                                                      09-14-91

                WALPAPER.EXE  --  README FILE
                -----------------------------


WHAT IT IS :

        Wallpaper is a COMPILED (i.e., executable) BatchWorks v2.0 
batch program. 

WHAT IT DOES :

        Wallpaper maintains a collection of wallpapers in one 
compressed file and can extract them on demand and update 
the Windows desktop. It can also create the compressed file 
if it does not yet exist, and add or remove files from it at 
any time thereafter.

WHY :

        Because Windows wallpaper files (.BMP) take up A LOT of 
space and they compress very nicely (70-95%).

WHAT'S REQUIRED :

        Wallpaper requires PKZip.Exe AND PKUnzip.Exe, copyright 
PKWare, Inc. Both of these programs are available on a number of 
Compuserve forums.

WHAT'S INCLUDED :

        Readme.txt   - This file
        Walpaper.exe - The wallpaper program file (code)
        Walpaper.pif - The Windows PIF file necessary for the
                       correct operation of the program


INSTALLATION :

        Place the walpaper.exe and walpaper.pif files into a SINGLE 
directory. Since most of us want to keep the Windows directory as 
clean as possible, I suggest shoving them into a utilities directory 
of your choice.
        Now, assign a program to an icon in your favorite shell. The 
command line for it should read "[path]Wallpaper.exe". Title this 
icon "Change Paper". Now, repeat this same procedure for a second 
program icon, with a command line of "[path]Wallpaper.exe Update". 
Title this icon "Update Paper". Installation is now complete.

TO RUN :

        Click on either icon. You will be asked to specify paths to 
the pkzip and pkunzip programs, as well as a wallpaper zip file, and 
to select a method for changing the paper (whenever this icon is 
clicked in the future). You will also be asked to specify a number 
which denotes the file size below which wallpapers will be tiled 
(for reference, a full-screen VGA 640x480x16 bitmap is 153,718 
bytes). If you don't already have a zip file containing your 
bitmaps, you can create it at this time. If you do already have a 
walpaper zip file, just specify the full path and filename. After a 
new file has been created, or the path to an existing file has been 
given, Walpaper will extract the names of the bmp files and create a 
file named Walpaper.Ini in the directory where Wallpaper.exe 
resides. This file contains all the information pertinent to running 
the program from now on. After the program is run for the first 
time, which creates Walpaper.Ini, clicking on the icon will extract 
a new wallpaper from the zip file, display it, and delete the old 
wallpaper (previously extracted).

TO UPDATE :

        Wallpaper.exe also acts somewhat like a wallpaper file 
librarian. Click on the "Update Paper" icon. You will be presented 
with 4 possible options. You can add new wallpapers to the zip file, 
remove wallpapers, change the update method (sequential, random, or 
user-selected), or rebuild the Wallpaper.Ini file. When adding 
files, you can optionally delete the original after it has been 
archived (to save disk space). When removing files, you can 
optionally delete the files after they are removed from the archive. 
After either adding or removing, the Wallpaper.Ini file is 
reconstructed to reflect the changes in the archive.
        The rebuild option is similar to the initial launch of the 
program (before Walpaper.Ini exists). You can change the paths of 
the zip programs or specify another wallpaper zip file to use. 
Rebuilding is really only necessary for these reasons. Rebuilding 
could possibly be used to alternate between two or more wallpaper 
zip files (but I like to keep all my bitmaps in one file).

HISTORY :

        This program was originally written in Norton Desktop for 
Windows Batch Language. BatchWorks is identical to NDW's BatchRun, 
as both batch languages were created by the same person (I think), 
Morrie Wilson. BatchWorks v2.0, which has just been released, has an 
optional SDK that includes a compiler for creating standalone exe 
files from batch programs. Unfortunately, the compiler will not 
include any dialog box templates in the final executable, so I 
create these templates "on-the-fly" within the program, and delete 
them when they are no longer needed. To create Walpaper.exe, I did a 
little tweeking of the original batch program, compiled it, and it 
ran without a hitch. Although this program doesn't set any speed 
records, it is relatively fast and the benefits of storing 
COMPRESSED walpapers far outweigh any speed penalties.

NOTES :

        Wallpaper.exe creates a temporary DOS batch file (~~WPTEMP.
BAT) in the Windows directory, which invokes the zip programs. This 
batch file is called from the Wallpaper.pif file, and is deleted 
when no longer needed. Similarly, a temporary list file (~~WPTEMP.
LST) is used to construct a list of filenames for Wallpaper.ini, and 
it is also deleted when no longer needed. The wallpaper.exe program 
waits for a window titled "Wallpaper" to close (the title of the pif 
window) before it continues processing, so DO NOT rename the PIF 
file's window title or command line!

****    Since this program creates, adds, removes, and deletes 
files, and many unexpected events can occur in a multitasking 
system, I assume no responsibility for loss of data or damage to 
your system through the use of this program.    *****

        Wallpaper.exe is being distributed as freeware, although I 
retain the rights to the original code. BatchWorks v.2.0 (c)1991 
Morrie Wilson, Publishing Technologies. Have fun, and reclaim some 
of that disk space!

Send any comments or suggestions to me via Compuserve, 76346,1732. 
Todd Kather

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