             EXECUTOR FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS
                            17 Jul 1995
                   Cliff Matthews <questions@ardi.com>

This is the list of Frequently Asked Questions about Executor, the
commercial Macintosh emulator for DOS, Windows, OS/2, Linux and NEXTSTEP
[see Q1.1 `What is Executor?' for more details].  This set of answers to
Frequently Asked Questions is not designed to take the place of our
Executor manual.  However, currently our manual is not available on-line,
so this FAQ does briefly touch on some issues that are covered more in
depth in our manual.

In addition to this FAQ, there should be README files bundled with
Executor and there is also an Executor/DOS document that describes how to
get started with Executor/DOS from a DOS user's point of view, which may
be useful to users of Executor on other platforms as well.  That document
is called "ERNSTOUD.TXT", since it's hard to come up with useful names
when constrained by the DOS 8.3 filename limits and the author of the
document is Ernst J. Oud.

Please check out these documents and this FAQ, before sending e-mail to
<questions@ardi.com> [see Q1.34 `Why shouldn't I send e-mail to
<ctm@ardi.com>?'] or the Executor Interest mailing list [see Q1.32 `What's
the best way to keep informed about Executor?'].

See Q5.3 `In what formats are this FAQ available?' for details of where to
get the PostScript, Emacs Info, HTML (WWW) and plain ASCII versions of
this document.

A new version of this document appears frequently.  If this copy is more
than a month old it may be out of date.

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

Index

 Section 1.  Executor in General
 Q1.1        What is Executor?
 Q1.2        How can I get more information about Executor?
 Q1.3        On which platforms is Executor available?
 Q1.4        How much does Executor cost?
 Q1.5        Who makes Executor?
 Q1.6        How do I order Executor?
 Q1.7        Pronunciation?
 Q1.8        How fast is Executor?
 Q1.9        Does Executor require ROMs or System Files from Apple?
 Q1.10       How long has Executor been in development?
 Q1.11       What techniques were used to rewrite the OS and Toolbox?
 Q1.12       What limitations does Executor 2.0 have?
 Q1.13       If I have 800 KB floppies, what can I do?
 Q1.14       Does Executor run all applications?
 Q1.15       A particular program doesn't run now; will it under 2.0?
 Q1.16       Will Newton Toolkit run under 2.0?
 Q1.17       Will Think C or Think Pascal run under 2.0?
 Q1.18       What percentage of applications will run under Executor?
 Q1.19       What do the various Executor version numbers mean?
 Q1.20       Where can I pick up the Executor demos?
 Q1.21       Where is the Cmd (Clover) and Option key?
 Q1.22       How do I use my authorization key?
 Q1.23       Is Executor shareware?
 Q1.24       How do the demo versions differ from the commercial versions?
 Q1.25       What's next?
 Q1.26       When will 2.0 be out?
 Q1.27       How can I get in ARDI's beta program?
 Q1.28       Does Executor have networking support?
 Q1.29       How do you install Fonts and Desk Accessories (DAs)?
 Q1.30       Will Desk Accessories work under Executor?
 Q1.31       Does Executor run xxx?
 Q1.32       What's the best way to keep informed about Executor?
 Q1.33       What's the Executor Interest mailing list?
 Q1.34       Why shouldn't I send e-mail to <ctm@ardi.com>?
 Q1.35       What is an HFV file?
 Q1.36       Can I launch applications directly from the command line?
 Q1.37       What are all the command line switches?
 Q1.38       Are there other parameters I can adjust? [aka "Preferences Panel"]
 Q1.39       Can I have Executor use more than 8 MB for the application zone?
 Q1.40       An application I'm trying crashes.  What should I do?
 Q1.41       How do Executor's "license keys" work?
 Q1.42       Don't your "license keys" allow people to pirate Executor?
 Q1.43       I want to bundle Executor on a CD-ROM.  Can I do that?
 Q1.44       Why do some applications claim I don't have an FPU?
 Q1.45       Can Executor run Japanese system software?
 Q1.46       Why does Compact Pro have trouble with multi-volume archives?
 Q1.47       What is makehfv?
 Q1.48       How can I create my own HFV files?
 Q1.49       How can I use Mac software from the internet?
 Q1.50       How can I use Mac software from Bulletin Boards?
 Q1.51       How can I use Mac software from AOL?
 Q1.52       How does your Browser show file size?
 Q1.53       How does your Browser show free space?
 Q1.54       Why do some installers not work?
 Q1.55       What is Speedometer?
 Q1.56       How can I get a screen dump of Executor?

 Section 2.  Executor/DOS
 Q2.1        Which FTP sites will carry stable versions of Executor/DOS?
 Q2.2        What are the hardware requirements for Executor/DOS?
 Q2.3        What do I do if my Super VGA card isn't VESA compliant?
 Q2.4        E/D dies during startup.  Why?
 Q2.5        What causes error -42 when transferring files
 Q2.6        Why does my screen look funny when I run Executor?
 Q2.7        What's "GrSetMode ; unknown adapter type in driver." mean?
 Q2.8        Does E/D require an ASPI driver to access SCSI?
 Q2.9        Have you released Executor for OS/2 yet?
 Q2.10       Why won't Executor/DOS work with my Diamond Viper PCI card?
 Q2.11       Why doesn't my mouse work when I run Executor under OS/2 Warp?
 Q2.12       Any OS/2 Warp suggestions?
 Q2.13       Does Executor work under Windows '95?
 Q2.14       How do I get E/D to see my CD-ROM drive?
 Q2.15       Executor dies, what should I do?
 Q2.16       Should I have sent in my registration card?
 Q2.17       How does printing work under E/D?
 Q2.18       Why does E/D under Windows 3.x have problems hot-keying?
 Q2.19       Why can't I eject or format my DOS formatted floppy?
 Q2.20       Why the white border on the screen?
 Q2.21       Do E/D and QEMM fight?
 Q2.22       How can I speed up Executor/DOS?

 Section 3.  Executor/Linux
 Q3.1        Why can't I see files in my Appleshare volumes?
 Q3.2        Can I buy the Linux version now?
 Q3.3        Are we ready to hear about Executor/Linux bugs?
 Q3.4        Should bug reports be sent one at a time or in a big list?
 Q3.5        What kernel do you recommend?
 Q3.6        Why is there no Executor for NetBSD or FreeBSD?
 Q3.7        Where are the bitmaps stored on the Linux version of executor?
 Q3.8        Will there be an SVGALIB version of Executor/Linux in the future?
 Q3.9        Why do other windows get creepy colors when Executor is running?
 Q3.10       How does printing work under Executor/Linux?
 Q3.11       Why does Executor complain that it cannot find 'libXt.so.6'?
 Q3.12       Which FTP sites have E/L?
 Q3.13       Why does Lemmings' splash screen take so long to be drawn?
 Q3.14       What free projects has ARDI supported?
 Q3.15       Is there an ELF flavor of Executor?
 Q3.16       Is Executor localized for languages other than English?
 Q3.17       Can I Macintosh format disk drives?
 Q3.18       Why is the cursor inverted?
 Q3.19       How can Executor be configured for multiple users?

 Section 4.  Executor/NEXTSTEP
 Q4.1        Why hasn't there been an Executor/NEXTSTEP release in a while?

 Section 5.  Administrative information and acknowledgements
 Q5.1        Can I buy stock in ARDI?
 Q5.2        Is Feedback Invited?
 Q5.3        In what formats are this FAQ available?
 Q5.4        Who wrote this FAQ?  Who helped?
 Q5.5        Is this FAQ Disclaimed and Copyrighted?

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

Section 1.  Executor in General

 Q1.1        What is Executor?
 Q1.2        How can I get more information about Executor?
 Q1.3        On which platforms is Executor available?
 Q1.4        How much does Executor cost?
 Q1.5        Who makes Executor?
 Q1.6        How do I order Executor?
 Q1.7        Pronunciation?
 Q1.8        How fast is Executor?
 Q1.9        Does Executor require ROMs or System Files from Apple?
 Q1.10       How long has Executor been in development?
 Q1.11       What techniques were used to rewrite the OS and Toolbox?
 Q1.12       What limitations does Executor 2.0 have?
 Q1.13       If I have 800 KB floppies, what can I do?
 Q1.14       Does Executor run all applications?
 Q1.15       A particular program doesn't run now; will it under 2.0?
 Q1.16       Will Newton Toolkit run under 2.0?
 Q1.17       Will Think C or Think Pascal run under 2.0?
 Q1.18       What percentage of applications will run under Executor?
 Q1.19       What do the various Executor version numbers mean?
 Q1.20       Where can I pick up the Executor demos?
 Q1.21       Where is the Cmd (Clover) and Option key?
 Q1.22       How do I use my authorization key?
 Q1.23       Is Executor shareware?
 Q1.24       How do the demo versions differ from the commercial versions?
 Q1.25       What's next?
 Q1.26       When will 2.0 be out?
 Q1.27       How can I get in ARDI's beta program?
 Q1.28       Does Executor have networking support?
 Q1.29       How do you install Fonts and Desk Accessories (DAs)?
 Q1.30       Will Desk Accessories work under Executor?
 Q1.31       Does Executor run xxx?
 Q1.32       What's the best way to keep informed about Executor?
 Q1.33       What's the Executor Interest mailing list?
 Q1.34       Why shouldn't I send e-mail to <ctm@ardi.com>?
 Q1.35       What is an HFV file?
 Q1.36       Can I launch applications directly from the command line?
 Q1.37       What are all the command line switches?
 Q1.38       Are there other parameters I can adjust? [aka "Preferences Panel"]
 Q1.39       Can I have Executor use more than 8 MB for the application zone?
 Q1.40       An application I'm trying crashes.  What should I do?
 Q1.41       How do Executor's "license keys" work?
 Q1.42       Don't your "license keys" allow people to pirate Executor?
 Q1.43       I want to bundle Executor on a CD-ROM.  Can I do that?
 Q1.44       Why do some applications claim I don't have an FPU?
 Q1.45       Can Executor run Japanese system software?
 Q1.46       Why does Compact Pro have trouble with multi-volume archives?
 Q1.47       What is makehfv?
 Q1.48       How can I create my own HFV files?
 Q1.49       How can I use Mac software from the internet?
 Q1.50       How can I use Mac software from Bulletin Boards?
 Q1.51       How can I use Mac software from AOL?
 Q1.52       How does your Browser show file size?
 Q1.53       How does your Browser show free space?
 Q1.54       Why do some installers not work?
 Q1.55       What is Speedometer?
 Q1.56       How can I get a screen dump of Executor?

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Question 1.1.  What is Executor?

Executor is a commercial emulator that allows non-Macintosh hardware to
run some applications originally written on a Macintosh.  Executor has
many limitations [see Q1.12 `What limitations does Executor 2.0 have?'],
but surprisingly, speed is not one of them [see Q1.8 `How fast is
Executor?'].

If your only experience with emulators is Soft-PC or Soft-Windows making a
Mac emulate a PC, please check out a demo of Executor [see Q1.20 `Where
can I pick up the Executor demos?'] to see just how quickly we can do the
reverse.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.2.  How can I get more information about Executor?

This FAQ contains much information, but it is pale when compared to a demo
of Executor [see Q1.20 `Where can I pick up the Executor demos?'].  Beyond
the demo, almost all the publicly available information on Executor is
found either at our official ftp site, ftp.ardi.com (204.134.8.1), or in
our unofficial WorldWide Web pages: http://vorlon.mit.edu/arditop.html.
Eventually we'll have an official set of WWW pages, but currently all our
WWW are done by an Executor Enthusiast, rather than by ARDI staff.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.3.  On which platforms is Executor available?

Executor/DOS (E/D) is an implementation that runs under DOS, Windows 3.x,
Windows '95 and OS/2.  Executor/NEXTSTEP (E/NS) is an implementation that
runs under NEXTSTEP, both on original NeXT hardware and Intel based
hardware running NEXTSTEP.  Executor/Linux (E/L) is an implementation that
runs under Linux, using X-Windows, with an SVGAlib version in the works.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.4.  How much does Executor cost?

Effective July 1, 1995, Here are the Executor 1.99 licensing fees:

who                E/NS         E/D          E/L

1.99 student        $99         $49          $49

1.99 educational    $99         $49          $49

1.99 commercial    $199         $99          $99

Shipping is free within the U.S.
International shipping (USPS Int'l Express) is $20

An Executor/Linux license allows you to use either the X-Windows version,
or the SVGAlib version (not yet released), but you can not use one and let
a friend use the other at the same time.  Eventually we'll merge the two
versions, but this may not happen until after 2.0 is released.

Students are full-time students, proof may be required before we accept a
student order.  Educational users are faculty or staff at educational
institutions (grade schools, high schools, colleges, universities)
purchasing Executor for use with the educational institution; everybody
else requires a commercial license.

A 1.99 Student licenses allows the holder to use both E/D and E/L for the
same $49 price (i.e. buy E/D as a student and you get to use E/L for free
and vice versa).  Educational and Commercial licensees can pay an
additional $25 to the E/L fee to receive an E/D license as well and vice
versa (i.e. buy a license for E/D and E/L as an educational instution for
$74 total).  NOTE: these dual use licenses still only allow one user at a
time to use Executor.  You may not keep the DOS license for yourself and
give the Linux license to a friend.

All 1.x owners, even those who bought Executor 1.0 a year and a half ago,
are entitled to free upgrades through and including 2.0.x, as long as the
upgrades are picked up electronically.  2.0.x releases will fix bugs in
2.0, but will not add new functionality.  Beyond 2.0, when new
functionality is added, there will be a small upgrade fee if you want the
the newer versions with the new functionality.

Once 2.0 is in beta, the 1.99 prices will no longer be valid.  2.0 will be
a shrink-wrapped product available from a variety of sources.  The
manufacturer's suggested retail price for 2.0 is:

who                      E/N             E/D             E/L

2.0 student              N/A             N/A             N/A

2.0 educational         $249            $125            $125

2.0 commercial          $499            $249            $249
It is unknown whether there will be be student pricing for 2.0, but if so,
it will be at least as expensive as the 1.99 student pricing.

All prices are subject to change.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.5.  Who makes Executor?

ARDI
Suite 4-101
1650 University Blvd., NE
Albuquerque, NM  87102

+1 505 766 9115 Phone
+1 505 247 1899 FAX

<questions@ardi.com> e-mail
<bugs@ardi.com> bug reports
<orders@ardi.com> information about ordering

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.6.  How do I order Executor?

Before you order, please read and understand Executor's current
limitations [see Q1.12 `What limitations does Executor 2.0 have?'] and
Executor's price [see Q1.4 `How much does Executor cost?'].  While
Executor is still in development, we specifically make demo versions [see
Q1.20 `Where can I pick up the Executor demos?'] available so you'll know
exactly what you're getting.  If you like what you see, you can mail us a
check [see Q1.5 `Who makes Executor?'], FAX us credit card information
(VISA, MasterCard or EuroCard only) or call us up so we can take down your
credit card information.  We do not currently run PGP, so sending credit
card information via e-mail is not recommended.

We accept purchase orders from most universities and most large companies,
but we reserve the right to refuse any purchase order.

NOTE:  All checks and money orders must be payable in U.S. funds and be
written from a U.S. bank.

NOTE: Credit Card orders must specify the name that is on the credit card,
the credit card number and the credit card expiration date, *and* you must
write down the amount of money you are authorizing us to charge, and why
(i.e. we don't want to inadvertantly bill you at the wrong price).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.7.  Pronunciation?

Ig-zek'-yu-tor

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.8.  How fast is Executor?

Executor converts mc680x0 instructions into 80x86 instructions and then
runs the new instructions.  There is some overhead associated with this
process, but for cpu intensive tasks, a 75 MHz 486DX4 will run
approximately as quickly as a 25 MHz 68040.  NOTE: Lately some people have
begun calling 25 MHz 68040s "50 MHz 68040s", but we're not using that
trickery in our description.  The paper /pub/SynPaper available on
ftp.ardi.com describes how we can run mc68040 code so quickly on an 80x86.
SynPaper compares a few different systems and shows that a 90 MHz Pentium
runs almost as fast as a 50 MHz 68040.

Graphics performance depends on which version of Executor you have, and
what type of video card you have.  Executor runs fastest when it can grab
the frame buffer and write directly to it.  We have recently rewritten
much of our low-level graphics and do not yet have a rule of thumb for
systems in general, although one of our testing machines is a 66 MHz DX2
with a built-in VLB video card and in 256 color mode it displays graphics
at about the same speed as our 25 MHz 68040 based Quadra 605 for some
common operations and at about half speed for less common operations.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.9.  Does Executor require ROMs or System Files from Apple?

No.  Executor reimplements from scratch the Macintosh Operating System and
Toolbox.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.10.  How long has Executor been in development?

Work began in September of 1986.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.11.  What techniques were used to rewrite the OS and Toolbox?

Entirely clean-room techniques.  That is to say none of the Apple ROMs or
Apple System File were ever disassembled.  Instead ROMlib (the section of
Executor that emulates the OS and Toolbox) was written from the manuals
"Inside Macintosh", and Tech. notes.  That isn't sufficient to get the
degree of compatibility that we need, so tests were written and run on
Macs to see what a real Mac would do.  In addition, we run applications
under Executor and when they deviate from how they would behave on a Mac,
we take a look at what is going on and fix Executor accordingly.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.12.  What limitations does Executor 2.0 have?

Because the OS and Toolbox have been rewritten from scratch, Executor 2.0
has many limitations, including no serial port access, no AppleTalk, no
sound, minimal System 7 support, no INITs, no CDEVs and no
Internationalization.

Due to limitations in PC hardware, Executor can read and write 1.4 MB Mac
formatted floppy disks, but can *not* read or write 800 KB floppy disks.

E/NS and E/L can print directly to a printer, E/D can only print to a
Postscript file that you can then send to a Postscript printer.

Although Executor 2.0 will provide minimal System 7 support, Executor
1.99n, the latest experimental version of Executor available, does not yet
support this feature.

We hope to support sound and serial port access within six months of
releasing Executor 2.0, but currently all our effort is concentrated on
preparing 2.0 for release, so that is only speculation.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.13.  If I have 800 KB floppies, what can I do?

Very little.  It is not ARDI's fault and there's nothing we can do about
it, but the way that Apple squeezed 800 KB onto floppies when PCs were
only getting 720 KB on floppies was to write more data on the floppy
tracks far from the center than on the tracks near the center.  This was
clever, but extremely incompatible.

There *are* ways to squeeze more information onto PC floppy drives than
PCs usually use.  However, these methods *cannot* be used to write or even
read 800 KB Macintosh formatted floppies.

Luckily, very little is supplied on 800 KB floppies anymore, but if you
have some, you're almost definitely going to need the use of a Macintosh
somewhere to copy the contents onto "HD" 1.4 MB formatted floppies (PCs
and Macs use the same low-level format for 1.4 MB floppies).

One Executor Enthusiast suggested using Kinko's public Macs for this
purpose, and this description was given:

1.  Moving 800 KB Mac Files onto 1.44 MB Macdisks.  The easiest thing
that I have found when working on a real Mac is to preformat the
Macdisks to 1.44 MB.  Insert the 1.44 MB disk and eject it with
(Cmd-E).  Then insert the 800 KB mac disk.  Drag the icon of the 800
KB disk over the 1.44 MB disk.  All the files will be transferred as
will the file names.  The Mactools fastcopy program can also copy
beteween densities.

2.  Kinko's Public Machines.  Kinko's public Macs are equipped with a
program known as "Desk Tracy" which is designed to stop people from
pirating Kinko's software from the harddisk.  The problem is that when
you are copying files between your own disks the program will still
trigger if the file has a namesake on the Kinko's machine. What you
will need to do is get a Kinko's employee to shut the program off,
which is obviously a discretionary call with them.  I didn't have a
problem and have done it twice, but we obviously will be using
different Kinko's.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.14.  Does Executor run all applications?

Currently, no.  In addition to applications that won't run because they
require something that we currently don't support (e.g.  System 7), due to
our rewriting of the OS and Toolbox, there is room for enough
incompatibility that many large programs do not work.  For this reason, we
make demo versions of Executor available for potential customers to run
before purchasing Executor [see Q1.20 `Where can I pick up the Executor
demos?'].

We are in the process of cataloging what we have tested.  A partial list
is available on ftp.ardi.com in /pub/AppNotes.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.15.  A particular program doesn't run now; will it under 2.0?

That question is very hard to answer here.  If the program relies on a
feature that won't be supported in 2.0, the answer is no; it won't run.
Programs that require QuickTime, QuickDraw GX, INITs, CDEVs or serial port
support are all examples of applications that won't run, even when 2.0
comes out.  This includes Newton Toolkit, an application that many of our
customers and potential customers have asked about.

In addition, the more esoteric and large an application is, the more
likely that if it has problems now, it may continue to have problems when
2.0 finally ships.  Large programs often are written by people that have
far more knowledge of the insides of Macs than we do, because they have
access to confidential information that we don't [see Q1.11 `What
techniques were used to rewrite the OS and Toolbox?'].  In addition, the
larger the program, the greater the chance that the program does something
that Executor did not anticipate -- remember, we have coded Executor in
accordance with the public specifications, but not all specifications are
necessarily public.

For common applications (business applications, home productivity
applications, games, etc.) we overcome this problem with huge amounts of
debug time.  We run the application in question and if it dies, we spend
long amounts of time figuring out just how it died.  By seeing what the
application was doing and what didn't work, we can usually figure out what
the application *wanted* to do, although it's as time consuming as being
blindfolded and putting together a large jigsaw puzzle -- when you're
drunk.

However, for some applications, such as programming environments, which
are very complex, but have comparatively few end-users, we can not yet
afford to put in the amount of time that it takes to get these
applications to run.  After 2.0 is shipping, we'll have greater revenues
and be able to hire more engineers.  Then we can attack all known bugs
simultaneously, but until then we have to prioritize, and as such, it's
quite possible that Think C and Think Pascal and other programming
environments won't run under Executor.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.16.  Will Newton Toolkit run under 2.0?

See Q1.15 `A particular program doesn't run now; will it under 2.0?'.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.17.  Will Think C or Think Pascal run under 2.0?

See Q1.15 `A particular program doesn't run now; will it under 2.0?'.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.18.  What percentage of applications will run under Executor?

This is another question that is tough to answer.  In fact, we wouldn't
even volunteer an answer, were it not for an unsolicited contribution from
an Executor Enthusiast.

For those interested in a workable programs for your 199m get Wayzata
Best of Macintosh Shareware for 19.95 from Tiger Software. It has 1500
programs all areas. I've tried about 500 and over 60% work on my
comp. It is a CD-ROM. Just make sure your CD-Rom drive letter is H or
lower for Executor to 'see' it.  Most of the programs I've tried are
1990 or earlier, even though I did get one which required Sys 7.0 to
work.
NOTE: this is not an endorsement of that particular shareware disk, but
60% for 1.99m (higher for 1.99n) is in keeping with what we see when we
take CD-ROMs filled with software and try the software under Executor.
However, when someone tests 500 applications, it's quite possible that the
testing is minimal and even an application that seems to work may have
trouble when you use a particular function.  As ARDI grows, we'll do more
and more testing in house, but we are upfront about Executor's current
limitations and, as such, encourage people to test the Executor demo
themselves.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.19.  What do the various Executor version numbers mean?

Any 1.x release other than 1.99 is a black and white release.  Any release
that ends in a lower case letter is technically an "experimental" release.
In general, experimental releases are pre-beta or beta releases that will
eventually be released with a higher version number.

The most recent non-experimental release of Executor/NEXTSTEP is version
1.3.  The most recent non-experimental release of Executor/DOS is 1.2.
There has not yet been a non-experimental release of Executor/Linux.

Currently, with the recent addition of color support to Executor, Executor
is experimental for all platforms.  We are trying to release new versions
for all platforms in lockstep, so 1.99b has roughly the same feature set
and bug set under DOS, Linux and NEXTSTEP.  Unfortunately, we haven't
released a NEXTSTEP release in a while; see Q4.1 `Why hasn't there been an
Executor/NEXTSTEP release in a while?' for an explanation.

In addition to complete experimental release of Executor, the BleedingEdge
directory within the ARDI ftp site and its mirrors may also contain
individual components that are still newer yet.  In general these new
components have received next to no testing, but are known to solve
specific problems that our customers have reported.  This allows us to get
immediate feedback when we think we've solved a problem, rather than
having to wait for the next experimental release, only to find out that
perhaps our bug-fix didn't work or had unexpected unpleasant side-effects.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.20.  Where can I pick up the Executor demos?

The canonical place to find Executor demos is ftp.ardi.com.  However,
ftp.ardi.com is currently only connected to the Internet via a 28.8kb
modem, and as such is really only useful to provide data for mirror sites.
When you connect to ftp.ardi.com it will give you a current list of those
mirror sites.

As long as they put up with us, the primary mirror site for ftp.ardi.com
is ftp.cs.unm.edu in /pub/ardi.  However, ftp.cs.unm.edu does not have the
bandwidth to accept many simultaneous users, so now that we're happy with
the stability of our color experimental versions, we also make them
available on the traditional sites for commercial demos of the given
platform.  See the platform specific answers for a list of these sites.

We don't mind people making our current experimental versions available on
other sites, but *please* be sure to include all the READMEs and FAQs
which will allow users to find more current versions of Executor as
they're released.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.21.  Where is the Cmd (Clover) and Option key?

On a PC keyboard, Executor uses the left "Alt" key as a Cmd key and the
right "Alt" key as the Option key.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.22.  How do I use my authorization key?

If you've paid the license fee [see Q1.4 `How much does Executor cost?'],
you will be issued a serial number and an authorization key.  To get to
the panel that allows you to enter these, click on the initial "Info"
button, and read the information on each of the screens that is presented
to you.  You will have to click on the "Next" button after you are
finished reading each panel.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.23.  Is Executor shareware?

No.  Executor is a commercial program available from ARDI.  Unregistered
demo versions are the only versions that should be found on bulletin
boards or FTP sites.  If you find a non-limited version of Executor
available to download, it was put there illegally.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.24.  How do the demo versions differ from the commercial versions?

Prior to Executor 1.99j, ARDI released two separate versions of each
Executor/DOS and Executor/Linux release: a time-limited demo, and a
full-fledged commercial version.  NEXTSTEP versions could be "unlocked" by
entering a serial number and registration key purchased from ARDI.

Starting with 1.99j, all versions of Executor have been released in a
"locked" demo form.  The locked demos are time limited to ten minutes of
use.  Once your ten minutes are up, you are thrown out, but you can
restart the program again and run for another ten minutes as many times as
you want.

See Q1.41 `How do Executor's "license keys" work?' for more information.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.25.  What's next?

Our immediate goal is to get Executor 2.0 out.  Back before 1.99 was out,
we had a set of goals for what would be in 2.0.  We have had enough
trouble implementing 32-bit color QuickDraw that we have had to pare some
features out of what we had orginally proposed for the 2.0 feature set.
Features present in 2.0 are *still* subject to change, but our current
plans are to add:

* NEXTSTEP port
* International keyboard support
* Support for thousands of colors and millions of colors (16 & 24 bpp)
* Minimal System 7 support (Apple Events, System 7 file manager calls)
* Better documentation
* Browser improvements
* Better error messages

We also have a set of general and platform specific bugs that we need to
have fixed before we can freeze 2.0.

Beyond 2.0, we want to make Executor compatible with Apple's System 7.5,
so you'll be able to purchase a copy of System 7.5, install it on top of
Executor and get even more compatibility and features.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.26.  When will 2.0 be out?

The answer here is embarrassing.  Our original target was summer of 1994.
It is now looking like we'll go beta in August of 1995 and have a
shrink-wrapped product in October of 1995.

Here's what is planned between now and when 2.0 ships:

1.99o will have most of what's mentioned in Q1.25 `What's next?'.
Tentatively, 1.99o is the last of the 1.99<x> experimental releases.

Beyond 1.99o we will fly one of our three core engineers out to
Albuquerque (he normally works out of Boston) and have two separate two
week "hackathons", where without having to worry about getting a new
version out the door, and without any of us having to add new
functionality or chase DOS extenders, we'll work exclusively on making
more applications run.

After the "hackathon" is finished, Executor will go into a six week beta
period where we only fix major bugs.  We will document minor bugs.  During
this time we'll also be working on our packaging and documentation,
working on our list of how well apps work, lining up our distributors,
writing our press releases and placing our ads in popular magazines.

After those six weeks have elapsed, 2.0 will ship.  That's the plan,
anyway.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.27.  How can I get in ARDI's beta program?

Our beta program is really boring.  The only thing that you get that you
can't get over the net is an actual set of floppies that contain
installation scripts.  As such, we really don't need new beta members.
Just pick up the experimental versions and keep us informed.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.28.  Does Executor have networking support?

Currently, no.  Nor, will it be available in Executor 2.0.  Networking
support is planned for release 3.0, but we do not yet have an estimated
date of completion for 3.0.  The first platform to have networking support
built in will probably be Linux.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.29.  How do you install Fonts and Desk Accessories (DAs)?

Starting with 1.99n, you just drag them into the hot-band and our browser
will do the right thing.  However, even in 2.0, we only support bit-mapped
fonts, not Type 1 or TrueType fonts.  In addition, in 1.99n, there is a
bug which causes the hot-band to forget which desk accessories have been
loaded, which then makes it imposible to remove desk accessories.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.30.  Will Desk Accessories work under Executor?

Currently Desk Accessory support is very weak; most will not run.  Now
that 1.99n has been released, we'll spruce up our DA code and work on
insuring that some of the more popular DAs work.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.31.  Does Executor run xxx?

With all the rush to get 2.0 out the door ASAP, we're putting our testing
people to work testing new experimental versions, instead of testing 1.2.
There is plenty that 1.2 will not run, and as such, we recommend people
try out the demo before purchasing Executor.

We will be making a list of what runs and what doesn't available on
ftp.ardi.com in /pub/AppNotes.  There is another similar list in our
unofficial WWW pages [see Q1.2 `How can I get more information about
Executor?'].  When we provide official WWW pages, we'll merge both lists.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.32.  What's the best way to keep informed about Executor?

Join the Executor Interest mailing list.  That's where the Executor
Enthusiasts are.  Send a message to <executor-request@nacm.com>.  Make
sure your subject line is blank and your message body says:
subscribe
We try to post important events to the net, and send new release
information via U.S. mail to our current customers, but the Executor
mailing list is where we post news about our experimental versions and
where you can send mail to talk with other people who are using Executor.

If you'd rather get the Executor Interest information in a daily digest
form, send the same subscribe message to
<executor-digest-request@nacm.com>, instead of
<executor-request@nacm.com>.

To remove yourself from either mailing list, send a message to the address
that you used to subscribe, saying:
unsubscribe
This will work only if you send the unsubscribe message from the same
account that you used to send the subscribe message.  You can also send a
message of "help" to executor-request and more information about how to
use it will be e-mailed to you.  If you are still having trouble, you can
send e-mail to <majordomo-owner@nacm.com> and that will be processed by a
person, although it may take a few days for the person to get around to to
your request.

Even after you have unsubscribed to the list, you will continue to get any
messages that were posted to the list before you unsubscribed but were not
actually sent immediately, but once you have unsubscribed, any new
messages that come in will not be sent to you.

The Executor Interest mailing list is administered by a Executor
Enthusiast.  We do not directly control the list.  Lately there has been a
request that we operate a mailing list for announcements only.  Although
we can't provide that right now, we're hoping the digestification will
make such a separate list much less needed.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.33.  What's the Executor Interest mailing list?

See Q1.32 `What's the best way to keep informed about Executor?'.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.34.  Why shouldn't I send e-mail to <ctm@ardi.com>?

Cliff gets tons of e-mail.  E-mail sent to <questions@ardi.com> is
answered much more punctually.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.35.  What is an HFV file?

Executor has the ability to store an entire Macintosh "volume" (i.e.
filesystem corresponding to a disk drive or a partition within a disk
drive) in a DOS or UNIX file.  Under DOS, this feature is very handy
because there is no way to have files with long names and upper and lower
case characters in their names unless you use an HFV file.  See Q1.47
`What is makehfv?'.

In general, HFV files should have filenames that end in ".hfv".

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.36.  Can I launch applications directly from the command line?

Yes.  If an application resides within a UNIX or DOS filesystem, you can
specify the name of the application, and documents that you would like the
application to open when it starts up, on the command line.  Applications
that reside in HFV files are specified using colons to delimit the
pathname, e.g. "MyVolume:directory:application".

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.37.  What are all the command line switches?

If you run executor "-help" it will list all the command line switches it
knows about and give a brief description of what they do.

Here is a list of the most useful switches.

The relatively new switch "nobrowser" prevents Executor from trying to run
the file browser upon startup.  Sometimes this is a handy to start an
appliction a little more quickly and other times it can be useful if the
browser save file gets corrupted and the browser refuses to run.

The switches bpp, refresh and shadow all affect how the screen is
emulated.  The number of bits per pixel that the program running under
Executor sees is specified by bpp.  If bpp is set to 1, then there are
only two "colors" (black and white) available.  If it is set to 8, then
256 colors are available.  For Executor/DOS, you need a SVGA board with a
VESA compatible driver to get 8 bits per pixel and screen sizes larger
than 640x480.

When Executor first starts up, a "splash screen" is printed.  You can omit
this splash screen with the nosplash switch.

One of the hardest things to emulate properly is the internal timing
mechanisms of a Macintosh.  Sometimes it is desirable to turn off our
clock emulation.  The noclock switch does this.

When Executor displays a standard "get" or "put" dialog box, there is a
button marked "drive" that allows you to cycle through the Macintosh
volumes that Executor knows about.  You can use the drivecheck switch to
have Executor examine your DOS drives each time you click the "drive"
button.  In general, this is more annoying than it is useful.

The switches applzone, syszone and stack control how much memory is
allocated to the application, the system, and the application stack.  In
general, if you have more memory, you should override the default applzone
and allow Executor to use more memory.

For X windows users, privatecmap specifies that Executor should use a
private colormap.  This is the fastest graphics mode and gives you the
most accurate colors, but at the expense of radically changed colors in
your other windows whenever the cursor is in the Executor window, and
radically changed colors in the Executor window whenever the cursor is
outside of it.  Because this is annoying, this mode is not the default.
When not in this mode, the pixels in Executor's internal frame buffer are
converted to the nearest X colors before being drawn to the screen.

Executor/Linux has problems drawing the cursor on some X-Windows servers.
When this happens, the cursor is drawn in "inverted video".  You can start
E/L with the "-invertedcursorbug" in such a situation and that will fix
the problem.

Executor 1.99<x> uses a new "synthetic CPU" which is much faster than the
synthetic CPU in previous releases of Executor.  The speed increase is due
to our use of native code; Executor now translates the 68k code being
emulated into 80x86 code "on the fly" and runs the 80x86 code.  However,
like anything that is new, there's a chance that our improvement has some
hidden drawbacks.  You can turn off the use of native code by specifying
nativecode 0.

Here is an example of some of those switches:

executor -applzone 4096 -noclock -nativecode 0

That would allocate 4 MB of memory for the applications use, turn off our
clock emulation and revert to a slower type of 68LC040 emulation -- an
unlikely combination of switches.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.38.  Are there other parameters I can adjust? [aka "Preferences Panel"]

Yes, When Executor is running, you can hold down Cmd-Shift-5 and get a
preferences panel.  That panel will let you adjust various settings,
similar to, but not as slick, as a Macintosh Control Panel.  If you Save a
preferences panel configuration, the values are saved for the particular
application you are running at the time.  This is handy, because some
games need to be run in 16 colors mode, so you can have Executor do that
automatically.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.39.  Can I have Executor use more than 8 MB for the application zone?

In 1.99n and previous releases, no.  Starting with 1.99o, you can use up
to 16 MB for the applzone.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.40.  An application I'm trying crashes.  What should I do?

Perhaps the most common avoidable cause of crashes is insufficient memory
for the emulated application.  You can fix this by increasing the
"applzone" parameter.  For example, many programs which normally die
quickly will work with "executor -applzone 4096" (which allocates 4 MB of
space for the emulated application; see the list of command line switches
and their meanings elsewhere in this document).

DOS NOTE: If you run "executor -info", it will tell you how much DPMI
memory is available and how much memory is being used by the applzone,
syszone and stack.  If there is less DPMI memory available than the sum of
the applzone, syszone and stack memory requirements, then Executor will
page between DPMI memory and a special "paging" disk file.  This paging
slows you down and also consumes disk space.  It is possible to manually
override the applzone, syszone and stack defaults with smaller values, but
when you do so, you run the risk of not having enough memory for an
application to run.  Unfortunately, Macintosh programs are often not
polite at all when they do not have enough memory.  The Lemmings demo is
an example of such a program; if you run that program on a real Mac and
only give it 1200k of memory, wierd errors will occur.  Doing the same
under Executor will also yield wierd errors.  If Executor needs to make a
paging file, and there is not enough disk space to create one, you will
get an error message during Executor's startup.

Some programs are unhappy when they discover that Executor does not
provide sound support, and crash.  You can turn on the "pretend sound"
option before running the application in question and see if this helps.
In addition, some programs have menu items, or preference check boxes that
can be used to disable sound.  It is always recommended that you disable
sound from within a program in addition to using the Executor sound
preferences.

One example of a program that will have problems with sound is "Ultimate
Solitaire".  If you do not disable sound from within Ultimate Solitaire,
the game will play fine, until you win.  At that point it will tell
Executor to start playing a sound and request that Executor notify it when
the sound is done playing.  Even with "pretend sound" enabled, this will
result in Ultimate Solitaire hanging after you win a game.

Some programs also save preferences in a file, and if something bad
happens to that file, the program can then get confused and will not run
properly.  Occasionally this happens to Microsoft Word, and you need to
use HFS_XFer to delete the file "Word Preferences" from your "System
Folder".

Although it should not happen, even our file browser keeps a file around
that can cause trouble if it becomes corrupt.  That file is "godata.sav".
It stores which folders you have open and the contents of your "hot-band".
If that file gets corrupt, the file browser may not run.  In the rare case
that the browser won't run, you can use the "-nobrowser" switch when you
start Executor to bypass the browser, then you can run a program and from
that program you can bring up HFS_XFer and find and rename "godata.sav"
and see if that fixes the problem with the browser.

The "noclock" switch has also been known to help.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.41.  How do Executor's "license keys" work?

We have now added this "unlocking" capability to the DOS and Linux
versions.  NEXTSTEP versions have always had license keys.  Now any
Executor owner can pick up the latest Executor release from the Internet,
"unlock" it with his serial number and registration key, and take
advantage of the latest features and bug fixes.  This does not mean that
all future upgrades will be available for free in this mode, but we intend
to make "minor" upgrades free.

The "unlocking" process actually modifies your copy of Executor, stamping
*your* serial number into it permanently.  For this reason, once you have
registered a copy of Executor, you may not redistribute it, nor should you
leave it on an unprotected machine, where someone may illegally copy it.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.42.  Don't your "license keys" allow people to pirate Executor?

No.  If the proper license fee has not been paid to ARDI, then the use of
a fully registered copy of Executor is illegal, no matter how it was
acquired.  It is true that since license serial number, authorization key
pairs are small bits of text, it is easier to disseminate unauthorized
serial key pairs than it is to disseminate unauthorized Executor binaries,
but that's beside the point.

We decided to use serial numbers and authorization keys as a convenience
to our customers, especially while we're still pressing toward the release
of 2.0 and each new experimental copy is (usually!) much better than the
one that preceeded it.  We prefer prosecuting the pirates to punishing our
patrons.

Our demo mode allows the honest person to evaluate our product before
making the decision to purchase it and become a customer.  The use of an
authorization key allows our customers to automatically participate in our
beta and even pre-beta testing.  This leads to faster development cycles
and a better product.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.43.  I want to bundle Executor on a CD-ROM.  Can I do that?

The short answer is "yes".

You are able to freely copy and distribute demo versions of Executor, as
long as you follow the restrictions set forth in Executor's license panel:

  Complete, unregistered distributions of Executor may be   copied and
redistributed as long as all copies are   unmodified and contain all of
the original files in their   entirety.  Once it is registered, Executor
may be copied   only for backup purposes.  Licensee may not modify or
create   derivative works based on Executor or any part thereof.

A suggestion: contact us to make sure you have the latest version of
Executor.  We can tell you if a new release is imminent.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.44.  Why do some applications claim I don't have an FPU?

The problem is probably that the applications you are trying to use try to
directly manipulate the FPU unit that some Macintoshes have.

The key words are "directly manipulate".  Apple warned software makers to
not directly manipulate the FPU, but to instead use their numerics library
("SANE" Standard Apple Numerics Environment).  Programs that don't use
SANE, but directly manipulate the FPU run faster on macs that have FPUs,
but don't run at all on Macs that don't have FPUs.  If that is actually
the source of your problems, then such programs also wouldn't run on Apple
machines like the Quadra 605.  This limitation is also present on Apple's
PowerPC based Macs.

One workaround for this problem is an "INIT" called "SoftFPU".  SoftFPU
will make a Mac without a co-processor work as though there is one there,
however the floating point computation will be done very slowly.
Unfortunately, SoftFPU can't be used with Executor, because, currently,
Executor doesn't support INITs.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.45.  Can Executor run Japanese system software?

Not in 2.0, and 3.0 will not be out in 1995.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.46.  Why does Compact Pro have trouble with multi-volume archives?

Executor versions 1.99n and earlier take a short cut that causes trouble
for some programs; Compact Pro is one of them.  The problem is that a real
Macintosh can keep track of volumes that are not physically in the drive.
That is why Macintoshes sometimes tell you to put one disk in their floppy
drive, then they eject it and ask for another one, then eject it and ask
for the first one.  Executor currently isn't so clever.  When a disk is
ejected, Executor forgets about it.  Few programs count on the behaviour
of a real Mac, but those that do currently won't work with Executor.

In Compact Pro's case you can just copy all of the pieces of the archive
to your hard disk, then open the last piece from the hard disk and
everything will work properly.  This workaround requires more hard disk
space than you'd need if you could just read the pieces off a succession
of floppies.

This problem probably will be fixed by the time 2.0 is released, although
since it affects very few programs, it's not as high priority as some
other known bugs.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.47.  What is makehfv?

The program makehfv (formerly called mkvol) allows you to create virtual
Macintosh volumes [see Q1.35 `What is an HFV file?'].  It is now part of
all Executor distributions, although it is more useful under DOS than
under Linux or NEXTSTEP.

To use makehfv you need to pick a name for the new HFV file, a name for
the Macintosh volume that your new HFV file will represent and the number
of 512 byte sectors that you want the HFV file to use.  Here's an example
that creates a file named "bigtest.hfv" that will appear in Executor as
"BigTest" and will have 10 MB (1 MB = 2048 512 byte blocks) of space in
it.

makehfv bigtest.hfv BigTest 20480
Executor/DOS will automatically see HFV files if they are placed in the
same directory as executor.exe, which is usually C:EXECUTOR and their
names have the suffix ".hfv".

Executor/Linux will automatically see HFV files if they are placed in the
same directory as ExecutorVolume (NOTE: *not* in ExecutorVolume itself),
which is usually /usr/local/lib/executor and their names have the suffix
".hfv".

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.48.  How can I create my own HFV files?

See Q1.47 `What is makehfv?'.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.49.  How can I use Mac software from the internet?

Find a site that legitimately has Mac software for use.  There is a
Macintosh FAQ that lists many sites, here are some them:

* grind.isca.uiowa.edu : /mac/infomac (USA)
* wuarchive.wustl.edu : /systems/mac/info-mac (USA)
* ftp.technion.ac.il : /pub/unsupported/mac (Israel)
* ftp.sunset.se : /pub/mac (Sweden)
* src.doc.ic.ac.uk : /packages/info-mac (UK)

Before transferring a large application, you might want to see what the
requirements of that application are, most sites have a collection of
small notes about applications that you can look at first.

Use BINARY mode to transfer the files that you want to use.  Files whose
names end in ".hqx" are usually the easiest to handle.

Under DOS, you need to make an HFV file [see Q1.47 `What is makehfv?']
that will be large enough to hold the files as you've downloaded them and
also hold the files after they've been expanded.  Once you've made the HFV
file, copy all the files you've downloaded into it, then follow the
remaining directions.

Under all operating systems, your next step is to run Stuffit Expander
ande use the "Expand..." menu item from the "File" menu to open each of
the files you've downloaded.  In general, especially when dealing with
files whose names end in ".hqx", Stuffit Expander will do the right thing.
However, some sites do not store files in ".hqx" format, and Stuffit
Expander may fail.  Remember, under DOS, you must do the Stuffit Expansion
inside an HFV file.

If Stuffit Expander fails, you can try using the Get Info option of
Executor's browser to change the creator and type information of the file.
If you believe the downloaded file in question is a Stuffit Archive, you
can change the type and creator each to "SIT!" and then try Stuffit
Expander again.  If you believe the downloaded file is a Compact Pro
archive, you can change the type to "CPCT" and the type to "PACT" and then
try Stuffit Expander again.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.50.  How can I use Mac software from Bulletin Boards?

In general, follow the procedure in Q1.49 `How can I use Mac software from
the internet?' -- know the limitations of what Executor can run, transfer
in binary mode and use Stuffit Expander to unpack the files you download.
Just like with files downloaded from the internet, sometimes you'll need
to change the file type and creator, first.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.51.  How can I use Mac software from AOL?

AOL uses a format that Stuffit Expander under Executor has trouble with.
For DOS/Windows users, use this workaround.  Get a copy of unstuff.exe
(available on AOL compressed as unsitins.exe) and use the -mb tag to
convert your downloaded files to MacBinary format before ever moving them
into Executor.  E.g.:

unstuff -mb somefile.sit
And you'll get somefile with a different extension.

Then start up Executor and use BinHex's Download --> Application function
to convert the file to an application and move it into an Executor volume
simultaneously.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.52.  How does your Browser show file size?

As of 1.99n, you can't do this.  We will fix this deficiency by the time
2.0 ships.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.53.  How does your Browser show free space?

As of 1.99n, you can't do this.  We will fix this deficiency by the time
2.0 ships.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.54.  Why do some installers not work?

Currently there are two major classes of application installers that are
known not to work with Executor.  Installers based on Apple's Installer
break, and installers based on Bill Goodman's "Smaller Installer" also do
not work.  An example of the former is Microsoft Word 5's installer, an
example of the latter is Maelstrom 1.4.

The exact reasons these installers is not known.  We have made some
progress with "Smaller Installer" based installers and hope to have them
running by the time 2.0 ships; we are less sure about Installers based on
Apple's installer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.55.  What is Speedometer?

Speedometer is a shareware application that we have included with Executor
for demonstrational purposes.  We have done so with permission of
Speedometer's author, Scott Berfield.  It benchmarks Macintoshes (and PCs
running Executor) to find out how quickly their CPU, graphics, floating
point and disk subsystems work.  The current version of Speedometer is
Speedometer 4.x, but that uses a timing mechanism that Executor currently
doesn't support.  Speedometer 3.23 can give you a rough approximation of
how quickly your PC is emulating a Mac.  Remember, Speedometer is
shareware, and ARDI has not paid the shareware fee for you.  If you
repeatedly use Speedometer, please register it with Scott.

Speedometer will show you that Executor is a very efficient emulator.
Please note, ARDI has not put special hooks into Executor to recognize
Speedometer's code and bypass it; Speedometer is treated just like any
other application when run under Executor.  Yes, it would be possible for
us to cheat and make Speedometer return values that are higher than you
could expect to see in real life, but we don't do that sort of thing.
Speedometer 4.0 produces ridiculously high numbers under Executor, but
that is due to our not supporting the higher resolution timing mechanisms
that Speedometer 4.0 uses.  We are working with Scott to make sure that
future versions of Executor and Speedometer do not have this problem --
luckly, the 4.0 numbers are so high that it's obvious they are mistaken.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1.56.  How can I get a screen dump of Executor?

Starting with 1.99o, just type Cmd-Shift-3, just like on a Mac.  The
difference is that the screen shot will be in TIFF format (uncompresed,
for now) and will be written in the directory that contains executor.exe
under DOS, or in /tmp under Linux and NEXTSTEP.

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

Section 2.  Executor/DOS

 Q2.1        Which FTP sites will carry stable versions of Executor/DOS?
 Q2.2        What are the hardware requirements for Executor/DOS?
 Q2.3        What do I do if my Super VGA card isn't VESA compliant?
 Q2.4        E/D dies during startup.  Why?
 Q2.5        What causes error -42 when transferring files
 Q2.6        Why does my screen look funny when I run Executor?
 Q2.7        What's "GrSetMode ; unknown adapter type in driver." mean?
 Q2.8        Does E/D require an ASPI driver to access SCSI?
 Q2.9        Have you released Executor for OS/2 yet?
 Q2.10       Why won't Executor/DOS work with my Diamond Viper PCI card?
 Q2.11       Why doesn't my mouse work when I run Executor under OS/2 Warp?
 Q2.12       Any OS/2 Warp suggestions?
 Q2.13       Does Executor work under Windows '95?
 Q2.14       How do I get E/D to see my CD-ROM drive?
 Q2.15       Executor dies, what should I do?
 Q2.16       Should I have sent in my registration card?
 Q2.17       How does printing work under E/D?
 Q2.18       Why does E/D under Windows 3.x have problems hot-keying?
 Q2.19       Why can't I eject or format my DOS formatted floppy?
 Q2.20       Why the white border on the screen?
 Q2.21       Do E/D and QEMM fight?
 Q2.22       How can I speed up Executor/DOS?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 2.1.  Which FTP sites will carry stable versions of Executor/DOS?

The first place a new version of E/D will appear is ftp.ardi.com in
/pub/Executor_DOS.  However, when you log on to ftp.ardi.com, a list of
mirrors will be provided and the mirrors are usually much faster than
ftp.ardi.com.  However, once we're happy with the stability of an
Executor/DOS release, we put a copy on the SimTel mirrors.

The primary SimTel mirror is oak.oakland.edu, and you can find the
Executor/DOS demo within the "SimTel/msdos/emulator" directory.  Look for
exec199?.zip (where ? is a letter, the further into the alphabet the
letter, the more recent the experimental release).  Other SimTel mirrors
are:

* wuarchive.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4) : /systems/ibmpc/msdos (St. Louis,
  MO)
* archive.orst.edu (128.193.2.13) : /pub/mirrors/simtel/msdos (Corvallis,
  OR)
* archie.au (139.130.4.6) : /micros/pc/oak (Australia)
* src.doc.ic.ac.uk (146.169.2.10) : /pub/packages/simtel (England)
* ftp.funet.fi (128.214.248.6) : /pub/msdos/SimTel (Finland)
* ftp.ibp.fr (132.227.60.2) : /pub/msdos (France)
* ftp.uni-paderborn.de (131.234.2.32) : /SimTel/msdos (Germany)
* ftp.cs.cuhk.hk (137.189.4.57) : /pub/simtel/msdos (Hong Kong)
* ftp.technion.ac.il (132.68.1.10) : /pub/unsupported/dos/simtel (Israel)
* ftp.cyf-kr.edu.pl (149.156.1.8) : /pub/mirror/msdos (Poland)
* ftp.sunet.se (130.238.127.3) : /pub/pc/mirror/SimTel/msdos (Sweden)
* ftp.switch.ch (130.59.1.40) : /mirror/msdos (Switzerland)
* NCTUCCCA.edu.tw (140.111.1.10) : /PC/simtel (Taiwan)
* ftp.nectec.or.th (192.150.251.32) : /pub/mirrors/msdos (Thailand)

See also Q1.20 `Where can I pick up the Executor demos?'

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Question 2.2.  What are the hardware requirements for Executor/DOS?

For Executor/DOS 1.2 you need a '386 or better, VGA, 7 MB disk space, a
3.5" 1.44 MB floppy drive, and 4 MB RAM.  A SCSI Controller is needed only
if you want to access external Macintosh hard disks or PowerBooks.

Executor/DOS 1.99<x> should work in sixteen colors on any VGA, although we
do not have the facilities to test more than a few in house.  In addition,
if you have a Super VGA that is VESA 1.0 compliant, Executor/DOS should be
able to provide 256 colors and a range of screen sizes.  Beginning with
E/D 1.99n, if you have a video card that is VESA 2.0 compliant, Executor's
graphics will be even faster.

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Question 2.3.  What do I do if my Super VGA card isn't VESA compliant?

There is a shareware SVGA utility that provides VESA compliance for SVGA
cards that normally are not VESA compliant.  At the time this FAQ was last
modified, univbe51.zip was the most recent release of this extender.

It is not a product of ARDI, but as a convenience to people picking up
experimental versions of Executor, the file univbe51.zip is available on
/ftpon ftp.ardi.com in /ftpin /pub/ardi/Executor_DOS.  If you use it, you
should pay the shareware fee as described in the documentation included in
the zip file.  If you have a recent SVGA card you probably don't need
univbe.  There may be a more recent version of univbe on /ftpon
oak.oakland.edu in /ftpin /SimTel/msdos/graphics.  This directory also has
several other card specific VESA drivers, some of which can be found in
vesa-tsr.zip and vesadrv2.zip.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 2.4.  E/D dies during startup.  Why?

The most common cause of E/D not running under DOS is the lack of file
descriptors that you might get if you don't have the line:

FILES=30
in your config.sys.  If Executor is giving you trouble and you don't have
such a line in your config.sys file, please add it, or if you have a
smaller number than 30, please increase your number to 30.  There is no
reason to decrease your number if it is greater than 30.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 2.5.  What causes error -42 when transferring files

Error -42 is the error code generated inside a Macintosh when too many
files are open.  Executor internally generates this error when the
underlying operating system disallows the opening of a file.  This error
is usually symptomatic of not properly setting FILES in your config.sys
[see Q2.4 `E/D dies during startup.  Why?'].

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Question 2.6.  Why does my screen look funny when I run Executor?

Your video driver may not be fully VESA compliant.  If Executor detects
VESA compliance, it will try to use VESA modes.  In general, this is a
good thing, however, if these modes have bugs in them, Executor will
invoke the bugs, and Executor may fail.  Try getting a newer driver for
your video card if this happens [see Q2.3 `What do I do if my Super VGA
card isn't VESA compliant?'].

NOTE:  If you run Executor with the "-info" switch, Executor will print
out information it finds out about your video card.  That information may
be helpful in tracking down your problem.

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Question 2.7.  What's "GrSetMode ; unknown adapter type in driver." mean?

You must be running an *old* version of Executor; this error cannot occur
in versions >= 1.99h.

1.99b had problems when Microsoft's display.sys driver is in config.sys.
We have updated the code that had this problem and hope that the problem
is now fixed.  If it is not, you must remove display.sys from the
config.sys section you use when you're using Executor/DOS.  Please report
this bug if you see it in E/D 1.99e or later.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 2.8.  Does E/D require an ASPI driver to access SCSI?

If your SCSI drivers patch the "INT 13" BIOS calls, then an ASPI driver is
not needed.  As long as "INT 13" can allow Executor to read a SCSI drive,
there is no need to use ASPI.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 2.9.  Have you released Executor for OS/2 yet?

We plan on making an OS/2 specific version of Executor, but only after we
get Executor 2.0 shipping.  However, Executor 1.99l is reported to work
well under OS/2 Warp.

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Question 2.10.  Why won't Executor/DOS work with my Diamond Viper PCI card?

Executor/DOS requires VESA compliant graphics cards.  Many cards are not
directly VESA compliant and need a tsr to be run before they will work
with Executor/DOS.  On a Gateway computer, you can do this with the
"vprmode VESA" command [see Q2.3 `What do I do if my Super VGA card isn't
VESA compliant?'].

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Question 2.11.  Why doesn't my mouse work when I run Executor under OS/2 Warp?

If it's not already there, you may need to add this line:
DEVICE=C:\OS2\MDOS\VMOUSE.SYS
to your CONFIG.SYS.  This, and related issues, are described on pages
206-207 of _User's Guide to OS/2 Warp_.  This line should already have
been added for you when you installed Warp.

Also, you may need to load MOUSE.COM in your AUTOEXEC.BAT, for example:
LOADHIGH C:\OS2\MDOS\MOUSE.COM
You can also create an AUTOEXEC file specifically for Executor, place it
in the same directory as Executor, and configure Warp to execute that file
whenever you launch Executor.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 2.12.  Any OS/2 Warp suggestions?

We have not yet installed our copy of OS/2 Warp (our particular SCSI
adaptor isn't supported by default, and we've been swamped with other
things), but an Executor Enthusiast sent this advice:

I haven't been having any problems with running Executor/Dos in
OS/2. What he needs to do (assuming he has Warp) is to run "Add
Programs" object in the "System Setup" folder. This will make a object
for Executor on his desktop (usually in the "Additional Dos Programs"
folder). Go into the settings for that object, and select the
"Session" tab. Set it to "Dos Full Screen", and choose "Dos
Settings". He wants "All Dos Settings". Primarily, Executor needs the
"DPMI Memory Limit" set to 16 megs, and "DPMI Memory Limit" set to
enabled. Since it defaults to 4 megs and automatic, it won't work. For
additional performance, he should set "Dos High" to on, "EMS Memory
Limit" to 0, "Video 8514a XGA IOtrap" to off, "Video Retrace
Emulation" to off, "XMS Memory Limit" to 0, and "XMS Minimum HMA" to
63. The biggest boost comes from "Session Priority". Set this to at
least 16, and if he is going to run no other programs, set it
higher. If he is going to run other programs, this should be left
at 16, and the "Dos Backround Execution" needs to be set to on.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 2.13.  Does Executor work under Windows '95?

Several users have reported that Executor/DOS 1.99l works well under
Windows '95.  We have not yet created a version of Executor specifically
for Windows '95, but we plan to do so in the future.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 2.14.  How do I get E/D to see my CD-ROM drive?

Executor accesses CD-ROMs through the Microsoft CD-ROM Extensions
(mscdex).  You need to have mscdex installed on your machine for Executor
to see your CD-ROM.  Furthermore, Executor is fussy and will not deal with
MS-DOS drives that contain Macintosh formatted media, unless the drive
letter is "J" or less.  If your CD-ROM drive letter is higher than J, you
will need to renumber it to be less than or equal to J.

Under Windows '95, there is a different way to access CD-ROMs -- a way
that Executor doesn't use.  However, Windows '95 can also use mscdex.  To
do so, you need to find and remove the:

rem - By Windows 95 Setup
portion from fthe mscdex line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.  You will also
need to edit your CONFIG.SYS file and make sure the CD-ROM driver is also
not commented out.

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Question 2.15.  Executor dies, what should I do?

If Executor dies even running the demo applications, try temporarily
moving your config.sys and autoexec.bat files aside and create minimal
versions of each, leaving only the lines that you need to initialize your
mouse driver and the
FILES=30
line in your config.sys.  Then try running Executor.  If Executor then
starts working, you will have to slowly add back the things that are in
your normal autoexec.bat and config.sys files until you know exactly what
is causing the problem.  Once you know that, you should send information
to <bugs@ardi.com>.

If Executor only dies on a particular application, try increasing the
amount of RAM dedicated to the application by using the "-applzone" switch
when you run Executor.  Also try turning on "Pretend Sound" [see Q1.38
`Are there other parameters I can adjust? [aka "Preferences Panel"]'], or
if the screen seems to be only partially updated, try turning on
"Refresh".

Once you've done as much as you can to figure out the problem, send a bug
report to <bugs@ardi.com>.  Run Executor with the "-info" switch and
include that information.  Make sure you also include the version of
Executor you're running (e.g. Executor/DOS 1.99n), the name and version of
the application that is dying (e.g. HyperCard 2.1), the name and version
of the operating system you're runing (e.g. DOS 6.22) and enough details
to reproduce the crash (e.g. "start the application, choose the "more
Elvis" from the "adjust music" menu and the applicaton will crash").  If
the application you are running is publicly available via anonymous ftp,
telling us where we can pick it up for testing purposes also helps.

We accept bug reports from everyone, although paid customers bug reports
are almost always higher priority than those of potential customers.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 2.16.  Should I have sent in my registration card?

Yes.  We use that card to assign your serial number and authorization key
so you can continue to download and unlock experimental versions of
Executor.  In general, we do not assign such numbers when you first
purchase Executor because we do not know if you're purchasing Executor as
a gift for someone else, or if it's being purchased through a company
purchasing department, or what.  We want to make sure that we have the
address of the eventual owner of Executor and the surest way to avoid
mistakes is to send in that card.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 2.17.  How does printing work under E/D?

Executor/DOS prints to a PostScript file.  The first time you print, the
file will be named execout1.ps and will be located in the same directory
that executor.exe is located in. You can then print this file on a
PostScript printer, or if you have a PostScript compatible driver, you can
use a non-PostScript printer.  Two popular PostScript compatible printer
drivers are "GhostScript", available for free, and "ZScript", a commercial
program from ZenoGraphics.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 2.18.  Why does E/D under Windows 3.x have problems hot-keying?

When you use a hot-key to switch away from Executor, Windows 3.x doesn't
know how to save the screen, because it only knows about the original VGA
screen modes, but Executor uses SVGA/VESA screen modes.  So when you
switch back, Windows 3.x doesn't know how to replace the screen with what
it used to contain.

This problem is further compounded by the fact that Executor has no way of
knowing when it's been switched out and switched back.  To make matters
worse, some Windows drivers (ATI Mach 32, for example) don't even restore
the mode properly, so not only will the screen be incorrect, but Executor
will die shortly after you switch back.

Luckily this is not a problem in Windows '95 or OS/2.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 2.19.  Why can't I eject or format my DOS formatted floppy?

1.99n is the first version of E/D to allow you to see DOS drives other
than the drive you install Executor on.  It's also the first version to
allow you to format floppies in the Macintosh format (it used to read and
write Mac formatted floppies, but it wouldn't do the formatting itself).

Currently, the two abilities conflict.  What we do is if a DOS formatted
floppy is in the drive when E/D starts, we treat that drive as a fixed
drive from that point on.  You can no longer eject the floppy, nor can you
convince Executor to consider that floppy as a Mac formatted floppy or a
candidate for Mac formatting.  This is confusing and ugly; we hope to
change it in 1.99o.

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Question 2.20.  Why the white border on the screen?

There is not yet any standard way for an application to set a video
board's "overscan" (i.e. border) color.  Some video boards set the
overscan color in a way that interferes with Executor's ability to write
directly to the screen.  This is because internally Macs and PCs use
different bit values to represent white and black.  We hope to fix this
problem at least for most popular video boards by the time 2.0 ships.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 2.21.  Do E/D and QEMM fight?

We don't have QEMM in house for testing, but apparently QDPMI is an
incompatible DPMI provider for Executor, starting with Executor 1.99n.
DPMI providers that are known to work are the supplied CWSDPMI, the DPMI
provider in Windows 3.x and Windows '95 and the DPMI provider in OS/2.  We
are investigating the incompatibilities between Executor and QDPMI.

For now, if you have lines similar to these two:

DEVICE=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.SYS /R:1 /SIZE=8880 C:\QEMM\QDPMI.SYS 
SWAPFILE=DPMI.SWP SWAPSIZE=1024.

in your config.sys file, you should "rem them out" -- i.e. add "rem " to
the beginning of each line -- at least when using Executor:

REM DEVICE=C:\QEMM\LOADHI.SYS /R:1 /SIZE=8880 C:\QEMM\QDPMI.SYS 
REM SWAPFILE=DPMI.SWP SWAPSIZE=1024.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 2.22.  How can I speed up Executor/DOS?

Executor/DOS is of course dependent on the speed and type of CPU in your
PC.  Obviously you can make E/D run faster if you upgrade your 386 to a
Pentium.  However, there are other, non-obvious ways in which sometimes
you can dramatically improve Executor's speed.

Use the "-info" switch to see how much DPMI memory you have compared to
how much physical memory you have.  In general, Executor itself will
consume approximately 2 MB of memory even if you could have an applzone,
syszone and stack size of 0 (which you can't).  So on a 4 MB system, you
can only allocate another 2 MB total to applzone, syszone and stack if you
want to avoid paging (paging slows Executor down considerably), and that's
only if you don't have drivers in your config.sys file or autoexec.bat
tying up more of your memory.  If you are low on memory, you should use
DOS's "mem" command and see how much Extended (XMS) memory DOS thinks you
have.  The more you can increase that figure before Executor starts up,
the more DPMI memory Executor will have and the easier it will be for
Executor to avoid paging.

*If* you have plenty of memory, then you can also speed Executor up a
little bit by running a disk cache.  However, you should only run the disk
cache in a write-through mode -- in other words you should enable the disk
cache so that all disk writes are immediately sent to the disk.  Failure
to do so may result in corrupt HFV files after Executor dies.

Executor can access video cards in three different ways.  The slowest is
by using VGA calls.  This is also the least flexible -- you are often
limited only to 16 colors when using VGA calls, since the only VGA mode
that supports 256 colors is too small to use with Executor.  If your card
is VESA compliant, or has a driver that makes it VESA compliant, Executor
can drive the video card more efficiently.  There are two major levels of
VESA compliance -- VESA 1.x and VESA 2.x.  Executor is even more efficient
if it can drive your video card using a VESA 2.0 driver, *if* that driver
supports "linear mapping".  The UniVBE driver allows many popular video
cards to be linear mapped.  If you want Executor to run quickly, you
should probably pick up a copy of UniVBE and test it on your system to see
if it improves things.  You can use "Speedometer" or "Globes" to get a
rough approximation of how much it helps.  On many cards, use of UniVBE
can double Executor's graphics speed.

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

Section 3.  Executor/Linux

 Q3.1        Why can't I see files in my Appleshare volumes?
 Q3.2        Can I buy the Linux version now?
 Q3.3        Are we ready to hear about Executor/Linux bugs?
 Q3.4        Should bug reports be sent one at a time or in a big list?
 Q3.5        What kernel do you recommend?
 Q3.6        Why is there no Executor for NetBSD or FreeBSD?
 Q3.7        Where are the bitmaps stored on the Linux version of executor?
 Q3.8        Will there be an SVGALIB version of Executor/Linux in the future?
 Q3.9        Why do other windows get creepy colors when Executor is running?
 Q3.10       How does printing work under Executor/Linux?
 Q3.11       Why does Executor complain that it cannot find 'libXt.so.6'?
 Q3.12       Which FTP sites have E/L?
 Q3.13       Why does Lemmings' splash screen take so long to be drawn?
 Q3.14       What free projects has ARDI supported?
 Q3.15       Is there an ELF flavor of Executor?
 Q3.16       Is Executor localized for languages other than English?
 Q3.17       Can I Macintosh format disk drives?
 Q3.18       Why is the cursor inverted?
 Q3.19       How can Executor be configured for multiple users?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 3.1.  Why can't I see files in my Appleshare volumes?

If you have an AppleSharePC card in your computer, Executor will show you
the volume, but will not show you the files within the volume.  This is a
bug that is known to be in 1.99n.  We should have this bug fixed by the
time 2.0 ships.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 3.2.  Can I buy the Linux version now?

(Technically, our software is licensed, not sold).  You can now license
Executor/Linux and be provided with a serial number and license key from
ARDI and "unlock" the experimental Executor 1.99<x> releases as well as
Executor/Linux 2.0.*.  However, currently there is no printed manual
available for Executor/Linux.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 3.3.  Are we ready to hear about Executor/Linux bugs?

Yes.  Send them to <bugs@ardi.com> and make sure that you identify what
version of Executor you're running (i.e.  Executor/Linux 1.99k) as well as
what kernel and X-Windows you're using.  Please mention what Mac software
you were running when you encountered the bug and explain whether the bug
is reproducible or not.  If Executor provides some sort of debug output,
please include that as well.  Our NEXTSTEP version has a bug-sending
facility that automatically fills in all that information for you.  If we
get some time, we'll incorporate that code into Executor/Linux.

Executor/Linux is bundled with a "send-pr" package that allows you to
submit bug reports directly into our "gnats" bug tracking database.  We
prefer that you use this tool, although it's not necessary.  See Q3.4
`Should bug reports be sent one at a time or in a big list?' for more
information.

If you don't use send-pr, read Q2.15 `Executor dies, what should I do?'
for more information about sending bug reports.  Luckily, you won't have
to fiddle with your config.sys and autoexec.bat files.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 3.4.  Should bug reports be sent one at a time or in a big list?

In general, it's easier for *us* if you send them one at a time.
Internally we use "gnats", a free bug-tracking tool and we need to
separate each bug into a single file for tracking.  On the other hand,
since by providing us with bug reports you're helping us out, we won't
refuse bug reports that are collections.

In fact, if you're particularly brave, you can pick up the file
"send-pr.tar.gz" and install a program "send-pr" which will allow you to
send us bug reports pre-formatted for gnats.  This will save us time and
also give you a bug tracking number that you can refer to in further
e-mail to ARDI about the bug.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 3.5.  What kernel do you recommend?

We do not know of any problems with kernles 1.2.0 and greater.  1.1.72,
and presumably older kernels didn't allow Executor to get SIGIO messages
when X-events arrived, so kernels with that problem result in Executor
that doesn't necessarily see events as quickly as we would like.  In fact,
with 1.99m, kernel 1.1.72 would result in Executor hanging.  We believe
this is fixed in 1.99n, but we haven't taken the time to test it under
kernel 1.1.72 and that particular bug never reared its head locally.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 3.6.  Why is there no Executor for NetBSD or FreeBSD?

We don't currently have the manpower to support it.  NOTE: "support" is
different from "port" -- porting it is easy.  Training tech. support and
buying more dedicated equipment is what we can't do quite yet.  The Linux
release is a byproduct of the fact that we use Linux in house.  After
we've released Executor 2.0, we'll look into the feasibility of Executor
for NetBSD and FreeBSD.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 3.7.  Where are the bitmaps stored on the Linux version of executor?

All versions of Executor maintain an internal bitmap corresponding to the
actual screen.  We accrue a "dirty rect" as the program draws to what it
thinks is the screen via Executor's QuickDraw implementation.  We
periodically update the _real_ screen (e.g., the X window) by transferring
the "dirty rect" across.  So basically our graphics interface to the host
machine consists of nothing more than blitting rectangles to the screen,
which aids our portability.  Under X, we use shared memory extensions for
speed, but we don't do anything fancy like trying to cache Mac fonts on
the X server side.  Spending time trying to do so would be a bad idea for
a number of reasons we won't go into.

"Refresh" mode is useful when the program directly manipulates the frame
buffer itself.  In this mode, we periodically analyze the internal screen
memory to decide what has been changed, and transfer the changed data to
the real screen.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 3.8.  Will there be an SVGALIB version of Executor/Linux in the future?

Yes.  Most of the work has already been done.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 3.9.  Why do other windows get creepy colors when Executor is running?

This is no longer true for recent versions of Executor.  Executor/Linux
can run in two modes on 4 or 8-bit X servers.

"private colormap" mode:  In this mode, Executor "takes over" all colors
on your screen when the cursor is in the Executor window.  That means that
the colors for all your other windows will suddenly change radically.
This is the fastest mode, and provides the most accurate colors, but it
can be a real eyesore.  Still, if you're playing Wolfenstein 3D or some
other interactive game, you may want to maximize performance by using this
mode.  You can enable this mode with "-privatecmap".  NOTE:  some X Window
managers have problems and "-privatecmap" winds up doing the wrong thing
unless you also specify "-geometry".  We do not think this is an Executor
bug, but if anyone has information to the contrary, we'd be happy to read
it.

"non-private colormap" mode:  In this mode (the default), Executor
coexists nicely with other X windows by not mucking about with the colors
they use.  This mode loses some accuracy and speed, because Executor
cannot set the entire color table to exactly what it wants and it must
convert its internal graphics representation to one appropriate for the X
screen whenever it updates your display.  We have carefully optimized this
conversion process, so you won't notice the performance penalty most of
the time.

The "-privatecmap" flag is irrelevant to 16, 24, and 32-bit X servers,
since they don't have a color table.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 3.10.  How does printing work under Executor/Linux?

Executor expects to print to a PostScript printer, or to send output to a
PostScript compatible filter, like GhostScript.  When an application
prints under Executor, a PostScript stream will be created and sent
through the program "executor_filter" which you can create by hand to "do
the right thing", or "lpr" if there is no "executor_filter" for Executor
to run.

On our systems, "lpr" automatically does the right thing, so other than
occasionally setting our "PRINTER" environment variable, we don't have to
do much to print from Executor.

If you need to write your own filter, you can test it by typing:

myfilter < myfile.ps
where "myfile.ps" is some PostScript file you have lying around.  The "<"
is VERY important!  Executor does NOT give your filter any command line
arguments; it just "pipes" the PostScript file through it.

CAVEAT #1:  The PostScript that is currently produced relies on some
"Encoding" changes that appear not to work with GhostScript.  As such,
certain characters are improperly mapped.  Word output for example can not
print apostrophes! Yes, we know this is very bad and are looking for a
remedy.

CAVEAT #2:  Different apps running under Executor have different levels of
success when printing.  As always, *especially* with the experimental
versions, try first to make sure Executor will do what you want it to.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 3.11.  Why does Executor complain that it cannot find 'libXt.so.6'?

If Executor complains as soon as you start it up, you are either running
an old version of Executor (prior to 1.99e, at least) or you are running
XFree86 2.x instead of XFree86 3.x.  Currently we do not have the time to
create two separate versions of E/L, so use the "current" XFree86
server/libraries.

It has been reported that you can install the XFree86 3.x shared libraries
and still use an XFree86 2.x server.  We have not verified such trickery
here at ARDI -- you're on your own.

When E/L 2.0 is released, we'll reevaluate our "3.x" only policy and if
there are a significant number of XFree86 2.x users that would like to run
E/L, we'll consider offering a version that links with the XFree86 2.x
libraries.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 3.12.  Which FTP sites have E/L?

Other than ftp.ardi.com:/pub/Executor_Linux (too slow) and
ftp.cs.unm.edu:/pub/ardi/Executor_Linux, you can also find Executor/Linux
on sunsite.unc.edu in
/pub/Linux/system/Emulators/executorlinux199?.tar.gz.

See also Q1.20 `Where can I pick up the Executor demos?'

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 3.13.  Why does Lemmings' splash screen take so long to be drawn?

As mentioned in Q3.9 `Why do other windows get creepy colors when Executor
is running?' Executor/Linux by default now tries to cooperate with
X-Windows when assigning colors.  That leaves X in charge of "the
colormap", which means Executor can't quickly change the colors in the
colormap itself.  If you use the "-privatecmap" option when you start
Executor, you'll find that Lemmings splash screen will come up much
quicker, but you'll also experience the "creepy colors" problem in other
windows.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 3.14.  What free projects has ARDI supported?

ARDI has sent a copy, with the appropriate legal release, of its HFS
implementation to Paul Hargrove to aid him with his implementation of a
true HFS filesystem under Linux.  When we have more time, if Paul hasn't
finished and would like it, we'll be even more active in helping get a
free implementation of HFS that can be used with Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD
and GNU.

ARDI has also done a minor rewrite of checker to make it much faster and
fix many bugs.  This rewrite should be available soon.

ARDI is not in the black, so allocating a portion of its profits (losses)
towards free software is not yet a good idea.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 3.15.  Is there an ELF flavor of Executor?

Not yet, but we're keeping an eye on ELF with the intent to switch over.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 3.16.  Is Executor localized for languages other than English?

Not yet.  In fact, we don't yet have international keyboard support, so
using Executor outside the U.S. can be troublesome.  We fully intend to
support foreign keyboards by the time 2.0 is released.  Romantic language
localization should happen soon after 2.0 is released, but support for
multi-byte characters is still at least six months away.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 3.17.  Can I Macintosh format disk drives?

Yes, but if you do not consider yourself a UNIX wizard, you probably
shouldn't do it.  All you have to do is find out the formatted disk
capacity and then run makehfv [See Q1.47 `What is makehfv?'] with
arguments so it writes directly to the disk drive you want formatted.  You
can only do this if you have write permissions on the drive in question.
Obviously all data currently residing on that drive will be lost, and if
you make a typo and inadvertently specify the wrong drive, you'll erase
the data on the wrong drive.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 3.18.  Why is the cursor inverted?

Starting with 1.99o, you should not ever see an inverted cursor.  We
believe this is a bug in some X-servers.  We found a workaround and
installed it in 1.99o.  However, if you still see this problem, you can
explicitly tell Executor to invert the cursor with the
"-invertedcursorbug" command line option.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 3.19.  How can Executor be configured for multiple users?

Executor has a variety of environment variables that can be altered to
allow individual users to override the default locations Executor expects
to find key files.  Here are the important environment variables and their
default values:

* ConfigurationFolder "+/Configuration"
* SystemFolder "+/ExecutorVolume/System Folder"
* PublicDirectoryMap "+/DirectoryMap"
* PrivateDirectoryMap "~/.Executor/DirectoryMap"
* DefaultFolder "+/ExecutorVolume"
* MacVolumes "+/exsystem.hfv;+"
* PrintFolder "/tmp"
* ScreenDumpFolder "/tmp"

The leading "+/" represents the directory "/usr/local/lib/executor".  So
to allow multiple users to all have their own preferences, you can create
an executor directory for each potential user like this:

~/executor/
    ~/executor/Configuration
    ~/executor/SystemFolder
    ~/executor/ScreenDumps
Then reassign these environment variables:

* ConfigurationFolder "~/executor/Configuration"
* SystemFolder "~/executor/SystemFolder"
* PublicDirectoryMap "~/DirectoryMap"
* DefaultFolder "~/executor"
* ScreenDumpFolder "~/executor/ScreenDumps"

You'll then need to populate the System Folder either with copies of
what's in "/usr/local/lib/executor/ExecutorVolume/System Folder", or with
symbolic links to the actual files.  The Desktop Textures program actually
modifies the System File, so if different users are going to want
different desktops, or if you want to make sure there's no interference
between users, then you should use copies rather than symbolic links.

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

Section 4.  Executor/NEXTSTEP

 Q4.1        Why hasn't there been an Executor/NEXTSTEP release in a while?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 4.1.  Why hasn't there been an Executor/NEXTSTEP release in a while?

Several months ago, we revamped how Executor handles graphics internally.
This broke our NEXTSTEP support, so we have not released a NEXTSTEP
version in a while.  Since we had to rewrite that part of Executor anyway,
we spent some time looking into some NeXT tools that allow programs to
implement very fast graphics.

NeXT has been helpful, and in the meantime we revamped our low-level
graphics once more.  This was done after receiving some help from NeXT, so
our new mods are in keeping with what we'll be doing under NEXTSTEP.

Now that 1.99n is out, the NEXTSTEP port is the highest thing on Mat's to
do list.  We apologize for the repeated delay associated with this
(re)port.

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

Section 5.  Administrative information and acknowledgements

 Q5.1        Can I buy stock in ARDI?
 Q5.2        Is Feedback Invited?
 Q5.3        In what formats are this FAQ available?
 Q5.4        Who wrote this FAQ?  Who helped?
 Q5.5        Is this FAQ Disclaimed and Copyrighted?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 5.1.  Can I buy stock in ARDI?

ARDI is not publicly traded.  That means, you can't buy stock in ARDI from
a stockbroker.  However, if you have $100,000 or more to invest and are
serious about wanting to do so in ARDI, send e-mail to
<questions@ardi.com> and it will be forwarded as appropriate.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 5.2.  Is Feedback Invited?

ARDI profits tremendously from feedback.  Bug reports can be sent directly
from Executor/NEXTSTEP or be nicely formatted and sent with send-pr under
Linux, or can be sent by hand to <bugs@ardi.com>.

Comments on this FAQ can be sent to <faq-comments@ardi.com>.  This FAQ is
built with tools that automatically number the questions [see Q5.4 `Who
wrote this FAQ?  Who helped?'], so please recognize that question numbers
themselves do not uniquely identify questions or answers when you send in
FAQ comments.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 5.3.  In what formats are this FAQ available?

Thanks to the tools we use [see Q5.4 `Who wrote this FAQ?  Who helped?'],
this FAQ is available as an ASCII file, as an Emacs info document, an HTML
World Wide Web page and as a PostScript document.

Our ftp site, ftp.ardi.com, contains /pub/executor_faq.ascii,
/pub/executor_faq.info, and /pub/executor_faq.ps.  The Web page can be
accessed as http://vorlon.mit.edu/executor_faq/index.html.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 5.4.  Who wrote this FAQ?  Who helped?

This FAQ was written and is maintained by ARDI employees.  After learning
about them via the Caldera FAQ (http://www.caldera.com/caldera_faq/), we
rewrote our existing FAQ to use the same tools that the Linux FAQ is built
with.  Those tools were written by Ian Jackson <ijackson@nyx.cs.du.edu>.

We've also had contributions from many Executor Enthusiasts worldwide.

-- Thanks.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 5.5.  Is this FAQ Disclaimed and Copyrighted?

This document is provided as is.  The information in it is *not* warranted
to be correct; you use it at your own risk.

