The basic sphere of application of "Talisman" is the creation
of custom-made interfaces for computers. Now, with the help of "Talisman,"
it is possible to create a rather interesting "virtual" world on the computer.
This world can contain sets of screens, forms, "rooms" and objects.
You create and add almost any type of object to the desktop, and attach
any type of internal Talisman commands or run any application. Objects
(which can be either visible or invisible) can be programmed to react to
mouse clicks or mouse movements. You can also add background pictures
to the desktop and add sounds to different events. All settings and pictures
are stored in a theme file. You can even make more than one theme and use
objects with links to go from one theme to another.
You can use Talisman as your default shell instead the Windows Explorer.
Talisman has its own startup, tray, taskbar and startmenu procedures.
Features:
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╖ Creating multilevel user defined desktops
╖ Use of any number of pictures of any type or dimension, instead of standard icons.
╖ Place, free-moving and imposing of objects in the Talisman workspace.
╖ All objects can run external programs or internal shell commands by one click of the mouse.
╖ The number of forms (screens) in one theme can range from 1 to 1000. Any screen object can be set to switch from one form to another.
╖ You can create a set of independent themes, and store them on any disk in the local computer or on a local area network.
╖ You can easily switch between different themes through your own objects or through the Talisman menu.
╖ The Built-in Object Editor allows the creation, modification and removal of any element in a theme.
╖ Large number of basic elements (forms, pictures, buttons of different types,text blocks)
╖ Customizable system tray, taskbar and clock.
╖ Sound support for all events.
╖ Applications, Task, Theme, Foldermenu, Run, Find, Desktop, ControlPanel, Network, Dialup, Documents and other internal commands.
╖ Script language.
New in version 1.7
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1. A new customizable taskbar is available. You can use Talisman's taskbar in both modes of Talisman (application mode and shell mode). Each element of taskbar has the following settings : 3 pictures (normal,highlighted and pressed); font with 2 colors (normal and highlighted); iconsize; icon offset. Taskbar can be oriented vertically or horizontally and can be docked to any side of the screen.
2. A new customizable clock is available. You can adjust clock position, time format, font and background picture. You can use the Talisman's clock in both modes of Talisman (application mode and shell mode).
3. A new system tray is available in shell mode of Talisman. Each element of system tray has the following settings : 3 pictures (normal,highlighted and pressed); font with 2 colors (normal and highlighted); iconsize; icon offset. System tray can be oriented vertically or horizontally and can be docked to any side of the screen.
4. New internal command:
drawframes <x> <y> <frames> <delay in ms> <picture filename> - draws animated picture on the screen. X,Y - coordinates of the top-left conner of animation window. Delay - delay in milliseconds between frames. Frames - number of frames in *.bmp file.
You can use a transparent color (Magenta) in your animation.
5. "Taskbar", "Clock", "System tray", "Program settings" pages are added in Talisman Object Editor.
6. "Script" and "Custom menu" pages are added in Talisman Object Editor. You can create and edit scripts and menus directly in the Object Editor like all other objects.
7. The new submenu "Settings" is added. You can call a Taskbar, Tray and other settings from popup menu.
8. The new option "Play sound" in the Program tab of the Object Editor allows you to enable/disable sounds for all themes.
9. The new option "Dragging in workmode" in the Program tab of the Object Editor allows you to enable/disable dragging of any object in workmode with pressed "Ctrl" button.
10. The new option "Drag and Drop files" in the Program tab of the Object Editor allows you to enable/disable drag&drop files from Explorer in Talisman in workmode of Talisman.
11. Border and Transparent options for shapes are added.
12. The new popup menu in the Object Editor's tree allows you to arrange, delete and rename any objects directly in the Object Editor.
Corrections:
1. Internat.exe now supported by Talisman System Tray.
2. The shell switching procedure of tss.exe (Talisman Shell Switcher) was corrected. Now the tss.exe can work with a "long file names" folders.
3. Error in inputbox object is corrected.
4. Error with capitalized letters for "write" command is corrected.
5. The workarea setting is changed. Now the "Right" and "Bottom" settings are the offsets in pixels from Right and bottom size of screen.
Known problems:
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1. FindFile command does not work in shell-mode.
2. Shutdown dialog does not work with Windows 95.
3. Controlmenu command does not work with Windows NT/2000.
We'll correct these problems as soon as possible.
Installing the program:
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- Uninstall any previously installed versions of the Talisman (Do not unisntall Talisman in shell mode of Talisman!)
- Install the newest version of Talisman.
The installation also creates a "Borland" subdirectory in the "Program Files" Directory
(c:\program files\borland). The "Borland" directory is essential to the program.
Do not remove or rename it.
- If you want Talisman to execute at startup, place a Talisman shortcut in your
- If you have installed version of BDE (Borland Database Engine) on your computer
or you have received the installation message about another version of BDE -
please, return (press "Back" button) and select the Compact installation in Setup Dialogue.
Talisman will work with your installed version of BDE.
Installing as default shell
===========================
Please read the" What to do if the system will not startup with Talisman as the shell?" before installing Talisman as your default shell!
To start Talisman as default shell:
Run Talisman Shell Switcher program tss.exe to switch between shells (Talisman and Explorer).
Or you can switch between shells manually:
Win9x:
1) Open system.ini in a text editor like notepad or type sysedit at the run
dialog box.
2) In the [boot] section find the line shell=Explorer.exe
3) Either change the line to shell=c:\talisman\talisman.exe where c:\talisman
is the path where you have installed Talisman to, or you can put a
semicolon (;) infront of shell=Explorer.exe, hit return, and on the new
line type shell=c:\talisman\talisman.exe .
Note: if you have installed Talisman in a directory whose name contains more than eight characters, you will have to use the MS-DOS name in the shell= command. For example, if you installed Talisman in C:\Program Files\Talisman, the shell command becomes shell=c:\progra~1\talisman\talisman.exe. To find the MS-DOS name right click on the folder, select "Properties" and find the statement "MS-DOS name."
4) Save the file and either reboot your system or if you have multiple
Step by step procedure to start Windows NT/2000 if you uninstall Talisman in shell mode of
Talisman:
1) Start NT.
2) After logining press Ctrl-Alt-Del
3) Press "Task Manager".
4) Press "New Task".
5) Enter: "regedit.exe" and press "Ok".
6) Change the value of register key :
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\WinLogon\Shell
from "../talisman/talisman.exe" in "explorer.exe"
Change the value of register key (if exist):
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Shell
from "../talisman/talisman.exe" in "explorer.exe"
7) Close regedit.exe.
8) Press Ctrl-Alt-Del
9) Logoff or Shutdown to restart Windows.
For Windows 95/98:
1) Restart your computer - either turn it off, then back on or hit the reset button.
With this step timing is critical. As your computer reboots, it will run through a series of checks (memory, hard drives, etc.). After the checks, it will normally display a screen showing your basic hardware configuration. When it does that, push the F8 key (Windows95 and Windows98 do things a little differently here: Win95 shows a statement Starting Windows95, but Win98 does not). Shortly after pushing the F8 key, you will be presented with a menu of startup options.
2) Select "Start at command prompt"
3) When you get a c:> prompt, key in
edit c:\windows\system.ini
(if your windows directory is named something else use that).
4) The screen will change and you will be presented with a basic text editor. Most likely, you won't be able to use your mouse, so you will have to navigate with the keyboard. Use the down arrow to get to the proper line (shell=), then change this string in
shell=explorer.exe
5) Exit the editor. The keystrokes are alt+f to open the File Menu; then x to exit; then y to save the changes.
6) Restart.
For Windows ME:
1) You need to have a bootable diskette and start computer from this diskette.
2) When you get a c:> prompt, key in
edit c:\windows\system.ini
(if your windows directory is named something else use that).
3) The screen will change and you will be presented with a basic text editor. Most likely, you won't be able to use your mouse, so you will have to navigate with the keyboard. Use the down arrow to get to the proper line (shell=), then change this string in
shell=explorer.exe
4) Exit the editor. The keystrokes are alt+f to open the File Menu; then x to exit; then y to save the changes.
5) Restart.
Uninstalling the program:
============================
If you want to uninstall Talisman, use the Control Panel's "Add/Remove Programs."
Attention! Do not uninstall Talisman in shell mode of Talisman. Return your shell in explorer.exe (useTalisman Shell Switcher tss.exe ) and then uninstall Talisman from standard Windows shell.
Starting:
============================
Start Talisman.exe from Windows environment (by double click in
Explorer for example).
PAYING
============================
1. Internet Online Registration
The simplest way to register, is by registering online with a major credit card
through a secure server. Point your browser to the following URL and follow
