






























                                     WallBlaster

                                     Version 1.1

                        Freeware Edition  --  11 January 1991

                                     WrightWorks
                                 1322 Second Avenue
                                      Suite 2A1
                              New York, New York 10021
                                   (212) 288-2942
                                  CIS:  76244, 312
                                    BIX:  JETMAN
                                  GENIE:  KIDFLASH
                             Author:  Jethro Wright, III
            Software and documentation:  Copyright (c) 1991, WrightWorks







          Introduction

               WallBlaster is a Microsoft Windows 3.0 utility program that
          changes the desktop wallpaper from a library of images contained
          in a .ZIP archive, under its standard (286) and 386 Enhanced
          operating modes.  WallBlaster selects images from its library at
          random and will make changes according to a timed interval or
          only on demand by the user.  Besides making one's workstation
          environment visually more attractive, WallBlaster conserves hard
          disk storage used for wallpaper files, since full-screen color
          VGA bitmaps (.BMP files) require 150 KB per picture.  If that
          weren't enough, there are commercial editions of WallBlaster with
          more advanced capabilities, including user-definable buttons on
          the desktop.

               WallBlaster is freeware, so the program won't bother to ask
          you to purchase a license for the full program.  All of the
          fundamental facilities of the program are included in this
          edition, but you are encouraged to order the commercial version
          of WallBlaster, as it possesses additional features like
          alternate library files and a DDE interface.  But more about this
          later....

               WallBlaster can be obtained your favorite BBS.  If you'd
          like the latest version of the freeware edition of WallBlaster,
          see the end of this document for further details.  You'll receive
          this document in hard-copy form and a pristine copy of the
          program on disk.



          License and Disclaimer

               The freeware edition of WallBlaster is available at no
          charge from many electronic bulletin board systems (BBS),
          including CompuServe, BIX, and GENie.  Other than normal BBS com-
          munications and service charges, it may not distributed for a
          fee, or combined with any commercial software or hardware
          product, without the express written permission of WrightWorks.
          The sole instance where a fee, which can be no more than ten (10)
          dollars, may be charged for the freeware edition of WallBlaster
          is when WallBlaster is distributed by public domain software dis-
          tributors, who as part of normal operations distribute public
          domain and other freeware works for the cost of the media and its
          distribution.  In order to distribute the freeware edition of
          WallBlaster, all files associated with the program, including do-
          cumentation and program executables must be included as an
          indivisible unit.

               No warranty of any kind is implied and the user of
          WallBlaster is solely responsible for the protection of all files
          and documents on his/her computer system.  Use of WallBlaster


          WallBlaster Manual                                    Page 2





          does not imply any responsibility on the part of WrightWorks for
          any claims due to damages of any kind, including but not limited
          to consequential and incidental damages.  WallBlaster must not be
          distributed where existing city, county, state, or federal
          laws/regulations would invalidate any part of this
          license/disclaimer.  All rights are reserved by WrightWorks.

               Use of WallBlaster implies full agreement and understanding
          of all parts of this license and disclaimer.

          MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Excel are trademarks of
          Microsoft Corporation.
          PKZip and PKUNZip are trademarks of PKWare, Incorporated.
          Northgate Elegance is a trademark of Northgate Computer Systems,
          Inc.
          Actor is a tradmark of The Whitewater Group, Incorporated.
          ToolBook is a trademark of Asymetrix Corporation.
          CompuServe is a trademark of CompuServe Incorporated.
          GENie is a trademark of GE Information Services Incorporated.
          BIX is a trademark of McGraw-Hill Incorporated.




































          WallBlaster Manual                                    Page 3







          Installation

               Simply copy the WallBlaster program, WB.EXE, to the sub-
          directory where your copy of Microsoft Windows resides.  You can
          do this using the appropriate DOS commands or using Windows' File
          Manager or MS-DOS Executive.  Next, you'll need a library of
          bitmap files, archived in a .ZIP file made by a program compa-
          tible with PKZip from PKWare, Inc.  Consequently, you must
          already have a copy of PKZip or you must obtain, through your own
          means, an archive containing Windows bitmaps suitable as wall-
          paper.  You probably already have a copy of PKZip since the pro-
          gram is normally found on BBSs in a .ZIP file.  The freeware ver-
          sion of WallBlaster will only work with a library file called
          WBLASTER.ZIP.  It should reside in the Windows sub-directory,
          along with the WallBlaster program itself.  Once you've created a
          library file for WallBlaster, start the program like any other
          Windows application and you're done.

               The images displayed by WallBlaster must be normal Windows
          bitmap files that can be loaded as wallpaper by the Windows Con-
          trol Panel.  Assuming you have a copy of PKZip and would like to
          create a wallpaper library, all you need to do is move the wall-
          paper files to an archive (library) called WBLASTER.ZIP.  The
          files MUST NOT include their current path in the .ZIP file, mea-
          ning the wallpaper library must not be created using PKZip's -p
          or -P options.  An sample PKZip command line for moving two wall-
          paper files in the current directory into WBLASTER.ZIP is shown
          below:

                 D:\WINDOWS>  PKZIP -m WBLASTER CHESS.BMP PANTHER.BMP


               One could have used an asterisk wildcard (*.BMP) instead, to
          move both files, but because Windows possesses bitmaps that can
          be tiled, you probably want to be very specific when adding wall-
          paper files to a WallBlaster library.  WallBlaster doesn't handle
          tiled bitmaps, because there's little to be gained by compressing
          small images.

               Prior to starting WallBlaster for the very first time, you
          might want to go into the Windows Control Panel to set the
          current wallpaper to (None), using the Settings:Desktop... menu
          option, since WallBlaster will delete the current wallpaper file,
          to make room for a new file.  While you're at it, change the
          wallpaper orientation to center.  When WallBlaster changes the
          wallpaper, not only will it delete the previous wallpaper file
          but if will change the corresponding profile string (Wallpaper)
          in WIN.INI with the complete pathname of the current wallpaper
          file.

               A sample of the WallBlaster profile section in WIN.INI, is
          shown below:


          WallBlaster Manual                                    Page 4





               [WallBlaster]
               LibraryName=D:\WINDOWS\WBLASTER.ZIP
               TimerInterval=30


               The program automatically inserts those lines into your
          WIN.INI file when you start it initially, for those individuals
          who're not comfortable editing the WIN.INI file.  You can also
          invoke WallBlaster from the load= line under the [windows]
          section in WIN.INI, in order to change the wallpaper every time
          you start Windows.



          Operationally Speaking

               WallBlaster is what I call a "hot-button", meaning that it
          doesn't use a window equipped with a menu bar  --  or other con-
          trols like buttons  --  and always appears as an icon at the bot-
          tom of your screen.  The few commands that the program supports
          are transmitted via the icon's system menu.  A left double-click
          on the icon immediately decompresses and displays the next image
          from the library, as if you had manually selected the "Display
          Next" option from WallBlaster's system menu.

               WallBlaster's default settings changes your wallpaper once
          every thirty minutes.  A profile string in your WIN.INI file con-
          trols the interval between wallpaper changes.  You can adjust
          this value manually by editing WIN.INI and changing the
          TimerInterval profile string in the [WallBlaster] application
          section.  TimerInterval is measured in minutes, so make it equal
          to 20, for a twenty-minute wallpaper switch.  If you prefer to
          change the wallpaper only once per session or only on demand,
          make TimerInterval equal to 0.  Setting TimerInterval to 999 will
          enable demonstration mode, where the backdrop will be changed
          once every thirty seconds.

               When it starts to extract the next file from the library,
          the program changes the pointer/cursor to an arrow overlapping
          two squares that looks like WallBlaster's icon.  As a new file is
          retrieved from the archive, the previous wallpaper file is dele-
          ted, since it's assumed that the file is already contained in the
          wallpaper library.  The complete pathname for the wallpaper file
          is displayed in WallBlaster's caption, along with the number of
          times it's changed the wallpaper during this session.

               WallBlaster primarily works with full-screen bitmaps, be-
          cause little is gained by compressing a small graphics image.  So
          WallBlaster doesn't tell Windows to "tile" smaller images, nor
          does it interpret the contents of any file contained in its li-
          brary.  Tiled wallpaper tends to be displayed more slowly than
          full-screen wallpaper.  The freeware edition of WallBlaster adds
          a single operational command on its system menu, the Display Next



          WallBlaster Manual                                    Page 5





          menu option displays the next image from the library, chosen com-
          pletely at random.

               It should be noted that decompressing a complex (dithered)
          color VGA file is not as fast as simply displaying the same image
          --  already uncompressed  --  directly from the Control Panel.
          However, performance is acceptable and on a machine with a 20 MHz
          386DX CPU  --  specifically a Northgate Elegance 1000, where
          WallBlaster was created  --  the program will extract and display
          a 150 KB wallpaper file in about 3 - 7 seconds.  If latency is a
          concern, adjust the TimerInterval to a higher setting like 60
          minutes or higher.  Files won't decompress faster, but the delay
          will be less noticeable due to the longer interval.  Monochrome
          (black and white) images decompress in one or two seconds, as do
          full-color images that are composed of large regions using with a
          single primary color.  Moreover, WallBlaster can decompress
          images  in the background.



          There's Gold In Them There Hills...

               The freeware edition of WallBlaster doesn't "nag" you about
          registering your copy of the program, because it's been adjusted
          to display only the first six images in its library file.  This
          is adequate for most people, but those who really enjoy the
          wallpaper feature of Microsoft Windows 3.0 have an incentive to
          get one of the commercial editions which will allow the use of
          alternate library files.  Another inducement to buy one of the
          commercial editions of WallBlaster  --  called Personal
          WallBlaster and Professional WallBlaster  --  is a DDE interface.
          DDE ?  Yes, Personal/Professional WallBlaster support Dynamic
          Data Exchange, at least the EXECUTE portion of the protocol.
          Since WallBlaster doesn't really have data of its own, the other
          parts of the DDE specification don't apply.  However, sending
          commands to WallBlaster via DDE does make a lot of sense....

               As an individual, WallBlaster is just a way to make one's
          electronic desktop more dynamic and eye-pleasing.  But there are
          other potential and practical uses for a dynamic wallpaper dis-
          play.  Just as icons are used to convey information to a user
          about the purpose of its "parent" application, one can use mul-
          tiple wallpaper images to indicate a user's current context in a
          large application system.  For example, let's imagine we have an
          application system for a law firm.  This application system is
          composed of four principal subsystems:  client communications,
          data base and document management, travel planning, and event
          scheduling.  Each of these activities are logically distinct and
          could be represented by a different wallpaper image that coin-
          cides conceptually with the current activity.  One could scan a
          photograph of telephone with a rolodex next to it, to create a
          wallpaper file for activites associated with client com-
          munications.  A photo of a room with file cabinets could be used
          to depict data base and document management services.  Travel


          WallBlaster Manual                                    Page 6





          planning activities might be shown against a backdrop containing
          a commercial airliner.  The event scheduling subsystem could be
          represented by a picture of a day-at-a-glance desk calendar.

               The individual options within a particular application area
          could be triggered via large buttons containing a bitmap or icon
          for a specific action associated with the current application
          area.  While individuals might be able to take advantage of this
          technique, enterprises using sophisticated application systems
          comprised of multiple programs, will find the meta-application
          features of Personal/Professional WallBlaster most helpful.

               Personal WallBlaster has dialog boxes to set run-time op-
          tions on the the fly, as well as a DDE interface that can change
          wallpaper on demand.

               Professional WallBlaster adds full programmabilty to
          Personal WallBlaster by providing a library of functions callable
          from C or other development tools for Microsoft Windows, like the
          Whitewater Group's Actor or Asymetrix' ToolBook.  The application
          designer/programmer can add application-specific buttons to a
          backdrop (wallpaper image), in addition to the DDE interface
          already available with Personal WallBlaster.  Actually, Pro-
          fessional WallBlaster is a combination of a programming library
          along with a copy of the Personal WallBlaster program.  The
          package also includes sample source code illustrating how to use
          the library.  Another use for Professional WallBlaster can be
          found in kiosks that use touch sensitive screens.  Images can be
          composed using a drawing program, saved as bitmaps, then assem-
          bled into a hierarchical set of screens that navigate a user
          through easy-to-use applications like a building/campus direc-
          tory, a personnel data base, or desktop manufacturing applica-
          tions like the media copiers used to mass-produce software on
          floppy disk.  Since most of the time, one would want to immedia-
          tely load specific wallpaper files by programmed request,
          Professional WallBlaster won't extract these files from its li-
          brary.  The designer of the application system simply gives these
          high-priority files an application-specific name in the
          WBLASTER.INI file and he/she can quickly switch wallpaper images
          using a DDE EXECUTE command.



          Getting Wallpapered

               Part of the reason for writing WallBlaster was that I had
          access to a large library of digitized images, available on a
          number of popular bulletin boards.  Most of the images came from
          GENie, CompuServe, and BIX.  Therefore, upon obtaining a copy of
          WallBlaster, if you need to know how to create your own wallpaper
          library, here's how it's done.

               Typically, I've found that the best digitized images are
          saved in .GIF (Graphics Information Format) files, a format made


          WallBlaster Manual                                    Page 7





          popular by CompuServe. Since Windows can't directly read .GIF
          files, it'll be necessary to get a program that will be able to
          convert these .GIF files into .BMP files.  A program that's been
          very helpful for this task, is WinGIF, from SuperSet Software, in
          Orem, UT.  WinGIF is a shareware program, that can be obtained
          from most BBSs that have a download library for Windows programs.
          You can probably get WinGIF via the same BBS from which you
          acquired WallBlaster.

               There are plenty of great images in other graphics file for-
          mats, but you'll have to rely on your own means for getting them
          converted into .BMP format.



          Beyond Wallpaper

               WallBlaster has companion products, including a ZIP archive
          utility that's a true Windows program.  PersonalBlaster can ex-
          tract, add, and view items from/to .ZIP archive files.
          ProfessionalBlaster can manage .ARC archives as well.  Both pro-
          grams can handle DDE EXECUTE messages, so most menu options can
          sent as DDE EXECUTE commands.

               If you like any of these products, you may purchase them
          directly from WrightWorks.  We offer them via mail-order to keep
          prices low, so that folks, regardless of their budget, will find
          them affordable.

               Technical support for WallBlaster and the Blaster archiving
          utilities is available via e-mail on CompuServe, GENie, and BIX.
          Mail is collected daily from these systems and is the easiest way
          of contacting WrightWorks about its products.  Naturally, for
          more immediate assistance you can contact us by phone.






















          WallBlaster Manual                                    Page 8





                                        ORDER FORM



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            Company:  ______________________________________
            Address:  ______________________________________
                   :  ______________________________________
               City:  ______________________________________
              State:  ______________________________________
           Zip Code:  ________________
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          WallBlaster, Freeware Edition:  $ 5.00 (USD), includes media and
                    printed documentation

          Personal WallBlaster: $ 20.00 Professional WallBlaster:  $ 40.00
               PersonalBlaster: $ 20.00      ProfessionalBlaster:  $ 40.00


          Personal WallBlaster and PersonalBlaster:  $ 30.00

          Profesional WallBlaster and ProfessionalBlaster:  $ 70.00
          Add $ 15.00 for next-day shipping

          Contact WrightWorks for details on source code, corporate, and
                    commercial licensing.

          Be sure to specify the media type (3.5" 720 KB or 5.25" 1.2MB)
                    for each item ordered.


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                                        Sub Total:   _____________
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          WallBlaster Manual                                    Page 9