INSTALL.TXT This file contains information about installing and setting up Neat! This document is best viewed/printed using WordPad, 10pt Courier New Regular font. Neat! by Thunderbird Technology, LLC 640 Candia Road Chester, NH 03036 (603) 483-0693 fax (603) 483-0616 support@thunderbirdtechnology.com www.thunderbirdtechnology.com A FEW IMPORTANT WORDS ABOUT YOUR SCREEN Neat! requires at least a 256-Color Depth Setting Most computers are capable of handling at least one of the three common screen resolutions. These are: 640 by 480 800 by 600 1024 by 768. Some high-end computers may support even higher resolutions. Neat! directly supports the three standards and indirectly supports all others. Most computers are also capable of handling several different "color depths". Color Depth is a measurement of the number of unique colors that can be displayed by the monitor. Typical Color Depths are 16, 256, and 16 million. Neat! requires a Color Depth setting of at least 256. Many computers are set, by default, to a resolution and color depth that is lower than the monitor and graphics board is actually capable of. Neat! (and most other applications as well) look best at the highest resolution that your computer is capable of, although what "looks best" is a combination of screen resolution, screen size, color depth, and user preference. If you know what your computer's screen resolution and color depth is and are satisfied with it (and the color depth is at least 256), then proceed to INSTALLATION, below. MODIFYING THE SCREEN But if you think that you might want to modify the screen resolution or color depth then follow these steps: 1. Click on the Windows Start Button. 2. From the menu that appears click on Settings. 3. From the sub-menu that appears click on the Control Panel icon. 4. From the dialog window that appears click on the Display icon. 5. From the Display dialog that appears click on the Settings tab. 6. The Settings dialog allows you to select the screen resolution. Try the various settings for Desktop Area and choose the one which provides the best image on your screen. But be sure that the Color Palette selection is at least 256. When you click the OK button it will temporarily show you what the screen would look like and give you the opportunity to accept it. When you find the one that is best for your screen, accept it. INSTALLATION It is strongly recommended that you read the section titled "A Few Important Words About Your Screen", before installing Neat!. Requirements IBM-PC compatible computer 80486/66 processor or better Windows95, Windows98, or Windows NT Neat! does not run under Windows 3.x 16 MB RAM 10 MB Disk space, minimum; 30 MB for Typical (full) installation SVGA 256-color graphics INSTALLING FROM DOWNLOAD If you had downloaded Neat! from the internet then you will find a file named "SetupFullFreeNeat!.exe" (or "SetupBasicFreeNeat!.exe" if you downloaded the basic version) in the subdirectory to which you downloaded Neat!. Run the Neat! setup program by: 1. Clicking on the Windows Start button. 2. Selecting Run from the pop-up menu. 3. Using the Browse Button to locate the SetupFullFreeNeat!.exe (or SetupBasicFreeNeat!.exe) file. 4. Clicking Open at the Browse window, to bring you back to the Run Window. 5. Clicking OK at the Run window to start up the installation of Neat!. 6. The InstallShield installation program will lead you through the installation. At the point in the installation procedure where it provides the opportunity to start Neat!, click the button so that Neat! will start. You will then be prompted to enter your name, a name for the initial Neat! screen, and the Style of the initial Neat! screen. Once you've done that, hit Finish, and you're on your way. And the best way to get started is with the Quick Tutorial. MAKING NEAT! AVAILABLE FROM THE DESKTOP To make Neat! available as a clickable icon from the Windows desktop do the following: 1. Start up Windows Explorer. This can be done by clicking the Start button on the Windows Taskbar, clicking Programs, and then clicking Windows Explorer. 2. Locate the Neat! subdirectory. If you accepted the default installation directory when you installed Neat! this will be C:\Program Files\Neat!. If you selected an alternative installation directory then locate that subdirectory. If you have trouble locating it, use the Find tool in the Windows Explorer Tools to locate the subdirectory in which the Neat!.exe file resides. 3. Drag-and Drop the Neat!.exe program file from the Windows Explorer window to the Windows desktop. This drag-and-drop operation will place a "shortcut" on the desktop. You can then start up Neat! by double- clicking on its icon on the desktop. CONFIGURING NEAT! FOR AUTOMATIC STARTUP You will probably want to configure your computer so that Neat! starts up whenever you turn on your computer. After all, Neat! will quickly become your preferred alternative to the desktop. To make Neat! start up automatically when you start up your computer you simply need to: Drag-and-drop the Neat!.exe file into the C:\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp directory, which will actually place a "shortcut" to the Neat!.exe program in the StartUp directory. To do this, simply do the following: 1. Start up Windows Explorer. This can be done by clicking the Start button on the Windows Taskbar, clicking Programs, and then clicking Windows Explorer. 2. Locate the Neat! subdirectory. If you accepted the default installation directory when you installed Neat! this will be C:\Program Files\Neat!. If you selected an alternative installation directory then locate that subdirectory. If you have trouble locating it, use the Find tool in the Windows Explorer Tools to locate the subdirectory in which the Neat!.exe file resides. 3. Start up another Windows Explorer window and arrange the two Windows Explorer windows side-by-side. In this new Windows Explorer window, locate the c:\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp directory. 4. Drag-And Drop the Neat!.exe program file from the first Windows Explorer window to the c:\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp subdirectory within the second Windows Explorer directory. This drag-and-drop operation will place a "shortcut" in the StartUp directory. After you have set this up, Neat! will automatically start up whenever you turn on your computer. DISABLING AUTOMATIC STARTUP If you ever decide that you no longer wish to have Neat! start up automatically when you turn on your computer, simply delete the Neat! shortcut file from the c:\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp directory.