Copyright: Copyright 1994, W. Scott Thoman


Contents
                      MarsIcon 2.7 - July 14th, 1994

What is MarsIcon?

Installing MarsIcon
Configuring MarsIcon
Changing the icon's title
Current Meridian window
Mars - General Information

MarsIcon and Screen Savers
Troubleshooting
Acknowledgements
Calling all icon artists!
Revision History

Author Information
Other related programs

Registering MarsIcon


What is MarsIcon?

    MarsIcon is a shareware MicroSoft Windows 3.x program that displays
the current view of the planet Mars in an icon.  You can specify the icon's title
to display the current Central Meridian longitude, the number of hours and
minutes until the next CM crossing, and the time and/or date in many
different formats.  You can also change the icon's background color and
rotation direction.  MarsIcon even adjusts automatically for daylight
savings/summer time for users in the United States, the UK and Europe.


Installing MarsIcon

    Simply use the Program Manager to create a New Program Icon in the group of
your choice and set the Working Directory to the subdirectory where you installed
the program files.  You may place the files in the subdirectory of your choice, but
the software must be able to find it's MARSICON.INI file there.

     If it cannot find the .INI file, then the About box will be displayed each
and every time you start MarsIcon.  See the Troubleshooting section for more information.

     I also recommend placing the Program Icon in the Startup group so it loads
every time you start Windows.

     If you don't already have the file BWCC.DLL, make sure you copy it to your
Windows system subdirectory and erase any other older copies of it.  See the
file BWCC.TXT for more information.


Configuring MarsIcon

    Before you can use MarsIcon, you need to tell it where you live and how
to adjust for daylight savings time.  You can also select many different options
as well.  Select the following links for more information:

   Setting your Time Zone
   Adjusting for Daylight Savings/Summer Time
   Animating the MarsIcon icon
   Background Colors
   "Always on top" feature
   "Preserve icon's screen position" feature

     Once you have set all the above options, you will probably want to have a look
at how you can change the icon's title.


Setting your Time Zone

    MarsIcon must know the time zone in which you live to display the icon
properly.  The default is the Eastern Standard Time time zone, which is
valid for cities in the United States such as New York City, Boston and Miami.
If you live in another time zone, you must select it yourself.

     When you first run MarsIcon, the program's About box appears.  Here you'll find
a list box containing all of the world's time zones.  Simply select the one in
which you live.


Adjusting for Daylight Savings/Summer Time

    There is a check box if you want the Daylight Savings Time (Summer Time)
adjustment applied or not.  Check this box if your area observes
Daylight Savings Time.  Just below this, there are four radio buttons to
determine which set of summer-time dates you wish to use.  If you select
Manual, the daylight savings time adjustment will be applied regardless of
today's date.  This means you must change the above check box twice a year
when the time changes.  You may need to select this option if your region is
not listed below.  Tables that list the daylight savings time start/stop
dates for the other radio buttons follow below.  If you select one of these,
the daylight savings time adjustment will be applied or not-applied
automatically based on today's date.  All daylight savings time adjustments
subtract 1 hour from the current time.

United States:
1994 - Start: April 3rd    End: October 30th
1995 - Start: April 2nd    End: October 29th
1996 - Start: April 7th    End: October 27th
1997 - Start: April 6th    End: October 26th

UK:
1994 - Start: March 27th   End: October 23rd
1995 - Start: March 26th   End: October 22nd
1996 - Start: March 24th   End: October 27th
1997 - Start: March 23rd   End: October 26th

Europe:
1994 - Start: March 27th   End: September 25th
1995 - Start: March 26th   End: September 24th
1996 - Start: March 24th   End: September 22nd
1997 - Start: March 23rd   End: September 28th

     If you live in one of these regions and the above dates are incorrect, OR
if you live in another region not listed above, please contact me with
the correct dates so I can update my software.


Animating the MarsIcon icon

    You can also select an update interval for the MarsIcon icon.  The default
is Real-Time, which shows the current view of Mars.  South is at
the top to match the view in a telescope.  Other values are available to
animate the icon, or to display a new icon once every update interval.  The
values you may choose from are once every second, once every five seconds or
once every ten seconds.

     You can also have the icon rotate in the normal forward direction, or in
reverse.  Just click on the appropriate radio button.


Changing the icon's title

    You can change the title beneath the icon to whatever you like.  More
importantly, you can have other information such as the Central Meridian
location displayed here as well.

     The About box has the default icon title set to Mars C.M.=~C, which means
to display the current Central Meridian position after the word "Mars".
Note how you can add spaces between the various options to cause them to
"wrap" down to the next icon title line, if desired.

     If you prefer, you can change the title to be just a simple word or two, like
"Mars".  This may be necessary to work with some screen savers.

All the available options are listed below:

Mars options:
   ~c =	Central Meridian relative to Earth to the nearest degree (i.e.
273°).  Zero degrees means the Martian Central Meridian is directly
facing Earth, 180 degrees means it's facing directly away, etc.
   ~C =	Central Meridian to the nearest one-tenth of a degree (i.e
273.4°).
   ~T =	Time until the next transit occurs.  Use with Clock options
below.  (i.e. "~T~2" will display as "04:32", meaning there's 4 hours and
32 minutes until the next CM crossing.

Clock options:
   ~1 =	12-hour format
   ~2 =	24-hour format
   ~a =	"am" or "pm"
   ~A =	"AM" or "PM"
   ~p =	"a" or "p"
   ~P =	"A" or "P"
   ~w =	Weekday name as "Mon", "Tue", etc.
   ~W =	Weekday name as "Monday", "Tuesday", etc.
   ~m =	Month name as "Jan", "Feb", etc.
   ~M =	Month name as "January", "February", etc.
   ~h =	Month number (1-12)
   ~d =	Day of the month number (1-31)
   ~y =	Year as "94", etc. (Year without the century)
   ~Y =	Year as "1994", etc. (Year with the century)
   ~o =	Ordinal suffix of "Day of the month" as "st", "nd", "rd", "th",
etc. (as in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.)

Example icon titles:

   Title:	Displays as:
   "~2 ~W ~m ~d~o"	21:05 Thursday Jul 14th
   "~1~A"	9:05PM
   "~W ~M ~d ~Y"	Thursday July 14 1994
   "~y.~h.~d"	94.07.14
   "Mars"	Mars

Feel free to experiment with different combinations to suit your taste.


Background Colors

    You can select one of many different background colors.  The default is
black, but you can select white or a shade of gray if you prefer.  The
"transparent" color allows you to display Mars with no background,
appearing on top of whatever is beneath it.


"Always On Top" feature

    You can click the Icon is always on top of windows button on to have
the MarsIcon icon stay visible when other windows are covering it.  When on, the
icon will always appear "on top of" the other windows instead of being "hidden"
beneath them.


"Preserve icon's screen position" feature

    You can click the Preserve icon's screen position button on to have
the MarsIcon icon remain in the same position on the screen the next time you
start Windows.  Usually, icons appear beside each other on the bottom of the screen
in the order that they are listed in the Startup group.  This option, however, lets
you move the icon to any place on the screen and it will appear there instead of with
the other icons.


'Current Meridian' window

    When you select the Current Meridian window, the current date and time
and the position of the Central Meridian, in degrees, are displayed and updated
every few seconds.

     Press the Minimize button in the upper right corner to shrink the window back to
an icon.


Mars - General Information

                              Average
                  Equatorial   Mean        Distance
         Mass       Radius    Density      From Sun
Planet  (e24 kg)     (km)     (g/cm^3)  (AU=1.496e8km)
------  --------  ----------  --------  --------------
Earth   5.9742     6378.140    5.515        1.00
Mars    0.64191    3393.4      3.94         1.52

                                Orbital        Inclination to
Satellite/s  Radius (km)        Period (days)  planet equator (°)
-----------  -----------------  -------------  ------------------
   Moon      1738               27.321661      18.28 - 28.58
(I)  Phobos  13.5 x 10.8 x 9.4   0.31891023     1.0
(II) Deimos   7.5 x  6.1 x 5.5   1.2624407      0.9  -  2.7

Data from the 74th Edition [1993-1994] of the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics


MarsIcon and Screen Savers

    In the default configuration, MarsIcon displays the Central Meridian
beneath the icon.  Since this will automatically update the icon's
title once per minute, this may cause some screen savers, which can sense
such activity, to never activate.  A simple solution is to change the
Icon Title field in the About box to some simple word or words, such as
"Mars".  You will not be able to use MarsIcon's clock feature (although you
could still display the date), but your screen savers should work again.


Other related programs

    Look for EARTHSxx.ZIP, a Windows icon that shows the current sunlit-side of
Earth, GREDSPxx.ZIP, a Windows icon that shows the current view of the
planet Jupiter and it's moons and SOLSYSxx.ZIP, a Windows icon that shows the
current position of the nine planets in our Solar System.  All three have been
released and are available at the Internet FTP sites oak.oakland.edu and
it's mirrors, ftp.cica.indiana.edu and it's mirrors, and at the Software
Creations BBS, (508) 365-2359 (2400,N,8,1), all in the USA.  All users
receive the shareware versions of these programs when they register.

     The current versions are EARTHS41.ZIP, GREDSP37.ZIP and SOLSYS11.ZIP.


Registering MarsIcon

    Print out the file ORDER.FRM to get a quick order form for registering
MarsIcon.  This shareware version is not cripple-ware, nag-ware or
free-ware, although it will remind you every 5 times to register until the
evaluation period expires.  When you do register, you will receive the latest
executable version that allows UNLIMITED use of the program with no reminder
box and no expiration.

     All future versions/upgrades of this program are FREE to registered users.
When a new shareware version becomes available, just download it and copy
the new files to the registered version's subdirectory.  It's that simple!

     The cost of the diskette and the mailing charges are all included
in the US $10 registration fee.  Personal checks, money orders and American
Express travelers checks are all accepted (sorry, I do not yet accept credit
card orders).  If you wish, you may register for US $20 and receive the
full Borland C++ 3.1 source code and Windows resource files used to make
this program as well.  The source code for each future version will be
available free for registered source-code users.

     If you find MarsIcon useful, please upload it to other bulletin
boards and/or Internet FTP sites so other people can enjoy it, too!


Order Form
                    MarsIcon 2.7 - Order Form

Return this form along with:

   US $10: for the latest registered executable version
                              OR
   US $20: for the latest version PLUS the full Borland C++ 3.1
           source code and Windows resource files
to:
                        W. Scott Thoman
                        41 Lee Road
                        Dryden, NY  13053  -USA-

Registered users are entitled to ALL upgrades AT NO EXTRA COST!
When a new shareware version becomes available, just download it
and copy the new files to your registered version's directory.

Personal checks, money orders and American Express traveler's
checks are all accepted.  (Sorry, I do not yet accept credit
card orders).  You will also receive the shareware version of
3 other icon-programs, one for Earth (EarthSun; EARTHS41.ZIP)
Jupiter (GRedSpot; GREDSP37.ZIP) and (SolSys; SOLSYS11.ZIP).

   Name ____________________________________

Address ____________________________________________________

        ____________________________________________________

        ____________________________________________________

        ____________________________________________________

Internet/CompuServe Address: _______________________________

Can I e-mail it to you?  ___ .ZIP file ___ UUENCODEd  ___ No

Where did you hear about MarsIcon? _________________________

____________________________________________________________

Disk size:   ___ 5.25"   ___ 3.5"

Comments: __________________________________________________

                           THANK YOU!


Calling all icon artists!

    If you have improved the existing icons, or have created any new icons to
improve the animation, please send them to me and I might include them, along with
your name and my thanks, in future versions.  If I use your contributions, you will
receive the latest registered executable version free, including the source code,
for your efforts.


Troubleshooting

    If you get the About box each and every time you start the program, make
sure you have the program icon's Working Directory set to the directory
where you have the MARSICON.EXE file.  This allows the program to properly find it's
.INI file.  Make sure your MARSICON.INI file is in the same subdirectory as the
MARSICON.EXE file; if it isn't, move it to that subdirectory.  This is the recommended
way to keep all of MarsIcon's files together.

     If you prefer, you may also set the Working Directory to your Windows subdirectory
explicitly, or just leave it blank to have it default to your Windows subdirectory.  Again,
just make sure that MARSICON.INI is, indeed, located there.

     Finally, make sure the .INI file is marked as read/write (this is the default);
do NOT mark this file as read-only.


Acknowledgements

    Many thanks go to Peter Hayes (peter.hayes@uk.cray.com) in England for the
information he supplied to me on the daylight savings time issues in the UK
and Europe.  Thanks also to Eric Rickin (erickin@umich.edu) for pointing me in
the right direction, namely to Don LeClair (71534.3255@compuserve.com) for help
on doing transparent backgrounds and having icons stay "always on top".
Thanks to Mike Andersson (anderss@u.washington.edu) for the planetary and
satellite data.


Acknowledgements2

    Hi Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Brian, Joe, and my wife, Robin.


Revision History

                       MarsIcon - Revision History

07/14/94 Version 2.7 - Added "Preserve icon's screen position" feature.

02/18/94 Version 2.6 - Added support for transparent backgrounds.  Added the
"always on top" check box.  Added printable order forms
directly from the help system.

01/20/94 Version 2.5 - Added the on-line help system.  Improved dialog
box background.

12/03/93 Version 2.0 - Initial release.  All options are now fully
user-configurable on the About screen and saved
in MARSICON.INI.  Added support for all timezones,
automatic daylight savings time, and update
intervals.  Support for displaying transit time,
date and time in many formats.  Improved all of the
Mars icons.  Using straight Windows API calls instead
of OWL.

07/12/93 Version 1.0 - First version.  Used BC++/OWL as a framework.


Author Information

  Any suggestions, bugs, ideas, complaints?  Let me know what you think of this
program so I can improve it!  Please include the version number you are using
in all correspondence; this is version 2.7.

Mail Address:

   W. Scott Thoman
   41 Lee Road
   Dryden, NY  13053
   USA

Internet E-Mail Address:

   thoman@law.mail.cornell.edu

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Thank you for using MarsIcon!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------


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