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------------------------------------------------------ THORPACK: Memory-Resident Scratch Pad and Calculator ------------------------------------------------------ Version 1.0 Copyright (c) 1985 by THORMARK SYSTEMS All rights reserved. THORPACK is a memory-resident scratch pad and four-function calculator program for the IBM PC, PC/XT, and compatible MS-DOS (2.x) computers. THORPACK's scratch pad allows the user to jot quick notes or to scan the entries in his notes file without exiting his current application. THORPACK's calculator performs floating- point addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to 15- digit accuracy. Both are available during the execution of other programs by means of a single keypress combination (ALT + F10). Since THORPACK is not compatible with all other application programs, it is also possible to remove it from memory, restoring keyboard vectors and interrupts to their original state, without rebooting. ** INSTALLING THORPACK ** --------------------------- To install THORPACK simply issue the command THORPACK from the DOS prompt. THORPACK will be loaded into memory, and you will be informed by a message: THORPACK Memory Resident Program Installed: Press Alt-F10 If THORPACK is already installed, or some other memory-resident program has already taken control of the interrupt used by THORPACK, you will receive a message to that effect and nothing else will happen. That's all there is to it. When installed, THORPACK occupies about 40 K bytes of memory. ** USING THORPACK ** --------------------- To invoke THORPACK, press the key combination ALT + F10. A window will be opened at the center of your screen, overlaying the original screen contents, and THORPACK's menu will be displayed. When you are finished and quit THORPACK, the original contents of your screen will be restored and the cursor returned to its original position. THORPACK's menu offers four choices: -- 1 -- THORDATE C Calculator J Jot a note S Scan notes Q Quit and prompts you to press a key for your selection. Pressing 'Q' at this point (or whenever the menu is displayed) exits the program. The menu window vanishes from your screen, and its original contents are restored. THORPACK, however, remains resident in memory and can be invoked again by another press of the ALT + F10 key combination. C: Calculator THORPACK's calculator operates just like a normal four- function pocket calculator. Numbers are entered from the keypad. (There is no need to press Num Lock first. That's been taken care of.) Operations are selected by pressing '+' (addition), '-' (subtraction), '*' (multiplication), or '/' (division). Pressing 'S' for Subtotal displays the result at any intermediate stage of operations and retains that result as the first operand for the next operation. Pressing '=' or 'T' for Total displays the result but does not retain it. The next computation starts fresh. Pressing 'C' for Cancel cancels the current entry and redisplays the previous result, if any. Pressing 'R' for Reset clears and resets the calculator. Pressing 'X' for eXchange +/- changes the sign of the current entry. Finally, pressing 'Q' for Quit "turns off" the calculator and returns you to the THORPACK menu, from which you may exit the program. J: Jot a note Pressing 'J' invokes THORPACK's scratch pad. The menu disappears and you are prompted to enter the name of a disk file to receive your notes. The default filename JOTTINGS.DTA can be selected by simply pressing <ENTER> at this point. THORPACK recognizes normal DOS drive and path specifications. If no drive or path is specified, THORPACK will look for your notes file in the current directory of the currently-logged drive. If THORPACK cannot locate the file you have specified, it will inform you of that fact and ask you if you wish to create the file. Answering 'N' for 'No' at this point will return you to the THORPACK menu and allow you to start over. If you answer 'Y' for 'Yes', THORPACK will create the specified notes file and open it for your entries. If THORPACK does find the file, of course, it will simply be opened for entries straightaway. In either case, you will next find yourself at the Scratch Pad window. The Scratch Pad window displays the name of your notes file -- 2 -- THORDATE and the date and time at which you just opened it at the top, and the instructions "Press <ENTER> after each line. Press <ENTER> alone to quit." at the bottom. You may then proceed to type in your note, pressing <ENTER> at the end of each line. (THORPACK will not allow you to type beyond the edge of the window without pressing <ENTER>.) THORPACK's Scratch Pad is not a text editor. You cannot change a line once you have pressed <ENTER>, although you can backspace while typing a line to correct it on the fly. The arrow and paging keys on the cursor pad are not used. They function only to erase the whole line you're currently typing. The Scratch Pad is intended only for jotting quick notes in the middle of some other operation, although the notes file which it produces is a standard ASCII text file which can later be revised using almost any text editor or word processor. Pressing <ENTER> as the first character on a line by itself ends text entry and returns you to the THORPACK menu, from which you may issue another command or exit the program. Each entry in your notes file will have the following form: A one-line DATE and TIME stamp, followed by one BLANK line, then your TEXT lines, and finally two additional BLANK lines. (THORPACK retrieves the date and time from DOS, so unless you have an automatic clock-calendar installed, be sure to set them using the DOS DATE and TIME commands when you boot up your machine.) S: Scan notes When you press 'S', you will again be prompted to enter the name of your notes file. (JOTTINGS.DTA can again be selected simply by pressing <ENTER>.) If THORPACK cannot find the specified file, you will receive an error message and be returned to the THORPACK menu. Otherwise, THORPACK will proceed to display the contents of your notes file one window at a time, prompting you at the bottom of each window to press either <ENTER> for the next window-full or 'Q' to quit the scan. When you press 'Q', or when there are no more entries to be displayed, you will be prompted to "Press any key to exit . . .". A keypress then returns to you the THORPACK menu. ** DE-INSTALLING THORPACK ** ------------------------------ THORPACK can be de-installed, releasing memory and restoring keyboard vectors and interrupts to their original state, by pressing the key combination CTRL + D while the THORPACK menu is displayed on the screen. It is not necessary to re-boot your computer. ****> WARNING: IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO DE-INSTALL THORPACK BY THIS METHOD, IT MUST BE THE LAST RESIDENT PROGRAM INSTALLED IN MEMORY. -- 3 -- THORDATE If THORPACK is not the last memory-resident program installed, its de-installation by this method will leave a hole, causing DOS to go bananas. ** KNOWN COMPATIBILITIES AND INCOMPATIBILITIES ** --------------------------------------------------- As of 1 September 1985, the following compatibilities and incompatibilities are known: THORPACK can both co-reside with and be invoked within the following programs: TURBO PASCAL MULTIPLAN 1.0, 1.1 THORPACK can co-reside with, but cannot be invoked within, the following programs: XYWRITE II PLUS PC/INTERCOM THORPACK >> cannot << co-reside with the following programs, but must be removed from memory BEFORE they are invoked: MICROSOFT WORD 1.0, 1.1, 2.0 If you are a steady user of such an incompatible program, it is probably a good idea to call it from a .BAT (batch) file containing something like the following entries: echo * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * echo PRESS ALT-F10. IF THORPACK MENU APPEARS, PRESS CTRL-D. echo * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * pause <call to program goes here> [%1 %2 etc. parameters optional] Users are kindly requested to notify the author of additional compatibilities and incompatibilities as they are discovered. ** DISCLAIMER ** ------------------- Every attempt has been made to ensure that THORPACK.COM and any supporting files and programs perform as represented and are free from bugs, flaws, and errors. However, THORPACK.COM, together -- 4 -- THORDATE with its documentation and any other supporting files or programs, is distributed "as is" without warranty as to performance, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose. Any direct, incidental, or consequential damages, including, but not limited to, loss of anticipated profits or benefits, lost data or savings, or other incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use of or inability to use this product are not the responsibility of THORMARK SYSTEMS or the author of the programs and, to the extent permitted by law, are hereby excluded for property and, to the extent not unconscionable, personal injury damage. ** PERMISSION TO COPY AND DISTRIBUTE ** ---------------------------------------- THORPACK is being distributed as "shareware", under the concept of user-supported software pioneered by Jim Button, author of PC-File III (tm). Individuals are hereby granted permission, and indeed encouraged, by Thormark Systems to freely copy this program and documentation, both for their own personal use and to share with others, on the conditions that no price or other consideration is charged and that the program and documentation are distributed together and not modified in any way. If, after evaluating this program, you find it useful, you are requested to send a registration fee of $35 payable to THORMARK SYSTEMS 1507 E. FRANKLIN ST., SUITE 125 CHAPEL HILL, NC 27514 (North Carolina residents are requested to add 4% sales tax.) User-supported software is a matter of trust. The "shareware" system not only encourages the creation of quality software but makes it available to individual users at a reasonable price, unaffected by the high costs of media advertising and undesirable copy-protection schemes. Users are free to evaluate a program in their own homes or offices and at their own pace, without risk. The shareware system of free software distribution can only survive, however, if the commitments of time and effort on the part of program authors continue to be supported through the voluntary payments made by satisfied users. I encourage you, therefore, to copy and distribute this program for evaluation by others -- and I trust you to forward payment in registration of your own copy if you enjoy and continue to use it. Jay F. Rosenberg Compuserve: 72145,1155 Usenet: unbent@ecsvax (919) 942-3771 -- 5 -- THORDATE THORMARK SYSTEMS 1507 E. FRANKLIN ST., SUITE 125, CHAPEL HILL, NC 27514 [The THORPACK program was written and developed using TURBO (tm) Pascal. The TURBO (tm) run-time library is the property of and is copyrighted by Borland International Inc.]