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EXC USER'S GUIDE
Copyright 1993 by Gary C. Crider and
Parity Solutions
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
What is EXC? ..................................... 1.0
The EXC command line ............................. 2.0
Parameters that contain quotes ................. 2.1
Operational notes ................................ 3.0
General notes .................................. 3.1
Interrupt keys ................................. 3.2
Memory usage ................................... 3.3
Timing considerations .......................... 3.4
When EXC may not function or cause problems .... 3.5
Error handling ................................. 3.6
Scripts .......................................... 4.0
Script Commands ................................ 4.1
BEEP ......................................... 4.1.1
CASE ......................................... 4.1.2
CLEAR ........................................ 4.1.3
CURSOR ....................................... 4.1.4
DELAY ........................................ 4.1.5
GOTO ......................................... 4.1.6
HIDEWIN ...................................... 4.1.7
IFN .......................................... 4.1.8
IFY .......................................... 4.1.9
KEY .......................................... 4.1.10
LOCATE ....................................... 4.1.11
LOOK ......................................... 4.1.12
ON ........................................... 4.1.13
PAUSE ........................................ 4.1.14
QUIT ......................................... 4.1.15
READ ......................................... 4.1.16
SCRMAX ....................................... 4.1.17
SEARCH ....................................... 4.1.18
SETWAIT ...................................... 4.1.19
SHOW ......................................... 4.1.20
SHOWAT ....................................... 4.1.21
SHOWWIN ...................................... 4.1.22
TICK ......................................... 4.1.23
TIME ......................................... 4.1.24
TIMEOUT ...................................... 4.1.25
TYPE ......................................... 4.1.26
TYPFILE ...................................... 4.1.27
WAITFOR ...................................... 4.1.28
WAITSCR ...................................... 4.1.29
WINCOLS ...................................... 4.1.30
WINMAX ....................................... 4.1.31
WINROWS ...................................... 4.1.32
Labels ......................................... 4.2
Remarks ........................................ 4.3
Environment variable substitution .............. 4.4
Example script ................................. 4.5
Installation ..................................... Appendix A
Keycode table .................................... Appendix B
Disclaimer ....................................... Appendix C
Support .......................................... Appendix D
Registration ..................................... Appendix E
1.0 What Is EXC?
As administrator of a large local area network, I believe whole-
heartedly in automating every task that can be automated. Even though
many tasks are computerized, that does not make them automated. By
automated I mean that you enter one command or batch file name on the
DOS command line and forget about it until the task is performed. Unfor-
tunately many, if not most, programs require an operator to fill in blanks,
select choices or otherwise interact with the PC to accomplish a task in
which all of these parameters and choices were known to the user beforehand.
I, for one, do not want to have to sit and watch my backups take place.
In fact, I want them done while I am away from the office. After backups,
what better time to defragment a hard disk? Do I want to have to chase menus
to achieve this after the backup completes? One of the worst offenders of
this I have seen is Stacker's SDEFRAG program. You can automate just about
everything until the defrag has finished, then a stupid dialogue box pops up
and asks you if you want to exit the program. No way to just move on back
to the batch file and begin defragmenting the next drive.
I first experimented with various keyboard stuffers such as PC Magazine's
KEY-FAKE by Charles Petzold and STACKEY by Barry Simon and Richard Wilson.
These programs take pre-programmed key sequences and stuff them into the
keyboard buffer as if you had typed them at the keyboard. The trouble is
that many programs rudely clear the keyboard buffer before requesting you to
enter something or they allow you to interrupt the processing by pressing any
key. Since you have already simulated pressing the key, oops!. In either
case, you can't simply preprogram your reply and go. Stacker's SDEFRAG exit
prompt is an example.
Stuffers usually offer a way to get around this by programming a delay
into the keystrokes that causes so many seconds to elapse before the key
code is stuffed into the keyboard buffer. This is a help, but what if the
time for a task (backup and defrag, for example) to complete varies greatly
from one execution to another? You have to program for the longest possible
execution time and the task then takes way too long to run in most cases.
Another problem I have with stuffers is that they are almost always
terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) programs. I hate to stuff another program
in my 640k when I don't have to. Although most allow you to unload them,
you will forget more often than not.
I then came across a program called AUTOMATE by Geoff Friesen that was
a better approach. You built a script, compiled it and executed it. No
TSR remained in memory. The trouble is, the only commands in the script
were execute a program, wait, and insert keys in the buffer. Also, you
couldn't pass parameters to the program. AUTOMATE served as my inspiration
to take it further.
What I wanted was a program that had the intelligence to monitor the
screen and detect when an event occurred that required me to insert more
keycodes in the buffer. I would also like to see logical branching in the
script and the ability to plan for exception processing as well as when
everything performs normally. I want to be able to enter keyboard input
when a certain string appears on the screen or when a string such as
"Please wait..." disappears from the screen. There are times I just want
to wait until any change at all occurs on the screen.
EXC then, is more than just a buffer stuffer. It is a script (a.k.a.
macro) processor that has a very simple script language that allows very
complex scripts to execute much faster than you could execute them in attended
mode. There are only slightly over thirty commands in the entire script
language! Only about a dozen of these will be used often. The script
language is interpretive, so no compile is needed. It is not a TSR, so
nothing remains to eat up your precious RAM.
EXC can even be used with your favorite DOS communications program to
process online scripts. Send Email, download files, etc. EXC can even be
used to automate mainframe tasks through your 3270 emulation gateway.
You simply execute EXC specifying the script file to use and the program
to be executed. You include all command line parameters for the program
as usual. By combining EXC executions in batch files, extremely complex
processing can be reduced to a single DOS command. EXC even returns the
same DOS ERRORLEVEL that your program returned upon completion.
All you need to know now is the format of the EXC command line and how
to write a script.
2.0 The EXC Command Line
Format: EXC [path]scriptfile [[path]program] [command-line parameters]
The scriptfile is the filename of the script to be processed. The
extension, if specified, must be .SCR, but is not required to be specified.
the script file is assumed to be in the current directory if a path is
not specified.
The program does not require an extension, but it must be a .EXE or
.COM executable program file. .BAT files cannot be executed with EXC. If
the path is not specified, the environment PATH= directories are searched.
If the program is omitted from the command line, COMMAND.COM is assumed.
The command-line parameters are any parameters that you would specify
on the DOS command line if you were executing the program external to EXC.
2.1 Parameters that contain quotes
If you try to pass command-line parameters to the spawned program that
contain imbedded quotes, you must use \q in place of the quotes to be
imbedded within the parameter.
Parameters that contain spaces, |, < or > must be enclosed in quotes in
order to be treated as a single parameter.
If you want the spawned program to receive a parameter that looks like:
Help "Me" Out,
you would include it on the EXC command line as
"Help \qMe\q Out"
Confusing? You bet! But I have to work within the rules of DOS and the
parameter passing rules of different languages and compilers. Amazingly, they
do not all handle quoted strings in the same manner. I learned this the
hard way by publishing a release (v2.2) that did not work when spawning most
PASCAL and assembler programs.
3.0 Operational notes
3.1 General notes
If you want EXC scripts to execute multiple programs and/or enter
intrinsic DOS commands on the DOS command line, omit the program from
the EXC command line or specify COMMAND.COM which is the default. Your
script will begin executing on an empty DOS command line.
EXC automatically issues an EXIT if COMMAND.COM was invoked. If you
terminate the script with LEFT SHIFT-RIGHT SHIFT, you need to type EXIT
at the DOS prompt to terminate the COMMAND.COM that you started and remove
EXC from memory.
Don't get cute and try to execute EXC as the object program of an EXC
command. While it might logically work, I can see no possible need for
such action and you and your system are at your own risk.
EXC creates an extended keyboard buffer that will hold 256 keycodes. The
DOS keyboard buffer will hold 16 keycodes. Thus you may stuff up to 272
keycodes with TYPE and KEY before the program requests keyboard input. If
you overflow this buffer (very unlikely), a runtime error occurs and script
processing is halted.
EXC is written in Borland C++, a product of Borland International.
3.2 Interrupt keys
You can pause execution of a script by pressing the Scroll Lock key. If
your keyboard has a Scroll Lock indicator light, the light will be on while
the script is paused. Pressing Scroll Lock again resumes execution of the
script exactly where it left off. Any unexpired wait time must elapse
before another command is processed.
You can terminate execution of a script by holding down both the LEFT
and RIGHT SHIFT keys. A beep will indicate that the script is being
terminated. Execution of any spawned program will continue.
The Pause key on your keyboard pauses all execution at the time the next
screen write occurs. Timer interrupts continue. EXC detects the pause
state and suspends itself. When you strike any key, both EXC and the
spawned task will resume processing. Any unexpired wait time must elapse
before another command is processed. While paused, the spawned program
remains active.
Since EXC is executing as a timer interrupt with your program operating
as a spawned subtask, cycle-stealing multitasking is occurring. This can
cause a few problems. If you must interrupt execution of your program, your
best bet may actually be pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL to reboot the computer. If
you hit CTRL-BREAK, you will normally interrupt just one task while the other
continues. Pressing CTRL-BREAK again then interrupts the remaining task.
This can confuse the remaining task to no end and lead to a system lock-up
or other undesirable result. If you are lucky, you may actually get by with
it, but I don't recommend it. Even if you terminate EXC with LEFT SHIFT-
RIGHT SHIFT, the timer interrupt is still active until your program
terminates, so the same problem can occur.
3.3 Memory usage
EXC requires approximately 40K of conventional memory overhead. After
loading, it then allocates a buffer to hold your script file and a buffer
for reading the screen contents. If your application program's requirements
are pushing the limits of available RAM, you may not be able to execute it
under EXC control. If COMMAND.COM is spawned, an additional 3K (DOS 5) is
used.
The screen buffer varies according to the screen size active at startup or
the value specified in a SCRMAX command. It will require one byte for every
character position on the screen, plus 4 bytes. Thus an 80 x 25 text mode
will require a buffer of 2004 bytes. If SCRMAX is present, that buffer size
is always allocated, regardless of the initial text mode.
The script buffer is the size required to hold all script commands strung
end-to-end with 1 byte between each command. Leading and trailing spaces
are not counted. If you use TYPFILE, the contents of the specified file are
added to the script buffer. Thus, your script buffer will increase by the
size of all files specified in TYPFILE commands. If you specify the same
file in two different TYPFILE commands, the file will be loaded into memory
twice. If the TYPFILE is executed multiple times within a loop, it only
requires buffer space for a single copy of the file.
With 604k of available memory, I am able to load a simple script with
35,000 fairly short commands.
Versions prior to 2.0 were limited to a total memory allocation of 64k
for all buffers.
If your script is too large, you may encounter an error allocating script
memory, allocating screen buffer memory or you will encounter an error that
says you do not have enough memory to spawn your program.
3.4 Timing considerations
EXC installs itself as a timer interrupt that is invoked 18.2 times
per second. If it has no work to do, it simply executes the system timer
interrupt and any other chained timer interrupts and returns. During waits
(DELAY, WAITFOR, etc.) the frequency of invocation is reduced to twice per
second. This minimizes the impact of the interrupt on the performance of
your program. A half-second is forever to most computers. This also means
that if you are searching for a string with WAITFOR, and the string flashes
on the screen for less than 1/2 second, it will not be detected.
Needless to say, EXC does not have but 1/18th of a second to retrieve and
execute a command. This is a long time in a fast computer and a short
time to a slow system. I try to break commands down into logical parts that
are executed in consecutive interrupts. Obviously, there are some commands
that will probably take longer than 1/18th of a second, especially on slower
systems. EXC is a handler for interrupt 1C. No new 1C interrupts are
initiated by the system until the active one is complete. While missing
a few interrupts has minimal effect on EXC or DOS, it could effect a spawned
task or TSR that is also servicing 1C interrupts.
Very slow CPUs (6 Mhz or slower) may experience problems getting some
tasks to function properly. Sometimes a few judiciously palced DELAY or
TICK commands will help. Sometimes you may have to break down very long
typed strings into multiple TYPE commands. Others just may not work at all
if they just cannot accomplish their tasks fast enough. Most of the more
commonly used commands should work fine.
3.5 When EXC may not function or cause problems
GRAPHICS MODES do not store text characters in video memory, only pixels
of differing colors. EXC cannot interpret these pixels into characters, thus
commands that are based on screen reads will not work in graphics modes.
In order to execute screen reads an writes rapidly due to timing
restraints, EXC reads and writes (SHOW, SHOWIN, READ, WAITFOR, WAITSCR, etc.)
directly to and from video memory at pages B000-B7FF. If you use DESQVIEW
or a special graphics mode that relocates the active video page outside
this area, screen reads and writes will not function properly. This also
prevents these commands from working properly in CGA modes. All VGA text
modes and most SVGA text modes should work properly. If you use programs
that change to a different text resolution during processing, please be sure
to read about the SCRMAX command.
If the program you are executing or a TSR that is loaded in memory moves
or otherwise messes with the DOS keyboard buffer, it could cause EXC to
malfunction. The most likely symptom would be keys that you TYPE or KEY
not showing up or not appearing to have been pressed. EXC uses BIOS
interrupt 16h, service 5 to insert the keys into the keyboard buffer. It
does not reallocate or move the buffer. It merely creates a new extended
buffer that only EXC is aware of. As the timer interrupts occur, EXC
always checks to see if anything is in the extended buffer, if so it will
move as many keycodes as the PC keyboard buffer will hold into the keyboard
buffer, or until the extended buffer is empty. BIOS interrupt 16h is not
available until later XT BIOSes. As a general rule, EXC should not be used
except on AT models or later.
Other factors that could cause EXC to malfunction include programs and
TSRs that have timer and keyboard interrupt handlers. Customary usage of
these interrupts provides for allowing other installed handlers to perform
their function, but you cannot count on all programmers to abide by these
conventions. Since even "behaved" handlers can do virtually anything within
these routines, EXC cannot be guarranteed to function on these programs.
Fortunately, they are very rare. EXC will work with many of them (i.e.
QBASIC and EDIT from MS-DOS 5.0 up).
If a TSR or spawned task is using timer interrupt 1C for timing (music,
communications, etc.) the timing could be thrown off slightly by EXC,
especially in slower systems. In most cases, the effect will be negligible.
If you spot another program, video mode or anything else that causes
EXC to malfunction, send me a CIS mail or U.S. mail note and I will check
it out if I can. I will include a note in this section on those reported
problems if they cannot be fixed.
3.6 Error handling
If an error occurs that prevents EXC from initiating the program, a
message will appear and a DOS ERRORLEVEL of 255 will be returned. If
the program is successfully initiated, EXC will return the DOS ERRORLEVEL
that the program returned when it completed. There is an RC = nnn message
after EXC terminates that displays the DOS ERRORLEVEL returned by your
program and by EXC. When COMMAND.COM is executed, the ERRORLEVEL will
not reflect what was returned from one of the programs you executed and
will always be zero.
If EXC encounters an error while processing the script (i.e. an invalid
script statement) it will sound two short beeps on the PC speaker and
terminate processing any more script commands. When the spawned program
completes or is exited, a message will appear specifying the error EXC
encountered.
If the spawned program terminates before EXC has finished processing
the script, all script processing terminates at that point. Keycodes
that have been stuffed into the buffer remain there. This allows you
to enter a new command on the DOS command line from within your script.
You can actually chain EXC processing without the use of a batch file.
4.0 Scripts
Scripts can be written with any ASCII text file editor. There is one
command per line. Leading and trailing blanks and tabs, lines beginning with
a semicolon (;) and blank lines are ignored by the script processor. You may
have more than one blank between the command and its parameter(s).
All window coordinates specified in some commands are based on the full
screen currently displayed. The upper left corner is column 1, row 1.
All "string" parameters can accept quotes within the string by placing
the characters \q (lower case) in the string where you want a quote to
occur.
4.1 Script Commands
Note: Brackets ([]) indicate an optional parameter and should not be
included as part of the command. Quotes (""), where specified,
are required to be entered as part of the parameter.
BEEP Sound a short beep on speaker. Useful in debugging
scripts.
CASE ON The CASE commands enable case-sensitive (ON) or case-
CASE OFF insensitive (OFF) compares by WAITFOR and SEARCH. The
initial mode is CASE ON.
CLEAR Clear the screen.
CURSOR col row Move the cursor to the specified coordinates.
DELAY n Wait n seconds
GOTO label Unconditional branch to label.
IFN label If condition set to N, go to label.
IFY label If condition set to Y, go to label.
HIDEWIN Restore a window displayed with SHOWIN to it's
original color attributes.
KEY mnemonic [n] Push the key onto the keyboard stack. 'n' is the
number of times you want the keycode inserted.
LOCATE "string" Reads the screen until the string appears, then moves
the cursor to the start of the string.
LOOK "string" Test to see if the string was on the screen at the
time the screen was last read. Screen reads occur
during execution of READ, SEARCH, WAITSCR and WAITFOR
commands. Sets "Y/N" condition.
ON n label Command will do nothing n times and on pass n+1, it
will branch to label.
PAUSE Causes the script to be paused as if Scroll Lock were
pressed.
QUIT Halt processing the script file.
End-of-file on the script file issues an automatic
QUIT.
READ Read the current screen contents.
SCRMAX cols rows Specifies the largest screen size that will be used
during execution. Used to allocate screen buffer.
SEARCH "string" Read screen and test to see if the string is on the
screen. Sets "Y/N" condition.
SETWAIT nnn Wait nnn seconds before a WAITFOR or WAITSCR times
out.
SHOW attr "string" Display the string using the specified attribute.
Displays at the location specified in SHOWAT.
SHOWAT col row Specifies location for subsequent SHOW command
strings to be displayed.
SHOWIN attr Rewrite the current window text in the specified
attribute.
TICK n Same as DELAY except n represents 1/18th of a second
instead of a second.
TIME hhmmss Pause execution of subsequent commands until the
specified time of day.
TIMEOUT label Branch to label when the next WAITFOR or WAITSCR
timeout occurs.
TYPE "string" Type the ASCII string.
TYPFILE filespec [mnemonic]
Type the contents of the specified file. Replace
CR/LFs with specified mnemonic.
WAITFOR [NOT] "string" Wait until the string appears on the screen. If NOT
specified, wait until string is not on screen.
WAITSCR Wait until anything changes on the screen.
WINCOLS start end Limit screen reads and SHOWIN to the screen columns
specified.
WINMAX Remove row and column restraints imposed by WINCOLS
and WINROWS. Subsequent reads read the full screen.
WINROWS start end Limit screen reads and SHOWIN to the screen rows
specified.
:label Define a label.
4.1.1 BEEP
Sounds a short BEEP on the PC speaker. Since there is no visual feedback
for many of the operations and branches performed while processing a script,
debugging a script can be tough if it is complex. Inserting a BEEP at a
strategic location in the script will tell you if processing ever reached
that point in the script.
NOTE: BEEP does not extend the duration of the timer interrupt. It actually
is turned on, then turned off a few ticks later.
4.1.2 CASE ON / CASE OFF
The CASE commands determine case sensitivity during SEARCH, LOOK and WAITFOR
string searches. If CASE is ON, the search string and screen contents are
unchanged during the search, and must match in upper and lower case. If
CASE is OFF, the search string and all characters read from the screen are
converted to upper-case before the search begins so that case does not
influence the result of the compare.
The initial CASE mode is ON.
NOTE - You must reread the screen after changing the CASE mode before the
new CASE mode will take effect.
See TIMEOUT for example.
4.1.3 CLEAR
The CLEAR command clears the entire screen, not just the active window.
It also homes the cursor. Use with caution, this could cause problems
within many applications.
4.1.4 CURSOR col row
The cursor is moved to the location on the screen (not just within the
active window) specified by col and row. Col and row are the screen column
and row.
CURSOR is designed primarily to be used in a full screen editor or similar
applications where the cursor can be moved with the arrow keys. The
destination must be in an area of the screen where the active application
allows typing.
In order for your application to recognize that the cursor has been moved,
a series of <LEFT> <RIGHT> <UP> and <DOWN> keys are stuffed into the
buffer and executed until the cursor is at the desired location. If you
send the cursor to a location that is not in an acceptable input area of
the active application, the cursor will jump around the destination, but
never get there. You will have to terminate the script with LEFT SHIFT-
RIGHT SHIFT.
Example:
CURSOR 17 41
4.1.5 DELAY n
Pauses execution of subsequent script commands until the specified number
of seconds has elapsed.
Example: DELAY 3
4.1.6 GOTO label
Executes an unconditional branch to the command following the specified
label.
See ON for example.
4.1.7 HIDEWIN
Restore the active window to its original attributes after a SHOWIN command
has be executed. If no SHOWIN has been executed, the results will not be
pleasing to the eye. Also, screen reading commands must not be executed
between a SHOWIN and its corresponding HIDEWIN. See SHOWIN for reasons for
using SHOWIN and HIDEWIN.
See SHOWIN for example.
4.1.8 IFN label
This tests the results of a previous SEARCH or LOOK command. If the search
string was not located on the screen, processing resumes at the command
following the specified label. If the string was found on the screen,
processing resumes with the next command after the IFY command.
If no previous SEARCH or LOOK has been issued, processing continues after
branching to the specified label. Thus, without a preceding SEARCH or
LOOK command, the IFN command becomes an unconditional branch equivalent to
a GOTO command.
The IFN statement does not have to be the next command after the SEARCH or
LOOK.
Example:
:Loop
READ
LOOK "XYZ"
IFN LoopEnd
.
.
.
GOTO Loop
:LoopEnd
.
.
.
4.1.9 IFY label
This tests the results of a previous SEARCH or LOOK command. If the search
string was located on the screen, processing resumes at the command
following the specified label. If the string was not found on the screen,
processing resumes with the next command after the IFY command.
If no previous SEARCH or LOOK has been issued, the result is negative and
processing continues without branching. Thus, without a preceding SEARCH
or LOOK command, the IFY statement appears as a null or nonexistent command.
The IFY statement does not have to be the next command after the SEARCH or
LOOK.
See ON for example.
4.1.10 KEY <mnemonic> [n]
KEY is used to enter special keys that require mnemonics (special names
enclosed in <> that represent their function) in order to input them to
the keyboard buffer.
If n is specified, it is the number of times <mnemonic> will be inserted
into the keyboard buffer. For instance, if you wanted three TABs, you would
type "KEY <TAB> 3". If n is not specified, it is assumed to be 1.
The following key mnemonics are recognized:
Single keys mnemonics:
<BKSP> <DEL> <DOWN> <END> <ENTER>
<F1>-<F12> <ESC> <HOME> <INS> <LEFT>
<PGDN> <PGUP> <PRTSC> <RIGHT> <TAB>
<UP> <GRAY5> <GRAY+> <GRAY-> <GRAY*>
<x> <SPACE>
Two key mnemonics:
Shift key combinations: <SHF+s> or <SHF+x>
CTL key combinations: <CTL+s> or <CTL+x>
ALT key combinations: <ALT+s> or <ALT+x>
x = any ASCII value that can be entered from the keyboard with a single
key, or SHIFT + a single key.
s = any of the single key mnemonic keywords or character except <PRTSC>.
NOTE: Some SHF, CTL and ALT key combinations are undefined. See the
keycode table in Appendix A. There are no mnemonics for entering
3-or-more-key combinations. To detect these, a program must
interrogate the keyboard flags to see if CTL, ALT or SHIFT are being
held down. This can only be done in real time as the keys are being
pressed, therefore they cannot be simulated by placing these non-
existent key codes into the keyboard buffer.
Examples:
KEY <ESC> 3
KEY <CTL+F10>
KEY <ENTER>
4.1.11 LOCATE "string"
The LOCATE command is mostly a combination of WAITFOR and CURSOR. You
provide a string. Processing will be suspended until that string appears
in the active window or a timeout occurs. Once the string is located,
the cursor is moved, via a sequence of arrow keys stuffed in the keyboard
buffer, to the location of the first character of the string.
LOCATE is designed primarily to be used in a full screen editor or similar
application where the cursor can be moved with the arrow keys. The located
string must be in an area of the screen where the active application allows
typing.
4.1.12 LOOK "string"
Look at the last screen that was read to see if it contains the value in
"string". The entire active window contents will be searched to see if
"string" was being displayed when the last screen read occurred. The
string may be any valid screen characters. There is no wait involved as
with WAITFOR.
The screen contents are read each time a READ, SEARCH, WAITSCR, WAITFOR or
LOCATE command is executed. In the case of WAITFOR and WAITSCR, multiple
reads occur until a search string or change is detected. The contents of
the screen buffer remain as they were when the last read was executed at the
time the search string or change was detected or a timeout occurred.
Once it has been determined whether or not "string" was being displayed,
an internal variable is set to "Y" or "N". IFY and IFN can then be used to
test the result of the search and then branch accordingly.
4.1.13 ON n label
For the first n executions of the ON command, execution simply passes to the
next command. On the next pass through the ON command, a branch occurs to
label. The value of n can range from 1 to 9999.
Example:
:LOOP
ON 5 ENDLOOP
SEARCH "ERROR:"
IFY EXIT
TYPE "xyz" - These two instructions are executed five
KEY <DOWN> - times unless an error message pops up.
GOTO LOOP
:ENDLOOP
KEY <ENTER>
:EXIT
QUIT
4.1.14 PAUSE
PAUSE simulates pressing the Scroll Lock key to pause the script execution.
See the section on interrupt keys for a description of pause processing.
4.1.15 QUIT [n]
QUIT stops processing a script at the point where it is encountered during
script execution. The same result is obtained when there are no more script
commands to process.
Normally on exit, EXC returns the return code of the executed program. If
a number (0-255) is specified with the QUIT command, that value is returned
as the DOS ERRORLEVEL return code instead of what was passed from the
spawned program.
An example of why you would want to set a return code:
I use EXC to control PROCOMM PLUS to execute a script that synchro-
nizes my clock with the Naval Observatory. I need to know if it
fails.
I can detect the error with my EXC script, but when I exit PCPLUS,
PCPLUS always returns a return code of 255. Using the QUIT nn format,
I can set a return code of 1 on error and 0 when there is no error.
If COMMAND.COM was invoked by the EXC command line, QUIT types EXIT and keys
<ENTER> in order for EXC to be able to complete. If you issue the QUIT
while another program is active, you will not obtain the desired results.
See TIMEOUT for example.
4.1.16 READ
Reads the active window for subsequent testing with the LOOK command. Using
a READ followed by several LOOKs that examine the same screen contents can
be much more efficient than issuing several SEARCHes, each of which reads
the entire screen contents.
4.1.17 SCRMAX cols rows
I hate including technical parameters in my commands, but this one is a
must for successful operation of EXC in larger screen modes.
Specify SCRMAX if you expect a spawned application to change to a text
screen mode larger than the text mode in use when EXC is initiated. For
instance, if you are in DOS with 25 rows of 80 column text and you initiate
an editor with EXC and the editor places the screen in 80x50 text mode,
specify "SCRMAX 80 50" in your script (no quotes). Since this command is
processed when the script is being loaded into memory and not after the
script processing begins, it may be placed anywhere within your script.
Logically, it should occur at the start. If multiple SCRMAX commands are
encountered, only the last one input will be used. If your application will
use multiple screen sizes, specify the largest (in area: cols times rows)
that will be used.
If you do not include SCRMAX in your script, it is assumed that the screen
size in effect when EXC is loaded and before the spawned program is loaded
will be the maximum size needed.
The range of text mode screen sizes supported by EXC includes from 40x20 to
200x100 characters.
SCRMAX can have a major impact in the amount of memory occupied by EXC.
It would seem that the logical thing for EXC to do would be to examine
the screen size before each read and allocate the screen memory buffer
accordingly at that time. However, since EXC spawns another program which
can, and often does, allocate all of the remaining memory, EXC must pre-
allocate the largest buffer that will be required before spawning the
program. A screen buffer requires the same number of bytes as the rows
times the columns, plus 4 bytes. Thus, an 80x25 VGA text screen will
require a 2,004 byte buffer. I actually had a user contact me who uses a
132x66 display (great eyes or a huge monitor!). This would require 132 * 66
or 8,712 bytes of memory.
If you do not specify SCRMAX and your program bumps up the screen size,
the effective area of the larger screen is the upper left quadrant
corresponding to the size of the screen when EXC was loaded. This is
also true if you specify an SCRMAX smaller than the largest screen. In
other words, if you specify SCRMAX 80 25 and your program changes to a
132x44 screen, Only the first 80 columns and 25 rows are read by EXC's
READ, WAITFOR, WAITSCR, LOCATE and SEARCH commands. If all of the strings
you search for and changes you wish to detect are in the upper left of
the screen, you can save memory by specifying a smaller SCRMAX size. You
would really have to be in a memory crunch to bother with this approach,
I suspect.
Examples:
SCRMAX 80 50
SCRMAX 132 25
4.1.18 SEARCH "string"
At any point in processing the script, you may check to see if certain
information is on the screen. The entire active window will be read and
searched to see if "string" is being displayed. The string may be any
valid screen characters. There is no wait involved as with WAITFOR.
Once it has been determined whether or not the string is being displayed,
an internal variable is set to "Y" or "N". IFY and IFN can then be used to
test the result of the search and then branch accordingly.
SEARCH is basically a READ followed immediately by a LOOK.
See ON for example.
4.1.19 SETWAIT seconds
This sets the timeout limit for WAITSCR, WAITFOR and LOCATE commands. If
processing is waiting after invoking any of these commands and the specified
number of seconds elapses, TIMEOUT processing, described under TIMEOUT, will
be invoked.
You may change the SETWAIT timeout limit at any point while processing the
script.
If SETWAIT is set to zero, no timeout ever takes place and EXC will wait
indefinitely during WAITFOR, WAITSCR and LOCATE. The initial value of the
SETWAIT timer is zero.
See TIMEOUT for example.
4.1.20 SHOW attr "string"
SHOW displays a string at a given location on the screen. This command
is mostly useful for debugging scripts by displaying information about the
progress of the script during execution. While mostly harmless, it can cause
problems if a spawned program reads screen memory. Use it cautiously.
The string is displayed at the location specified in the last executed
SHOWAT command.
The screen attribute is the sum of a background value plus a foreground
value from the table below. Add 128 if you want it to blink.
Background colors: Foreground colors:
0 Black 0 Black
16 Blue 1 Blue
32 Green 2 Green
48 Cyan 3 Cyan
64 Red 4 Red
80 Magenta 5 Magenta
96 Brown 6 Brown
112 Light Gray 7 Light Gray
8 Dark Gray
9 Light Blue
10 Light Green
11 Light Cyan
12 Light Red
13 Light Magenta
14 Yellow
15 White
See TIMEOUT for example.
4.1.21 SHOWAT col row
Specifies the location on the screen where subsequent SHOW commands will
display their strings. The location does not have to be within the active
window set via WINROWS and WINCOLS.
See TIMEOUT for example.
4.1.22 SHOWIN attr
SHOWIN is designed as an aid to script writing. Sometimes you will want to
restrict the active window to certain rows and columns, thus creating a
smaller active window for processing commands that read the screen.
To make sure you have calculated the correct area for the active window, you
can use SHOWWIN to show you where the active window is located on the
screen. SHOWIN will change the attribute of all characters and spaces
within the active window to that specified. See the SHOW command for
attribute values.
HIDEWIN can then be used to restore the window to its normal attributes.
There must never be any screen reading commands (WAITFOR, WAITSCR, SEARCH,
READ and LOCATE) executed between the SHOWIN and its associated HIDEWIN.
Example:
WINCOLS 10 30
WINROWS 12 22
SHOWIN
PAUSE
HIDEWIN
4.1.23 TICK n
Pauses execution of subsequent script commands until the specified number
of system clock ticks (18.2 per second) have elapsed.
Example: TICK 12
4.1.24 TIME hhmmss
Pauses execution of subsequent script commands until the specified time of
day. The time must be specified in 24-hour format. If the time has
already passed when the TIME command is processed, processing is suspended
until the next time the specified time of day occurs.
Leading zeros are required if the hour, minute or second is less that two
digits. For instance two minutes after one in the morning is entered as
010200.
Note- The real time clock (set by the DOS TIME command in AT and later
machines using DOS 3.x or later) and the system timer (which EXC uses) are
not always in synch to the second. There may be a few seconds variation.
Example:
; At 1:15 PM, set off an alarm that can be shut off with LEFT SHIFT-RIGHT
; SHIFT
TIME 131500
:Loop
BEEP
GOTO Loop
4.1.25 TIMEOUT label
When the timeout limit specified by SETWAIT expires while waiting for a
WAITSCR, WAITFOR or LOCATE, TIMEOUT processing is invoked. Timeout
processing is as follows:
If no TIMEOUT command has yet been issued in the script, processing of the
script is halted at this point. Otherwise, the control will pass to the
command following the label specified in the last TIMEOUT command
encountered.
Example:
SETWAIT 20
TIMEOUT TimedOut
SHOWAT 17 25
WINCOLS 20 40
WINROWS 15 22
CASE ON
WAITFOR "XYZ"
SH0W 79 "Found XYZ in window."
QUIT
:TimedOut
SH0W 79 "Timed out waiting for XYZ to appear in window."
WINMAX
CASE OFF
.
.
.
4.1.26 TYPE "string"
The string following the TYPE command contains ASCII characters to be placed
in the keyboard buffer. ASCII character are those with a decimal equivalent
of 0-127. Do not use high-bit characters (graphics characters, foreign
language characters and most symbols) that range from 128-255 in their
decimal equivalents. These characters hove no valid keycode associated
with them. To enter special keys such as function keys, ENTER, ESC, etc.,
use the KEY command followed by the required mnemonic. You cannot enter
these mnemonics with the TYPE command. The string must be enclosed in
quotes.
See ON for example.
4.1.27 TYPFILE filespec [mnemonic]
TYPFILE allows you to type the contents of a file into the keyboard buffer.
The filespec is the filename with optional path information.
A possible use for this would be to feed an electronic mail message to a
communications program. Each line of the file is entered as is (no
deletion of leading or trailing spaces, conversion of quotes, etc.).
If no mnemonic is specified, the carriage return/line feed characters at
the end of each line are ignored by EXC, and nothing is entered in their
place. If a mnemonic is specified, carriage return/line feed pairs are
converted to the key mnemonic specified. For instance, if the file is
being copied into a word processor or editor that uses the ENTER key to
move to the next line, you may want to convert CR/LFs to <ENTER>. If you
want the word processor to split the lines according to its margins, you
would not specify a mnemonic or you would specify <SPACE>.
Specifying <SPACE> for the mnemonic will keep the last word on a line from
running into the first word on the next line when the CR/LF is removed.
All other key mnemonics are described under the KEY command.
Since EXC only has a 256 byte extended keyboard buffer, it feeds a maximum
of 80 bytes every clock tick into the extended buffer. This should give
time for the spawned program to read characters from the buffer and will
usually prevent the buffer from overflowing.
Please see the notes in section 3 regarding memory usage to determine the
effects on memory of using TYPFILE.
4.1.28 WAITFOR [NOT] "string"
No further script file command will be processed until "string" appears on
the screen. The entire screen will be searched for "string". The string
may be any valid screen characters. If the string does not appear before
the SETWAIT limit expires, TIMEOUT processing will be invoked.
If NOT is specified, processing will be halted until "string" is not on the
screen. This is handy for waiting on a "Please wait.." type message to
disappear.
Since WAITFOR reads the screen each 1/2 second, values that flash on the
screen for less than 1/2 second may not be detected.
See TIMEOUT for example.
WAITFOR NOT example:
WAITFOR NOT "XYZ"
4.1.29 WAITSCR
Wait until there is any change to the screen before executing the next
script command. If there is no screen change before the SETWAIT limit
expires, TIMEOUT processing will be invoked.
4.1.30 WINCOLS start end
Sometimes you may want to restrict your screen searches to a certain area
of the screen. WINCOLS allows you to specify what columns (far left = 1)
you want read by all commands that read the screen (READ, SEARCH, WAITFOR,
WAITSCR and LOCATE). Specify the starting and ending columns inclusively.
By combining WINCOLS with WINROWS, you can restrict reads to a selected
box within the screen. This is referred to as the active window. Use
WINMAX to return the active window to the full screen.
See TIMEOUT and SHOWIN for examples.
4.1.31 WINMAX
If you have restricted the active window with WINCOLS and/or WINROWS, you
can return the active window to the full screen area by issuing a WINMAX
command. The size of the new active window will be determined by the
currently displayed columns and rows, but never exceeding the values
specified in SCRMAX.
See TIMEOUT for example.
4.1.32 WINROWS start end
Sometimes you may want to restrict your screen searches to a certain area
of the screen. WINROWS allows you to specify what rows (top = 1) you want
read by all commands that read the screen (READ, SEARCH, WAITFOR, WAITSCR
and LOCATE). Specify the starting and ending rows inclusively.
By combining WINCOLS with WINROWS, you can restrict reads to a selected
box within the screen. This is referred to as the active window. Use
WINMAX to return the active window to the full screen.
See TIMEOUT and SHOWIN for examples.
4.2 Labels
Labels can be up to 15 characters long and may contain letters, numbers,
special characters or spaces. They are treated as upper case regardless of
how they are coded. Duplicate labels are not allowed in the same script.
END, end and End would all be considered duplicate labels. If duplicate
labels exist, all branches to the duplicate labels will go to the first
one in the script.
Labels must be immediately preceded by a colon (:) and placed on a line
which does not contain any commands.
labels are used as destinations for branching commands (TIMEOUT, GOTO, ON,
IFY and IFN).
It doesn't hurt a thing if you want to use labels for comments, but the
semicolon (;) remark is a better approach since there is no length
limitation on remarks and they will not be confused with labels that are
actual destinations.
See TIMEOUT and ON for examples.
4.3 Remarks
Anything on a line for which the first non-blank character is a semicolon
(;) is treated as a comment line and is ignored by the script processor.
4.4 Environment variable substituion
You may use envionment strings in any command parameter by typing %VAR%
where you want the environment string labeled VAR to be substituted. Here
are some examples:
Given these environment varables:
SET ATTR=15
SET ME=Gary
SET LAST=Crider
SET FULL="Gary Crider"
SET FULL2=Gary Crider
SHOW %ATTR% "I am %ME%" would equate to SHOW 15 "I am Gary"
TYPE "%ME% %LAST%" would equate to TYPE "Gary Crider"
TYPE %FULL% would equate to TYPE "Gary Crider"
TYPE "%FULL2%" would equate to TYPE "Gary Crider"
DELAY %ATTR% would equate to DELAY 15
SHOW %ATTR% "%FULL%" would equate to SHOW 15 "\qGary Crider\q"
TYPE "%LAST%, %ME%" would equate to TYPE "Crider, Gary"
The substitution is made before EXC begins to evaluate the parameters.
This could be handy on networks where the values keyed or searched might
vary with the user's network ID, which could be stored in an environment
variable. Many other uses also come to mind.
If you want to use a set a variables that are only used in the script and
are not normally maintained in the environment, set up a batch file to
set the variables, execute the script, and then delete the variables after
the script has executed. This frees up the environment space so that it
can be reused. An example of such a batch file would be:
SET X1=abc
SET X2=5
SET X3=Gary Crider
EXC MYSCRIPT 123
SET X1=
SET X2=
SET X3=
If you get a message from DOS that says "Out of enviroment space", you
can increase the size of the environment region by placing the following
line in your CONFIG.SYS file and rebooting:
SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM /p /e:nnnn
Replace nnnn with the number of bytes (160-32768) that you want used by the
environment region. The default is 256. The number should be divisible by
16. 1024 is usually pretty good. Note that each byte you increas the
region by will decrease the amount of free conventional memory used to
run programs. Each variable name, the equal sign, and the variable value
are stored in your environment. To see what is currently stored in your
environment, type the word SET at the DOS prompt. Your full PATH= state-
ment is also stored there.
If you use 4DOS or a different command interpreter, or locate it in another
directory, adjust the SHELL= statement accordingly.
4.5 Example Script
The following example demonstrates the use of most of the more commonly used
commands. Please note that the QUIT statement after the End label is not
needed since the same action takes place when there are no more commands to
execute.
Also please note that the SEARCH and IFN statements after the Loop label
could more easily be accomplished with a WAITFOR command. This just
demonstrates that looping logic is supported in scripts.
SETWAIT 30
TIMEOUT End
CASE OFF
WAITFOR "Entries"
CASE ON
TYPE "FO"
WAITFOR "OPEN CATALOG"
TYPE "E:\NOVLIB\"
KEY <TAB>
KEY <ESC>
TYPE "NOVLIB.L11"
KEY <CTL+ENTER>
WAITSCR
:Loop
SEARCH "NOVLIB.L11"
IFN Loop
TYPE "SLADDNAEA"
KEY <CTL+ENTER>
DELAY 2;
WAITFOR NOT "Sorting Index"
TYPE "FS"
KEY <CTL+ENTER>
DELAY 2
WAITFOR NOT "Please wait."
:End
BEEP
KEY <ALT+X>
QUIT
For a more comprehensive example, see the script file, TESTEXC.SCR. Please
read the comments before and after that script.
APPENDIX A
Installation
EXC is distributed in a ZIP file called EXC.ZIP. It contains the
following files:
EXC.EXE The executable file for EXC.
EXC.DOC The documentation file.
HELP.TXT Script command quick reference. It is formatted as
script file comments so that it can be included in
you script for quick referencing.z
TESTEXC.SCR Example script used to test EXC functionality.
TESTEXC.TXT Text file for testing TYPFILE with TESTEXC.SCR.
EXC.HST Text description of past updates.
EXC.Vnn Text description of latest updates in version nn.
PRODUCTS.DOC Description of other Parity Solutions products.
For best results, unzip the file into a directory on your PATH. If you
don't use a directory in your path, you will have to designate the directory
containing EXC.EXE when executing the program.
If you have a utility directory that is on your PATH, this is an excellent
location for EXC. An example installation would be:
C:
CD \UNTIL
COPY [path]EXC.ZIP
PKUNZIP EXC
DEL EXC.ZIP
The PKUNZIP program is by PKWARE, Inc. and is available in many CompuServe
forums under the file name of PKZ110.EXE. Since you are reading this doc
files, you have obviously already managed to unZIP the distribution file. If
it is not currently in your path, simply copy all of the files to a directory
in your path. Keep the EXC.ZIP file anywhere you like, but give plenty of
copies, as is, to your friends. If you register EXC, you are not licensed
to give your serial number to anybody without first removing the serialization
from your copy.
APPENDIX B
Keycode Table
Although you do not need to know these codes to write EXC scripts, the
following table does show you which combinations are defined and available
by using the appropriate mnemonics. Do not try to use combinations which
indicate N/A in the table.
Key Norm Shift Ctrl Alt
---- ---- ----- ---- ---
A 1E61 1E41 1E01 1E00
B 3062 3042 3002 3000
C 2E63 2E42 2E03 2E00
D 2064 2044 2004 2000
E 1265 1245 1205 1200
F 2166 2146 2106 2100
G 2267 2247 2207 2200
H 2368 2348 2308 2300
I 1769 1749 1709 1700
J 246A 244A 240A 2400
K 256B 254B 250B 2500
L 266C 264C 260C 2600
M 326D 324D 320D 3200
N 316E 314E 310E 3100
O 186F 184F 180F 1800
P 1970 1950 1910 1900
Q 1071 1051 1011 1000
R 1372 1352 1312 1300
S 1F73 1F53 1F13 1F00
T 1474 1454 1414 1400
U 1675 1655 1615 1600
V 2F76 2F56 2F16 2F00
W 1177 1157 1117 1100
X 2D78 2D58 2D18 2D00
Y 1579 1559 1519 1500
Z 2C7A 2C5A 2C1A 2C00
1 0231 0221 N/A 7800
2 0332 0340 0300 7900
3 0433 0423 N/A 7A00
4 0534 0524 N/A 7B00
5 0635 0625 N/A 7C00
6 0736 075E 071E 7D00
7 0837 0826 N/A 7E00
8 0938 092A N/A 7F00
9 0A39 0A28 N/A 8000
0 0B30 0B29 N/A 8100
, 332C 333C N/A N/A
. 342E 343E N/A N/A
/ 352F 353F N/A N/A
; 273B 273A N/A N/A
' 2827 2822 N/A N/A
[ 1A5B 1A7B 1A1B N/A
] 1B5D 1B7D 1B1D N/A
` 2960 297E N/A N/A
- 0C2D 0C5F 0C1F 8200
= 0D3D 0D2B N/A 8300
\ 2B5C 2B7C 2B1C N/A
F1 3B00 5400 5E00 6800
F2 3C00 5500 5F00 6900
F3 3D00 5600 6000 6A00
F4 3E00 5700 6100 6B00
F5 3F00 5800 6200 6C00
F6 4000 5900 6300 6D00
F7 4100 5A00 6400 6E00
F8 4200 5B00 6500 6F00
F9 4300 5C00 6600 7000
F10 4400 5D00 6700 7100
Enter 1C0D 1C0D 1C0A N/A
Ins 5200 5230 N/A N/A
Del 5300 532E N/A N/A
Esc 011B 011B 011B N/A
Home 4700 4737 7700 N/A
End 4F00 4F31 7500 N/A
PgUp 4900 4939 8400 N/A
PgDn 5100 5133 7600 N/A
<Tab> 0F09 0F00 N/A N/A
<BackSpace> 0E08 0E08 0E7F N/A
<LeftArrow> 4B00 4B34 7300 N/A
<RightArrow> 4D00 4D36 7400 N/A
<UpArrow> 4800 4838 N/A N/A
<DownArrow> 5000 5032 N/A N/A
<Gray 5> N/A 4C35 N/A N/A
<Gray *> 372A N/A 7200 N/A
<Gray -> 4A2D 4A2D N/A N/A
<Gray +> 4E2B 4E2B N/A N/A
<Space> 3920 N/A N/A N/A
<F11> 8500 8700 8900 8B00
<F12> 8600 8800 8A00 8C00
In addition, the <PRTSC> (print screen) mnemonic can be used in EXC to
cause a screen print. The <PRTSC> cannot be placed in the keyboard buffer
since it does not have a key code. KEY <PRTSC> is executed immediately.
APPENDIX C
Disclaimer
BECAUSE OF THE DIVERSE NATURE OF COMPUTER EQUIPMENT AND EXPERTISE OF USERS,
PARITY SOLUTIONS AND GARY C. CRIDER MAKE NO WARRANTY ON THE EXC PROGRAM
WHATSOEVER, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. THE USER ASSUMES ALL RISK OF DAMAGE TO
DATA OR EQUIPMENT RESULTING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY FROM THE USE OR MISUSE OF
THIS PROGRAM PRODUCT.
USERS ARE ADVISED TO TEST PROGRAMS AND SCRIPTS THOROUGHLY ON DATA FOR WHICH A
BACKUP EXITS. ANY LIABILITY OF THE AUTHOR OR PARITY SOLUTIONS IS LIMITED TO
REPLACEMENT OR REFUND OF THE REGISTRATION FEE.
APPENDIX D
Support
I have tried to test the program to the fullest, but I am limited as to
systems and configurations with which to test. I have been programming for 18
years and the one thing I know for sure is that bug free programs are very few
and far between. I can only promise to support the program to the best of my
ability and provide fixes as expeditiously as possible.
Anyone can report problems and suggest changes. Registered users get top
priority in resolving their problems. There are three ways you can report
problems. The preferred method is to contact me through CIS mail (not forum
messages). My CIS ID is 71760,3413. You can also write me at:
Gary C. Crider
Parity Solutions
1105 Burgess Court
Arlington, TX 76015
After 10/31/93 we will move to:
1903 Pavia Ct.
Arlington, TX 76006
The last method is to phone (817) 467-7818. Since I am the sole technical
support and the line is also used for my network consulting business, it is
often hard to get through to me. Please call and leave a message between 7:30
am and 5:30 pm Central time.
No matter which method you use, please give a brief description of your
problem, your registration serial number if you are registered, and your phone
number. If I need more information, I will contact you as soon as I can.
When I have a solution, I will contact you however you prefer. Never post
your serial number on forum messages. CIS mail is OK. I seldom read forum
messages and they are not private.
I work full time, have a consulting business to run in my spare time and
write programs instead of sleeping. So please be a little patient with me.
Program updates are available on CompuServe or can be requested from us
for a $5 shipping and handling charge. Add $1 for international shipping
outside the North American continent. A distribution disk of all Parity
Solutions products will be sent to you. Specify disk size and format. You
may use the order form at the end of this document.
APPENDIX E
Registration
I begin with an apology. I hate programs that in any way inhibit func-
tionality or performance for the shareware version. But when it came down to
feeding the family and paying the bills, I had a change of heart and inserted
a pesky notice that pops up at the beginning and gets on your nerves. I
chose this approach above that of limited functionality. The program's full
capabilities are available for you to evaluate before you invest your hard-
earned money.
Registered users will receive a unique serial number and instructions on
how to serialize the program. Serialization can be re-applied to updated
versions and in no way hinders your use of the program. You can compress or
decompress the program with no effect (LZEXE or PKLITE). I use Fabrice
Bellard's LZEXE program on EXC.EXE before distribution.
As a registered user, you will be able to update without re-registration
or additional fees. You will also be kept on my PRIVATE mailing list to
receive additional information on other Parity Solutions products.
To register your copy, please use the order form below and send $24 US
($80 per file server on LANS) check or money order (sorry, no credit cards
yet) to:
Gary C. Crider
Parity Solutions
1105 Burgess Court
Arlington, TX 76015
After 10/31/93 use:
1903 Pavia Ct.
Arlington, TX 76006
Or, you can register online quickly and simply in Compuserve. Simply
GO SWREG and register ID #753. Your registration will be added to your
Compuserve bill. International exchange was never easier and you save the
$1 international postage charge.
If you send your CIS id or register via CIS:SWREG, your registration will
be sent to you via CIS mail, along with instructions on how to serialize your
copy of EXC. This usually involves one day or less turnaround.
Program diskettes are not normally shipped. Normal distribution is via
CompuServe. If you need a diskette, please see the instructions under Support
above, or use the order form below. You will receive a serial number and
instructions for serializing your copy of the program.
Each license gives you or your company a single use permit for EXC. It is
not restricted to a single machine as long as no two users can be simul-
taneously using the program. As Borland says, "treat it like a book." As an
example, if you register EXC for your home computer, but during the day you
use a portable or a computer at work, you may keep EXC on both machines as
long as no one is at home using it on your home computer.
LAN licenses grant rights to all workstations on the same physical LAN. If
internetworking, a license must exist for each file server that contains a
copy of EXC.EXE. If two or more file servers exist on a single LAN strictly
for mirroring data and fault-tolerance, these will be counted as a single
file server for licensing purposes. If in doubt, contact me. We can work
out an agreement.
Site licensing is also available on a negotiated price basis. I guarantee
it will be an economical alternative to buying licenses for each user.
You may freely distribute the original EXC.ZIP file in any way you see
fit other than selling it. Users' groups and shareware distribution services
may charge a reasonable fee for the medium and duplication costs. Bulletin
boards may not charge additional fees for downloading this specific program,
other than normal connect-time and/or membership charges.
You are NOT licensed to give anyone your serial number unless you first
remove all serialization from your computer. You may then no longer use that
serial number. Only Parity Solutions has the authority to issue serial
numbers.
Modification of EXC.EXE in any manner is prohibited and unlawful.
==============================================================================
ORDER FORM FOR EXC
Send checks payable to:
Parity Solutions After 10/31/93, send to:
1105 Burgess Court 1903 Pavia Court
Arlington, TX 76015 Arlington, TX 76006
BILLING ADDRESS: SHIP TO (If different):
NAME: _____________________________ NAME: ___________________________
COMPANY: _____________________________ COMPANY: _____________________________
STREET: _____________________________ STREET: _____________________________
_____________________________ _____________________________
CITY/ST: _____________________________ CITY/ST: _____________________________
ZIP/POSTAL CODE: _____________________ ZIP/POSTAL CODE: _____________________
COUNTRY: _____________________________ COUNTRY: _____________________________
PHONE: _____________________________ PHONE: _____________________________
CompuServe ID: _______________________(Optional)
NOTE: Parity Solutions sends a serial number for each registration and
instructions for serializing your program. A diskette containing
the latest releases of all Parity Solutions shareware products is
available for $5.00 U.S. The current release of EXC is available
for downloading on CompuServe in the IBMSYS forum.
QTY DESCRIPTION PRICE EA. TOTAL PRICE
___ EXC license and registration $30.00 ___________
___ EXC Network license and registration 45.00 ___________
___ Parity Solutions shareware diskette 5.00 ___________
Postage for internationa orders outside 1.00 ___________
the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Total Enclosed: ___________
Diskette size (if ordered): __ 5.25" 360k __ 5.25" 1.2M __ 3.5" 760k
Thank you for doing business with Parity Solutions. (817) 467-7818
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