Welcome to ProtoView's ProtoGen Application Code Generator ---------------------------------------------------------Read this README file for the latest, important information

about the ProtoGen software and manual. TABLE OF CONTENTS ----------------1. How to Get Help 2. Installation 3. Features 4. Other Information 5. Defining your own editor 6. Windows 3.1 and Strict compiling 7. Other Products Offered From ProtoView 1. HOW TO GET HELP --------------If you have any problems, read this file in its entirety. If you still have a question and need assistance, help is available from the following sources: a. Type GO BPROGB on the CompuServe for access to the Borland forums, which consist of libraries of technical information and answers to common questions.

c. Call the Borland Technical Support Department at (408) 461-9133 for help with an urgent problem that cannot be solved by one of the previously mentioned sources. Please sign and return the license agreement that came with ProtoGen, and have the following information ready before calling: 1. The product name and serial number on your original distribution dis . Please have your serial number ready or we can't process your call. 2. The product version number. To find the version number, invo e ProtoGen and select Help|About ProtoGen. 3. The brands and model numbers of your computer and additional hardware. 4. The operating system and version number installed on your computer. Find the version number by typing VER at the DOS prompt. 2. INSTALLATION -----------To start the installation, execute the "Setup" program on the ProtoGen installation dis . For example, if you're installing from drive A, perform the following steps: 1. At the A:\> prompt, type "WIN SETUP" <ENTER>.

b. Chec

with your local software dealer or users' group.

2. Enter the destination directory for ProtoGen and press <OK>. 3. After Setup transfers files to the hard dis , Setup as s if it should add the PV directory to your path statement in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If you've already added the PROTOGEN directory to your path, select <Cancel>; otherwise, select <OK>. 4. After installation, ma e sure your DOS path statement includes the PV directory, so the DLL and executable files can be found. If you allowed the Install program to modify the AUTOEXEC.BAT, rebooting sets the path properly. Read the rest of this README file to get further information about this release before installing ProtoGen. 3. FEATURES -------ProtoGen offers the following features and benefits: o Allows various Windows resources to be laid out and connected into a prototype user interface. o Allows easy creation of menu items, separators, menu popups, and accelerators, which are implicitly tied to a menu item. o Demonstrates in test mode how the completed application will loo . o Generates Borland C++ OWL code or ANSI C code for Windows, and creates associated files needed to compile the generated application, including ma e files and header files. o Creates project files that can be used to build C and C++ programs in Borland C++ for Windows. o Gives you the option of creating a customized main window or a a standard main window, which includes a system icon and minimize and maximize buttons. o Displays a user-defined menu of frequently used tools for easy access. o Provides "regeneration brac ets" to prevent ProtoGen from overwriting user-modified codes. 4. OTHER INFORMATION ----------------o System Error Message When loading ProtoGen, a "System Error" message might appear for one of the following reasons: - The DOS path has not been set correctly. Remedy: Exit Windows and add the ProtoGen directory to the DOS path.

- The wor ing directory is no longer valid. Remedy: Delete the PV.INI file in the WINDOWS directory. o Source Code Comments ProtoGen uses comments to delineate regeneration brac ets. For example, suppose a user added the following global variable Foo between brac ets: //REGEN_VARIABLES int Foo=1; //REGEN_VARIABLES The brac ets protect Foo from destruction if the user interface prototype is regenerated to add or change menu features. If one of the brac ets is deleted, Foo is lost when the prototype is regenerated. All regeneration brac ets start with the prefix REGEN_. Delete brac ets only after the code is frozen. o .PVA File Modification Don't modify .PVA files directly. Incorrect data can lead to an "Unrecoverable Application Error". Let ProtoGen modify these files. o Project Files for C++ and ANSI C When compiling projects under Borland C++ for Windows you should turn on the Generate COMDEFS switch under Compiler | Advanced Code Generation. This option can be found on TCW's main menu. o Wor ing Directory The "wor ing directory" is the directory where ProtoGen's Windows resources are ept. These include dialog resources, menu resources, bitmaps, and icon files. ProtoGen needs to draw upon the resources within this directory to build an application. To use resources in other directories, the ICON and BITMAP files have to be copied by the user if the Dialog Resource is using an icon control or Borland Custom control that uses a bitmap. ProtoGen attempts to copy all resource files to the current wor ing directory. ProtoGen won't copy the associated files that might be used within a .DLG or .RC file. o Test Mode Test mode shows the general flow of the user-designed screen, demonstrating how data objects might interact. In test mode, there's no minimize button, but the minimize button will be present in the generated application along with other standard features. When the application is in test mode, the main ProtoGen window is hidden, and you can't see it in the tas list for the

program manager. When the main window is a dialog box, the created application behaves differently than it did in the test mode. o Tools Tools launched within ProtoGen don't close upon exiting ProtoGen.

When memory or dis space is low, you might not be able to compile a program. When you shell to DOS from Windows to compile the program, a large swap file is needed, which reduces available memory. Unload drivers, TSRs, and other memory-intensive programs, and try to recompile. o Setting Up ProtoGen Perform the following steps to prepare for generating ProtoGen code: 1. Set up the tools you need by selecting Tools|Define Tool from the ProtoGen main menu and defining the following tools, which reside in the bin directory of either Borland C++ or Turbo C++ for Windows unless you specified otherwise: - Resource Editor. To create Bitmaps, Fonts, and Dialogs, select WORKSHOP.EXE. 2. Set up appropriate paths for includes and libs. Select Application|Generate from the ProtoGen main menu. The INCLUDE and LIB directories should be searched in order of derived class first; consequently, if your Borland C++ directory is "C:\BC" then you should enter the following path in the Include Directory Edit box: C:\BC\OWL\INCLUDE;C:\BC\CLASSLIB\INCLUDE;C:\BC\INCLUDE Enter the following in the Library Directory Edit box: C:\BC\OWL\LIB;C:\BC\CLASSLIB\LIB;C:\BC\LIB Press <ENTER> as if you were generating code. When the Enter Application Title dialog is displayed, just press <Cancel> to cancel generating an application. Now, you're ready to use ProtoGen. 3. With the ma e file supplied by Borland, build the appropriate versions of .LIB files for Borland classlibs. Because Borland C++ and Turbo C++ for Windows are shipped with only the small code model versions of the classlibs, you'll need to build any other versions you might need. See the Borland C++ documentation for more information. o Inaccuracies in Screens Because ProtoGen is concerned primarily with the overall screen flow and interaction with other Window resources, some

o Insufficient Memory or Dis

Space

screens might not be accurately portrayed. For example, a button may appear slightly larger than its actual size. o Custom Colors To define a custom color for the client area of the main window from the Edit|Window Colors menu, select a "Basic Color" first, modify the color, and press the <Add to Custom Colors> button. The custom color is displayed in the first available blan square. o Lin ing Dialog Resources You can't lin a dialog resource to more than one menu item. If you need to use the same dialog, copy the dialog resource and rename it. Don't change the name of a dialog that's lin ed to a menu item. o Putting Away a User-defined Dialog When you clic on a menu item in the prototype menu, ProtoGen as s you what DLG file you want to attach to it. (A DLG file is equivalent to an RC file). When you clic a dialog control li e the <OK> button, ProtoGen thin s you want to attach a dialog to that control. To put away the dialog, either double clic the client area of the dialog or press <Alt+F4>. o Using an RC File as a Menu Resource File. When naming an RC file to be used as the menu resource file (MNU), don't use the application file name. If the menu resource file is HELLO.RC, and the name of the application is HELLO, ProtoGen overwrites HELLO.RC with its own RC file when it generates code. To help you avoid overwriting files, by default ProtoGen gives files an MNU file name extension if you don't enter an extension when you save the file from the Menu Designer. o Nested Dialog Boxes

o Debug Warning Messages Don't panic if dbWin displays the following error message when you're running the Debug Windows Kernel: "PROTOGEN -> USER PV_WM_KILLFOCUS + 1E: Invalid value 256" This message is displayed during normal operation with the Debug Windows Kernel. o Compatibility Issues Many of the message dialog boxes are system modal, which means the user can't access other parts of the application until the dialog is finished; consequently, ProtoGen might not be

Don't nest dialog boxes more than nine levels. More levels might cause an Unrecoverable Application Error, because stac space is limited.

compatible with programs li e Recorder in your Windows Accessories Group. When using a high resolution driver, such as the 1024x768 with small fonts, the text in several dialog boxes is truncated. To correct the problem, select a larger font, such as the one available with the 1024x768 driver with large fonts. o Built-in Text Editor While wor ing in the built-in text editor (which is brought up by selecting a menu item from Edit|Edit Resources), if the Save As or Open dialog box is displayed, you must first close this dialog before selecting File|Close from the ProtoGen system menu. 5. DEFINING YOUR OWN EDITOR. -----------------------Edit or create a PV.INI file in your WINDOWS directory, and define the TextEditor variable as the executable file name of your editor as shown here: [ViewPaint] TextEditor=myeditor.exe For example, if your editor is Brief, TextEditor=b.exe. 6. WINDOWS 3.1 AND STRICT COMPILING -------------------------------If you're using Borland C++ and OWL version 3.1 and want to generate C or C++ code that conforms to Microsoft's STRICT definition, select Application| Generate. In the Options area of the Generate dialog box, select the STRICT chec box to define -DSTRICT and -DWIN31. To generate STRICT-compliant code that runs under Windows 3.0 or 3.1, replace the -31 command line switch passed to the rc compiler with a -30 switch. 7. OTHER PRODUCTS OFFERED FROM PROTOVIEW ------------------------------------DataTable - Spreadsheet control for Microsoft Windows for the C/C++ and Pascal windows programmer. ProtoView - A screen management facility for Microsoft Windows for the C/C++ Windows programmer. Includes 12 new Windows controls with built in data validation, DDE lin s, and message handling; a screen painter to interactivly design screens and forms with data validation, actions, DDE lin s, custom colors and fonts and much more; a dialog class for Object Windows Library, and a high-level dynamic lin library with functions for printing files and buffers under Windows; an editor function, animation functions and more. ProtoView wor s with ProtoGen to enhance test mode and ProtoGen's code generation capabilities.