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WINCMD.EXE (VERSION 1.4) Copyright (c) 1993 Douglas Boling
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
First Published in PC Magazine April 27,1993 (Utilities)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
WINCMD:
WINCMD is a Windows-based command file interpreter that
lets you create simple Windows 3.1 specific programs to automate repetivive
tasks.
Remember the DOS batch files with which you once proudly automated
all your routine tasks? If you've joined the mad rush to Windows, you've
simply had to learn to do without this useful and convenient facility.
The DOS batch file language may have been limited, but Windows supported
nothing at all in its place--until now.
WINCMD.EXE, this issue's utility, is a Windows-based command file
interpreter that lets you create simple Windows programs that perform
the repetitive functions that were once the domain of DOS batch files.
WINCMD goes far beyond the simple DOS batch file language, however.
Its language includes looping and branching statements along with
user-defined subroutines and functions. Both numeric and string
variables are supported, as is a full suite of arithmetic and logical
operators.
You can use any ASCII editor, such as Notepad, to create WINCMD
programs. Typically, these programs will carry a .WCM extension, though
this is not required unless you want the program to be callable from
another WINCMD program. A single .WCM file can be up to 64K in size,
though its executable parts (those not made up of comment lines) are
limited to about 45K.
USING WINCMD
Before discussing how to use WINCMD, I must start with some
terminology. WINCMD.EXE is the Windows program I've written.
It interprets programs--which are ASCII files--that are written in the
WINCMD language. To keep the two kinds of programs separate, I'll use
the full name and extension, WINCMD.EXE, when referring to the utility
itself. I'll refer to the ASCII files that WINCMD.EXE interprets as
WINCMD programs.
To install WINCMD.EXE, just copy it, along with WINCMD.ICO (its
icon file) and any .WCM files you have (two are supplied with the
program), into a directory on your path. Select the FileNew menu item
in the Program Manager and choose Program Item. Enter the short title
you want to appear under the icon as the Description, and enter the
complete path and WINCMD.EXE on the command line.
To make it easy to run WINCMD programs, you should then also use
the File Manager to associate the .WCM file extension with WINCMD.EXE.
To do this, start the Windows File Manager and select the FileAssociate
menu item. When the dialog box appears enter WCM, the WINCMD default
extension, in the edit box. In the Combo Box that lists the programs,
enter the path to and filename of WINCMD.EXE. Click on the OK button
and you're set!
From now on, any time you click on a WINCMD file in the File Manager
or Program Manager, Windows will automatically start WINCMD.EXE and pass
it the name of your WINCMD program. When WINCMD.EXE is started with a
filename on the command line, it will immediately start executing that
file. When WINCMD.EXE has finished executing the WINCMD program, it
will gracefully terminate.
Since debugging is important even for WINCMD programs, WINCMD.EXE
provides help in this area. If WINCMD.EXE is started with an /L command
switch before the WINCMD program name, WINCMD.EXE will display a window
with your WINCMD program loaded into memory, ready to execute. Be sure
not to place the /L after the WINCMD program name, or it will be
considered an argument to the command file. When WINCMD.EXE starts,
it performs some preprocessing on your WINCMD program. If it finds any
lines it does not understand, you'll get appropriate print error messages
with line numbers to help you find the problem.
Error messages are displayed for such faults as lines being too long
or numbers too big. When an error message is printed, WINCMD.EXE changes
to display two windows. The listing window displays the WINCMD program
with the line highlighted that is to be executed next. The output window
displays the last 100 lines printed by the WINCMD program as well as the
error messages.
WINCMD.EXE allows you to run a WINCMD program from the window in two
different ways. The program can be run normally either by pressing the
Run button or by selecting the RunRun Program menu selection. The
WINCMD.EXE window will then change to display only the output window and
run the WINCMD program. The Run button text will change to Stop.
Pressing the Stop button will cause WINCMD.EXE to stop executing
the WINCMD program and to display both the output and listing windows.
Again, the line in the program that would have been executed next is
highlighted. The program can then be restarted from this point simply
by clicking on the Run button. If you want to start the program from
the beginning, first click on the Reset button to reset the program and
then hit the Run button to start the program on its way. Note that when
WINCMD resets a program, it rereads the program from the disk. This
means that you can make changes to the program and then you can have
WINCMD load those changes by pressing the Reset button.
The other way to run a WINCMD program is by stepping through it
one line at a time. Single stepping is very handy to see exactly how
a WINCMD program is being executed. Each press of the Step button will
cause WINCMD.EXE to execute one line of the WINCMD program. The listing
window will highlight the next line to be executed.
WINCMD VARIABLES AND ARITHMETIC
The WINCMD syntax combines the power of a high-level language with
the simple command line operation of a batch language. Before discussing
the different WINCMD statements in detail, I should explain how WINCMD
programs use variables. The WINCMD language makes no distinction between
string variables and numeric variables. That is, a variable that has
been assigned a string value can later be assigned a number and vice versa.
Variables do not have to be declared before they are used. As you would
expect, variables are assigned using the equal sign.
The following three statements are examples of valid WINCMD
assignments.
var = 1
var = magazine
var = "I like PC Magazine"
In the first assignment above, the variable VAR is given the
value 1. The second assignment has the variable assigned the string
``magazine.'' In the third assignment, VAR is assigned the string ``I
like PC Magazine.'' The quotes allow spaces to be included in the string
assigned to VAR. If the quotes were not used, WINCMD would attempt to
assign the variable VAR with the string ``I'', but would then find the
additional characters on the line. WINCMD would then stop execution and
print the error message ``Extra characters on line.''
Variable names may contain numbers, letters, or the characters
_, $, %, and #, but the first character in a variable must always be
either a letter or underscore (_). Variable names are not case-sensitive;
the names BOB, Bob, and bob all refer to the same variable. Variable names
can be up to 253 characters long. Variables can be used anywhere strings
or numbers can be used in the program.
The numbers you use may range from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647,
and can be expressed in binary, octal, decimal, or hexadecimal format.
(In entering numbers, do not type in the commas shown above, however.)
The WINCMD default is base 10. To enter a nondecimal number, start the
number with a zero, then use b, o, or x as the second character,
indicating a binary, octal, or hexadecimal number, respectively. The
following four lines demonstrate different ways to write the decimal
value 100.
var = 100
var = 0x64
var = 0o144
var = 0b1100100
WINCMD uses the standard set of arithmetic operators for addition
(+), subtraction (-), multiplication (*), and division (/).
Arithmetic comparisons can be performed for greater than (>), less than
(<), greater than or equal to (>=), less than or equal to (<=), and not
equal (<>) operators. Comparison operators return a nonzero value if
the condition is true and a zero if the condition is false.
As in BASIC, the equal sign (=) performs double duty in WINCMD.
When placed alone on a line to the right of a variable, it indicates
an assignment, as in var = 5. In any other location, however, it
indicates a test for equality. WINCMD also supports double equals (==)
as an equality operator. The equality test works for both numbers and
strings. For example, to test if the variable MONTH is ``February'',
simply use the expression
month = "February"
WINCMD also includes a set of logical and bitwise operators. The
logical operators AND, OR, XOR, and NOT act on the logical value. If a
variable is 0, its logical value is FALSE; otherwise, its logical value
is TRUE. For example, the numbers 5 and -3 are TRUE values while 0 is a
FALSE value. The logical operators allow you to combine other tests into
one condition. For example, the expression
DAY = "Monday" AND MONTH <> "February"
will evaluate to TRUE only if both DAY is equal to Monday and MONTH is
not ``February''.
The bitwise operators ANDB, ORB, XORB, and NOTB perform logical
operations on each bit in a number. For example, 5 ANDB 20 returns a
value of 4.
(00101 ANDB 10100 = 00100).
When placed between two strings, the plus sign (+) indicates that
the strings should be concatenated. For example,
CITYSTATE = "Knoxville " + "Tennessee"
will assign the variable CITYSTATE to the string ``Knoxville Tennessee''.
WINCMD STATEMENTS
A list of the statements and functions in the WINCMD language is
shown in Figure 1 (below). To cause WINCMD to launch a program or to
execute a DOS command, simply include that program or command on a
separate line. For example, to start the Windows Notepad editor, simply
type the name of the program on a line, as in
NOTEPAD
If no extension for the program to be launched is specified, WINCMD will
look for each of the extensions listed in the Programs key in the
[Windows] section of WIN.INI until the particular program is found.
If no path is specified, WINCMD follows the same search procedure Windows
uses when starting a program from the Program Manager. What this means
is that WINCMD first looks in the current directory, followed by the
Windows and Windows System directories, then the WINCMD directory, the
directories listed in the PATH statement, and finally any directories
that are mapped on a network.
Executing DOS internal commands is as easy as launching programs.
To copy the file WINCMD.C to WINCMD.BAK, just include the command on the
line as you would if you were typing it in from the DOS command line:
COPY WINCMD.C WINCMD.BAK
When WINCMD sees a DOS internal command, such as COPY or DEL, it
launches the command processor listed in the COMSPEC statement in the
WINCMD environment.
If Windows is running in Enhanced mode and your _DEFAULT.PIF file
is configured to run DOS programs in a window, DOS internal commands
will be executed in the background. Since the WINCMD language uses
some of the same special characters--such as the asterisk (*)--as
the DOS command line does, you will need to enclose any filenames in
quotation marks. For example, to copy all files with a .C extension
to .BAK, just enclose the filenames in quotation marks as follows.
COPY "*.C D:\BACKUP"
One major difference between the action of a WINCMD file and a DOS
batch file is that WINCMD programs continue to execute after a program
has been launched. In DOS, if a batch file starts a program, it waits
until that program terminates before continuing. In the example that
follows, how-ever, a WINCMD program launches three programs: Notepad,
Word for Windows, and WordPerfect for DOS.
NOTEPAD
WINWORD
WP
Since WINCMD programs do not wait for a program to finish before
continuing to the next line, all three programs will start at
approximately the same time. WINCMD programs continue until there are no
more lines in a program or an EXIT statement is encountered.
The EXIT statement is used to stop execution of a WINCMD program.
In the following example, therefore, Notepad and WordPerfect for DOS will
be executed, but Word for Windows will not, since its line comes after
the EXIT statement.
NOTEPAD
WP
EXIT
WINWORD
Comments can be included in WINCMD files by using the REM statement.
WINCMD ignores any characters from the REM statement to the end of the
line. To provide a syntax similar to that of BASIC and C, comments can
also be indicated by the single quote (') or by double forward slashes
(//):
rem This is a comment line in WINCMD
// This is too.
' Don't forget me!
While I will later discuss a more elegant way for WINCMD programs
to talk to the user, the simplest way is to use the SAY and PRINT
statements. (SAY and PRINT perform the same function.) While the
SAY/PRINT function is similar in the function of the SAY statement in
REXX, I have included the PRINT alias for all those users familiar with
BASIC.
The SAY statement displays a line that appears in the output window
of the WINCMD.EXE window. If WINCMD.EXE is minimized when a SAY
statement is encountered, the window will be restored so that the user
can read the text of the message. The SAY statement first evaluates
whatever is on the line beyond the SAY statement, and then it displays
the results in the output window. The following two statements will
provide an example of SAY and PRINT:
SAY I think that five times 3 is 5 * 3 "and that six divided by two is " 6/2
PRINT I think that five times 3 is 5 * 3 "and that six divided by two is " 6/2
When either of the above two lines is executed, the line:
I THINK THAT FIVE TIMES 3 IS 15 and that six divided by two is 3
will appear. Notice that the words outside of the quotation marks
are capitalized, but that the string enclosed in quotation marks is
lowercase. Unlike BASIC's PRINT statement, the different expressions
do not have to be separated by commas or semicolons.
Branching is performed with the IF statement. The IF statement will
execute the next line if the condition included in the IF statement is
true (or non-zero). While not required, the THEN statement can be used
either on the same line as the IF or on the next line. If the optional
ELSE keyword is used and the expression evaluates to zero, the first
statement beyond the ELSE keyword is executed. The syntax for the IF
statement is as follows:
IF expression
[THEN]
{statement}
[ELSE
{statement}]
The square and curly brackets in the diagram above are not part of
the syntax--you don't enter them in a WINCMD program. The IF, THEN, and
ELSE statements are capitalized and the statements are indented only for
readability. The expression is to be replaced with any variable or
equation, and statement represents any valid WINCMD line.
As a concrete example of the IF statement at work, consider the
following:
IF BOB > 5
THEN
BOB = BOB + 2
Here, if the variable BOB is greater than 5, BOB will be set to its
current value plus 2. If you added an ELSE statement, the example
might become
IF BOB > 5
THEN
BOB = BOB + 2
ELSE
BOB = BOB + 1
In this case, if the variable BOB is greater than 5, BOB will be
increased by 2; otherwise BOB will be increased by 1. Since the THEN
statement is optional, this could equivalently have been written as
IF BOB > 5
BOB = BOB + 2
ELSE
BOB = BOB + 1
Note that the IF statement will only execute one statement line
for a THEN or ELSE clause. To get around this, you can use the DO and
END statements, which permit grouping multiple statements as if written
on a single line. DO...END blocks of statements can be included in both
the THEN and ELSE clauses of the IF statement. The DO and END statement
syntax is as follows:
DO
{statement}
{statement}
.
.
.
{statement}
END
As an example of using DO and END to include more than the one
statement within the IF-THEN-ELSE structure, consider
IF BOB > 5 AND DAY = "Monday"
DO
BOB = BOB + 2
FRED = BOB - 2
JOE = BOB + FRED
END
ELSE
DO
COPY WINCMD.C WINCMD.BAK
JOE = BOB/2 + 2
END
Here, DO END statements enclose the three statements of the THEN clause
and the two statements of the ELSE clause. Note also that a more
complex condition is used. In this example, the THEN clause will be
executed only if BOB is greater than 5 and DAY equals the string
``Monday.''
Loops are performed by the WHILE statement, whose syntax is
WHILE {condition}
{statement}
The WHILE statement evaluates the condition and, if the condition is
non-zero (that is, if it is TRUE), the line indicated by statement is
executed. The WHILE statement then re-tests the condition and, if the
result is still non-zero, it executes the statement again. WHILE will
thus continue to test the condition and execute the statement until
the condition evaluates to zero. Like the IF statement, the WHILE
statement works only on the statement line that immediately follows the
WHILE, but this statement line can be the start of a DO...END block.
Thus, multiple statements can be executed in the loop.
The example below sets the variable COUNT to 10, and then enters a
WHILE loop that decrements COUNT each time through until COUNT equals
zero.
COUNT = 10
WHILE COUNT > 0
DO
COUNT = COUNT - 1
FRED = FRED * FRED
END
If you want to leave a WHILE loop before its condition evaluates
to false, you can use the LEAVE statement. When WINCMD.EXE sees a LEAVE
statement, the loop is immediately exited, even if there are other
statements after it. The next statement to execute will be the first
one beyond the loop. In the next example, the loop terminates if the
variable ERROR becomes non-zero.
WHILE FRED <> BOB
DO
BOB = BOB + 1
REM
REM INSERT OTHER LINES HERE
REM
IF ERROR
LEAVE
REM
REM ANY STATEMENTS AFTER THE
REM LEAVE WILL NOT BE EXECUTED IF
REM ERROR NOT 0
REM
END
SUBROUTINES AND FUNCTIONS
The WINCMD language allows you to create subroutines and functions.
Actually, WINCMD makes no distinction between functions and subroutines.
If a user-defined routine is called while evaluating an expression, the
routine is treated as a function and the value returned by the routine
replaces the function name. If the user-defined routine is called on a
separate line, it is treated as a subroutine and any value returned by
the routine is simply ignored.
The start of a subroutine is defined by a label, which is quite
simply the name of the subroutine. A label must be a valid variable
name; that is, it must start with a letter or underscore and it must
be less than 253 characters in length. The last character of a label
must be a colon (:). A subroutine is terminated by a RETURN statement.
There is no limit to the number of statements that can be used in a
subroutine.
In the following example, the subroutine WASTETIME is called to
waste a little time in the program.
BOB = BOB + 1
WASTETIME
BOB = BOB + 4
EXIT
WASTETIME:
COUNT = 1000
WHILE COUNT > 0
COUNT = COUNT - 1
RETURN
In this example the variable BOB is incremented, after which the
subroutine is called. The loop is executed in the subroutine and
the subroutine returns, upon which BOB is increased by 4. The EXIT
statement then prevents the program from continuing down through the
WASTETIME subroutine again. You must always EXIT a subroutine.
You can pass parameters to subroutines by enclosing the parameters
in parentheses after the variable name. Multiple parameters are separated
by commas. Below, I've modified the former example to pass the number
1000 and the variable BOB to the WASTETIME routine.
BOB = BOB + 1
WASTETIME (1000, BOB)
BOB = BOB + 4
EXIT
WASTETIME:
COUNT = ARG(1)
WHILE COUNT > ARG (2)
COUNT = COUNT - 1
RETURN
Subroutines retrieve their arguments by using the built-in ARG()
function. ARG() returns the subroutine parameter indicated by the number
passed to it; that is, ARG(1) returns the first parameter, ARG(2) the
second, and so on. If a subroutine attempts to read a parameter that was
not passed, ARG() returns a null string. If ARG() is called with no
arguments, it returns the number of parameters passed to the subroutine.
ARG (0) returns the name of the routine that was called.
If the ARG() function is called outside a subroutine or function,
it returns the command line arguments to the program. Just as the %1
and %2 return the first and second arguments in a DOS batch file, ARG(1)
and ARG(2) will return those parameters for a WINCMD file. ARG(0) returns
the name of the WINCMD program, and ARG() returns the number of parameters
on the command line.
In the example below, the user-defined function MAX returns the
value of the largest argument passed to it:
BOB = MAX (300, FRED, SAM, JOE) * 3
EXIT
MAX:
COUNT = ARG()
MAXVAL = ARG(1)
WHILE COUNT > 0
DO
IF MAXVAL < ARG(COUNT)
MAXVAL = ARG (COUNT)
END
RETURN MAXVAL
In the code above, MAX uses ARG() to determine how many arguments have
been passed to it. It then compares each argument and returns the value
of MAXVAL on the RETURN line. When MAX has finished, the variable BOB
will be assigned the highest value of all the arguments passed, multiplied
by 3.
WINCMD variables are global: If a variable is modified in a
subroutine, the change will also be reflected in the variable when the
subroutine is finished. WINCMD does not support any form of local
variables, nor does it currently let you get rid of a variable that has
been defined.
WINCMDBUILT-INFUNCTIONS
WIN-CMD has a number of built-in functions that make it easier to
create useful programs. These functions can be divided into two types:
general programming functions and functions designed to control Windows
applications. The LENGTH() function returns the number of characters
in a string. For example, in the line
BOB = LENGTH ("Holston Hills")
BOB would be assigned 13.
The SUBSTR() function, which is similar to the like-named functions
in BASIC and REXX, returns a portion of a string. SUBSTR() is called with
three parameters, which determine the portion of the string returned.
The first argument is the original string; the second argument is the
starting character; and the last argument is the number of characters to
return. In the following example, the variable FRED is assigned the
string ``bcdef'', which represents the second through the seventh
characters of the string ``abcdefghi.''
FRED = SUBSTR ("abcdefghi", 2, 5)
The UCASE() function returns an uppercase version of the string
passed as its parameter. The string passed is not changed. In the
next example, BOB is assigned ``BCDEF'' while FRED remains ``bcdef''.
FRED = "BCDEF"
BOB = UCASE (FRED)
The DELAY() function holds up the execution of the next line in the
program for a specified number of milliseconds. While the delay time
can range from 1 to 65,355 ms, in practice numbers less than 100 are
not useful. Using the DELAY() function is preferrable to simple looping
as a way of killing time, because during a DELAY() function WINCMD.EXE
is idle and does not take any processor time away from other applications.
The MSGBOX() function lets a WINCMD program display a standard Windows
Message Box. The function takes three parameters: the text of the message
box; the title of the message box; and a configuration parameter that tells
Windows which buttons and icon to display in the box. The usable
configuration parameters are shown in Figure 2 (below). The various
values listed can be combined by using the ORB operator. The MSGBOX()
function also returns a value that depends on which button you press.
Figure 2 also shows what these returned values mean.
The following example displays a very disturbing message box.
REPLY = MsgBox ("Your disk is trashed", "Disk Error", 2 ORB 0x30 ORB 0x1000)
This message box displays ``Your disk is trashed'' in a message box
titled ``Disk Error,'' together with an Exclamation icon. The box will
have three buttons, Abort, Retry, and Ignore, and will be system-modal.
The value in the variable REPLY depends on which button the user presses.
The ASKBOX() function displays a dialog box with a message and an
entry field. This function allows WINCMD programs to ask the user for
input. The two parameters to the function are the question to ask the
user and the default answer for the entry field. ASKBOX will display
a dialog box with OK and Cancel buttons. If the user presses OK, the
function returns the text in the entry field. If the user presses the
Cancel button, the function returns a null string.
The GETAPPACTIVE() function returns the text of the active window
on the Windows desktop. (This is the window on the desktop that has the
active colored title bar.) The text returned is the text from the title
bar of this window. For example, if Notepad has just been started and
has the input focus, the text returned by GETAPPACTIVE() will be
``Notepad - (Untitled).'' The GETAPPACTIVE() function has no input
paramters.
The APPACTIVATE() function activates the window whose title bar
text matches that supplied as the single parameter to the function.
For example, to set the input focus to the Program Manager, the function
would look like this:
APPACTIVATE("Program Manager")
The function returns the text of the previously active window if the
function was successful, otherwise it returns 0.
In using APPACTIVATE you must bear in mind that many programs add
things to their window titles. Notepad, for example, adds the current
filename; Program Manager adds the name of a program group that's
maximized, and so on. Unfortunately, APPACTIVATE can't recognize these
expanded titles.
The SENDKEYS() function provides a way for WINCMD programs to control
Windows applications by sending keystrokes to the application that has
the current input focus. SENDKEYS takes only one string argument, but
that string can simulate every key on the keyboard, including the Ctrl,
Alt, and Shift keys.
The format of the SENDKEYS() input string is similar to the strings
used by the SENDKEYS functions in WordBASIC and Visual BASIC. Unlike
WordBASIC and Visual BASIC, however, in a WINCMD program you set the
active application before sending the keys, not after. Most keys can
be sent to an application simply by including the letter in the input
string. For example, to send the three keys a, b, and c to the Program
Manager, just use the following two lines in your WINCMD program:
APPACTIVATE("Program Manager")
SENDKEYS ("abc")
To send a shifted key, simply precede the letter with ^, %, or +
character to simulate the Ctrl, Alt, or Shift key, respectively. The
shifting prefixes can be combined, so you can create combinations such
as Ctrl-Shift-Alt-W.
If you want to hold the shifting key down for a number of keys,
enclose the keys in parentheses. For example, to send the f and x keys
while holding down the Alt key, use the command
SENDKEYS ("%(fx)")
Special keys, such as Enter, Escape, and Tab, can be sent using an
alias for the key, enclosed in brackets . A list of the recognized key
aliases is shown in Figure 3 (below). For example, to send Enter and Tab
keys to an application, use the command
SENDKEYS(entertab)
To send the such keys as +, ^, and %, enclose the key in brackets
thus:
SENDKEYS("+")
Note that I have enclosed most of the SENDKEY strings in quotes.
This is because many of the characters in a SENDKEY string may be
characters that WINCMD would otherwise interpet for its own use.
The plus key and the parenthesis keys are examples. To avoid having
WINCMD do something you do not want, simply enclose the string in
quotes. Since there is no harm in using the quotes, I recommend you
use them consistently.
One additional caution is that SENDKEYS() works by placing simulated
keystrokes in Windows' system event queue. Since this queue can become
filled if you send too many characters at once, it's a good idea to break
up the keys that you send into blocks of fewer than five keys. Since
WINCMD.EXE yields to other applications between each line of a WINCMD
program, sending keys on consecutive lines will not present a problem.
The GETAPPEXE() function returns the name of the program that
created the window with the matching title text. GETAPPEXE() is handy
for determining whether a particular program is running. For example,
GETAPPEXE("Program Manager")
will return PROGMAN.EXE. Note again, however, that the match to the
window title text must be exact.
The final WINCMD function, TICKS() returns the number of milliseconds
since Windows was started. TICKS() takes no arguments.
WINCMD EXAMPLES
The power of WINCMD is best demonstrated by example. SEARCH.WCM,
the first of the two sample programs I've included with this utility,
uses the File Manager to search a disk for matching files. The WINCMD
program is listed in Figure 4 (below). The second program, 2CLIP.WCM,
uses Notepad to copy a file into the Windows Clipboard. Both programs
use features of the standard Accessories bundled with Windows to help
perform the function of the WINCMD program. The programs also
demonstrate the power of the SENDKEYS function in controlling other
programs.
WINCMD.EXE allows you to write command files with which you can
control your favorite Windows applications. However, WINCMD.EXE is
not the last that you will hear about the WINCMD language. In the
next installment of this column, I will present a DLL that hooks into
WINCMD.EXE to provide dozens of helpful functions for your WINCMD
programs, so be sure to stay tuned!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOUGLAS BOLING IS A CONTRIBUTING EDITOR TO PC MAGAZINE.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
=============================================================================
WINCMD Statements and Functions
STATEMENT DESCRIPTION
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
IF{expression} Branching statement
[THEN]
{statement}
[ELSE]
{statement}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DO Block statement
{statement}
{statement}
.
.
.
{statement}END
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHILE {condition} Loop statement
{statement}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXIT [return code] Terminates a WINCMD program
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
RETURN [return code] Terminates a subroutine
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
LEAVE Exits from a loop
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRINT {expression} Displays a line of text to the user
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
SAY {expression} Displays a line of text to the user
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
REM {text} Comment, remainder of text on the line ignored
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// {text} Comment, remainder of text on the line ignored
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
' {text} Comment, remainder of text on the line ignored
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
FUNCTION DESCRIPTION
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
LENGTH(string) Returns the length of a string.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
UCASE(string) Returns a copy of the string in upper case
characters.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUBSTR(string,start,length) Returns a part of a string.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ARG(number) Returns an argument to program or a subroutine.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DELAY(number) Halts program execution for a number of
milliseconds.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
APPACTIVATE(win title text) Activates the window with the matching title
text.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
GETAPPACTIVE (no parameters) Returns the title text of the currently active
window.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
GETAPPEXE(win title text) Returns the EXE file name for a window.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
GETNEXTAPP(win title text) Returns the window text of the next window on
the screen
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
SENDKEYS(send key string) Sends a series of keys to the active application
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MSGBOX(message,title,flags) Displays a message box
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASKBOX(text, default answer) Displays a dialog box so that the user can enter
a value.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TICKS(no parameters) Returns the number of miliseconds since Windows
was started.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LibVer (WinCmd Library Name) Returns the version number of a WinCmd library.
0 if Lib not found
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GetEnvVar (Env Variable Name) Returns the value of an environment variable.
The name is case sensitive
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Figure 1: These statements and functions are supported in the WINCMD
language.
==============================================================================
WINCMD BSGBOX FUNCTIONS
VALUE PRODUCES
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0x0000 OK Button
0x0001 OK and Cancel Buttons
0x0002 Abort, retry and Ignore Buttons
0x0003 Yes, No, Cancel Buttons
0x0004 Yes and No Buttons
0x0005 Retry and Cancel Buttons
0x0010 Hand Icon
0x0020 Question mark Icon
0x0030 Exclamation Icon
0x0040 Asterisk Icon
0x0000 Sets default button to button 1
0x0100 Sets default button to button 2
0x0200 Sets default button to button 3
0x1000 Creates System modal message box
0x2000 Creates Application modal message box
RETURN VALUE MEANING
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 OK button pressed
2 Cancel button pressed
3 Abort button pressed
4 Retry button pressed
5 Ignore button pressed
6 Yes button pressed
7 No button pressed
Figure 2: These are the values that can be passed to the MsgBox function
and the meaning of the values returned.
=============================================================================
WinCmd Key Aliases
KEY ALIAS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BACKSPACE {bksp}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BREAK {break}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CAPSLOCK {capslock}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLEAR {clear}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DEL {delete}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOWN ARROW {down}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
END {end}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ENTER {enter}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ESC {esc}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
HELP {help}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME {home}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INS {insert}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
LEFT ARROW {left}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NUM LOCK {numlock}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAGE DOWN {pgdn}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAGE UP {pgup}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRINT SCREEN {prtsc}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
RIGHT ARROW {right}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TAB {tab}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
UP ARROW {up}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
F1 {F1}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
F2 {F2}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
F3 {F3}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
F4 {F4}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
F5 {F5}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
F6 {F6}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
F7 {F7}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
F8 {F8}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
F9 {F9}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
F10 {F10}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
F11 {F11}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
F12 {F12}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To shift a key precede the key with one of the following three characters.
SHIFT +(plus sign)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALT %(percent sign)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CTRL ^(caret)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Figure 3: The aliases above are used by the SENDKEYS() function to send
"special key" keystrokes to applications.
==============================================================================
//---------------------------------------------------------
// WinCmd program that uses file manager to
// search a disk for a set of files.
//---------------------------------------------------------
//
// Ask user for file spec. Default to all files
//
ans = AskBox ("Enter the file name to look for", "*.*")
//
// If user pressed the Cancel button, quit
//
if ans+a == a
exit
//
// If the file manager isn't running, start it
//
if (AppActivate ("File Manager") = 0)
winfile
//
// Send keys to File Manager to search disk.
//
sendkeys ("%-n") //Minimize directory tree window
sendkeys ("%fh") //Open file search dialog
sendkeys (ans) //Enter file spec
sendkeys ("{tab}") //Tab to directory window
sendkeys ("c:\") //Enter hard drive root
sendkeys ("{enter}") //Start search
sendkeys ("%-x") //Maximize search results window
exit
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Figure 4: SEARCH.WCM is a WinCmd program that uses the File Mangaer to
search for files on a disk.
=============================================================================
//-----------------------------------------------------
// 2CLIP.WCM--WinCmd program that copies a text file into
// the Windows Clipboard.
//-----------------------------------------------------
//
// Ask user for file name. Default to blank
//
ans = AskBox ("Enter the name of the file to copy into the clipboard"," ")
//
// If user pressed the Cancel button, quit
//
if ans+a == a
exit
//
// Start NotePad
//
notepad
//
// Send keys to notepad to read in the file
//
sendkeys ("%fo") //Display the file open dialog box
sendkeys (ans) //Enter file spec
sendkeys ("{enter}") //Open the file.
//
// See if notepad read the file. If it didn't, the warning box
// for the "Open" dialog will be active, and GetAppActive() will
// return "Open". In that case, close notepad and tell the user
//
winact = Getappactive()
if (winact = "Open") do
sendkeys ("{enter}") //Close the warning box
sendkeys ("{esc}") //Close the file open box
ok = fail
end
else do
sendkeys ("%ea") //Select all the text
sendkeys ("%ec") //Copy the data into the clipboard
ok = pass
end
sendkeys ("%fx") //Close notepad
if (ok = fail)
msgbox ("Notepad could not access the file you requested. Nothing was copied into the clipboard", "Error!", 0)
exit
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Figure 5: 2CLIP.WCM uses the NOTEPAD to copy a file onto the Windows
Clipboard.
==========================================================================
Revision History:
1.0 Inital Release
1.1 Fixed AppendString bug
Fixed Lib load directory find
Fixed Cmp Op assignment bug
Fixed Launch bug
Removed trailing space from ResolveLine code
Allowed \ and : in variable names
Added WINCMDVER predefined var
Added Library About menus
Added Help screen
1.2 Fixed end of file problem causing GPFs
Added hooks to allow statements in libraries
Added hooks for library provided error messages
Added hooks for ON type statements
1.3 Fixed SendKey F10 problem.
Fixed problem with signed compare functions
Cleaned up termination code
Fixed library statement hooks
Fixed Stop statement asych problem
Fixed incomplete reset problem
Added LaunchSpecial statement
Added GetDropCnt and GetDropFile functions
Else not on next line problem?
1.4 Fixed yield problem
=========================================================================
