             VCP VERSION 1.64 BARROWMAN CP CALCULATOR
             ========================================

           copyright 1994, 1995, 1996 Gary A. Crowell Sr.
                
Freeware distribuition of this version of VCP for non-commercial 
purposes is permitted, authorized, and encouraged!  Please give it 
away, recommend it, and upload it anywhere you see fit.  Please try
to include a complete set of distribution files with any copy you
distribute.
                   

************************   DISCLAIMER   ******************************
======================================================================
The program VCP, in any version, is not warranteed to be of any 
particular use for anything.  The author's liability for damages 
resulting from the use of VCP is limited up to, and including, nothing.

   
INSTALLATION
============
VCP is written in Visual Basic for Windows, and therefore requires that 
you are running Windows 3.? (or your favorite equivalent).  So far, it 
seems to work in Windows 95 too.  There have also been reports that it
runs on Macs under Windows emulation, and, with the version 1.60 
release of VCP, it might even run fast enough to be useful there. 

If your copy of VCP is in the form of a VCPxxx.ZIP file, this file must 
first be unzipped onto a separate disk or temporary directory through 
the use of a decompression program equivalent to PKUNZIP version 2.04g.
For disk distribution of VCP, the files will normally be uncompressed, 
and Setup may be run directly from the floppy.

From the Windows File Manager, view the disk/directory containing the
VCP distribution files, and run (double-click) the SETUP.EXE file.  This
setup program will create a C:\VCP directory (or whatever you choose),
and install the VCP files into that directory.  If you have an existing
version of VCP you might want to install into a different directory (I'd
suggest VCP16) so that you don't overwrite any .CP or .CPL files you may
have created with the earlier version.  Files created on earlier 
versions of VCP should be readable by all newer versions.

Note that the files CMDIALOG.VBX, THREED.VBX, SPIN.VBX and VBRUN300.DLL, 
are copied to the VCP directory by the setup procedure.  You may wish to 
move these files to your C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory to save file space 
and to allow these files to be used by other Visual Basic programs.  
Note that one or more of these files may already exist in your 
WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.  If they do, you should retain those files 
that have the later file date.  (Some day I'll get a real setup routine
that will automatically check the file dates.)  

Note also that the files required for VCP setup have also been copied 
to the VCP directory.  This is done only so that the user will have a
complete file set there, in case he should desire to share those files
with someone else.  If you want to save file space (they're still on
your distribution floppy or in the .ZIP file if you saved it), these
files may be deleted:  SETUP.EXE, SETUPKIT.DLL, FILES.PAK, HACK.BMP, 
ROTW168.BMP.


System Errors
=============
The only system type problem I have seen using VCP is a Windows "Out of 
Memory" error, which will halt VCP.  The best solution to this is to
close any unused windows and programs, and perhaps reboot.  More memory
would probably help avoid this.  I have never seen this error occur in
Windows 95, which I suspect is better at managing memory.  A Windows 
"Printer Error" will occur if you attempt to run VCP on a system that 
does not have a Windows default printer installed.

New to Version 1.64:
====================
(8/95) Fixed a bug in the recalculation that follows use of the 
Vehicle Scale Tool.  This bug probably didn't show up until the 
redundant recalc's were eleminated in Version 1.60.


New to Version 1.63:
====================
(8/95) A significant bug was repaired in 1.62 which often caused 
program crashes when using the date function on the 'Notes' screen.  
Text formating on the Notes screen was also changed to work a bit 
better, and the startup screens were jazzed up a bit.


New to Version 1.62:
====================
(6/95) A significant bug was repaired in 1.60 which prevented the new 
nose cone extended dimensions, and others, from being able to be loaded 
from .CPL library files.  I also rearranged some of the menus slightly 
to make them a bit more consistant, and added some help for the new 
extended dimensions and construction tools.

The only significant new feature is the addition of a 'Notes' button to 
the main window, next to the vehicle description field.  This button 
opens a window in which additional information can be recorded about the 
model.

Note that there are some significant changes to the Fin Unit window that 
are under construction.  Some new tabbed dialogs there will eventually 
display additional information and support mouse drawing of the fin 
shape.  There is a swept elliptical fin shape now available.  However, 
while this shape displays and may be printed, the CP calculations DO NOT 
currently support this shape. (When this shape is selected, the force 
contribution of the fin is zero, so it becomes pretty obvious that it is 
not included in the calculation.)


Changes to Version 1.60:
========================
(5/96) I had to go back to do some development on a moderate speed '386 
system, so the first thing I worked on was some speed improvement.  You 
should find that loading from either a file or a library should happen 
about five times faster than earlier versions.  Most of the redundant 
redraws and recalculations have been eliminated, and some of the other 
routines have been improved as well.  If you have been suffering VCP on 
a slow system, you should see a welcome improvement overall.  

An 'Extended Dimensions' window has been added to the nose cone data 
window, and the Secant Ogive shape is now available.  The extended 
dimensions allow you to put a blunted tip on ogive or cone shapes.  Most
of the nose cones you see are blunted to some degree, and this option
makes the VCP graphics look more realistic.  Oh, and the calculation
also properly accounts for the blunting.  You can also add a cylindrical
section to the base of the nose cone.  The ogive transition section 
shape is now also functional.

A Print option has been added to the nose cone, transition, and fin unit 
windows.  These allow you to print full size profiles of the item.  The 
prints will span across pages for items larger than a single page.

Some printable construction tools have also been added.  There is a 
transition section shroud tool, a fin alignment wrapper tool, and a fin
alignment guide tool.  The shroud tool has some nice alignment features 
that will help to create an accurate shroud.  The fin alignment wrapper 
allows you to specify a thickness (nice for marking fin slots), and an 
incidence angle (which allows you to accurately mark canted fins).  You 
can also specify irregular spacings by degree, which makes it useful for 
marking scale features at specified radial positions.  The fin alignment
guide tool is similar in versatility to the wrapper tool.

And, as with every version, a few more sample files have been added to
the libraries.


Changes to Version 1.52:
========================
1.  Corrected the positioning on some of the labels.  
2.  Fixed a bug that crashed it when opening a new Library file.  
3.  Added an option switch to skip the Ref Des window on startup.  
4.  Added an embedded filename to the library files so that a filename 
    is available when saving a library file to an individual file.


Changes to Version 1.51:
========================
This is a minor upgrade, but probably worth the effort to get the new 
version.  A few more bugs have been squashed, the highlighting feature
started in the earlier version has been finished, and a few more 
sections have been added to the help file.

Quite a few more interesting sample .CP files have been added to the 
libraries too.


Changes to version 1.5:
=======================
This verson of VCP may be a bit more lethargic than earlier versions.
This is because I have added a large chunk of error handling code that
will catch every instance of a VCP crash and report an error code and 
line number.  This code is a TOTAL WASTE, if you don't bother to 
report the error and conditions that caused it to me so I can get the
problem fixed.  If I can clean out the error conditions with your help,
I can trim out the error handling code in future versions.

The sample CP files included are now contained within .CPL library files.
Some of the files within those libraries may be updated from the separate 
.CP files distributed with earlier versions, so you may want to clean out 
those old .CP files.  The files within the library can be broken out into 
separate .CP files by the Library Management function, if you'd rather
work with files that way.  You can create new libraries to contain your
own .CP files if you desire.

The contents of the help system haven't changed much, there are still 
large portions of it that are missing or incomplete.  A section on 
Library Management has been added.  However, context sensitive help has
been added to many windows.  Pressing the F1 function key at any time 
should jump you into the help system at the spot relevant to the screen
you're working on.

Quite a few minor (and a few not-so-minor) assorted bugs have been worked
out, but I doubt that you'll notice most of them.  There is one nifty 
feature-in-progress that is incomplete, but I've left part of it working
because it doesn't interfere with anything.  You should notice that
components in the vehicle drawing window are highlighted as you move the
mouse across the summary lines for that component.




Please report any error codes, bug reports, comments, or suggestions to:

Gary Crowell                     71461.1525@compuserve.com       
6907 Ashland                     (note that the earlier micron.net
Boise, ID  83709-1965             address is no longer valid)
