Game Menu ver 1.3
Copyright: (C) 1997
Jim Pragit Software
Programmed by Jim Pragit


What is Game Menu?
        JP-Soft's Game Menu is one of the most advanced 
universal emulator front ends in existence today.  It presents 
a simple and easy to use menu for game selection.  

Why use a front end?
	Because it's a lot easier!  Game Menu completely 
eliminates the endless and error prone monotony of constantly 
typing lengthy DOS commands.  Instead, it gives a menu showing 
all your games.  To play a game, just click on it with your 
mouse and Game Menu takes care of the rest!  Plus, it can even 
display actual game names instead of DOS filenames.  In other 
words, instead of seeing a list full of cryptic filenames like 
SRAID32.BIN or S_SPIN.GG, you see real game descriptions like 
Star Raiders and Sonic Spinball.

Which emulators work with Game Menu? 
	Virtually any and all emulators that can be run from a 
command line will work with Game Menu. To date, Game Menu has 
been tested with:
- AdamEm (Adam/ColecoVision)
- ColEm (ColecoVision)
- DVI (Vectrex)
- fMSX (MSX)
- Massage (Sega Master System/GameGear)
- MasterGear (Sega Master System/GameGear)
- PC Atari (Atari 2600)
- Stella (Atari 2600)
- Virtual Gameboy (Nintendo Gameboy)
- Virtual Super System (Atari 5200)

What are some of the Game Menu's features?
- Simple and easy to use Menu System
- Mouse Support
- User Configurable Colors and Interface
- Built-in Support for Stella's VCS Files
- Three Dimensional Text-Based Graphics
- Online Help

How do I install Game Menu?
	Copy GameMenu.exe and GameMenu.txt to the same 
directory as the emulator.  Then, you need to create a 
GameMenu.ini file (if one hasn't already been provided).

What is the GameMenu.ini file?
        The GameMenu.ini file is a simple text file that gives 
Game Menu information on how to run a particular emulator.  
Three example ini files have been included: 
 - Stella.ini for Stella (Atari 2600 emulator)
 - ColEmDos.ini for ColEmDos (ColecoVision emulator)
 - DVE.ini for DVE (Vectrex emulator)
If you use any of these three emulators, simply rename the 
appropriate example file as GameMenu.ini.  If you use any 
other emulators, use these files as examples and modify them 
accordingly.  Further explanations can be found in these ini 
files themselves.

Why use an initialization (ini) file?
	To make Game Menu a universal front end.  This way,
JP-Soft's Game Menu can be used with virtually all emulators 
available today by simply changing a few lines in the 
GameMenu.ini file.  This makes Game Menu very flexible and 
saves you the trouble and confusion of using a different front 
end for each and every emulator you use.

How do I modify GameMenu.ini?
	You can use any text editor you want, such as EDIT or 
Notepad.  Personally, I prefer to use UltraEdit.  UltraEdit is 
available for Window 3.1x and Windows 9x.  You can download a 
shareware version from: 
http://www.idmcomp.com

What needs to be in the GameMenu.ini?
	At the bare minimum, only three lines are needed in 
the following format:
  CMD emulator_filename
  DIR directory_where_the_ROM_images_are 
  EXT dos_filename_extension
The CMD line gives the filename of the emulator.  The DIR line 
gives the directory where the ROM images are.  The EXT line 
gives the filename extension of these ROM images.  (It might 
also be a good idea to include the drive and complete path in
the CMD and EXT lines.)  For example:
  CMD C:\Stella\Stella.exe
  DIR C:\Stella\ROMs\
  EXT BIN
All other lines are completely optional.

What if I have more than one emulator?
	Copy GameMenu.exe and GameMenu.txt to each emulator's
directory and create a GameMenu.ini file for each of these 
emulators.  Make sure the appropriate ini file is in the 
correct directory.  For more details on how to create an ini 
file, read the example ini files included with this 
distribution.

I'm using Game Menu for more than one emulator.  How can I get 
each copy of Game Menu to use the same settings and colors?
	Create a directory called JP-Soft on the root 
directory of your drive.

What do I have to do to use Game Menu's support for Stella's 
VCS files?
	Nothing.  This feature is automatic.

How do I add descriptions for the ROM images?
        Simply select the game you want in the main menu, hit
F6(or ALT,E,D) and then type in the description.  Please note
that each ROM image filename should have a unique description.

What if I discover a bug?
	Send E-mail with a complete and accurate description  
of the problem to JPSoftCo@aol.com.

Is Game Menu copyrighted and how much does it cost?
	Yes, Game Menu is copyrighted by the author, James 
Pragit.  Although, it is copyrighted, no fee is charged for 
this program.  You are free to distribute this program to 
anyone you want, just keep all the files together (including 
this one as it is the only file containing any documentation
on Game Menu).

Is there any disclaimer?
	 Game Menu has been thoroughly tested and debugged on
a variety of emulators, computers and users and found to be
perfectly safe.  However, it is impossible to anticipate every 
possible situation or contingency that may arise.  Therefore, 
neither Jim Pragit nor Jim Pragit Software make  any guarantees 
towards its safety and accepts no responsibility for any harm 
it might do, however unlikely. 

Why did I write Game Menu?
	Because, the other front end programs I've seen (and 
used) always seemed to lack certain features I wanted.  For 
example, Game Menu is the only universal DOS front end I know 
of that lets you use a mouse.  Also, Game Menu has a nice, 
three-dimensional look that other programs like this lack.  
Further, my program is the only one that I know of that has 
built-in support for Stella's VCS files.  This is one of the 
advantages of being a programmer; if there isn't a program 
out there that does what you want it to, you can write your 
own.  

Who is Jim Pragit?
       I'm a senior at Northern Illinois University majoring 
in Computer Science.  I've worked with computers on both the 
software side (as a programmer) and hardware side (as a PC 
technician).  I've written many programs including the 
critically acclaimed Free Space DOS utility, chosen as 
America Online's DOS Forum's Top Pick in 1996.  My languages 
of choice include C, Cobol, and Visual Basic.  I graduate in 
December 1997.

What other programs does Jim Pragit Software offer?
	Although I've written many programs, Game Menu and 
Free Space are the only ones being freely distributed at this 
time.  CompuSearch is also available for a nominal fee.

Does Jim Pragit Software have a web site?
	Yes.  There, you can find the latest version of Game 
Menu as well as an updated and an expanded FAQ (HTML-ized to 
boot) and other free software.  Also in the works is a Game 
Menu archive and a page dedicated to the Atari 7800 ProSystem. 
The URL is:
http://members.aol.com/jpsoftco

What if I have a suggestion or comment about Game Menu?
	Send E-mail to JPSoftCo@aol.com.

Final Note:  If you have a gamemenu.ini file for an emulator 
other than the three examples previously mentioned, please 
email it to JPSoftCo@aol.com so that it can be included 
with future editions of Game Menu.  Any help you can provide
will be greatly appreciated.
