------------------------------------------------------------------------ BACKUP-BURNER ADD-ON SDK version 6 © 2000-2006 FrontBack LLC All Rights Reserved ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ReadMe.Txt ========= Contents ========= 1. Description 2. Release Notes and System Requirements 3. Installation and Un-installation 4. -----> At Least Read This! 5. Using all of BACKUP-BURNER ADD-ON SDK'S Features 6. Support 7. How to Buy 8. Providing Feedback on BACKUP-BURNER ADD-ON SDK Thank you for trying this innovative software product to add Backup-to-CD and DVD capability to your software with one dll function call! Increase the value of your program by assuring your users that they can archive (burn) important data to CD and DVD with a single menu choice or button. Easy for you, simple for them. ====================================== 1. Description ====================================== For Developers Only: Add Backup-to-CD and Backup-to-DVD capability to your software with one function call! Semi-customizable for colors and title, just pass the desired properties to our dll. Copy your desired files to our folder, then wait for the function to return with a result code after burning is complete. SDK comes with an example exe and sample source for Delphi, BCB, Visual Basic, and C++. Can be used with any Windows language that supports dynamic dll's. BACKUP-BURNER is compact and will add only 950Kb to your project size. Writes at high speeds on almost every burner. Supremely simple user interface requires no user input like recording speeds or other complex issues, it is all automated for them. It writes to blank CD-R's, DVD+/-R's (not rewriteable DVDs), and CD-RW's. It will even ask to erase a full CD-RW first, which is economical for a user that backs up his files frequently. Remember that your code selects all the files and/or folders you wish to have burned, up to 700MB (4.3GB for DVD). Includes the freeware AutoMenu. Use AutoMenu in conjunction with the SDK to create automatically launching menus upon CD insertion using the autorun.inf file. Simplifies your coding tasks while offering the potential to ask the user if he wants to execute operations such as a full restore, jump to on-line help files, or read me files. NET-BURNER is new technology that will change the way information is distributed around the world. Because of the newness, there's a lot of informative text here. We want to get everyone through the learning curve as quickly as possible, so please try to power through it. Make some discs, free your imagination, and push the net to its limit. Let's start with some definitions: - BACKUP-BURNER ADD-ON SDK: Software Development Kit to add Backup-to-CD and Backup-to-DVD capability to your software with one dll function call so your users can archive (burn) important data to disc with a menu option. - BACKUP-BURNER: The redistributable Software in the SDK. Note: Redistribution is the act of incorporating any BACKUP-BURNER files in your software (except for test purposes), which requires payment of a registration fee and a non-demo license agreement. - APPLET: The Applet is the form that guides the user through the burning process and shows a progress bar. - CLICK-TO-DISC!: This is the patent pending technology inside the Net-Burner products. - BURN: Burn means to record or write a CD/DVD. This is done with a special device called a CD/DVD Recorder, CD Writer, or CD Burner- all mean the same thing. - CD-R and CD-RW discs: A CD-R is a disc that can be written on, but not erased. A CD-RW is a re-writeable disc that can be: A) treated the same as a CD-R, B) can be totally erased and used again, and C) can be used in a special packet writing format (i.e. directCD). BACKUP-BURNER ADD-ON SDK does not use packet writing format. BACKUP-BURNER ADD-ON SDK will record to blank CD-R's, blank CD-RW's and erased CD-RW's. Furthermore, CD-RW discs can be erased by the user with BACKUP-BURNER ADD-ON SDK. -DVD+R discs: This disc type can be written to once, but not erased. It can be read by any DVD+ disc reader or writer, although not necesssarily by a DVD- disc reader. It is seen exactly the same as a data CD. (Not like a Video DVD). DVD+RW discs are not included in this category as they are treated as a packet writing format only. -DVD-R discs: This disc type can be written to once, but not erased. It can be read by any DVD- disc reader or writer, although not necesssarily by a DVD+ disc reader. It is seen exactly the same as a data CD. (Not like a Video DVD). DVD-RW discs are not included in this category as they are treated as a packet writing format only. The unregistered (Demo) version will create fully functional CD/DVDs for 45 days. Please support innovative advancements in CD/DVD Recording software by registering this copy today! We will try to reward our registered customers with improved service and features as FrontBack LLC grows into the future. ======================================== 2. Release Notes and System Requirements ======================================== To get the latest released version of BACKUP-BURNER ADD-ON SDK click the "Check For Updates" exe in the SDK folder or visit our Web site at http://www.net-burner.com/. Changes in version 6.6.0.91 (6.60a): - All new recording engine allows future drives to be recognized automatically. (Now some old drives won't be detected). Changes in version 6.5.0.87 (6.50a): - NEW FEATURE: Suppress eject for doing file verification. The parameter szBBFutureUse is now called szBBEjectDiscAfterGoodBurn. Use only if you are going to verify files because some systems will not recognize discs unless they have been remounted by ejecting / re-inserting. See notes in the code examples for usage. - Additional drives now supported. ----------------------------------------- Notes: - DVD-R and DVD+R recording now supported! DVD+/-R is treated exactly the same as a CDR except for its greater capacity. The resulting DVD can be read by any DVD+/-R Windows computer drive and looks like an ordinary Joliet data CD. Note that this feature applies only to recorders and blank media of type DVD+/-R, not DVD+/-RW. These types may be supported in a future release. - DVD+/-R capacity is 4482MB (4.7GB).* - Volume names (for CD and DVD) length has been increased to 16 characters.* - Folder depths can now reach 32 deep. (when counting use the root folder as folder depth 1).** - File and folder names are limited to 64/108 characters in length.** * Unlike CD capacity, DVD+/-R capacity is stated in terms of 1GB =1000^3 not 1024^3, so in it's case the true capacity is 4,700,000,000 bytes minus 1,000,000 bytes for overhead. ** Joliet spec is 64 chars. BackupBurner will handle 108 chars. Exceeding these limits will cause a burn error and an incomplete disc. Unless you are sure your project is in limits you should programatically check them. - "Skins" feature. Put any bitmap file named "SkinFile.bmp" in the same folder as the backupburner.dll and it will be used as the background image. Use the supplied file or create your own. select a form background color that complements your skin. When using our skin, select clWhite for the form color. The bmp size is 334 x343 pixels,although you can choose any size and it will be stretched to fit. This is OPTIONAL. **** Remove the file to use a plain form of a color you select. **** - Burns up to 700MB CDs (no error checking on size, will record until the edge of disc) - Now does NOT record hidden files. You can use this to temporarily hide files from burning to CD. - CDRW's can be erased by the Applet. If a CDRW is detected, it will ask if you want to do a quick erase before burning. - "AutoMenu" program now included. Put it on your CD and you can make your own menu with customizable buttons and colors. (See the readme file in the AutoMenu folder for more details) BACKUP-BURNER supports Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000. A screen resolution of 800*600 or greater is recommended. It will run on any modern machine with 5 megs free disk space on the partition it is installed on. A CD Recorder is NOT required for using this SDK. However, it is highly recommended that the resulting project be tested on a machine with a CD Recorder by actually burning the CD. Will BACKUP-BURNER co-exist peacefully with other CD-R software? YES. The dll does NOT install any proprietary drivers, add anything to your or your user's system folders, or modify your or your user's system settings. ==================================== 3. Installation and Uninstallation ==================================== Unzip the files into a folder (use the -d switch to create the subfolders). To uninstall, just delete the folder. ==================================== 4. -----> At Least Read This! ==================================== - Run the Example.exe once, and press all buttons even if you don't have a CD Recorder on your system. - Copy the Backupburner.dll to either your project's folder or a subfolder named \Bin\ (or any other name). - Choose a folder to be backed up. One suggestion is to make a folder named \FilesToBackup\. Another is to simply backup your entire folder eg. C:\Program Files\My Program\. - There are 3 steps to doing a recording; 1. Copy the desired files and folders to the folder being backed up. 2. Assign the parameters to be passed through the function. 3. Call the function and wait for it to return. - The library to load is BackupBurner.dll, and the function MakeBackupCD(pointers to 8 parameters) returns an Integer value. The arguments are 8 POINTERS to 8 strings. The parameters are all of type String as shown, but remember to pass pointers to them: BBRegName = 'DEMOUSER'; // Use this string until registered. BBRegCode = 'ABCD1234'; // Use this string until registered. BBVolume = 'MyBackupCD'; // The title to be burned onto the CD, see character limits below. BBTitle = 'This shows in the form'; // The title to be burned onto the CD, see character limits below. BBColorForm = 'clSilver'; // default is clSilver, don't use hex color codes. BBColorText = 'clBlack'; // default is clBlack, don't use hex color codes. BBFolderPath= 'c:\path\FilesToBackup\'; // Your folder that will be written to the CD, cannot be null! BBFutureUse = ''; // Null string for future features. - After calling the function, please don't continue with any background disc or network intensive operations. There is always a risk of buffer underrun failures if all of the system resources are not available to the recording process. - When the funciton returns, it is preferred, but not required, that you do some inspection of the result code returned. A list of the result codes and their meanings are shown below. - After a successful or interrupted burn the files are retained in the \FilesToBackup\ folder. So prior to subsequent recordings your code may have to delete the older files. - REGISTERED USERS: Whenever you plan to release a new version of your software, be sure to first get the latest released version of BACKUP-BURNER ADD-ON SDK click the "Check For Updates" exe in the folder or visit our Web site at http://www.net-burner.com/support/SDK/getlatest-perm.cfm The files are updated occasionally to add support for new models of recorders, higher speeds, and newer recorder technology. =========================================== 5. Using all of BACKUP-BURNER ADD-ON SDK'S Features =========================================== Coding steps are shown in order below, following the user's selection of performing the backup. Notice that some are optional... // Temporarily Disable Burn CD/DVD button to avoid double clicks // If all files are not in one folder, copy desired files to a \FilesToBackup\ folder // Fill in registration numbers, and // OPTIONAL- Fill in desired Volume name (to be burned as CD/DVD title) or use null ''; // Hide or minimize your program // Launch MakeBackupCD function in BackupBurner.dll // When function returns, the CD/DVD process is complete. // Unhide or restore your program // OPTIONAL- Inspect the result code // OPTIONAL- delete unneeded files from \FilesToBackup\ // You are done. These are the "result" codes which may be returned by the function... -2 Installation Error- version mismatch -1 User canceled 0 It was a successful burn! 1 User canceled 2 Installation Error- files missing 3 Insufficent disk space 5 there was not a blank disc 7 bad burn during writing 8 no CD/DVD recorder detected. (or no admin rights if in NT/2k/XP -AND- no existing ASPI) 9 Demo expired. 11 User does not have admin rights to access the ASPI manager. VOLUME NAME Although not a requirement, it is easy to enter a name for your CD/DVD in the VOLUME string. When the disc is made this name shows up next to the drive letter when the disc is viewed in My Computer or Windows Explorer. The volume name of the disc should be Alpha-numeric and have NO special characters other than underscores. Any other characters may cause unpredictable results. All lower-case letters are converted to upper case automatically. The limit is 16 characters. AUTORUN.INF & ICON AutoMenu comes with sample autorun.inf files and a free icon you can use on your discs. Always place the autorun.inf file in the "root" of the CD/DVD. The file can be easily edited in Notepad. A variety of parameters can be added to the file. For even more flexibility and style, try the included AutoRun.exe program (You can find it in the \AutoMenu\ folder) AUTOMENU This program can be burned onto a Data CD or DVD along with the your other files and folders. When the resulting disc is loaded on a computer, it will pop up a menu that directs the user to choose from several options. Prior to burning, you can design the options by simply editing the text file called autorun.inf. You can use AutoMenu to launch programs, setup files, web sites, text files, MP3 files, Winamp m3u playlists, and more. Up to 8 buttons can be customized. See the AutoMenu readme.htm file for more info. KNOWN LIMITATIONS- - The maximum depth of the folder structure is limited to 16 layers. This is a result of the ISO9660 and JOLIET specifications. The SDK will NOT prompt you to re-adjust your folders if a depth greater than 16 is detected, your software should check that if there is a chance for that condition to happen. - The maximum length of each file name is 108 characters. This is shorter than the maximum allowed by Windows. Any name longer than this may be truncated automatically or may cause unpredictable results including the inability to create a disc. The SDK will NOT check for that prior to starting. Your software should check that if there is a chance for that condition to happen. - The volume name of the disc should be Alpha-numeric and have NO special characters other than underscores. Any other characters may cause unpredictable results. - Backup-Burner Usage is dependent on the logged-in user having administrative rights. Without admin rights, Backup-Burner will return a resultcode = 11. If your users regularly do not have admin rights, the workaround is to right-click and choose Run-As with an administrator account. ==================================== 6. Support ==================================== -- For support information, click the "Backup-Burner Add-on SDK web site" shortcut in the SDK folder. -- To discuss customization, send email to support@net-burner.com. -- To see other tools offered by us, click the "Net-Burner Developer Tools On-Line" shortcut in the SDK folder. ==================================== 7. How to Buy (Licensing info) ==================================== You MUST purchase a license and agree to its terms before distributing BackupBurner.dll with your software. -- For licensing information, click the "Register On-line" shortcut in the SDK folder. ======================================== 8. Providing Feedback on BACKUP-BURNER ADD-ON SDK ======================================== We are sincerely interested in your feedback on BACKUP-BURNER. Please mail suggestions, improvements, additional readme.txt comments, tighter source code examples, or bug reports to input@net-burner.com. Your feedback helps us plan future changes for Backup-Burner and will make Net-Burner more useful to you. Please register this software soon. Thanks for the participation and support of the many contributors it took to develop Net-Burner with Click-to-Disc! technology. Click-to-Disc!(tm) and other included Net-Burner technology.