About HelioList --------------- HelioList 0.6.1 (beta) By Joshua Foster - JF Software Especially for Helio-related converters and programs February 5, 2002 Notice to beginner users: If you find this program too overwhelming, I would highly recommend that you use HelioConverter, a more user-friendly interface. You can find it at Roger's Capitalware site. You can contact me at the following locations: * Email: joshua_70448@ureach.com * Message Board: PDABuzz > Vtech Testing Warning --------------- This program is still in testing stages, so if anything screws up, don't blame me. ******NOTICE TO HELIOLIST 0.6 USERS***** You MUST download version 0.6.1 (this one). For Windows 98 and above, HelioList 0.6's "Import Macro" feature would lock the computer. Notice that this was not my mistake, but rather Microsoft's (I used their code...). So, I wrote my own dialog box code and made 0.6.1 as a bug fix. Introduction ------------ HelioList organizes all of your confusing DOS programs, and makes it simpler to issue command-line parameters. If you don't understand DOS, then ignore that second point. Each DOS program is configured in a "macro". When you want to run that DOS program, access its macro, fill out the necessary fields, and execute it! Version Changes --------------- * DGFEL 0.1 (alpha) --> HelioList 0.5 (beta) * HelioList 0.5 (beta) --> HelioList 0.5.1 (beta) * HelioList 0.5.1 (beta) --> HelioList 0.6 (beta) * HelioList 0.6 (beta) --> HelioList 0.6.1 (beta) DGFEL 0.1-HelioList 0.5 * More applicable name * Customizable macro graphics * Arrange and sort macro list * New file format #2 (binary) * Options: * Enable/Disable macro graphics * Import search folders * Removed file associations HelioList 0.5-0.5.1 * Major bug fixes: * After arranging: * Selection of one macro can access a different one * Deletion of a macro can lock up the program * Only single deletion allowed (needed to fix previously mentioned bugs) HelioList 0.5.1-0.6 * Major bug fix: * When adding first macro, menu position is written incorrectly, locking program * Multiple importing ability * New file format #3 * Customizable macro colors * Required fields * Batch macros (run more than one program at a time) * Temporary file cleaning * Multiple deletion allowed (actually, v0.5.1 never really had it disabled by mistake!) * Options: * Enable/Disable macro colors * Temporary folder for batch macro use HelioList 0.6-0.6.1 * Major bug fix: * Microsoft Common Dialog for importing macros screws up on Win98 and up Adding Macros ------------- You can add macros to your list in one of two ways: * Making new macros yourself through the Macro Editor * Importing macros (the .hlm file) If you're a beginner and don't want to mess around with making your own macros, skip directly to the Importing Macros section. Otherwise, read on. Making New Macros ----------------- To make a new macro, click the File menu and select New Macro. The New Macro box will open up. It is split into three sections (from top to bottom): * Macro Info * Path Info * Field Info Once you click OK, your new macro will be created (and a Success box shown). Now, you can access it, use it, edit it, or delete it. Macro Info * Macro Description: Enter a description of the macro here. (keep it short!) * Menu Icon: This will be the icon next to the macro's name in the Macros menu. This picture ***MUST*** be a 16x16 bitmap; you can make one in MSPaint. White will be transparent, so be careful! Also, the picture will appear darker in the menu than you think. Click Browse to search for a picture, or Remove to clear a picture you already loaded. * Background Picture: This JPEG image will be tiled in the background when this macro is accessed. There is no size restriction, but please don't make this file too big; the user's program will slow down greatly. * Background Color: The button shows the current background color of the program when this macro is accessed. Click the button to change the color. * Text Color: The button shows the current text color of the field labels when this macro is accessed. Click the button to change the color. * Button Color: The button shows the current background color of the browse buttons when this macro is accessed. Click the button to change the color. Path Info * Program X of Y: Shows you which path you are looking at. * Note: The Y number above should be one more than your actual number. This allows you to add more paths on the end easily. Don't worry: when you click OK, that extra path on the end of the list will disappear. * Path of Executable: Click the Browse button and search for the program you want to use for this path. * <: Moves left one path. * Delete: Deletes the current path. * Insert: Inserts a path before the current one. * >: Moves right one path. Field Info * Field X of Y: Shows you which field you are looking at. * Note: The Y number above should be one more than your actual number. This allows you to add more fields on the end easily. Don't worry: when you click OK, that extra field on the end of the list will disappear. * Description: Enter a description of the field here. (keep it short!) * Default Value: If you want a value to show up automatically, or you're disabling user-definition or making it hidden, type the value here. To use the temporary folder set up in the Options, type #TEMP# at the beginning of the line. This will be replaced with the temp folder. (example: #TEMP#\test.txt could be C:\Windows\Temp\test.txt) * User definable: Check this box to allow the user to edit the field; uncheck it to disable the text-box. * Hidden: Hides the field from the user. Use this if there is a field you don't even want the user to see, let alone edit. (more powerful than disabling) * Required: Check this box to disallow execution until this field has something in it. * Reference to another: Check this checkbox if you want this field to reference another field. Doing so will also hide the field. For example, if you wanted to run two programs, and you had the user input the path to a file and the output for one program, you could make the first field of the second program reference that output path. * Browse: Click to browse for a path/field combo to reference. On the dialog box, select which path and field you want to reference. The OK button will be disabled if you try to reference a (None) field or if you try to reference the same field that you are editing. * Path: This shows the path # being referenced to (to change, click Browse). * Field: This shows the field # being referenced to (to change, click Browse). * Use Browsing box: Check this box if this field asks for a file, and the Browse button will appear next to the field input box. Click the Properties button to edit the Browsing box's properties. * Properties: Click to edit the Browsing box's properties (click Use Browsing box to enable the Browsing box). The Browse Box Properties window is also split into three sections (from top to bottom): * Box Info * File Type Info * Defaults * <: Moves left one field. * Delete: Deletes the current field. * Insert: Inserts a field before the current one. * >: Moves right one field. Box Info * Title: Give the dialog box a title. (appears on the title bar on top) * If you want the box to be a Save box (output), check the checkbox; if you want the box to be a Load box (input), leave the checkbox empty. File Type Info * Note: Each of these file types are the ones shown in the drop-down box on any load or save dialog box (like in Notepad or Word). * File Type X of Y: Shows you which file type you are looking at. * Note: The Y number above should be one more than your actual number. This allows you to add more file types on the end easily. Don't worry: when you click OK, that extra file type on the end of the list will disappear. * Set As Default: Sets this file type to be the default one. (see "Default index" below) * Description: The name that will show up in the drop-down box * Extension(s): The file extension(s) that will be shown. Example: *.txt If you want more than one extension, separate with semi-colons: *.txt;*.doc * <: Moves left one file type. * Delete: Deletes the current file type. * Insert: Inserts a file type before the current one. * >: Moves right one file type. Defaults * Default index: The number of the file type that you want to be the default. (shown first) * Default extension: If the user doesn't give an extension (Example: readme), add this extension (Example: .txt) to it, giving readme.txt. Type the extension with a dot, but no star. Importing Macros ---------------- As HelioList gets more and more support, programs may come with an .hlm file (HelioList Macro). Rather than making your own macro, you can load this file, which will automatically create the macro for you. When you're done, you can save the .hlm file just in case something goes wrong, or you can get rid of it. Also, you can import the older .dgm files (DGFEL Macros). You can import more than one macro by holding Shift or Control while selecting. To import: 1. Click File menu, select Import Macro. 2. In the dialog box, find the .hlm file(s) or .dgm file(s) (older) and click Open. 3. Click Yes to confirm each import, or No to cancel. 4. If you configured your Search Folders, then the program might find the program by itself. If it does, the program will skip right to step 7. 5. If you configured your Search Folders and the program finds more than one copy of the program, you will be shown a new dialog box. Pick the program you wish to use and click OK, click Browse to select a different one, or Cancel to cancel the import. 6. If you didn't configure your Search Folders or the program wasn't found, you will be shown a "Find Macro Program" dialog box. Here, you have to find the program that the macro is configured for. In the "Files of type:" box, you will see the name of the program. Look for that program and click Open. 7. Click OK on the Success box. That's it! Now, you can access it, use it, edit it, sort it, or delete it. If you plan on making your own macros, play around with an imported macro's settings to learn on your own (using this as a guide, of course). This program should have come with some sample macros; try them out. Editing Macros -------------- If you need to change something in a macro, or just want to look at its settings, click the File menu and select Edit Macro. If this item is disabled, then you have no macros to edit. In the dialog box, select which macro you want to edit and click Edit. The dialog box shown is exactly identical to the one in Making New Macros, except that some or all of the information has already been filled in. Read the Making New Macros section for help about each element of the dialog boxes. Organizing Macros ----------------- As you add more and more macros, you might want to change the order that they are shown in. To do this, click the Tools menu and select Arrange Macros (when you're not running a macro). The dialog box will show a list of macros; this is the order they will be shown in on the menu. Select a macro and click the Up button to move it up; click the Down button to move it down. Click the Sort button to sort the macros alphabetically, and click the Close button when you're done. Deleting Macros --------------- If you want to delete macro(s): 1. Click File menu, select Delete Macro. 2. In the dialog box, select which macro(s) you want to delete. To select more than one, hold the Shift or Control keys. 3. Click the Delete button. 4. Click the Yes button to confirm the deletion, or No to cancel. The box will close, and the macro(s) will be deleted! Accessing Macros ---------------- To actually access a macro, find its menu item under the Macros menu. Click it, and the fields will be shown in the window below. When there is a filename required, the Browse button should appear next to the textbox; click the button to browse for the file. If you want to exit out of the macro (you have to exit it to add, edit, or delete macros), click the Exit Macro item under the Macros menu. After you've finished filling in the fields, execute the macro by reading on. Executing Macros ---------------- To execute a macro (after filling in the information), click the Execute! menu. If you get a dialog box telling you that you must fill in a field before executing, then go back and fill in the required field(s) and try again. A DOS box will appear, and the program(s) will run. Wait until the box's title bar says Finished, and click the "X" box. To exit out of the macro (to use another macro, add a macro, edit a macro, or delete a macro), click the Exit Macro item under the Macros menu. Setting Options --------------- To configure your options, click the Tools menu and select Options. The dialog box that appears has these options: * Macro graphics: Check this box to show the graphics in the macros (icons in the menu and background pictures). Clear it to hide these graphics. * Macro colors: Check this box to show the colors in the macros (background, text, and button colors). Clear it to hide these special colors and use defaults. * Temporary Folder: Some macros use a temporary folder to store files. The default is your Windows "Temp" directory, shown before you change it. To change, click the Browse button. * Search Folders: In this frame, you can select up to three folders that you want the program to look through before prompting you when importing macros. Click the Browse buttons to select the folders. You must select a folder for slot #1 before slot #2 becomes available, and you must select a folder for slot #2 before slot #3 becomes available. To clear a folder, delete the path in the appropriate text box. Exporting Macros ---------------- To export a macro that you have into an .hlm file (to distribute or as backup), follow these steps: 1. Click File menu, select Export Macro. 2. In the dialog box, select which macro you want to export. 3. Click the Export button. 4. In the dialog box, select the folder you want to save in and type a filename for the file. 5. Click the Save button. 6. Click OK on the Success box. Now you've saved the macro into an .hlm file. You can give it to someone else who has HelioList, and they can load it onto their program. Known Bugs ---------- * If you open more than one HelioList window, then the macros.hll (list file) could easily get corrupted. * In certain circumstances, the HelioList macro list file *may* get corrupted. Most often, you can tell when the program takes an excessively long time to work. If so, send me a copy of your macros.hll file (found in the HelioList folder). Look under About HelioList to get my email address. * When making a new macro, if you try to add fields to the first path without browsing for a program first, then screwy things will happen to the field movement buttons (the bottom four). Just try to browse for a path first! Upcoming Features ----------------- * Toolbar * Macro folders (organization) * Multiple sets of inputs * Retain last responses in fields Glossary -------- batch macro A macro that accesses more than one program at a time. browse box A dialog box that allows the user to "browse" for a file. .dgm file A DGFEL Macro file, the 0.1 file format for a macro. DOS Disk Operating System, a console-based operating system. field A specific command-line parameter, whether it is a number, name, or file. file type A set of extensions shown at a time in a browse box. .hll file A HelioList Macro List file, the file that contains all installed macros. .hlm file A HelioList Macro file, contains a single macro file that can be installed on any machine. macro A set of commands to run single or multiple programs with command line parameters. path The individual programs that a macro runs. search folders Folders that HelioList searches for programs when importing macros. temporary folder The folder that holds temporary files.