QuipSig

Frequently Asked Questions.

Q1. What is a signature file?
A. A signature file is a file containing text appended to the end of email and newsgroup messages. The signature file has traditionally been used to provide the same information to each message without having to manually type it in each time. In addition to a person's name, address, company and so on it has expanded over time to also include ASCII art, quotes, profound thoughts and witticisms such as those found in my program.

Q3. How much does it cost to register QuipSig?
A. The price is $10 in Canadian funds, in the form of a money order, or register online with your credit card for a cost of $10 US. (This is more convenient than getting a money order and mailing it to me, plus it's faster - you can expect your serial number and registered quip file within a day or two.)

Q4. Do I have to register QuipSig before I can use it?
A No, you can use the program in it's unregistered form for 30 days before you register. This is the standard shareware try-before-you-buy marketing model.

Q5. Does QuipSig stop working after the 30 days are up?
A. The programs will continue to work without change after the 30 days are up, however if you continue to use the program after the evaluation period you will be legally in violation of the user agreement. Besides, you will continue to have the reminder screen show up, and you will also not have the larger selection of quips.

Q6. What computers does QuipSig run on?
A. QuipSig and QuipMgr were developed on a Windows 95 platform, and also tested on a Windows NT 4.0 workstation. They do not run on a Windows 3.1 computer at this time, nor are there Mac or Unix versions.

Q7. What email programs can I use with QuipSig?
A QuipSig works with any email program that uses a plain text signature file. This includes Eudora, Netscape Mail and News, Outlook Express, News Xpress, and Pegasus. An additional feature in QuipSig version 1.2 is it also works with rtf files, so is compatible with Microsoft Outlook 97.

Q8. Are there any differences between the unregistered version of QuipSig and the registered version?
A. Yes, version 1.2 does not allow certain automated functions that would eliminate your seeing the reminder screens. Once you register and input your serial number the reminder screens no longer occur. See also Q11 and Q12. There is also an 4,000 quip file with the registered version, where the unregistered distribution has a 50 quip file.

Q9. What will happen if I modify the quips in the 50 quip unregistered version, then register and get the 4,000 quip file?
A. Your changes will be overwritten when you copy the larger file over the smaller file. For this reason I recommend you either make no permanent changes to the 50 quip file, or record somewhere the changes you make to be able to redo them after receiving the 4,000 quip file. See also Q14.

Q10. Why is there both QuipSig and QuipMgr?
A. I have decided to include both programs so that people who have email clients such as Netscape version 3 that only get the contents of the signature file once upon startup have a program for their needs. If your email program is like that, QuipSig is all you need. If you have Netscape version 4 or another program which gets the contents of the signature file each time you open a new message composition window then you will probably find no use for QuipSig. You will likely find QuipMgr all you need.

Q11. I can't get QuipSig to automatically update the quip in my signature file and shut down again, even though I have enabled the 'QuipSig Auto' Option. What's wrong?
A. This function only operates once you have registered your copy of the program, and you have correctly entered the serial number. This is so that you will continue to see the register reminder screen.

Q12. QuipSig won't start minimized, even though I have enabled the 'QuipSig Start Minimized' Option. What's wrong?
A. This function only operates once you have registered your copy of the program, and you have correctly entered the serial number. This is so that you will continue to see the register reminder screen. You can minimize QuipSig manually though, and it will operate automatically as desired at that time.

Q13. I click on the QuipSig shortcut, but nothing seems to happen. What's wrong?
A. If you have registered your copy of QuipSig, and you have enabled 'QuipSig Auto', this is normal. QuipSig has started, chosen a quip at random, updated your signature file with it, then shut down again automatically.

Q14. I have the quip file from an older version when I registered. How can I replace it with the 4,000 quip file?
A1. If you made no changes to the quip file you can just copy the new file over the older one.
A2. If you made changes, then there is no easy answer. If you made only a few small changes, and you know what they were, you can make the changes again after replacing the older file with the newer file. Copying the newer file into the QuipSig directory will overwrite the older file and your changes.
A3. If you have made a lot of changes, it is possible to have two copies of QuipSig running at the same time. Copy QuipSig and the older quip file into a temporary directory. (See Q16 as well.) Once you have installed the latest version, open both QuipSig programs at the same time and copy/paste quips one at a time.

Q15. If I registered an older version do I get a free upgrade to the current version?
A. Yes. If you registered an older version and have not been notified yet, please contact me. This will continue to be the case for any future versions of QuipSig as well.

Q16. I'm upgrading from an older version to the latest verison. Should I uninstall the older version first?
A. Yes, this is the best method. If you have made changes to your quip file, see Q14. In any case, you should at least copy your fields.dat file, which contains the information in the eight surrounding fields, to a temporary location then copy it back to the QuipSig directory after installing the latest version.

Do you have other questions? email Rod