

                        Windows Online(tm)
                           "the  Weekly"
                       May 2, 1992 - Issue 39
                       


 Windows Online "the Weekly"(tm) (WOLW) is published electronically every
 Saturday and distributed through many well known on-line services.  WOLW
 contains articles and weekly columns by WOL's staff and freelance writers.
 Subject matter includes all aspects of MS Windows(tm) and its associated
 applications and utilities.  Also covered are OS/2, Computer News,
 Communications and other GUI subjects.  If you are interested in writing
 for "the Weekly" contact us through the numbers listed at the end of this
 publication.






                      Windows Online "the Weekly"
                   Written for the WOLW by Randy Wong

                             Computer News


  SNMP Support For Windows
  
 Microsoft Corp. is getting ready to endorse a standard set of
 programming interfaces that developers can use to build Simple Network
 Management Protocol (SNMP) support into their applications.  The
 applications will be able to run in either the Microsoft Windows
 environment or the upcoming Microsoft Windows NT operating system.
 The set of programming interfaces, called WinSNMP, was developed by
 NetMange Inc.  WinSNMP was based on WinSock, a joint project between
 Microsoft and NetManage.  WinSock is a set of application programming
 interfaces for developers to build TCP/IP applications interoperating
 under Microsoft Windows.  With WinSNMP, developers can write SNMP
 management applications that send management information to SNMP based
 systems, such as SunConnect's SunNet Manager or Hewlett-Packard's
 OpenView.  The interfaces will let multiple management software to
 send data to another management system.  This function would let
 multiple management applications live together without interfering
 with each other.  NetManage are shipping a WinSNMP version of its
 developer's kit.  Using the kit, developers will be able to insert
 SNMP agents into their Windows application.  These Windows
 applications are managed by SNMP management systems.


  Intel's Speed Doubler
  
 Intel has extended the 486 processor group, with the new i486DX2.  The
 chip clocks internally at 50 MHz, but to the external bus, it is
 running at 25 MHz.  The new chip contains a technology called Speed
 Doubler, which allows the internal frequency of the processor to
 operate at double to the rest of the system.  This in turn will
 assist the hardware venders to configure a 50 MHz system for the price
 of a 25 MHz, using the same bus structure.  The price of these chips
 are $500 each for a lot of 1,000.  A 66 MHz version of the i486DX2 will
 be available later this year.

 Remember the Intel ad, a big coprocessor space next to the 486SX chip,
 and the saying 'Room To Upgrade.'  Well, it is here.  Intel announces
 the OverDrive Processor.  This chip also uses the same Speed Doubler
 technology, and take's advantage of the built-in upgradability of the
 Intel 486SX.  This chip was designed to fit in the coprocessor socket
 on any 25 MHz i486SX motherboard.  The new chip is clocked at 50 MHz,
 and appears to the rest of the system as a 25 MHz processor chip.


  Calling It Off
  
 Delrina Corp. and WordStar International, Inc. have canceled their
 plans to merge.  The companies reported management issues, accounting
 problems, and legal issues.  Legal complications arise from merging a
 Canadian company and an American company listed on different stock
 exchanges.  Many of Delrina's shareholders are Canadian institutions.
 They own the shares through usage of pension funds or other investment
 funds.   WordStar International would have turned Delrina's Canadian
 stocks to United States stocks, forcing many shareholders to sell
 abruptly, causing them to face capital gains' taxes from the increased
 stock's value.


  IBM Using The Pen
  
 IBM unveiled the IBM ThinkPad, a pen computer that runs the GO Corp.'s
 PenPoint operating system.  Weighting in at six pounds, the notebook
 is 9 3/16 inches wide, 12 1/4 inches long, and 1 3/8 inches thick.
 The ThinkPad sports the 20MHz Intel 386SX microprocessor, has 20
 Mbytes of removable storage, and comes with either 4 or 8 Mbytes of
 RAM.  IBM hopes to include with the computer, several pen computing
 software, such as the Slate Corp.'s Day-Timer Pen Scheduler and Sitka
 Corp.'s network communication software.  IBM has added it's own
 handwriting recognition technology to the PenPoint operating system.
 This product will ship sometime in July, and there is no pricing yet.


  E-Mail For Windows
  
 Chord Corp. has introduced eNOTE, a LAN electronic mail utility
 running on micro computers with Microsoft Windows environment.  eNOTE
 automatically alert users when new mail messages are delivered and cut
 the need for the user to load an E-mail application to check the
 messages in the mailbox.  It runs on several popular LAN networks,
 such as Banyan Systems' Vines, Microsoft's LAN Manager, and Novell's
 NetWare.  The product is available now, and is priced at $49.00.


  One Fast Modem
  
 Motorola Codex unveiled a string of analog modems for use at
 asynchronous transmission of up to 115.2 kilobits per second.  These
 modems will be the first to incorporate the new V.Fast protocol, the
 next step after v.32bis.  V.fast is a Motorola standard, and is not
 going to be ratified by the International Telegraph and Telephone
 Consultative Committee for another year or so.  The new line of modems
 is called the 326XFast Series.  These modems were taken from the
 Motorola 326X Series of v.32 and v.32bis modems, and just added the
 V.fast option to them.  This new line has four modem models and range
 from $1,395 to $1,695.  The 326XFast modems will be available in July.






Windows Online "the Weekly"
Researched, compiled and edited for the WOLW
By Rich Young

             Micrographix Picture Publisher v3.0

Summary

Micrografx has done more than improve Picture Publisher.
With the release of version 3.0, Micrografx will take a
value-leadership position in PC-based image-editing software.
Picture Publisher 3.0 is so fast and easy to use that buyers can
edit and enhance photographic images almost immediately, while
enjoying the highest-value product in the image-editing category.


Micrografx, Inc., the first and leading developer of
Windows-compatible graphics applications, announces that Picture
Publisher 3.0 has shipped. This product sets a new standard for
value and ease of use in image editing for the PC, according to
George Grayson, president and chief operating officer of Micrografx.
Picture Publisher 3.0 is designed to satisfy the high-end demands of
photo designers and for business users who want to add visual impact to
proposals, newsletters, documents and presentations. With Picture
Publisher 3.0, users can scan color or black-and-white photographic
prints, slides and line art using flatbed or hand-held scanners, or
still-camera video capture devices. These images can support everything
from desktop publishing to multimedia presentations and sophisticated
annual reports. Picture Publisher 3.0 retails for $795. As a special
promotion, the program is being bundled at no additional cost with the
industry's leading hand-held color scanner, the ColorArtist(tm) from
Mustek Inc. (formerly Marstek), until June 30, 1992. Picture Publisher
has been awarded PUBLISH magazine's "Reader's Choice" award as the
best PC image-editing software for three consecutive years, in 1989,
1990 and 1991. The product also received COMPUTE magazine's "Editor's
Choice" award in 1991, and in a recent study by analyst firm BIS Cap
International, Picture Publisher had the dominant market share among
PC scanner users.

Improved Speed, Ease of Use

Several steps were taken to accelerate the product's speed and
ease-of-use characteristics. The Micrographix goal for future
product development were clearly defined: speed and ease of use are
the constant criteria for success in this software category They have
developed display and output technologies that will assist users in
being productive within the Windows environment. Version 3.x now
supports full 24-bit video boards and uses an MDI (multiple document
interface). These are the crucial areas that enable users to get their
work done in a timely fashion with a minimum of effort. Closely related
to speed is the desire for ease of use. This is accomplished in Picture
Publisher 3.0 through an extremely intuitive, invitingly friendly user
interface. All tools are grouped into logical categories. Once a
feature is selected from within a group of tools, all options for that
feature appear automatically in the ribbon area. In addition, a
full-feature hint line allows for additional pertinent information
to be presented to the user.

Innovative New Features

New features in Picture Publisher 3.0 include enhanced masking, an
added text tool, new drawing tools, a color shield, textures and a
selection of special effects. Also, special filters such as 3-D,
emboss, crystallize and graphic pen have been added, at no charge.
File formats supported include TIFF, PCX, TARGA, BMP, GIF and export
of EPS and DCS. Additional tools such as airbrush, texture, paint and
smear give users the ability to create high-level painting effects.

Mask Editing

Picture Publisher's masking capabilities have always been applauded as
the most advanced of any software in the field. Now they are taken to
new heights. Masking tools include Smart Mask, Freehand Mask, Mask
Transform and Mask Point Editor. With the Mask Transform tool, users
can rotate, skew, tilt and distort masks with precise control. The
capability to use multiple masks, delete individual masks and save
and use masks in subsequent work sessions increases user productivity
significantly. The program's Color Shield feature (the only function of
its kind in the industry) allows users to select or protect up to eight
separate areas based on the color selected.

Enhancing Poor Photographs

Users of Picture Publisher 3.0 can interactively manipulate the hue,
saturation and lightness in photographic images using several unique
color mapping tools. Primary among these tools is the product's powerful
Quartertone feature, which improves even poor-quality photographs.

Output and Color Separation

Picture Publisher can print to any Windows-supported device. This
includes black-and-white Hewlett-Packard LaserJet and compatible
printers, color PostScript devices and high-end image typesetters.
With Picture Publisher's unique output calibration, users can adjust
the program to compensate for limitations in their output device. For
output or color separations, Picture Publisher supports binary PostScript
files to maximize production speeds. Users have complete control
over UCR (undercolor removal), black ink generation and device/dot
gain corrections, and can change the shape, frequency and angle of
halftone screen values.

Pricing and System Requirements

Stand-alone copies of Picture Publisher 3.0 are priced at $795. Initial
upgrade pricing for registered owners of any previous version of Picture
Publisher, either retail or OEM, will be $99.95, not including the
Mustek hand-held color scanner. The upgrade price for the bundle is
$499.95. The promotional bundle and upgrade pricing will be good
through June 30, 1992. (All prices are U.S. retail.) The system
requirements for Picture Publisher 3.0 include a 386 IBM PC, PS/2 or
compatible; 4MB RAM; a 40MB (or more) hard drive; Windows 3.0 (or
higher); DOS 3.1 (or higher); a mouse (or other Windows pointing
device, including WACOM); and a VGA display (SuperVGA recommended).
For professional photo design, more memory, a larger hard drive, and
a 16- or 24-bit video card are recommended.


Micrografx, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGXI) has been developing innovative
graphics application and system software for the IBM PC market for
nearly a decade. Micrografx developed the first drawing program for
the IBM PC and one of the first applications for Windows. Since
then, it has continued as a leader in graphics for Windows by creating
products that help people work more efficiently. Today, in addition
to Picture Publisher, Micrografx markets Micrografx Designer(tm), the
only precision illustration program for Windows, retailing for $695;
Windows Draw(tm), a low-cost, entry-level drawing program, retailing
for $149.95; Charisma(tm), a presentation graphics package for business
users, retailing for $495; and Micrografx ClipArt(tm) Collections,
retailing for $149.95 each. Micrografx has offices in nine countries
and more than 270 employees worldwide.







                        Windows Tips by Hugh Hardie
                        

 

   The StartUp Group

       Controlling the Actions of Users

           Uncle Bill's Tip of the Week



The StartUp Group


One of the new and helpful features of Windows 3.1 is the ability to
create a group which will cause all the programs identified in the group
to be started when you start Windows.


This ability to have programs start when Windows starts is not new.  It
has always been available through the LOAD and RUN commands in the
WIN.INI file.  The StartUp group makes the process orders of magnitude
easier and gets around one of the problems with old way of doing it.
The LOAD command could only see a certain numbers of characters on the
line.  Thus, if you had more applications to start than there were
characters that the LOAD line could see, you were out of luck.


Creating the StartUp group is easy.  With the Program manager open and
with no groups open, select FILE/NEW.  The program manager will open a
dialog box showing two choices, one being to create a Program Group, the
default, and the other to create a Program Item.  Simply accept the
default and click on OK.


The next dialog box asks for the name of the group.  Enter StartUp and
click on OK.  Program Manager will create its own group name.  It is
important to enter the name of the group exactly as spelled here.  That
is the way that Windows recognizes it as containing the applications
that you want started when Windows starts.


Program manager will now present you with a Group Window named StartUp
with nothing in it.  Open whichever group contains the application you
want started automatically and copy it from its present group to the
StartUp group.  This is done by holding down the CTRL key as you click
on the application icon and, while holding it down, copy the icon to the
StartUp group.  Be sure to save the changes in the configuration before
you exit Windows.


I find it useful to have a group called NoStart.  In cases where I do
not want to start an application automatically that I have been starting
previously, I move it to the NoStart Group.  If, after experimenting with
whatever I want to try, I decide to start it automatically again, I can
simply move it from the NoStart group back to the StartUp group without
having to worry about which group it came from in the first place.



Controlling the Actions of Users


Although the point of Personal Computers is to provide the power of the
computer to those who need it, in a way that lets them perform their work
in the best fashion for them, there comes a time when control over the
users' activities is required.


In larger organizations, standards are required in order to maintain
order across the system with users who have varying degrees of knowledge
and experience with computers.  In that instance, it is useful to be
able to restrict certain users, or groups of users, from carrying out
specific tasks.  Such access controls are available in many software
packages sold today.

Windows 3.1 has introduced several access controls which can be
instituted to define the limits of action of users.  These controls are
implemented through the use of entries in the PROGMAN.INI file.  Changes
to these parameters are not supported by any of the system utilities
that come with Windows, e.g., Control Panel.  The entries must be made
in the PROGMAN.INI file manually.

Use whatever text file editor you are most comfortable with whether it
is in DOS or in Windows.  In Windows, NOTEPAD is the easiest solution.
Load NOTEPAD and open the file PROGMAN.INI which is in the Windows
directory.

The parameters which you can create and alter are:

NoRun=

NoFileMenu=

NoClose=

NoSaveSettings=

EditLevel=


We will discuss the first three in this edition and the last two in next
weeks edition of Windows Online Weekly news.

The NoRun parameter allows you to prevent users from starting any
applications with the FILE/RUN command.  0 following the command allows
use of RUN/FILE and 1 removes the RUN command from the File Menu.

NoFileMenu, as you might expect, removes the entire File Menu from the
menu bar.  0 enables the file menu and 1 removes it.

NoClose allows you to stop the user from exiting Windows.  This is
useful when the computer in question is intended for 24 hour operation.
Again, 0 allows exiting and 1 prevents it.  This, of course, does not
stop the user from rebooting the machine or turning it off.


More in the next issue!



Uncle Bill's Tip of the Week


This week's tip speeds up the creation and/or modification of a
program's properties as stored in Program Manager.  It is really two
tips in one.


When you have a program group open on the screen, you can find out
about the properties of an application by selecting FILE/PROPERTIES from
the File menu.  This is rather tedious since the item is quite far down
the File Menu.  There is a shortcut alternative.


Place the mouse pointer on the top of the icon of the application that
you wish to examine and press ALT/Double Click with the left mouse
button.  This will bring the Program Item Properties dialog box up and
allow you to alter any of the parameters.


The second part of the tip is that if you press ALT/Double Click on a
blank part of the Program Group Window, it will invoke the FILE/NEW
command and allow you to create a new Program Item.


Thanks, Uncle Bill!







VISUAL BASICS
By Barry Seymour

                  Drag and Drop -- With a Twist!

When I first started working in Visual Basic, drag and drop was a drag,
so I dropped it.

(Sorry, I *had* to use that line.)

In my opinion the VB manual doesn't cover drag and drop clearly enough,
so over the weekend I figured I'd knock together a simple example.
After I did I felt like a bit of a con artist.  My drag and drop
operation simulated the dropping of a control into another control by
hiding the source control and copying it's picture into the destination
control.  I wanted to do the real thing and put that control inside the
other.

What I did was use the API call SetParent to actually make the dragged
control a child of the destination control.  When the control is dragged
OUT of the destination control, it's made a child of the form again.

The advantages are sublte, but powerful.  All the code for the dragged
control can be encapsulated into that control.  Many examples I've seen
have code spread out over several controls; with this technique that
could be avoided.  The non-linearity of Visual Basic can be tough enough
to track; encapsulating the code for this control can keep things
simpler.

VBEX11.MAK has a control array called SourcePic which consists of three
pictures which you can drag around the form.  There is another control
array of two large pictures (DestPic), one which will allow you to drop
a control into it, the other which won't.  (I'll leave it to you to
guess which is which...)

There are a number of events the system is prepared to respond to: the
trick is knowing where they are and how to define them.  They are..

1. The user clicks and holds a mouse button on a movable control.

2. The user drags that control over the form, possibly over other
   controls

3. The user drops the control on a destination control and it responds
   accordingly.

Let's follow the chronology of a simple drag and drop operation to see
what we have to see...

͸
 NOTE TO THE READER:  I'm using a new LINE JOIN identifier which isn't
 found in Visual Basic; this allows a simple global search and replace
 throughout all sample code.  The identifier is <+>.  Replace all of  
 these with a null string and your code will be OK.                   
                                                                      
 If you wish to recreate this experiment in full on your Visual Basic 
 system, this column in WRITE 3.0 format plus sample code is available
 on the Windows Online BBS in Danville, California, phone 1 510       
 736-8343. This column and source code is in VBEX11.ZIP, and may be   
 distributed as freeware.                                             



1.  The user clicks and holds a mouse button on a movable control.  We
place code in the Source control to capture this action.  Specifically,
we put a Drag statement in the control's MouseDown event .  You want to
obtain the handle of the control so you can set it's parent later, and
you also want to save to variables the X and Y coordinates of the mouse
within the picture, so when the user drops the control later we can drop
it in the right place.  We'll use the form-level variables MouseWOffset
and Mouse HOffset variables to do that.  The code is like this...

Sub SourcePic_MouseDown (Index As Integer, Button As Integer, <+>
  Shift As Integer, X As Single, Y As Single)
    DestPic(1).Picture = LoadPicture() ' clear picture
    MouseWOffset = X
    MouseHOffset = Y
    SourcePicHandle = GetFocus()
    SourcePic(Index).Drag
End Sub

At this point the user will see an outline of the picture move around
the form while he moves the mouse while holding down the button.

2.  The user drags the control over the form, possibly over other
controls.  We use the DragOver event from each control to catch this one
-- sorry, no encapsulation here!  If the user drags the control over a
forbidden destination we need to change the MousePointer of the control.
In this example, the first member of the DestPic control array has been
made a 'forbidden' destination; the second is OK.  This is handled in
the DestPic_Dragover event.  

Sub DestPic_DragOver (Index As Integer, Source As Control, <+>
 X As Single, Y As Single, State As Integer)
    'if over picture 0 then indicate that a drop isn't allowed.
    If State = 0 And Index = 0 Then
        Source.MousePointer = 12
    Else
        MousePointer = 0' Change pointer to no drop.
    End If
    If State = 1 Then Source.MousePointer = 0  ' Use default mouse pointer.
End Sub

The State parameter indicates whether the dragged control is entering
(0) or leaving (1) the area bounded by the control.  Note that the code
always changes the Source.MousePointer back to 0 if the source control
is leaving the destination control.

3.  The user drops the control on a destination control, which responds
accordingly.  Once again we look to code in the destination control,
specifically the DragDrop event.  

First we'll  look at the response of the destination control DestPic().
We evaluate whether or not we can drop a control here; secondly we
perform the required action.  If the destination is a valid one, use get
the handle of the source control to make it a child the destination
control using SetParent().

Sub DestPic_DragDrop (Index As Integer, Source As Control, <+>
  X As Single, Y As Single)
    Source.MousePointer = 0 ' reset mouse pointer
    If Index = 0 Then Exit Sub ' DROP NOT ALLOWED ON #1
    Z% = SetParent(SourcePicHandle, DestPicHandle)
    'note we got DestPicHandle in Form_Load.
    Source.top = Y - MouseHOffset
    Source.Left = X - MouseWOffset
End Sub

Notice we've used the saved X and Y offsets of the mousepointer so we
can place the control correctly.  Without this information, the best we
could do is have the control's top left corner snap to the point of the
mousepointer, which would be tres irritating. 

Bear in mind that every control must be ready to respond to a DragDrop
event, including the parent form itself.  Note we set the form as the
parent -- this handles the circumstance correctly even when the control
is being dragged out of a  destination control and back onto the form.
The same positioning technique also works.

Sub Form_DragDrop (Source As Control, X As Single, Y As Single)
    Z% = SetParent(SourcePicHandle, VBEX11.hWnd)
    Source.top = Y - MouseHOffset
    Source.Left = X - MouseWOffset
End Sub

I've put a little code into the SourcePic_DblClick event to demonstrate
the encapsulation I mentioned earlier.  Each control can check to see
who it's parent is by using the API call GetParent().  Once it does that
it can respond to events accordingly.  When you paste the following code
into your example you'll see what I mean.  
ͻ
 If you wish to recreate this experiment in full on your Visual Basic    
 system, this column in WRITE 3.0 format plus all the code is available  
 on the Windows Online BBS in Danville, California, phone 1 510          
 736-8343. This column and source code is in VBEX11.ZIP, and may be      
 distributed as freeware.                                                
ͼ
   ͸
    Barry Seymour                  
    Marquette Computer Consultants 
    San Rafael, CA 415/459-0835    
    Windows OnLine 510/736-8343    
   
        for Windows Online "the Weekly"






                           Desktop Publishing

                         Some Basic Design Tips

By Rob Weinstein
for Windows Online, "the Weekly"



The noted newspaper critic A.J. Liebling once said that "The press is only
free if you own one." Desktop publishing has made this possible for 
virtually everyone. Not that everyone is putting out their own newspaper or
newsletter. But doctors, lawyers, realtors, "experts," local commentators, 
computer consultants, church groups, community organizations and countless 
others are now able to get their message out to the public, or at least to 
their mailing list.

The result is that an enormous variety of information and opinion is 
becoming available constantly. But another result is that a large number of 
publications, flyers, newsletters, etc., are being done by office or 
computer workers, and not by design professionals. Some are great. Others 
are ugly. So in hopes of heading off some of the more graphically offensive 
pieces I retrieve from my mailbox, here are some quick tips. 

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

This sounds elementary, but it is really the key to producing  effective 
material. And it doesn't mean that you have to do extensive market research 
before you produce a brochure--it just means use some common sense. Who will 
read what you produce makes a difference in how it should look, and what it 
should contain. Here are some examples:

--Don't use a broadsheet (fullsize) newspaper format unless readers are
  going to be able to spread out and enjoy. Commuters do better with tabloid 
  (11 x 17 inches) sizes, because they are easier to carry, handle, and read 
  on the bus or train. Magazine size publications, where the page size is 
  approximately 8 1/2 x 11 inches, are excellent for material with lots of 
  text, since the amount of text on a single page doesn't seem overwhelming.

--Use larger, non-condensed typefaces (you don't need expanded faces, just 
  steer away from condensed) for audiences who have a hard time reading. A 
  newspaper in Florida that serves three major retirement communities, uses 
  all 11 point type. Most newspapers use 9 point. I edit a newspaper for 
  building trades workers. They are all literate (they all have high school 
  degrees), but simply don't read much. I use 10 point type.

--Make sure your graphics are appropriate for your audience. I once 
  commissioned an illustrator to draw an piece of artwork for a Business 
  Magazine. When it came back it had a Greek god motif with people running 
  around in low slung togas. Stuck for something to run with the story I 
  used it. The magazine never lived it down.

TYPESETTING

--With the advent of Adobe, Bitstream and TrueType you can have literally 
  hundreds of fonts at your disposal. Don't use them all on one flyer. If you
  are trying to create a coherent whole, stick to three or four fonts on a 
  page. You can change type sizes and texture (bold or normal) for variation, 
  but too many typestyles is confusing, choppy and difficult to read.

--If you are using justified type, make sure you type only one space after 
  a period. Traditionally, typists use two spaces after a period, but that 
  doesn't work with computerized justification.  Computer's justify text by 
  adding or subtracting space between words, so the right margin comes out 
  even. Two spaces after a period will allow the computer to put unattractive
  spaces throughout your text, making it difficult to read.

--If you are justifying your text, enable your automatic hyphenation. When 
  justifying text, your computer will break words to try and even out lines. 
  The automatic hyphenation function on your desktop publishing application 
  will do this quickly and easily. But make sure you check the hyphenation.
  There should be no more than three hyphens in a row (again it make reading 
  choppy), and computers regularly make mistakes in hyphenating words.

FOLLOW THE EYE

     When you are designing a page, flyer, etc., try to look at the entire 
product and understand where the eye goes on a page. One way to do this with 
a flyer is to stand away and squint at it. You will see two things--what 
stands out, and whether everything is straight. If you are working on a 
magazine or book, you can flip rapidly through the pages, like one of those 
children's flip card animation games, to see how the eye flows. Quite often 
something that looks great as an individual page really jogs the eye (and 
stops the flow) in a magazine. Once you see something that stops you dead, 
you can decide if that's the effect you want.


Here are a couple of other thoughts on eye movement on a page:

--On a left hand page the eye usually starts at the upper left corner and
  drops to the lower right. The movement is exactly the opposite for the
  right hand page, going from the upper right to the lower left.



  This flow can be deliberately interrupted or changed by the use of type 
  or graphics.

--For newspapers, newsletters, magazines, etc., headlines usually start 
  largest on the top of the page, and get smaller as they move to the 
  bottom, right portion of the page. This is also true of articles, with
  major articles starting at the top of the page, and diminishing in 
  importance as you move to the lower right corner.

--Traditionally, artists saw themselves working with individual pages. 
  For example, you could work on page 2, separately from page 3. In 
  recent years that has changed. Now facing pages are seen as potentially
  one space that can be combined together. Don't be afraid to use two 
  facing pages...but make sure they work together. Make sure, for example,
  that your headlines are aligned evenly from page to page.

--Eyes follow graphics. If you are using a photo of a person, try to place
  it in such a way that they are facing what you want to highlight on the 
  page, because the eye will follow that flow. Don't have a graphic or 
  photo looking off the page, or your audience will look right off the 
  page also. 

BREAK THE GRAY
 
    In black and white publishing in particular, you have three tones to 
work with, black, white and gray. Be aware of the lines created by your text
and pictures, and the tension created by different contrasts on you page. 
Remember to use the white space on a page. Most people look at a page and 
see the text and graphics. All too often we try to put as much on a page as 
possible. But remember, the white space without text or graphics are also 
an eye catching element of design. One memorable billboard featured a 
life-size $1.98 Granny Goose potato chip bag mounted dead center in on a 
large billboard, with the caption "That's Our Bag."  You probably don't 
have a billboard to work with, but you do have plenty of white space you 
can use.
 
    Some additional tips for increasing the contrast of your pages:

--Look for graphics that feature strong contrasts and clean lines. A full
  page of text looks gray, and a gray graphic only amplifies that 
  impression.

--Try printing a photograph in high contrast. If you are scanning a photo, 
  try decreasing the number of lines per inch on your screens, or even
  scanning a photograph as a line drawing. This can create some very 
  interesting effects.

--Wrap your text around your graphic. Many desktop publishing programs
  will do this automatically, or will allow you to do this manually. 
  The use of the graphic and unusually aligned text creates a strong 
  tension on the page.

--Ragged right text (unjustified) looks more entertaining and less 
  formal. Justified text traditionally looks more informational and
  factual. If you are using justified columns, try breaking your
  columns with enlarged text (pull quotes).

--Headlines do a lot to create contrast on a page, and are quick
  attention getter. But don't put everything in headlines, or they
  loose their impact. Use capital and lower case letter in headlines. 
  All capital letters are difficult to read.

There are just some basic tips, and I will try to put more together
next week. 







                        WINDOWS SOFTWARE REVIEW
                        Written by Brian Parks


                   COMPTON'S MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA
                             Published by
                          COMPTON'S NEWMEDIA


PSssst! hey buddy, wanna see a revolving solar system? An erupting volcano? 
Or maybe you wanna hear some whales calling, or a beating heart? Oh, 
Oh I get it you must be oneados musical types what listens to that classic 
stuff by that longhaired guy, whatshisface, Beethoven. Yeah, yeah dats him.

Seriously, what ever the subject maybe, I'm sure that COMPTON'S
MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA has an article about it in this complete 26
volume research library on CD-ROM that includes the Unabridged Merriam-
Webster Intermediate Dictionary. This has to be one of the best multi-
media products on the market for the Windows environment that I have seen
to date.

I played breifly with an older DOS version and was vaguely impressed by it's
capabilities and features but it wasn't until I got my hands on this Windows
version that I can say that I was truly impressed. All of the functionality 
and rules of  Windows cut, copy and paste options apply here. Seamless 
integration into the Windows environment makes working (or learning) with  
COMPTON'S MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA loads of fun.  Although this should be 
considered a serious research tool, this is a perfect application for the 
kids or, the kids in us.

With over 15,000 pictures that include photos, illustrations, maps, 
graphs and charts, 60 minutes of audio including historic speeches and 
music and 45 animation sequences, your biggest question will be...
"What do I want to see first?!"

Windows multimedia extensions and a CD-ROM are a must in order to use this
product and your monitor should be capable of producing VGA with 256 colors.
(Standard VGA with 16 colors did not do the pictures available in COMPTON'S 
MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA justice).

The main menu is the first screen that appears when you start up COMPTON'S
MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA  (CME).  It displays the menu bar under the program 
title bar and the channel buttons located on the right side of screen.
The channel buttons are your main entry points, or, what you use to get 
from place to place in the encyclopedia.  There are 8 channel buttons. 
In the order of appearance they are;

The HISTORY channel.
     Selecting this channel brings up a time line that starts at 1490 and 
ends with President Bush sending 200,000 troops to Saudi Arabia. Clicking 
on any of the events in the time line takes you to a summary of the event 
and gives you an option to view the related article in the encyclopedia.

If in reading the article, you run across a word that you want to know the 
meaning of, simply double-clicking on the word in question pops up a small
window showing you the word, it's pronunciation, part of speech, and one or 
more meanings for it. If you would like to look up another word you can do 
this now by again double-clicking the word in the definition or by typing 
in a new word to replace the highlighted word in the search request box and 
then clicking the LOOKUP button located at the bottom of the window. This 
feature is available in any channel.
 
The TOPIC TREE channel.
     Selecting this channel brings up a list all of the articles in CME by 
topic and subtopic.  For example, double-clicking "Arts,The", brings up a 
submenu that includes the topic Photography, highlighted in blue (among 
other titles). Double-clicking that topic or any topic highlighted in blue, 
brings up that article to be read. As with any article that you may be in,
you may close it by either clicking the close button located in the upper 
left corner of the active screen or by selecting another channel.

The IDEA SEARCH channel.
     Here you are presented with 3 boxes. The first box is where you type 
in words to ask a question or describe a topic. Hitting the return or enter 
fills the remaining two boxes with Articles and Quick facts. Clicking on 
a title in the article box brings up the article text and (if available for
that article) pictures, animation, charts, tables, sound, maps, and more but 
we'll get to those goodies later.

The FINDER channel.
     This is the channel you would use if you wanted to search an 
alphabetical listing to find any article, picture or atlas location 
anywhere in CME. If you already have a topic, FINDER will easily help you 
locate any articles or pictures related to it. Or you can just browse 
through it to find items that interest you.

The SCIENCE channel.
     This channel takes you to 20 of the most interesting science related 
articles found in CME. These articles are enhanced with sound, animation 
sequences, illustrations and additional text. If you're looking for 
information on biology, geography, geology, human anatomy, or conservation 
and much more, this is where you'll find it. The main menu for this 
channel is divided into 4 sections and each has a list of related topics. 
The categories and their topics are:

LIVING THINGS
     Reptiles          Insect
     Animal            Plant
     Spider            Birds
     Whale             Fish

THE HUMAN BODY
     Respiratory System          Human Anatomy
     Digestive System            Heart

INNER EARTH TO OUTER SPACE
     Ocean             Earthquake
     Volcano           Conservation
     Astronomy

GOING PLACES
     Energy            Maps & Globes
     Directions

You may click on any topic listed here to get to the first page of 
the article.

The WORLD ATLAS channel
 Selecting this channel allows you to use and explore all of the maps of 
all of the places on earth that CME has articles for. You choose the 
place that you'd like to see in the ATLAS section and the map for that 
place is drawn on your monitor.  Using the mouse you can zoom in or out, 
move from one side of the globe to the other or place lines of longitude 
or latitude to give you added information. When you've finished 
globetrotting, pull up the articles on the places that you just visited to 
get a better understanding of the land, people and culture by just double-
clicking on the name of the place you see on the globe.

The PICTURE TOUR channel.
 Clicking on this channel presents you with a slide show of some of the most
interesting pictures found in CME, or you may choose to manually browse 
through the pictures one at a time. When you run across a picture that you 
would like more information about simply click on Article button and you 
will be at page 1.

The GO BACK channel.
Clicking this channel takes you back one step in your research path.


MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
     80286 or better, Windows 3.0, VGA display, mouse, CD-ROM drive, 2MB of
ram, hard drive. A sound card is not required. To get sound simply plug 
your headphones or external amplified speakers into the headphone jack on 
your CD-ROM drive. Please don't think that I have covered everything there 
is to know about COMPTON'S MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA. I have only skimmed the
first layer of this truly exciting program. There is so much more to see 
and talk about than this small article will allow for.

COMPTON'S MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA for WINDOWS is shipping now
for $895.00 . (but street prices may be considerably lower) 
Owners of the DOS version may upgrade to the Windows version for $99.95.
Owners of Compton's Family Encyclopedia may upgrade for $149.95. 
CME also comes bundled with the new MediaVision and PS 1 upgrade.
So I would suggest that you rush right out to your local software store and 
see if they have this excellent addition to your CD-ROM collection. Or, 
for more information and to find out who has it in your area or, 
to order it direct, contact;

                          COMPTON'S NEWMEDIA
                         722 GENEVIEVE SUITE M
                        SOLANA BEACH, CA 92075
                            1(800) 532-3766

      If you've unearthed a rare find, take a minute and drop me a line.
                        Brian Parks c/o Windows Online.


Copyright (c) 1992, Brian A. Parks
Copyright (c) 1992 HOPSCOTCH RESEARCH SERVICE








"the Weekly" is a product of,

Windows Online(tm), (WOL), an on-line service dedicated to the MS Windows(tm)
operating envoirnment and to other GUI subjects.  WOL prides itself on having
the most complete and up-to-date library of Windows shareware in the world.
WOL currently has over 3,300 Windows 3.x programs and files for download.
Call today for your free trial. Consider membership with the Worlds premier
Windows on-line service.


No reprinting of this document is permitted without the written permission of
Windows Online. All articles are copyrighted by their authors. Opinions
presented herein are those of the individual author and do not necessarily
reflect those of WOL or "the Weekly."


                           Call Windows Online today!
                              (510) 736-8343 BBS

                                Frank J. Mahaney
                              Publisher and Editor
                               Windows Online(tm)
                                   Box 1614
                             Danville, CA 94526-6614
                            (510) 736-4376 Voice/Fax



Copyright 1992, Windows Online(tm)

