             Last-minute notes for Automenu For Kids 1.0
             -------------------------------------------


RUNNING GAMES FROM A CD-ROM DRIVE

If you've set up a game to run from a CD-ROM drive and the
correct CD is not in the drive, Automenu for Kids won't be able
to locate the game and you'll get an error message.  One way to
keep this from happening is to create a simple batch file that
first reminds the child to insert the correct CD, then runs the
game.

Let's say that you have the game Jeopardy on a CD in a
subdirectory named JEOPARDY, that your CD-ROM drive is known as
drive F: on your computer, and that the word you normally type to
start Jeopardy is JEOP2.  Here's what the batch file we'll call
JEOP.BAT might look like.

    @ECHO OFF
    ECHO.
    ECHO.
    ECHO.
    ECHO           The Jeopardy game is on a CD.
    ECHO           Put the Jeopardy CD in the drive
    ECHO           (if you haven't already done so).
    ECHO.
    PAUSE
    F:
    CD \JEOPARDY
    JEOP2
    CD \
    C:

When you create your own batch file, just substitute the
appropriate game, drive letter, subdirectory name, and the like.
The message lines can say whatever you want them to say.  For
example, you might want to specify a particular CD: "Put the blue
Barney CD in the drive..."


>>>>> Creating The Batch File

You can create the batch file in any text editor; DOS 5.0 and
later has a text editor called EDIT that will work fine.

    1)   Start at a DOS prompt and type the word EDIT, a space,
         then the words C:\AM4KIDS\JEOP.BAT; when you press
         <Enter>, a blank screen appears.

    2)   Type in the commands outlined above.

    3)   When you're through, hold down the Alt key and press the
         letter F, then the letter S, to save the file.

    4)   Press <Alt-F><X> to exit the text editor.


You may be more comfortable creating the batch file in your word
processor.  That will work too; just be sure to save the batch
file as "ASCII text" (sometimes called "DOS text") rather than
the way you ordinarily save documents.  If you're not sure how to
do that, check the index of your word processor's manual under
"ASCII" or "DOS text"; there will be very specific instructions
for saving this way.

>>>>> Testing The New Batch File

Now that you've created the batch file, you might want to test it
to be sure everything's working:

    1)   At a DOS prompt, type CD \AM4KIDS if you're not already
         in the Automenu for Kids subdirectory.

    2)   Type JEOP and press <Enter>.  You should see the message
         about inserting the proper CD, followed by a line that
         says "Press any key to continue."

    3)   Insert the proper CD, press the space bar, and the game
         should load.  When you exit the game in the normal
         fashion, you'll end up back at a C:\ prompt.

If your batch file doesn't work, get back to a DOS prompt in the
AM4KIDS subdirectory and type EDIT JEOP.BAT to bring the batch
file up.  Double-check what you've typed; DOS is utterly
unforgiving of typos.  If you still can't spot the problem, check
with a fellow user who's experienced in working with DOS batch
files.

>>>>>  Attaching the New Batch File to the Game Icon

    1)   At a DOS prompt, type CD \AM4KIDS to change to the
         AM4KIDS subdirectory.

    2)   Type KIDMAKE to get to the Setup Program.  Press <F4> if
         the Game Setup screen is not already displayed.

    3)   Press <Alt-A> to add a new game.

    4)   Type JEOPARDY in the Game Title field.  Press <Enter>.

    4)   Type JEOP in the Command field and press <Enter>.  (You
         can type in the full pathname of the new batch file if
         you like; our Jeopardy batch file's full pathname would
         be C:\AM4KIDS\JEOP.BAT.)

    5)   Press <F2>.  If you didn't type the full pathname in the
         preceding step, you'll be asked for permission to search
         your hard drive for an executable file (one ending in
         .EXE, .COM, or .BAT) that matches what you typed.  Press
         <Y>.

    6)   When the search finds your new batch file, press <Y> to
         accept it.

    7)   [optional]  Press <Alt-C> to cycle through the game icon
         choices available to you.

    8)   Press <F3> to exit the Setup Program.

The new batch file is now attached to (or "associated with") the
game icon representing Jeopardy.  When the child selects the
Jeopardy icon at the game screen, the batch file will bring up
the message about inserting the proper CD; when the child inserts
the Jeopardy CD and presses any key, Jeopardy will run.


=================================

SPECIAL NOTE TO TEACHERS

Setting Up AUTOMENU FOR KIDS On Your School Computer(s)

You are probably in a situation where a large number of children
share a computer.  Thirty children in your classroom may use the
same computer; three hundred children in your school may use the
computers in a computer lab on a rotating basis.  Clearly it will
not be practical to set up an individual kid icon for each child
who uses one of these computers.

But it would be easy enough to set up ONE kid icon that
represents a GROUP of children, or a GROUP of games.  You can set
up these "group" kid icons on whatever basis makes the most sense
in your situation.

    *  You could set up a kid icon called "Math Games," one called
       "Reading Games," one called "Geography Games."
    *  You could set up kid icons based on grade level: one called
       "Fifth Grade," one called "First Grade," and so on.
    *  You could set up a kid icon called "Blue Level" and one
       called "Red Level" to represent any grouping of games or
       children you like.

These group titles, or labels, go in the text entry field that's
called "Name" on the Set Up Children screen (see Chapter 4 of
your User's Guide), just as if they were names of individual
children.  That field can take up to 25 characters.


=================================

VIDEO SEVEN V-RAM USERS

We have experienced some problems with palette cycling and flickering
on some Video Seven cards.  Due to limitations in the Video Seven
hardware, no work-arounds are known at this time.

=================================

ATI GRAPHICS ULTRA-PRO (LOCAL BUS) USERS

We have experienced a timing problem with this board.  The problem
manifests itself in the form of garbled text while running Kidmake.
If you see text with lines through it, edit the AM4KIDS.CFG file and
in the [Config] section add the following line:

WaitForRetrace=YES

=================================

PROBLEMS WITH FLICKERING

If you experience problems with the screen flickering in VGA mode.
You can start AM4KIDS.EXE with the /S command line option to fix
solve this problem. You will need to edit the AM4K.BAT file and
add '/S' to the line that executes AM4KIDS.EXE.

