MenuMaster V2.0 (C) Dave Matthewson April 1991 ============================================== This program is Freeware and can be distributed for NON-COMMERCIAL purposes and included in GENUINE P.D. librarys i.e those which only charge for reproduction costs. This document MUST accompany all copies. DISCLAIMER ========== Every care has been taken to produce a useful and reliable program which has been tested as far as possible with no bugs that I know of. However I cannot guarantee the suitability of this program or be held legally responsible for any loss or damage incurred by its use. FIXES & NEW FEATURES IN VERSION 2.0 =================================== 1) NSTC option added for the benefit of users in the United States. Due to screen restrictions American users can have only 24 menu options. If the original data file was generated on a European PAL Amiga it may contain 32 entries, but only the first 24 will be displayed. 2)In Multitasking mode the redirection of the output of the RUN command to the dummy device NIL has been removed as some utilities needed the Initial CLI screen for output. 3)Choice of 'text plus gadget' or 'text only' on main menu screen panels. 4)Text colour and justification change according to this choice. 5)Addition of a security function to safeguard your edits. 6)Data file now encrypted and compressed. 7)Datafile number option added (1-9). This allows MenuMaster to call itself and so create further sub-menus. This gives a possible maxiximum of 288 PAL selections, or 216 in NSTC !!. I can't imagine anyone ever wanting that many but you never know !. If no file number is specified it will default to 1 automatically. THE PROGRAM =========== MenuMaster is intended to be a friendly front end to a collection of programs assembled on a single disk. It allows the user to select and start a program (or programs if multitasking) without needing to access the CLI at all. Any program or command that can be started from the CLI can be included in the menu, which has a total of 32 selection options.(or 24 for NSTC) There are several freeware/public domain programs similar to MenuMaster, but this one is, as far as I know unique, in that it has its own built-in editor. I was prompted to write this program because after making program additions or similar alterations to my own utility disks, I then had to use a separate menumaker program or text editor to generate the new menu. Now, with the built-in editor provided by MenuMaster, changes are quick and simple. INSTALLATION ============ To use MenuMaster on your own disks you must copy the file 'MenuMaster' and 'MenuMaster.Doc' into the root directory of your boot disk and edit the file s/startup-sequence so that the first command is 'MenuMaster'. N.B. North American users should now find that MenuMaster will automatically detect NSTC format and set 24 option size accordingly. However, for compatibility, European users can force NSTC mode by using the command 'MenuMaster NSTC' instead. Also ensure that the 'Run' command is in the 'c' directory. If not, then copy it there from your Workbench disk. When you first boot from the disk, MenuMaster will look for the file in the root directory called 'MenuMaster.dat1'. If it's not there an alert will appear informing you that it can't read the data file. After clearing this alert you will be presented with a menu screen which is completely blank. By using the edit facility a new data file can then be created. Note. The file 'MenuMaster.dat1' can also be copied to your disk, in which case the 'Can't read' alert will not appear. However, the data it contains applies to the disk it came from and will have to be edited to suit. Use whichever method you find best. As stated earlier, the default datafile number is 1, but by specifying a datafile number after the command you can cause MenuMaster to load, or create, that particular datafile instead. i.e. 'MenuMaster 2' or 'MenuMaster 2 NSTC' will use 'MenuMaster.dat2' N.B. Because of data compression, earlier V1.0 data files are NOT compatible with MenuMaster V2.0. USE OF MENU GADGETS =================== BACK/FRONT ========== Normal depth arranging gadgets are in the top right corner. MODE ==== The gadget in the top left corner determines which of the three methods of execution will be employed on your selected program. The default is always 'Execute'. 1)Execute --------- In this mode the menu window will close and your selected program will be started. On exiting your program the menu window will re-open ready for the next selection to be made. 2)Run (MultiTasking) ------------------- In this mode the menu window will close and your selected program will be started. The menu window will then immediately re-open allowing further selections to be made. 3)Launch -------- In this mode the menu window will close and your selected program will be started. MenuMaster will then close down completely, leaving only your selected program running.Any other commands in the startup-sequence will be executed now also. SELECTION ========= These are the 32 (or 24) possible program selection gadgets. Depending on the type of program or command being started, an optional input requester for command arguments or parameter passing can be made to appear. (Max. 127 characters). MENU-BAR ======== Holding down the right mouse button brings up the Options menu which gives three choices. 1)Shrink. This causes Menumaster to close down to a small title bar at the top right of the screen. This bar contains Drag,Depth and Close gadgets. Clicking the right mouse button when this bar is active causes MenuMaster to re-open its main window again. 2)Edit. Enter edit mode.If the datafile was saved with the 'SECURE' option you will be prompted for a four digit code number, prior to entry. 3)Quit. Exits MenuMaster. Any further commands in the startup-sequence will now be executed. USE OF EDIT MODE GADGETS ======================== UP/DOWN GADGETS ============== Scrolls through the 32 (or 24) selection options plus the menu title. MENU TITLE/ITEM TEXT ==================== Enter the title, sub-title or menu item text that you want displayed on the main screen. (Max. 35 characters) SELECTION GADGET - ON/OFF ========================= This selects whether or not a 'do-it' gadget will appear with the above text on the main menu screen. (Except for main title of course). If selection is 'ON' then text will be displayed left justified in the panel with colour set to 1. If selection is 'OFF' then text will be displayed with centre justification and colour 3. Ideal for sub-titles and messages. COMMAND TEXT ============ This will always be 'ghosted' unless the user toggles the selection gadget to 'ON'. Enter command or program name just as you would at the CLI. It is best to specify the path if possible. Arguments or parameters to be passed to the command can also be included here, if they are always going to be constant. (Max. 127 characters).If not see below for active input option. If you want to have sub-menus then this is where you put your call to MenuMaster 2, MenuMaster 3 etc. etc. COMMAND ARGUMENTS REQUESTER - ON/OFF ==================================== This will always be 'ghosted' unless the user toggles the selection gadget to 'ON' This gadget selects whether or not a requester for input will appear directly after clicking on a 'do-it' gadget in the main menu. COMMAND ARGUMENTS REQUESTER - PROMPT TEXT ========================================= This will always be 'ghosted' unless the user toggles the command arguments gadget to 'ON'. A prompt can now be entered which will appear with the input requester mentioned above.(Max. 71 characters) NORMAL SAVE GADGET ================== Saves your menu data to the root directory as 'MenuMaster.datX', where X is the file number specified. The main screen will then be updated with the changes. SECURE SAVE GADGET ================== This option will prompt you for a four digit security code prior to saving the data file. Remember it !! Any future attempts at editing this data file will require the entry of this code. CANCEL GADGET ============= All current edits are discarded and last saved items are re-displayed. That's about it then. If you find this program useful then feel free to send me a disk as a small reward for my efforts. Utils & demos etc, especially with source code would be greatly appreciated. Dave Matthewson. 5, Sea View Villas, Mayfield Grange, Cramlington, Northumberland, ENGLAND NE239AD N.B. Letters only. NO phone calls please.