PC Shareware 1996 December/PC_Shareware-1996-12.iso/dos/neobook/nb1.cmp/README.DOC

Text File | 1996-01-02 | 12.3 KB | 452 lines

         NeoBook/NeoBook Pro - Version 2.1
               Electronic Publisher
            (C)1993-1996 NeoSoft Corp.

             * IMPORTANT INFORMATION *

--------
CONTENTS
--------

* New Features in Version 2.1
* System Requirements
* Supported Video Cards
* Starting NeoBook
* Templates Available for NeoBook
* Acquiring Additional Fonts
* Mouse Driver Problems
* Customer Services & Technical Support
* Registering NeoBook
* Distributing Your Publications
* Other Products from NeoSoft


---------------------------
NEW FEATURES IN VERSION 2.1
---------------------------

*     15 and 16-Bit Hi-Color (display 32K,
      64K color images on supported video
      cards).
*     Support for BMP image files (Windows
      and OS/2 formats).
*     Optional image Compression and
      Optimization for compiled slide shows.
*     Added a font cache for faster font
      loading and display. Makes
      publications with multiple fonts
      execute faster.
*     Added options for italics and fixed
      spacing in NeoBook text files. Use ^I
      and ^i to turn italics on and off. For
      example: This is ^Iitalics^i. For
      fixed spacing, use ^F and ^f. For
      example: ^FThis is fixed^f This is
      not.
*     Removed support for GIF image files
*     Added option for TEXTWINDOW and
      IMAGEWINDOW placement. The new syntax
      is TEXTWINDOW "TITLE" "HORIZ" "VERT"
      "FILENAME".


-------------------
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
-------------------

To use NeoBook you will need the following:

o     IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 or 100%
      compatible computer. A 286 or better
      CPU is recommended.

o     EGA, VGA, Super VGA, Hercules
      monochrome or compatible graphics card
      and monitor. See Supported Video Cards
      below for information on compatible
      Super VGA cards.

o     640K minimum RAM.

o     A hard disk.


o     MS-DOS, PC-DOS 3.1 (or higher) or DR-
      DOS.

o     Microsoft, Logitech or compatible
      pointing device.


---------------------
SUPPORTED VIDEO CARDS
---------------------

NeoBook will run on any computer system
equipped with a 100% compatible EGA, VGA,
Super VGA or Hercules graphics card. To
operate NeoBook in 256 (except 320x200),
32K, 64K or 16 Million color video modes,
you must have a Super VGA video card
equipped with one of the following chipsets
(or a close compatible):

Advance Logic
Ahead Systems
ATI
Cirrus Logic
Compaq QVision
NCR
Oak
Paradise/Western Digital
S3*
Trident
Tseng ET3000
Tseng ET4000
Video Seven
Weitek
XGA
or any VESA compatible chipset.

* Some S3 video cards require special
command line options in order to work
properly with NeoBook. If you have an S3
chipset and you experience problems, contact
NeoSoft Technical support [phone].

NOTE: There may exist either now or in the
future, video cards based on revisions of
the above chipsets which may not be
recognized by this version of NeoBook. If
you experience problems related to your
video card, please contact NeoSoft Technical
support [phone].

CGA USERS: Due to severe limitations
inherent in their design, CGA video cards
are not supported. This includes many Tandy
1000 systems which are essentially CGA.


----------------
STARTING NEOBOOK
----------------

For the steps below, we assume that you have
installed NeoBook in the directory
C:\NEOBOOK. If you installed NeoBook in a
different DOS subdirectory, then substitute
that name for C:\NEOBOOK below.

o     Your mouse driver (usually MOUSE.COM)
      must be loaded before running NeoBook.
      Please refer to your mouse's user
      manual for more information.

o     To change to the NeoBook directory, at
      the DOS prompt (C:\), type CD\NEOBOOK
      and press Enter. This places you in
      the NeoBook subdirectory.

o     Once you have switched to the proper
      directory, NeoBook can be started from
      the DOS command line by typing NEOBOOK
      followed by the Enter key.



-------------------------------
TEMPLATES AVAILABLE FOR NEOBOOK
-------------------------------

NeoSoft offers a diskette filled with ready-
to-use templates, wallpaper images, icons,
widgets and production ideas for NeoBook.
This disk is available for $10 plus shipping
and handling:

United States: $5 US Mail, $9 FedEx
Canada/Mexico: $7 Air Mail, $10 UPS, $17 FedEx
Other Nations: $12 Air Mail, $19 FedEx

Note: FedEx/UPS cannot deliver to PO Boxes

To order contact NeoSoft at:

Voice: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

or write:

NeoSoft Corp.
354 NE Greenwood Avenue, Suite 108
Bend, OR 97701-4631


--------------------------
ACQUIRING ADDITIONAL FONTS
--------------------------

NeoBook comes with a variety of fonts.
Additional font collections are available
from NeoSoft for $10 each or $20 for all
three plus shipping and handling. Currently
three font collections are available each
containing over 1MB of fonts.

* NeoSoft Text Fonts
* NeoSoft Title Fonts
* NeoSoft Accent Fonts

To order contact NeoSoft at:

Voice: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

or write:

NeoSoft Corp.
354 NE Greenwood Avenue, Suite 108
Bend, OR 97701-4631

Please specify which font disk(s) you want
when ordering.

OTHER FONTS
-----------

In addition, third party software that can
generate GEM screen fonts (used by the DOS
version of Ventura Publisher) may also be
used to create fonts for NeoBook. Simply
follow the program's instructions for
generating screen fonts. Copy the fonts to
your NeoBook directory and rename them so
that they use the .GFT extension.


---------------------
MOUSE DRIVER PROBLEMS
---------------------

If your mouse behaves strangely when using
NeoBook, you may need to update your mouse
driver software. Problems such as an
invisible cursor or a pointer that leaves a
trail of pigment on the screen are typical
of certain older mouse drivers. Contact the
computer store where you purchased your
mouse or the manufacturer for information
about updating your mouse driver.


-------------------------------------
CUSTOMER SERVICES & TECHNICAL SUPPORT
-------------------------------------

NeoSoft provides its registered software
customers with free technical support. We
also provide limited technical support to
persons evaluating our products during the
30 day evaluation period.

We do, however, strongly encourage people to
register. Software development and support
is very expensive and we need your help if
we are to continue to provide quality
programs at affordable prices. If you
haven't already, please take a few moments
to register. This will assure you of
eligibility for technical support, product
update notification, special discounts,
announcements, etc.

However, if you are experiencing problems,
please contact our technical support
department so that we can solve your problem
BEFORE you register. Registration may solve
many problems but it does not always endow
the program with features and functions that
do not exist.

If you should encounter a technical problem
or question not covered in the manual, you
may use one of the following avenues to
obtain technical assistance:

MAIL POSTAL CORRESPONDENCE TO:
------------------------------

NeoSoft Corp.
Customer Support
354 NE Greenwood Avenue, Suite 108
Bend, OR 97701-4631

TELEPHONE SUPPORT:
------------------

Technical support and product update
information are available between the hours
of 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM (Pacific Standard
Time), Monday through Friday.

Please have the following information
available for the support staff when you
call:

*     Brand name and model of your computer
      system, mouse, video adapter and
      monitor.

*     Operating system (DOS) version number.

*     A listing of the contents of your
      AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files.

*     A description of the problem, how it
      occurred, and how to reproduce it.

Telephone support may be obtained by calling
[phone]. You may also FAX your
questions to [phone].

ELECTRONIC BULLETIN BOARD SERVICE:
----------------------------------

Up to date product information, evaluation
programs and supplements may be obtained via
modem from our BBS. The telephone number is
[phone]. The bulletin board operates
using N/8/1/300-14.4 Baud.

COMPUSERVE SERVICE:
-------------------
You may also receive technical support,
updates information and evaluation copies of
all our products from our forum on
CompuServe. Simply type GO NEOSOFT at any !
prompt.


-------------------
REGISTERING NEOBOOK
-------------------

You may evaluate NeoBook for a period of up
to 30 days before registering. To obtain a
registered version including registration
number, typeset manual, the latest version
on disk, technical support, update notices
and a runtime license to distribute your
compiled publications royalty free, call
NeoSoft at [phone]. We can process
your order with VISA, MasterCard, American
Express, or Discover over the phone. The
purchase price of NeoBook is $45 and NeoBook
Professional, which includes support for sound,
flic animation and external DOS commands, is
$89.95. Please also include shipping and
handling as defined below:

United States: $5 US Mail, $9 FedEx
Canada/Mexico: $7 Air Mail, $10 UPS, $17 FedEx
Other Nations: $12 Air Mail, $19 FedEx

Note: FedEx/UPS cannot deliver to PO Boxes

If you prefer, FAX your order to us at
[phone]. If you would like to mail a
check or money order, make sure it's drawn
against a U.S. bank in U.S. funds. Our
address is:

NeoSoft Corp.
354 NE Greenwood Ave. Suite 108
Bend, OR 97701-4631

You may also purchase NeoBook from any one
of our many dealers world wide. For a list
of dealers see the DEALER.DOC file
accompanying this program.

If you would like to give a copy of this
program to a friend or associate please do
so, but you may NOT give anyone your
registration/serial number. We hope you
enjoy the program and share it with your
friends.


------------------------------
DISTRIBUTING YOUR PUBLICATIONS
------------------------------

Users who have registered NeoBook or NeoBook
Pro, may use them to produce and distribute
compiled stand alone executable (EXE)
versions of their publications. You may
distribute these stand alone executable
(EXE) programs royalty free, provided you
place the following notice on each physical
disk or in a portion of the publication
visible to the end user:

  Publication created using NeoBook (TM)

In addition, your agreement with anyone who
will use the stand alone executable programs
which you distribute must acknowledge the
following items:

1.    NeoBook is owned by NeoSoft Corp.;
2.    NeoSoft Corp. will not be held
      responsible for damages caused by the
      disks and programs that you create and
      distribute; and
3.    NeoSoft Corp. is under no obligation
      to provide product or technical
      support to users of the products which
      you create using NeoBook.

You may only distribute the stand alone
executable programs produced by NeoBook. You
may not distribute with your stand alone
executable programs any portion of NeoBook's
documentation, labels, packaging, serial
numbers, Product Registration Card, or other
related materials and printed information
included with NeoBook.

UNREGISTERED versions of NeoBook and NeoBook
Pro may not be used to distribute compiled
publications except for purposes of
evaluating the product prior to registration
(within the 30 day trial period). Under no
circumstances may you sell, rent or charge
a fee for compiled publications created with
UNREGISTERED versions of NeoBook or NeoBook
Pro.


---------------------------------
OTHER GREAT PRODUCTS FROM NEOSOFT
---------------------------------

For information on the many exciting
products available from NeoSoft please refer
to the CATALOG.TXT file in your NeoBook
directory.

Evaluation copies of most NeoSoft products
be obtained from better shareware disk
vendors or downloaded from most major
on-line services such as CompuServe (GO
NEOSOFT) or from the NeoSoft BBS service at
[phone]. For additional information,
pricing or dealer information contact the
NeoSoft Sales Department at [phone].


----------------------------
Thank you for trying NeoBook