home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Thank you for reading me!
-
-
- ===================================================
- D E S K T O P W I Z A R D
- ===================================================
- v1.5 SHAREWARE VERSION
- (c)Frank Cid 1997-98, Cerebral Software
- Buffalo, NY!
- 32-bit Windows 95
-
- Must install to a directory called c:\deskwiz
- Must have MCI device installed to play MID files
-
-
-
- Wizard is: (among other things)
-
- * A Program launcher
- * A cdplayer
- * A Quake Launcher
- * Your magical pal
-
- And will be many other things when totally complete!. I plan to take
- over the world!. :) anyone in?
-
- --------------------------------
- * BORING BUT NECESSARY LEGAL STUFF
- --------------------------------
-
- BY INSTALLING THIS SOFTWARE YOU AGREE BY USING THIS SOFTWARE THE AUTHOR MAKES
- NO GUARANTEES OR WARRANTIES OF THE PROGRAMS PERFORMANCE OR COMPATIBILITY WITH
- VARIOUS PLATFORMS. THIS VERSION HAS BEEN RUN AND TESTED UNDER WINDOWS 95. THIS
- PROGRAM IS SHAREWARE AND YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO DISTRIBUTE THIS SHAREWARE
- PROVIDING THIS DOCUMENTATION IS INCLUDED WITH IT. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS
- EMAIL ME: Cysonic@interserv.com. DESKTOP WIZARD HAS NOT BEEN TESTED TO WORK
- WITH WINDOWS NT SO I CURRENTLY DON'T SUPPORT IT.
-
- THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN SCANNED FOR VIRUSES AND AS WITH ALL SOFTWARE YOU ARE
- ENCOURAGED TO TEST THESE FILES WITH YOUR OWN VIRUS SCANNING SOFTWARE BEFORE
- INSTALLING IT. THIS PROGRAM IS NOT A VIRUS AND IT IS UP TO YOU TO TRUST THE
- SOURCE IN WHICH YOU RECEIVED IT FROM.
-
- -------------------------
- * INSTALLING DESKTOP WIZARD
- -------------------------
-
- IMPORTANT!!!! CREATE A DIRECTORY CALLED C:\DESKWIZ AND COPY ALL FILES
- IN THIS ARCHIVE TO THAT DIRECTORY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO
- INSTALL TO A DIFFERENT DIRECTORY, WIZARD LOOKS FOR IT'S
- DATA FILE THERE AND IT's SOUND FILES, THIS IS CRUCIAL
- TO THE OPERATION OF THE DESKTOP WIZARD AS OF NOW. IF YOU
- NOTICE IT'S NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY, THIS IS PROBABLY
- WHY. (GULP!)
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- -----------------------------------------
- * DESKTOP WIZARDS SOLE PURPOSE OF EXISTANCE
- -----------------------------------------
-
- Hello!
- Welcome to my latest project, the Desktop Wizard. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said,
- "If necessity is the mother of invention, creativity is the father.". Desktop
- Wizard was just that, a result of a necessity, I wanted a fast way to get to
- my own customized programs, and with the mother of invention and father of
- creativity, wizard was conceived.
-
- Wizard is a user configurable interface which allows you to set up applications
- that you use most often, with the editor you can assign icons to applications
- and customize them. Wizard also has a picture of a wizard that allows you to
- configure the wizards eyes to run applications also. By clicking on either of
- the wizards eyes, your program will execute, The wizards ring allows you to
- logon to the system as a different user (If your system is set up for multiple
- users) and his Crystal ball will open the spellbook where you can click on your
- user configurable icons. Wizard has supplied some icons, but any ICO file you
- may have will work just fine. I will be working on separate users being able
- to use wizard depending on their userid and password.
-
- Wizard has a built in drop down list also with common tasks such as defrag,
- scandisk, MSD, and of course solitaire. (I'm a DOOM/QUAKE type myself). Just
- click on the magic wand after selecting your option and off you go!
-
-
- -------------------------------
- * FEATURES/COMMAND LINE ARGUMENTS
- -------------------------------
-
- Desktop Wizard is 2 programs in one:
-
-
- COMMAND LINE:
-
- DESKWIZ.EXE /qwiz - Run QuakeRunner Quake Launcher Only.
-
- DESKWIZ.EXE /jam - Run the CDPLAYER only.
-
- Or just plain DESKWIZ.EXE to run the Desktop Wizard.
-
- or run QTRAY.EXE which is outlined below.
-
-
-
- ---------------------
- * QTRAY.EXE WHAT IS IT?
- ---------------------
- By running QTRAY, a quake icon will appear in your system tray near the clock.
- if you right click you can run Desktop Wizard, if you click twice on the
- icon it will run QuakeRunner. This icon was originally supposed to be a Wizard,
- but I like the neat Quake Icon so I kept it in. Put QTRAY.EXE in your startup
- group using the advanced taskbar options and qtray is at your disposal when you
- need it.
-
- -------------------
- * PASSWORD PROTECTION
- -------------------
- You can set up a password with wizard. The default password is 'password'.
- it can be changed through the configuration setup. This is handy if you
- like your privacy so to speak and once you've configured DeskTop Wizard,
- you don't want anyone else running your programs so easily. Wizard can
- be 'Locked' also if you plan to walk away and 'Unlocked' when you return
- with the correct password entered.
-
- ------------------------
- * LAUNCHING YOUR FAVORITES
- ------------------------
- This version supports up to 16 programmable programs with custom icons. Wizard
- comes with a standard setup, if you have a collection of Icon Files (ICO) you
- can use the Wizard Icon Browser to preview an icon and pick an icon for that
- application. Each time Wizard loads it will read in these icons from various
- locations on your hard drive if any, and display these icons in the Wizards
- Spellbook where you can simply click on the icon and your program executes.
- Just remember it's better to store them all in the C:\DESKWIZ Directory, if
- the location of an icon is removed, Wizard won't find it.
-
- ----------------------------------
- * USING WIZARDS EYES TO RUN PROGRAMS
- ----------------------------------
-
- Any program can be run by setting up the Wizard's eyes in the program setup.
- I use one his eyes to bring up my Dial-Up Networking "CONNECT TO" screen.
- By using rundll32 and envoking a specific function and then pass it an
- argument. This is a real handy shortcut that helps you get on the NET even
- quicker. I have my Wizards right eye load Internet Explorer.
-
- Notice my example:
-
- rundll32.exe rnaui.dll,RnaDial AT&T Worldnet
-
- The command Above envokes the RnaDial function of rnaui.dll and brings up the
- connection I had set up for AT&T Worldnet. You simply replace that name with
- your connection name you've set up with dial-up networking, For instance:
-
- rundll32.exe rnaui.dll,RnaDial Compuserve
-
- Take EXTREME NOTE that these dll procs don't play around. They want their
- information exactly the way it wants it. Make sure there are no added
- spaces or mispellings, because don't look for it to tell you whats wrong,
- it will just envoke for a few seconds and nothing will happen, leaving you
- clueless and frustrated.
-
-
- --------------------
- * BUILT IN RUN COMMAND
- --------------------
- Wizard has a built in RUN COMMAND, much like the Windows Run Command, here
- you can launch any program you are able to launch from the start button.
-
-
- * A dropdown list which maybe later on i'll make configurable. As of now
- by selecting from the dropdown list or in Wizards Case "DropUp list" you can
- run such applications as Registry Editor, Msd, Scandisk, and more with the
- click of a button!. Just select your option and click on the magic wand
- and your application begins.
-
-
- * A Windows ICON which when clicked twice will shutdown Windows available
- directory on the interface, as well as EXPLORER, and a Drop to DOS option
- available with just a click.
-
- ----------------------
- * WIZARD TIPS AT STARTUP
- ----------------------
- Wizard will display a different tip each time you load it. You can edit these
- tips through the options pulldown menu, when adding tips, Be sure to remove
- any blank spaces from the file. This won't hurt anything accept it may run
- wizard one day and the tip chosen could be blank. As you read this, The option
- to skip deletes is probably being added. By clicking on the spellbook, the tip
- will also change, otherwise it changes each time the program is run. These
- are not limited to just tips of course, add quotes, jokes, or lottery numbers
- if you like.
-
- -----------------------
- * INTERNAL QUAKE LAUNCHER
- -----------------------
- Internal Quake Launcher allowing you to easily setup a dialup connection with
- a friend or play a local game by selecting a level from a dropdown list. The
- quake launcher has been tested with v1.06 and also has a dropdown modem selec-
- tion list with most common modems so you can configure your modem easily. No
- more cutting and pasting from technical documentations. QuakeWizard can be
- loaded and Deskwizard bypassed by running deskwiz.exe /qwiz from the command
- line or an icon.
-
- --------------------------
- * INTERNAL SOUND EVENTS/MIDI
- --------------------------
- Sound events occur when you click on a button in wizard or other functions
- while you use it. You can change these event sounds by creating a new wav
- file or renaming another wav file to one of the sounds in the c:\deskwiz
- directory. Be advised that playing large WAV files will chew up processor
- cycles. The smaller, the better. Naturally, I have a version that allows
- you to select events, for registered users only. The MIDI, wiz.mid plays
- when DeskWizard is loaded and can be changed obviously to something you
- want if you get tired of the current one. If your sound is not working, it's
- probably because you don't have a midi device installed. Check your windows
- setup. By default the MIDI will play only once. IN future versions I may add
- looping, but people generally get sick of hearing it over and over again
- anyway so I don't see it as necessary right now. You can turn the sound off
- at any time by selecting 'OPTIONS'. and 'stop background sound'
-
- ----------------------------------------------
- * WIZJAMMER CD PLAYER BETA WITH PLAYLIST SUPPORT
- ----------------------------------------------
-
- The WizJammer is a CD-Player which can be accessed quickly. It is recommended
- at this point to have the CD in the drive first, then load WizJammer since
- during initialization it reads the number of tracks so they can be selected.
- It is also recommended that you disable Windows 95 Autoplay feature, by going
- into the explorer, select view, select options, select file types, and find
- the little CD with the music note on it. And remove the /play command or the
- entire type which can be replaced by the wizard. Wizards command to start up
- with the CD is deskwiz /jam. The Wizjammer will automatically recognise the
- CD in the drive, If you have set up a playlist entry for it, and configured
- a picture, every time you insert a cd, the album cover for that CD is
- displayed and songs are selectable by name. This is totally user configurable
- through the WizJammer or by typing 'notepad c:\deskwiz\playlist.dat. Be sure
- to follow the strict guidelines in entering the CD information. WizJammer
- scans this file each time it is called apon.
-
-
- -----------------
- * WIZARD DATA FILES
- -----------------
-
- c:\deskwiz\spells.dat - Stores the programs, pointers to icons, and command
- lines to be executed when icons are clicked.
- If you get wierd characters in your spellbook,
- somethings wrong with the file, delete it and
- use your backup. (You did back it up right?) :)
- there is a backup in the deskwiz dir called
- spells.oop, just in case there's a mistake.
-
- c:\deskwiz\wpmem.def - A default configuration file which can be renamed to
- wpmem.dat if any problems should occur (Gulp!).
-
-
- c:\deskwiz\wiztips.dat - Contains the tips that are displayed each time you
- run DeskTop Wizard. These tips are user configurable.
- Just add a tip to the end of the file or change them!.
- If you have already loaded the program, click on the
- spellbook and another tip will be displayed.
-
-
-
-
- c:\deskwiz\playlist.dat - WizJammer playlist file. Add/Remove CD's
-
-
- - ENDING COMMENTS
-
-
- If you haven't already get Virtual Memories from me: cysonic@interserv.com
- it is a program dedicated to the band RUSH. It contains all their album
- covers and allows you to select that album and select from a list of songs
- and envoke the windows 95 cd-player. Also displays portraits of the band
- while your listening to the music.
-
- Included in this archive are sample icons for wizard, I have tons more icons
- if you are interested in them, just email me, the nice part is you can use
- whatever icons you may have on another drive somewhere and wizard will
- get them each time you click on the wizards crystal ball.
-
-
- --------------------------------------------------
- * SHAREWARE INFORMATION/PROGRAM UPDATES/ENHANCEMENTS
- --------------------------------------------------
- If you wish to donate $10 and receive free future versions of the Wizard,
- and receive other program goodies, email me, then I will give you my
- address. This program is of course SHAREWARE and you are encouraged to
- pass me along your universe to others. By donating your telling me in
- essence, that you enjoy the work i've done and you're not cheap. :) And
- also, you will be able to browse for program files as well as icons,
- making it much easier to find programs to run.
-
-
- Special thanks to Dan Mendez, Arthur Kelder, Jean Martin, Jordan Cid,
- Robert Bologna for their contributions. Jamie Cid for distribution and
- other aspects of support. Hello to all my Virtual Friends on the Internet.
- And to SONIC! for many, many late nights battling it out in DOOM II. Those
- were the days. And to Matt tober, for our many days of creative programming
- with Borland C++ and CampFires.
-
- -------
- CREDITS
- -------
-
- Microsoft Windows is Copyright Microsoft Corporation.
- Quake name, pictures, icons, sounds, property of ID Software and it's respective partners.
- If you don't have quake yet! go Out and get it! http://www.idsoftware.com
- DeskTop Wizard, QuakeRunner, WizJammer Copyright (c) Frank Cid Cerebral Software.
-
-
- Enjoy The Program folks, this is only the beginning!
- Frank Cid - Yea, it's me, the one you know. aka: Hex Luthor
- Buffalo, NY
- cysonic@interserv.com