When the MSDOS version of BEAV run it detects whether the system is an IBM PC or a clone. If a PC is detected then a set of key bindings that use the 10 function keys and the relevant keypad keys are loaded. If the system is not recognized then only the standard bindings are loaded.
If a PC is detected the screen is managed by making BIOS level calls that enhance performance. Otherwise, the screen is controlled by making ANSI compatible calls to the operating system. This is much slower but is not sensitive to hardware configuration. This requires that non-standard MSDOS systems support ANSI display controls. The following ANSI escape sequences are used;
| Position cursor | ESC [ <row> ; <column> H |
| Erase to end of line | ESC [ 0 K |
| Erase to end of page | ESC [ 0 J |
| Normal video | ESC [ 0 m |
| Reverse video | ESC [ 7 m |
On UNIX systems the termcap library is used. This requires that the TERM environment variable be set correctly.