Marked Software Presents...

the Main Menu
Version 1.2

(C) Copyright 1989, Marked Software

Written by Marc Amick
Designed by Marc Amick and Mark Addy

A shareware menu program.


(C) Copyright 1989 by Marked Software
Written by Marc Amick
Design by Marc Amick and Mark Addy

Please feel free to distribute unmodified copies of this
program. If you have put this program to use and feel that it is
helpful, I would appreciate a contribution of $10 or more. I
have found this program to be of great help, and worth more than
the contribution itself. If you decide to send a contribution of
$10 or more, I will send you a more powerful version of this
program that does not include this annoying message. The
registered version of the main menu includes the following extra
options:

1 Full Password Protection - Everything from menu
maintenance to executing
programs.
2 Time Reporting(File Log) - A detailed report of the time
spent in each program by each
user.
3 Editing of Options - To edit an option without having to
delete and add the program again.
4 Precommands - Allows you to execute one or more
commands before running the execution
file of an option.
5 more programs - 40 programs may be entered on to one
screen. And if that is not enough,
another screen is available to enter
another 40 for a total of 80 programs
and 16 categories.

Send any contributions, suggestions, comments, or questions
about this or any other of our programs to:

Marked Software (301)821-9203 (301)526-4347
c/o Marc Amick/Mark Addy
12514 Sagamore Forest Lane
Reisterstown, MD 21136



I. INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

A. Insert the Main Menu program disk in drive A:

B. Make sure you are on the drive C: root directory by
entering:
C: (ENTER)
CD \ (ENTER)

C. Make a subdirectory named MENU by entering:
MKDIR MENU (ENTER)

D. Copy the Program files to the new directory by
entering:
COPY A:*.* C:\MENU\*.* (ENTER)

E. Now you must update your AUTOEXEC.BAT file so that your
computer will automatically execute the Main Menu
program when it is booted up.

1. If you already have an AUTOEXEC.BAT file on
your root directory, then using EDLIN you must add
two lines to the end of this file. If you don't
have an existing AUTOEXEC.BAT file, then you must
create one using the EDLIN command. For more
detailed information concerning the AUTOEXEC.BAT
file please refer to your DOS manual.
First you must have a path statement telling
DOS where to look for any commands. You want to
include the menu subdirectory in the path
statement. Doing this will allow you to type
"MENU" in DOS, causing the Main Menu program to
run no matter what directory you are in. For
example, if you have DOS in a subdirectory named
"DOS" then your path statement (in the
AUTOEXEC.BAT file) should look like:
PATH \MENU;\DOS
{ Look up the path statement in your DOS manual
for more detailed information. }
The last line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file
should be:
RUNMENU
This line will cause the menu program to run,
after the Marked Software logo is displayed. If
you want to bypass the logo, while it is being
displayed, hit any key. If you do not want the
Marked Software logo to ever be displayed or your
computer cannot display the logo, just replace the
previous command with:
MENU
This command will bypass the Marked Software logo,
and execute the main menu.

Note: Any graphics card that is not CGA
compatible cannot display the Marked
Software logo. If you own a non CGA
compatible card, use the "MENU" command
in you autoexec file in order to avoid
the logo.

II. USING THE MAIN MENU PROGRAM


The Main Menu is makes it easy and efficient to execute
programs on a hard disk. Once the Main Menu is fully
installed, the user simply enters a number from 1 to 40
indicating which program he or she wishes to execute. When
the user exits that program, the Main Menu program is
displayed once again.

An important feature of the Main Menu is that it is not
a memory resident program and cannot interfere with any
program in any manner whatsoever. The only file that
remain's in memory during the execution of programs is the
"DO.BAT" file. It is a very small batch file taking up a
maximum of 350 bytes.

When the Main Menu is executed, an introductory screen
is displayed. You may hit (P) to pause and read the screen
more carefully, wait 15 seconds for the screen to disappear,
or hit any key other than (P) to automatically bypass it.
Once you have passed the intro screen the Main Menu will be
displayed. On it you will find two main headings, 8
categories, and no programs whatsoever. Any of these items
may be changed by choosing the appropriate menu command,
from the list displayed at the bottom of the screen.

Eight menu commands are available in the shareware
version of the Main Menu: add programs, delete programs,
change colors, change headings, Info, Alarm, Sound, and
exit to DOS. You can choose any one of these commands by
entering the appropriate highlighted letter followed by a
carriage return. (ie: to add a program just enter (A)
followed by a Carriage return)

Another feature included is the timeout feature. If
the Main Menu has been displayed for over five minutes
without a key being pressed, the screen will go blank. To
display the menu again, just hit any key. This feature
saves monitors from getting burned marks.

Once you have added programs on the menu, you will also
have the choice of entering a number from 1 to 40 indicating
which program you wish to execute. After selecting one of
these programs, it will be executed. When you decide to
exit that program, the Main Menu will be displayed once
again.

The Main Menu is very user friendly. Most any novice
should find it easy to use any of the available options. I
have included the following outline to describe each menu
command in detail. If any problem occurs, just refer to
this outline. If you still have a question or comment
please feel free to call us (Marc Amick/Mark Addy) at
(301)821-9203, (301)526-4347, or write us at:

Marked Software
c/o Marc Amick/Mark Addy
12514 Sagamore Forest Lane
Reisterstown, Md 21136

A. (A)dd a program -
To add a program, enter (A) at the prompt when
the Main Menu program has been executed.

1. You will then be asked for the name of the program
to be added. This is what you will call it, not
the execution file itself.

2. The next thing you must enter is the category it
falls under. A list of the available categories
will be displayed for you to choose from. Answer
this question with the number corresponding to the
category the program falls under.

3. Next the drive the program is located on must be
entered. Normally this will be drive C, but in
some cases it may not. Just enter in the drive
letter.

4. Then you will be required to enter the program's
path. Just enter the path the program is located
under. Keep in mind that the first character in
the path should be a backslash. For example if
the program being entered was located in a
directory called "DOS" off of the root directory,
then you would enter "\DOS". For more information
on paths please refer to your DOS manual.

5. Finally you will be prompted to enter the name of
the execution file. This is the filename of the
program to be executed.

As an example let's say we wanted to enter the
"FORMAT A:" command on the menu. First of all we would
enter (A) at the Main Menu "Enter Option>" prompt.
Next you would enter in something like "FORMAT DISK"
for the name of the program. Then the category might
be "DOS commands." Next, you would enter "C" for the
disk drive the program is on. The path would be the
directory that DOS is located in. If DOS is located in
a directory called "DOS" then we would enter "\DOS" for
the path. Finally we would enter the execution
filename which would be "FORMAT A:".

B. Change (H)eadings -
To change the headings, enter (H) at the "Enter
Option>" prompt. You will then be asked to enter each
heading. If you do not wish to change one or more of
the headings, just hit (Enter) at that prompt. There
are 10 headings all together. The first two that you
must enter are the main headings; these headings are
located at the top of the screen. Next you will be
prompted to enter each of the eight category headings.
The numbers in the following diagram illustrate where
the category headings are displayed and their sequence.


1/01/1980 the Main Menu 4:23:00 pm

1 2 3 4





5 6 7 8






C. (D)elete an option -
To delete a program from the Main Menu, enter (D)
at the prompt when the Main Menu program has been
executed. You must then enter the program number you
wish to delete. If you entered (D) by mistake, don't
worry just hit (Enter) and the Main Menu program will
bounce out of the delete option.

D. Change (C)olors -
To change the colors used by the Main Menu, enter
(C) at the prompt. A display of every color available
will be shown with an example as a background color,
and another as a foreground or text color. You will
then be prompted to enter the background, headings,
options, command, and skeleton colors. Just hit
(Enter) if you do not wish to change one of the colors,
or enter a number from 0 to 15 indicating which color
you wish to use. The Command color is the color used
to highlight the menu commands at the bottom of the
screen. The skeleton color is the color of the lines.

E. e(X)it to DOS -
To exit to DOS, enter (X) at the prompt when the
Main Menu program has been executed. The program will
then display "TYPE 'MENU' TO RUN THE MENU AGAIN, HIT
ANY KEY TO EXIT TO DOS." At this point, hit any key.
You will find then be in DOS. When you are finished
using DOS, type "MENU" and hit (Enter). The Menu
program will pop up once again.

F. (I)nfo -
Hitting (I) at the Main Menu prompt will display
the following information concerning the registered
version of the main menu:

A contribution of $10 or more will earn you a
registered version of the Main Menu program with all of
the following options available and more....
1 Full Password Protection - Everything from menu
maintenance to
executing programs.
2 Time Reporting (File Log) - A detailed
report of the
time spent in
each program by
each user.
3 Editing of Options - To edit an option without
having to delete and add
the program again.
4 Precommands - Allows you to execute one or
more commands before running
the execution file of an
option.
5 Also a full 40 programs may be entered on to
one screen. And if that is not enough,
another screen is available to enter another
40 for a total of 80 programs and 16
categories.

To get your registered version of the Main Menu,
send $10 or more to the address below. We also welcome
any suggestions, comments, or questions about this or
any other of our programs.

Marked Software (301)821-9203 (301)526-4347
c/o Marc Amick/Mark Addy
12514 Sagamore Forest Lane
Reisterstown, MD 21136

G. Set the a(L)arm -
An alarm may be set by hitting (L) at the Main
Menu prompt. Once you have entered this option, you
will be prompted to set the alarm. If you want to turn
the alarm off, just hit the (Esc) key. If you want to
exit out of the set alarm option and leave the alarm
set to it's previous time, just hit (Enter). If the
Main Menu is displayed on the screen, the alarm will go
off at it's set time. (Note: The sound on/off option
has no effect on the alarm)
You may notice that the timeout feature of the
main menu sometimes gives the appearance that your
computer is off. The alarm option may be put to use by
reminding you to turn your computer off. (ie: set the
alarm to go off 5 minutes before you leave work)

H. Toggle the (S)ound -
The Main Menu makes a sound every time it is
executed, and every time it is exited. This sound can
be toggled on and off by entering the (S) key. If you
hear a beep when you enter (S), the sound has been
turned on. If you don't hear a beep then the sound has
been turned off.