       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.



b. Check with your local software dealer or users' group.



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 disk.  Please have your serial number ready

       or we can't process your call.



   2.  The product version number.  To find the version number,

       invoke 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 disk.



For example, if you're installing from drive A, perform the

following steps:



   1.  At the A:\> prompt, type "WIN SETUP" <ENTER>.



   2.  Enter the destination directory for ProtoGen and press

       <OK>.



   3.  After Setup transfers files to the hard disk, Setup asks

       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, make 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

   look.



o  Generates Borland C++ OWL code or ANSI C code for Windows, and

   creates associated files needed to compile the generated

   application, including make 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 brackets" 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 working 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 brackets. 

   For example, suppose a user added the following global

   variable Foo between brackets:



       //REGEN_VARIABLES



            int Foo=1;



       //REGEN_VARIABLES



   The brackets protect Foo from destruction if the user

   interface prototype is regenerated to add or change menu

   features.  If one of the brackets is deleted, Foo is lost when

   the prototype is regenerated.  All regeneration brackets start

   with the prefix REGEN_. Delete brackets 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  Working Directory



   The "working directory" is the directory where ProtoGen's

   Windows resources are kept.  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 working 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 task 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.



o  Insufficient Memory or Disk Space



   When memory or disk 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 make 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

   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 blank square.



o  Linking Dialog Resources



   You can't link 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 linked

   to a menu item.



o  Putting Away a User-defined Dialog



   When you click on a menu item in the prototype menu, ProtoGen

   asks you what DLG file you want to attach to it.  (A DLG file

   is equivalent to an RC file).  When you click a dialog control

   like the <OK> button, ProtoGen thinks you want to attach a

   dialog to that control.  To put away the dialog, either double

   click 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



   Don't nest dialog boxes more than nine levels.  More levels

   might cause an Unrecoverable Application Error, because stack

   space is limited.



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

   compatible with programs like 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 working 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 checkbox 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 links, and message handling; a screen painter

               to interactivly design screens and forms with data

               validation, actions, DDE links, custom colors and

               fonts and much more; a dialog class for Object

               Windows Library, and a high-level dynamic link

               library with functions for printing files and

               buffers under Windows; an editor function,

               animation functions and more.  ProtoView works

               with ProtoGen to enhance test mode and ProtoGen's

               code generation capabilities.



