Cubefox80

This help file works in 16-bit or 32-bit Windows.
The help file even works in 64-bit but the sheep program doesn't, unless it's inside an emulator, then it does, including on iDevices.

It works for the Japanese or the English version of:

Sheep, Scmpoo, etc.

[download help file here]

Instructions for use:

Unzip and place this help file into the same folder where
your sheep.exe screen mate resides.

Do NOT change the name of the help file or it won't work.

Well I decided to do something about the missing help file, so I gathered up a ton of facts about our favorite little screen mate and it's real creators and put it all in there... and I kept the copyright information INTACT, unlike the 2005 eSheep version, which had no respect for the copyright information and actually overwrote it! For that reason I do NOT recommend using that one... what else can the maker disrespect? It's a valid question and concern.

For the SHEEP.EXE that I DO recommend, (plus a very nice sheep screensaver too!) click here. The one named scmpoo is usually the Japanese version and the one named sheep is usually the English version.

This English help file is ONLY available HERE. The HLP help file format was discontinued for security reasons I won't go into but you don't want to get any HLP files from just anyone willy-nilly. The format was discontinued for a good reason, but as long as you get it from me, here, it's safe. My interest in this is purely nostalgic.

Note: When you open HLP files directly from outside a program, a GID file is created, which is completely normal and you can delete it if you want with no adverse effects, although URL links may not work unless the HLP file is opened directly. If you just want to see the contents and information included in my HLP file but don't want to download it, see below.

Screen Mate 1.0 Help

Sheep is the English language version of a Japanese 'screen mate' program widely distributed in the 1990s.
Introduction...
What is Sheep?
Background Information
Copyright Information
How To...
Start Sheep
Run Multiple Instances...
Commands...
Options
Debug Window
Close Program
Hot Tip
Sheep came out during the days of 16-bit Windows, but it also runs on 32-bit as well as in emulators on 64-bit machines or even on iDevices.

Sheep is a 'Screen Mate' program, which runs in the background or along side of whatever you're doing. Unlike screensavers that stop working as soon as you click or move your mouse or press a key, a 'Screen Mate' program continues to run, keeping you company while you work.
Sheep wonder around, run, sneeze, eat flowers, leap through the air, climb around on your windows, do handstands, bounce, and a whole lot more! You can run one single instance of Sheep or run multiple instances simultaneously.
Trivia
Sheep may have been first in the hugely successful field of 'screen mate' programs, but sadly the cute little programs quickly become a vehicle of choice for delivering malware and were quickly abandoned by many users as (sometimes) completely unsubstantiated rumors spread.

Background Information

Sheep is an English language version of a program originally written for the Japanese market.
Sheep goes by several names including:

• Sheep
• Scmpoo
• Screen Mate Poo
• Screen Mate 1.0

You get the idea...
Trivia
There is a 2005 version of the Sheep program touted on Wiki called eSheep that has the help button completely missing and the copyright information actually overwritten. I do not recommend that one due to the disrespect for the copyright information.

Copyright Information

The Sheep program is based on the work of Japanese animator Tatsutoshi Nomura's 1994 'Stray Sheep' series of five-minute animation shorts that were shown at midnight on the Fuji Television network in Japan. A series of books followed from Mr. Nomura a decade later as well as other merchandise including Playstation games.
Trivia
Village Center, Inc. engaged in an online campaign to stop the digital sharing of the Sheep program but the wildly popular program was already readily available around the world, and still is to this day. The same cannot be said of Village Center, Inc. who apparently no longer maintain any online presence as of 2010.

Start Sheep

If you're like me, you're probably running Sheep in your retro Windows environment inside an emulator, so hopefully you made a program icon for Sheep and it's sitting in one of your icon groups in Program Manager. Simply double-click to start and you'll see a sheep enter your screen and start going about his virtual life antics.
He may be joined or chased around by a black sheep, or even a UFO. You never know, so keep watching!
Trivia
The yellow sheep with the purple horns is named Poe and the black sheep with the little ears is named Merry.

Run Multiple Instances

You can run up to 9 instances of Sheep
To run multiple instances of Sheep, after starting one, return to your icon in Program Manager, Start menu item or EXE in File Explorer and double-click your Sheep icon to start the program again. You can do this up to 9 times and they'll all run reasonably well depending on how much processing power you have available.
Once you've got up to 9 sheep running around, you will really have your hands full keeping track of all the antics they'll get up to!

Options

To access Sheep Options, double-click a sheep. You have to double-click each one individually as they are all separate programs running with their own options each.
The options are:
Sound - toggles sound on/off
Alarm - toggles hourly alarm on/off (Poe Baa repeatedly to let you know the hour mark has been reached)
No Sleep - toggles sheep sleeping mode on/off
G-Force - toggles gravity on/off so they can either walk all over the screen, or they'll fall and bounce on the first thing that they can stand and walk around on.
The buttons are:
OK sets the options of your choice
Cancel closes the options window without making any changes
Help opens the help file ONLY safely available from here.
Remove ends the Sheep program

Debug Window

To access the debug window (and all the sheep actions) hold down CTRL+SHIFT and double-click the sheep. This can be a bit tricky if they're running around at the time, but you can usually get them to sit still long enough to do it if you pick them up and place them somewhere.
Once you double-click on the sheep, the Debug Window opens, where you can click each radio button to see the sheep do the actions of your choice on demand. You can also move the sheep around in the desired direction with the directional buttons.
When you're done looking at actions simply click OK to close the Debug Window.

Close Program

To close or end the Sheep program immediately, double-RIGHT click on the sheep. Also you can double-click the sheep and click the REMOVE button.
You have to double-click (right or left) each individual sheep on your desktop. If you can't find them all, you may want to hold down the ALT key and tap the TAB key to cycle through your running programs until you get to the one you want and then release the keys to switch to it. Alternatively, you can press CTRL+ALT+DEL to bring up Task Manager to see how many more are running and switch to them or shut them down from there. You can make an icon to run the Task Manager instead of using the 3-finger method - just link to taskman in the windows directory.
Your Options settings on the last running Sheep instance will remain in effect for the next time you start up sheep, which is a nice touch.