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  Here's my newest version of an Art Deco Theme. It now has startup /
shutdown screens, the screensaver has been improved, and the colors
have been tweaked slightly.

  This theme is copyright 2000 by Ken Hinds. All rights reserved.
It may be freely distributed so long as 1) no individual files
are changed or deleted, and 2) no fee of any type is charged. Not 
abiding by these restrictions will result in bad karma, if not worse.

  I'd be happy to get any feedback, especially suggestions for
improving the Theme.

  Ken Hinds
  hindskw@cts.com
  http://www.users.cts.com/crash/h/hindskw/


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  To install:

  As usual, you need a zip program which will handle long file names.

  Easy way: If you're using WinZip, or your zip program has this
feature, check the "Use Folder Names" option and extract this zip
file into your top directory (probably C:). This assumes that
your Windows, Themes, and Fonts folders are in the standard places.
(The WinZip Wizard will automatically "Use Folder Names", but you 
need to click "Select Different Folder" and choose your main folder.)

  Harder way: Using Windows Explorer, go to your Themes folder
(probably C:\Program Files\Plus!\Themes) and create a new folder 
named Deco. Put the contents of this zip file into the new folder. 
Now go to the new folder and move the theme file up into your Themes
folder. Next, move the two font files (artdeco.ttf and optas1.ttf)
to your Fonts folder (probably C:\Windows\Fonts). Finally, move the
screensaver (deco.scr) to your Windows folder (probably C:\Windows).

  If you have the earlier version of this theme, go ahead and over-
write the older files with these new ones.

  It seems to me that sometimes Windows doesn't immediately register
new fonts. If you don't see new fonts for the icons and title bars,
do this: go to Control Panel (in My Computer). Double-click on the 
Fonts icon. It'll open this window with all your fonts listed. Make 
sure you have ones called "Art Deco SSI" and "Optasia SSI". Close
the window, and you should be ready.


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  Variations:

  This theme should work for both Windows 95 and 98. It should also 
work with NT and Win2K, but I haven't tested it.

  I've included left-handed cursors. To use them, click Start | Run.
In the little prompt that pops up, type:
c:\program files\plus!\themes\Deco\lefthand.bat
(You might want to copy that, and paste it into the little prompt.)
To change back, do the same thing, but type:
c:\program files\plus!\themes\Deco\ritehand.bat

  Each of these BAT files will open up a window when you use it. They
finish almost immediately, so just close the window. You should run 
the batch file before you apply the theme, to avoid confusing your
computer.

  The screensaver can be adjusted to your preferences. Click on
Start | Settings | Control Panel. In the window that opens up, 
double-click on the Display icon. In the next window, click on the
Screensaver tab, and then the Settings button. After you've made your
changes, click OK and then OK, and close the Control Panel.

  I've included some extra backgrounds. To check them out: Go to your
Control Panel (as above) and double-click the Display icon. In the
window that opens up, you'll see a picture of the current background.
In the lower right, you'll see a drop-box labelled "Display". If it
doesn't say "Tile", choose it from the list. Now click the Browse 
button. A window opens up for you to choose the new background. 
Toward the top is a place to "Look in", which probably now says 
Windows. Click there and choose your main folder. In the 
larger box just below, you should see a bunch of folders. Double-
click the one called Program Files. Different folders show up. 
Double-click the one called Plus!. More folders show up; double-click
on Themes. A bunch of stuff shows up. Double-click the folder named
Deco. You should see four files listed now. The one called backtile 
is the default background. Choose one of the others and click Open.
Now click OK, and you're done.

  I've included some extra icons. If you want to use one of them in
place of the standard 4, rename them appropriately.


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  Credits:

  I drew all the cursors, animations, and icons, using Microangelo.

  I drew the background and logo screens, using MS Paint.

  Sounds are from some CD-ROMs of royalty-free sounds.

  Fonts are from a CD-ROM of public domain fonts.

  I wrote the screensaver. It's written in VB4, so you need the
support file VB40032.DLL for it to work. The file should be in your
\windows\system folder. If it isn't, you can get it fairly easily
on the Web. Here is a link to it at Microsoft: (Get the version 4 file.)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/vbasic/runtime.asp


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  Startup, Shutdown, and Wait Screens:

  If you're satisfied with the usual screens you see when you start
up and shut down your computer, or (like me) rarely turn your 
computer off, you can skip this section.

  If your themes program doesn't give you the option of installing
these screens, you can do it by hand. Use Windows Explorer to go to
the new Deco folder, where you'll find four files whose name starts
with "screens". (If you're unfamiliar with Windows Explorer, see the
last paragraph of this section.)

  If you've never changed these screens, it would be a good idea to
make a backup copy of the default ones. To do this, double-click on 
"screens backup.bat". This copies your current screens to ones named
"orig logo.sys", "orig logos.sys", and "orig logow.sys". (If you've
already backed yours up, or aren't using the default ones, or don't
want to bother, you can skip this step.)

  To install the screens for use with this theme, double-click on
"screens install.bat". This renames your existing screens to 
"pre-deco logo.sys", etc., and copies the new screens into place.

  Important: Before switching to another theme, be sure to double-
click on "screens restore.bat" to undo the install. This puts back
the screens as they were before the install.bat was run.

  WARNING: If you double-click on "screens restore.bat" without first
double-clicking one of the other two, you will lose your current 
start, shutdown, and wait screens. If you ran the backup.bat file, 
you can recover them by double-clicking "screens recover.bat";
otherwise you're out of luck. 

  Each of these BAT files will open up a window when you use it. They
finish almost immediately, so just close the window.

  You can also execute any of these files by clicking on Start and 
choosing Run. In the little prompt that pops up, type:
c:\program files\plus!\themes\Deco\
followed by the name of the batch file specified above (don't include
the quotes). 


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  To remove:

  To remove this theme, delete the Art Deco theme and the Deco folder
from your Themes folder. 

  I suppose you could keep my screensaver, but without the rest of
the theme it's kind of pointless, so you might as well go ahead and
delete deco.scr from your windows folder.

  My screensaver (usually) makes entries to the Windows registry.
It won't hurt to leave them there, but if you want to remove them, 
do this:

  Click the Start button, and choose Run. In the little prompt,
type REGEDIT (doesn't have to be in caps), and click OK. 
A display comes up, with a left-hand side and a right-hand side.

  (At this point, it is prudent to make a backup of your registry.
It's probably completely unnecessary, but better safe than sorry.
From the Registry menu, choose "Export Registry File". A window
opens up asking you where to save the export. Choose any convenient
folder. At the bottom of the window is an "Export Range" option.
Make sure ALL is chosen. Click SAVE.)

  On the left-hand side of the display, find the folder named
"HKEY_CURRENT_USER" and click the little plus-sign next to it. Some
more folders appear. Find the one called "Software" and click its
little plus-sign. More folders appear. Find one called
"VB and VBA Program Settings", and click its little plus-sign. Even
more folders appear. Find one called "KenApps" and click its 
little plus-sign. If there is no "KenApps" folder, you can stop at
this point and exit the registry by choosing Exit from the Registry
menu.

  If more than one folder appeared under "KenApps", click on the one
named "Deco". If "Deco" was the only folder, click instead on the
"KenApps" folder. If there is no "Deco" folder, you can stop at this
point and exit the registry by choosing Exit from the Registry menu.

  Press the Delete key. You get a message asking if you really want 
to delete the Key. Choose Yes. 

  Close the Registry display by clicking its little X button, or by
choosing Exit from the Registry menu.


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