/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//
//  Welcome to Singularity for Microsoft(r) Windows(r) 95/98/NT!
//
//  Version 4.02                   Last updated:   June 30, 1998
//
//  Copyright (c) 1998, WinAbility.Com. All rights reserved.
//
//  http://www.winablity.com   "The Way Software Should Be!" (tm)
//
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

This file contains introductory information regarding the software
product "Singularity for Windows 95/98/NT".

TABLE OF CONTENTS
--------------------------------------------------------------

1. About Singularity
2. System requirements
3. Installing and uninstalling Singularity
4. This is 'Try Before You Buy' software!
5. Obtaining updates to the software
6. Getting customer support

---------------------------------------------------------------

1. About Singularity
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for choosing Singularity for Windows 95/98 and Windows 
NT 4.0 !

Singularity is a powerful yet easy to use 32-bit file management 
tool for computers running the Windows 95/98, or Windows NT 4.0 
operating systems.  It lets you manage your files and folders easier 
and faster, using the convenient double-panel framework (pioneered 
in Norton Commander), while maintaining close integration with the 
standard Windows user interface. 

Singularity has the following features:

o  The main window of Singularity hosts two panels, independently 
   displaying the contents of folders of your computer, just like 
   the built-in Windows Explorer does.  Each panel may be used to 
   browse all folders, both virtual and real ones, located on local 
   or remote drives.  Having two independent panels is especially 
   convenient when copying or moving files: enabling you to see the 
   contents of the source and destination folders.

o  Powerful means of navigation between folders: the Most Recently 
   Visited Folders (History) lists, maintained for each panel 
   independently;  the pop-up Folder Tree window that lets you 
   browse the whole hierarchy of folders;  the drive bar and drive 
   list, etc.

o  Various ways of customizing the look and feel of the listings 
   shown in the panels according to your preferences:  single- or 
   double-click activation, full row selection, underlining the hot 
   or cold items, etc. (Note: Older versions of Windows wont support 
   all these options.)

o  Commands to directly manipulate files and folders (copy, move, 
   rename, delete).  Unlike the built-in commands offered by Windows 
   Explorer (which are still available and supported),  Singularitys 
   commands do not involve the use of the clipboard.  So now you can 
   work with files in a direct and straightforward way.

o  Quick Edit is a command that lets you use your favorite text editor 
   to open files that are not necessarily associated with a particular 
   application (such as Readme.1st, Readme.now, etc.).

o  Command prompt lets you quickly run programs that accept command-
   line arguments.  Singularity saves you time by allowing you to 
   insert the names or full paths of the selected file objects 
   directly into the command prompt.

o  Drive bar lets you quickly go from one drive to another with just 
   one click of the mouse!  Singularity remembers the folder you were 
   browsing last time for each drive, and when you click on a button 
   on the drive bar, the view is instantaneously switched to that last 
   visited folder.

o  Toolbar offers you quick access to the most heavily used commands 
   of Singularity.  You can customize the set of buttons that appear 
   on the main toolbar, as well as their visual appearance (flat or 
   pop-out buttons).  The toolbar may be docked along any side of the 
   main window, or it may be left floating above it.

o  Status bar indicators show various pieces of useful information, 
   such as the current load of the RAM (Random Access Memory), free 
   space left on the current drive,  the current date and/or time, etc. 
   You can control which indicators are displayed.

o  While providing new means to work with your files and folders, 
   Singularity fully supports the traditional tools and commands 
   offered by the Windows user interface, such as the right-click 
   accessible shortcut menus,  the panel toolbars that let you copy, 
   cut, and paste files via the clipboard (just like Windows Explorer 
   does), drag-and-drop operations, etc.

o  Context-sensitive Help provides a complete user's guide to Singularity.
   Also included is an automatic Setup utility, allowing you to painlessly 
   install and uninstall Singularity.

Try it - You won't believe how you were able to work without Singularity!

"The Way Software Should Be!" (tm)

____________________________________________________________________

2. System requirements
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Singularity is designed for operating systems Windows 95/98 and 
Windows NT (version  4.0 or higher). There are no special requirements 
or recommendations except the obvious one: the  better processor and 
more RAM your computer has the better Singularity will perform.

At least 1 MB (one megabyte) of free space on your hard disk is required 
to install Singularity.  

Singularity CANNOT be installed and used under the following operating
systems:

- Windows 3.1/3.11, even if Win32s is installed
- Windows for Workgroups 3.11, even if Win32s is installed.
- Windows NT all versions prior to 4.0.

_____________________________________________________________________

2. Installing and uninstalling Singularity
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Singularity comes with the Setup utility, which allows you to 
both install and uninstall it.

To install Singularity:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a) If you have obtained Singularity as a compressed file, 
uncompress the file into a temporary folder on a hard disk, 
or on a floppy diskette.

b) Open folder containing the uncompressed set of  Singularity 
files with Explorer and run Setup.exe.

c) The installation program will walk you through the process 
of setting up Singularity.  You will be prompted to enter your 
registration information, and specify installation options such 
as the folder where to copy the files, etc.  

IMPORTANT: when entering the registration information, please 
make sure you enter your name in exactly the same way as it is 
spelled on your Registration Acknowledgment, otherwise the 
registration code will not be accepted. If your name is not shown 
on the Registration Acknowledgment, you should spell your name 
in the same way as you have spelled it when placing the order 
(that is, if you have ordered  with a credit card, enter your name 
as it appears on the card, etc.)

d) After you press the Finish button, the installation program 
will copy the files into the specified folder and configure Windows 
for using Singularity.

f) After the installation is complete, you may delete files from 
the temporary folder, from  which you have run Setup.exe.

To uninstall Singularity:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOTE: It is NOT sufficient to simply delete the files of Singularity 
to completely uninstall it.  Please follow the procedure described 
below to uninstall Singularity and clean up your system configuration:

1. Open Control Panel.

2. Double click the "Add/Remove programs" icon. 

3. When the dialog box appears, make sure that the 
"Install/Uninstall" page is selected.

4. Select the "Singularity" line in the list of software that 
can be uninstalled.

5. Click the "Add/Remove" button.

We hope you will change your mind!

____________________________________________________________________

4. This is TRY BEFORE YOU BUY software
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Singularity is NOT free or public domain software. 

It is "Try Before You Buy" software.  

This means that you may use the program for a total of 14 days 
(not necessarily all in a row) to evaluate it, and determine 
whether Singularity meets your needs.  At the end of this trial 
period, you must either register Singularity (purchase a license 
for continued use of the program), or discontinue using Singularity.  

For the complete text of the evaluation use license, refer to file 
License.txt that is included in the Singularity distribution package.

Evaluation vs Continued use
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There is NO functional difference between the evaluation and licensed 
versions of this software (except for the registration reminders, 
displayed by the program after the evaluation period has ended).  
Actually, it's the same program: You can convert an evaluation copy 
of Singularity to a registered one by entering your name and a 
registration code.  Similarly, you can convert a registered copy of 
Singularity to an evaluation copy (effectively, unregistering the 
program) either by deleting the registration code or by copying 
Singularity to another computer.

Evaluation copies of WinAbility.Com products are 100% functional.  
We make them this way so you can have a real look at them to decide 
whether or not they fit your needs.  Of course, if you fail to 
register, and continue to use Singularity beyond the evaluation period 
without paying for it, don't expect the program to maintain its 
original functionality: Some features may become disabled.  If you 
need more time to decide whether you want to register, we'll give you 
an opportunity to extend the evaluation period.  After that, if you 
want a fully functional copy of Singularity, youll have to register 
the program.  When you do, youll join a growing community of 
discerning computer-users -- our customers.  We appreciate your 
understanding of this policy.

How to order a license for continued use
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The easiest way to order this software is with a credit card, through 
a link to a secure web page at:

   http://www.winability.com
or
   http://www.pik.com

The advantages of this method of ordering are as follows: 

- as soon as the credit card transaction is complete, you are 
receiving back (by e-mail) your personal registration code, allowing 
you to get rid of the registration reminder;

- you save on the shipping charges (since there is nothing left to 
be sent to you by snail mail).

Alternatively, you may wish to place your order via phone, FAX, or 
snail mail. Please refer to the file Order.txt for more information.

What do you get when you purchase a license for Singularity
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1.  A unique Registration Code, allowing you to remove the 
registration reminders.

2.  The privilege to upgrade to all future versions of Singularity
FREE of charge.

3.  FREE 90-day customer support.

Note: The following items are not provided if you order through 
the registration web site (but in that case you are not charged 
the shipping and handling fee, either):

4.  Disk with the latest version of Singularity and information
about other our products.

5.  FREE Compuserve membership with a $15.00 usage credit.  This is
more than enough online time to have your technical support
questions answered, and still have some fun!

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware
Professionals (ASP).  ASP wants to make sure that the shareware
principle works for you.  If you are unable to resolve a
shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the
member directly, ASP may be able to help.  The ASP Ombudsman can
help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does
not provide technical support for members' products. Please write
to the ASP Ombudsman at 157-F Love Ave., Greenwood, IN 46142 USA,
FAX 317-888-2195, or send email to omb@asp-shareware.org.

____________________________________________________________________

5. Obtaining updates to the software
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You can download the latest evaluation versions of all WinAbility.Com 
products from our web site:

    http://www.winability.com

An evaluation version may be converted into the licensed version
by entering a valid registration code.

If for some reason you cannot access our web site, try the following 
alternate sites (some of them may not carry the latest versions of 
our products):

    http://www.pik.com                  (Pik A Program, Inc.)
    http://www.a-direct.com             (Author-Direct Service)
    http://www.simtel.net/simtel.net    (Simtel.Net)
    http://www.winsite.com              (WinSite Archive)
    http://www.zdnet.com                (Ziff-Devis Interactive)


___________________________________________________________________            

6. Getting customer support
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before requesting customer support, please check out the on-line 
Help for Singularity. In particular, be sure to look through the 
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions section.  Also please visit 
our web site, http://www.winability.com, for the latest updates 
to the list of Frequently Asked Questions, which were not included 
in the current release of this Help.

If you cannot find the information you need in the documentation, 
then choose the support option thats right for you:

1) For TECHNICAL questions -- about program features, bug reports, 
suggestions on improving the program, etc. -- please contact the 
author of Singularity, Andrei Belogortseff, directly via e-mail at:

	support@winability.com

In your message, please include information about versions of 
Windows and Singularity you are using and a detailed description 
of the problem.  A reproducible sequence of steps leading to the 
problem would be of most help.  Please do not send any files at 
this address unless you have been instructed to do so.  

2) For NON-TECHNICAL questions -- about the status of your order, 
sales terms, pricing and discount information, etc. -- please 
contact the authorized dealer at:

	sales@pik.com

	Pik A Program, Inc.     
	13 Saint Marks Place    
	New York, NY 10003      
	USA                     

	Telephone	(212) 598-4939
	Fax		(212) 228-5879
	Internet:	http://www.pik.com
                        
Thank you for using WinAbility.Com products!
____________________________________________________________________

WinAbility, WinAbility.Com, its logo, ChaoSoft, and "The Way Software
Should Be!" are trademarks of WinAbility.Com.

Pik A Program is a trademark of Pik A Program, Inc.

Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation.

All other product names may be registered or unregistered
trademarks/tradenames of their respective owners.
