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AutoRun Action Flash ReadMe File
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Program Version: 3.0.0

PACKAGE CONTENTS

autoflsh.exe...The Main AutoRun program
autoflsh.ini...The default INI file, See below to program your 
               own.
AutoRun.inf....AutoRun setup file, copy this to the ROOT directory 
               of your CD.
logo.bmp.......Background logo image, create your own and replace 
               this file with it.
Program Settings.bat This gives you a shortcut to the INI editor 
               built into the program.
readme.txt.....Instructions on location of this file.
flashread.txt..This file. Your reading it. Right now.
start.wav......This sound will play when the program starts, 
               optionally replace.

You may also wish to download Sysfiles.zip, this file contains 
certain files which can ensure your CD will AutoRun correctly 
on more systems.

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Step-by-Step Instructions
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Unzip all files into its own directory. The program is ready 
to run. The program does NOT require any installation. To set 
up for your CD just follow the following steps:

- Create an "Autoflsh" directory (see NOTE)

- Unzip the files into this directory

- Optionally unzip SysFiles.ZIP into the same directory This 
  makes sure your program should work on all systems

- Delete the autoflsh.ini file (this will cause the program 
  to prompt you for the data it requires).

- start the program and enter the link, delay and optionally 
  registration details.

- Create your own logo.bmp file for the flash image (and copy 
  it to the directory). If you DO NOT want a flash screen then 
  just delete the logo.bmp file. This will cause the program to 
  immediately action the link, not showing itself.

- Replace the "start.wav" file with a wave file of your own 
  if you like.

- write your CD, making sure you moved the AutoRun.inf to the 
  root directory of the CD.

NOTE that the supplied AutoRun.inf assumes you copied the program 
into a directory called autoflsh, and that you will use the 
programs icon to represent your CD. Open the AutoRun.inf file 
to change these details.

NOTE the software MUST be in a subdirectory, it has not been 
programmed to work from the root directory.

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Programming the INI
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You can edit the setting using the programs interface by starting 
the program with the "R" slash code. To do this simply create 
a shortcut to the program, right-click on the shortcut, choose 
properties and add /R to the end of the "Target" Entry Box. 
The end result should look something like:

"C:\AutoFlsh\Autoflsh.exe" /R

Alternatively, you can use the MSDOS batch file supplied. This 
still requires Win95 or above to work, but as the exact location 
of the program does not have to be specified, it is more suitable 
for distribution.

If you delete the INI then the INI Programming Interface will 
come up, but using the "/R" will cause the program to load up 
the current settings into the INI programmer for easy changing.

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CommandLine Arguments
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Commandline arguments are strings which you pass to programs 
to instruct them in their operation. The most basic is often 
a program will open a file that is passed as a commandline argument. 
An Example of this might be the following string passed to MS 
Windows NotePad:

C:\Windows\Readme.txt

which is simply instructing NotePad to open the windows Readme 
file. Commandline arguments are often referred to as "slash 
codes", as the string of text passed to the program often starts 
with a slash. One real use in CD Authoring is when you wish 
to include a viewer for documents you are distributing on the 
CD. In this way you can open a document on the CD in a program 
on the CD.

You can now pass command line switches ("slash codes") to programs 
with Autorun Action Flash. To do this just add your commandline 
argument in the configurations box titled "Any Commandline Arguments 
(programs only)" (or enter it directly into the INI with a text 
editor directly under "Commandline Arguments (If Any)").

In many instances you will want to refer to the CD-Drive when 
passing Commandline arguments to your program. Some programs 
(very few) will allow a relative path as a commandline argument, 
but most require you put the full path to the file you wish 
to open. If an absolute path is given problems occur when the 
User places the CD in a drive with a different Drive Letter 
(Your CD Drive might be E: drive, but theirs may be D:, or F: 
or...). To overcome this problem I have introduced a variable 
(%CD%) which replaces the drive letter in your commandline argument. 
Then our software replaces this variable with the drive letter 
the CD is currently being run from. In this way your Commandline 
argument, and your CD, will work in any drive, regardless of 
the CD drive letter.

Therefore the above string would be:

%CD%\Windows\Readme.txt

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Setting up an Animated Flash Screen
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With Autorun Action Flash you can setup you flash screen to 
animated through as many frames as you wish. Setting up your 
animated flash screen is easy, just follow the following simple 
steps:

Include your default flash screen, "logo.bmp". This will be 
the first fram in your animation. Nest create the rest of you 
animation frames and name them sequentially, "logo(number).bmp. 
Such that your next frame (after you default first) would be 
called "logo1.bmp", the next, "logo2.bmp" and so on.

You can adjust the speed at which you flash screen animates 
by changing the "Frame Delay" setting in the configuration panel. 
This value is the time to wait before loading the next image. 
It is measured in 1/10th of a second, such that a value of 100 
would equal 1 second. You can also choose to "Cycle" your animation. 
This will cause the animation to immediately start over when 
after the last available frame has been shown for the set length 
of time.

You may wish to take into account the speed of your User's CD 
drives when planning your animated flash screen. Very large 
animated frames will be taxing on their CD drives, as each image 
will take time to load from the drive. Exesively sized images 
will also cause a delay of the flash screen start-up, as for 
display purposes the program preloads the images before attempting 
to animate through them.

Remember as well that you may well wish to have, for example, 
only two frames which are not cycled and tell the User more 
information. This would be suited to say a copyright screen, 
where the first frame is your logo, and the second frame a copyright 
notice about the contents of the CD. For this use you would 
put in a long delay, perhaps 1 or more seconds (1000 or more 
in the animation delay setting).

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The link can be to a file, program, directory or internet site 
as follows:

File: ========================================================
"\directory\file.doc", or "C:\windows\readme.txt"

Program: =====================================================
"\directory\program.exe", or "C:\windows\Notepad.exe"

Directory: ===================================================
"\directory\directory\", or "C:\windows\", even "C:\windows"

Internet Site: ===============================================
"http://www.powerup.com.au/~calypso/register.htm"

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Do not include the inverted commas (") when entering links.

The absence of the drive (eg C:) means that the link is to the 
CD.

Slash directions above should be followed. These are Operating 
System "backslashes" not internet style "forward slashes".

Trailing slashes on directory links do not matter.

The % symbol indicates that the file is in the same directory 
as the program. We have introduced this to improve the function 
of the program when downloaded. We cannot guarantee what files 
you have on your system, so we have opted to open a downloaded 
file.

Flash delay is in 1/10 of a seconds. Such that "10" = 1 second 
and "300" = 30 second (I wouldn't put 300 hundred in!).

Please Note that the time you specify is split between time 
before the link in actioned, and time after. This means that 
if you specify 100, then the flash screen displays for 50 (5 
seconds), it then launches the link, remaining up for another 
50 (5 seconds).

The image displayed must be in Bitmap form, named logo.bmp and 
placed in the same directory as autoflsh.exe.

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Other Information
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This program is freely distributable to anyone wishing to use 
it for non-commercial applications. Any User Names and Registration 
Codes must not be distributed

This program, makes no modifications to your system. It does 
not add files, it does not make registry entries. To completely 
remove the program, simply delete the directory which you unzipped 
it into.

PLEASE NOTE: the program is a 32-bit application, and as such 
will not run on anything previous to Win95.

This program was written by Sean C Flanagan, and is copyrighted 
1998, by him. If you wish a modified copy for commercial application, 
or have any suggestions for improvements to the program then 
contact me.

To register this program (for personal use or for distribution 
for commercial or non-commercial applications), please contact 
Sean Flanagan (calypso@powerup.com.au) or see our site:

Registration Details can be found at:

http://www.powerup.com.au/~calypso/register.html

Program Information and Updates can be found at:

http://www.powerup.com.au/~calypso/autoflash.html

you can contact us at calypso@powerup.com.au

(c) Sean Flanagan 1998

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