HTML TADS
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The material in this archive is copyrighted. Please refer to
LICENSE.TXT, which should accompany this archive, for information.
If you're reading this file, it means that you've extracted files
from an archive containing HTML TADS. This archive contains the
following:
- The HTML TADS executable for Windows 95 and NT
- Documentation in the form of HTML files (start with INTRO.HTM)
- The TADS source code for a sample game (GOLD.T) demonstrating
how to use some of the features of HTML TADS
- A license file (LICENSE.TXT) describing restrictions on copying
these files
If you're planning to play a game written for HTML TADS, the only
other thing you'll need is the game itself.
If you're planning to write a game for HTML TADS, you'll need the
TADS compiler, which is available separately. You may also want to
obtain the TADS Author's Manual and the TADS Debugger, both of which
are available separately. If you downloaded this archive, you may be
able to find all of the other TADS software in the same place where
you found this archive; otherwise, you might want to check for these
files via FTP at ftp.gmd.de; point your Web browser to:
ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/programming/tads
You can also find Neil K. Guy's HTML conversion of the manual on
the Web at:
http://www.tela.bc.ca/tela/tads-manual/
Please refer to INTRO.HTM for information on how to write a game
with HTML TADS. (You should be able to view this file with your
favorite web browser.)
A Note on the Sample Game
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The sample game included in this archive, gold.t, shows some of the
features of HTML TADS. Note that gold.t uses several external files
for its graphics and sound resources. In order to save space and
downloading time, we did not include these additional files in this
archive. However, these files are available in a separate archive
called GOLDSRC.ZIP, which you should be able to download from the
same place where you found this archive. If you want to compile and
run the sample game, you should get a copy of GOLDSRC.ZIP first.
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IMPORTANT NOTE -- COMCTL32.DLL
If HTML TADS crashes when you select the "Options" item of the "View"
menu, you probably have an out-of-date version of ComCtl32.DLL.
HTML TADS makes use of a system DLL called ComCtl32.DLL. This DLL is
shipped as part of Windows 95 and NT, but HTML TADS is not compatible
with certain older versions of the DLL. If you have installed
Internet Explorer versions 3 or 4, you'll probably have the correct
version of the DLL; if not, you can download the DLL from the
Microsoft web site. To determine if you have the correct version,
use the explorer to open your C:\WINDOWS folder (or whichever folder
contains your Windows system files), and open the SYSTEM folder (or
SYSTEM32 folder on Windows NT). Right-click on the file
COMCTL32.DLL, and select the "Properties" menu item. Windows will
display the properties dialog for the file. Click on the "Version"
tab in the dialog. Look at the "File version" string - this will
look something like "4.71.1712.3". Make sure that this version
starts with at least "4.70" - if it's lower, you have an older
version of the DLL that won't work correctly with HTML TADS. You
can get the newer version from the Microsoft web site:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/developer/downloads/files/40comupd.htm
You can also download the update from this alternative link if the
first link doesn't work for you:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/mslfiles/com32upd.exe
After downloading the update, double-click it to run the installation
program, which will install the upgraded DLL for you. Note that HTML
TADS automatically checks to make sure you have the correct version
installed and warns you at startup if you don't. Although you can
choose to continue running after this warning, we strongly encourage
you to upgrade your ComCtl32.DLL before running HTML TADS.
I'd like to thank Klywarre (The Avatar) [aka: James Mallette] for
tracking down this DLL problem.