WINFSR                                    Fran Finnegan
Monitor Windows free system resources       version 2.1
-------------------------------------------------------

The 'Free System Resources' (FSR) in Windows is really 
just a fancy name for the amount of free memory 
available to two key components of Windows; the 
graphics device interface (GDI.EXE) and the user 
interface (USER.EXE). This lock of memory is vital as 
all open Windows applications must share it; if you run 
enough big programs at the same time, or programs which 
hog FSR, you will run out of memory and possibly lock up 
your machine, even if it's a 16Mb or 32Mb system.

WINFSR is a small utility that allows you to easily
monitor FSR. You can determine how a particular program 
uses FSR or just use it as a running count to warn you
that the system may be becoming overloaded.

Installation
------------
WINFSR works with Windows 3.0 and 3.1 and is installed 
in the usual manner. The program file is WINFSR.EXE. No 
other files are necessary to use WINFSR.

To install the program file:

  * Copy WINFSR.EXE to a suitable hard disk directory.
    You can use your main WINDOWS directory, create a 
    new one or add WINFSR to a directory you already
    have for smaller Windows programs and accessories.

To start WINFSR directly:

  * Run the program file WINFSR.EXE from the Windows
    Program Manager, File Manager, MS-DOS Executive or
    whatever shell/launch program you like to use. You
    can either choose 'File' 'Run' and then enter the
    command WINFSR (you may need to give the drive
    and directory where WINFSR is stored, e.g. 
    C:\WINUTILS\WINFSR) or double-click on the
    filename in the File Manager or other program 
    launcher display.

To create an icon for WINFSR in the Windows Program 
Manager display:

  * Select a suitable program group by clicking on it
    once (e.g. Accessories). If you prefer, you can 
    create a new program group by choosing 'New...' from
    the Program Manager 'File' menu and then selecting
    'Program Group'.

  * Select 'New...' from the Program Manager 'File' menu.

  * Choose 'Program Item' and click okay in the 'New 
    Program Object' dialog.

  * In the 'Program Item Properties' dialog, click on
    'Browse' and then use the mouse to locate the 
    WINFSR.EXE program file and double-click on it.

  * Click 'Okay' back in the 'Program Item Properties'
    dialog and the WINFSR icon should appear in your
    selected program group. You can now start WINFSR
    by double-clicking on this icon as normal.

Using WINFSR
--------------
WINFSR provides two displays. A dialog box displays
operating mode and total memory usage as well as
the percentage of FSR available and separate figures
for GDI and USER components. Clicking on the 'Hide'
button removes this display, leaving just WINFSR's
icon at the bottom of the screen. The icon shows 
simply the % free for FSR; this display is 
continually updated as you work.

A number of options are available from the main display
by clicking on 'Options'. You can choose either a fancy
or plain icon display and change the icon's name (under
Windows 3.1, you may prefer to delete the default name 
'System Resources' to produce a smaller icon title). 

The % option allows you to leave WINFSR running as an 
icon but have its dialog box pop-up to warn you when 
you're running short of FSR. Normally, WINFSR will 
pop-up if FSR gets below 20%, at which point you 
should probably save your work or close down some 
programs. You can adjust this to a different figure if 
you prefer.

WINFSR and WIN.INI
------------------
WINFSR stores its current settings in your WIN.INI
file in a section titled [WINFSR]. You can adjust
these lines manually using a text editor. If you remove
WINFSR from your system, you should delete this section
from your WIN.INI file.

FSR Calculation
---------------
There is no 'official' way to calculate FSR so you may
see different results from programs similar to this 
one. WINFSR takes into account free global memory as
well as local memory for example.
