        READ_ME.TXT                                               Page......1


        
             *****************************************************
             To print the Manual, just enter COPY HERCBIOS.DOC PRN
             at the dos prompt.  *********************************
             *****************************************************
             To print this file,   just enter COPY READ_ME.TXT PRN
             at the dos prompt.  *********************************

        
             ! ATTENTION ALL MONOCROME GRAPHICS CARD OWNERS!!!!
             
             
             43 ROWS!
             ________
             NOW YOU CAN PUT 43 ROWS OF TEXT ON YOUR SCREEN AT THE SAME TIME!
             EVEN AT THE DOS PROMPT!
             PLUS, GET 90 CHARACTERS PER ROW INSTEAD OF THE USUAL 80.
             
             JUST $5.00 U.S.
             _______________
             ALL FOR ONLY $5.00 (U.S dollars)!
             
             SIMPLE TO USE
             _____________
             JUST INSTALL THIS SMALL RESIDENT PROGRAM  "HERCBIOS",  AND  YOUR
        HERCULES  MONOCROME GRAPHICS CARD OR COMPATIBLE WILL ACT AS THOUGH IT
        HAS A NEW 43 BY 90 TEXT MODE WHENEVER YOU ENTER THE COMMMAND "CHANGE"
        AT  THE  DOS  PROMPT.  TO RETURN TO THE USUAL 25 BY 80 TEXT MODE JUST
        ENTER THE COMMAND "TEXT"  AT  THE  DOS  PROMPT.  THESE  NEW  COMMANDS
        COMMANDS PLUS MANY OTHERS SUCH AS "ROWS29", "ROWS43",AND "ROWS25" ARE
        SUPPLIED TO YOU AS PART OF THE SYSTEM.
             
                          
              COMPLETE INT 10H SUPPORT
              ________________________
              A COMPLETE SET OF INT 10H VIDEO  BIOS  ROUTINES  ARE  PROVIDED,
        PLUS  SPECIAL  VERY  FAST  LINE  DRAWING  ROUTINES.  (TRY RUNNING THE
        INCLUDED DEMO PROGRAM "DAZZLE" !)
             
             
             ITS SHAREWARE! MAKE ALL THE COPIES YOU WANT, GIVE THEM AWAY!
             ____________________________________________________________
             FURTHERMORE, THE ENTIRE PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE  AS  SHAREWARE,  SO
        THAT YOU MAY FREELY COPY THE SYSTEM, GIVE FREE COPIES TO YOUR FREINDS
        AND PLACE THIS SYSTEM ON BULLETIN BOARDS. YOU ONLY PAY  IF  YOU  LIKE
        THE  HERCBIOS  SYSTEM  AND  FIND  IT  USEFUL.  PROGRAMERS  THAT WRITE
        PROGRAMS THAT USE THE SYSTEM MAY GIVE AWAY FREE COPIES OF THE  SYSTEM
        WITH THEIR COMMERCIAL OR NON COMMERCIAL PROGRAMS THAT MAKE USE OF IT.



        READ_ME.TXT                                               Page......2


             
             HERE IS A LIST OF THE PROGRAMS THAT COME WITH THE SYSTEM:
 
 
             YOU GET ALL THESE PROGRAMS!
             ___________________________
HERCBIOS COM    ROWS43   COM    ROWS29   COM    ASCITABL COM    TEXT     COM
HERCBIOS DOC    HERCBIOS ASM    ASCICHAR ASM    ASCICHAR COM    ASCITABL ASM
CHANGE   COM    CHANGE   ASM    CLS0     COM    CLS0     ASM    CLS1     COM
CLS1     ASM    DAZZ     BAT    DAZZLE   C      DAZZLE   EXE    DAZZLE2  C
DAZZLE2  EXE    GRAFCHAR ASM    GRAFCHAR COM    MODEMAP  COM    MODEMAP  ASM
PAGE0    COM    PAGE0    ASM    PAGE1    COM    PAGE1    ASM    READ_ME  TXT
ROWS25   COM    ROWS25   ASM    ROWS29   ASM    ROWS43   ASM    TEXT     ASM
HBIOSARC EXE <--- Creates all the other files when run. (use when placing
 this system on bulletin boards)
             
             THIS PROGRAM IS COPYWRITE DOUGLAS MCDANIELS 1988,
                    THEREFORE,
             IF YOU LIKE AND DECIDE TO USE THE SYSTEM,
             THEN YOU MUST SEND A $5.00 LICENCE FEE U.S. TO:
             
             DOUGLAS MCDANIELS
             2627 ARLINGTON DR #101
             ALEXANDRIA VA 22306
             U.S.A.
    
            
             Hercules compatible graphics cards do not have built in INT  10H
        Video  Bios functions like CGA EGA and VGA graphics cards do, so here
        is a TSR program that provides them.
             
 
             I recommend that you load this  driver  from  your  AUTOEXEC.BAT
        file.
             Here  is  how  to load  the driver. First, put the files in  the
        root directory of the diskette into your  utilities  subdirectory  on
        your  hard  disk, (or whatever subdirectory you would rather put them
        in) Though you need not copy the source code  (i.e.  files  with  the
        extension  ASM)  if  you  would  rather not. Make sure, however, that
        there is a path to this subdirectory. If you are  running  this  from
        floppy disks, well, just insert a copy of the diskette into your disk
        drive when you want to execute any of the programs on  the  diskette.
        Then, to load the driver type:
             
             HERCBIOS 43
             ASCITABL
             GRAFTABL



        READ_ME.TXT                                               Page......3


        (If your computer is not sufficiently IBM compatible, then you
        may have to substitute the command ASCICHAR for ASCITABL)

                     
        either  at  the  dos  prompt, or in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. The order
        in which you run these programs is not important. GRAFTABL.COM  is  a
        lesser  known DOS command and will be found in the subdirectory where
        you keep the dos files (that is if you have bothered to include  this
        esoteric  DOS  command  on  your  hard  disk. If not, dig out the DOS
        diskette and put it on your  hard  disk)  The  driver  will  then  be
        loaded.
             
             To  check out the driver to see if it is working correctly enter
        CHANGE at the dos prompt. If you have ANSI.SYS loaded, then you  must
        next  run  ROWS25  which will set the number of rows on the screen to
        25. Otherwise, you will probably now want to run  ROWS43  which  will
        set the number of rows on the screen to 43. YES 43! and you will also
        have 90 COLUMNS on the screen instead of the  usual  80!  Enter  some
        simple  Dos  commands (type a file or whatever) to check it out. Then
        when you would like to return your screen to  the  usual  text  mode,
        just  enter  the  command  TEXT as supplied on the diskette. While in
        this new graphics mode, you might also like to try running  the  demo
        program  DAZZLE.EXE which demonstrates the line drawing routines that
        come with this graphics driver. Complete documentation on the  driver
        will be found in the file HERCBIOS.DOC.
        
        HBIOSARC.EXE IS A PROGRAM THAT, WHEN RUN, CREATES ALL THE OTHER FILES
        ON THIS DISKETTE, AND IS THE PREFERED FORM OF DISTRIBUTION OF THIS
        PACKAGE WHEN DONE VIA MODEM.
        
             
             
             HERCBIOS is unique.
                         unique 
             
             There  has  been much attention lately in the trade press and by
        prominent software publishers such as Borland and Microsoft to the 43
        line  mode  of the EGA (and also to the 50 line mode of the VGA), and
        yet although Monocrome graphics have been around much longer than the
        EGA,  although  it  costs  only  about  $140 to equip a computer with
        monocrome graphics card plus monitor, versus about $500  to  equip  a
        computer with an EGA card plus monitor, and despite the fact that the
        graphics resolution of monocrome computers  is  12.5  percent  better
        than  the  graphics  resolution of an EGA computer, it has never been
        suggested that monocrome graphics computers could support a  43  line
        video mode also, until now.
                         until now 
             
             Yet it is possible, for any program or DOS that makes use of the
        EGA 43 line mode does so by going through the video bios of  the  EGA
        card.  Therefor,  to  provide  a  43 line (90 column) video mode of a
        similar nature for monocrome computers  it  is  merely  necessary  to
        provide  video  bios  routines,  which can easily be installed in the

        READ_ME.TXT                                               Page......4


        form of a small resident program. Such a program is HERCBIOS, and  as
                                                            HERCBIOS         
        far  as  I  know as of this writing HERCBIOS is the only such program
        on the market ( and for a licence fee of just $5.00 it is certainly a
        bargain)
             
             HERCBIOS  should  not  be confused with another type of program,
        the CGA emulator. There are a number of programs available that  will
        make  Hercules monocrome graphics systems emulate the CGA system, but
        that is not what HERCBIOS does. Rather HERCBIOS provides a new  video
        mode  (mode number 254) that has bios routines especially tailored to
        take full advantage of the high resolution of the monocrome  graphics
        adapter including put and get dot, and extended bios routines to draw
        lines very rapidly on the screen.
             
             HERCBIOS has advantages for both the end user and the programer.
        End  users will especially like the way HERCBIOS can be used with P.C
        Magazine's SNIPPER. When installed with the following command line:
             
              SNIPPER 43,90
              
             
        SNIPPER works beautifully with the 43 line mode provided by  HERCBIOS
        enabling the end user to capture save or print an arbitrary rectangle
        of text anywhere from the 43 by 90 character screen. Programers  will
        like  the  speed  with which HERCBIOS functions, much faster than one
        might expect  for  a  video  mode  that  has  graphics  capabilities.
        Programers  will  also like the ease with which programs that do text
        window data display and entry in a text mode can be converted to make
        use  of  the  new  video  mode  for  monocrome systems, making adding
        graphics capabilites, even for monocrome computer users, to old  text
        only  programs  a  snap.  Finally  programers will like the fact that
        they may distribute HERCBIOS along with their programs that make  use
        of it without having to pay a royalty.
             
             In brief, HERCBIOS is a very useful yet very inexpensive utility
        that  virtually  any  monochrome  computer  user   will   soon   find
        indispensable.
             
             
                                                  Sincerely,
              
              
                    
                                                  Douglas McDaniels
          
             

        READ_ME.TXT                                               Page......5


        
        
