;***This program is freely distributable as long as the Archive contains this DOC file,the Arp.library, the text file scrollme.txt and the actual Program VBHI. This material is the property of L & V Productions. BEGIN DOC FILE: VBHI is a very flexible and easy to use TEXT SCROLL program. Its primary use is as a GENLOCKED TEXT SCROLLER. If you want to put Hi-Res characters, read in from an external Text file, onto the Amiga screen, this is the easy way to do it. This version of VBHI is a fully working version of the Commercial product minus a few features.($29.99 U.S.) VBHI will read Text in from an ASCII file. It will also read in a file in Binary format and strip off the unecessary codes. The MAXIMUM Text file size for this release is 100,000 bytes. **REQUIRES** AMIGA 500 or 1000 or 2000 with 1MEG and 1 Floppy.(1.3 WB) 380,000 CHIP MEMORY & 300,000 FAST MEMORY FREE! Arp.library in your currently ASSIGNed libs: directory The included file Arp.Library must be in your libs directory. If you do not want to write onto your BOOT disk to try this program then read the following instructions. Open a CLI window and type: makedir ram:libs copy sys:libs ram:libs all copy df0:Arp.library ram:libs assign libs: ram:libs The above series of CLI commands assumes the file Arp.library is in the Root directory on a disk in drive DF0:. Please adjust this as necessary. Remember this only stays in effect until you REBOOT your machine. To start VBHI simply double-click on its ICON or open a CLI window and type VBHI . A file requester will appear asking you to select the TEXT file you wish to SCROLL. Select the File "scrollme.txt" if you do not have any Text files on your Disk. In a moment a Second, identical file requester will appear prompting you to select the FONT you wish to use. Here you use the File Requester to go into your currently assigned FONTS directory. Once you get there go right into the actual directory of the Font you want to use. For example if you wanted DIAMOND 15, you would enter the DIAMOND directory and double click on the file 15 (MAX SIZE=72). At this point you will notice 3 gadgets at the bottom of the window. ONLY! the one labelled "Shadow Depth" is live. Click once in the gadget with the Left Mouse button to activate the gadget. Now enter a number between 1-9. This is the amount of shadow depth given to the Cast shadow expressed directly in pixels. You do not have to press return. You may hear your disk drive grind if the selected font must be loaded from one of your drives. The screen will now BLANK and there will be a short delay as your selected TEXT file is sorted into a Table by Lines with AUTO Wordwrap and Centering. This will take 5-8 seconds on a small file depending on the Font size selected.(be patient). While the processing is going on the screen and the mouse cursor will cycle through the Amigas color palett. When this stops you are ready to proceed! Presently the Screen will fill with Text and when you are now ready to begin scrolling, simply press the RETURN key. **NOTE** If there is no TEXT on the screen you have probably selected a Large font and you MUST press the RETURN key to scroll by the first screen which is probably just blank lines or carraige returns. The following Mouse and Keyboard Commands are now available to you. Right Mouse Button -Increases Scroll Speed Left Mouse Button -Decreases Scroll Speed SPACEBAR (key) -Pause Scrolling RETURN (key) -Start Scrolling S (key) -Speed scrolling x 2 times B (key) -Go back to Start of Text file ESC (key) -Escape and QUIT program(hold key down) 1 (key) -GOTO Start + 10%(LEFT OUT THIS PD VERSION) 2 (key) -GOTO Start + 20%(LEFT OUT THIS PD VERSION) 3 (key) -GOTO Start + 30%(LEFT OUT THIS PD VERSION) 4 (key) -GOTO Start + 40%(LEFT OUT THIS PD VERSION) 5 (key) -GOTO Start + 50%(LEFT OUT THIS PD VERSION) 6 (key) -GOTO Start + 60%(LEFT OUT THIS PD VERSION) 7 (key) -GOTO Start + 70%(LEFT OUT THIS PD VERSION) 8 (key) -GOTO Start + 80%(LEFT OUT THIS PD VERSION) 9 (key) -GOTO Start + 90%(LEFT OUT THIS PD VERSION) Once you get to the end of your selected Text file the program will scroll the final 3 screens in a loop until you either: 1. Press the "SPACEBAR"(key) to enter PAUSE MODE. 2. Press the "B"(key) to Backup to the Start of the File. 3. Press the "ESC"(key) to QUIT the program. Really, that is about it for this PUBLIC DOMAIN version. I wanted to release a functional version so that it could be used right away. I also wanted to entice you to buy the Commercial version which contains the following additions to this program. 1. Selection of Face and Shadow color. 2. Selection of Shadow depth & type. 3. Selection of Line Spacing values. 4. Text Justification -Center - Left - Right 5. Ability to GOTO 10 preset positions. in your Text file instantly. 6. Additional Scrolling speeds. 7. Teleprompter Setup. 8. Select Fonts from any Directory or Disk. 9. Select all UPPER, or lower Case text. 10. General Bug cleanup RETAIL PRICE $29.99 U.S. (Shipped VIA Mail) I obviously had to compromise to be able to release this to the Public Domain. So I left out all of the Intuition stuff that makes life easier and the program more Logical and Intuitive to use. Also I left out the items in the above mentioned list of features of the Commercial version. But hey!, this is FREE, just what did you expect? **UPCOMING This program curently supports 4 bitplanes(16 colors). I will add COLORFONT support shortly or I might just wait for Workbench 2.0 where Colorfont Support will be built in the OS. Either/both Prowrite and Pagesetter-Pro Page will be supported in their native file formats. This means support for MULTI-COLUMN documents, with MULTIPLE FONTS in Bold, Italics, Underline etc. Same program but in PAGE-FLIPPING mode. Flipping tied to timed-events and/or Mouse/Keyboard events. **BUGS,RUMOURS, etc. After running VBHI 7 times in a row, the program redraws the first screen twice before you start. The next time(8th) you try to run VBHI the program will go as far as Font Selection and then will quit. This is Interrupt server and "SIGNAL"problem I am looking into. SOLUTION->REBOOT!! When run from the CLI, VBHI does not return control to the CLI window. You must Click once with the left mouse button on any other Window or Screen. You then can click back into the CLI Window to make it active. Sorry, I play with some IntuitionBase values that seem to cause this problem. I'm working on it. **HINTS, TIPS Since this PD version does not allow you to change the LINE SPACING variable, the following info may be helpful. To figure out the amount of lines per screen in your Currently selected FONT: ie. 40 point Font 10 25% original Font height(BUILT IN PERCENTAGE) 4 Shadow depth -- 64 =Line spacing So 400/64 = 6 lines per screen. There are other Factors to consider (descenders etc.) but this will give you a good value to work with. By altering the number of CR's between lines of text you can indirectly affect the Line Spacing. You can use Fonts up to 89 points in size, though my error checking stops at 72 points. Remember the Fonts you want to use MUST be in the currently assigned FONTS directory. Open a CLI window and type "ASSIGN" to see the current assignment. I have the FONT FILE REQUESTER default to SYS:FONTS, so if you have re-ASSIGNED the FONTS directory to another DISK,(or conversely the SYS:) you MUST use the File Requester to go directly into your new Assigned FONTS location. The Commercial release will use the ARP's library "ASSIGN" routine to allow you to pick your Font from anywhere. I can't wait to get Workbench 2.0 so this problem will be a thing of the past! For those of you not familiar with the ARP File Requester I suggest you spend a few minutes getting aquainted with its features. Once the Requester is active, if you CLICK on its DRAG BAR(at the top of the Requester), with your RIGHT mouse button, a LIST of the attached System devices appears in the File Selection Window. This enables you to easily jump from Disk or device to wherever your little heart desires. Thanks to the people behind ARP! I just noticed the Logic does not handle point sizes under 10. Will fix in Commercial release. Please feel free to report any bugs/suggestions to: Stephen Lebans PLINK SLEBANS Please send Money Order or Cheque or Fax Registered Company Purchase Order's to: L & V Productions 110 Columbus Ave Moncton, New Brunswick Canada E1A-5E4 PHONE: (506)-532-0094 FAX: (506)-859-2709