millions because this program messes up: it's you 
who's out the millions, not us.  We reserve the right to do the 
absolute minimum provided by law, up to and including nothing.

     This is basically the same disclaimer that comes with all software
packages.  As a matter of fact, it is exactly the same as the one that 
comes with HavenTree Software's EasyFlow for Windows, (which is a fine 
product by the way, and I'm not just saying that because I helped to 
write it...  I'm saying it so that they don't sue me for copyright 
infringement....)  The people at HavenTree decided that the best 
disclaimer is an honest one, where all of the cards are laid on 
the table, instead of being hidden in a bunch of legalese.  I agree 
with them.  


Introduction:
-------------

     Every day, the Microsoft Web site seems to announce something new 
about Microsoft's Internet Explorer.  But it is a little known fact that 
the name Explorer was already used by Microsoft Windows 95.  This explorer
is an often used, and often ignored component of the new Destktop interface.
It is responsible for serving up the "My Computer" icon, your 
"Network Neighbourhood", the "File/Open" dialog used by virtually every
program that you run, your task bar, desktop, and well, practically 
everything that you see in 95.  It is quite difficult to distinguish
where Explorer stops and the "Operating System" starts.

     Although Explorer is an excellent app, it does have a few 
shortcomings.  One of my pet peeves is that it is almost impossible 
to get the text of a file's name out of Explorer. For those of you 
who are curious, the best way that I found to do this was to right-click 
drag the file to the desktop, select "Create Shortcut(s) Here", 
right-click the shortcut and select "Properties", the click on the 
"Shortcut" tab and press Control-C to copy the selected target name.  
Then close the Properties dialog and press shift-delete to permanently 
delete the shortcut you created, answering yes to the confirmation dialog.

     After a few dozen rounds of this, I decided that something simpler was
needed.  And so I wrote "ClipFile" for my own use.  Now you only need to
right-click on the file in Explorer, and select "Clip Name" to get the 
file name copied to the clipboard.  Life is good.

     As a little bonus, I added the ability to launch a DOS prompt in the
currently open window.  This is especially handy when you get twelve 
levels deep in subdirectories, then decide that you would rather be in
DOS than in Windows.  Simply right-click and choose "Launch DOS Prompt".

     To round out the application, I wrote a Unicode version, so that all of
this magic will also work for the Windows NT4 version of Explorer.  Add an 
automatic installation utility, and you've got a shareware release.


Installation Instructions:
--------------------------

     Put all of the files in this archive into a single directory on your 
system.  I use C:\ClipFile, but it can go anywhere.  Run the "ClipFile"
program, and then everything will be installed.  Simple.

After ClipFile has been installed, it will always be available when you 
right-clisk on a file or directory.  It will present you with two new
options:
    Clip file name (copies the full path to the file to the clipboard)
    Launch DOS prompt (Launches a DOS prompt in the current directory)


Registration Instructions:
--------------------------
This package is marketed as Shareware, which means that you are free to 
try it out for yourself while you decide if it meets your needs.  If it 
doesn't meet your needs, then you must remove it from your system.  If 
you do choose to remove it, I would really appreciate a note from you 
describing what it missed.  See "Contacting the Author", below.

If it does meet your needs, then you have to register the package.  That 
means you have to send us some money.  Registration costs $10 for a single
license.  If you are interested in multiple or site licenses, licensing 
the source code, support, or feature requests, please let us know.
(Again, see "Contacting the Author", below.)

With registration, you will be entitled to use any and all future releases
of the program.  Note that you will be responsible for getting the 
upgraded version of the product yourself.  If you want us to notify you of
any upgrades, please make sure you include your e-mail address in your 
registration.

Registration Form:
------------------

     Name:_______________________________________________

     Company:____________________________________________

     Address:____________________________________________

             ____________________________________________

             ____________________________________________

             ____________________________________________

     Telephone:__________________________________________

     Fax:________________________________________________

     E-Mail:_____________________________________________

     Comments:___________________________________________

     ____________________________________________________

     ____________________________________________________

     ____________________________________________________

     ____________________________________________________

     ____________________________________________________

     ____________________________________________________

Contacting the Author:
----------------------

E-mail: (preferred for questions, problems, suggestions, etc)
	abesoft@cgo.wave.ca

Snail Mail: (preferred for payment... etc)
	abeSoft Computer Services
	4760 Bath Road 
	Suite 3
	RR #3
	Bath, Ontario
	K0H 1G0

World Wide Web:
    http://www.cgowave.ca/~breid/ClipFile.html

