
                       Mouse Instructions
                    ________________________


   The following instructions explain how to use your Microsoft
or Microsoft-compatible mouse with Flow Charting II+.


Installation:
--------------

   Before you run Flow Charting you will have to first install
your mouse properly.  Please follow the instructions provided
with your mouse and then run a test program to assure that you
were successful.

   Once you have the mouse physically connected to your computer
you will still have to "initialize" the mouse every time you
turn on the computer.  This is done by running an initialization
program provided with your mouse.  If you forget to initialize
the mouse you can do all the pointing and clicking you want but
Flow Charting will not know you have a mouse installed.

   Flow Charting supports a Microsoft or Microsoft-compatible
mouse.  Many manufacturers provide initialization software that
will make their mouse behave just like a Microsoft mouse.
Follow the instructions below that correspond to your particular
mouse.  If your mouse is not listed, see your mouse instructions
for the name of the program to run.

   Note:  These instructions assume you have the mouse hooked up
          to the COM1 port.  If you have it hooked up to COM2 or
	  a BUS version, please consult your mouse documentation.


   Microsoft Mouse
   ----------------
   Put your Mouse program disk in drive A: and type:

       A:MOUSE <return>


   Logitech Mouse
   ---------------
   Put your Mouse program disk in drive A: and type:

       A:MOUSE Mi <return>


   Mouse Systems PC Mouse
   -----------------------
   Put your Mouse program disk in drive A: and type:

       A:MSMOUSE <return>


   Torrington Manager Mouse
   -------------------------
   Put your Mouse program disk in drive A: and type:

       A:TMOUSE <return>


   Kraft Micromouse
   ----------------
   Put your Mouse program disk in drive A: and type:

       A:KMOUSE <return>


   Note:  It is recommended that you run the initialization
          program from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file and then you don't
          need to actually type it each time you turn on the
          computer.


Tutorial - Using the Mouse
---------------------------

   These instructions assume you are already familar with Flow
Charting commands so please refer to the program documentation
before trying to use the mouse.

   If your mouse is properly installed, Flow Charting will allow
you to use it whenever you like.  You can of course still use
the keyboard in the usual way, but the extra power of a mouse
will be at your fingertips whenever you need it.

   All you have to do is hold down the left button and a popup
menu will appear in most cases.  To select something from a
popup menu just move the mouse up or down to the appropriate
item and then release the mouse button.  Releasing the button on
the "Exit Popup" item will exit the popup menu without executing
any command.

  The menus were designed to put the most obvious functions at
the top of the menu so you can get at them quickly.  Other menus
have "Exit Popup" at the top so you do not accidentally choose a
destructive command.  As you become more familar with the menus
you will find that they are logically arranged to get maximum
power with minimum effort.


Color Distortion
-----------------

   If you are using an IBM Color Graphics Adaptor (CGA) or
compatible and you are configured for 40-column mode, the popup
menus will have a little color distortion.  This does not happen
in 80-column mode, nor on any of the other graphics adaptors
(EGA, Hercules, etc.).


Mouse Sensitivity
------------------

   Before you go any further you should experiment with the
mouse.  Try selecting commands from the popup menus then go into
Edit Mode and try moving the cursor around the chart in both
viewing modes (Normal and Shrink Mode).

   If you find that the "sensitivity" of the mouse is too fine
or too coarse you can change it at the Configure Menu.  Select
Configure from the Main Menu and then choose Mouse Sensitivity.
If your mouse was responding too fast then you need to decrease
the sensitivity.  If the mouse wasn't responding fast enough
then increase the sensitivity.  You should only choose an option
once - there are not varying degrees of sensitivity.

   Note: Make sure you save the configuration before exiting
         Flow Charting so that the mouse sensitivity will be
         saved.


Edit Mode
----------

   When you are editing a chart you can move around the page
much faster with a mouse than you can with the keyboard.  You
will also notice that you are more accurate with a mouse - that
is, you can get to a specific location much faster.  This is
very helpful when you are moving, copying, or deleting an area.

   The mouse interface was designed to let you execute all of
the commands with the left button.  All of the edit commands
that can be selected with the function keys can also be selected
from the popup menus.  You can also do things like change the
line style or text style by selecting them from a menu.

   There is only one time when you need to use a different
button - when you want to jump from one Edit mode to another.
When you are copying an image for instance, just press the right
button (or the middle button on a three-button mouse) and select
a new Edit command from the popup menu that appears.

   Let me mention one more thing about Edit Mode.  When you are
building a chart from scratch or making changes to a chart, you
might execute the same command many times - like inserting ten
shapes in a row.  Fortunately, the "Repeat Command" function is
the first item on the edit popup menu, so all you have to do is
press and release the left button when you want to execute the
same command.  You will find that many of the menus are arranged
so that you can just press and release the left button.


Line Mode
----------

   Inserting a line with the mouse is very similar to using the
keyboard.  Once you are in Line Mode, a line will be drawn
wherever you move the mouse.  You can also use the popup menu to
change the linestyle or insert arrows, bypasses, and connectors.

   When you use a mouse, lines cannot be drawn through shapes or
text.  You will find this to your advantage because you can draw
a line between two shapes with the flick of a wrist, and the
cursor will stop just before the second shape - the perfect
place to insert an arrow.

   The cursor will also stop temporarily at arrows, bypasses,
connectors, and even line corners, so you don't have to approach
them too cautiously.  The cursor will delay at these items for
about one second.  This gives you time to make a decision - do
you want to stop or keep going?  If you continue to move the
mouse even though it is stopped at these items, you will be able
to draw right over them.

   You will exit Line Mode after inserting an arrow or connector
but you can also exit by choosing "Escape" from the popup menu.
This is the same as hitting the Escape key.


Copy mode
----------

   The popup menus were designed to require as few button
presses as possible.  You will notice as you get used to the
menus that you can do many things by just pressing the left
button and immediately releasing it - without even glancing at
the menu that appears.  This is especially true with the modes
that require marking an area (Copy, Relocate, Delete, and Save).

   As an example get into Copy Mode and read each popup menu
carefully as we step through a copy procedure.  To mark the two
opposite corners of an area just press and release the left
button at each location.  This just selects "Mark Point" from
the menu.  Now move the cursor to another location and view the
image by pressing (and releasing) the left button.  You just
chose "Display Image".  If you are not satisfied with the new
location of the copy, move the cursor to another position and
press the left button again.  When you are satisfied with the
positioning of your image press the left button one final time -
which selects "Accept".

   As you can see from the above example, the copy procedure
was done with very few button presses, yet at any time, you
could have selected an alternate function (such as "Shrink
on/off") from the popup menu.


Shape mode
-----------

   Inserting a shape with the mouse is also a very quick
procedure requiring only a few button presses.  Once you are in
Shape Mode move the mouse to select the desired shape then press
and release the left button - this selects "Accept Shape".  When
the shape is displayed on the chart, moving the mouse left or
right will decrease or increase the size of the shape.  Hitting
the left button again will select "Accept Size" and insert the
shape.

   The above insertion required only two button presses but you
could also have selected other options (such as "Xray on/off")
when the mouse menu was displayed.


Load Image
-----------

   If you are going to be loading an image from disk repeatedly
or if you load it at an incorrect location, you can repeat the
process with two button presses.  The first button to repeat the
command, and the second button to accept the filename that you
previously used.  This is one feature where a menu does not
appear when you press the mouse button.

   To emphasize - when the filename appears in the Load Image
prompt, you can accept it by hitting the left button.  You can
also escape at that time by hitting the right button.


Summary
--------

   There are of course many other situations where the mouse can
be used in Flow Charting, and you can become an expert in no
time by just reading the popup menus that you encounter.  Good
luck - we hope the mouse helps you to be more productive.
