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HDM IV - Version 2 (HDM420)
The following features and functions have been added to the Hard
Disk Menu IV version 2:
HDM IV now works with DR-DOS, EZ-DOS, and 4DOS. The CALL
command is no longer automatically added to the beginning of
each command in X.BAT for users of DOS 3.3 and above. Instead
you can use the CALL command to run batch files by putting the
CALL right in the menu action like this:
C:~CD\DSPLYWRT~CALL DW5~
or you can use the @@ in front of batch file names:
C:~CD\DSPLYWRT~@@DW5~
The @@ has the advantage
of working with all versions of DOS, @@ is replaced by COMMAND
/C if your running DOS 3.2 or under, else it will be replaced by
CALL. This was done because of compatibility problems with DOS
clones. CALL did not work with 4DOS aliases, nor did it work
with EZ-DOS/DR-DOS internal commands.
New alternate user interfaces using the Local Switch <F8> menu
entry. The new screen is more consistent with the opening logo
screen. You can switch back to the HDM IV version 1 screen any
time. <F8> also switches the Page Index and the Main Menu
windows.
The customized logo screen available using the -H startup switch
and the HDM.HDR file now affect both boxes on the screen. A
sample HDM.HDR file is included on the HDM disk.
1000 menu files now available, named HDM.000 through HDM.999.
Use the UPDATE.BAT file to retain your current menu entries.
New startup switches, -0 through -9 tell HDM where to find each
set of 100 menu files. If you use the -T startup switch it will
still tell where the rest of the HDM.000 - HDM.999 and the
HDM.CFG (formally HDMENU.TGL) files reside. The default path
for the files is the HDM startup directory.
EXAMPLE: HDM -0C:\MYMENUS -1H:\NETMENUS -9D:\UTILMENU
HDM.000 - HDM.099 files are located on C:\MYMENUS directory.
HDM.100 - HDM.199 files are located on H:\NETMENUS directory.
HDM.900 - HDM.999 files are located on D:\UTILMENU directory.
The macro parameters %1 through %9 can now be put in braces so
they are executed immediately instead of waiting until all other
functions in braces are evaluated.
EXAMPLE: {&0 {?Dir Name}}{run! dir {%1}}type {?File Name}~
The help text has been separated from the HDMENU.EXE file so it
won't be loaded if you don't press F1. The help text is in the
file HDM.HLP and the executable program is HDM4.EXE. The
program must still be started with HDM.BAT.
New date and time formats have been added to the Global pull
down menu for European date and Military (24 hour) clock.
A log file is written to the HDM directory if a user is logged
on (using an entry from the User ID table in the Security pull
down window) and HDM is started with the -L switch like this:
HDM -L or it can be written to a different directory if
you add that path to the -L switch: HDM -LC:\LOGDIR
The log file has the following format:
YYYYMMDDHR:MNX[???]=description
YYYYMMDD is the year, month, and day (19890728).
HR:MN is the hour and minute of the 24 hour clock (14:25).
X is the day of the week (1=Sunday,7=Saturday).
[???]=description is:
[LOG]=Name of person who logged on.
[OFF]=Name of person who logged off.
[RUN]=Description of what is being run.
[END]=End of run.
The three digit menu file number has been added to the User ID
table so that each user can start at a different menu file when
they log on.
You can create your own individual help screen for each menu
entry. A file that is named P#.###, where P# is the page letter
and menu entry number and ### is the menu file number, is
display if the cursor is on that entry and the F1 key is
pressed. The help screen is 21 lines by 76 characters for each
line. A sample file, A1.000, is included as an example.
You can now password protect one page. The security levels for
the main menu entries are now: Individual password overrides a
page password which overrides the password for all entries.
Free disk space can now be displayed at the bottom of the
screen. If you want to see available space for a disk drive use
the -D startup switch. Example: -DD will display available disk
space on the D: drive. If -D is used without a drive letter,
then the drive that HDM was started on will be used.
New menu action function: {COLOR Fg Bg} sets DOS color. Fg is
a foreground color numbered from 0 to 15, Bg is a background
color numbered from 0 to 7. This will set the DOS screen color
for the current menu entry only. It will not work if ANSI.SYS
is loaded in the CONFIG.SYS file. 0=Black, 1=Blue, 2=Green,
3=Cyan, 4=Red, 5=Magenta, 6=Yellow, 7=White, 8-15 are the bright
versions of these colors. Example: {Color 15 1} is bright white
on blue.
New menu action function: {REBOOT} Used to re-boot your
computer. This can be used to change the setup of your
CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT and then restart your system for
another application like Windows, Desqview, etc. with HDM
automatically starting it with the -A switch. Example:
COPY C:\CONFIG.NEW C:\CONFIG.SYS~COPY C:\AUTOEXEC.NEW
C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT~{REBOOT}
New menu action function:
{SELECT prompt~choice1~choice2~...choice9} This will display a
menu of choices in a window with the "prompt" used as a title. The
users choice from the list will replace everything in the braces
in the menu action. Use the tilde (~) to separate the prompt
and the choices. A choice can be selected with the mouse or
keyboard arrow keys and the <Enter> key. You can also select a
choice by pressing the first letter, if two or more choices have
the same first letter, the last one with that letter will be
selected. Example:
DIR {SELECT Pick a directory~C:\DIR1~C:\DIR2~C:\DIR3~C:\DIR4~C:\DIR5}
HDM no longer automatically adds the directory that contains
X.BAT to the path if it isn't already there. This has caused
problems for some network users. You must insure that the DOS
path includes the directory that X.BAT will be written to. It
will be either the HDM default directory or the one pointed to
by -W if that startup switch is used.
Example: PATH C:\;C:\HDM;C:\DOS
If you don't include this directory in the
path, you will probably get a "Bad command or file name"
message from DOS when you key in X to return to HDM.
(HDM421)
-P is a new HDM startup switch that can be used in the command
line or the DOS environment to stop the cursor from wrapping to
the previous page or to the next page when you try to go past
the top or bottom of a page. This also causes the cursor to
stop at all menu entries, even the empty ones. This is probably
most useful for people who use a mouse, moving up and down will
go to menu entries in the same page while moving side to side
will move through the pages. Command line: HDM -P
DOS environment: SET HDM=-P
Alt-1 through Alt-0 are new alternate keys for A - J to go
directly to a page.
You can now protect a menu file from being changed while still
allowing the entries to be run without a password. Use the
"File change password" in the Security menu to protect Menu,
Page, Security, and Local menus for the current menu file only.
(HDM422)
The number of users available in the USER ID TABLE has been
increased to 99.
A new entry has been added to the MENU pull-down menu, SAVE MENU
(Alt-F5). This entry will save all changes to disk. You will
normally not need to use this because HDM IV automatically saves
changes to disk when you run a menu entry, when you display the
logo screen, when you exit to DOS, use the DOS window, or after
one minute of keyboard/mouse inactivity. The reason for this
new command is if you make a change and want to turn your system
off or reboot immediately, you should save the changes you made
first by pressing Alt-F5 or choose "Save menu".
A new starup switch, -K, causes the Key lock status to not be
displayed, and does not update the on-screen date & time. This
is needed if you run another program with HDM in the background
and the Key status, date, and time bleed through to that screen.
Put HDM -K or Set HDM=-K in your AUTOEXEC.BAT.
When you create a new menu file with the {menu ###} action function
the new menu file will take on the attributes of the menu file it
was created from. That is the colors, borders, user interface,
titles, and macros will be the same.
The number of entries in the Timed Execution Facility has been
increased to 99.
(HDM423)
You can now pass an initialization string to your modem using the
{DIAL} function. This can be done with or without dialing a number.
You can now use the curly braces {} and the tilde ~ characters in a
menu action by using substitute characters for them. The braces are
used to identify a menu function and the tilde is used as the command
separator so they cannot be entered directly to be used in a command
or program. Use <Ctrl-Q> for {, <Ctrl-P> for }, and <Ctrl-Z> for ~.
A new parameter has been added to the menu action. %0 will always
contain the complete reply to a {?} prompt function so it can be used
later in the same menu action. %1 through %9 will still contain the
first nine parameters of a macro.
You can now log all usage through the menu without having to log on
as a user in the ID table. The -L switch by itself controls whether
logging is done to the HDM.LOG file.
(HDM424)
A screen border is displayed on color monitors. It will be the same
color as the status line. You can use the -I startup switch to
Inactivate the border if you don't want one. There is also one more
set of screen interfaces available by pressing the F6 key. Each set
of interfaces include the Page Index and Main Menu on opposite sides
of the screen. The original HDM IV version 1 interface does not show
screen borders at any time.
A bug was fixed that showed up if you had a Hidden Top Menu. The F4
key didn't work when adding or changing a menu entry. F4 is used to
display the menu action Build screen. It always worked if the Top
Menu was not hidden, now it also works if it is hidden.
New user defined help screens can now be displayed for an entire menu
file. These work just like the individual help screens for each menu
entry, but are only displayed if there is no individual help file for
the current menu entry. These new generic help files must be named
HELP.000 through HELP.999, while the individual help files are named
for the menu entry and the menu file number: A1.000 through J0.999.
The priority for help screens displayed when F1 is pressed is now:
1. The individual help screen if a matching file exists; H4.500 if
you are in menu file 500 (HDM.500) and the cursor is on entry H4.
2. The generic menu file help screen if a matching file exist;
HELP.500 if you are in menu file 500 and the cursor is on a menu
entry that does not have a matching individual help file.
3. The default HDM help screen, if neither of the above files exist.
Pressing F1 a second time still gives you the HDM help menu & screens.
The layout is the same for all help files; an ASCII text file with
21 lines and 76 characters per line.
(HDM425)
A new function, {BEEP!}, was added to sound the speaker to alert
a user to an HDM event, like a prompt needs to be answered or a
{SELECT} menu entry needs to be chosen. The difference between
the current {BEEP} function and new the {BEEP!} is that {BEEP}
gets replaced by a Ctrl-G so that DOS will sound the speaker when
it gets to it in the temporary work file, X.BAT. {BEEP!} will
sound immediately at the time that HDM is evaluating funtions.
EXAMPLE: C:~CD\EDIT~{BEEP}~EDIT {?ENTER FILE NAME}~
In this example, {BEEP} is replaced by Ctrl-G before the prompt
shows, but you won't hear it until DOS reads the X.BAT file,
which is after all functions are resolved and the batch file is
turned over to DOS for execution. Use {BEEP!} in this case to
sound the speaker before the prompt is displayed. Use {BEEP} to
signal the end of a long running program.
An * now displays in the lower right hand corner of the screen
when the menu file has been changed, but the changes have not
been recorded to disk yet. The changes are automatically written
to disk when your run a menu entry, when you go to the logo
screen or another menu file, or after one minute of keyboard and
mouse inactivity.
A new menu action function, {VSELECT}, has been added to HDM. It
works exactly like the current {SELECT} function, but displays
the menu entries vertically. Also, the menu entry picked from
{SELECT} or {VSELECT} is kept in the %0 parameter, just like the
answer to a {?prompt} function is. If you need the menu pick in
additional locations in the menu action, just put %0 in all those
places. {VSELECT} and {SELECT} allow up to 15 choices.
(HDM426)
The video routines in HDM now automatically recognize the type of
video card installed and will clean up the snow or static on older
CGA monitors. The -S startup switch is no longer needed for snow.
The {RUN} and {RUN!} functions only accepted the first twelve
characters of the program name and any parameters. This has now
been expanded to 64 characters.
The choice of background colors now include all 16 colors for all
systems except monochrome monitors. Use the -I startup switch to
enable the eight High Intensity background colors. This causes
some screens to quiver, colors to fade at one end of the screen,
static, and other mysterious things with some hardware combinations.
The problems were noticed on PS/2's with built in VGA and some Tandy
EGA cards. You'll have to try it on your own system.
The -S startup switch now controls setting color screen borders.
The border color will match the Status Bar background color. This
doesn't work very well on some EGA cards and monitors. CGA & VGA
work fine.
(HDM427)
The keyboard buffer is cleared as soon as you start HDM or return to
it from another program. This was added to HDM because some programs
left keystrokes in the DOS buffer and HDM would automatically read
them and do whatever those keystrokes made it do. If you don't have
programs that do this and you want to be able to type into the DOS
keyboard buffer before HDM is ready to accept them, use the new -Q
startup switch to enable Queuing up those keystrokes.
The new environment variable (SET X=) allows you to use a different
batch file name for HDM's temporary work file. The default name is
X.BAT. If you set X to something else before starting the Hard Disk
Menu, it will use that name for the file that the -W startup switch
points to and for the name you have to key in to return to HDM from
the DOS prompt, once you exit to it. The following example makes
HDM use GoBack.Bat instead of X.BAT: SET X=GoBack (8 char max)
CD \HDM
HDM
Make sure you don't set X equal to any DOS commands or to any file
names on your disk like EXIT, HDM, HDM4, RESTORE, 123, COPY, etc.
Because HDM automatically detects the type of video card you have
installed, it will wait for the video retrace before writing to the
screen buffer for CGA cards. Some newer CGA cards don't produce the
snow that the older ones did when you didn't wait for the retrace.
You can start HDM with the -F switch to do Fast screen writes and not
wait for that video retrace even if a CGA is detected. This will
speed up the program and is the default for all other video cards.
-O (as in Off) is another new HDM startup switch, it simply turns Off
the Num Lock status when the Hard Disk Menu is first started. (HDM -O)
This was requested by many who use the cursor control keys on the
numeric key pad on newer 101/102 keyboards.
{??prompt} works just like {?prompt} except that the input can't be
seen. Used for entering passwords or other private data.
=================================================================
End of HDM IV version 2 enhancements and fixes.
=================================================================
HDM IV - Version 3 (HDM430)
The following have been added to the Hard Disk Menu IV version 3:
Mouse pointer support: If you have a mouse driver installed, a
mouse pointer will display in the bottom right corner of the screen.
You can move the mouse pointer and click on all the places you would
expect a mouse to work: all menus, arrow heads, keys (Esc=, F2=), etc.
Additional pages in each menu file: You now have 26 pages available
in each menu file. They are lettered A through Z. This brings the
number of menu enteries available up to 260 for each menu file and
to 260,000 in all menu files.
Completely rewritten security system: There are now 99 levels of
security available. You can set up multiple master passwords and the
user can log on with an associated security level. All the places
where you could put a password on before (just about everywhere) now
expected a security level from zero to 99. If a user's security
level is equal to or higher than the security level of the action
to be taken, then no password will be asked for. If the user's
security level is not high enough, then a password will be asked
for, and the user must enter the password for that security level
or a higher one to continue. Security levels are initiated by using
the Master Password Table in the Security pull down menu to add a
password to the security level numbers you are going to use.
EXAMPLE: If you did not want users with a security level below 50
to be able to exit HDM to the DOS prompt using the F3 key:
1. Make sure you have at least one security number higher than 49
with a password on it. (through the Master Password Table).
2. Pull down the EXIT menu, move the cursor down to EXIT HDM - F3,
press <Alt-F1>, enter 50 for the security level. If your User
ID has a security level of 50 or higher already, then you're
done, if not, then HDM will ask you to enter a password for
security level 50 or higher.
3. That's it. If a user with a security level of 50 or greater
presses the F3 key, that user will be at the DOS prompt. A user
with a lower security level will be asked for a password. If
that user knows a password for any security level higher than
49, they will also be able to get to the DOS prompt. If you
don't use User ID's you will have a security level of zero.
User ID Table: The table used to set up user log on information now
includes an associated security level number. To change this number
you must know the password associated with the security level or one
of a higher security level. Another addition to this table is a menu
entry location that you want to run automatically when this user logs
on. You do this by specifying the menu file number (0 to 999), the
page letter (A to Z), and the entry number (0 to 9). If you specify
a page letter without an entry number, no entry will run, but you will
be put on that page.
User logo/header screen and log on window: Both boxes on the opening
screen can now be completely replaced by the HDM.HDR file. Each box
can contain seven lines by 40 characters of user defined information.
Remember to use the -H start up switch to display that custom screen.
Also remember that the -N start up switch will skip this screen unless
you have user log on requirements in the User ID Table. If you do
require users to log on, the -N start up switch will take you directly
to the log on window, otherwise you must press a key to pop it up.
The log on window now pops up over the bottom box on the logo screen.
DOS Window: Changed so that you can see all of the last nine uses of
the DOS Window together at one time. You can enter a new command at
the top line or move the cursor to any of the previous ones, and run
it as is, or modify it first and then run it.
New menu action function: {CONFIRM} or {CONFIRM prompt} pops up a
Yes/No confirmation window to continue or abandon execution of the
menu entry.
New menu action function: {DIR} or {DIR dr:\dir\mask} pops up drive
and directory menus to choose a drive/directory name to replace the
function within the menu action. If you specify a directory name,
that's the first one that will show in the directory pick list, but
you can move freely up & down the drive or directory tree.
New menu action function: {FILE} or {FILE drive:\dir\wildcard} pops
up a list of files to choose a file name to replace the function
within the menu action. This function returns the complete path
with the file name. If you specify a directory, it will be the
current one when you see the list of files, but you can switch to
any other one you want while you are in the file list menu.
The %0 parameter that always contains the answer to a {?prompt}
function has been expanded to also contain the results of the
following functions: {??prompt} {SELECT} {VSELECT} {FILE} {DIR}.
This way the function result can be used in more than one place in
a menu action. If you want to use a % parameter inside another
function make sure you enclose it in curly braces because inside
braces are always resolve before outer ones. For example...
DIR {VSELECT Disk Drive~A~B~C~D}:{CK %0} will not work because the
{CK} function will try to run before %0 is replaced with the drive
letter. Use {CK {%0}} instead so that the %0 is in inner braces
and gets replaced before the {CK} function runs in the outer braces.
The normal % parameters cause no problems when they are not used
inside any menu {functions}.
Global Menu Settings have been added to the Global pull down window.
These check boxes let you exclude empty pages from the Page Index
display, exclude empty menu entries from the Main Menu display, and
make the cursor wrap to the top/bottom of the same page rather than
wrap to the previous/next page. This replaces the -P startup switch.
One other check box forces an Exit Confirmation Window to display
when the F3 key is pressed to go to DOS.
Some hidden mouse hot spots have been added for user's convience:
1. Click on the top date & time to quickly pull down the top menus.
2. Click on the upper right hand corner of the screen for help.
3. Click on the lower right hand corner to escape current activity.
You can now press Ctrl-B at any time to blank the screen in HDM.
A new menu command was added to the first pull down menu. It allows
you to switch any two menu entries in the same menu file. Just pick
the first menu entry, then pick the one you want to swap with it.
A new menu command was added to the Exit pull down menu. It will
return to the previous menu file if {MENU ###} was used to go to a
different menu file.
A new menu action function has been added and is represented by two
vertical bars. || is used to process everything in the menu action
up to that point. Then after that first part is executed, the part
after the || is executed. You can use as many of these as you need
in a menu action. Example of logging on to a network, then going to
a menu file on the server: C:~CD\NETUTIL~LOGIN~ || {MENU 500}
Example of running programs, then continuing with another menu entry:
D:~CD\DIR~PROGRAM1~PROGRAM2~PROGRAM3~PROGRAM4~PROGRAM5 || {KEY B 9}
This could be a way around the 255 character menu action limit.
Here's an example of asking to do a backup after running a program:
C:~CD\QUICKEN~Q||{CONFIRM Backup to A:?}COPY C:\QUICKEN\*.* A:~
The INSTALL.EXE program replaces the INSTALL.BAT and UPDATE.BAT files.
You don't need to specify the directory to install or update to when
you start the program. It will display defaults for the install from
drive and the install to directory, and it will allow you to change
them. if the program finds that the HDM batch file is not in the
AUTOEXEC.BAT or that the HDM directory is not in the DOS path, it ask
if you want it to update that file for you.
Enhanced menu action function: {DIR!} or {DIR! drive:\dir\dirmask}
This works the same as the {DIR} function except that it limits you
to the starting directory. You can go down to lower subdirectories,
but you will not be able to climb the tree any higher than where you
started and you will not be able to switch to another drive.
Enhanced menu action function: {FILE!} or {FILE! drive:\dir\wildcard}
This works the same as the {FILE} function except you are limited by
the starting directory. You will not be able to switch to a higher
directory or to another drive.
Resume in the Exit pull down menu now reinitializes the mouse in case
a TSR or something leaves it in an unusable state.
{SELECT} and {VSELECT} now support user input as a menu entry. Just
start the entry with a ?. If the user chooses it, HDM will prompt
for input using the text after the ? as the prompt message.
EXAMPLE: {SELECT Pick One~Choice 1~Choice 2~Choice 3~?User Input}
NOTE: To secure your HDM system, these areas should be protected with
high security levels:
Menu/Security/Master Password Table
Menu/Security/User ID Table
Menu/Global/Inactive Execute
Menu/Global/Timed Execution
New main menu keys: Since there are now twenty six pages available,
Ctrl-PgUp & Ctrl-PgDn will will try to move up or down approximately
one screen of pages. This is affected by the number of empty pages
and if those empty pages are displayed or not.
The name of the help file was changed from HELP.EXE to HDMHELP.EXE.
This was done to avoid confusion with 4DOS and Novell which both have
help files named HELP.EXE.
"F3=EXIT" will not display at the bottom of the Main Menu if your
user security is lower than the security level of the "Exit HDM - F3"
command in the "Exit" pull-down menu or "Top Menu: All Commands" in
the "Security" pull-down menu. The {EXIT} and {QUIT} menu action
functions now honor the exit security levels and will ask for a
password if needed.
Execution of a menu entry has been added to "Log Off Automatically"
in the "Security" pull-down menu. This menu entry will execute
when an automatic log off takes place or if you log yourself off
manually. The timed automatic log off and the log off execution
are completely independent of one another. You can use just the
automatic timed log off, or just the automatic execution of a menu
entry when you log off, or both.
A project field has been added to the log on window. The information
entered in it will be recorded in the log file if you use the Usage
Logging feature (-L startup switch).
Three new menu action functions have been added:
{PROJECT} will be replaced by the contents of the project field in
the log on window. This can also be used in the title lines above
the main menu just like the {USER} function has been used.
{%variable%} will be replace be the DOS environment variable of the
same name. For example {%COMSPEC%} is replaced by C:\COMMAND.COM if
that is what is in your environment. This can also be used in titles.
{STEP} is used for debugging your menu actions. From the point it
appears in the menu action to the end of that action, it will display
what the action looks like after each function is executed.
You can now press the first letter of the entries in the following
lists to go directly to the next entry that starts with that letter.
Directory list {DIR} {DIR!}, File list {FILE} {FILE!}, and the User
ID Table.
(HDM431)
To make it easier to use HDM with a mouse, the following changes
have been made:
- The escape hot spot at the bottom right corner of the screen has
been removed and the right mouse button now functions as the
escape key. This means you can only click on hot spots with the
left mouse button. The right & left buttons can be reversed by
most newer mouse drivers.
- The hot spots used to move the cursor up & down the menu entries
and through the Page Index have been moved closer together so less
mouse movement is needed to move the cursor were you need it.
Two commands have been changed in the Exit pull-down menu:
1. "Prior Menu" was renamed to "Menu Exit". It will return to the
previous menu file, if any, or to the logo screen if you are already
at the base menu file (either HDM.000 or the one specified by -M).
2. "Resume" was replaced by "Project" which is described below.
This information is used by the {PROJECT} function and the log file.
The Project number information field has been removed from the log
on screen and has been made independent of it. This means you can
use projects without having to put an entry in the User ID table
and the project input field will not show up for users who only need
to log on. Also you can tell HDM to automatically ask for project
information when you log on by checking a box in the Global Settings
menu. You can now change the project at any time or use it without
having HDM automatically ask for it by choosing "Project" from the
Exit pull-down menu or by pressing Alt-F5.
"Page Erase" in the Page pull-down menu can now remove entries with
with a higher security level than your own. After checking for a
page security level higher than yours, it will ask for a password
for the highest security level found on the page you want to erase.
If you don't enter a password, press <Esc>, or key in the wrong
password, only the entries with a security level equal to or below
your own will be erased.
When HDM is used on a network and you are using the multi-level
security system, it's important that everyone is using the same
HDM.CFG file. This is where the global variables and security,
like the Master Password Table, is stored. In the past, this
file was written to the default HDM directory or to the directory
pointed to by the -T startup switch. To add more flexibility to
HDM, a new startup switch, -G, will control where the HDM.CFG
global file is written. -T will still point to the default for
the menu files (HDM.000-HDM.999) and the HDM.CFG will be written
to the directory that contains the HDM program if -G is not used.
A warning is now displayed in the Master Password Table if you
delete the only password that would allow you to get back into it.
When you make changes to HDM, an * is displayed in the lower
right corner of the screen until the menu file or global file
is saved to disk. This happens automatically when you run a
menu entry, exit to DOS, return to a previous menu file or to
the logo screen, or after one minute of inactivity of the mouse
or keyboard. You can save the changes to disk immediately by
pressing the * key or by choosing "Save to Disk" from the first
pull-down menu. You can now undo changes while the * is still
displayed on the screen, just press Ctrl-U and the menu will
return to the state it was in at the last time it was saved.
To add a little safety to the {REBOOT} function when a read/write
disk cache is begin used, HDM will read one record from the X.BAT
file before rebooting. This should make sure that all cached
disk writes were physically written before the warm boot happens.
The format of the usage log file, HDM.LOG has been changed so
each user is identified on each record for multiple users writing
to the same log file. This makes it possible to identify who
ran what on networks and makes it easier to import to a database
for sorting and reporting. This is the format and field lengths:
Code | User | Date | Time | Day | File | Entry | Project | Action
-----|------|------|------|-----|------|-------|---------|-------
1 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 25 | 3 - 99
Code is used internally to identify the record format.
User is the 25 character User ID from the User ID Table.
Date is in the format YYYYMMDD where 19910704 is the 4th of July.
Time is based on the 24 hour clock, HR:MN. 15:00 is 3pm.
Day is the day of the week: 1 is Sunday and 7 is Saturday.
File is the menu file extension, 000 - 999 (HDM.000-999) or "DOS".
Entry is menu entry (A1-Z0), "xt" = DOS exit, "wd" = DOS window.
Project is the 25 character project information field.
Action is RUN=Menu Description or RUN=Action in {RUN} function,
and END, END!, or ENDr for a normal menu entry end-of-run,
an internal end-of-run (menu action beginning with !),
and the end of a {RUN} function inside a menu action.
You can now choose which letter is highlighted in each entry
of the {SELECT} and {VSELECT} menu action functions. HDM will
use the first capital letter, number, or special character it
finds as the hot key. It will skip small letters and spaces.
EXAMPLE: "Do This" hot key is "D" and "do That" hot key is "T".
This will solve the problem of two entries having the same hot
key because HDM would always choose the last entry with that
highlighted hot key. Also, if you picked an entry with the
mouse under the same conditions, it would choose the wrong one
if there was an entry after it with the same highlighted letter.
To sum it up, make sure each entry in the {SELECT} and {VSELECT}
functions have unique highlighted characters to avoid problems.
if you must have two entries with the same hot key, move the
cursor to the one you want and press <Enter> to be sure of
choosing the correct one.
The -H startup switch can now have a path associated with it so
you can put the HDM.HDR file in any directory you want. Example:
HDM -Hk:\lanmenu would cause HDM to read K:\LANMENU\HDM.HDR to
replace the header/logo screen. The path is optional, using -H
without the path still looks for HDM.HDR in the HDM directory.
New menu action function: {GETPROJECT}
This function will allow you to change the project information
that is recorded in the log file. The project information can
also be displayed in the title lines or in a menu action by
using the {PROJECT} function.
A new startup switch, -U<variable>, lets HDM know the name of
a DOS environement variable that will contain HDM's User ID.
When HDM first starts, it will automatically enter that User
ID in the Log On window instead of waiting for the user to
enter it. HDM will still verify that the User ID exists in
its table. If you also use the -N startup switch and don't
include a password in the User ID Table, HDM will go directly
to the Main Menu screen with the user already logged on. If
a password is needed, HDM will still ask for it.
A new entry has been added to the Local: Change Color menu
that will restore all window colors to the factory defaults.
(HDM432)
The User ID Table can now handle up to 254 users.
A user can change their own password without having access to
the User ID Table by following this procedure:
1. Log on to HDM by entering your User ID in the log on window.
2. When HDM asks for your password, key in CHANGE, press Enter.
3. Enter your current password, press Enter.
4. Enter a new password and verify it. That's it!
A system administrator with a higher security level can change
forgotten User ID passwords through the User ID Table.
Because some people want {EXIT} and {QUIT} to honor the Exit
command's security level while others don't, the {EXIT} function
will use the security and the {QUIT} function will ignore it.
(HDM433)
{VSELECT} was limited to 80 characters. Now it can be up to 160.
Internal changes were made to handle some unusual mouse drivers.
Some of these locked up during initialization if a CLD wasn't
executed first.
=================================================================
End of HDM IV version 3 enhancements and fixes.
=================================================================
HDM IV - Version 4 (HDM IV 4.0)
New Menu Action Functions:
{SETPROJECT Project} Set project information in a menu action.
{NOCLEAR} Don't clear HDM screen when running a menu entry.
{LOGOFF} Log off HDM if you were logged on to HDM.
(This will NOT run the menu entry in Automatic Logoff)
Enhanced Menu Action Functions:
{SELECT Title~Choice1~?Choice2~Display3=Choice3~Display4=?Choice4}
{VSELECT Title~Display1=Choice1~...Display15=Choice15}
These two functions pop up a window with your title and a list of
of choices that the user will pick from. The choice then replaces
the complete function in the menu action and is put in the %0
parameter from later use in the same menu action. You can now
display something different than the actual result of of that
choice by using the format DISPLAY=CHOICE for an entry instead
of just CHOICE. The characters left of the equal sign will be
the menu entry, and whatever is on the right of the equal sign
will become the result of choosing that entry. If the choice
begins with a question mark, it will work like the {?prompt}
function when it is choosen.
New Executable File Search Facility:
There is a new search capability in the Menu Action Auto-Build
and in the DOS Window. F4=Search will be displayed in the
function key area at the bottom of each of these windows.
Pressing F4 at that point will pop up a list of directories
and all executable files, including *.EXE, *.COM, *.BAT, and
*.BTM (4DOS/NDOS Batch-To-Memory files). Choosing a directory
goes to that directory and displays the executable files in it.
Choosing a file will place it in the correct fields in the DOS
Window or in the Auto-Build window.
Enhanced Startup Switches: -V is now -VF, -VM, or -VS.
-VF Forces fast video writes. This is the default for all
video boards except CGA. (Usually creates static on CGA)
-VM Displays HDM screens in monochrome. (Black & White)
-VS Eliminates static (snow) by waiting for the video retrace
signal before writing to the screen. (Default for CGA)
Changes to Error Messages:
Error and warning messages are now display in pop-up windows.
These were displayed on the bottom line and could be missed
by users who continued pressing keys on the keyboard. You
must now press the <Esc> key to remove the message window.
Changes to HDM's Pull-Down Menus:
All commands in all of the pull-down menus now have short-cut
keys available. Just press the keys listed at the end of each
of the commands to perform their function without having to go
through the Top Menu. Some old short-cut keys have changed.
"Save Menu File" in the first pull-down menu is now "Write File".
"Switch Menus" in the Local pull-down menu is now "Switch Screens".
"Project" was moved from the eXit pull-down menu to "Change
Project" in the Global pull-down menu. "Date/Time Format" in
the Global pull-down menu is now "Date and Time". It now allows
you to set the Date & Time in addition to changing their format.
The Security pull-down menu was completely revised. All the
same commands are there, but they have been group into three
logical sections. The first section affects the current menu
file only. It allows security level changes to one menu entry,
one page of menu entries, all menu entries in the file, and
protects the current file from changes. The second section
affects the Top Menu and its pull-down menus only, no matter
what menu file is loaded. It allows changes to the security
level of all the pull-down menu commands and lets you hide the
Top Menu and disable all the pull-down menu commands. You can
change the security level of one pull-down menu command by
moving the cursor to it, then press Alt-F1. The third section
are tables that affect all menu files and users.
Wallpaper was added to the Local pull-down menu. This allows
you to choose the background character that is display behind
most of HDM's windows and screens.
(HDM IV 4.1)
Added "Reports" to the "eXit" pull-down menu. This starts a
new HDM usage log report program that allows extracting data
from the HDM.LOG file for displaying or printing. You must
first open a log file to display the information to the screen.
You can extract certain records by filtering the data, then
you can save the extracted records to a dBASE database file.
To report on any of the files, first create a report format by
chosing the fields to use. You can set the order of the fields
and the length of each one. Choose "Setup Printer" to set the
number of rows to print on one page and the length of the line
to print. You can print the report to your printer, write it
to a file, or display it on the screen.
HDM does an interrupt 28h during times of inactivity so other
tasks (such as background printing) can get control more often.
(HDM IV 4.2)
Fixed bugs in the new usage log report module. Corrected a
problem where HDM HELP would not read the custom help files
when older menu files were used.
(HDM IV 4.3)
Added new {DELAY seconds} function. This will stop execution
of a menu action and wait the number of seconds specified
before continuing with that action. The range for the wait
time is 1 to 9999 seconds. You can press ESCAPE while the
Delay Window is displayed to cancel the menu action.
HDM now automatically adds @@ to a batch file name in the DOS
Window when it is selected from the Search Window.
There is a completely new, revised on disk manual (HDM.DOC)
that should be easier to follow because it was written by a
professional writer, Keith R. Aleshire of Computer Consumer
Services Incorporated.
(HDM IV 4.4)
{FILE} and {FILE!} can optionally have a 21 character title.
The syntax is {FILE title~mask} where both title and mask are
optional. The title must end with a ~ (tilde). Examples:
{FILE Your Title~C:\DOCS}
shows files in C:\DOCS with "Your Title" at top of window.
{FILE File to Copy From~}
shows files in root directory, title is "File to Copy From".
{FILE C:\DOCS} shows files in C:\DOCS with default title.
{DIR} and {DIR!} can optionally have a 12 character title.
The syntax is {DIR title~path} where both title and path are
optional. The title must end with a ~ (tilde). Examples:
{DIR Your Title~C:\DOCS}
shows directories under C:\DOCS with "Your Title" at top.
{DIR Directory to Copy From~}
shows all directories, title is "Directory to Copy From".
{DIR C:\DOCS} shows C:\DOCS directories with default title.
When HDM asks for a password for a secured item, it now
displays additional information about that secured item.
The <ESC> key now honors the "Prior Menu" security. (Menu Exit)
When more than one choice in a {SELECT} or {VSELECT} function
has the same highlighted letter, the mouse would always choose
the last one, no matter which one was actually clicked on.
This has now been corrected so the one pointed to is chosen.
(HDM IV 4.5)
HDM has a new completely rewritten windowed phone dialer that
should work with all Hayes compatible modems. Also all dialed
phone numbers are now written to the HDM log file if HDM is
started with the -L parameter switch. For more information
see the {DIAL} menu action function in the HDM user's manual.
Install was changed so that it could copy read-only files.
A warning is displayed if you make changes to certain tables
and then press Escape, which would cancel all the changes made.
The tables affected are the Master Password Table, User ID
Security Table, and the Timed Execution Table. These tables
are unique because they require two steps to save them, first
F2 is pressed to save individual record changes in the table,
then F2 must be pressed again to save the entire changed table.
The telephone dialer can now be aborted while you are accessing
the modem or waiting for the phone number to get dialed. Before
you had to wait until the modem responded. You can also specify
an IRQ number for the communication port you're using if it is
not the standard one. The phone parameters in the "Global"
pull-down menu has a new field for the IRQ. It will accept any
number or leave it blank to use the port's standard IRQ.
The format of the HDM.CFG file was changed slightly with version
4.53 of HDM. After using this file with version 4.53 or above,
previous versions will not be able to read it correctly.
The input fields for the {?} prompt and {DEFAULT} functions and
the DOS Window have been increased to 128 characters.
The {DIR} and {FILE} functions have new easier to use popup
windows. These are the same popup windows used in the search
feature of the DOS window and the menu entry Auto-Build window.
The larger window allows a title up to 64 characters long for
the {DIR} and {FILE} functions. There is more information
displayed about the files and there are symbols in front of
each file name, sub-directory, parent directory, and the root
directory to identify them easier. You now press <F4> to go
to a new drive instead of pressing the <Esc> key, otherwise
all other operations are the same.
The DOS Window now displays the last used command on the top
line to make it easier to repeat commands. To enter a new
command, just type over the current one in the top line. The
first character entered will erase the current contents of the
line. The command that is erase will be retained for further
use the next time the DOS Window is activated. Also, you can
press Ctrl-U while still in the line to restore the original
contents.
"Menu Exit" in the "eXit" pull-down menu has been changed back
to "Prior Menu" and only returns to the previously used menu
file. "Prior Menu" and the <Esc> key will no longer go back
to the logo screen when using it from your base menu. You can
use "Log Off" or <F7> to display the logo screen from any menu
file.
The {DELAY} function can now be forced to continue before the
delay time has expired by pressing the <Enter> key. This is
also true of the delay window displayed by all automatic menu
executions. (Timed Exec, Inactive Exec, Auto Log Off, etc.)
The {CONFIRM} function has been enhanced to optionally add a
time delay and a default action when that time has expired.
The new syntax is {CONFIRM MESSAGE~SECONDS~Y/N}. If seconds
is not included or if it is equal to zero, the function will
work as it did in the past where it will wait until a yes/no
answer is entered. The range for seconds is from zero to 9999.
Example: {CONFIRM Backup now?~60~N}
If the user does not respond in 60 seconds, the answer will be
NO and the rest of the action will not run. If the default was
YES, {CONFIRM Backup now?~60~Y}, then after 60 seconds the rest
of the menu action would run automatically.
(HDM IV 4.6)
The User ID Table can now accept one "wild card" record that
will match any User ID that does not exist in the table. This
"wild card" record must have a single asterisk (*) in the User
Identification field. All the other fields in that record can
be used just like the other entries. When a user logs on to
HDM and enters their User ID, the table is first searched for
an exact match. If there is no exact match and a "wild card"
record exists, the User ID is accepted and the user will be
given that record's defaults.
The log reporting module (Reports in the eXit pull-down menu)
has been enhanced so that report formats can be saved and re-
called. The report formats can be used with any log files.
The help system has been enhanced so that it can now display
and print HDM's User Manual, ReadMe file, History file, Order
form and any other file with a DOC extension in the default
HDM directory. Press <F1> to get into the help system, then
press <F2> to pop up a list of documentation files. Highlight
the one you want to see and press <Enter>. While the file is
displayed on the screen you can press <F2> to print it.
HDM customization features have been enhanced. See the demo
files: HDMDEMO.HDR, A1DEMO.000, HELPDEMO.000, HELPDEMO.HDM
for more information. Just about all the text in HDM can be
changed to meet your needs: entry descriptions, page index,
menu titles, logo/header screen, initial help screen, all
help screen pages, help page names, and the documentation
files displayed in the help system (F2=Info). This should
make it easier to use HDM in non-English speaking countries.
Your custom help screens can now be more than one screen long.
This enhancement works with A1.000, HELP.000, and HELPx.HDM.
See the demo files A1DEMO.000, HELPDEMO.000, and HELPDEMO.HDM
for examples of this. Add a note (like F4=MORE) in the first
screen of your custom help file to let the user know that more
text is available. When the user presses F4 a file viewer will
display the complete file and allow scrolling in any direction.
There is no limit to the size of the file.
--- END OF HDM HISTORY.DOC ---
