Millennium v4.00
by Tien-Hao Lan

User's Manual

Table of Content
I. Intro
II. System Requirement
III. Installation
IV. Using Millennium
V. Registration
VI. Contact the Author
Appendix A. Revision History
Appendix B. Microsoft Visual Basic Runtime 6.0

I. Intro

Millennium is a colorful desktop clock that counts down the amount of time left before the beginning of the 21st century (2001). (If you're in the "year 2000" camp, you can set it to count down to that year.) The program displays the remaining years, months, and days above a digital clock that counts the hours, minutes, and seconds backwards. Millennium provides system tray support, and you can keep the program on top.


II. System Requirement

  • Pentium-90 or above suggested
  • Windows 95/98/NT
  • 1 MB hard drive space
  • Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Runtime Library SP1

III. Installation

If you have not previously installed Microsoft Visual Studio Runtime, you must have it installed before Millennium can be run correctly. See Appendix B for more information.

Millennium setup files are compressed into one single zip file. Unzip the file using WinZip (downloadable at www.winzip.com) and run the enclosed setup.exe. Follow the direction to install Millennium

Removal

To uninstall Millennium, goto Control Panel and run Add/Remove Programs. Double-click on the item titled "Millennium." Uninstallation program will automatically be run.


IV. Using Millennium

Millennium window displays only the count down information. To access options, right-click on the Millennium icon in the system tray. A list of options will be available.

When Millennium is minimized, it disappears from the task list (not available by pressing ALT-TAB). Left-click on the Millennium icon in the system tray to make the window available.

Options

Exit

Terminates Millennium without prompt
Target Year Changes the targeting year (2000 / 2001)
Full Normal display
Compact Minimize display area (See below for more info)
Start with Windows Start Millennium when every time Windows starts
Always on top Make the Millennium window always on top of all other programs
Register

Display registration information and allow user to input obtained registration code

About Display program information and contacts

Compact Display

  • The compact display is specificly for people who are in need of screen space. When in compact display mode, the "always on top" setting is automatically set to true.

  • To move the compact display window, left click on the Millennium icon and hold the button. Move the window to the new location and release the button.

  • To terminate Millennium under compact mode, you can either double click on the Millennium icon or choose Exit from the option menu (see above).


V. Registration

Millennium is a shareware program. You are allowed to evaluate Millennium for thirty (30) days. After the evaluation period, you must either purchase a license for Millennium, or uninstall Millennium completely from your computer. Once you've registered Millennium, you do not have to pay for further updates.

Acceptable Methods

  • Check (Payable to Tien-Hao Lan)
  • Cash
  • Money order

Detail

  • Registration fee - US$1.00
  • Enclose a 3 by 5 card with your E-MAIL ADDRESS and REGISTRATION NAME printed neatly
  • Indicate the TITLE OF THE PROGRAM that is being registered
  • Send to the address:

    Tien-Hao Lan
    P.O. Box 507192
    San Diego, CA 92150-7192

VI. Contact the Author

In occasion you encounter problems regarding the Millennium program, or you simply have an opinion, please contact the author as soon as you can.


Appendix A. Revision History

  • 1.0 - Initial release - December 1, 1997

    • Named "21st Century Count Down"

  • 2.0 - Complete revision - January 13, 1998

    • Renamed "Millennium"

    • Improved user interface

    • Revised program core

  • 2.1 - Minor bug fix - February 4, 1998

    • Minor bug fixes

  • 2.2 - Major improvement - February 13, 1998

    • Digital display

    • Targeting year changeable

  • 2.21 - Minor update - February 22, 1998

    • "About" section incorporates contact information

  • 2.22 - Major improvement - March 17, 1998

    • Added "Always on top" function

  • 2.23 - Minor bug fix - March 18, 1998

    • Bug fix on ending message

  • 2.24 - Minor bug fix - April 3, 1998

    • Bug fix on multiple instance check

  • 2.25 - Major update - April 22, 1998

    • Added online manual hyperlink

  • 3.0 - Major revision - May 2, 1998

    • Deleted regular display

    • Added window border

    • Modified ending message

  • 3.01 - Minor bug fix - May 4, 1998

    • Bug fix

  • 3.02 - Minor improvement - December 2, 1998

    • Improved color display supporting Windows Theme

  • 3.07 - Minor revision - January 1, 1999

    • Revised "About" section

    • Revised registration

  • 4.00 - Major improvement - January 10, 1999

    • Added "Compact Display"

    • Revised registration information


Appendix B. Microsoft Visual Basic Runtime 6.0

What is Microsoft Visual Basic Runtime?

The Visual Basic 6 Runtime is a collection of Dynamic Link Library (.DLL) files from Microsoft which are required to run programs written in Visual Basic 6, a popular Windows programming language. All of my programs are written in Visual Basic 6, as are many other common programs today, and these files are required for all of them. The files available from the link below contain, in most cases, the latest versions of these DLL's available and are fully backwards compatible. Any program which works with an earlier version will work with these updated ones as well. The updates simply give the programmer more advanced features to use in designing his program.

You MUST have these updated DLL's installed on your system first before you can install any of my programs. If you do not, you will not be able to run my programs, although you should be able to finish the setup process. These files are packaged in a self-installing exe file called MSVBVM60.exe.

What Is Installed?

Below is the list of files that are installed by Microsoft Visual Basic Runtime

ASYCFILT.DLL COMCAT.DLL MSVBVM60.DLL
OLDAUT32.DLL OLDPRO32.DLL STDOLDE2.TLB

Do I Already Have Microsoft Visual Basic Runtime?

Most likely, no. Visual Basic 6.0 was released after the release of Microsoft Windows 98 and therefore was not incorporated into the operating system. Unless you have previously installed the runtime, it is required that you download and install the runtime library.

Download

Click on any of the links below and download the file.

Install

Just download this file first, then doubleclick on the MSVBVM60.exe file and it will install itself. It may require two passes. The first pass is required to update the OLE Automation files, while the second pass occurs because it needs OLE automation installed to be able to register the included OCX controls. So you may be prompted during the installation to reboot your system and then return and run the installation a second time. You don't need to understand this exactly, just run the installation twice if you are prompted to do so.

Note that if you are prompted that your system contains a newer version of one of these files, go ahead and select the option to "keep it" and not replace it with the one from this installation.

Uninstall

There is no uninstall for the VB6 Runtime updates. There should be no need for this since these are standard Dynamic Link Library (DLL) Files from Microsoft and are designed to be fully backwards compatible, that is... any program designed to run on an earlier version of this file should run normally on these updated versions.

Nevertheless, some people have occasionally asked how to uninstall these files. The only way to do that is to make a copy of the files currently installed on your hard drive first. Using the list, above copy all of those files presently in your Windows\System folder to a backup directory, say C:\Windows\Backup. Later, should you decide for some unknown reason, to return to your previous versions, you can do this very simply by exiting windows entirely to a DOS prompt and typing: "copy C:\Windows\Backup c:\Windows\System" (without quotes) and overwriting the newer files with your original copies. You could then delete any of the other files which were not present to begin with.