Banner  - Demonstrate a shareware banner
Encrypt - Create a coded user file

By Graham Crow

Shareware programs provide the opportunity to "try before you buy". This trial period should be reasonable (say three months). After this time, if they wish to continue using the software, the user is legally obliged to register with the author and pay a fee.

Banner demonstrates the registration process in action, and Encrypt generates that file, and also contains the Basic code necessary for the application to decode the file. By clicking on the icon in the RISC User master menu a file window will open with the two programs in it. One recommended method of encouraging users to register is to display a banner each time the program is run, reminding the user of his responsibility. During this period the Info box describes the program as 'Unregistered'. After the user has registered, a file is added to the Application as a result of which the banner no longer appears, and the Info box contains the user's own name.

For more details see the 'Wimp Topics' article in this month's RISC User magazine.


 Copyright RISC User, 1995

