WEYES1.TXT
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wEyes -- What is it?
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"wEyes" is a Windows program that, although originally
designed purely for amusement, might actually be of use to some
computer users. Inspired by the famous "xEyes" program run on
many UNIX-based xWindows systems, this program draws two eyes
in a window; the eyes then track the movement of the mouse.
I gave the original version of this program (archived
in "weyes.zip") to a friend of mine who owns a notebook-size
computer with an LCD screen. It seems that whenever he ran
Microsoft Windows, he had problems keeping track of the
location of his mouse pointer -- LCDs are notoriously slow, and
if he happened to move the mouse suddenly, he would have to
scan the entire LCD screen just to locate the pointer.
wEyes helped.
Since he seemed to benefit, I decided to upload the
program to Compuserve and some other BBSs, to see if anyone
else enjoyed it. To my surprise, that first version was much
more popular than I ever thought it would be. Unfortunately,
though, I had never put the original version through any kind
of quality-control test. In short, the program was less than
flawless.
Enter wEyes v. 1.1. This version possesses substantial
enhancements over the original version, including custom
colorization, elimination of minor bugs, and an all-around
better interface. Enhancements are described more fully below.
Basically, writing the program was a light exercise in
trigonometry. The program checks the position of the mouse
pointer on a regular basis, and using slopes, arctangents,
sines, and cosines, determines where the "pupils" of the eyes --
which are independent of each other -- should be.
Enhancements
------------
- Interface: wEyes v. 1.1 now sports two dialog boxes.
The first is the traditional "About" dialog box, which displays
version and other basic information. The second is the "wEyes
Mission Control" dialog box, explained in more detail below.
This dialog box gives the user control over colors and "pupil
update rates." In addition to being functional, these dialog
boxes have a rather slick three-dimensional look. No, I'm not
bragging -- the 3-D effect is due in large part to a dynamic-
link library that I've incorporated into the program. The file
is "three_d.dll," and it was written by a guy named Ray Donahue.
(If you are a programmer and like the look and feel of wEyes's
dialog boxes, you have my recommendation to license Donahue's
libraries. They are flexible and incredibly easy to implement.
Ray can be reached at the following address: Ray Donahue,
365 Mather Street Unit 125, Hamden, CT 06514; or on Compuserve:
70324,1204. His libraries currently reside in the WINADV forum,
New Files section, on Compuserve.) The only hitch here is that
wEyes will only support VGA monitors -- as for other monitors,
I cannot guarantee compatibility.
- Colors: wEyes v. 1.1 allows the user to define which
colors he or she wants for the "rims" and "pupils" of the
window's eyes. To define customized colors, activate the
"Mission Control" dialog box. This is accomplished by clicking
wEyes's control box (the little box in the top left-hand corner
of the window). The control menu will appear. At the very
bottom, you will notice two items: "About wEyes..." and "wEyes
Mission Control...." Click once on "Mission Control." The
Mission Control dialog box will appear.
Next, find the two group boxes named "Outer rim color"
and "Pupil color," respectively. Each box contains three
horizontal scrollbars. Each scrollbar controls the intensity of
either the red, green, or blue color elements of your screen.
Move the scrollbars, and the color appearing in the window beside
the controls will change to reflect your handiwork. When
satisfied, press the "OK" button. If you just can't get it right,
that's alright -- just press the Cancel button and your wEyes will
not have changed.
Some of you probably own a notebook or laptop with a
monochrome LCD screen. This does NOT mean that you can't take
advantage of the coloring capabilities included in this version.
As you probably know, different people prefer different
intensity settings when using LCD screens: some prefer that
the screen look darker, while others can only work with a
lighter-shaded screen. To the extent that your tastes differ
from the next guy's, the red-and-black default colors may be
difficult to see on your LCD screen. If so, the Mission
Control color features can help.
- Timer interval: wEyes checks the position of the
mouse pointer at a predetermined time interval, and then
readjusts the position of the pupils accordingly. In the
original version of wEyes, this "pupil update rate" was 100
milliseconds by default. That parameter could be changed,
however, by including a command-line parameter. The Mission
Control dialog box has eliminated the need for such a mechanism.
The interval can now be adjusted in much the same way as the
colors of the eyes. When the scrollbar in the "Timer interval"
group box is adjusted, the number appearing in the edit box
to the right of the scrollbar will be similarly adjusted. If
you want to enter a particular number in the edit box, however,
you need not use the scrollbar -- just click your mouse on the
edit box (or "tab over"), and type in the desired number.
If you are running a number of large applications
concurrently, you may want to slow the timer down a bit, so as
not to burden the other programs. On the other hand, unless
you have a very fast machine, intervals of less than 50
milliseconds will probably not produce any additional speed
benefits; there will always be some lower limit for a given
machine.
- Initialization file: The first time that you close
wEyes (or end a Windows session without closing wEyes first),
the program will create an initialization file in your WINDOWS
directory. The file is called, appropriately enough,
"weyes.ini." The next time that you run wEyes, the program
will "remember" the colors that you last specified, and will
automatically use them in your current session. In addition,
unlike the original version, wEyes v. 1.1 will store the window's
size and position. So rather than having to move and stretch
the window every time you start wEyes, the window will
automatically pop up exactly where you want it.
- Minimization: As with the original version of wEyes,
wEyes v. 1.1 still works when minimized. So if you need room
on your display, wEyes won't take up any more room than, say,
the Windows Clock program.
- Bugs: Fallible? Me? I encountered one minor,
although annoying, bug in the original version of wEyes. It
seems that, if I stretched the window far enough across the
screen, I would get an unrecoverable application error. That
problem has since been put to bed.
Also, the original version had no mechanism for
aborting the program in the unlikely event that a timer could
not be created. Should Windows already have the maximum number
of timers running, wEyes v. 1.1 will not run, but will display
a message informing the user of the problem. This version
appears to work pretty well. Nonetheless, because I'm not
charging money for this program, it's difficult to justify
putting hours and hours into crash-testing the thing. Thus,
I'm relying on user input. If you find any bugs in this
version of wEyes, please drop me a line at the address below.
Or you can send me e-mail at Compuserve. My address there is
70724,3347 (UNIX systems: "70724.3347@compuserve.com").
================================================================
DISCLAIMER
No copyright is claimed in "weyes.exe," "weyes.ini,"
"weyes1.doc," "weyes1.wri," or "weyes1.txt" (collectively,
the "Software") by its author, Rob Carty ("Author"). No rights
related to the Software are granted by Author. The user agrees
to use the Software at his or her own risk, and agrees not to
hold Author liable for any damages, direct, indirect,
consequential, incidental or otherwise, in tort, in contract,
or upon any other theory of law or equity, regardless of whether
such damages are caused by Author's own negligence or gross
negligence.
The file named "three_d.dll" is copyrighted intellectual
property, distributed under license. The user, however, need
not pay royalties for copying or using that file in conjunction
with the Software, pursuant to the license granted Author.
================================================================
Loading instructions:
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To load wEyes onto your Windows system, first copy
"weyes.exe," "weyes.txt," and "three_d.dll" to the directory of
your choice. Next, enter Windows's Program Manager and select
a program group. Then select "File," "New," "Program Item"
from the menu bar (in that order). In the "Command Line" edit
box, type: "<Drive>:\<Pathname>\WEYES.EXE", where <Drive> and
<Pathname> are the drive and directory into which you have
installed the above program files. Choose "OK." When you want
to invoke the program, simply double-click the wEyes icon.
To auto-load the program upon starting a Windows
session, open your "win.ini" file (located in your WINDOWS
directory) by using the Windows Notepad program. Find the line
labeled "[windows]"; then look for the "load=" statement.
Beside that statement, type "<Drive>:\<Pathname>\WEYES.EXE",
again where <Drive> and <Pathname> are the drive and directory
into which you have installed the program files.The next time
that you invoke windows, wEyes will appear as a minimized
window at the bottom of your screen. To run wEyes as a regular
(non-minimized) window, perform these same steps, except rather
than looking for the "load=" statement, look for the "run="
statement.
================================================================
This program is written mostly for fun. If you do enjoy it and
would like to find out about other products and services
provided by OutLook/PC Business System Design, drop us a line
at:
OutLook/PC Business System Design
ATTN: M. Bradley, MSSI
P.O. Box 684255
Austin, TX 78768-4255
Compuserve: 70724,3347
We usually specialize in more serious undertakings,
specifically management information systems. Even more
specifically, we are seeking out small- to mid-sized law firms
in South and Central Texas that require information systems
and solutions (I have a J. D. -- University of Texas School of
Law, Class of 1991). If you fit the above description (or if
you know anyone who does), please let us know. We specialize
in building open, flexible information systems, and we can do
it quickly and cheaply. And when we're done, our clients do
not become our slaves.
Thanks.
-- Rob Carty, President
1 March 1992