                                 
                             FrontRunner 1.1
                             by Marius Fodor
                          (marius.fodor@usa.net)

Introduction
------------

    After trying out some other front ends for DOS, I found out that most
were either unnecessarily too hard to configure, or just didn't look very 
plesant. So I decided to make my own, the design concept was to be as easy 
to setup as possible and to look visualy pleasing. I hope you find it meets 
those goals.

History
-------

v1.0 (6/20/98) 
- First Public Release

v1.1 (6/25/98) 
- Using VSync before screen redraw, for flicker free updates.
- Pressing an alphanumeric key will take you to the first menu 
  entry that starts with that character.
- Now triming menu entries to 77 characters.

Usage
-----

    The program is simple, one file FR.EXE. Run the program specifying
a file name as a parameter. The file need only be a plain ASCII text file.
The format of the parameter file is as follows:

The first line is simply 4 numbers, specifying the color layout of the menu.
The order is, background, frame, text, hilite. They can be seperated with
commas. The background and hilite values must be between 0 and 7, higher
values will repeat the same colors but will make the text blink. The frame
and text values must be between 0 and 15.

The next line describes how the file is to be handled. It either contains 
the word "NORMAL" or "ZIPPED".

If the descriptor is "ZIPPED", then the next 2 lines are as follows:

The next line specifies the full path name to the unzipping program.

The next line specifies the file name of the archive (no path).

The next line specifies the title name to be displayed at the top of the menu.

The next line specifies the directory where the program that is called to
handle the menu items resides. It must contain a trailing backslash.

The next line specifies the directory where the menu item files reside. It
must contain a trailing backslash.

The next line specifies the program name that is called to handle the menu
items. You can even type any parameters you want passed to this program.

From here on is where the menu items are specified. Each entry consists of
2 lines. They are as follows:

The first line specifies the menu entry title to be displayed in the menu.

The second line specifies the menu entry file name to be passed to the
handling program. You can type any additional parameters for this particular
file.

Following is an example of one such file (ZSNES.TXT):

1, 15, 15, 4
ZIPPED
c:\pkware\pkunzip.exe
games.zip
Super Nintendo Games
c:\console\snes\zsnes\
c:\console\snes\games\
zsnes.exe -c
Super Mario World
mario.smc
Final Fantasy II
ff2.smc -x
Super Street Fighter 2
ssf2.fig

You can even create nested menus with a root file like this (SYSTEMS.TXT):

1, 15, 15, 4
NORMAL
Console Systems
c:\console\
c:\console\
fr.exe
ZSNES
zsnes.txt
NESticle
nesticle.txt
KGen98
kgen98.txt

Navigation
----------

    Use the UP and DOWN arrow keys to move by 1 entry. Use the PGUP and
PGDN keys to move by 20 entries. Use the HOME and END keys to move to the
beginning or ending of the entries. Press an alphanumeric key to go to the
first menu entry that starts with that character. Use the ENTER key to 
select a particular menu entry, and use the ESC key to exit FrontRunner.

Using Zipped Archives
---------------------

    In the example ZSNES.TXT you see that it is a ZIPPED configuration. The
unzipping program is "c:\pkware\pkunzip.exe" and the archive is "games.zip".
This file is expected to be in the directory "c:\console\snes\games\".

    FrontRunner will extract a menu entry file out of this archive using the
specified program, pass it to the handling program, and upon exitting the
program the file will be erased.

Notes
-----

FrontRunner will alphabetically sort the menu entries, for easier finding.

The number displayed in the top right corner of the menu is the number of 
menu entries.

The menu title is clipped to a maximum of 55 characters. Menu entries are
clipped to a maximum of 77 characters.

To handle special programs such as Callus, which only need the name of the 
game with no directory specification, leave the game directory line empty.

Conclusion
----------

    This program was made with Turbo C++, as such it is a Real-Mode program.
This will offer the greatest compatibility with other programs. I tried making
a DJGPP version but it would crash after exiting ZSNES, any ideas why? I made 
it in about one hour for myself, I then decided that other people might like 
to use it as well. So please don't e-mail me bitching about how much you hate 
the damn thing. Enjoy it or leave me alone. Do send me e-mail if you like it. :-)

Copyrights
----------

FrontRunner is copyright Marius Fodor.
ZSNES is copyright zsKnight and _Demo_.
NESticle, Callus are copyright Bloodlust Software.
KGen98 is copyright Steve Snake.
Turbo C++ is copyright Borland International.
Super Mario World is copyright Nintendo.
Final Fantasy II is copyright Squaresoft.
Super Street Fighter 2 is copyright Capcom.
