Contents
Overview
About The
Manual
Major
Features
What's
New In Version 2
Installation
Running
Never Expire
How
The Program Works
Regional
Settings
Adding
Items To The Execution List
Deleting
An Item
Program
Settings
Using
Help
Executing
A Program
Using
AutoRun
Software
Licence
Fixes/Additions
Upgrades
Late
Additions
Never Expire is a small utility program that can be used to run time-limited programs beyond their expiration dates. The program is not intended to be used as an aid to software piracy, rather as a tool for allowing users to evaluate software over a longer period - users are encouraged to register any Shareware programs they find of value.
This manual covers both versions of the program. Users of the Freeware version will find that some material is not relevant to their use of the package.
It is recommended that all users refer to the online help file for additional information and guidance on using the program.
- Simple to use
- The details of up to 10 separate applications can be stored
- Runs on all Windows platforms (including Win 3.x)
- Stored items can be edited
- Stored items can be deleted
- AutoRun allows automatic execution of applications
- Distributed in Freeware and Shareware versions
Version Limitations
The Freeware version of the program
has the following limitations:
* Only 5 program items
allowed. * No access to program
settings. * Splash (nag) screens
displayed. * Formal product support is
not guranteed.
Why Two Versions?
The initial release version of Never Expire was extremely popular with thousands of copies being downloaded within just a few weeks. However, there were also numerous requests for support - usually for information on where/how to download the program. The volume of requests for support was such that it is no longer feasible to provide this kind of service unless some payment is received to defer expenses.
However, I have deliberately kept the fee as low as possible and the Freeware version of the program remains fully functional (to use a technical term, it has retained its still "useful functionality"). There is no requirment to buy the full version of the program, but doing so will help to guarantee future development of this software and other Freeware packages.
This version of the program has undergone a number of significant changes. The following is a brief summary:
- Completely re-written using Borland Delphi. This creates a much smaller installation, typically less than 300K - saving users more than 500K of disk space! In addition, only a single executable program file is needed as the VB Runtimes are no longer required. This simplifies installation a great deal.
- Online help has now been added to the program.
- Displays are more consistent under different screen resolutions and with small/large fonts.
- Using Borland Delphi provides a somewhat more stable and efficient environment for the program. Although Win 95, 98 and NT users may see little benefit, the program should be far more stable under 3.x.
- Now provided in two versions. The Freeware version is fully functional and supports a list of up to 5 program items. The Shareware version supports up to 10 program items, does not display splash screens and provides control over several important program settings.
- Version 1 supported an unlimited list of program items. This was considered unnecessary since users will seldom need to work with more than 10 programs. Even if they do, they can simply make one or more additional copies of the program in a set of new subdirectories.
- The ability to edit dates has been removed in order to prevent users from making data entry errors. The program supports all dates through 1 Jan 1995 - 31 December 2010. Hopefully, there'll be a new version of the program before 2010!
Never Expire is provided as an a PKZIP archive. Simply create a subdirectory and UNZIP the file.
You can run the program in two basic ways:
1. Create a short cut to NOEXPIRE.EXE on your desktop (see Using AutoRun). Double-click on the short cut to start the program.
2. Locate NOEXPIRE.EXE using Windows Explorer. Double-click the mouse pointer above the file name to start the program.
Never
Expire changes the
system date to fool a target application into thinking that it hasn't
yet expired. It works like this:
- Change the system date
- Run the application listed in the Program List
- Wait for a specified amount of time
- Change the system date back to the correct value
The program can also restore the current path after changing to the working directory of your application.
Unlike Version 1, this version of Never Expire does not need a special setting for the program to be able to distinguish between UK (DD/MM/YY) and US (MM/DD/YY) date formats.
Adding Items To The Execution List
1. Click on the
Edit
Item button to open the
Edit
Item screen.
2. In the Title For Item section, enter a descriptive title for the program that you want to run.
3. In the Program section, enter the full path and name to the file you want to run. For example, if you want to run LIST.COM in the C:\COMMON.UTL subdirectory, you would enter:
Of course, it would be much simpler if you could just click on the name of the file you want to run and let Never Expire do the job of entering the details of the program for you. And, obviously, this is precisely what the Select button (marked with an ellipsis, that is, three full stops [...]). Click on this button to display a file selector. Find the file you want to run and then double-click on its name, or press the Enter key when the name is displayed in the File Name box.
4. In the Working Directory section, enter the full working directory for the program. If you used the file selector to find the program, this will have been filled in for you automatically.
5. In the Parameters section, add any parameters you want to pass to your program.
6. Use the Day, Month and Year boxes to enter a date upon which you know the program ran. As an example, if the 30-day trial period on a program has just run out, choose a date around a week or so ago.
7. Use the Delay box to enter a delay period (in seconds). A setting of 0 (zero) means that there is no delay. Remember that programs take time to load, run and initialise. Set a delay appropriate to the time it takes for your program to begin working.
8. If you change your mind and don't want to make an entry for this program, click on Cancel. Otherwise, click on Okay to record the information.
When you return to the main program screen, the Program List should now contain a new line showing the title of the new program item.
NOTES:
1. You should use the MS-DOS (short) file names for files and paths. Your programs will still work fine and this has no effect on how Never Expire functions. This is so that the program remains compatible with earlier versions of Windows.
2. The maximum length for a complete command line (that is, the program to execute and any parameters) must not exceed 255 characters. This is because this is the maximum length for a parameter string in MS-DOS and early versions of Windows. If the command line is longer than 255 characters, Never Expire will try to shorten it but a runtime error may occur.
1. In the Execution List, click on the item you want to edit. Now click on the Delete Item button to delete the item.
2. You will be asked to confirm if the item should be deleted. Choose Yes to continue or No to return to the main program screen.
You can change some of Never Expire's major settings by clicking the relevant button on the main program screen.
The items displayed on the screen are:
Tooltips
on/off Some
people find tooltips helpful, others dislike them. This
option lets you choose whether or not they are
shown. Exit
Never Expire On Run If
enabled, Never Expire will automatically end after launching
a program. Restore
Path After Run If
enabled, Never Expire will restore the path setting to its
original value after launching a program.
1. Click on the Help button to display the help file. You can also press F1 from any point in the program to access the help file.
1. In the Program List, click on the item you want to run.
2. Now click on the Run Item button to execute the application.
3. When you have finished working with the application, you no longer need Never Expire running, so you can exit the program by clicking on the Quit button.
You can also run an item by simply double-clicking on its name.
AutoRun lets you start an application with Never Expire in much the same way as you might use a program launcher or (for those of you who remember) a DOS batch file. Simply, you can create a short cut on your desktop that launches Never Expire and causes it to run your application automatically. The precise sequence of events is this:
- Never Expire runs.
- The program changes the system date as specified.
- The program runs your application.
- The program pauses as specified.
- The program resets the system date.
- The program ends automatically.
Setting up
a short cut on your desktop is very simple! Follow these
steps:
1. Run Never Expire and note the position of the line (in the Program List) that describes the application you want to run. When you know which line you want to use, you can exit the program.2. Open Windows Explorer and change to the directory containing Never Expire.
3. Find NOEXPIRE.EXE and drag it onto the desktop (hold down the mouse button above its name and drag the mouse pointer to an appropriate place).
4. The short cut has now been created.
5. Click the right mouse button above the short cut and choose Properties from the menu that appears.
6. Click on the Shortcut tab at the top of the dialogue box and look at the Target line.
Edit the Target line so that whatever text is shown is now enclosed in quotation marks. As an example, if the text reads:
change this so it becomes:
7. Now, you will need to recall the line number that you noted in Step 1. Whatever the number was, type it at the end of text you have just edited. Example: if the application I want to run appears on the third line of the Program List, I would add a "1" to the Target line, like this:
(Note the space between the number and the rest of the text.)Similarly, if the application I want to run appears on the eighth line of the Program List, my edited line would look like this:
8. Click on the Apply button and then click on the OK button to record your changes.
From now on,
whenever you want to run the application, just double-click on your
freshly edited short cut!
General Restrictions
You may distribute the program to other users providing that only a complete copy of the package is distributed. A complete, unmodified copy of the package will include all documentation and this Software Licence.
The program may not be sold or hired for profit without the express written permission of the publisher.
Shareware libraries, public software archives and other such bodies may distribute the software providing no charge is made in particular for the distribution of the software. This restriction also applies when the software is included on any compilation or collection of software.
You may not reverse engineer, disassemble, decompile, alter, translate, create derivative works or otherwise reconstruct the software. Furthermore, you may not assist others to reverse engineer, disassemble, decompile, alter, translate, create derivative works or otherwise reconstruct the software. Any action deemed to have assisted a third party in this way will be considered an immediate breach of this agreement.
The author does not waive ownership of copyright and intellectual property: the program remains the property of the author, although it may be distributed freely.
Limited Warranty
This program and its accompanying documentation is supplied AS IS without warranties of any kind. Although care has been taken, the software and documentation are not represented to be error-free. The publisher disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The publisher assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of this software or any accompanying data files. If either the software, documentation or both prove to be defective, the customer agrees to assume the entire cost of all servicing, correction or repair.
Where legislation prohibits the limitation or exclusion of limited warranties, conditions concerning limited warranties do not apply to the customer.
Agreement
Use of this program suite implies that the customer has read and understood the conditions described in the Software Agreement. Furthermore, the customer agrees to abide by the terms of the agreement.
Legal Note
This software is protected by international copyright agreements. Relevant UK legislation includes Copyright, Designs & Patents Act (1988) and the Computer Misuse Act (1990).
24 December
1998
Initial release.
29 December 1998
New features added. Click here for details.
Never
Expire is produced by Advanced
Multimedia. The latest version of the program can always be found at
the following sites:
http://www.start.demon.co.uk
http://www.advancedmultimedia.freeserve.co.uk
http://www.members.tripod.co.uk/advancedmultimedia
You can contact the company as follows:
Advanced Multimedia,
25 Devonshire Drive,
Mickleover,
Derby DE3 5HA.
United Kingdom.Tel: (01332) 820072
E-mail: aml@start.demon.co.uk
The Freeware version of
Never
Expire can be upgraded to a
commercial version at a cost of £10.
Purchasing the software provides the
following benefits:
* Up to 10 items in the
Program List. * Access to program
settings. * No splash (nag)
screens. * Free future updates for the
life of the product. * Access to product
support. * Feel good about
yourself!
Send a cheque, postal order or international money order for £10 to the company address given here.
The full version of the program will be sent you by e-mail within 48 hours of your payment being cleared. If you'd like to receive a copy of the program on disk, please add £1.00 to your order.
Remember to include a valid e-mail address and/or your postal address!
Two new features have been added to the program. These are described below.
Wise Guy, Huh?
Full versions of the program now have access to an additional item in the Edit Item screen. A new option, labelled Wise Guy, Huh? Allows users to specify that Never Expire should pause until a launched application ends. A small number of applications check the system date at regular intervals. These programs will not normally work with Never Expire as the date is restored after a specified delay. The new feature prevents this from happening by pausing Never Expire indefinitely. As soon as the application ends, Never Expire detects this automatically and resumes.
You should take note of the following:
1. When this option is used, a large message appears at the foot of the main program screen to remind you that Never Expire is temporarily disabled.
2. If you have specified a delay for the application, this will be ignored as the Wise Guy option takes precedence (which should be perfectly logical).
3. Never Expire will be disabled until the application has ended. This means that you can only run one application at a time when this option is enabled.
4. Since the system date remains changed until the application ends, be aware that documents, etc. will be stamped with the date you have set and not the correct system date.
5. You can still make use of options such as Exit Never Expire On Run. In this case, Never Expire will terminate as soon as it detects that your application has ended.
Disable On Run
In order to prevent users from accidentally launching several copies of an application, Never Expire now disables all controls on the main program screen until the specified delay is over. This means that you cannot accidentally exit the program, change settings, etc. until control is returned.
Errata
The user manual and this help file should point out that when the program is first started, two error messages will be shown. These can be safely ignored as they refer to two data files that will be created as you begin to work with the program.
End