




                         ToyBox II (tm) User's Guide

                 Copyright 1991, 1992 Virtual Magic Software
                             All Rights Reserved


                            Virtual Magic Software
                                 P.O. Box 615
                           Fort Monmouth, NJ 07703

                           CompuServe:  70304,2045
                              Prodigy:  CJKH33A



             Member of the Association of Shareware Professionals


      INTRODUCTION...................................................2

      SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS............................................2

      REGISTRATION INFORMATION.......................................2

      INSTALLING TOYBOX II...........................................3

      STARTING TOYBOX II.............................................4

      MOVING AROUND IN TOYBOX II.....................................5

      ADDING A PROGRAM OR PAGE.......................................7

      REMOVING A PROGRAM OR PAGE.....................................9

      VIEWING/MODIFYING A PROGRAM OR PAGE...........................10

      SETTING HELPER WINDOW OPTIONS.................................10

      RUNNING AN INSTALLED PROGRAM..................................11

      PAINTER.......................................................11

      TIPS AND TECHNIQUES...........................................13

      COMPATIBILITY WITH EARLIER VERSIONS...........................15

      LICENSE AND WARRANTY..........................................15

      (Any last-minute additions/corrections to this User's Guide are 
      listed in the README.TXT file on disk.)
      
      ============
      INTRODUCTION
      ============

      ToyBox II is a beautiful EGA/VGA graphical program manager 
      designed for users of all ages.  It has the powerful features 
      found in menu programs designed for adults, yet it can be safely 
      and easily used by very young children.  ToyBox II uses large 3-D 
      buttons with colorful, Microsoft Windows-compatible icons to 
      represent your programs.  You or your child can run a program with 
      a single keystroke or mouse click.  ToyBox II features multiple 
      levels of menu pages which can hold several thousand programs (if 
      you have that many), passwords, hotkeys, file pick-lists for 
      easily adding programs, and a built-in icon editor.  ToyBox II 
      requires no memory for its own use while it is running your 
      programs.


      ===================
      SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
      ===================

      - MS-DOS 3.3 or later
      - EGA/VGA
      - 512K RAM
      - Hard disk
      - Microsoft-compatible Mouse (optional)


      ========================
      REGISTRATION INFORMATION
      ========================

      We distribute ToyBox II as a shareware program, which means we 
      allow you to try the program out before you pay for it.  If you 
      find ToyBox II helpful and continue to use it, please send a $29 
      (U.S.) registration fee to:

                            Virtual Magic Software
                                 P.O. Box 615
                           Fort Monmouth, NJ 07703

      We have included an order form (ORDER.TXT) on disk which you can 
      print out if you desire.  If you choose not to use the order form 
      to register, we need to know your name, address and desired disk 
      size (3.5" or 5.25") to fulfill the order.  New Jersey residents 
      must add 7% sales tax ($2.03 per copy).  We accept checks and 
      money orders in U.S. funds drawn on U.S. banks.  We recommend you 
      do not send cash.

      You can also order by credit card (VISA, MC, AmEx, Discover) from 
      Public (software) Library by calling 800-242-4PsL (from overseas: 
      713-524-6394) or by FAX (713-524-6398) or via CompuServe 

                                      2
      (71355,470).  These numbers are for ordering only.  Virtual Magic 
      Software can NOT be reached at these numbers.  For information 
      about dealer pricing, volume discounts, site licensing, the status 
      of shipment of the product, the latest version number or for 
      technical information, or to discuss returns, contact Virtual 
      Magic Software directly at the above mailing address.  You can 
      also contact us on CompuServe (70304,2045) or Prodigy (CJKH33A).  
      If you have any questions or comments about ToyBox II, even if you 
      have not yet registered, please let us know.  It is through your 
      comments and suggestions that we can make ToyBox II and future 
      products even better.

      When you register, we'll send you a disk containing the latest 
      version of ToyBox II, plus a collection of several hundred 
      Microsoft Windows icons which you can use in ToyBox II.  
      Registered users are entitled to free technical support for as 
      long as we distribute the program.  Technical support will be 
      provided via mail, CompuServe and Prodigy.  We'll also send you 
      notice of upgrades and additional Virtual Magic Software products 
      in the future. 

      This program is produced by a member of the Association of 
      Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the 
      shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a 
      shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the 
      member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can 
      help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does 
      not provide technical support for members' products. Please write 
      to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or 
      send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 
      70007,3536.

      We encourage you to pass along a copy of ToyBox II to friends, 
      associates, computer bulletin board systems, etc.  To ensure only 
      unmodified versions are distributed, we ask that you distribute 
      only the original compressed versions of the program (TOY200.EXE 
      or TOY200.ZIP).  Please encourage others to register their copy if 
      they find the program useful.

      For license and warranty information, please see the "License and 
      Warranty" section at the end of this User's Guide.


      ====================
      INSTALLING TOYBOX II
      ====================

      Normally ToyBox II is distributed as a single compressed file 
      named either TOY200.EXE or TOY200.ZIP.  After you have 
      decompressed this file, the following files which make up the 
      complete ToyBox II program should be in a single directory on your 
      hard disk:  TB2.BAT, TB2MAIN.EXE, SEE.EXE, TB2.INF, TB2-NU.INF, 
      TB2-SI1.INF, TB2-SI2.INF, TB2.TXT, README.TXT, REGISTER.TXT, 

                                      3
      ORDER.TXT, VENDOR.TXT, TOYBOX.ICO, eight internal files that end 
      with a ".TBI" extension, and 30 sample icon files that end with a 
      ".ICN" extension.  If you desire you can move the text (".TXT") 
      files, the icon (".ICN") files, and TOYBOX.ICO to another 
      directory, but the remainder of the files must not be deleted and 
      must remain together in one directory.

      After you have installed some of your programs to run under ToyBox 
      II, you may see some additional files with a ".$$$" extension.  Do 
      not move or remove these files.  You should periodically back-up 
      these files, as well as the ".INF" files, because they contain 
      information on the programs you have installed in ToyBox II.


      ==================
      STARTING TOYBOX II
      ==================


      FROM THE DOS PROMPT

      First change to the directory containing the ToyBox II files (or 
      ensure this directory is in the PATH statement in your 
      AUTOEXEC.BAT file), then type "TB2".  ToyBox II automatically 
      detects whether your system has an EGA or VGA compatible graphics 
      card and switches to the highest graphics mode available.  It will 
      also detect the presence of a mouse if you have a mouse driver 
      installed.  If you have display problems, such as part of the main 
      ToyBox II page not being visible, or the mouse pointer not 
      displaying, you can force ToyBox II into the correct graphics mode 
      by typing "TB2 E" for EGA or "TB2 V" for VGA.  If the mouse 
      pointer still doesn't display, check to ensure you have a mouse 
      driver properly installed.

      You can include the "TB2" command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to 
      cause ToyBox II to automatically run when you turn on your 
      computer.  If you aren't familiar with the purpose and contents of 
      your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, we recommend you have someone help you 
      with this.


      FROM MICROSOFT WINDOWS

      We've included a special icon for Microsoft Windows named 
      TOYBOX.ICO.  Follow instructions in the Microsoft Windows User's 
      Guide to install and run ToyBox II as a DOS application under 
      Windows.







                                      4
      ==========================
      MOVING AROUND IN TOYBOX II
      ==========================

      When you open a window, such as the Helper window described later, 
      it pops up on top of the current page and any windows that may 
      already be displayed.  The top window is always the active window.  
      You can only access objects (normally buttons and text boxes) that 
      are in the active window.


      SELECTING OBJECTS - MOUSE

      Move the mouse pointer to the desired object and click any of the 
      mouse buttons.  To make it easier for small children, all mouse 
      buttons have the same effect.


      SELECTING OBJECTS - KEYBOARD

           1)  ALT Key:  Objects normally have an ALT key combination 
      associated with them.  Most objects have one or more words under 
      them or to the right of them describing the function of the button 
      or box.  One of the letters in the words will have an underscore 
      beneath it.  To select the object, hold down the ALT key and press 
      the letter that is underscored.  For example, at the Helper 
      window, to select the Add Program or Page button, hold down the 
      ALT key and press "A".  Some buttons don't have text descriptions.  
      The keys to select these buttons are:

                - STOP Button:  ALT+S (only at title page)
                - Painter Button:  ALT+P (only at title page)
                - Information Button:  ALT+I (only at title page )
                - Close Window Button:  ESC
                - Helper Button:  ALT+H
                - OK Button:  ALT+O
                - Up-Arrow Button:  Page Up
                - Down-Arrow Button:  Page Down

           2)  Outline Cursor:  In some windows you must use the arrow 
      keys on your keyboard to move from one object to the next.  A red 
      outline cursor will indicate the current object.  To select the 
      current object, press the ENTER key.  (If you have a mouse, this 
      red outline cursor can be turned off if you intend to use only the 
      mouse to select objects.  See "Setting Helper Window Options" 
      below for instructions.)








                                      5
      EDITING TEXT

      To add programs to ToyBox II, you must enter certain program 
      information such as program title, filename, etc., into text 
      boxes.  This section describes the general procedures for entering 
      and editing text in text boxes.

           1)  Positioning the Text Cursor (Mouse):  Move the mouse 
      pointer directly to the desired location within any of the text 
      boxes in the active window and click one of the mouse buttons. The 
      text cursor (a thin black vertical line) will move to the mouse 
      pointer position.

           2)  Positioning the Text Cursor (KeyBoard):  Select the 
      desired text box using the ALT key combinations or up and down 
      arrow keys as described above.  Move around within the text box by 
      using the left and right arrow keys.  Pressing the ENTER key will 
      move the text cursor to the next text box.

           3)  Entering Text:  After positioning the text cursor, begin 
      typing.  The text will be inserted at the text cursor location.  
      ToyBox II will not allow you to enter more text than will fit 
      inside the text box.

           4)  Deleting Text:  To delete a character to the right of the 
      text cursor, press the DELETE key.  To delete a character to the 
      left of the text cursor, press the BACKSPACE key.


      CLOSING THE ACTIVE WINDOW OR PAGE

      Select the button in the upper left corner of the window/page with 
      the mouse or press the ESCAPE key.


      SAVING CHANGES

      After you have made configuration changes, such as adding a new 
      program or disabling the STOP button, you must save these changes 
      to disk.  Do this by selecting the OK button with the mouse or 
      typing ALT+O.  If you decide you don't want the changes to be 
      made, simply close the window without saving them.


      MOVING BETWEEN PAGES

      Page buttons are treated identically to program buttons.  When you 
      select a page button, the page is displayed.  To close the current 
      page and return to the previous page, select the button in the 
      upper left corner of the page or press the ESCAPE key.




                                      6
      ========================
      ADDING A PROGRAM OR PAGE
      ========================

      Open the Helper window by selecting the Helper button (the red 
      cross) or by typing ALT+H.  Select the Add Program or Page button 
      to open the Add Program or Page window.  This window contains the 
      following objects:  

           1)  Files Button:  Select this button to open a window 
      containing a list of files and directories on the current drive.  
      Selecting a file from the list will automatically fill in the Path 
      and Program text boxes.  Directories are indicated by a backslash 
      ("\") at the end of the name.  Selecting a directory will cause 
      the files for that directory to be displayed.  Selecting the "..\" 
      entry will display the files of the parent directory of whatever 
      directory you are currently in.  If the file list contains more 
      than 16 files and directories, select the blue arrow buttons (or 
      press the Page Up and Page Down keys) to display the next or 
      previous 16 files.  ToyBox II can store 1024 directory/file names 
      at a time.  If the current directory contains more than 1024 
      directory/file names, ToyBox II will only display the first 1024.  
      If you wish to add a program from a drive other than the current 
      drive, you must enter the Path and Program information manually, 
      as described below.

           2)  Icons Button:  This button works the same as the Files 
      button except that it lists only ToyBox II icon (*.ICN) files.  
      Use this to automatically fill in the Icon text box.

           3)  Copy Button:  Select this button to copy all program 
      information currently in the Add Program or Page window to a 
      temporary storage area in memory or "clipboard".  This information 
      can later be pasted into another program being added or modified. 
      The information remains in the clipboard until you: (1) overwrite 
      it by using the Copy Button again, (2) run an application, or (3) 
      exit ToyBox.  You cannot copy information if the Page button 
      (discussed below) is set to "YES".

           4)  Paste Button:  Select this button to paste clipboard 
      information to the program currently being added or modified.  
      This is useful if you want to duplicate the same program button on 
      more than one page.  

           5)  Button Title Text Box:  Enter a title for the program or 
      page button.  This title will appear under the button.  If you are 
      entering information for a page button, this will also be the 
      title at the top of the page when it is opened.

           6)  Password Text Box:  You may enter an optional password 
      which a user must enter to start the program or open the page.  
      Passwords are always displayed on the screen as a series of 


                                      7
      asterisks.  This prevents someone looking over your shoulder from 
      viewing the password on the screen.

           7)  Key Text Box:  You may enter an optional hotkey to be 
      used to select the program or page.  You can use any printable 
      character as a hotkey.  Upper and lower case letters are treated 
      as the same letter.  Ensure that no two program/page buttons on 
      the same page have the same hotkey, or ToyBox II will always 
      select the first one it finds.  (Note these are not ALT key 
      combinations.  If you enter "M" as the hot key to run a "Mickey 
      Mouse" program, you will just have to press the "M" key to run the 
      program, not ALT+M.)

           8)  Path Text Box:  Enter the drive/directory of the program.  
      The easiest way to do this is to use the Files button, which will 
      automatically fill in the correct information for both Path and 
      Program text boxes.  Drive information is optional if the file is 
      on the same drive as ToyBox II.  Directory information is optional 
      if the file is in the same directory as ToyBox II or one of the 
      directories listed in the DOS PATH statement.  The directory must 
      begin with a backslash ("\").

                    Example:  C:\NATHAN\GAMES\

           9)  Program Text Box:  Enter the command to execute the 
      program, plus any optional parameters.

                    Example:  MICKABC /E

           10)  Icon Text Box:  Enter the complete path and filename of 
      the icon to be displayed on the button.  The easiest way to do 
      this is to use the Icons button described above, which will 
      automatically fill in the correct information.  Drive information 
      is optional if the icon file is on the same drive as ToyBox II.  
      Directory information is optional if the icon is in the same 
      directory as ToyBox II.  The directory must begin with "\".  If 
      you don't put an extension on the file name, ToyBox II will assume 
      a ".ICN" extension.

                    Example:  C:\ICONS\ABC.ICN

      ToyBox II can only use icons in ToyBox format, normally 
      represented by a ".ICN" extension.  These icons can be designed 
      using the Painter icon editor built into ToyBox II.  A number of 
      sample icons are included on the ToyBox II disk.  Some of these 
      icons were designed from scratch with Painter.  Others are 
      Microsoft Windows icons that were imported and converted by 
      Painter.  For instructions on designing and importing icons, see 
      the "Painter" section below. 

           11)  Page Button:  Setting this to "YES" indicates that 
      information being entered is for a button that will open a page 
      (submenu).  In this case, anything entered in the Program and Path 

                                      8
      text boxes is ignored.  ToyBox II allows up to five levels of 
      pages, which can hold thousands of programs.

           12)  Wait Button:  Setting this to "YES" causes ToyBox II to 
      wait for ENTER to be pressed before redisplaying the current page 
      after running the program.  This is useful if you need time to 
      view the results of a program before ToyBox II reappears.

           13)  Variables Button:  Setting this to "YES" allows you to 
      enter additional command line parameters at the time you run the 
      program.  This is useful if you sometimes run the same program 
      with different parameters.

           14)  Batch Button:  Set this to "YES" if the program is a 
      batch file (a file with a ".BAT" extension), otherwise the program 
      will not return to ToyBox II after it runs.  Another option for 
      running a batch file (and actually the preferable option) if you 
      are using MS-DOS 3.3 or later, is to leave this set to "NO" and 
      precede the program name with the word "CALL" in the "Program" 
      text box.

                    Example:  CALL MCGEE.BAT

           15)  OK Button:  After you have entered all necessary 
      information, select the OK button with the mouse or press ALT+O to 
      save the information to disk and close the window.  To close the 
      window without adding the program/page, select the Close Window 
      button in the upper left corner of the window or press the ESCAPE 
      key.


      ==========================
      REMOVING A PROGRAM OR PAGE
      ==========================

      Open the Helper window by selecting the Helper button (the red 
      cross) or by pressing ALT+H.  Select the Remove Program or Page 
      button to open the Remove Program or Page window.  This window 
      lists the names of all the program/page buttons on the current 
      page.  Select the program/page buttons you wish to remove, then 
      select the OK button or press ALT+O.  To close the window without 
      removing any programs, select the Close Window button with the 
      mouse or press the ESCAPE key.  Removing a program from ToyBox II 
      does not delete the program from disk.  It still exists and can be 
      run normally from DOS or later added back to ToyBox II.  (If you 
      try to remove a button for a page that itself has subpages, you 
      will get a message saying "Pages containing subpages were not 
      removed."  To remove the button in a case like this, you must 
      first close the Helper window, open the page containing the 
      subpages, and remove all the subpages individually.)




                                      9
      ===================================
      VIEWING/MODIFYING A PROGRAM OR PAGE
      ===================================

      Open the Helper window by selecting the Helper button (the red 
      cross) or by pressing ALT+H.  Select the View/Modify Program or 
      Page button to open the View/Modify window.  This window lists the 
      names of all the program and page buttons on the current page.  
      Select the program/page button you wish to view or modify.  A 
      window titled View/Modify Program or Page will pop up containing 
      the current information for that program/page button.  You can 
      make any desired changes using the same techniques used in the Add 
      Program or Page window.


      =============================
      SETTING HELPER WINDOW OPTIONS
      =============================

      All pages have a Helper window which you can use to add, remove or 
      view/modify program buttons on that page.  However, the following 
      options are displayed only on the Helper window for the ToyBox II 
      title page.

           1)  STOP Button:  Setting this to "NO" disables the STOP 
      button on the ToyBox II title page.  To exit the program when the 
      STOP button is disabled, you must press ALT+S.

           2)  Helper Button:  Setting this to "NO" disables the Helper 
      button on all pages.  To open the Helper window when the Helper 
      button is disabled, you must press ALT+H.

           3)  Disk Access:  Setting this to "NO" disables the Read Icon 
      and Write Icon buttons in Painter.  Disabling these buttons allows 
      a child (or other user) to use Painter without being able to 
      access the disk and possibly corrupting files.  To access the Read 
      Icon button when disk access is disabled, you must press ALT+R.  
      To access the Write Icon button when disk access is disabled, you 
      must press ALT+W.

           4)  Sound:  Setting this to "NO" turns off the occasional 
      sounds that ToyBox II makes when certain keys are pressed.  This 
      in no way affects the sound in the programs that you run under 
      ToyBox II.

           5)  Cursor:  Setting this to "NO" turns off the red outline 
      cursor used to indicate the current object on pages and certain 
      windows.  Users without a mouse must leave this set to "YES".  
      Users with a mouse can turn the cursor off if desired.

           6)  Password:  Enter an optional password a user must enter 
      when attempting to exit the program with ALT+S or attempting to 
      open the Helper Window with ALT+H.  The same password applies to 

                                     10
      both.  This password has no effect on individual programs or 
      pages.  Passwords for these are set in the Add Program or Page or 
      the View/Modify Program or Page windows.

           7)  OK Button:  After you have set the options the way you 
      want them, select the OK button with the mouse or press ALT+O.  
      This will save the current settings to disk.  No changes take 
      effect until they are saved to disk.  To close the Helper window 
      without saving any changes, select the Close Window button with 
      the mouse or press the ESCAPE key.


      ============================
      RUNNING AN INSTALLED PROGRAM
      ============================

      After you have added a program button to ToyBox II, you can easily 
      run the program by selecting the program button with the mouse, 
      selecting it with the arrow keys and pressing ENTER (if the red 
      outline cursor is enabled), or pressing the hot key associated 
      with the program.  If you have entered the path and program 
      information correctly, the program will start normally as it would 
      from the DOS command line.  When you exit the program, ToyBox II 
      will take over again and display the current page.


      =======
      PAINTER
      =======

      Painter is an icon editor built into ToyBox II.  With Painter you 
      can design your own 32x32 pixel, 16 color icons for programs you 
      install in ToyBox II, or you can import Microsoft Windows icons 
      and convert them to ToyBox format.


      PAINTING ICONS - MOUSE

      Choose a color by selecting any of the 16 palette buttons with the 
      mouse.  The current color will always show in the box above the 
      palette buttons.  After selecting a color, position the mouse 
      pointer in the desired square on the large icon grid box, then 
      press any mouse button.  The square will change to the current 
      color.  To paint multiple squares with the same color, continue to 
      hold one of the mouse buttons down while dragging the mouse 
      pointer over the squares you want to paint.  As you paint the icon 
      on the large grid, you will also see the effects displayed on the 
      actual-size button to the right of the large grid box. 






                                     11
      PAINTING ICONS - KEYBOARD

      Choose a color by moving the red outline cursor to the desired 
      palette button with the arrow keys, then press the ENTER key.  The 
      current color will always show in the box above the palette 
      buttons.  After selecting a color, press the SPACEBAR to move the 
      cursor to the large icon grid box.  Move the small yellow grid 
      cursor to the desired square using the arrow keys, then press the 
      ENTER key.  The square will change to the current color.  To paint 
      multiple squares with the same color, hold down the CTRL key as 
      you press the left arrow, right arrow, Page Up, and Page Down 
      keys.  The squares will be painted as the grid cursor moves over 
      them.  (NOTE:  There are technical considerations with the IBM PC 
      keyboard which force us to use CTRL-Page Up and CTRL-Page Down 
      instead of CTRL-Up Arrow and CTRL-Down Arrow.  We realize it's 
      more awkward than it should be.)  To move the cursor back to the 
      palette buttons, press the SPACEBAR again.


      FILL ALL BUTTON

      Select this button to fill the entire grid with the current color.


      READ ICON BUTTON

      Select this button to read in an already-existing icon from disk.  
      Selecting this button will cause a window with a text box to pop 
      up.  Enter the path and file name of the icon file in the text 
      box.

                    Example:  C:\ICONS\ABC.ICN

      The easiest way to do this is to select the Files button, which 
      will cause a window containing a list of files to pop up.  This 
      file list behaves exactly as the Files button described in the 
      "Addding a Program or Page" section.  Drive information is 
      optional if the icon file is the on same drive as ToyBox II.  
      Directory information is optional if the icon file is in the same 
      directory as ToyBox II.  The directory must begin with "\".  If 
      you don't put an extension on the file name, Painter will assume a 
      ".ICN" extension.  After you have entered the icon file 
      information, press the ENTER key to read the icon file.  The icon 
      will be displayed on the large icon grid box and the actual-size 
      button to the right.  To close the window without reading an icon, 
      select the red Close Window button.


      WRITE ICON BUTTON

      Select this button to save the displayed icon to a disk file.  
      Selecting this button will cause a window with a text box to pop 
      up.  Enter the path and file name you wish to save the icon as.  

                                     12
      Use the same procedures as described in the previous paragraph.  
      The only difference is that you must select the OK button with the 
      mouse or press ALT+O to save the file to disk.  To close the 
      window without writing the icon to disk, select the Close Window 
      button.


      IMPORTING MICROSOFT WINDOWS ICON FILES

      To import a Microsoft Windows icon file (normally with a ".ICO" 
      extension), read it in like you would a normal ToyBox II icon.  
      Painter will make the conversion as it reads the file in.  After 
      you have made any desired changes to the icon, write it to disk.  
      If you use the same file name, do not use the ".ICO" extension or 
      you will write over the Windows version of the icon file.  If you 
      don't specify an extension, Painter will attach a ".ICN" 
      extension. 

      Thousands of Microsoft Windows icon files are freely available 
      from bulletin board systems and on-line services such as 
      CompuServe and GEnie, or available for a small charge from 
      shareware disk vendors, or available for a substantial charge from 
      commercial software vendors.

      Painter can only import MS Windows icons that are in 32x32x16 
      format (32 pixels by 32 pixels by 16 colors).  The vast majority 
      of MS Windows icon files available are in this format.  Most MS 
      Windows programs do not have separate icon files.  Instead, the 
      icons are included in one of the program files (".EXE" or ".DLL").  
      A single program file can have several icons stored in it.  
      Painter cannot extract the icons from these files, but there are 
      several shareware programs that can extract the icons and put them 
      into separate icon files that Painter can import.


      ===================
      TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
      ===================


      RUNNING MULTIPLE COMMANDS

      ToyBox II allows you to directly run one program or DOS command 
      per program button.  If you need to set up a button to run more 
      than one program or command, you can do this by creating a batch 
      file containing all the necessary commands and setting up a 
      program button to run the batch file.  To easily create batch 
      files you can set up a program button to open your favorite text 
      editor or word processor.  The editor that is included with MS-DOS 
      5.0 provides a quick, easy way to create, view and edit batch 
      files and other text files.  Here is a sample setup for a program 
      button to run the DOS editor:


                                     13
           Button Title:  MS-DOS Editor        Page:        NO
           Password:      (your choice)        Wait:        NO
           Key:           E                    Variables:   YES *
           Path:          C:\DOS\              Batch:       NO
           Program:       EDIT
           Icon:          C:\TB2\EDIT.ICN

           *  Setting Variables to "YES" will allow you to specify the 
      file to edit as a command-line parameter at the time you run the 
      editor.


      FILE MANAGER

      ToyBox II does not include built-in file management features, but 
      you can easily set up a program button to access your favorite 
      file management program.  The DOS Shell included with MS-DOS 5.0 
      provides a graphical file manager for copying, deleting and moving 
      files and directories.  Here is a sample setup for a program 
      button to run the DOS Shell program:

           Button Title:  MS-DOS Shell         Page:        NO
           Password:      (your choice)        Wait:        NO
           Key:           S                    Variables:   NO
           Path:          C:\DOS\              Batch:       NO
           Program:       DOSSHELL
           Icon:          C:\TB2\SHELL.ICN


      DOS COMMAND LINE

      In some cases you may find that you need to execute a program or 
      DOS command from the DOS command line.  You have two choices.  The 
      first choice is to exit from ToyBox II, execute the command and, 
      when you're finished, start ToyBox II again.  A better solution, 
      particularly if you will need to do this on a recurring basis, is 
      to set up a program button to put you at the DOS command line 
      temporarily without exiting ToyBox II.  This is done by using the 
      COMMAND function of DOS.  The following sample program button, 
      when selected, will display the DOS prompt.  You can run any 
      programs/commands as you normally would from the command line.  To 
      return to ToyBox II, type EXIT at the command line and the current 
      ToyBox II page will reappear.

           Button Title:  MS-DOS Prompt        Page:        NO
           Password:      (your choice)        Wait:        NO
           Key:           S                    Variables:   NO
           Path:          C:\DOS\              Batch:       NO
           Program:       COMMAND
           Icon:          C:\TB2\DOS.ICN




                                     14
      MICROSOFT WINDOWS PROGRAMS

      If you run Microsoft Windows, but also have a number of DOS (non- 
      Windows) applications, you may find it more convenient to run 
      Windows as a program under ToyBox II.  You can install program 
      buttons in ToyBox II for each of your DOS applications and set up 
      your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to automatically open ToyBox II.  Since 
      ToyBox II loads much faster than Windows, you won't have to wait 
      for Windows to load before you access your DOS programs.  You can 
      then set up a program button to open Windows as follows:

           Button Title:  Microsoft Windows    Page:        NO
           Password:      (your choice)        Wait:        NO
           Key:           W                    Variables:   NO
           Path:          C:\WINDOWS\          Batch:       NO
           Program:       WIN
           Icon:          C:\TB2\WIN.ICN

      Another technique is to set up a page called "Windows Programs" 
      and create separate program buttons for each of your Windows 
      applications.  To automatically load Windows and run a specific 
      Windows application, enter the Path and Program information as you 
      would for a normal DOS application, then precede the program name 
      with "WIN".  Here is a sample program button set up to load 
      Windows and run Quicken for Windows:

           Button Title:  Quicken              Page:        NO
           Password:      (your choice)        Wait:        NO
           Key:           W                    Variables:   NO
           Path:          C:\QUICKENW\         Batch:       NO
           Program:       WIN QW.EXE
           Icon:          C:\TB2\QUICKEN.ICN


      ===================================
      COMPATIBILITY WITH EARLIER VERSIONS
      ===================================

      The configuration files for ToyBox II are incompatible with 
      earlier versions of ToyBox.  If you are upgrading from an earlier 
      version, you must reinstall programs in ToyBox II.  The icon files 
      are compatible.  You can use the icons supplied with earlier 
      versions, as well as any icons you have created yourself.


      ====================
      LICENSE AND WARRANTY
      ====================

      ToyBox II is supplied as is.  The author disclaims all warranties, 
      expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the 
      warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The 


                                     15
      author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, 
      which may result from the use of ToyBox II.

      ToyBox II is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to 
      the user for evaluation.  Feel free to share it with your friends, 
      but please do not give it away altered or as part of another 
      system.  The essence of "user-supported" software is to provide 
      personal computer users with quality software without high prices, 
      and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to 
      develop new products.

      If you find ToyBox II helpful and find that you are using it and 
      continue to use it after a reasonable trial period, you must make 
      a registration payment of $29 to Virtual Magic Software as 
      described in the "Registration" section of this User's Guide.  The 
      $29 registration fee will license one copy for use on any one 
      computer at any one time.  You must treat this software just like 
      a book.  An example is that this software may be used by any 
      number of people and may be freely moved from one computer 
      location to another, as long as there is no possibility of it 
      being used at one location while it's being used at another.  Just 
      as a book cannot be read by two different persons at the same 
      time.

      Commercial and organizational users of ToyBox II must register and 
      pay for their copies of ToyBox II within 30 days of first use or 
      their license is withdrawn.  Site licenses can be arranged by 
      contacting Virtual Magic Software.

      Anyone distributing ToyBox II for any kind of payment must first 
      contact Virtual Magic Software for authorization.  This 
      authorization is automatically granted to distributors recognized 
      by the (ASP) as adhering to its guidelines for shareware 
      distributors, and such distributors may begin offering ToyBox II 
      immediately.






      ToyBox II is a trademark of Virtual Magic Software.
      Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
      MS-DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
      Quicken is a registered trademark of Intuit.








                                     16
