
NextSTART v2 Public Beta 6 - WinSTEP2000 component README file:

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A BETA. PLEASE REPORT ANY BUGS YOU 
MAY FIND. THANK YOU.

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WARNING!!! 

NextSTART 2.0 requires the VB5 (Visual Basic 5) Runtime files.

These are not included. If you do not have these files
( Msvbvm50.dll, Oleaut32.dll, Olepro32.dll, Stdole2.tlb, 
Asycfilt.dll, Comcat.dll ) on your system directory, or
if setup fails with an error message, please download
the VB5 runtime files from:

http://support.microsoft.com/download/support/mslfiles/msvbvm50.exe

You might also want to read the following Microsoft Knowlege Base
article:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q180/0/71.asp


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NextSTART 2.0 uses Zip/Unzip -from the Info-ZIP group- to export/import themes
from zip files. There are no extra charges or costs due to the use of
this code, and the original compression sources are freely available from
http://www.cdrom.com/pub/infozip/ or ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/infozip/
on the Internet.

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INSTALLATION: To install this NextSTART upgrade,
please follow these directions.

1) If NextSTART is currently running please unload it.

2) Run Setup.exe and complete the installation.

3) If you have the file NextScrollBars.ocx in your \WINSTEP
     folder, please delete it. It is no longer used.

4) Have fun!


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ISSUES:


Added JPG support for Wallpaper bitmaps! These work in any OS, so
all Wallpaper bitmaps should be converted to JPG to reduce the theme
size.

Added option to Save the special TrueType fonts used in a theme. You no
longer have to add these manually to the theme's folder. Fonts can also
be installed automatically when loading a theme.

When using bitmaps for the various items in nextstart, these must
be placed in the folder specified in the bitmaps tab and have the
following names:


Wallpaper.bmp/.jpg              Theme Wallpaper.

Tasks.bmp/.jpg			Tasklist buttons + Systray Pop-out button.
Systray.ico                     Icon used for Systray button. Must be 16x16.

TitleA.bmp/.jpg			Titlebar.
TitleI.bmp/.jpg			Inactive Menu Titlebar.

VTitleA.bmp/.jpg		Vertical Titlebar.
VTitleI.bmp/.jpg		Inactive Menu Vertical Titlebar.

ButtonA.bmp/.jpg		Menu buttons.
ButtonI.bmp/.jpg		Inactive Menu menu buttons.

ButtonAS.bmp/.jpg		Menu button highlighted by Selection bar.
ButtonIS.bmp/.jpg		Inactive Menu menu button highlighted by Selection bar.

CloseA.bmp/.jpg/.ico		Titlebar Close button.
CloseAP.bmp/.jpg/.ico		Titlebar Close button depressed.
CloseI.bmp/.jpg/.ico		Inactive Menu Titlebar Close button.
CloseIP.bmp/.jpg/.ico		Inactive Menu Titlebar Close button depressed.

RollupA.bmp/.jpg/.ico		Titlebar Rollup button.
RollupAP.bmp/.jpg/.ico		Titlebar Rollup button depressed.
RollupI.bmp/.jpg/.ico		Inactive Menu Titlebar Rollup button.
RollupIP.bmp/.jpg/.ico		Inactive Menu Titlebar Rollup button depressed.

RotateA.bmp/.jpg/.ico		Titlebar Rotate button.
RotateAP.bmp/.jpg/.ico		Titlebar Rotate button depressed.
RotateI.bmp/.jpg/.ico		Inactive Menu Titlebar Rotate button.
RotateIP.bmp/.jpg/.ico		Inactive Menu Titlebar Rotate button depressed.

OnTopA.bmp/.jpg/.ico		Titlebar Always on Top button.
OnTopAP.bmp/.jpg/.ico		Titlebar Always on Top button depressed.
OnTopI.bmp/.jpg/.ico		Inactive Menu Titlebar Always on Top button.
OnTopIP.bmp/.jpg/.ico		Inactive Menu Titlebar Always on Top button depressed.

ComSymbA.ico			Command Key Symbol.
ComSymbI.ico			Inactive Menu Command key symbol.
ComSymbAS.ico			Command Key Symbol highlighted by Selection bar.
ComSymbIS.ico			Inactive Menu Command key symbol highlighted by Selection bar.


Vertical Menu Arrows:

ArrowA.ico			Sub-menu indicator Arrow.
ArrowI.ico			Inactive Menu Sub-menu indicator Arrow.
ArrowAS.ico			Sub-menu indicator Arrow highlighted by Selection bar.
ArrowIS.ico			Inactive Menu Sub-menu indicator Arrow highlighted by selection bar.

UpArrowA.ico			Scroll up Arrow.
UpArrowI.ico			Inactive Menu Scroll up Arrow.
DnArrowA.ico			Scroll down Arrow.
DnArrowI.ico			Inactive Menu Scroll down Arrow.


Horizontal Menu Arrows:

HzArrowA.ico			Sub-menu indicator Arrow.
HzArrowI.ico			Inactive Menu Sub-menu indicator Arrow.
HzArrowAS.ico			Sub-menu indicator Arrow highlighted by Selection bar.
HzArrowIS.ico			Inactive Menu Sub-menu indicator Arrow highlighted by selection bar.

LfArrowA.ico			Scroll left Arrow.
LfArrowI.ico			Inactive Menu Scroll left Arrow.
RgArrowA.ico			Scroll right Arrow.
RgArrowI.ico			Inactive Menu Scroll right Arrow.


When the theme is saved, these files PLUS any sound files that are
part of the theme are automatically copied to a subdirectory in the
themes folder, and the Bitmaps path in the bitmaps tab is updated to
reflect this.

When a theme is loaded or imported from a ZIP file, NextSTART automatically 
updates the bitmap and sound paths so they point to the right place
in that user's WinSTEP directory structure.

The arrow and command key symbol icons must be 16x16 icons and the symbols
should be centered in the icons. If NextSTART cannot find a specified
icon file, it will use the default symbol instead.

When using bitmaps for the titlebar buttons, all bitmaps should have
the same width, otherwise some buttons might overlap or look too far
apart.

Titlebar buttons are vertically centered in relation to the tilebar, i.e.;
if your titlebar is 20 pixels high and your buttons 16 pixels, there will
be a 2 pixel gap between the edges of the button and the edges of the
titlebar. This does not occur horizontally, though, so when several buttons
are used, they will be placed one after the other. If you want the same two
pixel gap horizontaly between buttons, then leave a two pixel horizontal gap
on each side of the button when designing it's bitmap.

If you want a button to adjust to whatever background is used on the titlebar,
then use icons instead of bmp files. The titlebar background will be seen
through the transparent parts of the icons.

If NextSTART cannot find a specified bitmap button, it will use the equivalent
Newstyle button instead.

Button bitmaps can now be applied to the whole menu. Menu transparency can also
be specified in the Menu background section of the buttons tab. Be advised that,
due to the absence of OS/Hardware support for transparency, true menu
transparency would be simply too processor intensive to implement, therefore 
this function is 'simulated'. It is not perfect and there will be cases where 
you will be able to see through the 'illusion'.

Maybe the most difficult issue to grasp for first time users is the Menu 
Editor. NextSTART 2.0 comes with a default menu. Backup your NSMENUS.INI
file and experiment with the Menu Editor to get a feel on how it works.


Each item in a menu can be one of 5 types:

  Program: Executes the program you specify.

  Internal Command: Executes one of the many built-in Internal commands.

  Folder: Shows the specified folder as a menu.

  Menu: Shows the Menu you specify.

  Tasks Menu: Shows a dynamic menu with all the currently running tasks.


Each hotspot can now be associated to a folder, a menu, an internal command
or a program. You can also make hotspots automatically execute on startup.


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GETTING HELP:


Besides the User Guide, your best source of help will be the WinSTEP2000
mailing list. You can find instructions on how to join at the WinSTEP2000
web site.

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The following features are not yet implememented or were disabled
because they were not working correctly at the time of release: 

Reserve Screen Space option: Functionality not yet implemented.



Thanks,

John T. Folden and Jorge Coelho

E-mail: winstep2000@xoommail.com
website: http://members.xoom.com/WinSTEP2000
