Picture Show Main Menu Help and Information for v3.0

Most users will only need to read the short Getting Started section of these help files.

The Picture Show Main Menu file name is PIC_SHOW.EXE.

Other Help Files:

• help_picture_show.htm - Picture Show Main Menu and Startup Help
• help_picture_story.htm - create linked picture pages and add text to them.
• help_picture_viewer.htm - create a slideshow.
• help_web_page_builder.htm - create linked picture Web Pages.
• help_movie_viewer.htm - create linked movie pages.
• help_print_size_calculator.htm - calculate the ultimate print size or resize image cuts.

The information in these help files will probably solve your problem faster that emailing me.
Email if the information in these help files does not solve your problem.
Be sure to include the email address you used to make payment so I can identify you as a registered owner of the program.

Main Menu Help and Information - Click on a help topic below to link to that topic:

Getting Started - must read - short introduction.
Main Menu Options and what they do?
What are File Types?
Program won't run, doesn't find files or Program Window closes before it does anything?
How do I create a Shortcut and make the Shortcut work?
What is the MoveShow.exe Program and how do I use it?
How do I uninstall the Program?

Getting Started:

Download the following files to any folder on the C:\ or D:\ drive.
I suggest you create a the folder in C:\My Documents\My Pictures\ and name it Pic_Show.
Verify the following files are in the same folder on the C:\ or D:\ drive.

Pic_Show.exe or PicShowf.exe - Picture Show Main Menu.
The Picture Show Main Menu verifies all needed files are present when it is opened.
The 5 programs below must be run from the Picture Show Main Menu.

1. picstory.exe - create linked picture pages and add text to them.
2. picviewr.exe - create a slideshow.
3. webpbldr.exe - create linked picture Web Pages.
4. movievwr.exe - create linked movie pages.
5. pic_size.exe - calculate the ultimate print size or resize image cuts.

MoveShow.exe - This is a stand alone program. It cannot be opened from the Main Menu.
Open MoveShow.exe before you move any files to another folder or drive.
MoveShow.exe clears the operation environment string and tells you what files to move.
MoveShow.exe is not included in the free trial version.

The following files are also downloaded with the above files.

• psv3init.txt - used once by Pic_Show.exe to set the operation environment string.
• help_picture_show.htm - this help file.
• help_picture_story.htm - create linked picture pages and add text to them.
• help_picture_viewer.htm - create a slideshow.
• help_web_page_builder.htm - create linked picture Web Pages.
• help_movie_viewer.htm - create linked movie pages.
• help_print_size_calculator.htm - calculate the ultimate print size or resize image cuts.

If you don't have the above files in a folder on the C:\ or D:\ drive,
move them to a folder on the C:\ or D:\ drive before running the program.
I do not recommend saving the files to the Desktop. Put a Shortcut to Pic_Show.exe on the Desktop instead.

Open Pic_Show.exe - you should instantly see a blue Window with the Main Menu in light gray. If so, you're all set.
Click here for a quick solution if you don't see the Picture Show Main Menu Window.
You can create Shortcuts (read this) in other folders on the same drive to run the Program.
The options and programs are all pretty self explanatory. Most people won't need help from here.

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Main Menu Options and what they do:

Option 1. Create A Linked Picture Story: Opens the Picture Story Book Program.
Option 2. Create A Linked Picture Viewer: Opens the Linked Picture Viewer Program.
Option 3. Create A Linked Movie Viewer: Opens the Linked Movie Viewer Program.
Option 4. Create Linked Picture Webpages: Opens the Linked Picture WebPage Builder Program.
Option 5. Picture Print Size Calculator: Opens the Picture Print Size Calculator Program.

Option 8. List folders or change path.
Option 9. List files in the current folder.

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Option 8. List folders or change path.
The current path is listed at the top of the Window.
This option lists the subfolders in the current path and allows you to change to different folders on the current drive.
The current folder remains the same until you change it. It doesn't change when you change Programs.
This option is always Option 8 on all Program Menus.

Use the following commands with this option:
Input 0 or R + Enter to change to Root Directory of the current drive.
Input 1 + Enter to change to the previous folder in the current path - Back One Level.
Input the number before a folder name + Enter to change to that folder.
Input L + Enter to list files in the current folder. See Option 9 below for more information.
Press Enter without entering anything to return to the Menu after you find the folder you want to perform an action on.

List Folders only lists folders on the current drive. You cannot change to another drive.
Create a Shortcut on another drive and use the Shortcut to open the SFR_MENU.EXE Program from that drive.
List folders lists the folders on the drive the Shortcut is in.

Return to Menu Options.
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Option 9. List files in the current folder.
This option lists the files in the current folder. It does not serve any other purpose other than to let you view the files.
This option requests a File Type before it lists any files.
Enter an * (asterisk) to list all files.
Enter a File Type to view all files of that type in the current folder.
Input L + Enter to list the subfolders in the current path. See Option 8 above for more information.
Press Enter without entering anything to return to the Menu.
This option is always Option 9 on all Program Menus.
Click here for information on File Types.

Option 0. Return to Main Menu.
Enter zero 0 + Enter to return to the Main Menu.
Page settings are discarded when you return to the Main Menu. If you created a Html page, the settings will be restored
from that page the next time you execute the program in the same folder.

Return to Menu Options.
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File Types and The File Type prompt:

File Type is the name of the file or files you want to perform an action on.
File Type can be all or part of a file name with it's extension or it can be just an extension.
Example File: help.htm: help is the file name and .htm is the extension - the dot is part of the extension.
The Program fills in missing portions of File Type entries.
For example: If you enter htm, the Program will expand this to *.htm and find all files with an extension of .htm.
Wildcards [* and ?] are permitted in File Types. A wildcard acts as a substitute for a file name or extension.
The * (asterisk) represents a whole word or group of characters. The ? (question mark) represents a single character.
Example 1: *help*.htm - this File Type would find all .htm files with help in the file name.
Example 2: *0?.jpg - this File Type would find all jpg files with 0 plus any character or number in it's file name.
Example 3: *.* would find all files in the current folder.
In most cases you can enter a [-] minus sign for all files of *.htm File Type or a [+] plus sign for *.jpg files.
The File Type input prompt has pretty strong protection routines to prevent you from entering something wrong.

Be Careful: These programs are very powerful. You can get unexpected results if you're not careful.
I suggest you confirm all changes until you are more familiar with these programs.

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Program won't run, doesn't find files or Program Window closes before it does anything?

If you encounter this problem, the following should solve it. The path and terminology of the following may be a little
different on your computer. But, it should be pretty easy to solve the problem using the following outline:

• Make sure you have all the downloaded files in a folder on the C:\ or D:\ drive. Not on a Network drive.
• Do the following for the every .EXE file and every Shortcut you create.
• Right Click on the Program .EXE file name or Shortcut in Windows Explorer.
• Select Properties from the menu that appears.
• Select the Program tab at the top of the dialog box that opens.
• Make sure Working is blank.
• Make sure Close on exit is not checked.
• Click on Advanced - near the bottom of dialog box. A second dialog box will open.
• Put a check mark before Suggest MS-DOS mode as necessary.
• Make sure no other MS-DOS options are checked.
• Click OK to save and close the dialog box.
• Click OK again to save and close the first dialog box.
• Be sure to do the above for every .EXE file and any Shortcuts you create.

This should solve the problem. Open the EXE program file. You should see the Main Menu.

If the above doesn't solve the problem, your anti-virus program may be stopping the program from running.
Disconnect from the Internet and then disable the anti-virus program. The program should work.
If so, you'll have to find a way to set the anti-virus program to allow the program to run.

Shortcuts to the program files from a Network drive should work.

If you try putting the program files on a Network drive, you may get unpredictable results. The program may act like it's
working just fine for awhile and then whammy, do something really screwy. That's because it is a DOS based program.
DOS can read Network drives but gets lost when run on Network drives. So, make sure you have the program files on
the C:\ or D:\ drive.

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How do I create a Shortcut and make the Shortcut work?

• Right Click on SFR_MENU.EXE in Windows Explorer and hold the Right Mouse Button down while you
• Point the mouse to the folder you want the Shortcut in.
• Release the Right Mouse Button.
• Select Create Shortcut(s) Here from the menu that appears.
• Right Click on the Shortcut you just created.
• Select Properties from the menu that appears.
• Select the Program tab at the top of the dialog box that opens.
• Make sure Working is blank.
• Make sure Close on exit is not checked.
• Click OK to close the dialog box and save your changes.
• You can now use the Shortcut to run the Program.
• You can copy and use the Shortcut from your Desktop, any folder or drive on your computer.

Shortcuts can be copied to other drives. You shouldn't have to do the above on copies of Shortcuts.

I can't guarantee it, but these programs should work on a LAN (Local Area Network) providing a Shortcut is used on the Network drive, the User has the rights and the program has access to the C:\ drive. Please be aware that the amount of support I can give you will be limited as I don't have your Network to run tests on. So, be sure to do some testing on your own before relying on using the program on a LAN. If the free version works on a LAN, the paid version will work too.

I suggest you create Shortcuts on your Desktop for the _find.txt and _replace.txt files.
Be sure to leave the _find.txt and _replace.txt files in the same folder as the Pic_Show.exe file.
You can but don't have to perform the above procedure on the _find.txt and _replace.txt Shortcuts.

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What is the MoveShow.exe Program and how do I use it?

MoveShow.exe clears the operation environment string so the files can be moved to another folder, drive or computer.
If you need to move the program files, run MoveShow.exe before you move the files.

Be sure you move the files to a folder on the C:\ or D:\ drive.
After you move the files, Open Pic_Show.exe to create a new operation environment string and run the program.

If you don't Run MoveShow.exe before you move the files, the program won't recognize the new environment and won't function.

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How do I uninstall the Program?

You do not have to uninstall the Program because it was not installed.

To remove all remnants of the Program, Open MoveShow.exe to clear the operation environment string.

The above isn't required if you have the Free Trial Version.

You can then delete the Program files or delete the folder the Program files are in.

You may also want to find and delete any Shortcuts you created.

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Picture Show Main Menu Help and Information for v3.0

Rob's C-Programs - All rights reserved -