 ***  Periscope 1.31    November 24, 1998  ***
 Copyright 1998 ManuSoft
 All Rights Reserved


  ** Legal Stuff **

By using this software, you agree to the terms of the Periscope 
End User Software License as written in the accompanying 
"Periscope License.txt" text file.

Periscope(tm) is a shareware program. The shareware version may 
be freely distributed by any means so long as this file and 
all associated files are included. The registered version of 
Periscope may not be redistributed or otherwise utilized for 
any purposes for which permission has not been explicitly 
granted by ManuSoft. Violators will be prosecuted to the full 
extent of the law.


  ** What it is **

Periscope displays entity information in a small popup window as 
the AutoCAD cursor moves over the entity in AutoCAD R14.


  ** How to load it **

Inside AutoCAD R14, use the ARX command's Load option to load 
Periscope.arx. Once Periscope is loaded, you can use the 
PERISCOPE command to change settings, including setting 
Periscope to load automatically when AutoCAD starts.


  ** How to uninstall it **

From inside AutoCAD, use the PERISCOPEUNINSTALL command to 
remove all Periscope registry settings. After exiting AutoCAD, 
you can use Windows Explorer to delete all Periscope files.


  ** How it works **

Periscope tracks cursor movement in AutoCAD. If AutoCAD is in a 
quiescent state (e.g. no command is active) and the cursor 
remains stationary for approximately one half second, Periscope 
"selects" the object beneath the cursor just as though it had 
been selected by pressing the pick button, and displays any 
relevant information in a small popup window. The popup window 
disappears as soon as the cursor moves or a mouse button is 
depressed.

*HINT* Press the <Ctrl> button to get information about 
objects nested in blocks! When displaying information about 
nested objects, Periscope places an asterisk (*) character at 
the beginning of the first line of text.

The PERISCOPE command can be used to enable or disable the 
Periscope window, change the timer interval and display font, 
and to set Periscope to load automatically when AutoCAD starts. 
These settings and states are saved in the system registry for 
each user and restored every time Periscope loads.

The PEEK command can be used to trigger the Periscope window 
at any time, even when Periscope is disabled. This is intended 
to be used in conjunction with an accelerator key defined in 
the ***ACCELERATORS section of your menu file (see AutoCAD's 
online 'Customization Guide' for more information about 
editing menus and defining accelerators.)  Here's an example 
menu item which makes the F9 key pop up the Periscope window 
at any time by issuing the PEEK command transparently:
  ["F9"]'PEEK

An AutoLISP (periscope) function can be used to set or 
retrieve Periscope settings from AutoLISP. The function can 
be called with the following syntax:
  (periscope [<timer-interval> [<enable> [<autostart>]]])
If <timer-interval> is a positive integer, the timer interval 
is set to this value. If <enable> is present and not 'nil', 
Periscope is enabled. The function resturns a list of the 
following form:
  (<timer-interval> <enabled> <autostart>)
The <timer-interval> element is an integer which is the new 
timer interval in milliseconds, the <enabled> element is 'T' or 
'nil' (where T=enabled and nil=disabled) and the <autostart> 
element is 'T' or 'nil' (where T=enabled and nil=disabled). 
Calling (periscope) with no arguments returns the current 
settings without changing anything.


  ** How to order **

Periscope costs US$30.00 for a single seat license, US$160.00 
for a 20-user license, and US$500.00 for an unlimited site 
license. Add shipping and handling charges to all orders 
(US$5.00 for domestic orders, US$10.00 for international 
orders, no charge for email only). ManuSoft accepts prepaid 
orders only. See the file "Periscope Order Form.txt" for 
additional terms and conditions.


  ** Known problems **

If the Periscope window pops up while you have grips activated, 
the grips flicker slightly. If you find any other problems 
please contact us with information about the problem and how 
to reproduce it.


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 ****  ManuSoft                       ****
 ****  P.O. Box 84                    ****
 ****  Fredericksburg, OH, USA  44627 ****
 ****  330-695-5903 (Voice)           ****
 ****  330-695-5906 (Fax)             ****
 ****  http://www.manusoft.com        ****
 ****  periscope@manusoft.com         ****
 ****  Compuserve ID:  71324,3252     ****
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