BACK SOON! Message-taking Utility Program Version 1.1 Copyright 1992 by Chuck Steenburgh and Tay-Jee Software _______ ____|__ | (TM) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| MEMBER TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Definition of Shareware. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Disclaimer -- Agreement. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Switches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Using BACK SOON! from within Popular Software Applications . 6 Errors and Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Files Contained in the Shareware Package . . . . . . . 7 Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Ombudsman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Page 1 INTRODUCTION Do you work in an office? Are you part of a busy family? If the answer to either of those question was "yes," you undoubt- edly have lots of little scraps of paper all around your home or workplace. Notes from coworkers, family members, neighbors, or secretaries manage to pop up everywhere. If you're like me, these pieces of paper somehow NEVER manage to get thrown away, but accumulate all over the place. Some we never see until it is too late; others become such a common sight that they com- pletely lose their effectiveness as notes or reminders. BACK SOON! was written for several purposes. Primarily, BACK SOON! is meant to replace all those annoying little pieces of paper electronically. While electronic mail has begun to re- place such things as the interoffice memo, Post-It (tm) notes still end up adhered to computer monitors with messages from visitors and callers. BACK SOON! can also serve as a screen saver. Not the mindless, flying-toaster variety that always seems to pop up just when you DON'T want it to. BACK SOON! is not a TSR that will sit in your machine, hogging memory and causing conflicts with all sorts of programs. Instead, BACK SOON! is designed to be in- voked intentionally by the user, and will function from within just about any major application program. Use it when you KNOW you'll be away from your machine and you want to protect your monitor (and your privacy). SPECIFICATIONS BACK SOON! performs the following functions: - "Blanks" screen to prevent phosphor burn-in - Saves screen contents for later restoration - Displays a customizable scrolling message - Accepts messages from visitors on your PC - Stores messages for printing or later retrieval BACK SOON! Version 1.1 has the following hardware/software requirements: - IBM PC/XT/AT or compatible - MS-DOS or PC-DOS 3.0 or higher - At least 120k of free memory DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE This is the shareware version of BACK SOON! Although this program is functionally identical to the registered and re- tail versions, it is released with a unique form of license. Page 2 Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs differ on details -- some request registration while others require it, some specify a maximum trial period. With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using the software to an updated program with printed manual. Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of distribution. The author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a specific group. For example, some authors require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware. Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it. DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT Users of BACK SOON! must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "BACK SOON! is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limit- ation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of BACK SOON!" However, Tay-Jee Software will replace a DEFECTIVE diskette at ANY time. Simply return the original, DEFECTIVE diskette and we'll send you a new one for a nominal replacement fee (currently $2) to cover the cost of replacement. BACK SOON! is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to the user for evaluation. Feel free to share it with your friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system. The essence of "user-supported" software is to provide personal computer users with quality software with- out high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products. If you find this program useful and find that you are using BACK SOON! and continue to use BACK SOON! after a reasonable trial period, you must make a registration payment of $20 to Tay-Jee Software. The $20 registration fee will license one copy for use on any one com- Page 3 puter at any one time. You must treat this software just like a book. An example is that this software may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it's being used at another, just as a book cannot be read by two different persons at the same time. Commercial users of BACK SOON! must register and pay for their copies of BACK SOON! within 30 days of first use or their li- cense is withdrawn. Site-License arrangements may be made by contacting Tay-Jee Software. Anyone distributing BACK SOON! for any kind of remuneration must first contact Tay-Jee Software at the address below for authorization. This authorization will be automatically gran- ted to distributors recognized by the ASP as adhering to its guidelines for shareware distributors, and such distributors may begin offering BACK SOON! immediately (however, Tay-Jee Software must still be advised so that the distributor can be kept up-to-date with the latest version of BACK SOON!). You are encouraged to pass a copy of BACK SOON! along to your friends for evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy if they find that they can use it. All registered users will receive a copy of the latest version of the BACK SOON! system. GETTING STARTED The basic command line syntax for BACK SOON! is as follows: BS [message] [/c] [/h or /?] [/m] [/n] [/p] [/r][:filename] [/s] [message] - This is the name of a precomposed text message that you would like displayed on the screen. [/c] - Reconfigure BACK SOON! with a new message re- trieval code. [/h or /?] - Display help screen. [/m] - Create new message for on-screen display. [/n] - Display scrolling message only, do not accept visitor messages. [/p] - Print registration form (shareware version). [/r][:filename] - Retrieve messages from most recent session. Optional [:filename] specifies name of file to which messages were saved. Page 4 [/s] - Permit visitor messages to be saved to a disk file. OPERATION The first time BACK SOON! is run (or if specifying the /c switch), the first thing you'll be asked is your name. What you enter will become your MESSAGE RETRIEVAL CODE, which will allow you to retrieve your saved messages. After entering your name, you should see a list of saved message files appear in a dialog box. Using the cursor keys, position the cursor bar over the desired message and press ENTER. If you don't wish to use a display message, or want to create a new one, press ESCAPE. To bypass the message selection dialog box, enter the name of the message file you want displayed on the command line when starting BACK SOON! If you want to create a new message, either press ESC at the message selection dialog box or start BACK SOON! using the /m switch. You will then be able to enter up to eight lines of text, one line at a time. After entering 8 lines, or entering a blank line, your message will be saved in memory. Once you have selected/created your display message, it will begin scrolling down the screen. In addition, the words "Press any key to leave a message" will also be displayed (unless you have started BACK SOON! in no-message mode with the /n switch). The message will continue scrolling down the screen until a key is pressed. When message display is interrupted, the user will be asked to enter his/her name. If anything but the message retrieval code is entered, the visitor will be able to enter a message of up to nine lines. The visitor's name and time of message will be automatically recorded by BACK SOON! Once the visitor has saved his or her message, BACK SOON! will return to scrolling your display message down the screen. (Note: if started with the /n switch, BACK SOON! will record the visitors name and time of visit ONLY and will not permit a message to be entered.) If the message retrieval code is entered, the first message will be displayed on the screen, along with a line telling how many messages/visitors were logged by BACK SOON! After viewing the message, press "P" to print a copy, "B" to go back to the pre- vious message, or any other key to go forward to the next mes- sage. After all messages have been displayed, BACK SOON! will terminate and restore the screen to the same condition it was in prior to start of execution. Page 5 If you have specified the /s switch when starting BACK SOON!, you will be given the opportunity to save the messages left for you. Type any valid, 8-character DOS file name when prompted. By default, the current date is used, but you may type something different if you wish. If you entered a new display message when first starting BACK SOON!, you will be given the opportunity to save it to disk also. Again, you will need to enter a valid 8-character DOS filename when prompted. SWITCHES /c - Use this switch to specify a new message retrieval code. /h or /? - Use this switch to display a brief help screen. /m - Use this switch to enter a new display message. /n - This switch will cause BACK SOON! to log visitors names and time of visit only, not messages. /p - In the shareware version, this switch will print a copy of the registration form on your printer. /r - Used by itself, this switch will recall the messages left for you the most recent time BACK SOON! was executed. If a colon followed by a filename is included, BACK SOON! will recall the set of messages saved under that file name. These messages can then be printed or reviewed as if you had just retrieved them. /s - Use this switch to allow you the option of saving messages left for you to a disk file. USING BACK SOON! FROM WITHIN POPULAR APPLICATIONS SOFTWARE BACK SOON! is compatible with virtually any applications pack- age that supports an ability to execute DOS commands. The low memory requirements of BACK SOON! make it easy to run the program from within word processors, spreadsheets, or other programs. WordPerfect 5.0/5.1. The file BACKSOON.WPM contains a Word- Perfect macro to run BACK SOON! After executing the macro, you'll have chance to enter any command line options that you'd like. Then, press ENTER to execute BACK SOON! When you exit BACK SOON!, you'll automatically return to your current docu- ment. WordStar 5.x-7.0. The file BACKSOON.WSM contains a WordStar 7.0 macro script. To create a shorthand macro for use with versions Page 6 5.x-6.0, use the following keystroke sequence: Ctrl-KFbs.exe. Quattro Pro. The file BACKSOON.WQ1 contains a Quattro Pro macro to invoke BACKSOON; it is assigned Alt-B as a hotkey. Paste the macro into your worksheets or a macro library. Lotus 1-2-3 (or other programs). Other programs can access BACK SOON! by executing their SYSTEM, DOS, or SHELL commands (or something similar). You would then type your own command to execute BACK SOON! just as if you were starting it from the com- mand line. ERRORS and TROUBLESHOOTING BACK SOON! will recognize most errors and handle them appropri- ately. In the case of disk errors, you'll be given the choice of aborting the program immediately or fixing the error and trying again. The most common errors are disk errors, where, for example, a floppy disk drive is not ready or write-protec- ted. Printer errors will be reported (off-line, out of paper, etc.) and you'll be given the opportunity to try printing again or aborting the operation (but not the program). BACK SOON! reads and writes all of its files from the directory in which the BACK SOON! program is located. If the directory in which BACK SOON! is located is on the DOS PATH, you can safely start BACK SOON! simply by typing "BS" and pressing return. Otherwise, you'll need to include the full path name on the com- mand line. Special note to DOS 2.x users: BACK SOON! must be started from the directory in which it is located, contrary to the above paragraph. To help you in this, the file BS.BAT is provided on the program disk. If this file is placed somewhere on your path and the other BACK SOON! program files are stored in a directory named BACKSOON on the same disk (and NOT on the DOS path), BACK SOON! will operate as described above. FILES CONTAINED IN THE SHAREWARE PACKAGE BS.EXE - The main program BS.BAT - Batch file to start BACK SOON! (DOS 2.x only) BACKSOON.WQ1 - Quattro Pro worksheet containing a macro to start BACK SOON! BACKSOON.WPM - WordPerfect 5.1 macro to start BACK SOON! BACKSOON.WSM - WordStar 7.0 macro to start BACK SOON! BACKSOON.DOC - This documentation file REGISTER.FRM - A registration form SIGNME.TXT - Flyer advertising Tay-Jee Software's signature scanning service COUPON.TXT - A "coupon" for $5 off the price of the scanning service Page 7 SUPPORT.BBS - Where to obtain BBS support from Tay-Jee Software *.MSG - Various display messages (out to lunch, gone to xerox, etc.) The following files may be created by BACK SOON! at various times during its operation: BACKSOON.CFG - Configuration file containing your message re- trieval code BACKSOON.MSG - Most recent set of messages *.BSM - Saved message files *.MSG - Additional display messages created by you REGISTRATION As noted above in the license, if you continue to use this software beyond its evaluation period, you must register. The registration fee for BACK SOON! Version 1.1 is $20, with a discount for payment by cash, check, or money order of $5. To register, print the registration form contained in the pack- age or print the form from within BACK SOON! itself, fill it out, and send with payment to: Tay-Jee Software P.O. Box 835 Lexington, VA 24450 Upon receipt of your payment, you will receive: - Latest version of BACK SOON! - Printed documentation - Version 2.0 WHEN AVAILABLE - A disk full of our other shareware products for eval- uation - FREE technical support (but you pay for the call -- hey, if Microsoft can do it, so can we!) OMBUDSMAN This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman, 70007,3536. Page 8