PsL Monthly 1995 February

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PsL Monthly CD > To view this file, use the PgUp and PgDn and cursor keys. > When done, press ESC to exit this file. > Then PSL_SHRD will run. That is the program that accesses the CD. > Next time, you can just run PSL_SHRD to skip seeing this file. > PSL_SHRD is a DOS-based program. To access the CD from Windows, > run PSL_SHRW.EXE by using File-Run from Program Manager's menu bar. > Run SETUP.BAT from the DOS prompt before running the Windows version. Welcome to the PsL February 1995 CD. This month's CD contains over 1000 new programs received by PsL in the last 30 days. In addition, this month's CD includes all the programs from our Windows and DOS sections related to Business, including Accounting, General Business, Time Management, Database, Spreadsheet, and Statistics & Math. 1. License & Warranty: Run PSL_SHRD's start-up screens or PSL_SHRW's HELP menu to read the CD-ROM usage license and warranty. 2. File Format: All programs are in ZIP format. All of the new ZIPs have FILE_ID.DIZ files for easier BBS use; however, some older files in the Section of the Month do not have FILE_ID.DIZ files. Some programs have installation programs which must be run after using PsL's programs to un-ZIP the files to your hard disk. After un-ZIPping a program, look for README and *.DOC text files, as well as for INSTALL.* and SETUP.* programs, for information about installing and using the individual programs. 3. Here is the directory structure of this CD: DOS\ BUSINESS - general business apps. COMMUNIC - communications DATABASE EDUCA - education ELEC_PUB - electronic publishing GAMES GRAPHICS - clip art, graphics displays, etc. HOME - various home apps. MUSIC - music and sounds and related programs. PRGMMING - programming. PRINTING - printer utilities/apps. RELIGION UT_DskFi - disk drive and file related utilities. UT_Systm - hardware related & operating system related utilities WORDS - word processing programs and utilities, editors, etc. WIN\ BUSINESS - general business apps. COMMUNIC - communications DATABASE ELEC_PUB - electronic publishing GAMES GRAPHICS - clip art, graphics displays, etc. HOME - various home apps. PRGMMING - programming. PRINTING - printer utilities/apps. SOUNDS - music and sounds and related programs. UT_DskFi - disk drive and file related utilities. UT_Systm - hardware related & operating system related utilities WORDS - word processing programs and utilities, editors, etc. OS2\ AP - General Applications PG - Programming UT - Utilities BIZ\ DOS\ WIN\ The BIZ directories contains all the programs in PsL (except those new/updated files which are in the directories above) related to Business. 4. FILES.BBS files: For BBS use, we have added FILES.BBS files listing the contents of each ZIP file directory. We have been told a dozen different formats to use, but the format we used was the one most common to the various formats mentioned: FILENAME.EXT --SIZE-- --DATE-- Description---------------------------------- ^1 21^ ^24 | description continued.----------------------- ^32 The FILES.BBS files are in the directory FILESBBS. You can generate custom FILES.BBS files by running PSL_SHRW (in the PSL_NEWS directory) and looking in the Files menu. (Requires Windows.) See READ.ME in the FILESBBS directory for more information. 5. The \SCREENS Directory The Screens directory contains screen shots of some programs on this CD. The screen shots can only be viewed by the Windows program PSL_SHRW, not the DOS program PSL_SHRD. 6. RUNTIMES The RUNTIMES directory contains run-time files required by some other programs. 7. Problems All the programs on this CD have been tested and should run. If you have difficulties, write or call PsL's Tech Support department. Most difficulties can be cleared up over the phone in a couple of minutes. There is normally no waiting to talk to a technician. (1.) "My machine locks up or reboots when I try to install a program using the PSL_NEWS program." You have one of the small percentage of systems with a CD-ROM driver that is incompatible with PKUNZIP. To get around that problem, we have placed a public domain unzip program on the CD. To invoke it with the DOS-based program, run it using the syntax: "PSL_SHRD /U" (without the quotes). In the Windows based program, select UNZIP in the window that appears after pushing the Install button. We have recently heard from a couple of people who "upgraded" to DOS 6.2 only to find that our Windows access program would not work any more. Because the program is written in a "high-level" language (Visual Basic), there is nothing we can do on that level to either cause such a problem or to solve it. All we have been able to suggest is booting up with a floppy that has an earlier version of DOS on it when you want to access the CD. We know this is not a very satisfactory solution, but we did not write the operating system, Windows, nor Visual Basic. (2.) "PKUNZIP tells me to insert another disk when I try to unzip the file from the CD." The programmer used a PKZIP flag that he shouldn't have when zipping the program. To get around this, copy the ZIP file from the CD to your hard disk and use PKUNZIP to unzip it to the same directory on your hard disk as the ZIP file. (3.) "There are no files on the CD." "There are no files in one of the directories." "I get an error trying to copy a file from the CD." We have only had a few such complaints, but in all cases, there was nothing wrong with the CD. Some of the users who made the complaints were able to read the CDs without error on other machines or even when trying later on the same machine. We suspect that the problem is with dust or dirt in the drive or, more specifically, on the laser lens, or on the CD-ROM disc itself. If you do not have a CD lens cleaner, get one from your dealer. Also inspect the non-printed side of the CD for dust or debris. One caller took the CD out, wiped it off, put it back in, and it worked. Maybe it was dirty or maybe just re-seating it helped. SOUND BLASTER PRO OWNERS: On the January 1995 CD-ROM, we went over 600MB on the CD for the first time and some people with Sound Blaster Pro cards and CD drives were unable to get a directory on the CD. If you have a Sound Blaster Pro and have this problem on a future CD-ROM, ask Creative Labs for a new CD-ROM driver. 8. Frequently Asked Questions: (1.) "Why don't you install the programs on the CD ready to run instead of in ZIP format?" There are many reasons: - Many programs try to write back to the directory that they are installed in, which cannot be done on a CD. - Many programmers require that their programs be distributed in archived format. - Some installation programs configure the software to the system they are installed on, so that a program installed on our system may not work on yours. - Because we add a section of PsL's disk-based library to the CD each month, there is not room to have all the programs dearchived. - For use of the CDs on BBSs, files must be in archive format. Distributing the programs in archive format makes for a much neater package, making programs easier to find. Dearchiving a program to hard disk only takes a few seconds and by using a temporary directory, you can easily delete the files when done. (2.) "Are the same programs repeated on each month's CD?" No. The \DOS and \WIN directories contain only the new programs received by PsL during the last 30 days. In addition, we put a different section of our disk-based library on each month's CD. These sections do repeat every six months, but they are updated for the thousands of new files received during the previous six months. (3.) "I'm not interested in the section of PsL being added to the CD this month. Why should I have to pay for a CD with a section I don't want in order to get the lower subscription price?" For the same reason that a magazine purchased from a newsstand costs twice as much as the same issue if you subscribe. The reason for the lower price in a subscription is that you agree to take every issue. In addition, focusing on the old programs, which we decided to add to the CD as a free bonus, is ignoring the purpose of the CD. The PsL Monthly CD was conceived (and priced) as a way to get the many hundreds of new programs received at PsL each month out to the public in an economical way. The first CD was released in July 1993 with about 350 programs on it and sold out in two weeks. We did not start adding sections of our library to the CD until December 1993. By that time, the number of new programs on each month's CD doubled to an average of over 700. Even though it meant a back-breaking amount of work to get the additional 2000 to 3000+ files onto the CD each month, we did not raise the price of the CD a penny. Yet some people who had happily paid $19.95 to get the 700 or so new programs each month, suddenly focused only on the programs on the files that they did NOT want - a particular section of our disk-based library. That may be because for retail sales purposes, WE have had to emphasize the library section on the cover of the CD, even though that is not the purpose of the CD. Please remember that there is no other source to get so many new programs on such a timely basis for such a low price. If you do not have a need for a particular section of our disk-based library, just ignore it and focus on the new programs on the CD. You only have to use/enjoy a few programs, clip art files, sound files, etc., per month out of the 800+ new programs each month to more than offset the cost of the CD compared to disk fees and download fees. (4.) "After the PSL_NEWS program installs a file, the program sometimes has to be installed again from those files. Why can't it just be installed once directly from the CD-ROM?" Some shareware authors have custom installation programs which create directories, put files in specific directories, configure the program to the user's specific hardware, etc. We cannot have multiple INSTALL programs in the same directory and it would be cumbersome to have a separate directory for each program, so we are forced to archive such programs, resulting in their having to be dearchived from the CD-ROM before they can be installed with the author's installation program. 9. YOU Make This CD. Your comments and suggestions are appreciated. We are striving to make this the ideal CD for sysops and vendors, as well as for individual and users. We will implement every possibly suggestion which will still allow us to produce the CD in a timely manner and which will not degrade the CD is some other way. If you are a programmer and want your program distributed on this CD, simply send it on disk to the address below. Public (software) Library P.O.Box 35705 Houston, TX 77235-5705 Voice: 713-524-6394 FAX: 713-524-6398 CompuServe: 71355,470 Now press ESC and the PSL_SHRD.EXE program will run. Once the program is running, you can press F1 for more instructions, although the use of the program should be pretty obvious and simple. In brief, you select a category, read about programs, and press I to install one. The installation will leave you at the DOS prompt, ready to read the documentation files and run the program. PsL's installation simply un-ZIPs the files onto your hard disk. Some programs may require you to perform a further installation. After the files are put on your hard disk. Look for files like INSTALL or files with README in the name or with extensions of .DOC or .TXT. These files can be read with the VIEW program from the CD. If your CD is drive D:, for example, type D:\VIEW READ.ME (assuming you are in the installed program's drive and directory). If you need assistance, call PsL's Tech Support at 713-524-6394.