README.TXT This file contains information about Neat!, including 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 OTHER DOCUMENTS located in the subdirectory in which the Neat!.zip file resides. Installation instructions may be found at the end of this document, or in the INSTALL.TXT file. The full User Guide, in Word 6.0 format, may be found in the file: Neat!UserManual.doc. A text-only Tutorial may be found in the Tutorial.txt file. OTHER HELP Full help, including a tutorial, is available when running Neat! by simply clicking on the Help Button, which normally has the appearance of a question mark. MORE STYLES Additional Neat! screen styles are available for FREE DOWNLOAD at our web site: thunderbirdtechnology.com WELCOME TO NEAT! Did you know that a typical personal computer, even one just out of the box with standard pre-installed software, can contain over 500 application programs! And over time it just keeps growing, with more applications and endless data files. How can a user possibly keep track and organize all that? On the Windows Desktop? There isn't room! But with Neat! your cluttered desktop becomes Neat!. Neat! provides the smart alternative to the Windows1 Desktop. Rather than a "desktop", Neat! uses a "bookshelf" metaphor. Instead of icon scattered here and there, Neat! allows the user to build shelves and dividers and to organize the program and data file icons into meaningful groups. Instead of just one desktop, Neat! allows an unlimited number of Screens, each with its own set of bookshelves, and the ability to move easily and effortlessly among them. And if your computer is used by more than one person, Neat! allows each user to have his or her own set of Neat! screens. WHY USE NEAT! ? If you use your computer for more than just one function then you know that the desktop, Windows' primary interface, does not provide a method for graphically organizing your applications and documents. Certainly, you can put your business applications in the upper right corner, your internet apps in the lower left corner, and your accessories somewhere in the middle. But how many times have you started up Windows and have had to search around the desktop to find the application or document that you want to work on? And when you're running a couple of applications at the same time and need to get to the desktop to find a document you had placed there or an additional application that you want to start up, there's just no easy way to get down to the desktop without moving or minimizing the other running applications2. How many times have you thought how nice it would be to have multiple desktops, so that you had more room to organize your applications and documents? And if more than one person uses the computer, wouldn't it be nice if each user could organize it according to his or her own particular tastes? Well, that's where Neat! comes in. It addresses these problems, and more. THE NEAT! DIFFERENCE User-organizable "Work Areas" User-selectable Screen Styles User-selectable Sound Styles Unlimited Screens per User Multiple Users Easy drag-and-drop Easy screen navigation via scroll and jump Program Quick-launch Data File Quick-Launch Folder quick-access Image File display On-screen clock F1 Help for all items STYLES Neat! provides a variety of screen Styles to choose from. These are not merely Windows "Wallpaper" images. Rather, a Neat! Style defines the look, feel, and sound of the screen and provides a mechanism for organizing your program and data icons. You can change the Style of a screen at any time, so feel free to experiment and find the ones that best fit your style of work and play. And if you've set up multiple Neat! screens, you can even have a different Style for each Screen. FREE STYLES Although Neat! comes with a set of screen styles, additional screen styles are available for free3 downloading from our internet web site: 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.