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SHAREWARE INSTALLATION SYSTEM LITE Version 2.2 (C) 1992 by Scanlon Enterprises The Shareware Concept : The shareware concept has made it possible for you to obtain extremely powerful software at a price you can afford, and it gives you the opportunity to try the software before you buy. Shareware is kept alive by your support, Thank you ! For Comments and / or suggestions, please contact SCANLON ENTERPRISES 38354 17TH ST. E. PALMDALE, CA 93550 Emergency problems, call (805) 272-4827 Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 2 Shareware Installation System Lite, will be referred to as SIS from this point on. This product is designed to aid the Author / developer in making their software easy to install. This product uses the command file approach to installation ease. By this, we mean, that the Author or developer creates an installation command file, which is read in by this product for later recall. The user or client, starts the installation process by entering the new product name, such as INSTALL from a DOS prompt. The Author or developer, initializes a new installation program, by entering the product name, followed by the command line switch, of '/I'. The 'I' may be either upper or lower case. Once the Author or developer starts SIS, SIS will prompt for a new command file, a new password (this protects the Authors command set from being changed after installation) and a new file name (which may be the same as the previous). Passwords are limited to 16 characters, upper and lower case (even spaces). When the user or Client starts SIS, they will be prompted, based upon the Author or developer commands installed at the time. In this manner, the Author or developer retains full control of the installation process. The product name upon shipping is SISLITE (with a COM extension). All variations of this product will carry a 'COM' extension. Because of this extension and file type, no SIS product can be larger than 64K total (after adding you installation commands). This really is NOT a problem, since a typical command file is less than than 5K (typically less than 1K). The size of SIS without commands is under 10K, thus leaving room for up to 54K in commands ! That's a whole lot of commands. SIS comes with a password of SISLITE (all uppercase). SIS knows the difference between upper and lower case on passwords. The remainder of this documentation will be devoted to explaining usage of the commands and variables which are available for commands in the command file. Any command which is NOT a command of SIS, must be a DOS program, not a batch file command. Thus, ECHO is not allowed, but FORMAT is ! Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 3 QUICK START USAGE Create your master disk(s) and save room on disk one for SIS, which is about 10K (usually less than 7K) . Now, using any Text Editor or Wordprocessor, create the command list, using the special commands of SIS and any valid DOS program (executables with the extension COM and EXE). A typical command file will contain : 1) Opening screen describing your product in brief and the base requirements of the product. 2) A prompt to Abort or continue. 3) Next, prompt for the destination drive. 4) Prompt for the destination path You are now ready to copy files from the source drive (you don't have to ask for the name, as SIS automatically knows). 5) Copy files from the source to the destination. 6) Unpack any files using your un-packing program or using a command to start a self un-packing program. 7) Start any new program, or display a closing screen giving the user quick start instructions. The next step is to type SISLITE /I at any DOS command line prompt. This will be the process of applying your commands to a new installation file. You will be prompted for the existing password (SISLITE is the original one), for verification to proceed on deleting the existing command set, the new command file (path may be included), the name of the new installation program (no extension is required), and finally the new password, so others can not modify your command list. Your new installation program will be created. You must copy this to your new master disk. Then, you should test it. This is the time to find mistakes. If you have the registered version, we provide both a Text Editor and a SIS verification system. Our SIS verifier will find over 90% of the possible errors. We have found, if your installation command set works once, and the user has a PC or compatible system running any DOS from 2.0 up, that SIS will work as installed each time ! Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 4 Quick Start Commands .. 01) CLR - clears the display 02) CD - change directory 03) COPY - copy files from source to destination 04) CR - waits for ENTER key to be pressed 05) DELETE - Delete a file 06) GETDRV - Gets destination drive from user 07) GOTO - Branch to a label 08) IFCR - Test last CR entry for escape key 09) IFDOS - Test DOS version 10) IFEXIST - Test for existence of a file 11) IFVID - Test for color system 12) IFYN - Test response from YN input function 13) IFERR - Test if an error level is there 14) LEN - Set the LEN variable to a value from 1 to 80 15) LIN - Gets up to 80 character line input 16) LOCATE - Position cursor 17) MKDIR - Create destination directory 18) RENAME - Rename a file 19) ROOT - Sets destination path prefix to always assume path is off root. {continued next page} Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 5 20) SETCOLR - Set color for CLR function 21) SETDRV - Set destination drive letter 22) SETLIN - Set Line input variable 23) SETPTH - Set path to last LIN (line input) 24) SETSIZ - Set the target min. size 25) SETSPTH - Set source path 26) WRITE - Display text using current colors 27) YN - Waits for 'Y', 'N' or Escape (upper or lower case) as yes no response. Any other command file entry is a DOS program, such as FORMAT. In addition, there are a few variables that SIS knows about. To use these variables, prefix them with the '@' character. EXAMPLE : COPY @LIN The @LIN above will be replaced with whatever is in the current line input buffer, from a previous LIN function call. Quick start variables ... The following is a list of available variables : 1) DRV - The selected destination drive 2) PTH - The selected destination path 3) YN - Current response from the YN function 4) CR - returns 'E' if escape was pressed at last CR function 5) COLR - returns the value of the current color setting in HEX 6) SRC - Returns the source drive 7) LIN - returns the string input at the last LIN function 8) SPTH - returns a string equal to the selected source path Remember, to use these variables on a command line, precede it with the '@' character. Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 6 COMMAND FILE This is the file the Author or developer creates, which contains the SIS commands and DOS commands. A SIS command file can NOT have any BATCH file commands. These are commands which are built into DOS. A command other than SIS commands, are the names of COM or EXE programs residing on the source disk or the client system, with a DOS PATH set to it. This file is merged into SISLITE when SIS is started with the /I command line switch. Command file line lengths should be under 120 characters A command file size can be up to 56K bytes. The commad file can be created using any word processor (which saves files as ascii), any text editor or our LWRITE program. A typical command file might contain the following : CLR 1 1 25 80 17 LOCATE 5 5 WRITE INSTALLING THE SHAREWARE INSTALLATION SYSTEM LITE LOCATE 7 5 WRITE ENTER YOUR DESTINATION DRIVE GETDRV LOCATE 9 5 WRITE ENTER THE DESTINATION PATH TO INSTALL TO CLR 10 5 10 75 07 LOCATE 10 5 LIN SETPTH MKDIR COPY *.* Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 7 The above would get the destination drive and path, make the directory on the destination and finally copy all files on the source to the destination. The user is prompted for both the drive and path. The screen is cleared to white on blue (color systems) and just ahead of the line input command, LIN, the line input the string at, is cleared to white on black. The above file takes less than 400 bytes ! Also, in this case, we do not use any additional commands other than those supplied within SIS, thus keeping the total installation system size to a small under 8K bytes. The command file itself is NOT included on the installation disk, as the commands will reside within the SIS installation system itself. EXTERNAL COMMANDS An external command must have either a COM or EXE extension, no batch files allowed. The line containing an external command, must include the full path and name. IE .... C:\SIS\SIS.COM SISLITE.COM In the above, we are starting the COM program SIS, from the SIS directory, on drive C. If the drive letter is NOT included, then the file is assumed to be on the current drive, usually the source drive of the program to be installed. An external command may include any command line options which are normally passed to the program, such as : WS.EXE MYFILE FORMAT.EXE A: Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 8 SIS Variables : Although all of the variables can be retrieved on the command line (of any line in a Command File), the most useful ones are : LIN, DRV & PTH Your command line will be expanded to include the variable(s) which are currently set. In this way, a command line like the following will be expanded : IFEXIST @DRV:@PTH\COMMAND.COM GOTO XIT If the variable @DRV is 'D' and @PTH is \SIS then the line would be expanded to : IFEXIST D:\SIS\COMMAND.COM GOTO XIT In this manner, some things can be done, with unknowns at run time. This is a very powerful feature. An example of using the DRV variable follows : @DRV: This will set the current drive to that selected by the user In this way, you will be logged onto the destination drive We can also change directories by using the CD command : CD @PTH This will expand to the current path after the PTH variable is set using the SET PTH function. Also, in conjunction, we can also specify the drive with this command, so : CD @DRV:@PTH Is also perfectly legal SIS ERRORLEVELS SIS will exit with an errorlevel if any major errors are detected at run time. See extended documentation below for errorlevels. Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 9 - - - U S A G E - - - CLR Syntax : CLR srow scol erow ecol colr Where : 'srow' & 'scol' are the starting row / column to clear 'erow' & 'ecol' are the ending row / column to clear 'colr' is the color to clear the area to in HEX Alternate : CLR This version clears the entire display All of these are decimal values, except 'colr', which is HEX, and must be two digits (no more, no less). 'colr' may also be selected by using the variable @COLR instead of a value. Example : CLR 5 5 20 75 17 The above clears lines 5 thru 20 and columns 5 thru 75 to white on blue. Example : CLR 6 6 20 76 @COLR Clears lines 6 thru 20 and columns 6 thru 76 to the value of the variable @COLR. COPY Syntax : COPY fname Where : 'fname' is any valid DOS file name and my include wild cards, such as '*' or '?' Example : COPY SISLITE.COM Would copy 'SISLITE.COM' from the source to the destination CR Syntax : CR Waits for the user to press ENTER or ESCAPE Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 10 - - - U S A G E - - - GETDRV Syntax : GETDRV Waits for the user to enter the destination drive letter or the ESCAPE KEY. GOTO Syntax : GOTO label Where : 'label' is any string beginning with a colon ':' Example : GOTO XIT Would look for the label ':XIT' IFCR Syntax : IFCR command Where : 'command' is any valid command file command Example : IFCR GOTO XIT This would branch to the label if the last CR operation returned an ESCAPE. IFDOS Syntax : IFDOS ver command Where : 'ver' is the version to test for, and the condition is met, if the actual DOS version is greater than or equal to 'ver' 'command' is any valid Command File command Example : IFDOS 2.0 THEN GOTO GOODOS Would branch the file to the label 'GOODOS' if the actual DOS version was 2.0 and up (IE.. 3.0 would branch.) Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 11 - - - U S A G E - - - IFEXIST Syntax : IFEXIST fname command Where : 'fname' is any valid DOS file name 'command' is any valid Command File command Example : IFEXIST SISLITE.COM GOTO XIT Branches if the file 'SISLITE.COM' exists, to the label 'XIT' IFVID Tests if current video is color Syntax : IFVID command Where : 'command' is any valid Command File command Example : IFVID GOTO COLOR Branches to 'COLOR' if the video system in use is color IFYN Syntax : IFYN resp command Where : 'resp' is the expected YN response being tested for, and may be either 'Y', 'N' or 'E', where 'E' is for escape. 'command' is any valid Command File command Example : IFYN Y GOTO DOYES Would branch to 'DOYES' if the last YN operation returned a response of 'Y' (for yes). Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 12 - - - U S A G E - - - IFERR Syntax : IFERR var command Where : 'var' is the expected errorlevel 'command' is any valid command file command The command 'command', will be performed, if ERR is equal to or greater than the selected test 'val'. LIN Syntax : LIN Gets up to 80 characters as input from the user This input can be set to the PTH by using SET PTH command LOCATE Syntax : LOCATE row column Where : 'row' and 'column' are decimal values representing the new cursor location of row and column. Example : LOCATE 5 5 Would position the cursor to line 5 column 5 MKDIR Syntax : MKDIR Creates the destination directory set with the SET PTH function Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 13 - - - U S A G E - - - SETCOLR Syntax : SETCOLR foreground background Where : 'foreground' is the foreground color to use 'background' is the background color to use Both values are in decimal, in the range of 0 thru 16 See COLORS below for the standard set of colors available. This puts the combined value into the variable 'COLR' for later use with the @COLR variable. This is useful if you don't want to calculate the HEX value for the CLR function above. SETPTH Syntax : SETPTH Sets the variable PTH to the last LIN operation value. WRITE Syntax : WRITE text Where : 'text' is any string of characters. This displays the selected text at the current cursor location, using the existing colors. Example : WRITE Hello Displays 'Hello' at the current cursor location YN Syntax : YN Waits for the user to press 'Y', 'N' or the Escape key. 'Y' & 'N' may be upper or lower case, typed characters. Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 14 - - - U S A G E - - - CD Syntax : CD dir Where : 'dir' is the name of a directory to change to Example : CD \SIS Would change the current directory to SIS off the root SETDRV Syntax : SETDRV d Where : 'd' is the desired drive for a default Example : SETDRV C Sets the default destination drive to C SETSPTH Syntax : SETSPTH string Where : 'string' is any valid path string This sets the current source path for the COPY command. The default source path is the root. SETLIN Syntax : SETLIN text Where : 'text' is any string of characters This is useful for setting a default destination path, in conjunction with the above SET PTH function. Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 15 - - - U S A G E - - - LEN Syntax : LEN n Where : 'n' is a decimal value, range of 1 thru 80 This fixes the max length for the LIN function (above). The default LIN input length is 80 characters. ROOT Syntax : ROOT After executing this command all subsquent SET PTH commands will assure the path is prefixed with the "\" character, so all paths will be relative to the root. DELETE Deletes a single file Syntax : DELETE filename Where : 'filename' is any valid DOS file name and may NOT include wild cards "*" or "?" RENAME Renames a single file Syntax : RENAME oldfile newfile Where : 'oldfile' and 'newfile' are any valid DOS file names and may NOT include wild cards "*" or "?" . 'oldfile' is the files current name, while 'newfile' is the name to change to. Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 16 - - - U S A G E - - - SETSIZ Syntax : SETSIZ bytes Where : 'bytes' is a decimal value of less than 4 gigabytes Default value for SETSIZ is 360000 (360K) This sets the expected drive size minimum, IE...360000 bytes means that there must be at least 360K available on the selected drive. An errorleve is set (ERR) upon end users entry from the GETDRV function. EXAMPLE: SETSIZ 363000 WRITE ENTER DESTINATION DRIVE >_ GETDRV IFERR 1 GOTO BADDRV IFERR 2 GOTO BADSIZ ERR = 1 if the drive is bad (selects a drive that is NOT available), ERR = 2 if the drive does NOT have the requested min. size set by SETSIZ, above is 363000 The variable SPTH (@SPTH) can be used with the CD function to allow changing the path on the source drive. Any other string of characters starting a line will be assumed to be a valid file name, except labels (beginning with a colon). Remember, NO batch commands such as ECHO, CD, MD, etc.. are allowed in the commands used. Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 17 SIS COLORS The colors available for the SIS commands must be in the range of 0 thru 16 (exclusively), for foreground and background. For entering colors as HEX (both values are combined), the colors range from 0 thru F (IE... 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E,F) When used with the CLR command, both values are entered as a combined value, with the background first. (IE... 17 would be 1 for background and 7 for foreground) For background colors, any value over 7, makes the foreground color blink. IE... 87 would be 17 plus, the foreground color 7 would blink. COLOR TRANSLATION Foreground and background Foreground only 0 = Black 8 = Dark Gray 1 = Blue 9 = Light Blue 2 = Green 10 = Light Green 3 = Cyan 11 = Light Cyan 4 = Red 12 = Light Red 5 = Magenta 13 = Light Magenta 6 = Brown 14 = Yellow 7 = White (gray) 15 = White (intense white) Where : 10 = 0A Hex 11 = 0B Hex 12 = 0C Hex 13 = 0D Hex 14 = 0E Hex 15 = 0F Hex Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 18 SPECIAL NOTES SIS provides some features automatically. One is SIS automatically flags the drive which started SIS (the installation program) on, as the source drive. This value is stored in the variable @SRC for your use. SIS also supplies the destination drive once you request that from the client (end user), as well as the destination path. The destination drive is supplied as variable @DRV while the path is @PTH . SIS supplies on other special variable, @VID. This is used with the special IF function, of 'IF VID command' to test for a color system. With this feature, you can set the colors for the CLR function depending upon the video type. A more complete explanation is provided below. In the video test above (IF VID) the command 'command' is executed only if VID is color. In other words, the command supplied, would NOT be executed if VID is monochrome. SIS automatically tests for DOS 2.0 and up, thus if SIS finds a system attached, running DOS 1.0, it would stop the install and produce an error message. SIS also automatically tries to set the video to 25x80 color, if that fails, SIS will check if the system is monochrome, and if so continue, or halt if a system is detected not fitting the two possible modes. SIS, upon entry, also clears the display. Thus you don't need a clear function prior to this. Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 19 EXTENDED DOCUMENTATION - REGISTERED VERSION The remainder of this documentation will present information not covered by the original Shareware documentation. Preparation : Create a Command File using LWRITE, any wordprocessor or text editor. The command file contains the instructions SIS follows to provide your software with an installation system. Since SIS provides no thinking of its own, the system depends upon your Command File being correct. For this reason I have provided you with the SISVER program, which reads in a Command File and verifies it's syntax. For details on usage and reporting errors for SISVER, please read the SISVER.DOC file. Once you have a verified Command File, you can configure SIS by entering SISLITE (or your current program name) at a DOS prompt, followed by a space and '/I'. IE... 'SISLITE /I' When you press the ENTER key, after entering the above, you will be prompted to verify that indeed you really want to re-configure the installation routines. Upon verifying the above, you will be prompted for the current password, which is 'SISLITE' . You enter the password, and press ENTER. If you have already configured SIS once, and are re-configuring, then enter whatever password you used to save the new previous configuration. You will now be prompted for a new Command File, containing the new set of installation commands. Any valid file name and extension is valid here. IE.... 'CMD.LST' Now SIS will prompt for a name to call the new installation system. You enter up to 8 characters, SIS supplies the 'COM' extension. Two typical file names to use are 'GO' & 'INSTALL', however, be creative, and use any 8 character file name. Finally, you are prompted for a new password. You may enter any character, upper or lower case alpha characters are allowed. SIS will require exactly the same sequence when an attempt is made to change the current configuration / installation commands, using the '/I' option. Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 20 After pressing enter (above), you will have a new installation system, ready to use (easy !). Copy the new installation program thus created to your first master disk (disk to be distributed). Now, your customers need only enter the name of the program, after logging onto the floppy, and SIS will execute each of the commands it found in your Command File. Starting on page 8 (above), the exact syntax of each available command was given, so the remainder of this documentation will be used to provide expanded usage explanations. CLR is an easy to use function, and replaces the DOS CLS command, with some enhancements. One, you control the area of the display to clear and two, you can clear the area to any color. The color you specify with CLR must be hex, or the variable @COLR may be supplied. @COLR is set when you supply a foreground and background color using the SET COLR option, described below. Although, CLR is NOT a window manager, it can be used in a similar fashion. You can clear several areas of the display to different colors, thus creating a window effect. When the function WRITE is used, to display text, the current screen colors are used, thus taking full advantage of any colors set using the CLR function. A typical usage, would be to first clear the entire screen to white on blue (color systems), then create a window to display, perhaps a menu. CLR 1 1 25 80 17 {Clears all to white on blue} CLR 5 5 15 60 4F {Make a white on red menu} You could also clear four window areas, such as : CLR 1 1 12 40 17 {Top left to white on blue} CLR 1 41 12 80 4F {Top right to white on red} CLR 13 1 25 40 30 {Bot left to black on cyan} CLR 13 41 25 80 20 {Bot right to black on green} For monochrome systems the following might be used : CLR 1 1 12 40 70 {Top left to black on white} CLR 1 41 12 80 07 {Top right to white on black} CLR 13 1 25 40 0F {Bot left to intense white on black} CLR 13 41 25 80 70 {Bot right to black on white} Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 21 Of course, once you put information into an area of the screen, you can use CLR to re-clear that portion for re-use. Using the SETCOLR function prior to CLR saves you from the HEX requirement, as using the SETCOLR creates the HEX value for you, when you supply the foreground and background values. For instance : SETCOLR 7 1 CLR 1 1 25 80 @COLR Will clear the entire screen to white on blue. The SIS COPY function is an enhanced version of the DOS COPY command. The SIS version does NOT require a destination, as the destination is assumed to be the destination supplied by your customer, the end user. The source is always constant, and will be the drive which SIS started on. Use COPY to place your original files onto the destination system, then use your file extraction program to extract the files. Alternately you can extract the files from the source to the destination, which will be explained later. Using COPY : COPY 'source file name' The 'source file name' is any file name, including wild cards, which exist on the source drive. Do NOT specify a directory or drive letter, just the 8 character name and 3 character extension, such as '*.*', '*.DOC' or 'READ.ME' . GOTO is valuable in that a branch may occur during the sequence of instructions to perform during an installation. The GOTO may simply be the start of a command, such as 'GOTO XIT' or may be used as the command to perform when using one of the IF functions supplied with SIS. The GOTO function is followed by a label name, which is a place holder in the command list, similar to that in a batch file. And like a batch file label, the label must be preceded by a COLON. GOTO XIT command(s) :XIT Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 22 Using the previous CLR function, in an example, along with the IF VID function we come up with : SETCOLR 7 1 {Start with white on blue} IFVID GOTO GOTCOLOR {If the sys is color bypass SETCOLR 7 0 { this line, setting to white :GOTCOLOR { on black -- this is the { label We could be more effective by using the following : SETCOLR 7 0 IFVID SETCOLR 7 1 Of course, the GOTO is better when we have several commands to execute depending upon some condition, such as if the system is color on monochrome. When you issue the function 'GETDRV' to have the user input the drive to install to, be sure to provide a prompt, such as : LOCATE 5 5 WRITE Please enter the drive letter to install to : _ Upon completion of the last line (above), the cursor will be positioned as shown, at the end of the display string, which will be used as the drive prompt. Then to change to the selected drive, simply : @DRV: You must provide the colon ":", the drive letter will be supplied via the @DRV variable. You can get back to the source drive by entering : @SRC: In this way, you can change between the source and destination with ease. You can use the CR function to have the user decide to abort or continue, for example : LOCATE 5 5 WRITE Press ENTER to continue, or ESCAPE to abort CR IFCR GOTO XIT other commands :XIT Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 23 The previous example would branch to XIT (label) if the user pressed the escape key during the CR function. In this manner, you can abort the installation process at any time. Does your program like to run under DOS 3.0 and up only ? Then use the function 'IFDOS' to make that test, IE.... IFDOS 3.0 GOTO GOOD.DOS LOCATE 5 5 WRITE Must have DOS 3.0 and up ... GOTO XIT :GOOD.DOS commands :XIT Your system runs only on DOS 3.0, then use this : IFDOS 3.1 GOTO BAD.DOS IFDOS 3.0 GOTO GOOD.DOS :BAD.DOS LOCATE 5 5 WRITE Must have DOS 3.0 ! GOTO XIT :GOOD.DOS commands :XIT SIS provides the conditional test 'IFEXIST' primarily to give you a method to verify the existence of your source files. In this manner, you can be sure that the correct disk number is currently installed as a source disk, or that the user has NOT started the installation from other than the source. A good example of using the feature is : :DSK.ONE IFEXIST DISK.ONE GOTO VALID.ONE LOCATE 5 5 WRITE Disk one of installation is not source, please WRITE install disk one, and press ENTER or WRITE press ESCAPE to abort. CR IFCR GOTO ABRT GOTO DSK.ONE :ABRT LOCATE 7 5 WRITE Please start installation from the source drive. :XIT Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 24 Notice in the above example, the multiple WRITE functions following the first LOCATE function. If you want to make long lines, using the full 80 columns, please, do use more than one WRITE to do it. Remember, WRITE does NOT provide a CR/LF to set a new line, and any text not fitting on the current line will be truncated (chopped off). The file we test for, in the above (previous page), may even be an empty file (zero bytes). This type of file is often used as a flag to mark a disk, as one, two, etc.... Another case to use the IFEXIST function is to verify that a directory does not exist. That is, make sure the user is having us create a new directory. IFEXIST @PTH\*.* GOTO BAD.PATH commands GOTO XIT :BAD.PATH LOCATE 5 5 WRITE Invalid path specified, directory exists. LOCATE 6 5 WRITE press ENTER to try another directory name WRITE or ESCAPE to abort installation. CR IFCR GOTO XIT GOTO GET.DIR The above example simply tests if any file exists in the destination directory. If any file exists, then have the user re-specify or do additional testing or abort at that point. Need to ask the end user a question, such as is there a mouse ? SIS provides for your needs as follows : LOCATE 5 5 WRITE Does your system have a mouse (ESCAPE = abort) YN IFYN N GOTO NOMOUSE IFYN E GOTO ABORT COPY MOUSE.* :NOMOUSE commands :ABORT In this example, if the user presses the escape key, he wants to abort. A no "N" means no mouse, and yes means copy mouse stuff for mouse support. Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 25 SIS provides an errorlevel detection system to replace the DOS IF ERRORLEVEL . To use the SIS version, simply replace ERRORLEVEL with ERR and write your test as thought it were ERRORLEVEL. For instance, if you start some program which can exit with an errorlevel (for failure), then the following would work. HELP.EXE IFERR 1 GOTO BAD.HELP commands GOTO XIT :BAD.HELP LOCATE 5 5 WRITE Help failed, aborting installation :XIT In this example, if the program HELP.EXE fails, then we abort with an exit message. SIS provides several ERRORLEVELS for your testing, see ERRORLEVELS below for details. The SIS Line input function "LIN" is provide to get user response, a line at a time, of up to 80 characters. This function is commonly used to get the user to specify the destination path as in the following : LOCATE 5 5 WRITE Enter the destination path : LIN SETPTH This example gets input from the user, then sets the path to the input, via the 'SETPTH' function. MKDIR This function is provided so that you can create the named directory that the user provides, as in the previous example. To use this function, you may do the following : LOCATE 5 5 WRITE Enter the destination path : LIN SETPTH MKDIR Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 26 Alternately, prior to creating the directory use : WRITE Enter the destination path : LIN SETPTH IFEXIST @PTH\*.* GOTO COPY.IT MKDIR :COPY.IT This way, you only create the directory if it doesn't exist. The SIS WRITE function makes no attempt to validate your cursor position, no the current screen colors. If you have set the colors to black on black for instance, then using WRITE will produce invisible characters. SIS provides the equivalent DOS command CD (change directory) to allow you to log into the destination directory to perform a function after installation, such as extracting files. Also, this function can be used to change directories on the source disk. The first example will use CD to aid in extracting files from the source disk. LOCATE 5 5 WRITE Extracting Documentation @DRV: CD @PTH @SRC:DOCS.EXE In the above, the file DOCS.EXE is a self extracting file, and will extract to the current drive (destination) and path. While the above examples are good, examples, they are not complete Command Files. For Command File examples see the files CMD01.LST thru CMDnn.LST . Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 27 ERRORLEVELS Errorlevels are reported via the variable @ERR and by using the IF ERR function, built into SIS. Using IFERR is very close to using the DOS IF ERRORLEVEL command in a batch file. When using IFERR, you supply an expected value, say 27, then a command to perform if the test passes. Errorlevel testing causes a PASS when the tested errorlevel (ERR) is equal or greater than the expected (test) value. IE.... IFERR 27 GOTO ABORT The above passes (branch to the label 'ABORT') would occur if the variable ERR was 27 or greater. A better way to test for just an errorlevel of 27, would be : IFERR 28 GOTO BYPASS IFERR 27 GOTO ABORT :BYPASS commands :ABORT Thus, you can see, that errorlevels greater than that desired, must first be checked, then the value for which you want to perform a separate command. SIS will supply a variety of ERRORLEVELS which can be tested for using the IF ERR function (as above), these are : 0FF - SIS has bombed for some reason, such as a bad installed command file. This error is given in extreme cases where no other recourse exists, and results in an exit to DOS... This error is also a possible indicator that your installation file has been tampered with... 0FE - Empty Command File / Not configured properly This error only occurs when the developer really goofed. Result is that SIS exits, reporting this error code, no installation takes place. Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 28 0FD - Wrong DOS Version This is only reported at start time, either during a configuration attempt or installation attempt. This means the user is using DOS 1.x . SIS LITE does NOT support this old DOS version... 0FC - Invalid password This error results in an exit, and possibly indicates an attempt at tamper, or the developer forgot the password.. 0FB - User Aborted This error occurs during the configuration process and is caused by the developers abort request. Aborting exit is completely under the developers control during an install session. An installation abort would result in an errorleve of 27 (ERR = 27) or errorlevel 3 (ERR = 3) during an install session. When this happens, it is the developers responsiblity to make the decision on how to exit. 0FA - Error in reading command file This error results in an exit, indicating this failure, and occurs only during a configuration session. This failure indicates the command file is bad, or that the file has been locked ! 0F9 - Command file too large This error only occurs during a configuration session, and indicates that the command file is just too large for SIS LITE to handle. File size limit for SIS LITE is 56K (or about), depending upon developers base ram size. 0F8 - SIS is lost This error results in SIS exiting, and is caused by a defecting install command, a damaged install file or tampering. 0F7 - Invalid Command Line This error results in SIS exiting, and is caused by the end user trying command line options (tampering). Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 29 Other errors occuring at installation time depend upon circumstances, such as an installation abort request, where ERR is set to 27. Usually, after executing an internal function, such as SET??? or WRITE, LOCATE, etc.., the errorlevel is set to one for a normal failure, and input routines set the errorlevel to 27 if the ESCAPE key or ^C key is pressed During execution of an external program, the errorlevel reported will be what that program sets. IE... IF the DOS FORMAT program sets the errorlevel at 4, then ERR will be 4 at that time. HEX to decimal translation for ERROR codes : HEX DEC HEX DEC HEX DEC HEX DEC ------------------------------------------------------------ 0000 0000 0001 0001 0002 0002 0003 0003 0004 0004 0005 0005 0006 0006 0007 0007 0008 0008 0009 0009 000A 0010 000B 0011 000C 0012 000D 0013 000E 0014 000F 0015 0010 0016 0011 0017 0012 0018 0013 0019 0014 0020 0015 0021 0016 0022 0017 0023 0018 0024 0019 0025 001A 0026 001B 0027 001C 0028 001D 0029 001E 0030 001F 0031 0020 0032 0021 0033 0022 0034 0023 0035 0024 0036 0025 0037 0026 0038 0027 0039 0028 0040 0029 0041 002A 0042 002B 0043 002C 0044 002D 0045 002E 0046 002F 0047 0030 0048 0031 0049 0032 0050 0033 0051 0034 0052 0035 0053 0036 0054 0037 0055 0038 0056 0039 0057 003A 0058 003B 0059 003C 0060 003D 0061 003E 0062 003F 0063 0040 0064 0041 0065 0042 0066 0043 0067 0044 0068 0045 0069 0046 0070 0047 0071 0048 0072 0049 0073 004A 0074 004B 0075 004C 0076 004D 0077 004E 0078 004F 0079 0050 0080 0051 0081 0052 0082 0053 0083 0054 0084 0055 0085 0056 0086 0057 0087 0058 0088 0059 0089 005A 0090 005B 0091 005C 0092 005D 0093 005E 0094 005F 0095 0060 0096 0061 0097 0062 0098 0063 0099 0064 0100 0065 0101 0066 0102 0067 0103 0068 0104 0069 0105 006A 0106 006B 0107 006C 0108 006D 0109 006E 0110 006F 0111 0070 0112 0071 0113 0072 0114 0073 0115 0074 0116 0075 0117 0076 0118 0077 0119 0078 0120 0079 0121 007A 0122 007B 0123 007C 0124 007D 0125 007E 0126 007F 0127 Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 30 HEX DEC HEX DEC HEX DEC HEX DEC ------------------------------------------------------------ 0080 0128 0081 0129 0082 0130 0083 0131 0084 0132 0085 0133 0086 0134 0087 0135 0088 0136 0089 0137 008A 0138 008B 0139 008C 0140 008D 0141 008E 0142 008F 0143 0090 0144 0091 0145 0092 0146 0093 0147 0094 0148 0095 0149 0096 0150 0097 0151 0098 0152 0099 0153 009A 0154 009B 0155 009C 0156 009D 0157 009E 0158 009F 0159 00A0 0160 00A1 0161 00A2 0162 00A3 0163 00A4 0164 00A5 0165 00A6 0166 00A7 0167 00A8 0168 00A9 0169 00AA 0170 00AB 0171 00AC 0172 00AD 0173 00AE 0174 00AF 0175 00B0 0176 00B1 0177 00B2 0178 00B3 0179 00B4 0180 00B5 0181 00B6 0182 00B7 0183 00B8 0184 00B9 0185 00BA 0186 00BB 0187 00BC 0188 00BD 0189 00BE 0190 00BF 0191 00C0 0192 00C1 0193 00C2 0194 00C3 0195 00C4 0196 00C5 0197 00C6 0198 00C7 0199 00C8 0200 00C9 0201 00CA 0202 00CB 0203 00CC 0204 00CD 0205 00CE 0206 00CF 0207 00D0 0208 00D1 0209 00D2 0210 00D3 0211 00D4 0212 00D5 0213 00D6 0214 00D7 0215 00D8 0216 00D9 0217 00DA 0218 00DB 0219 00DC 0220 00DD 0221 00DE 0222 00DF 0223 00E0 0224 00E1 0225 00E2 0226 00E3 0227 00E4 0228 00E5 0229 00E6 0230 00E7 0231 00E8 0232 00E9 0233 00EA 0234 00EB 0235 00EC 0236 00ED 0237 00EE 0238 00EF 0239 00F0 0240 00F1 0241 00F2 0242 00F3 0243 00F4 0244 00F5 0245 00F6 0246 00F7 0247 00F8 0248 00F9 0249 00FA 0250 00FB 0251 00FC 0252 00FD 0253 00FE 0254 00FF 0255 Where HEX = Hexidecimal and DEC = Decimal Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 31 CREATING A COMMAND FILE - DETAILS To give you an idea of the POWER of SIS LITE, we will now design a complex installation. Our goal, to create a multi-level target path, from a multi-disk installation set. For our discussion, we'll call this program (we want to install), BIG ACE ! BIG ACE is some high level application which will require a hard disk of at least 2 Megabytes, and uses a layered directory structure of BASE\SYSTEM , BASE\TOOLS & BASE\CONFIG The master disk set contains 5 self extracting files, one for each of 5 disks. Disk one has 10K available for the install program! The 5 self extracting files are identified as : BIGACE1.EXE --- on disk one BIGACE2.EXE --- on disk two BIGACE3.EXE --- on disk three BIGACE4.EXE --- on disk four BIGACE5.EXE --- on disk five BIGACE1 and BIGACE2 will be loaded into the base directory BASE, BIGACE3 will be loaded into BASE\SYSTEM, BIGACE4 into BASE\TOOLS and finaly BIGACE5 int BASE\CONFIG . In this case, BASE will be replaced by a user selected directory. To begin, start your text editor and select a new file name called BIG.SIS . This will be our new command file. Our first job is to simply display a title screen. Doing, will involve a few simple steps. Step one, clear the entire screen to default colors. SETCOLR 7 0 IFVID SETCOLR 7 1 First set a default color to white on black, to accomidate monochrome systems (first line). Next, using the IFVID function, check if the system is a color system (2nd line), and if so, set the color to white on blue. Once the colors have been defined as above, we are ready to use the CLR function to clear the video area. We know, that the system will be set to either 80 column color or 80 column monochrome, as SIS performs this initialization task upon entry. In fact, that is why the screen blanks momentarily during starup. {Continued next page} Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 32 Since we know SIS guarantees us an 80 x 25 screen matrix, we can use the following to clear all of the screen to our default colors. CLR 1 1 25 80 @COLR Notice our use of the COLR variable (prefixed with the @, which indicates it's a variable). This variable was set, when we used the previous SETCOLR function. In this case, we clear lines 1 thru 25 (standard video row count) columns 1 thur 80 (standard column count) on either a monochrome or color system. The difference between clearing occurs from use of the variabe COLR, which was previously set depending upon video type. Now we have the base to draw our opening screen to, so lets make it a little snazzy. SETCOLR 7 0 IFVID SETCOLR 14 0 CLR 4 5 8 76 @COLR Here, we clear a large window, over our base color. First, we set the monochrome default value to white on black, and change it to yellow on black (2nd line), if the system is color. Finally, we clear the window to the selected color. We choose a window of row 4 thru 8 and columns 5 thru 76. Our reasons for this size will become apparent soon. We have used the IFVID function now twice, so why not take a moment and explain quickly what is happening. During the initialization phase, when SIS LITE first starts, an attempt is made to put the video system into color mode. On monochrome systems, this attempt fails, and SIS LITE will know, and, set a flag. This flag, is tested by the IFVID function, and causes a postive reation, thus allowing the command following the test, to be executed (command on the same line as IFVID, in this case, is SETCOLR). What this does, is establish a shadow effect for our primary window, which follows. SETCOLR 0 7 IFVID SETCOLR 14 3 CLR 3 4 7 75 @COLR This is how we create the fancy shadowed effect, Very Snazzy! This set of functions sets monochrome color to black on white, and color to yellow on cyan. All that's left, is to draw a message into the new box, this is done below. LOCATE 4 20 WRITE BIG ACE Action / Adventure System (c) 1992 Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 33 We've now gotton or ad onto the screen, which announces what the product is. The window could have been made larger to accomidate more lines of messages, such as a brief description of the product. Just to give an idea, lets throw in a quick description. LOCATE 6 8 WRITE A shareware package from Paul Scanlon & Scanlon Enterprises We now have our little window filled up, so why not make another? SETCOLR 0 7 IFVID SETCOLR 15 0 CLR 12 7 17 77 @COLR SETCOLR 0 7 IFVID SETCOLR 15 4 CLR 11 6 16 76 @COLR The above will clear a window as befor on monochrome systems, while on color, the new colors are high intense white on red (forground color) and intense white on black (shadow). We are ready to prompt the user for their first input, and thus, have become interactive. The following message is placed into our newly created window. LOCATE 12 18 WRITE Are you ready to install NOW? (Y)es, (N)o < > Now the prompt is drawn, we need to get the user attention, thus, we position the cursor into between the chars "<" and ">", which draws the user eye contact. LOCATE 12 61 This is the only purpose of the above LOCATE function. We've initialized our prompt, so now, we request SIS LITE to wait for a response, in this case, yes or no. The YN function serves this purpose. YN SIS LITE now wait untill the user presses one of three keys, "Y" for yes, "N" for no (these may be upper or lower case), or the escape key. Once the user has pressed any one of these keys, the next command is executed. In this case, we test the input from the YN function for either escape or "N" . The escape is coded as an "E" in the YN variable. Since we want to abort if either "N" or escape is pressed, we check for each of the negative responses and branch if either one is set. {continued on next page} Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 34 IFYN E GOTO ABORT IFYN N GOTO ABORT First we check for escape "E" and perfor a branch to our abort section via a GOTO (branch instruction). Next we test for the "N" key which is "no", and again branch via a GOTO to the abort section. Any other key, will begin execution of the actual installation process. We have a yes response, so we will reclear the bottom window. The lable is only here to clarify that we are starting the installation portion of the install routine. In this way, later, we can find this spot in the code and make modifications. We suggest, however, that these unused labels be removed prior to distribution, as they do increase the install program size a tiny bit, which in some cases may cause DOS to allocate an extra chunck of disk space. :INSTALL CLR 11 6 16 76 @COLR We've recleared our bottom window, so lets get on with finding a target drive. We need to prompt the user for a drive selection, so let's do it. LOCATE 12 18 WRITE ENTER DESTINATION DRIVE (EXAMPLE: C) >: Again, we have a prompt, and need to command SIS LITE to get keyboard activity, in this case, a drive letter. SIS LITE gets the target drive via the GETDRV function. GETDRV We could have set a default drive, asked the user it that drive was ok, and then prompted for a new drive, but this is easier, and only requies a single key press by the user. In addition to the target drive, we need to ask for a base directory. Again, we display a prompt LOCATE 13 8 WRITE ENTER THE DESTINATION PATH FOR INSTALLATION (EXAMPLE: \SMS) We are going to do our input a little differently this time. Since our input could be up to 65 characters (a DOS path limit), we will clear a little tiny window (most of one line), after which we will position our cursor to the start of the new window. CLR 15 7 15 75 70 LOCATE 15 7 {continued next page} Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 35 We now have a window, which is black on white (on monochrome and color displays). We now have SIS LITE get the input, we do this with the command function LIN. LIN The path is now in the line input buffer, so we command SIS LITE to transfer the buffer contents to the special variable PTH via the SETPTH command. SETPTH It is now time we make special mention of a couple of important steps SIS LITE has taken at this time and at the time we got a target drive. SIS LITE will provide an errorlevel (reported in the ERR variable), of 1 or 2, if the drive selected by the user, does not meet the minimum required by you, the developer / author. The following commands will provide you with a guideline in using the ERR testing method, during the input of target drive and path. :INSTALL CLR 11 6 16 76 @COLR LOCATE 12 18 WRITE ENTER DESTINATION DRIVE (EXAMPLE: C) >: GETDRV *IFERR 1 GOTO BADRV LOCATE 13 8 WRITE ENTER THE DESTINATION PATH FOR INSTALLATION (EXAMPLE:_ \BIGACE) CLR 15 7 15 75 70 LOCATE 15 7 LIN SETPTH *IFERR 1 GOTO BADPTH Notice the two lines prefixed with the "*" character. These two lines test for error conditions, via the ERR variable. In our first test, we wanted to know if the drive was too small or if it doesn't exist. Either way, the error level (ERR) will be larger than 0, so a branch will be performed, to a label (somewhere below the branch instruction) called "BADRV". Hopefully this label exists and that we have instructions telling SIS LITE how to react to this problem. Our second use of IFERR is used to let us know that the path selected by the user exists already, which could indicate that a prior version was already there. {continued} Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 36 What we have done, now, is provide a base path for the BIGACE system. Upon that, we can add our other directories. Let's assume, that the above has passed thru, that is, that the target drive met our minimum size, and the path does NOT yet exist. In that case, we can create the base directory. MKDIR This built in function, unlike its namesake, MKDIR, in DOS, requires no parameters. This is one of the reasons why SIS LITE is so TINY ! In all cases, MKDIR, will create the directory specified by the SETPTH function, and which resides in the variable, thus created, PTH. In parallel to this, it is also REQUIRED, that the target drive has been set. For our example, this of course is true. Upon using the above function, the new directory on the target drive will be @PTH, or what ever the user plugs in. For our discussion, let's assume, that the user has supplied us with drive C, and the base path of BIGACE, our suggested default. Let us also assume that the user started from the root, so that the new path becomes "C:\BIGACE". Now that we have a drive and base directory, we can start installing files. Our first clump of files belong in the base directory "BIGACE", so we need only check that the correct disk is inserted into the source drive. SIS LITE has provided for this test, with the function IFEXIST, so lets do it. :TST1 CLR 11 6 16 76 @COLR IFEXIST @SRC:@SPTH\BIGACE1.EXE GOTO CPY1 This command line, will cause SIS LITE to branch to the label CPY1 if the source drive and path contain the file BIGACE1.EXE . As stated early, in this section, BIGACE1.EXE is one of the two files belonging in the base directory. We have now come upon another built in feature of SIS LITE. SIS LITE automatically sets the two variables, "SRC" and "SPTH" to the correct source drive and path. Thus, if the source is drive A (which for our use, we will), and the source path is "\" {root} (and we will), then this line expects to find "A:\BIGACE1.EXE", and if so, will branch to the label "CPY1". We MUST now provide instructions for SIS LITE to perform, if the user has inserted a different disk. NOTE, we have also precleared our window, to save us from having to perform this task twice, once for the case of BIGACE1.EXE existing an us branching to label "CPY1", and the other case of when the following commands will be executed. {continued next page} Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 37 LOCATE 12 7 WRITE Please insert BIGACE installation disk #1, into drive @SRC LOCATE 13 7 WRITE If the correct disk is installed, please press ENTER LOCATE 14 7 WRITE if you wish to abort and retry later, press ESCAPE NOW ! LOCATE 15 7 WRITE Waiting for your response [ ] LOCATE 15 34 CR IFERR 27 GOTO ABORT GOTO TST1 Notice the last line, a branch instruction to the above label (previous page) TST1, which began the set in commands, prior to making the IFEXIST test. In this code section, we display a nice message, about inserting disk one into the source drive. However, this example message structure, can be both shortened and lengthed. In the shortening approach, we could simply have said, "requires disk #1, press ENTER to continue, ESCAPE to abort". The lengthed version might go on to provide the user with notes to escape out if this has been displayed more than once. The function CR, simply waits for either an ESCAPE key or ENTER key press. All other key presses simply cause the PC speaker to beep. Just below the CR function, we test the ERR (errorlevel) variable to see if the user pressed the ESCAPE key, and if so, branch to the ABORT label, otherwise, the branch instruciton GOTO TST1 is performed, and we begin a loop, which is NOT broken, until either the correct file is found, or the user aborts by pressing the ESCAPE key. Once the user has the correct disk installed, which we will assume is the case, the following instruction is executed. :CPY1 BIGACE1.EXE @DRV:@PTH\ In our example, all our installation files are self extracting files, similar to the LHA variety, which can extract to a target drive and directory. In the above, all files in the BIGACE1.EXE, self compressed file will extract to the target "C:\BIGACE". This same sequenc can be used for BIGACE2.EXE, like so : {continued next page} Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 38 :TST2 CLR 11 6 16 76 @COLR IFEXIST @SRC:@SPTH\BIGACE2.EXE GOTO CPY2 LOCATE 12 7 WRITE Please insert BIGACE installation disk #2, into drive @SRC LOCATE 13 7 WRITE If the correct disk is installed, please press ENTER LOCATE 14 7 WRITE if you wish to abort and retry later, press ESCAPE NOW ! LOCATE 15 7 WRITE Waiting for your response [ ] LOCATE 15 34 CR IFERR 27 GOTO ABORT GOTO TST2 :CPY2 BIGACE2.EXE @DRV:@PTH\ All we've done, is change the "1's", from our installation of BIGACE1.EXE, to a "2" ! Since most text editors now provide a block copy function, this code can quickly be created, from the first part. Since the above is a clone of the install part one, we need not duplicate our explanation, and we move on to installation of part 3 (BIGACE3.EXE) which will be in another directory off of the base directory of BIGACE ! Our easyest method of installing the last files, will be to first logon to the target drive and directory, and begin making the required new directories from there. @DRV: CD @PTH Actually, these two functions are very close to the DOS counterparts! The first line, simply sets a new drive via the variable DRV, which contains the target drive name. The second line performs the change directory function, and changes to the target path, contained in the variable PTH. We now use a set of two SIS LITE functions, to set a new target path. We have set the target path to the new path of "SYSTEM", and since it's NOT prefixed with the "\" character, SIS LITE will create a new path off the current directory, which is BIGACE, thus ending up with a true path of "\BIGACE\SYSTEM", which is what we want ! We can now tell SIS LITE to make the directory. We need not test for the existance of this directory if we don't want to. If the directory exists, it exists, we will simply replace any files there-in, with new ones. MKDIR CD @PTH Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 39 We now have made the directory and changed to it. All that left, is to verify the correct source disk is inserted and copy files. Checking the source disk is just like the previous, so use your block copy function to copy the block as follows, changing the previous "2's" to a "3". :TST3 CLR 11 6 16 76 @COLR IFEXIST @SRC:@SPTH\BIGACE3.EXE GOTO CPY3 LOCATE 12 7 WRITE Please insert BIGACE installation disk #3, into drive @SRC LOCATE 13 7 WRITE If the correct disk is installed, please press ENTER LOCATE 14 7 WRITE if you wish to abort and retry later, press ESCAPE NOW ! LOCATE 15 7 WRITE Waiting for your response [ ] LOCATE 15 34 CR IFERR 27 GOTO ABORT GOTO TST3 :CPY3 BIGACE3.EXE This time, we don't sufix the selfextracting file with the drive and path, as we are there already! We need only go back one directory level using the CD function CD .. and repeat the steps as for installing disk #3, but using the path TOOLS for disk #4. Again, we simply block copy the above block, edit out the "3's", replacing with "4's". SETLIN TOOLS SETPTH MKDIR CD @PTH {continued next page} Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 40 :TST4 CLR 11 6 16 76 @COLR IFEXIST @SRC:@SPTH\BIGACE4.EXE GOTO CPY4 LOCATE 12 7 WRITE Please insert BIGACE installation disk #4, into drive @SRC LOCATE 13 7 WRITE If the correct disk is installed, please press ENTER LOCATE 14 7 WRITE if you wish to abort and retry later, press ESCAPE NOW ! LOCATE 15 7 WRITE Waiting for your response [ ] LOCATE 15 34 CR IFERR 27 GOTO ABORT GOTO TST4 :CPY4 BIGACE4.EXE Installing disk #5, is just a repeat of the above, but, we change the path name to "CONFIG", the "4's" become "5's" SETLIN TOOLS SETPTH MKDIR CD @PTH :TST5 CLR 11 6 16 76 @COLR IFEXIST @SRC:@SPTH\BIGACE5.EXE GOTO CPY5 LOCATE 12 7 WRITE Please insert BIGACE installation disk #5, into drive @SRC LOCATE 13 7 WRITE If the correct disk is installed, please press ENTER LOCATE 14 7 WRITE if you wish to abort and retry later, press ESCAPE NOW ! LOCATE 15 7 WRITE Waiting for your response [ ] LOCATE 15 34 CR IFERR 27 GOTO ABORT GOTO TST5 :CPY5 BIGACE5.EXE At this point, BIGACE is installed on the user system (at leaste the files are there). For our case, let's suppose that that's all there is too it.. Our next step, is to simply announce that the system is ready to go, and suggest how to start the program. First, lets change back to the base directory, which contains the start up module for BIGACE. CD .. Shareware Installation System Lite PAGE 41 Now, clear the entire screen and display a closing message.. CLR LOCATE 1 1 WRITE Installation complete ! LOCATE 3 1 WRITE To start BIGACE, TYPE BIGACE LOCATE 4 1 WRITE to read BIGACE documnetation type VIEW BIGACE.DOC LOCATE 6 1 Basically, that's all there is to it. We've installed a multi- disk, multi-path system ! There are of course, variations on this, such as auto-starting the BIGACE program, checking for errorlevels after each selfextracting program, etc... We have provided a fully functional version of the example presented in this section, as BIGACE.SIS ! We have NOT provided the files BIGACE1.EXE thru BIGACE5.EXE, the selfextracting files. You can create these yourself using most compression programs. We suggest using LHA due to it's capability. For a copy of the lates version of LHA you can send $3 to us, see REG.DOC for address, plus postage, or save postage, and get it with your copy of registration of SIS LITE, for just $3 ! Postage for us orders is $2, all others please include $5.