ZoneRings_32_2.2 Screen Saver and Interactive Eye Candy, by John Biddiscombe
Instructions.. and inserting ZR_Plus designs by Saoirse:

(John Biddiscombe's's ZoneRings Help Book is part of the original program; much of what I'm covering in 
here regarding general ZoneRings operation is already in the book, but it's worth repeating here, in case any of you don't speak fluent "techie")

***YOU MUST HAVE ZoneRings_32_2.2 installed on your computer before you can run my designs..so go 
ahead and:

1) Unzip Zonerings. If you have WinZip, it will self-install. If for any reason it doesn't 
self-install, double-click the zrings_32.exe icon and let it create its folder as it will 
(to C:\Program Files\ZoneRings.) Let the installation finish, click the 'finish' button, and 
close it out for now.

2) YOU MUST SET ZONE RINGS TO AUTO-CHANGE YOUR COLOUR SETTINGS IF NECESSARY. Installation will likely auto-set the force-screen-mode settings change (don't worry, these auto-change back to your normal colour settings when Zonerings is closed, and does no harm to your puter), but if it doesn't and you are running 
Windows 98, right-click anywhere on desktop for the menu, select "properties"  then on Display 
Properties box, select the Screensaver Tab, scroll down to the bottom of the screensaver menu, 
select "Zone_Rings_32" then click the "settings"  button. on that box, click the "Other Options" 
tab. MAKE SURE that there are check marks for "Allow Automatic Screen Mode Change On Activation" 
and check also "Allow Forced screen mode change if necessary" (again, this will NOT harm your system, 
it simply allows the program to run in 256 colour mode.. ZoneRings will not run in the higher colour 
settings.) Click "Okay" on that box, then if you dont want to run Zonerings as a screensaver, 
set the listing back to "none" or the screensaver you wish to run, click "apply" then "okay" then close the Display box. If running 
Windows 95, access your Display Properties through your Start button> Settings> Control Panel> 
Display, and follow the directions above. Your Colour Settings will automatically change back upon closing ZoneRings.

3) If your zip program allows, unzip ZRings_Plus directly to your installed ZoneRings Program folder, and click "yes to all" when you get messages saying 'this file already exists, do you wish to replace it with the new file'   OR: Locate the original installed ZoneRings folder in C:\Programs\Zonerings, open it, delete sub-folder titled "Palette" and 
replace with my enhanced "Palette" sub-folder by 'cut and paste' if you don't delete the palette folder beforehand, just click 
'yes' when it says "file already exists, do you want to replace it with this file") My Palette sub-folder contains the original 26 or so palettes John included, and quite a few palettes that i generated or wrote myself...(errrmm.. i kept finding a 
zillion colour combinations i really liked *hangs head, embarrassed* *thinks: did i really NEED 
all those? nope probably not, but they were soooo pretty*.. John made Palette saving available and just TOO cool, and learning how to write my own palettes was fun too.. )

4) Next (if your zip program didn't allow you to unzip directly to the original Zonerings folder) cut and paste, or 'save as' my two .cmp files, and the .bin file, into the ZoneRings program file, letting the .bin file replace the original. DO NOT RENAME the .cmp files, 
please, or you wont know which ones contain my designs. The original program settings are named 
"Zone_Rings_32_Settings.cmp" The files with my designs are titled 
"ZR32_PlusSaoiri.cmp" and "ZR32_SimplySaoiri.cmp"  I am including both of these; the PlusSaoiri file includes all the original designs by John, with mine added, and the SimplySaoiri file contains my designs alone, for the sake of showing just where i started in writing my designs.

***NOTE*** The original designs created by John Biddiscombe are the first 241 settings in the PlusSaoiri.cmp file; John's designs end with "Seiler's Revenge." 
The designs I wrote are the last 326 or so, (beginning with the design named 
"A Purple People Eater") out of the 567 or so designs in this file. 
(this number could change as i haven't gotten bored yet with making new designs *grin* 
I will include any new designs in future Plus files I send out, or make them available for downloading on my site, so check often for updates. 
The original .cmp file that came with the ZoneRings program  has only the 241 original settings, and  wont use the palettes i created 
(unless they were designed to run the random RGB loop, in which case they will most likely 
cycle thru my palettes along with the original ones as they travel through the RGB loop)

5)  Cut and paste this .txt file into the ZoneRings program file too so you have it as a quick reference.

If you dont want to run this as a screen saver, you dont have to, you can access the program off 
your Start button, just for the eye-candy. Running it as a program instead of a screensaver will also allow you to access the ZoneRings Control Panel easily, with one left-click of the mouse. This makes it easy to edit, change cycling or creating and saving your own designs.
So, hit Start> Programs> ZoneRings> click the ZoneRings_32 icon.
this starts the program running. To exit the program, one left mouse click, to open the 
ZoneRings Control Panel, then bottom right side of Panel, click the button that says "Kill Zone Rings"

All three .cmp files are compressed files and you can switch between the three. My Plus settings are the ones presently tagged to cycle. 
Here's How to Switch Files:

Run ZoneRings as a program, from your Start> Programs menu.
To switch to a .cmp file that has my designs, click the left-mouse button once, this brings up 
the ZRings Control Panel. At the bottom center of the Control Panel, click the "Extra Options" button, 
Here, you can place a check in "Randomly cycle thru all settings" or "Randomly Cycle thru Tagged Settings Only" if you prefer, depending on your preferences. Now, just below 
where it says "Settings File, Click to Change"
click the bar that says "Zone_Rings_32_Settings.cmp"  this will open the program file, and in 
the file box, click on "ZR32_PlusSaoiri.cmp" (the one that contains both John's and my designs) so it appears in the open-slot. Click 
"open" then click "OK" on the Extra Options Box, and close the Control Panel. (or click the "Kill ZoneRings" button)If you prefer to run my designs alone, select "ZR32_SimplySaoiri.cmp" instead of PlusSaoiri.cmp

** NOTE **
You CAN and SHOULD make changes to cycle through ANY of the designs you like, at any time, untag the ones you don't like, or cycle thru them all, using the ZR32_PlusSaoiri_S.cmp file. John's designs are wonderful.
...see below for how to change settings, and set designs to cycle:


WHILE RUNNING ZONE_RINGS_32 AS A PROGRAM (From your START>PROGRAMS Menu):
 Go back into the control panel (one left mouse click) bottom left is a button labeled   
"Load Settings"   click that, it'll open a small-screen display with a list of all the designs 
by name. The ones currently set to cycle have a little box-like 'tag' opposite the design name. 
Click once on any design name to see the small-screen sampling of the design, then  double-click under the "Tag" label to set a tag on that design or to 'untag' it. Untagging will disable that design from running, until you tag it again. 


YOU CAN CREATE YOUR OWN DESIGNS TOO.

By exploring the thingies on the control panel, you can make changes to any design, select 
different palettes, and save what you did if you like it. Poke around the controls and palette 
list to see what they do. To SAVE anything you changed, click the "Save Settings" button  at the
bottom of the control panel..a new list of the designs comes up, showing in highlite which 
design you are making changes to. If you made something you like, hit the button at the bottom 
of the list that says "Create New Setting." As a default name, "New Setting" will appear as the title on the list; delete that and type in a name for your design (preferably a silly one, per John B's request *grin*) and hit the 'OK" 
button. 
If you hit the "OK" button without using the "Create New Settings" button, you will overwrite 
the design you started playing with, but BE SURE you want to, cos once you hit "OK" the old 
design is gone forever. If you arent sure you want to lose the original design, use the 
"Create New.." button. It's PREFERRED that you leave existing designs as they are, however, 
and save your changes as "New Settings"   This is in accordance with 
John B's wishes, and personally, I'd prefer any changes to my designs be saved as entirely new designs as well.  Even if you just change the palette for a design, and want to keep it with that palette, save it as "New"

So now you've made new a design and your design is saved for good.. and you've stuck with John B's
ideals and given your design a goofy name. If you DO make a whole lot of new designs 
(i swear, it's great fun, AND addicting to make new designs, whether they are written from scratch, or based on a prior design) and save them, you might want to make a new .cmp 
file with your name added.. it's a good idea. 
Then you'll have files that record not only where John left off, where I picked up and left off,
but where you picked up and began making great new stuff. 
So, click the "Extra Options" button, and there, click the bar with the present 
.cmp title on it. In the file box, type a name for your new file in the "open" slot.(do not change the .cmp part tho) click "open" 
It will ask you if you want to dump all settings into this file, click "Yes"  
this will compress ALL the designs, and save the tags on whatever you had set, including any new designs you've made.

**SEPARATING YOUR NEW DESIGNS INTO YOUR OWN .CMP FILE:
There's a way to separate the designs too if you should want to have just your designs in a 
separate .cmp file...  if you get stuck with this, email and ask me, and I'll be glad to walk you thru it. Basically, you have to create a new .cmp file, as stated above, and when it asks if you want to dump all the old settings into this new file, click "No." Then, by switching to your original file, selecting one of your designs (thru the "Load Settings" button) and switching BACK to the new .cmp file, you then save it thru the "Save Settings" list: click "Create New Settings"  type in your design name as it was in the original file, and click "OK". This way, your design that you just had running from your original File will save to your new .cmp file.. yep it's time consuming if you do a lot of designs all at once,
and yep, this is how i made the SimplySaoiri file.  There's a way to go into a .cmp file and delete everything up to your first design (but make sure you make a copy of the origninal file)..  frankly, i think hand-deleting 501 designs, each in a long text, is a lot more tiresome than hand-dumping your designs into a new file one by one as you make them.  If you remember to do it when you make each new design, it takes just a few seconds and saves you a lot of work later. 


LEGAL SHTUFF:

Getting back to ZoneRings creator, John Biddiscombe, when he first created ZoneRings, he made a gift of his wonderful screensaver as FREEWARE, and made the program available on the net as freeware 
for several years. Lately, and sadly, most of the ZoneRings download sites are inoperative, 
with the exception of a few kind netizens who have included the download on their personal 
websites. Graphics Depot also has a ZoneRings download available, still freeware, but they 
are charging for their add-on, "ZoneRings Supercharger." Personally, I feel this is against 
John B's intent and ideal of keeping ZoneRings free, but that's their karma. This is what John  
stated in the ZoneRings Help book, under Legal Rubbish:

"Zonerings are free to a good home.  
 
Distribute anywhere (and everywhere if you please). 
 
You may not sell them or in any other way make financial gain without my say so. " (and he's not easy to find these days)

So, with that in mind, my designs for ZoneRings must also be KEPT, and distributed FREE.
If you create your own designs and want to make them available to others, it would be kind if you too, kept them FREE.

Lastly, I'd like to say that ZoneRings is probably THE BEST screensaver of all time. While there 
are other nice screensavers out there, it's my opinion as an artist that nothing beats ZoneRings 
for screensaver art and interactive eye candy. Brightest blessings and deepest thanks to John 
Biddiscombe, where ever he is, for this beautiful gift.



** trivial stuff that nobody cares about but I'm putting it in anyhoo:
 
some of my designs were made with specific people in mind; those people were named where space allowed. 

**Rare Old Times** was made in loving memory of my 'Anam Chara,' Bill Hall, a true soul-friend,  
thoughout many years, who touched the hearts of so many, and who really did give his heart and 
soul to those he loved. The design title relates to his favourite song "Dublin in the Rare Ould 
Times" Keep growing and healing in Spirit, mo chara..you are always in our hearts and prayers.
**Seamrg** in loving memory of Gerry Hallinan, my Gaelic teacher and spiritual father, who taught 
me to love the Irish Language, the language of my mother's people.
**TriColour** in memory of Damien McClinton, whose life was dedicated to the cause of Irish 
Freedom. He touched us all with his warmth, humour, a ready smile, and a kind hug. 
These three special souls together taught me so much about friendship, unity, and dedication of 
purpose. My own name, once just a word-name to me that i constantly had to tell everyone how to 
pronounce, and its meaning, just another word, as Janis Joplin sang, for nothing left to 
lose, I now wear proudly in their honour and memory. (pronounce it "SEER-sha" btw or "SAYR-sha" if you're like our Gerry, i dont mind either way ... it means 'freedom' *grins*)

**Galactic CookieTosser** and **Intergalactic CookieTosser** go out to Elmer B. and Darryl F,: good tunes, good company, the Zeiss, and spinning the stars after a night's work was done..days gone by, but never forgotten.

**The Auld Triangle**...a song often heard done by the Dubliners. This design goes out to 
Pat L., Bill F., Brian C., and Steve C., who always sang that song for us, so beautifully.

**Dark Star** and **DarkStarr55 still shines over Canandaigua** go out to Patty McC...another Anam Chara very dear to me, we've shared so many years, tears, 
craic, tunes, books, art, beads, tie-dye, recipes, incense, candles,  solstice, "deady-bears," "snerts" and just
pure badness at the poker & euchre games with NO end of laughs. love ya, Patty, you are always in my heart. Now pack up Frank and Jake and MOVE yer arse back here, will ya??? *evil grin*

**The Kind Zone-dala** goes out to Joy K. wonderful friend and delightful soul; that sense of "hey i KNOW you!" was there from our first meeting.. visits were always filled with good times, good energies, good tunes, good spirits. Jeeeez i miss you since you moved away! Between you and Patty, i learned to use computers without breaking anything *L* and between you, Patty, and Meeshie i learned to appreciate the Grateful Dead too *grins and tosses y'all a "deady-bear"* love ya, dear friend


**Bloo Roses for a Red Lady** goes out to Nakishbia H., my spiritual sister..I could go on and on 
about what you mean to me, but you already know all that so I'll just shut up and say  "love ya, Naki!" *tries to give you back your word "y'all"* jeeeez, of all the things to stick on a 
person *rolls her eyes*  *L* *tries again to flick "y'all" at y'all *EEEEEP!!!*  *bites her tongue*..awww hellll i give up.. *snert* 

**ShaggiZoneus Autumnus** goes out to my baby-sister, Autumn Caoilin R. ...I could go on and on here too, but my sisters know what they mean to me. Can NEVER say enough good things about your sisters, eh? crab-nabbing and leonine shtuff, peacocks and their taps, more snerts and no end of laughs, Love ya, sis.. and *taps her foot impatiently* now TAKE care of yourself, 
crabnabbit! *looks at her shaggy baby sister and winks knowingly cos baby-sis caught Naki's "y'all" too *LOL*

**Toli Scrolly Roli** goes out to our sister Lin, your kindness, warmth and loving heart make you such a joy to be around.. you are our treasure (((hugs))) love you, sis

**Thinkin' Round Corners** goes out to Becky G., anam chara/adopted daughter; Your presence over these many years has filled my heart with so much joy. Now i watch your own little one unfold and grow more like you every day.. what a sacred gift it is to have you all in my life. Love you, sweetie, and Rachel and Brian too!

**Sweetheart Rose for a Goddess Brat** goes out to Breanna D., my beloved "net-brat" whose Light shines so brightly. Love you, Baby-brat-girl! (((((hugs))))))

*Cricklewood Craictus* goes out to Jim D., who ..errrm...couldn't blow the hat off his head
in a high wind (nope, i didn't forget that *L*) Will never forget you always saying to me "The 
craic was good in Cricklewood" YOU were good craic, my friend; All the best to you :o>

*Flowering Craictus* goes out to Sen McG. Will never forget you, sweet friend, and wherever you are, I pray you are well.

*Chrismoose Craictus* and *Craictus in Autumn* go out to everyone who knows what "Craic" means...
*wink*


*Anam Chairde Heart2Heart* Aman Chairde is Irish Gaelic for "Soul-Friends"... those special ones 
who are there with you and for you lifetime after lifetime. Some are only there for a moment, 
others walk with you for many years, or even your whole lives; you may stand side by side in quiet 
support, or side by side strongly proclaiming your bond. Quietly or loudly, for a moment or for 
a lifetime, always, the bond is one of KNOWING. This goes out to all those in my life who are, 
have been, or will yet be, my own anam chairde. The design shows two hearts that touch, become 
part of one another and reflect back to each other, with the knowledge and promise (crossing of 
the hearts) of eternal (diamonds=forever) friendship. Love and Light to each one of you.

**Zoneoscopy on a Bloo Schmoo** goes out to Win L., the first of soul-friends to come into my life, and has stood by me for over 30 years filled with laughter over goofy and disgusting things (thanks for teaching me the word 'sigmoidoscopy' at age 16 by the way, will i EVER forget that??? *LOL*) KlipschHorns, Rain, Portable People, Gary C sitting on telephone books to reach his piano keys *nudge-nudge-wink-wink*..all those hours of watching "Young Frankenstein" and "Blazing Saddles" and the bits of trivia you provided. Friends for life, babe ((hugs)) and give Betsy hugs for taking such good care of you for me. 

**Lost Cow...**  **..and the Lonesome Moo** these two go out to my mom.  When i was very young my mother had a book titled "The Lost Continent of Mu" ...seemed the book was everywhere i looked. For some odd reason, the title never stuck in my mind as a child, it transformed itself in my warped little brain to "The Lost Cow and the Lonesome Moo" when i'd ask her to tell me about things that were in the book...
( i was a little kid fer-gawd's-sake! *L*) anyhoo, the title's warp stayed in my so-called-mind all these years, and as years went on, warping words became something of a habit. (extra ((hugz)) to Patty McC. and my Becky-Brat for sharing that particular brand of weirdness, we'd laugh for hours over the dumbest word-warps we could think of)

**Four Winds** goes to my sister Marcie Cate Hokte.. time and distance separate us. blood and humour keep us strong as we go on enjoying and sharing all we learn. may we always learn, and laugh together... love you, sis.

**a Li'L Shaky** .. when i was 16 i broke my ankle, and an artist-friend of my mom's did a painting just for me, of a little bird  with a cast and crutch; he'd titled it after his own nick-name "Shaky-Bird"... i treasured that painting and have never forgotten his kindness, so this design goes out in his honour. Blessings and love to you, ShakyBird, wherever you may be now.

**Dreamweaver: Ode to a Dream Walker** i will forego explaining this one at this time.. he knows who he is, and the special place he holds in my heart. Is lainn an t-anam thsa; is gr geal mo chro th.


**Other assorted titles and tributes go out in honour of various musicians, teachers, and special souls...these designs 
were reminders to me of musical artistry, smiles, wisdom, or beauty of Spirit, or, as in one or two cases, all of these blessings combined. These special ones have brought so much to so many people, and no end of joy to me.

**Primrose for Penrose** goes out to Desmond Penrose, my first Irish step-dancing teacher. This kind, gentle man took me on as an older student when other teachers had turned me away. It was Des, and his faith in me, that brought me the opportunity to dance in the World Feis.

re: **ZoneBall in 1 Swell Foop** came from an acting scene between Charles Keating and Victoria Windham that made me laugh, where Keating was attempting to say "One Fell Swoop" they had a hard time containing their own grins over the failed line which was aired, blooper and all, on the show.

re: **HymnZony of Earth** Malcom Dalglish is pure brilliance on hammered dulcimer; this title refers to his lp "Hymnody of Earth"

re:**VDG Zonerator who am da other one** Van der Graaf Generator and Peter Hammill fans will get the reference to "H to He Who Am the Only One" .. a VdGG album from 1970

re: **Turning..** and **Turning Back** two brilliant songs by Alex de Grassi. these are among the most beautiful solo-acoustic guitar tunes i have ever heard.

re: **Enigma Zone: a Cross of Changes** a nod to Michael Cretu/Enigma, named for the album, which is wonderful.

re: **Early Genesis tribute** (which covers several designs) "Giant Hogweed" is from the lp "Nursery Cryme" song: Return of the Giant Hogweed"  the following designs are from the "Foxtrot" lp: ** We Watch in Reverence..**  **..As Narcissus is Turned..**  **..To a Flower..**  **..A Flower?** these are from "How Dare I Be So Beautiful" (a portion of "Supper's Ready" ) 
 **Can't You Feel Our Souls Ignite..**  **Shedding Ever Changing Colours**  **In the Darkness of the Fading Light** are from "As Sure As Eggs is Eggs" .. another portion of "Supper's Ready"


Enjoy ZoneRings and ZRings_Plus, and feel free to pass them on; as John B. said, they are free to a good home. Distribute them anywhere and everywhere, if you please.

Saoirse Smith
Saoirse_@hotmail.com