Comprehensive List of Windows 3.1 "User's Guide" Doc Errs

ID: Q73338

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 3.1

SUMMARY

This article contains information on the documentation errors in the "Microsoft Windows User's Guide" for version 3.1. The following topics are covered:

Accessing the Control Menu for Non-Windows-Based Applications

Cardfile Size Limitations

Clicking Outside a Copied Cutout in Paintbrush

Group Limitation in Program Manager

Incorrect COM Port Addresses

Incorrect SMARTDrive BufferSize Setting Hangs System

Location of Terminal Function Keys Incorrect in "User's Guide"

NOHIGH in Windows 3.1 EMM386.EXE

Paintbrush Menu Bar Documented Incorrectly in "User's Guide"

Program Shortcut Keys Work in Windows 3.1

Shortcut Keys Work in Standard and 386 Enhanced Modes

Using Terminal in VT-100 Emulation in Windows 3.1

Windows: How to Exit Print Manager

Wrong Location for _DEFAULT.PIF

YES Button Appears, Not OK Button, When Clearing Clipboard

MORE INFORMATION

Accessing the Control Menu for Non-Windows-Based Applications

Page 21 of the Microsoft Windows "User's Guide" incorrectly states:

Do not double-click; if you do, the window closes or the icon is restored to a window.

The statement should read as follows:

Do not double-click; if you do, the application will be restored to either a window or full screen.

Double-clicking a minimized non-Windows-based application either restores the application to a full screen or to a window.

Canon 300: Envelope Printing Procedure Changed

The Microsoft Windows "User's Guide" for version 3.1 incorrectly describes the necessary steps to print #10 envelopes. The manual shows the envelope being loaded horizontally into bin #1. The correct orientation for envelopes is vertical, not horizontal.

NOTE: When the envelope size is selected, the driver switches to landscape orientation automatically. This is the correct orientation.

Cardfile Size Limitations

The last paragraph on page 444 of the Microsoft Windows "User's Guide" for version 3.1 states:

The number of cards you can store in a Cardfile file depends on the amount of memory in your computer and the amount of information on the individual cards.

This is misleading. You are limited to 1260 cards per file and 52 bytes per card. You can create new files, each with 1260 cards per file, until you are out of hard disk space.

Clicking Outside a Copied Cutout in Paintbrush

The Microsoft Windows "User's Guide" explains how to use the mouse and the SHIFT key to move a cutout in Paintbrush. The directions tell you to do the following:

Move the cutout and release the mouse when the cutout is where you want to leave it.

Click outside the cutout to paste the cutout permanently.

However, the guide does not explain that if you don't click outside the cutout, it appears to work correctly. The cutout is pasted on the screen, but when the file is saved, it does not save the newly pasted cutout.

Group Limitation in Program Manager

The Microsoft Windows 3.1 "User's Guide" (on page 76) and the Microsoft Windows 3.1 "slim docs" version of the "User's Guide" (on page 74) incorrectly state that you can add any number of groups to Program Manager. Microsoft Windows 3.1 allows a maximum of 40 program groups and 50 program items per group in Program Manager.

Incorrect COM Port Addresses

In the Microsoft Windows "User's Guide" for version 3.1, the communication ports table on page 163 incorrectly states the common BIOS addresses for COM2 and COM3. For COM2, it lists 03F8; for COM3, it lists 02F8.

The correct BIOS addresses and IRQs are as follows:


   Port            Address    IRQ
   ------------------------------

   COM1            03F8       4
   COM2            02F8       3
   COM3            03E8       4
   COM4            02E8       3

Incorrect SMARTDrive BufferSize Setting Hangs System

Page 540 of the Microsoft Windows "User's Guide" states that the valid values for BufferSize can be any multiple of the ElementSize setting. The guide provides no upper limit. However, there is an upper limit on the BufferSize setting based on how much memory is available in the upper memory area (UMA) or in conventional memory.

The valid entries for ElementSize and BufferSize are as follows:


   If this value
   is used for /e        Use this value for /b
   ------------------------------------------------------------------

   /e:1024               Multiples of /e up to and including /b:16384
   /e:2048               Multiples of /e up to and including /b:32768
   /e:4096               Multiples of /e up to and including /b:57344
   /e:8192               Multiples of /e up to and including /b:57344

If you try to use any other values, you may experience one of the following problems:

The system stops responding (hangs).

-or-

The error message "Sector not found reading drive <x>" (where <x> is the drive being accessed after SMARTDrive is loaded) appears.

-or-

The size of SMARTDrive's buffer does not match the BufferSize setting.

For additional information about SMARTDrive, refer to pages 539-541 in the Microsoft Windows "User's Guide."

Location of Terminal Function Keys Incorrect in "User's Guide"

The Terminal function key chart on page 390 of the Microsoft Windows "User's Guide" for Windows 3.1 incorrectly displays the F<x> (where <x> is a value between 1 and 8) key layouts.

The Microsoft Windows "User's Guide" incorrectly state that the function keys are located as follows:


   F1              F2              F3              F4
   F5              F6              F7              F8

The correct layout is:


   F1              F3              F5              F7
   F2              F4              F6              F8

NOHIGH in Windows 3.1 EMM386.EXE

On page 552 of the Microsoft Windows "User's Guide" for version 3.1, the /nohigh switch for EMM386.EXE is documented incorrectly. The switch should read /nohi.

The following error message appears if the /nohigh or nohigh parameters are used with Windows 3.1 EMM386.EXE:

Invalid Parameter

Paintbrush Menu Bar Documented Incorrectly in "User's Guide"

The screen image on page 330 of the Microsoft Windows "User's Guide" for Windows 3.1, was created with Windows 3.0 Paintbrush (PBRUSH.EXE).

The Paintbrush menu bar on page 330 contains the following menus:

File
Edit
View
Font
Style
Size
Pick
Options
Help

The menu bar for the Paintbrush program included with Windows 3.1 actually contains the following menus:

File
Edit
View
Text
Pick
Options
Help

The Windows 3.0 Paintbrush menus Font, Style, and Size have been combined into the Text menu for Windows 3.1.

Program Shortcut Keys Work in Windows 3.1

Page 276 of the Microsoft Windows "User's Guide" for version 3.1 incorrectly states that CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+"character" is different from CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+"character." Actually, these keystrokes are equivalent.

Shortcut Keys Work in Standard and 386 Enhanced Modes

The first sentence on page 276 of the Microsoft Windows "User's Guide" for Windows 3.1 states:


   When running in 386 enhanced mode, Windows provides a special feature
   called an Application Shortcut Key.

The next paragraph documents how to assign a shortcut key with the PIF Editor and with the Properties command in File Manager.

The first sentence on page 276 is only partially correct. Assigning shortcut keys in the PIF Editor is available only in 386 enhanced mode; however, assigning shortcut keys in File Manager with the Properties command is available in both standard mode and 386 enhanced mode.

References:

"Microsoft Windows User's Guide," version 3.1, pages 79-80, 276-277

Using Terminal in VT-100 Emulation in Windows 3.1

The Microsoft Windows "User's Guide" for version 3.1 incorrectly states on page 386:

To use the function keys for DEC VT-100 (ANSI) terminal emulation, SCROLL LOCK must be turned on. If SCROLL LOCK is turned off, the function keys and arrow keys have normal Windows (not VT-100) functionality.

For correct DEC VT-100 (ANSI) emulation in Windows 3.1, SCROLL LOCK must be turned OFF, and Terminal Preferences must be set as previously mentioned.

Windows: How to Exit Print Manager

Page 232 (the Quitting Print Manager section) of the Microsoft Windows "User's Guide" states the following incorrect procedures for exiting Print Manager:

To quit Print Manager

From the Options menu, choose Exit.

If there are still files in the print queue, a message appears, asking whether you want to cancel printing these files.

Choose the OK button to cancel printing and quit Print Manager.

The guide should say:

From the View menu, choose Exit.

All other information should remain the same.

Wrong Location for _DEFAULT.PIF

Page 238 of the Microsoft Windows "User's Guide" incorrectly states:

The _DEFAULT.PIF file is located in the Windows System subdirectory.

The _DEFAULT.PIF file is actually located in the Windows directory.

Page 305 of the "Microsoft Windows Resource Kit Manual" is correct.

YES Button Appears, Not OK Button, When Clearing Clipboard

Step 5 of "To clear the Clipboard" on page 63 of Chapter 2 in the Microsoft Windows "User's Guide" for Windows 3.1 is incorrect. It states the following:

To clear the Clipboard:

Switch to Program Manager.

Open the Main group.

Choose the Clipboard Viewer icon.

From the Edit menu, choose Delete or press DEL.

Choose the OK button.

Step 5 is incorrect, the program does not prompt a dialog with an OK option. After the Clear Clipboard dialog box appears, there is a prompt for Yes or No.

Step 5 should state the following:

5. Choose the Yes button.

Additional query words:

Keywords :
Version : WINDOWS:3.1
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type :