Flatulator version 2.1 - 11/24/99
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note: For stealth's sake, there is *no* helpfile other than this
"ReadMe" file. This document contains everything you need to know to
work the Flatulator. 

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Description:

A great gag to play on co-workers at the office! At random intervals 
(from a few minutes to a full day) the victim's CD-ROM tray will open, 
the computer will make a rude noise, and the tray will close again.
You can also use it on your own computer -- its great for breaking up
the monotony of the day.

Version 2.1 is now even stealthier! You can set options on-the-fly with
the /S command-line switch, or instruct the Flatulator to fire once then
exit so it doesn't show up on the task list after the victim has been
"Flatulated". But the best new feature is the /F switch. With it you can
tell the Flatulator to run another program. Imagine changing the target of
a program's shortcut to:

"c:\flatulator path\flatulator.exe /F c:\some path\program.exe"

Now every time the victim starts the program, they are arming the Flatulator
without even knowing it! 

*Requires the Visual Basic 6 runtimes*

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History:

2.1	- Added more command-line options (/S, /X, /F)
	- Added 5 new farts
	- Removed the 4 coughs (nobody liked them)
2.0	- Added command-line options
	- Added G-Rated option
	- Added a *lot* of new noises
	- Can now configure frequency of incidences, gross or G-rated 
	  noises (or both), CD tray operation
1.1	- Removed the OCX. Everything (but the VB runtimes) is now 
	  contained in a single executable.
	- Decreased interval between 'incidences'. Now a 1:40 chance once 
	  a minute.
1.0	- The Flatulator is born!

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The Zip file should contain:

	Flatulator.exe
	Flatulator-ReadMe.txt

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Installation:

Place the file "Flatulator.exe" anywhere you like.

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Running:

Just execute the file "Flatulator.exe". The program will run completely 
hidden. The only way to shut down the program is through the Task Manager 
(CTRL-ALT-DEL).

Command-Line Switches:

/f	Run an external program. With this switch, you can change the
	shortcut for a program to point to the Flatulator first. It will
	act like a normal shortcut and the victim will not notice anything
	different.

	Example (for Windows Explorer):
	"c:\somepath\flatulator.exe /F explorer.exe"

	Now, every time the victim uses that shortcut, they run the
	Flatulator on themselves!

/x	"Fire and Forget" mode. Instructs the Flatulator exit after
	firing just once. That way when the victim is "Flatulated", they
	won't find a trace of it running.

/s	Allows you to set the options from the command-line. Valid options
	are: gross=on|off, grated=on|off, cdtray=on|off, ratio=###.

	Example:
	   "c:\somepath\flatulator.exe /s gross=on cdtray=off ratio=120"

	Any options you omit will use the default values (or whatever you
	set previously using the /o switch). Using this switch does not
	save settings to the registry.

/o	Displays an Options dialog where you can set frequency of 
	incidences, gross or G-rated noises (or both), CD tray operation. 
	Any options you	set will be saved to the registry and remembered
	each time the Flatulator is run until the /u switch is used.

/u	Uninstall - removes registry settings

You can also use a combination of command-line options. Example:
"c:\path\flatulator.exe /s gross=on ratio=20 /x /f c:\path 2\program.exe"

Of course, you can always run it with absolutely no command-line options.
In that case it will use these built-in defaults:
	Gross sounds:	on
	G-Rated sounds:	off
	Ratio:		40
	CD Tray:	on

===============================

Tip: You can rename the executable to something less obvious to make it
harder to detect. The victim may look for the file "Flatulator.exe", but
its unlikely they would find "FRTONU.EXE"...

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Breakdown of sounds included:

  Gross (20 total):
    11 farts
     7 belches
     2 barfs

  G-Rated (15 total):
     7 laughs
     2 baby cries
     3 yells
     2 yawns
     1 kiss

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System Requirements:

Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT 4.0
Visual Basic 6 runtimes
A Soundcard
Windows Sound Recorder installed

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Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: How/where do I type in command-line switches?

A: There are several ways to run a program with command-line switches:

   1. The "Run..." command from the Start Menu

      Click the Start Button, and select "Run..." (usually the 3rd option
      from the bottom). In the space provided, type the full path to the
      Flatulator with command-line switches.

      Example: "c:\my documents\flatulator.exe" /o

      The quotes are absolutely necessary if the path contains a space.
      Remember to keep the command-line switches outside of the quotes,
      like the example above.

   2. From the MS-DOS Prompt (or Command Prompt - same thing, different
      name)

      Same as the Run command above, just with a bigger window that you
      must manually close :)

   3. Create a shortcut to the Flatulator and add the command-line switches
      to the end of the Target.

      I will not explain here how to create a shortcut. There are many ways
      - you can read about them in Windows help. Once you have the shortcut, 
      right-click on it and select Properties. Add the command-line
      switches to the end of the line in the Target area.

   4. The Address area in your browser (Internet Explorer only)

      In the Address area of Internet Explorer, type the full path to the
      Flatulator executable with command-line switches, but do not use
      quotes. If you put the quotes in, Internet Explorer will think you
      are searching for it on the Web. I haven't tried this with Netscape.

   5. Find some freeware/shareware program that allows you to run programs
      with command-line options.

      This seems like overkill to me - downloading and installing one
      program to run another. I'm just trying to list all the options here
      for you.

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Known Issues:

1. Problem: The Flatulator starts fine (i.e. no errors reported), but
doesn't seem to do anything. No sounds, no CD tray opening, nothing. *Or*
sometimes the CD tray will open and close, but no sound is played.

Solution: Make sure Windows Sound Recorder is installed. It is a standard
accessory that comes with Windows. Usually it is installed as part of the
"Typical" installation of Windows, but you (or your victim) may have done a
"Custom" install and chosen not to install it with Windows. Open the Control 
Panel, go to Add/Remove Programs, and select the Windows Setup tab at the
top. Scroll through the Components list until you see Multimedia. Highlight
(click on) the word Multimedia, then press the button labeled "Details...".
You will see another Components list, this time listing all of the
Multimedia components. Scroll down this list until you see Sound Recorder.
If the little box to the left of the words "Sound Recorder" does not have a
check mark in it, the Flatulator will not work. To install the Sound
Recorder, first get your Windows Installation CD handy. Then check the
Sound Recorder box (click in it) then click "OK" twice. Follow the
instructions on your screen from there.

2. Problem: The Flatulator plays sounds but the CD tray doesn't open.

Solution: Unfortunately there is no solution to this one. The Flatulator
just doesn't agree with some manufacturer's brand of CD-ROMs. 

3. Problem: When running the Flatulator with the /o switch, the Options
window starts to appear then quickly disappears. *Or* the command-line
switches just don't seem to work.

Solution: The Flatulator is already running - you must kill the first
instance before you can run it again with different command-line options.
This is not really a problem, but a design decision. The Flatulator can
only have one instance of itself running at a time. If the Flatulator
detects another instance of itself is running, it will not execute. Press
CTRL-ALT-DEL and see if it is already on the Task list. If so, kill it
before trying to run it again. Maybe in the next version I will make it pop
up a warning or something.


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Freeware - Distribute to anyone you like (or don't like!). Do whatever 
you want with the program. It's completely safe, but once it's in your 
hands, I take no responsibility for what you do with it or what it does 
to your machine.

TabDown Enterprises
http://redrival.com/tabdown/
tabdown@home.com
