| What is Schemer? |
| Installing Schemer |
| The First Execution |
| Using Schemer |
| Finding WAV files |
| Scheme Windows |
| Creating a new Scheme |
| Saving Your Changes |
| A Bug in Warp 4.0 |
| Contacting DIBA |
Schemer is written as a multi-threaded appplication in Watcom's VXREXX. To use schemer, you must have installed MMPM2 and REXX support.
On most systems, that's all you need to do. If you encounter problems, we'll try to help. Before contacting us, please check the LIBPATH statement in your config.sys file. Entries in the LIBPATH are delimited by semi-colons (';'). One entry should be a dot ('.'), which OS/2 takes to mean "the current directory". If there is no such entry, try creating one and re-booting.
The schemer 'scheme window' contains a View menu, which has options to allow you to specify an ICON display mode (large or mini), and allows you to specify font properties. The initial window is shipped with defaults of normal ICONs and the System Proportional font. It looks like this on our systems:
We recommend that you set these up to make the display easy to manage in your environment. On our systems, we use 800 by 600 desktops. For starters, we change to MINI ICONs, like this:
We also prefer to use System VIO font for schemer's windows. Once we've done all that, we then size the window to contain all the information, but be as compact as possible, like this:
You should pick the settings that best suit your environment, and size the window itself to display the results, hopefully without needing to scroll.
Once you're satisfied with the view, select the continue option from the continue menu, and schemer will resume its initialization. You can go back later and adjust each window individually. Schemer retains the properties of each window. If you want to re-do the initialization (to get all the windows at the same time), simply delete the file schemer.ini (in schemer's directory) before executing schemer.
Once schemer finishes initialization, you'll be looking at the main window (all of the others have been minimized). As you quite likely know, schemer's HELP is HTML. Schemer invokes your browser directly when you hit F1 or select SCHEMER HELP from the HELP menu. Schemer ships with NETSCAPE as the default browser. However, if you don't run NETSCAPE, or it's not in your PATH, then the first thing you may want to do is tell schemer which browser to use. Schemer supports both NETSCAPE and EXPLORER by assuming they're in your PATH. If not, or if you use another browser, select the 'Other...' option from the main window's browser menu. This invokes a file dialog that lets you point directly at whatever browser you prefer to use. The full path name is remembered when you use this option.
A sound scheme is nothing more than a collection of wave files (digital audio files, named '.WAV'). Schemer provides a number of ways to locate these files, and gives you the ability to preview them. Each sound in a scheme is associated with a particular system 'event' (like 'open window', 'close window'). Schemer's scheme windows contain these events as drop targets; you can associate a wave file with an event by dragging it to the event and dropping it there.
You can also copy an entire scheme to another scheme (useful for initializing a new scheme), and you can make any scheme the 'active' scheme by 'APPLY'ing that scheme to the current system sounds.
Of course, the drives list will reflect your drives, not ours. You can navigate the drives list to locate and list your wave files, for example:
This is the 'standard', default display/navigation mode. If you
prefer, schemer can locate and list all wave files on your system.
This is done by selecting "Find All Wave Files" from the Navigation sub-menu
of the Options menu, like this:
That process can take some time, but it produces a display like this one:
However you find your wave files, the basic panel layout is the same. At the top is the wave file player, at the bottom is the file list.
The wave file player contains:
If you select a scheme, it is displayed in its own window. All scheme windows are minimized by schemer at startup. You cannot close a scheme window, but you can minimize it again. Here's a scheme window:
The events are represented by ICONs on the left, and the name of the event is to the right. Under that is the file name of the wave file associated with that event. Click on the event to load the sound into the main window's wave player. To replace a sound, drag a wave file to this window and drop it on the desired event. You can get the wave file from anywhere (a DRIVES object, another scheme window), it doesn't have to come from the main window's file dialog. The same is true for the wave player - you can drop wave files on it from anywhere.
Messing with a scheme has no effect on the current system sounds. You can make any scheme "active" (copy it to the current system sounds) by using the scheme window's SAVE AND APPLY option of the FILE menu:
Due to the way OS/2 works, you may find that your changes don't take effect immediately. OS/2 will get around to it, though.
You'll be prompted to enter a name for your scheme (in this case, we entered "MyScheme"). Schemer creates a new, empty scheme window for you. To populate it quickly, simply bring up another scheme window (use the main window's SCHEMES menu), and select the COPY option from the source scheme's FILE menu. Schemer highlights all the sounds in the source menu. You can then right click on the top one and drag the whole batch over to your new scheme:
Now, minimize the "source" window and customize your new scheme.
You can also save any changes at any time via the SAVE menu option on each scheme window's FILE menu.
To the best of my recollection, the missing event is event number 6, 'End Drag'. If you have a decent INI file editor, you can go in and fix this problem. Open up \MMOS2\MMPM.INI (it doesn't show on most menus, but it's there). Look at application MMPM2_AlarmSounds. The keys are the event numbers. Add a new key for the missing event. The data is 3 values, separated by the pound sign ('#'). In order, the values are:
F:\WAVE\DRWCLOSE.WAV#End Drag#70
The string must be terminated with a null (0x'00').
DIBA Software Consultants
11430 Game Preserve Rd.
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Contact information
------------------------
This is shareware. In the real world, that means it's free unless
you choose to pay us. Nevertheless, if you have problems, we'll do
what we can to help you get it running.
Your best bet is to email us at diba@idt.net.
However, we accept snail mail sent to
DIBA Software Consultants
11430 Game Preserve Road
Gaithersburg, Md. 20878
License
----------
You are free to make copies and distribute Schemer provided you include all files in the original distribution, unmodified. You may not charge a fee that exceeds the actual media and shipping costs without express written permission from the authors. You may include Schemer as part of a collection or package provided you adhere to all other conditions of this license. The authors request notification of any such inclusion.
Disclaimer
------------
Schemer is shareware supplied "as is" with no warranty, either expressed
or implied.
The use of Schemer is completely at your own risk and discretion. DIBA assumes no liability for any damages whatsoever either direct or incidental that might arise from using this program. If these conditions are unacceptable, do not run the program.
Copyright 1999 © DIBA Software Consultants, Gaithersburg,
MD.