                 Ŀ
                    The Automated Episode Guide      
                        Special Demo Program         
                    16 Bit Windows/Win95 Version     
                 

                      Ŀ
                        What This Program Does  
                      

This is a Special Demo Program that gives you a little taste from all 
the Automated Episode Guides released by Snake-Byte Incorporated. 

I've included one full season from each of the eight currently
available A.E.G. programs: Babylon 5, Deep Space 9, Star Trek: The
Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Simpsons, The
X-Files, Quantum Leap and Mystery Science Theater 3000. 


                     Ŀ
                       How To Run This Program  
                     

There are several ways to run the A.E.G. in Windows 3.1 (All of these
methods assume that you have already unarchived the .ZIP file into a
directory somewhere on your hard drive):

USING THE A.E.G. FROM THE WINDOWS FILE MANAGER:
-----------------------------------------------
Run the Windows 3.1 File Manager. Click on the hard drive icon of the
hard where the A.E.G. program executable currently resides. Click on
the folder/directory where the .EXE program is located. Find the small
icon that represents the .EXE and click on it.

If you did everything correctly, the first window of the A.E.G. should appear
on your screen. For more info on the operation of this program, read the "How
To Use This Program" section which is elsewhere in this file.

USING THE A.E.G. FROM THE PROGRAM MANAGER RUN MENU:
---------------------------------------------------
Click on the FILE menu at the top of the screen in the Windows
Program Manager. A drop down menu will appear with several options.

Click on RUN (it should be the next-to-the-last item on this menu).

A dialog box will appear on your screen with four buttons (OK,
Cancel, Browse & Help).

Use the BROWSE button to tell Windows where the A.E.G .EXE file is located
(You will get a BROWSE dialog box where you can click on the various
directories and drives that you maintain on your computer - if you aren't
sure how to use this dialog box, see the Windows documentation for more
information).

Once you have told Windows where to find the A.E.G. executable file, the
RUN dialog box will have the path & filename in the COMMAND LINE text box.
Click the OK button. 

If you did everything correctly, the first window of the A.E.G. should appear
on your screen. For more info on the operation of this program, read the "How
To Use This Program" section which is elsewhere in this file.

USING THE A.E.G. FROM A PROGRAM MANAGER PROGRAM GROUP:
------------------------------------------------------
This is how to add the A.E.G. to an already existing Program Group on your
Windows desktop. If you'd rather put the new A.E.G. program icon in a seperate
program group, see the Windows documentation for details on creating a new
program group.

Click on the FILE menu at the top of the screen in the Windows Program
Manager. A drop down menu will appear with several options.

Click on NEW (it should be the first item on this menu).

A dialog box named NEW PROGRAM OBJECT will appear on your screen with three
buttons (OK, Cancel & Help). The PROGRAM ITEM option is already selected.
Click the OK button.

A PROGRAM ITEM PROPERTIES dialog box will appear on your screen with five
buttons (OK, Cancel, Browse, Change Icon & Help). It also has four empty text
boxes (Description, Command Line, Working Directory and Shortcut Key).

Use the BROWSE button to tell Windows where the A.E.G .EXE file is located
(You will get a BROWSE dialog box where you can click on the various
directories and drives that you maintain on your computer - if you aren't
sure how to use this dialog box, see the Windows documentation for more
information).

The A.E.G. program's drive path and filename should now be in the Command Line
text box. Two other options are available now, but they aren't required:

(1) You can type in a detailed description in the Description text box (if you
don't, Windows will use the whatever characters are on the left of the period
in the filename).

(2) You can also change the default icon of the program at this time (or any
other time in the future) by clicking on the Change Icon button. I've included
five icons linked into the executable of the A.E.G. program. If those aren't
to your liking, you can change them by using the Browse button on the Change
Icon dialog box that is now on your screen.

Once you have the path & filename in the Command Line text box, hit the OK
button and the A.E.G icon should appear in the opened program group. If it
didn't, go back to the beginning of this section and make sure you've followed
all the steps correctly.

You may now click on the A.E.G.'s icon to start the program. See the "How
To Use This Program" section on how to use the program, once it's running.

USING THE A.E.G. FROM "MY COMPUTER" IN WINDOWS 95:
--------------------------------------------------
Open the "My Computer" folder and click on the icon of the hard drive where
the A.E.G. executable resides. Open the folder/directory that you have
stored the A.E.G. program(s). Click on the icon that represents the A.E.G.
.EXE file. (If you don't understand how to use folders, see the Windows 95
documentation for more information).

USING THE A.E.G. FROM THE EXPLORER IN WINDOWS 95:
-------------------------------------------------
Start the Explorer and click on the hard drive and then the folder/directory
where the A.E.G. executable currently resides. Click on the icon that
represents the A.E.G. .EXE. (If you don't understand how to use the Explorer
see the Windows 95 documentation for more information).

USING THE A.E.G. FROM A SHORTCUT UNDER WINDOWS 95:
--------------------------------------------------
Right click on the location you want a "shortcut" for this program to reside
(the desktop, or in a folder for example). A pop up menu will appear. Choose
NEW from the menu and move to the Create New Shortcut option from the sub-menu
that appears. A dialog box will appear. Click the BROWSE button and specify
the location of the A.E.G. executable on your hard drive. Give the shortcut a
suitable name and the icon will change and be ready for use. Double click on
the icon to run. (If you don't understand how to create a shortcut, maneuver
the BROWSE/File dialog box or any other operation under Windows 95, see the
Windows 95 documentation). For details on how to use the program after it's
running, keep reading...


                     Ŀ
                       How To Use This Program  
                     

When you first run the A.E.G. Demo, you will get a small window with a little
information about the program. There will be two buttons in this window (OK
and Cancel). If you click the Cancel button, the program will stop running
and you will be returned to where you were at before you started the program.
If you click the OK button, a larger window will appear on your screen. It
will have the title A.E.G. Demo on the top border and three menu titles 
directly underneath.

This window is the main viewing screen of the A.E.G. All episode information
from the program will be displayed within this window.

You choose options from the three menus on the menu bar in order to display
the various information contained in the A.E.G. The three menus are EXIT,
SHOWS and HELP. Each of these will contain at least one option underneath 
(but probably more than one). 

Here's a rundown of each of the three menu titles and the options that may 
appear beneath (I have paraphrased some menu options because they may 
different depending on the specific A.E.G. that you're running):

 --------------------------------------------------------------
  Exit                Shows               Help
 --------------------------------------------------------------
 | Clear Screen F8|  | Quantum Leap  >|  | Useless Help    F1|
 | Exit         F9|  | Babylon 5     >|  | About Program   F2|
 +----------------+  | Star Trek:TOS >|  | Freeware        F3|
                     | Star Trek:TNG >|  | Disclaimer      F4|
                     | Deep Space 9  >|  | What Is A.E.G.? F5|
                     | The Simpsons  >|  | Other SBI Prgs  F6|
					 | The X-Files   >|	 +-------------------+     
					 | Mystery Sci.  >|
					 +----------------+

You will notice a couple of things (that I can't recreate here because this
is a plain ASCII text file). First, each menu option has *ONE* character
UNDERLINED. This is the KEYBOARD SHORTCUT for that given menu option (See
the section that follows about Keyboard Shortcuts). Second, the MENU OPTIONS
on the SHOWS drop down menu have little triangluar arrows pointing to the
RIGHT of each option (I used the > character to represent them on the above
diagram). These arrows mean that each option has ANOTHER sub-menu. You can
cascade these sub-menus by highlighting the menu option (it will automatically
pop up to the right of the drop down menu that you are currently using). You
can then move your mouse to the right in order to highlight the various
options on that sub-menu. Be sure to hold down the left mouse button until
you are on the sub-menu option that you want to choose! It takes a bit of
dexterity on the longer sub-menus. If that's too hard, read the section that
follows on Keyboard Shortcuts.

MENU OPTIONS:
To choose things off any of the three drop down menus, you simply move your
mouse down until the reversed/highlight is over the option that you want.

Here is a list of the "general" options that will appear on most of the
A.E.G. program drop down menus.

-------------------
 Exit
-------------------
| Clear Screen  F8| <---   This option will clear the viewing screen.
| Exit          F9| <---   This option quits & exits the A.E.G.
+-----------------+        (Note: the F8 & F9 function keys will activate
                            these two menu options at *almost* any time).

-------------------
 Shows             
-------------------
| Quantum Leap  >| 	<---   One season from Quantum Leap
| Babylon 5     >| 	<---   One season from Babylon 5
| Star Trek:TOS >| 	<---   One season from Star Trek: The Original Series
| Star Trek:TNG >| 	<---   One season from Star Trek: The Next Generation
| Deep Space 9  >|  <---   One season from Star Trek: Deep Space 9
| The Simpsons  >|  <---   One season from The Simpsons 
| The X-Files   >|  <---   One season from The X-Files 
| Mystery Sci.  >|  <---   One season from Mystery Science Theater 3000
+----------------+ 

--------------------
 Help
--------------------
| Useless Help   F1| <-- This will pop up a reminder on how to use the A.E.G.
| About Program  F2| <-- Displays the title, version & programmer of the A.E.G.
| Freeware       F3| <-- This program is FREE!!!
| Disclaimer     F4| <-- A disclaimer about the information in the A.E.G.
| What Is A.E.G. F5| <-- A description of the Automated EpGuide concept. 
| Other SBI Prgs F6| <-- A list of other Snake-Byte programs.
+------------------+     (Note: the Function keys F1 - F6 will activate
                          these menu options at *almost* any time).

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS:
Each option on each menu (and the three menu titles on the menu bar) have
*ONE* character UNDERLINED. This represents the keyboard shortcut for THAT
given menu option. Most people prefer to use their mouse pointer to click
on the option, but these keyboard shortcuts perform the same actions as
the mouse. The way to "activate" the keyboard shortcut is to press the
<ALT> key on your keyboard (it should be a small key on either side of
your <SPACE BAR>). When you press the <ALT> key, you will notice that the
first menu title on the menu bar is highlighted in reverse colors (the
colors vary, depending on the color scheme that you run on your computer).
This means that the option that is highlighted is now activated and can
be chosen by pressing your <ENTER> key. For example, if you hit <ALT> and
the EXIT menu title is highlighted on the menu bar, if you were to hit
<ENTER> the menu beneath the EXIT title will drop down. You can use your
cursor arrow keys to move the reversed/highlighted area back and forth on
the menu bar (or up and down within a drop down menu).

For example -- if you want to view the 9th episode of the first show in
this Demo Program (Quantum Leap), the keyboard shortcut would be as follows 
(note: press each key listed once in this sequence, and don't hold any of 
the keys down):

<ALT> s q 9

ACCELERATOR KEYS: If you see a "key" listed on the right side of a menu
option, that "key" will execute the given menu option AT *ALMOST* ANY TIME 
DURING the A.E.G. program's execution. For example, at anytime after you get 
the main A.E.G. window on your screen, you can hit the F1 function key to 
bring up the brief "Help" dialog box, or the F6 key to bring up a list of 
other programs available from Snake-Byte Incorporated.

NOTE: If one of the dialog boxes is already on the screen (the Other S.B.I.
Programs box, for example), the Accelerator Keys will not work until you click
the OK button to cancel the dialog box. Also, if you have hit the <ALT> key to
activate the Menu Bar, the Accelerator Keys will not work until you complete
the Keyboard Shortcut sequence *OR* hit the <ESC> key to "de-activate" the
Menu Bar, canceling the Keyboard Shortcut sequence.


           Ŀ
             The Harsh Reality of Trickle Down Economics  
           

Unfortunately for me, this program is Freeware! Yep, it's free. But
nothing in life is free, right? Well this bad boy is! 

But, what's the catch? Well, if you're looking for a comprehensive
Episode Guide for any of the TV shows sampled in this DEMO, this
program won't help you much. I've included only one full season from
each show featured. This DEMO just introduces you to what you'll find 
in the full Automated Episode Guides for each of the featured TV shows.

See elsewhere in this README.TXT for details on locating any of the full 
Automated Episode Guide programs.

               Ŀ
                 The History of This Windows Program  
               

Version 0.999 -  Beta version. Honed the mechanics of the program.

Version 1.0w  -  First release version of this 16 bit Windows program.


                      Ŀ
                        Known Bugs & Problems  
                      

There are no known bugs or problems.


                    Ŀ
                      Swatting Any Pesky Insects  
                    

If you encounter any problems with this program (either bugs in the actual
mechanics of the program, or misspellings and/or incorrect info in the various
episode data fields) please drop me a line at one of e-mail addresses in the
last section of this document. I will try and implement the fix in the next
version of the program that I release.


                     Ŀ
                       Big Plans For The Future  
                     

More A.E.G.'s! Yes, TV Buffs and Couch Potatoes! I plan on releasing a
series of A.E.G.'s for various TV shows based on the A.E.G. "engine".

Here are the shows that currently have A.E.G.'s available in 32 bit DOS,
32 bit OS/2 Text *AND* PM versions as well as 16 bit Windows versions.
(check at ftp.cleaf.com /pub/mst3k/snake-byte):

TV Show Name      DOS Filename    OS/2 Text      OS/2 PM    Win Filename
========================================================================
Mystery Science   MSTDOS##.ZIP  MSTOS2##.ZIP  MST_PM##.ZIP  MSTWIN##.ZIP
Theater 3000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The X-Files       XFLDOS##.ZIP  XFLOS2##.ZIP  XFL_PM##.ZIP  XFLWIN##.ZIP
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quantum Leap      QLPDOS##.ZIP  QLPOS2##.ZIP  QLP_PM##.ZIP  QLPWIN##.ZIP
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Star Trek:        TNGDOS##.ZIP  TNGOS2##.ZIP  TNG_PM##.ZIP  TNGWIN##.ZIP
Next Generation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Star Trek:        TOSDOS##.ZIP  TOSOS2##.ZIP  TOS_PM##.ZIP  TOSWIN##.ZIP
Original Series
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deep Space 9      DS9DOS##.ZIP  DS9OS2##.ZIP  DS9_PM##.ZIP  DS9WIN##.ZIP
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Simpsons      SMPDOS##.ZIP  SMPOS2##.ZIP  SMP_PM##.ZIP  SMPWIN##.ZIP
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Babylon 5         BA5DOS##.ZIP  BA5OS2##.ZIP  BA5_PM##.ZIP  BA5WIN##.ZIP
========================================================================

*ALL* versions are available on the FTP site at ftp.cleaf.com,
which is where I release all Snake-Byte programs. The path is
            /pub/mst3k/snake-byte              (for the MST3K programs)
            /pub/mst3k/snake-byte/NON-MST3K    (for all others)

You can also point your World Wide Web browser to the following URL:
http://www.cleaf.com/~wmorgan/snake.html

If you're interested in seeing an A.E.G. for your favorite show, contact me
via one of the methods described below. Production of other A.E.G.'s depend
on the availability of information about the show (via Internet) and whether
or not the show's info translates well to a single screen in the A.E.G.


      Ŀ
        Other Programs Available From Snake-Byte Incorporated  
      

32 bit DOS, 32 bit OS/2 text mode, 32 bit OS/2 Presentation Manager &
16 bit Windows/Win95 versions of the DALLAS COWBOY FANATIC's Companion.
They're available from ftp.cleaf.com /pub/mst3k/snake-byte/NON-MST3K/Cowboys 
the filenames CBYDOS##.ZIP (DOS) or CBYOS2##.ZIP (OS/2 text), CBYWIN##.ZIP
(Windows/Win95) or CBY_PM##.ZIP (OS/2 P.M.).


                       Ŀ
                         Gratitude Department  
                       

Extra special thanks to Frank Miller, my C programming guru. If it weren't
for Frank, I probably would've given up on C programming within the first
few days. He has helped me solve many of my seemingly endless beginner's
problems.


               Ŀ
                Contacting the Author of This Program  
               

Want to thank me for such a fantastic program? Bitch me out for wasting
your download time & hard drive space? Suggest future additions to this
program, corrections on the data/info or ideas for future programs?
Lonely and just need a cyber-shoulder to cry on? Well, for all these
reasons except that last one there, you can contact me by one of the
following methods:

    Fidonet Netmail:               1:3819/128.103
    Fidonet Echos I Hang Out On:   MST3K, NFL & OS/2
    Internet email:                wmorgan@clover.cleaf.com
                                   will.morgan@p103.f128.n3819.z1.fidonet.org
    US Snail Mail:                 (See Address in the Shareware Nag)

