
Overview:

This package enables XM6 Pro-68k to perform a few useful operations involving
the Internet. These features are purely optional and are only available when
this package is correctly installed.

It can check online for updates to the program and the partially integrated
notes. (The latter contain useful information, in English, about X68000 games
and software.) It can also download and install the updates for you.

This package also includes scripts that can be used to perform an initial
download of XM6 Pro-68k and the various packages, or a full reinstallation.

Please note that all updates retrieved by this package are signed using
public key encryption and will be rejected if they have been tampered with.
This makes it highly unlikely that this software could be misused as a vector
for delivering malware. (E.g. from a server hack or man-in-the-middle attack.)

Due to the above, this method of retrieving updates is now more secure than
downloading them directly from the website.


Requirements:

A stable Internet connection.

Write permission for the directory containing the files.

CMD.EXE must be available and the user must have permission to run batch files.

(If you don't know whether you meet the above requirements, just try it anyway.)


Automatic Installation:

Put the entire contents of this package wherever you wish.

Execute the "Download XM6 Pro-68k" batch file. Note that you must be online.

You should now have a fresh, up-to-date install of XM6 with all the packages.

(Running the above file again is safe: it will check for updates in that case.)


Manual Installation:

If you already have XM6 Pro-68k and want to continue using your current
installation, the procedure is similar to the above; you just need to
make sure the files from this package are placed into the same directory
as the XM6 executable file (XM6.exe).

A notional example of the layout is as follows, with most of the files omitted:

C:\XM6 Pro-68k\
C:\XM6 Pro-68k\XM6.exe
C:\XM6 Pro-68k\Download XM6 Pro-68k.bat
C:\XM6 Pro-68k\Scripts\

Once the files are in place, quit XM6 if it is running, then execute the
"Download XM6 Pro-68k" batch file. This will ensure that XM6 is up-to-date
and enable the menu items described below.


Usage:

Any up-to-date version of XM6 Pro-68k will have new menu items that make use
of this package. Any such menu items will be disabled unless this package is
correctly installed. They will be under the 'Help' menu, although other menu
items could be conceivably be found elsewhere in the future.

You must execute these commands manually by selecting the menu items;
there is no mechanism for automatically executing these operations.
XM6 Pro-68k will never access the Internet unless you direct it to,
and you will always be given a chance to abort.

There are also a few batch files with obvious names that do exactly what they
purport to do. Any scripts intended for the end user to execute directly are
stored at the same level as XM6.exe (one level above the Scripts directory).
Simply double-click the batch file and follow the directions.

In either case, once a script has been invoked, a console window will appear,
the server URL will be displayed, and you will be given an opportunity to abort
if you do not wish to access the Internet at the time. You can abort by closing
the window or typing Ctrl-C followed by the letter 'Y' and then Return or Enter.

Checking for updates on a daily basis is permissible, but weekly or sometimes
monthly is more realistic.


Troubleshooting:

If any errors occur, check that the files were installed properly and that
the user account used to run XM6 has write privileges to the same directory.
Please report any uncorrectable problems that arise on your system so that
they can hopefully be fixed.
