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Scroller (VERSION 1.0)
Copyright (c) 1998 Ziff-Davis Publishing Company
Written by Gregory A. Wolking
First Published in PC Magazine, US Edition, March 24, 1998.
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About Scroller:
Scroller makes it easy to read long documents on-screen by automatically scrolling 
the window for you. You can scroll forward or backward, and you can set the 
scrolling speed.  Scroller is a 32-bit Windows program that runs under 
Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0.

Usage:
To install Scroller, place its component files (Scroller.exe, Scroller.hlp, and 
Scroller.cnt) in the directory of your choice and create a shortcut to Scroller.exe. 
Scroller neither creates nor uses any external files and the only data it places in the 
Registry are its own private user settings. If you decide to remove Scroller from your 
system, first launch it (either from a DOS window or the Start Menu's Run command), 
and specify the /UNINSTALL switch on the command line. When Scroller has 
removed its data from the Registry, you may delete the program files, as well as the 
hidden .GID and .FTS files that WinHelp may have created.

When you launch Scroller, the only active control is the "Finder Icon", which you 
use to identify the window you want to scroll. To do so, drag the icon from 
Scroller's dialog. As you drag the icon around the screen, Scroller will draw an 
outline around each window as the icon passes over it. When the desired window 
is outlined, release the left mouse button to select that window.

To begin scrolling, click the Start button. The caption (or image) on the Start 
button changes and the finder icon disappears - you must stop scrolling before 
you can select a different window. To change the scrolling direction, click the 
Reverse button. To stop scrolling, click the Stop button. Note that while the 
target window is scrolling, it will still respond to your input. If you close the 
target window while Scroller is scrolling it, Scroller will reset itself automatically.

To change the speed at which the window scrolls, click on the Speed field's spin 
control and use the up and down arrow keys to change the speed incrementally. 
Alternately, if Scroller is not in "tiny" mode, you can tab to the Speed field, type 
a number manually, and press Enter. The speed setting ranges from 0 (slowest) 
to 500 (fastest). Scroller scrolls one "click" at a time, where each click is 
equivalent to clicking the arrow at the top or bottom of the window's scroll 
bar, or moving the mouse wheel by one "notch" in either direction. The speed 
etting represents the interval between clicks in hundredths of a second. 
At maximum speed, the interval is one tenth of a second. At minimum speed, 
it's 5.1 seconds.

To change Scroller's other settings, point to either a button or the finder icon 
and click the right mouse button to open the Context Menu. There are three 
settings available. Always On Top determines whether or not Scroller's dialog 
floats above any other windows. Emulate Mouse Wheel determines which 
method Scroller will use to scroll the target application. When this option is 
disabled, the target window scrolls as if you were clicking its vertical scroll 
bar with the mouse. When enabled, it scrolls as if you were rotating the 
wheel on a Microsoft IntelliMouse. You will find that some applications 
work with one method but not the other (more on this below). Note that you 
do not have to have an IntelliMouse installed to use this option; it will work 
with any application that is written to recognize the mouse wheel.

The Tiny View setting determines the size of Scroller's dialog. When Scroller 
is in tiny view, the mouse behaves a little differently. Since the dialog does 
not have a title bar, you move the window by clicking anywhere except on a 
button or control, then dragging the window to the desired position. 
To activate the System menu, either press Alt+Spacebar or right-click on 
Scroller's taskbar button. You can exit the program using the Exit commands 
on either menu, or by pressing Alt+F4.

Scroller automatically saves its settings to the Registry so it will remember 
them the next time you start the program. If you need help with any of 
Scroller's functions, press F1 or select the Help Topics command from either 
the context or system menu.

Scroller Finepoints:
Different applications implement scrolling in different ways. The most 
important point to understand is the literal definition of the term "window". 
Almost every graphical object on the screen, including buttons and edit fields, 
is technically considered a separate "window". Therefore, what appears to be 
a single window is often a composite of many individual windows. This is 
why Scroller outlines the target window as you drag its finder icon. Some 
applications, such as Microsoft Word, have scroll bars that are separate 
windows. Others, such as Notepad, have scroll bars as integral parts of a 
single window. To compound the situation, the relationship between a 
scroll bar "object" and the window it controls can vary widely. Some 
applications, such as the main browser window in Microsoft Internet 
Explorer 4.0, do not recognize standard scroll bar messages at all. 
The only way Scroller can control these applications is by emulating 
the mouse wheel.

Scroller cannot predict how any given application implements scrolling. 
Therefore, you may have to experiment with your window selection and 
the Emulate Mouse Wheel setting to find a combination that works with 
any given application. If Emulate Mouse Wheel is turned off, you should 
try dropping the finder icon on these areas, ordered from most to least 
reliable:

1. The vertical scrollbar that controls the desired window.
2. Within the client area of the target window.
3. On the title bar of the document window (for multiple-document apps).
4. On the title bar of the application's main window.

If the application recognizes the mouse wheel and Emulate Mouse 
Wheel is turned on, scrolling usually works if you drop the finder icon 
on the title bar of the application's main window. Note that with most 
multiple-document applications such as Microsoft Word, the document 
window that scrolls will be the last one that you activated. In fact, you 
can change which document window is scrolling by clicking the 
window's title bar to bring it to the foreground. This is the only situation 
in which you can change the target window on the fly.

Support for Scroller:
Support for the free utilities offered by PC Magazine can be 
obtained electronically in the discussion area of PC 
Magazine's Web site. Go to the URL 
http://www.pcmag.com/discuss.htm/ and select the Utilities 
area. You can also access the Utilities discussion area from the 
utility's download page. The authors of current utilities 
generally monitor the discussion area every day. You may 
find an answer to your question simply by reading the 
messages previously posted. If the author is not available and 
you have a question that the sysops can't answer, the editor of 
the Utilities column, who also checks the area each day, will 
contact the author for you.

Gregory A.Wolking, the author of Scroller, is the primary sysop 
of the ZNT:Tips Forum on ZD/Net/CompuServe and the 
PC Magazine Utilities discussion area on the web.
 Sheryl Canter is the editor of the Utilities column and a 
contributing editor of PC Magazine.
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