ROUTE1 for Microsoft Windows 3.0release 1.10
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This file:

I included this standard text file so the users of Route 1 could
get the most out of it. Read it, ooh baby, read it!

Installation:

Copy the 28 included files to any directory you wish, preferrably to
their own directory. They can be in any directory actually, as long as all
of the files are present and together. Add Route 1 to a Windows 3.x group, as
you would any other new application, or add Route1 to WIN.INI to load up every
time you start windows, by adding the full path and filename(Route1.EXE) to
the end of the line that begins: "Load = ". Putting Route 1 in the next line,
the one starting with "Run = ", will do the same, but will minimize Program
Manager upon startup. I did not include any installation program, because
installation programs never work, and most people don't use them. So, why
bother?
Route1 was written in Visual Basic, which means it needs the file
VBRUN100.DLL to be in your Windows directory in order to run. It can be
downloaded from your local bulletin board, and is usually under the name,
VBRUNDLL.ZIP. If not, well, sorry. It should be.

About Route1:

The program was inspired by the following two things. First, I was
brousing through a NeXT brouchure, and thought the vertical icon bar was
cool. I played around with some of the capabilities of Visual Basic and
Windows to see what something like that would look like. Second, AppDock
by David Black, a similar implementation, came along, but I didn't like it,
and I thought the idea could be taken much furthur. So, I wrote Route1.

Using Route1:

There's not much too it. Just install it as described above, and
it should work. This is the third release, and I have almost all of the
bugs ironed out. However, I have added many new features, which brings a
few new bugs. If(when) any are found, they will be fixed and released
probably as version 1.11 or 1.12. The next major revampment will be under
the name 1.20 or 1.30.
A maximum of 20 icons is allowed. This is because any more than 20
icons defeats the purpose of the program, and also won't fit on a 1024 x 768
screen. Lower resolutions be able to fit fewer, but Route 1 always allows
20. If they go off the screen, you can use something like BigDesk, which
creates a virtual desktop four times the current size, and with this, Route 1
is compatable.
All functions and options are operational, and there is no stupid
"registration" or "registered version". If you like it - use it. That's all.
To get you started, there are 8 configured icons. Click on the
uppermost button to access the menu. It's that simple. There are twenty-
five hand drawn icons included with this release, all made for Route1. Some
of them are obviously for use with specific commercial packages, like AmiPro,
Excel, and WordPerfect. Their inclusion in this package is only for use
with the appropriate package. My advice is to try out all the options to
see how they work. I think everything is pretty much self explanatory, so
there is no on-line help, (with two exceptions) which no-one would use
anyway, and just eats up disk space. The first exception is the About Box,
and the Second is a [?] which tells you briefly what each icon in the icon
bar does.
3D icons look best, and are recommended, having the form of the
included "BLANK.ICO", but Route1 will accept any valid icon. Use any good
icon editor to alter a desired icon to conform to Route 1 style; it simply
will look better if they all look similar. All icons must be in the Route 1
directory. There is a built in configuration editor, but there's no reason
you can't edit Route1.INI yourself - as long as you have some reasonable idea
of what you're doing. If you screw up, just delete or rename the file, and
Route1 will create a new Route1.INI file identical to the one that came
with it.
The Clock is simple enough, just click on it to adjust the system
clock, and Route 1's clock will, of course, reflect the correct time. To
add the clock to the bar if it isn't already there, simply choose Add
Application, and click on ">Clock". The four Function Buttons perform the
following tasks:
1. [<] Launch or run an application. Press this to browse your disks(ooh),
and select a program to run.
2. [^] Colapse Icon Bar. This simply reduces the icon bar to the control
button (press it to restore the bar) if you need the desktop space.
3. [?] Press this and then any other icon or button on the bar to find out
what it does. This is useful particularly if you forget what is
behind one of your customized icons.
4. [EXIT] This exits Windows by simply closing Program Manager, and if it's
not there, it probably won't work. It asks for confirmation, because
if it didn't, it would be a little to dangerous(ooh).
To add the buttons to the bar if it isn't already there, simply choose Add
Application, and click on ">Buttons".

Batch Language:

An simple intrinsic batch language is included in Route 1. All you
do is include the commands, | and >, in your program name.

| - separate commands.
Ex:NOTEPAD|CONTROL|ZOOMIN
The above will load the three applications, in order.

> - change drive and directory
Ex:>C:\WINDOWS\APPS|NOTEPAD
The above first changes to c:, then \windows\apps, then
loads notepad in that directory.

An appropriate batch, or script, is automatically written when you select an
application with Browse when Adding or Editing an application in Route 1. Of
Course, you can also write it yourself. Using the > command is recommended,
because if ommited, (c:\windows\apps\notepad is used instead of above), the
application will load, and be run from the Route 1 directory.


Included Files:

Route1.EXE - the brilliantly engineered program
Route1.INI - the configuration file
Route1.DOC - this file
*.ICO - 25 handpainted icons made especially for Route1

That's all! I hope you enjoy and use Route1.

- D. A. Karp

Internet Address:
[email protected]


Release Notes:

v1.01 - This version differs from the original v1.00, mostly from bug
fixes. I think I got them all, but I'm sure I'll find more.
When I do, you'll see another release. Other than that, were
some superficial changes to streamline the functionality of the
program, and make it more "perfect" - Ha, Ha.

v1.02 - Killed more bugs, and I didn't even use Raid.

v1.10 - More Bug fixes. Altered icon bar to make pressing an icon more
realistic. Added hotkey support (see above).

Future - Perhaps hotkey support might be added. Pressing the hotkey, will
put the icon bar on top of all other windows, since it's hard to get
at when it's covered. The hotkey will also restore Route1 when it's
minimized. I might create "visual configuration", where the user can
simply drag icons and program names/paths directly onto the icon bar.
I might include a pasting application, which will paste the time, or
the date, or those hard to get foreign characters into the current
application. I might make a calander to go with the clock. I might
give Route 1 the ability to monitor or even control other applications,
the Clipboard, and DDE. Wow - I'll give it a voice and a personality
to start leading your life for you! Well...


Legal stuff, artistic and scientific excuses, and other ramblings:

Although some of the included icons are derivatives or enhancements
of commercial program icons, it is not my intention to distribute any material
that its creator(s) or legal owner(s) would object to. I will immediately
remove, or alter to their satisfaction, any icon(s) which is brought to my
attention as proprietary in nature and should not be freely distributed. The
design, look, and feel of the different parts of my program is either purely
of my own invention, or a thorough alteration and combining of what I wished
many other programs should be. It is also not my intention, to mimmick, or
to lessen the effectiveness of any other software in existance. I wrote this
program mostly for my own use, and am distributing it for other people to use
strictly for my own satisfaction of making something that someone else finds
useful, or even necessary.