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- _______
- MVP Software ____|__ | (R)
- 1035 Dallas SE --| | |-------------------
- Grand Rapids, MI 49507 | ____|__ | Association of
- (616) 245-8376 (voice line) | | |_| Shareware
- contact person: Dave Snyder |__| o | Professionals
- CIS 70363,15 -----| | |---------------------
- |___|___| MEMBER
-
-
-
-
- Taskmaster
-
- Key words: MENU MENU-SYSTEMS TASKMASTER TM LANGUAGE ASP MVP JOB-CONTROL
- SHAREWARE PORTABLE NETWORK LAN UNIX XENIX
-
-
- Taskmaster Version 4.80
- Copyright (c) FmP 1988-1991
- All rights reserved Worldwide
-
- FmP, Market Square Chambers, Market Square, Congleton, Cheshire CW12 1ET
- England Telephone (from US) 011 44 260 272398 Fax 011 44 260 276919
-
- Vendors in the USA or Canada may contact our USA representative:
- ----------------------------------------------------------------
-
- MVP Software Inc., 1035 Dallas SE, Grand Rapids MI 49507; (616) 245-8376
-
- Please note:
- ------------
-
- Taskmaster is also available as a commercial (non-shareware) product on MS-DOS,
- PC-DOS, Xenix, Unix and CDOS. The MS-DOS commercial release of Taskmaster is
- known as Taskmaster Professional and is subject to more regular updates than
- the shareware version and has a standard commercial support scheme.
-
- (All trademarks acknowledged).
-
- Reproduction of the product by Distributors:
- --------------------------------------------
-
- (Commercial vendors, user groups, BBS operators, Computer Clubs, etc.)
-
- Distributors may charge a nominal disk fee of no more than $10. They must
- supply the entire original set of files but may add to these if they wish.
- Distributors may also combine the original files (plus any they may add) into
- a single file -- the suggested name is TM480.ZIP.
-
- Restrictions:
- -------------
-
- Do not list Taskmaster in any advertisement, catalog etc. which describes
- Taskmaster either as "PUBLIC DOMAIN" or as "FREE SOFTWARE". Taskmaster is
- shareware. Shareware is "Try-Before-You-Buy" software; it is not free.
-
- The shareware version of Taskmaster must not be offered for sale with printed
- documentation, nor may it be provided as part of a larger system without the
- express written permission of FmP or MVP Software. The rights to receive any
- such financial or other benefit, and to modify the product or employ its com-
- ponents in any kind of derivative work, are reserved exclusively by FmP. You
- may not reverse-engineer, disassemble, modify, decompile or create derivative
- works of the product.
-
- The following files must be in the root of all issue disks:
-
- GO.BAT : Batch file for installation from floppy
- PRINTMAN.BAT : Batch file to print file LICENCE.FMP
- INSTALL.TSK : The installer task
- INSTALL.OVR : Screens for the installer task
- LOGON.OVR : General Screens file
- FMPVT52.DEF : Video definition file
- LIST.COM : A shareware file viewer
- TM.EXE : The Taskmaster interpreter
- TMISSUE.EXE : Self extract archive - basic files
- TMEXAM.EXE : Self extract archive - additional examples
- TMMANUAL.EXE : Self extract archive - on-line manuals
- LICENCE.FMP : Product and registration information
- VENDOR.DOC : This file
- README : Important installation information
-
- Short Description: Taskmaster is the INTELLIGENT Menuing language. Completely
- programmable yet amazingly simple to learn, it will grow right along with your
- system. Supports LANs. Extensive on-line help. Developed in England and used
- by major British companies including British Gas South Western and Commercial
- Computer Services Ltd. Available for the first time in North America.
-
- Description:
-
- Taskmaster is the INTELLIGENT menu system.
-
- Typical menu systems make computers easier to use, which makes users more
- relaxed and productive. With a menu system users interact with a friendly
- "Front-End" while the menu system deals with the unfriendly operating system.
- This effectively shields the inexperienced or infrequent user from the
- unfriendly aspects of the operating system.
-
- Taskmaster does all this and much more. As the only programmable user
- interface product on the market, Taskmaster is unique. No single "front-end"
- can satisfy all users; Taskmaster therefore allows far more extensive and
- flexible configuration than competing products. Typical menu systems allow
- limited configuration of the user interface; e.g., define the names, locations
- and parameters of your applications. Taskmaster, however, is implemented as a
- high level language. It comes with user menu tasks which permit you to get up
- and running immediately while maintaining flexibility. Yet you may also
- program Taskmaster for TOTAL control of the user interface. Everything
- displayed on the screen is under your control. You are not stuck with someone
- else's ideas. Today you may only want Taskmaster's ease of use. But tomorrow
- YOU WILL NEED TASKMASTER'S UNSURPASSED FLEXIBILITY. Taskmaster is the ONLY
- user interface that you cannot outgrow.
-
- Not a programmer? If you can speak English you can program using Taskmaster's
- intuitive fourth-generation language. Yet it has the power to offer you
- complete control over the computing environment.
-
- Features include:
-
- * Supplied end-user tasks make Taskmaster suitable for beginners
- * Programability makes Taskmaster suitable for experts
- * Taskmaster can launch even the largest of applications
- * Can restrict access to system prompt, applications, directories
- * Can prevent other applications from providing access to a system prompt
- * Can implement timeouts on menus - for security and screen saving
- * Optionally provides secure access via user names and passwords
- * Can return you DIRECTLY to ANY PREVIOUS menu level
- * Ideal for data capture; able to pass data to applications
- * Data can easily be saved to disk for later restoration
- * No restrictions on complexity of each option
- * Taskmaster is an ideal first language - easier than BASIC!
- * Taskmaster is portable to other operating systems
- * Can perform scheduling of periodic routine tasks such as backups, etc.
- * Can report and act on results from any application
- * Automatically records user activity in an encrypted catalogue
- * Can easily log actions to a journal
- * Can create and read ASCII text files - e.g. output from utilities
- * Can directly read the screen - closing messages etc.
- * Can switch between video "screen pages"
- * Can get and set all file (and directory) attributes
- * Is intelligent, flexible, expandable, indispensable
- * Is upgradeable to Protean, a fuller programming language, LANs, Unix and CDOS
- systems -- in short, when your system grows, Taskmaster grows right along
- with it.
- * Minimum hardware requirements: 360K floppy, 256K RAM, DOS 2.0
- * Upgradeable to interface with Unix, Xenix, and CDOS micro, mini and mainframe
- systems
-
- What users and reviewers are saying about Taskmaster:
-
- ". . . an efficient language for the machines we use, giving faster processing
- and more code in the machines. . . . Our programmers also find Protean
- [Taskmaster's programming language] easy to learn and quick to use." -- Brian
- Downes, Systems Manager, British Gas South Western
-
- "[Taskmaster] was the natural choice because of its multi-user, networking
- capabilities and ease of support. Its compact size enables mainframe software
- to be permanently loaded alongside the application." -- Hugo Grimes, Commercial
- Computer Services Ltd
-
- "[Taskmaster] is an extremely professionally-designed language which has
- excellent professional-level documentation and is implemented in a way which
- gives me great confidence in its abilities. . . . In the multi-user, mixed-
- platform, multiple operating system environment for which it has been designed
- I believe you will be hard pressed to beat it. A very interesting and
- impressive product." -- PC Week (Britain), July 16, 1991.
-
- Registration Options: $79.95 product support via CompuServe, phone, mail.
-
- $94.95 with printed manual (provided as an option
- because not all users will need a printed manual;
- the program comes with an extensive on-disk
- manual and series of help screens. Recommended
- for individual use where a printed manual is
- desired.
-
- $249.95 for Taskmaster Professional, the commercial
- version of the product, which includes a printed
- manual in a slip-case, free preferred lifetime
- support, customized programming available, on-
- site installation and training available,
- upgrades to Protean available, LAN, UNIX,
- XENIX and CDOS versions available. Interfaces
- with micro and mainframe systems. Contact MVP
- Software for details. Recommended for corpor-
- ate, government or institutional use. Discounts
- of up to 70% available for site licenses and
- network systems.
-
- All product registrations and purchases come with a free introductory member-
- ship to CompuServe, including a $15 usage credit. A $49 value, free with
- product purchase!
-