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╔══════════════════════════╗
║ fastmenu PLUS (tm) ║
╚══════════════════════════╝
Version 6.0
Copyright (C) 1990 - 1991 by:
Jack W Hildenbrand
9500 St.Rt.61
Berlin Hts., Ohio 44814
Phone 1 (419) 588-3608
Support BBS: 1 (419) 588-3615
3/12/2400 N81F 24 Hrs/Day
Distributed By:
jwh:SoftWare
P.O. Box 410
Berlin Hts., Ohio 44814
-
Table of contents. Page
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
Why fastmenu PLUS?........................................... 2
Quick Installation And Startup............................... 3
Adding A Application To The Applications List................ 3
Applications Main Menu....................................... 4
Calculator Module............................................ 5
Phone Book Module............................................ 6
Calendar Notepad Module...................................... 8
Disk Utilities Main Menu..................................... 9
Disk Utilities File List Menu................................ 12
Edit Applications Module..................................... 16
Setup/Configuration Module................................... 18
Module Password Protection................................... 19
Editing the Logo File........................................ 20
Money Book Module............................................ 21
Installation Instructions.................................... 25
Problems..................................................... 26
BatchDOS Module.............................................. 27
Re-assigning the icons or prompts to access
your favorite applications................................... 30
Setting up timed application/batch execution................. 21
Entering multiple commands at the Run File field............. 30
Displaying PCX picture files during screen blanking.......... 31
Batch execution before and after screen blanking............. 32
Replacing the opening screen with a PCX picture file......... 31
NOTE !!!!! IN ORDER FOR THIS PROGRAM TO OPERATE PROPERLY
YOU MUST HAVE A PATH STATEMENT TO THE ROOT
DIRECTORY AND ALSO TO THE DIRECTORY WHERE YOUR
DOS FILES ARE LOCATED. THIS PATH STATEMENT
SHOULD BE IN YOUR AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE.
AN EXAMPLE OF THIS PATH STATEMENT WOULD BE:
PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;
ALSO, IF YOU WANT FASTMENU TO AUTOMATICALLY
STARTUP WHEN YOU TURN YOUR COMPUTER ON,
YOU WILL WANT TO ADD A LINE TO THE END OF
YOUR AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE. THIS LINE WOULD BE:
FAST
This manual and the software it describes is copyrighted material.
Page 1
-
Over the years that computers have been with us, they have
gone from very large and complicated units to small desktop and
very powerful pieces of equipment. Along with that growth,
computers have become an almost must in every business, school
and now are becoming a standard in most homes. Also the coming of
the ever popular Hard Drive has made computing even more popular
among every computer owner from business to home use. Storage
capacities of Hard Drives have risen from around 1 megabyte to
now well over 100 megabytes of storage, enabling the user to
store and use numerous applications without the need of using
floppies for every day applications and data storage.
One problem that has arisen from these very large Hard Drive
units is that it has become very hard for the user to remember
the names of all the directories and the names of all the
executable files that start the different applications that they
have stored on their Hard Drives. Also, in an office or home
situation where there are numerous people that use the same
computer to do different tasks and with different ideas about how
to setup access to their application, a Hard Drive can become
very messy and hard to find your way around in. Also in most
business situations the need for fast access to applications is
becoming more and more important.
As most of us know, since the Hard Drive was born, there has
been numerous menu programs written to help deal with this
problem, from small applications menuing systems to very large
and memory consuming applications. However, there seems to be a
very large gap, the small ones being to small and not adequate
for most needs and the larger windowing systems needing more
computer than most office and home users have at hand.
For this reason fastmenu PLUS was created.
What fastmenu PLUS can do for you:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
o.. Fast one or two key strokes to your applications.
o.. Fast access ten digit calculator.
o.. Fast access phone book/dialer or address database.
o.. Fast access calendar notepad or appointment book.
o.. Fast access file handling utilities.
o.. Check book/Savings Account database.
o.. DOS command line editor (batch/system file editor).
o.. Operates in color (CGA/VGA) or monochrome mode.
o.. Consumes under no memory during applications execution.
o.. Will operate in under 256Kb of memory for all modules.
o.. Allows up to 40 pages with up to 20 applications per page.
o.. Allows quick editing of the applications list and page titles.
o.. Can be operated with a Mouse.
o.. Built in Auto Mouse Detection.
o.. PassWord protection on any or all outside applications
execution, Module operations and DOS exits.
What you need to run fastmenu PLUS:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
o.. IBM PC/XT/AT or Compatible.
o.. 256Kb of memory.
o.. A Hard Drive and at least one floppy.
o.. Monochrome or Color monitor.
o.. DOS version 2.2 or later.
Page 2
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QUICK INSTALLATION AND STARTUP.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Make a bachup copy of your original disks.
2>- Insert disk #1 into any drive.
3>- Move to the drive that you are installing from and type: INSTALL
4>- Just follow on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
5>- Make sure you have a PATH to your ROOT and your DOS directory.
6>- After the installation, simply type 'FAST' to start fastmenu PLUS.
7>- Add 'FAST' as the last line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file if you want
fastmenu PLUS to automatically start when you turn your computer on.
ADDING A APPLICATION.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- After you have gotten fastmenu PLUS up and running, at the main menu
screen you will see a window with twenty blank lines listed. if you
are running in color the numbers on these lines will be blue. These
lines represent the page titles. Before adding any applications you
must first create a page and give it a title. To create page #1,
simply press the #1 key and then press enter. At this point you will
be given a place to enter the page title and then press the enter key.
2>- After entering the page title for page #1 and then pressing the enter
key you will automatically be taken to page #1. At this time you will
also see two new prompts, (T)itle and (E)dit. At this point we want to
add a application to this page so choose option (E)dit.
3>- After selecting the (E)dit option, you will be taken to the
applications editor module. To Add an application, from the opening
menu, simply select the Add/Edit option by moving the highlight bar to
that option and then press enter.
4>- After selecting the Add/Edit option, an Applications List window will
be displayed. We will Add an application to line #1, so move the
highlight bar to line #1 and then press the enter key.
5>- After selecting the line that you want to add this application to you
will be presented with data entry screen to fill out. At the first
field, enter the title or name of the application that you want to
execute with this line.
6>- At the Drive field, press the F2 key and select the drive that this
application resides on. At the directory field, press the F2 key and
select the directory that this application resides in. At Run File
field, press F2 and select the file that runs this application.
7>- If you want this application password protected, enter a 'Y' at the
Password field. If you are running DOS Version 3.3 or later, answer
the Fast Run field with a 'Y'. If you want fastmenu PLUS to pause
before execution and ask you for command line parameters, answer the
Command Line Parms field with a 'Y'.
8>- After completing all fields, press the F1 key to save this entry and
then press the Escape key to return to the main menu. The application
can now be executed by pressing the #1 key and then the enter key.
Page 3
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fastmenu PLUS Applications Main Menu.
====================================:>
You may access all options in any one of three ways.
1)- Press the letter inside the parenthesis of the prompt you
want to access.
2)- Point the mouse at the icon or picture that represents the
option you want and then press the left mouse button.
3)- To run applications outside of this program, they must first
be added to the applications list through the edit
applications option. You may run these applications either
by entering the number of that application and then pressing
enter or by pointing the mouse at the application title and
then press the left mouse button.
When you startup fastmenu PLUS for the first time you will see a list
of numbers from 1 to 20. These are the page title line numbers. By
using the pgup and pgdn keys you can move between titles 1 to 20 and
21 to 40. All of these lines will be blank. To get started just
select any page that you want to start with by entering that page
number or by clicking your mouse on the page number or blank line.
When you select a blank line, you will be prompted to enter the title
for this page. After entering the page title you will be taken to that
page. At this time you will see two new prompts (T)itle (E)dit .
To add a new application to this page, simply choose the (E)dit
option. Then from the application list editor module choose the Edit
option and fill out all the path information for the application that
you are adding. Press the F1 key to save then press the escape to key
turned to the main menu. You may now run this new application by
entering its' number or by clicking your mouse on it.
The (T)itles prompt will return you to the page title list.
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(C)alc................. Quick access ten digit calculator.
(P)hone Book........... Quick access phone/address book/dialer.
(N)otepad...............Quick access notepad and appointment
calendar.
(D)isk Utility......... Quick access file/directory utility.
(M)oney................ Quick Check Book/Savings Account Module.
(B)atchDOS............. DOS Command line/batch/system file editor.
(S)etup................ This option should be used the very first
time you use fastmenu PLUS.
Here you will set the program parameters that will make
fastmenu PLUS work properly. This option may be accessed by
pressing the letter (S) or by pointing the mouse at the prompt
icon and then pressing the left mouse button.
(I)nfo................. System status report.
(ESC).................. This option will Exit you to DOS.
D(o)s Shell............ This option will Shell you to DOS.
Page 4
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fastmenu PLUS Calc Module.
=========================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Insert................. This option will insert a number at the
cursor location.
Delete................. This option will delete the number at the
cursor location.
Home................... This option will move the cursor to the
far left position.
End.................... This option will move the cursor to the
far right position.
ESC.................... This option will return you back to the
applications menu.
BackSp................. This option will delete the number at the
cursor location and move the cursor left
one position.
Left Arrow............. This option will move the cursor left one
position.
Right Arrow............ This option will move the cursor right one
position.
1 to 0................. This option will enter the chosen number
to the calculator.
/...................... This option is used to divide numbers.
*...................... This option is used to multiply numbers.
-...................... This option is used to subtract numbers.
+...................... This option is used to add numbers.
Enter.................. This option is used to end a calculation.
F7..................... This option toggles printer on/off.
Page 5
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fastmenu PLUS Phone Book Module.
===============================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Q)uit................. Use this option to exit the phone book module.
(I)nsert............... Use this option to insert a new record to
the phone book.
The new record will be inserted just above the highlight
bar. If the highlight bar is at bottom of file, the new
record will be added to the end of the file. If you want,
you can insert a new record ahead of an existing record
by moving the highlight bar to that record, then choosing
the insert option. After choosing the insert option you will
be given a new slot to enter the information for this
record. You can move freely between fields with the Up/Down
arrow keys.
(C)hange............... Use this option to change or correct an
existing record.
To change a record, just move the highlight bar to the
record that you want to change, then choose the (C)hange
option. After selecting this option, you may move freely between
fields with the Up/Down arrow keys.
(D)elete............... Use this option to remove an existing
record from the phone book.
To remove a record, just move the highlight bar to the
record that you want to remove, then choose the (D)elete
option. You will be prompted to verify this deletion.
(S)ort................. Use this option to sort all records on
any field.
After choosing the (S)ort option you will be asked to choose
the field that you want to sort on. Do this by moving the
highlight bar to that field and then press enter.
(L)ocate............... Use this option when you want to locate a
record or group of records from the phone
book database.
(P)rint................ Use this option to send any sorted or searched
list to your printer in a list or labels.
F1..Dial Number........ To dial a listed number, simply highlight the
entry that you want to dial and then press the
F1 key. At the same time pick up the phone
receiver and after the number has been dialed
just press any key to close the modem port.
F2.. Modem Parms....... Use this option to setup optional modem parms.
Consult your Modem Manual on available command
options.
Page 6
-
After selecting the (P)rint option.
After choosing this option you will be presented with a
screen that has all fields listed in vertical order. To
choose a field to enter search information in, just move the
cursor to that field and then press enter. This field will
then open up and await for you to enter your instructions.
One or all fields can be used for a search. After entering
all your search information you will want to move the cursor
to the Continue: (Show search list) option and then press
enter, after which you will be taken to a new screen with
all records listed that match your search instructions.
Up-Dn.................. These options represent the up and down
arrow keys.
Using them will move the highlight bar up or down one record
at a time. Continuing to hold one of these keys down will
cause the highlight bar to scan until you release the key.
PgUp-PgDn.............. These options represent the Page Up and
Page Down keys.
Using them will move the highlight bar up or down a full
page at a time. Continuing to hold one of these keys down
will cause the highlight bar to rapid scan until you release
the key.
NOTE ! The phone book module uses a file oriented database and
is limited in the number of records only by your disk
size. Also the sort routine uses a disk sort that does
not require calling all records to memory for sorting,
eliminating the need for large amounts of memory for
sorting a large database.
Page 7
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fastmenu PLUS Calendar Notepad Module.
=====================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ESC=Quit............... This option will return you to the
fastmenu PLUS applications Menu.
(D)ate................. This option will bring all notes or
records to screen that were posted for
the date shown on the calendar.
(A)ll.................. This option will bring all notes or
records to screen regardless of the date
they were posted for.
This option also gives you the chance to delete records, and
should be used occasionally to remove old records or notes
from the system.
(N)ew.................. This option will allow you to post a note
or record for the date showing on the
calendar.
After choosing this option, you will be given a place to
enter your note. All of the standard editing keys are valid
here.
NOTE ! Blank lines will be ignored. This option was added
to save disk space.
(L)ist................. Using this option will list to screen all
dates that have notes posted on them.
PgUp/PgDn.............. Using the page up or page down keys will
change the month on the calendar.
Up/Dn.................. Using the up or down arrow keys will
change the week on the calendar.
Left/Right............. Using the left and right arrow keys will
change the day on the calendar.
Page 8
-
fastmenu PLUS Disk Utilities Module.
===================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Format Diskettes....... Use this option to format new diskettes
or floppies.
NOTE ! For reasons of compatibility between computers, this
program uses the standard DOS format program found in
your DOS directory. For proper operation, your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file must contain the path to your DOS
files.
Formatting diskettes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- After choosing the Format Diskettes option, you will be
asked to choose whether you want to format a Non Systems
Disk or DOS Systems Disk (Boot Disk). If you choose to
format a systems disk, after the format process the
necessary DOS files will be copied to it, creating a
bootable DOS diskette.
2>- After choosing the format type you will be asked to
choose the drive that you want to format from.
NOTE ! This drive menu has three options: A: Drive, B:
Drive or Other. If you choose the Other option
you will need to manually enter the drive
designating letter. Entering a 'C' here will be
rejected.
3>- After choosing the drive you will be presented with
three more options.
The first option in this list will be used if you
want to format a disk to the same capacity that
is standard for your disk drive unit.
The second option in this list will be used if you
have a high density 1.2 Meg 5 1/4in. drive and you
want to format a low density 360Kb disk.
The third option in this list will be used if you
have a high density 1.5 Meg 3 1/2in. drive and you
want to format a low density 720Kb disk.
4>- After choosing the format density you will be asked to
insert a disk in the chosen drive and press any key to
begin formatting.
File Maintenance....... Use this option if you want to perform
any of the following: Copy Files, Delete
Files, Rename Files, View Files, Edit
Files or Run a program not listed in the
applications menu list.
Page 9
-
1>- After choosing this option, you will be asked to choose
the drive that you want to perform file maintenance on.
2>- After choosing the drive, fastmenu PLUS will check the
drive to see if it has any directories. If no directories
are found, you will be presented with the file list that
was found on this drive. If no directories or files are
found on this disk, you will be returned to the drive
selection menu.
3>- If directories are found, you will need to choose the
directory you want to work with. Choosing a directory is
done by moving the highlight bar to the directory you
want with the Up and Down arrow keys and then pressing
enter.
4>- After choosing the directory, you will be taken to the
file list menu. Help with the file list options can be
found later in this manual.
DOS DiskCopy........... Use this option to make a duplicate copy
of a diskette.
Only diskettes of the same capacity and size should be used
here. You will first be asked to choose the Source Drive.
The Source drive will be the drive that you will be placing
the original copy in. Then you will be asked to choose the
Target Drive. The Target Drive will be the drive that you
will be transferring your original to.
NOTE ! The Source Drive and the Target Drive can be the same
Drive. If so, you will be asked to switch diskettes
back and forth until the copying process is complete.
Create Directory... This option is needed if you want to create a
directory on a disk that does not presently
have any directories. After choosing this
option, you will be asked to choose the drive
that you want to work with. After choosing
the drive, you will be given a place to enter
the name for the new directory.
Creating a new Directory from the Directory Tree screen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE ! If you need to create a directory on a disk that does
not have any existing directories or files, you will
need to do this from the DOS/Disk Utility Menu. If a
disk has any existing directories you can create or
delete them from the Directory Tree Screen.
After choosing the File Maintenance option, you will be
asked to choose the drive that you want to work with. After
choosing the drive you will be taken to the Directory Tree
screen. From the directory tree screen, you will move the
highlight bar to the location that you want this new
directory placed. You can do this by moving the highlight
bar up or down the directory tree and then pressing enter.
Page 10
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NOTE ! To place a new directory from the root directory,
you will want to highlight the ROOT option on the
directory tree and then press enter. If you want to
place a new directory off from an existing directory,
just highlight that directory and then press enter.
After choosing the directory location, you will be asked to
enter the name of the new directory and then press enter,
after which you will be asked to verify this entry.
Deleting Existing Directories from the Directory Tree Screen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option can be reached from the Directory Tree Screen,
after choosing the File Maintenance option from the DOS/
Disk Utility Menu and the drive from the Drive Menu.
NOTE ! A directory cannot be deleted without first deleting
any files it may contain.
Choose the directory that you want to delete by moving the
highlight bar to that directory and then press enter. You
will be asked to verify your choice.
Locate a File(s)...... Using this option will take you to a module
that you may use to search for a file or
a group of files on any drive or directory
on your system. You may also search for text.
Update Directory File. Using this option will manually update the
directory tree mirror files.
NOTE ! fastmenu PLUS automatically updates the
directory tree files if any directory
maintenance is done with the utility module.
If you select not to have fastmenu PLUS update
the directory tree files at startup from the
Setup module and you perform any directory
maintenance outside of the fastmenu PLUS
environment, you may need to use this option
to update the directory tree files manually.
Page 11
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fastmenu PLUS Disk Utilities File List Module.
=============================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(ESC).................. Using this option will return you to the
previous menu.
(Up/Dn)................ Use these options to move the highlight
bar up and down the file list.
One key press will move the highlight bar up or down one
file. Holding the key down will fast advance the highlight
bar till you release the key or the end of the file list is
reached.
(-/+/space)............ Use these options to mark files for later
maintenance. An asterisk will appear to
the left of the file name of every file
that is marked.
Marking and Un-Marking Files.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Move the highlight bar to the file you want to mark and
then press the space bar. If this file has already been
marked it will be un-marked. After using the space bar
to mark or un-mark a file, the highlight bar will
advance to the next file in the file list.
2>- Pressing the plus key will mark all files in the file
list.
3>- Pressing the minus key will un-mark all marked files in
the file list.
(Q)uery................ Use this option to query the file list.
DOS wild cards are valid here.
NOTE ! The main purpose for including this option was to
give you a convenient way of copying or deleting
certain groups of files. For example if you wanted to
copy all the files with the .DAT extension, you would
first query the file list by entering [ *.DAT ] at
the File Spec. prompt. Then mark all these files by
pressing the plus key, then choose the (C)opy option
to copy all marked files.
Querying the file list with (Q)uery option.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- After choosing this option, you will be given a place to
enter your query instructions and then press enter. After
which the file list will again be presented with only
the files that meet your query instructions listed.
Page 12
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Query Examples:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[ *.* ]........ This query would list all files.
[ *.EXE ]...... This query would list files with the EXE
extension.
[ FAST??.* ]... This query would list files that include the
letters FAST as the first four letters in
the file name.
(U)pdate............... Use this option to update or re-list the
files from the present drive or
directory.
NOTE ! You may change a disk while you are at the file list
screen. After changing to the new disk, just use the
(U)pdate option to list the files from the newly
inserted disk.
(S)tart................ Use this option to run applications
outside fastmenu PLUS.
This option was added to give you a way to test run an
application or to run applications or games from floppy
drives. Any program, game or application that can be run
from the DOS prompt can also be run through this option.
NOTE ! This option will only accept files with the extension
of .EXE, .COM or .BAT. Before you can use this option
option, you must first mark the file that you want to
run. After marking this file, just choose the (S)tart
option to run it.
(V)iew................. Use this option to read or view text
files.
Before you can use this option, you must first mark the file
that you want to read or view. After marking this file just
choose option (V)iew to view it.
(E)dit................. Use this option to edit or create any
ASCII text file.
To edit an existing file you must first mark it from the file
list menu. After marking it, just choose option (E)dit from
the file list menu.
To create a new file, just choose option (E)dit without
marking any files. After entering the editor you will be
asked to enter the name for the new file. You may use any
DOS legal name except names that have extensions of .EXE
or .COM.
Page 13
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NOTE ! This editor has the ability to edit files with lines
up to 255 characters long. When you first enter the
editor, the right margin will be set to 255. If you
are editing a 80 column document you may want to
reset the right margin before you begin.
Also (for mouse users only) notice the diamonds at
the upper left and lower right corners of the edit
window. If you put the mouse cursor on these
diamonds and press the left mouse button, while
holding the button down, you can resize the editing
window. This option along with the F4 = Image
feature was added to give you a means of creating
a picture of the entire editing screen. By pressing
the F4 key or clicking on the F4 = Image prompt, a
picture of the present screen will be stored beneath
the work screen. It can then be viewed by pulling
the editing screen down. Also a reduced screen can
be moved about by holding the mouse button down
while the mouse cursor is located on the ruler bar.
Further help can be reached from the editing window by
choosing option F1 = Help.
(C)opy................. Use this option to copy a file or group
of files from this directory or disk to
another directory or disk.
Before using this option, you must first mark the file or
group of files you want to copy, using the (Up/Dn) and
(-/+/space) keys.
1>- After marking the files you want to copy just choose
option (C)opy to start the copy process.
2>- You will be asked to choose the Target Drive (the drive
that you want to copy these files to). After choosing
the Target Drive, fastmenu PLUS will check that drive for
any existing directories.
3>- If any directories are found, you will be asked to
choose which directory you want to copy these files to.
4>- If no directories exist or after choosing a directory,
you will be asked to verify the copying of these files.
NOTE ! If you have marked more files than will fit on the
Target Drive, you will be prompted so and given the
option of either continuing or returning to the file
list menu. If you choose to continue, fastmenu PLUS
will copy as many files to the Target Drive as will
fit and then prompt you to insert a new disk. After
which will continue to copy the remainder of the files
marked to this disk. fastmenu PLUS will continue this
process until all marked files have been copied. This
copy routine was added to give you a means of backing
up entire directories or groups of files to floppies
without the worry of running out of disk space on the
Target Drive.
Page 14
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(D)elete............... Use this option to delete or remove a
file or groups of files.
Before using this option, you must first mark the file or
group of files you want to delete, using the (Up/Dn) and
(-/+/space) keys.
1>- After marking the file or group of files you want to
delete, just choose option (D)elete to start the
deletion process.
2>- At this time you will be asked if you want to verify
each file before deletion or continue without verifying
each file.
(R)ename............... Use this option to rename a file.
Before using this option, you must first mark the file that
you want to rename.
NOTE ! If more than one file has been marked, fastmenu PLUS
will call up only the first file in the list that has
been marked.
After marking the file that you want to rename, just
choose the (R)ename option, you will be shown the old
file name and given a place to enter the new file
name.
(F)ix.................. Use this option to encrypt or decrypt a
file using a password that you provide.
fastmenu PLUS Edit Applications Module.
======================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ESC=Exit............... Using this option will return you back to
the applications menu.
Add/Edit............... This option allows you to add or change
programs or applications to the
applications list.
Any application that can run in DOS can be started or
executed with fastmenu PLUS, either through the applications
menu or through the (S)tart option from the file list menu.
Adding a new application.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Although an application can be run from a floppy through
fastmenu PLUS, it is recommended that you install it to your
hard drive.
1>- Choose option Add/Edit from the edit applications menu
prompt list then from the applications list select the
application or the line that you want to Add/edit. You will
be presented with seven questions to answer.
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2>- The first question will be asking you for the Title or
Name of the program that you want to run. This Title or
Name can be anything you want it to be, and is only used
as a reference.
3>- The second question will be asking you for the name or
letter of the drive that your new program will be
running from. Examples would be: A, B or C.
4>- The third question will be asking you for the name of
the directory that this new program is in. Fifty nine
characters are allowed here. Always separate multiple
directory entries with a backslash (\).
NOTE ! If you are running this new program from a floppy
and/or the program is in the root directory, just
press <enter> at this prompt.
5>- The fourth question will be asking you for the name of
the file that you normally have to type in to run the
program (The executable file). You may also enter any
command line switches here.
NOTE ! This file will normally have an extension name of
either .EXE or .COM and sometimes may be .BAT. Also
you do not need to include the file extension when
entering this name.
ALSO Check on Page for information on how to enter and
run multiple commands at this field.
6>- The fifth question will be asking if you want to
password protect this program. If you do not want
password protection, just answer this question with
a [ N ]. If you want password protection for this
program, answer this question with a [ Y ].
7>- The sixth question will be asking if you want to use the
Fast Load method of launching this application. This
method is recommended, but may cause some problems with
early versions of DOS.
8>- The seventh question will be asking if you want fastmenu PLUS
to pause before execution of this application so you may
enter a DOS command line parameter.
8>- After answering all seven questions just press the F1 key to
save them to disk.
9>- At this time, if you chose to password protect this
program, you will be given a place to enter the password
that you want to use to access this program. You are
allowed up to six characters or numbers in this
password. After entering this password, you will be
prompted to verify it's validity.
Page 17
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CAUTION !!! Be sure to remember this password, it cannot
be removed from a program listing unless you
know the password. This password is totally
scrambled before it is written to file and
would be very hard to unscramble.
Delete application..... This option is used to delete or remove
an existing application.
Deleting a listing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Choose option Delete application from the menu list.
2>- After choosing this option, all applications listed on this
page will be listed to screen. Select the one that you want
to delete with the highlight bar and then press enter. You
will be asked to verify your delete
List................... This option will list to screen, all
applications or programs that are on this
page. You may also sort the applications
from this option.
NOTE ! If you have password protected any of these programs,
their directories and run file names will not be
listed to screen.
Title.................. This option will allow you to change the
Title or Name that is presently being
used for this page.
Delete this page....... Choose this option if you want to delete this
page from the menu.
Password protection.... Use this option to setup password protection
for the entire page of applications listed to
this page.
fastmenu PLUS Setup/Configuration Module.
========================================:>
This module offers several options for customizing fastmenu PLUS
along with setting the default drive and directory. The default
drive ( C: ) and directory ( FAST ) may be changed from this
screen if need be. However I strongly recommend that you leave
them at their defaults. If you change them for some reason, you
will also need to edit the FAST.BAT found in your DOS or root
directory. This file contains the necessary drive and path
statements to start fastmenu PLUS.
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ESC=Quit............. This option will return you to the fastmenu
applications menu.
A >----- fastmenu PLUS exit to DOS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may exit fastmenu
PLUS and go to DOS.
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B >--- Update Directory Tree Files
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you answer this option with a 'N', fastmenu PLUS will startup
much faster skipping the opening screen and updating the directory
tree files. You will need to update the directory tree files manually
if any directory maintenance is done outside the fastmenu environment.
C >----------- Drive Configuration
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to change the default drive and directory of
fastmenu. You will be asked to answer two questions. The first
of these questions will be asking you to enter the drive that
fastmenu is running on. The default is drive C. The next
question will be asking you to enter the directory that the
fastmenu files are located in. The default is FAST.
D >----------- Toggle Color On/Off
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to change from color menus and prompts to black &
white, or vice versa. This option will present you with one
question that can be answered by either a C for color or B for
black & white. NOTE ! If you are running the VGA module, it will
remain in color regardless of how you set this option.
E >- Toggle Screen Blanking On/Off
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to select whether you want screen blanking or not.
This option will present you with one question that can be
answered by either a Y if you want screen blanking or a N if you
do not.
NOTE ! This screen blanking only has an effect on fastmenu
screens and will not interrupt your applications in any way.
During screen blanking a logo will dance around on your screen,
letting you know that fastmenu is ready to go at any time by
pressing any key on your keyboard.
If you have chosen to use the screen blanking option, you will
then be asked to enter the amount of time (seconds) that
fastmenu PLUS waits before going into screen blanking. The time
can be any number of seconds between 1 and 999.
F >------ Edit Password Protection
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup password protection to each individual
fastmenu module. Such as the Phone Book and Calendar Notepad
Modules. NOTE ! The password protection setup through this
option only has effect on fastmenu modules and will not affect
applications execution from the main menu. Applications run
through fastmenu have their own password protection that may be
setup through the Edit Applications module. Choosing this option
will take you to a screen where you may select the modules that
you want to have password protected. Select the modules that you
want password protected by moving the highlight bar to that option
and using the space bar to toggle your answer to either Yes or No.
Only modules that you marked 'Yes' will be password protected.
After marking all modules that you want password protected, just
press the enter key to advance to the next screen. This next
screen will have all modules listed again along with a place to
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enter passwords. Also at the top of your screen you will be shown
the password number. You are allowed up to 50 different password
combinations. When you first enter this screen the prompt will be
in the password editor window. At this point you may enter the
first password up to 40 characters long. After entering the
password the prompt will move down to the modules list. The first
option in this list will be asking you if you want to log the use
of this password. If you answer this with a Yes then every time
that this password is used it will be recorded in a file called
MASTER.LOG. The remaining prompts in this box will determine
whether or not this password has access to the corresponding
module or not.
NOTE ! On the previous screen if you chose not to have some of
the modules password protected, they will show up on this
screen in a blanked out mode. Answers placed after these
blanked out modules will be ignored.
After entering all information for this password you may use the
down arrow key to move to the next password. When the highlight
bar is on the last option in the module box pressing the down
arrow key will move you to the next password screen. When the
cursor is in the password window pressing the up arrow will take
you to the previous password screen. After entering all
passwords, pressing the F1 key will save them to disk in the
MASTER.DAT file. You may edit or change these passwords at any
time simply by entering this module making your changes and then
saving them by pressing the F1 key. This password protection not
only lets you determine which modules that you want password
protected but also lets you assign different module access to
different passwords.
G >-------- View Password Log File
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to view the password log file (MASTER.LOG). If
you have chosen to have any of the passwords logged, then they
will be listed in this file.
H >---------- Delete Password File
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to delete or completely remove all module password
protection. You will be prompted to verify this choice. The
MASTER.DAT file will be deleted.
I >------ Delete Password Log File
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to delete or completely remove all logged password
use. You will be prompted to verify this choice. The MASTER.LOG
file will be deleted. NOTE ! If you delete this file, it will be
re-created if a password is used that was marked to be logged.
J >---------------- Edit Logo File
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to edit or change the FASTLOGO.IFO file. This file
contains the information that you will see moving about during
screen blanking. Also the information in this file is listed to
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screen on the main menu of the CGA version and the first line of
this file is listed to screen in the VGA version. After choosing
this option you will be presented with a screen that has this file
listed in a small editing window. You may make any changes you
want to this file and then press the ESC key to exit. You will be
asked if you want to save any changes you have made.
K >------- Set Opening Screen Mode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
fastmenu PLUS will run in either of two different screen modes.
Mode 1 >- In this mode fastmenu PLUS will display the page titles on
the first screen, at startup of fastmenu PLUS.
Mode 2 >- In this mode fastmenu PLUS will display an application
page on the first screen, at startup of fastmenu PLUS.
You may choose the page that is first displayed.
When you sellect option K from this setup menu, you will first be
asked if you want the page titles displayed first. If you answer this
prompt with a 'N', then you will also be asked to enter the page title
number that you want displayed at startup. You may enter any page
number between 1 and 40.
L >--- Timed Application execution
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will open a wibdow with data fields for you to
fill in.
At the first field, enter the time in 12 hr format (civilian time)
that you want the application or batch file executed. NOTE ! From
midnight to 12:59 afternoon is considered AM and from 12:59 afternoon
to 11:59 afternoon is considered PM.
At the Date field enter the date that you want this application or
batch file to be executed. NOTE ! If you want this execution to be
on a daily basis, leave this Date field completely blank. Then answer
Yes/No weekday prompts to tell fastmenu on what days you want this
application/batch file to be run.
At the remaining three fields, enter the Drive, Path, and the name of
the executable file.
After completing all fields, press the F1 key to save them to disk.
Money Book Module.......Main Menu.
=================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(C)reate New File....... Choosing this option will prompt you to
enter a name for a new account. This new
account name can be up to 25 characters
long.
(ESC) = Quit............ Choosing this option will exit MoneyBook
and return you to fastmenu PLUS.
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(1) through (5)......... Note! These options may or may not exist
depending on if an account has been
created. Choosing one of these options
will open the account named following the
option number and take you to an Edit
Menu.
Money Book Module.......Edit Menu.
=================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(1)............... Choosing this option will take you to the
account register screen. At this screen you
can add or change entries to the account.
(2)............... Choosing this option will prompt you to
choose where you want to send this report, to
screen or to printer. From there you will be
taken to the search menu screen. At this
screen you can enter search instructions for
creating reports to screen or printer.
(3)............... Choosing this option will prompt you to
enter the dates that you want to create the
account summary for. If you just press enter at
these date fields, this account summary will be
created for the entire account and will include
all entries.
(4)............... Choosing this option will allow you to
delete this account. NOTE! you will be
prompted to type in [ Yes ] if you really want
to delete this account.
(ESC)............. Choosing this option will return you to the
main menu.
Money Book Module.......Account Register Screen.
===============================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<UP>.............. Using the Up-Arrow key will move the highlight
bar up one row for each key press.
<DOWN>............ Using the Down-Arrow key will move the
highlight bar down one row for each key press.
<PGUP>............ Using the Page-Up key will move the highlight
bar up one page for every key press.
<PGDN>............ Using the Page-Down key will move the
highlight bar down one page for every key
press.
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(C)hange.......... Choosing this option will allow you to change
the entry that is highlighted.
(I)nsert.......... Choosing this option will allow you to insert
an entry above the entry that is highlighted.
NOTE! If the highlight is at bottom of file
then the insert entry option will add a new
entry at the end of the list.
(D)elete.......... Choosing this option will allow you to delete
the entry that is highlighted. You will be
prompted to enter [ Y ] if you really want to
delete this entry.
(B)alance......... Choosing this option will allow you to balance
this account to match your bank statement. All
entries marked with a check mark should reflect
all entries that your bank has received and
should be listed on your bank statement. To
mark entries just place the highlight bar on
that entry and press the Shift-Plus keys on
your key board. At the bottom right of your
screen you will see a Balance, that will be the
total of all entries that have been marked with
the check mark. This Balance should be the
same balance that is on your bank statement.
After completing the balance process you may
press the ESC key to turn to the main menu.
C(a)tegory........ Choosing this option will take you to an editor
that allows you to change the Income and
expense categories. After changing these
categories to match your account just press the
ESC key to exit and then save the changes by
pressing the 'Y' Key. You may create a
different category list for each account.
(ESC)............. Choosing this option will return you to the
main menu.
Money Book Module.......Search Account.
======================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trans.Type........ At this prompt you will be presented with five
options (A to E) that you can use in your
search. If you just press <enter> at this
prompt all Transaction types will be included
in your search. If you choose option (A) from
this menu and press <enter> then just checks
will be included in your search. You may also
enter a check number to search for. If you
enter a check number only that check number
will be included in your search. If you just
press enter at this prompt then all checks will
be included in your search.
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If you choose option (B) from this menu then
only Withdrawals will be included in your
search. If you choose option (C) from this menu
then only Fees Assessed will be included in
your search. If you choose option (D) from this
menu then only Deposits will be included in
your search. If you choose option (E) from this
menu then only Interest earned will be included
in your search.
Trans.Date........ At this prompt you will be asked to enter the
Dates that you want to be included in your
search. Just pressing <enter> at these date
fields will include all entries in the search.
Dates must be entered in the month,day,year
format (mm-dd-yy). If you entered 01-01-89 in the
first field and 01-31-89 in the second field then
all entries made on the first day of January
and all entries made on the last day of January
plus all entries between these two dates will
be included in your search.
Memo.............. If you enter something here then only entries
that match this memo will be included in your
search. If you enter [ Bank ] at this field
then only entries that have the word bank in
the memo field will be included in your search.
Just pressing <enter> at this field will
include all memo entries.
Category.......... At this field you will be given options (A
through U) to include in your search. If you
choose one of these options then only the
associated category will be included in your
search. Just pressing <enter> at this field
will include all categories in your search.
Amount............ At this field you are given a chance to choose
the dollar amounts you want to be included in
your search. If you use the equals sign before
a number then only entries that equal the
number you entered will be included in your
search. If you use the greater than sign
before a number then only entries that are
greater than the number you entered will be
included in your search. If you use the less
than sign before a number then only entries
that are less than the number you entered will
be included in your search. If you use the
greater than sign and the equals sign before a
number then only entries that are greater than
and equals the number you entered will be
included in your search. If you use the less
than sign and the equals sign before a number
then only entries that are less than and equals
the number you entered will be included in your
search. Just pressing <enter> at this field
will include all dollar amounts in your search.
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Money Book Module.......Account Summary.
=======================================:>
After choosing this option you will be asked for a beginning date
for this report. This Date must be entered in the following
format (month,day,year) or (mm-dd-yy). If you just press <enter> at
this Date field then the first entry in this account will be the
beginning entry of this summary.
The next prompt will ask you for a ending date for this report.
This Date must be entered in the following format (month,day,year)
or (mm-dd-yy). If you just press <enter> at this Date field then
the last entry in this account will be the ending entry of this
summary.
You will be taken to a screen that will display all categories and
the dollar amounts associated with each category, along with
Totals for the Deposits, Expenses and Balance.
This summary may take several minutes depending on how many
entries you have in your account register. What your computer is
doing in just several minutes could take you hours to do by hand.
After this report is completed to screen, you may choose to print
it at this time by pressing the 'P' key. If you chose to print
this summary you can stop the printing at any time by pressing the
(ESC) key.
Money Book Module.......Delete This Account.
===========================================:>
Choosing this option from the Edit Menu will allow you to
completely remove the account listed at the top of the Edit menu
screen.
NOTE! By choosing this option you will be asked to verify that
you really do want to remove this account. To remove an account
you must type [ Yes ] <enter>. Type in the Yes exactly as it
appears on-screen.
fastmenu PLUS installation instructions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE ! Before you install fastmenu PLUS I strongly recommend that
you make backup copies of your original disk(s). Consult
your DOS manual on making backup copies or using DISKCOPY
on your machine.
fastmenu PLUS is not a complicated program to setup and does not
require a lot of work to get running. The following three steps is
all that is needed to insure proper operation.
1)-Insert your fastmenu backup/distribution disk (disk #1 if you
are using 5 1/4in. disks) into any drive, move to that
drive and type: [ install ] <enter>.
Follow on-screen instructions to install fastmenu PLUS.
2)-Make sure your AUTOEXEC.BAT file contains a path statement to
the root directory of your hard drive and also to the directory
where your DOS files are located. An example of the path
statement: PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;
Page 25
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3)-If you want fastmenu PLUS to startup automatically, add to the
end of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file the following line: FAST
NOTE ! This line must be the last line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT
file.
This should complete the setup procedure for fastmenu PLUS.
After installation you will have two new files added to the DOS
or ROOT directory of your hard drive C: (FAST.BAT and BRUN45.EXE).
IF you have installed fastmenu PLUS and for some reason you want to
change the installation to a different configuration you may do
this by just running INSTALL again from the installation disk(s)
using the new options you want. The new installation will simply
overwrite the old one.
A final note about password protection:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Password protection was added to this program to provide a means
of protecting valuable data and software from being accidently
erased or destroyed by novice or unauthorized users and in no way
is to be considered a fail safe protection from this occurrence.
There are very few if any password protection routines that can
not be broken by an experienced computer user determined to cause
damage.
If you are having problems:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IF fastmenu PLUS locks up during applications execution.
One of the main problems with menu or DOS shell programs is with
memory resident (TSR) programs. If you are having problems you may
want to check your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to see if any programs are
being installed at startup. If so remove them one at a time to
find out if or which one may be causing the problem. If you find
that one is causing problems you can try installing it at a
different location or using fastmenu PLUS to install it. Some DOS
TSR's such as the GRAPHICS.COM has been known to cause some
problems. Also fastmenu PLUS will become very confused if you do
not have a path statement to your root directory and to the
directory that your DOS files are located.
IF fastmenu PLUS will not format a disk.
Again this problem can be caused by not having the path statement
to your root directory and to the directory where your DOS files
are located. Another reason for this is that some utility program
may have changed the name of your DOS format module. Check your
DOS directory for a file named FORMAT.COM. In order to make sure
that all your formatted disk are compatible with other computers
using DOS we have chosen to use the DOS format module. All other
utilities performed by fastmenu PLUS are taken care of internally.
If fastmenu PLUS will not startup.
Again this problem can be cause by not having the path statement
to your root directory and to the directory where your DOS files
are located.
Page 26
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fastmenu PLUS BatchDOS Module.
=============================:>
BatchDOS provides you with options that allow you to enter DOS
commands. To run DOS commands, simply enter the commands into the
editor and then press the F1 key. Also along with this module
you may create/load/edit/save text files to any drive/directory
on your system.
F1 = Run.... This option will execute or run the commands that
have been entered at the editor window. Multiple
commands may be executed at the same time.
F2 = Load... Use this option to load an existing batch file into
the editor. When choosing this option a list of batch
files found on the current drive/directory will be
listed to screen. You may choose one of these files
by moving the highlight bar to the file you want and
then press the enter key. At this point if you press
the ESC key you will be returned to the editor
without loading a file.
F3 = Save... Use this option to save a file that has been created
or changed. The file will be saved to the current
drive/directory listed in the top prompt box and will
be saved with the .BAT extension.
F4 = Clear.. This option will clear the editor window of any text.
F5 = Print.. Use this option to send the editor text to your printer.
F6 = Path... Use this option to change the current DOS path listed
in the prompt box at top of your screen. This path
may also be changed through the edit window simply by
entering the new path and then press the F1 key.
F7 = Image.. This option will create an image of the current screen
or text that can be seen by re-sizing the edit window.
F8 = Margin. This option provides a way to reset the right margin.
fastmenu PLUS system configuration module.
=========================================:>
(ESC)............... This option will return you to DOS.
(C)reate New File... Use this option to create new files. You are
allowed to create up to nine files. These
files will be listed on this menu from 1 to
9. Notice that you are allowed up to 61
characters to describe each file. When you
choose this option you will be given a place
to enter your description after which you will
be taken to the options menu.
Page 27
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(B)atchDOS.......... This option will take you to the batchDOS
module. From this module you may execute DOS
commands or create/edit/save/load batch
files. This module is better explained later
in this manual.
(1 through 9)....... These options may or may not exist, depending
on whether or not any files have been
created. If a file exist just press the number
associated with this file to access it. From
here you will be taken to the options menu.
The OPTIONS Menu.
================:>
This menu will present you with several options that will be
active only on the file that you have chosen.
(ESC)............... This option will return you to the main menu.
(1)...... This option will take you to the text editor that will
allow you to edit or change the chosen file listed at
the top of the screen. This editor is a full featured
text editor that includes block copy and paste options.
This editor is explained fully later in this manual.
(2)...... This option will install the file that you have chosen
to the root directory of drive C as the AUTOEXEC.BAT
file. You will be asked to verify all actions.
(3)...... This option will install the file that you have chosen
to the root directory of drive C as the CONFIG.SYS
file. You will be asked to verify all actions.
(4)...... This option will allow you to completely remove the file
listed at the top of screen. You will be prompted to
verify this action.
Editor Options and Commands:
===============================:>
Home/End........ Move cursor to start/end of line.
Ctrl-Home/End... Move cursor to top/bottom of window.
PgUp/PgDn....... Display previous/next page.
Ctrl-PgUp/PgDn.. Display first/last page.
Ctrl-Left/Right. Move cursor by whole words.
Ctrl-Y.......... Delete the current line.
Ctrl-N.......... Insert a new line.
Insert.......... Toggle insert mode on/off.
Delete.......... Delete character at cursor location and move
text left one position.
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Backspace....... Delete character at cursor location and move
cursor left one position.
Tab............. Move cursor right four positions.
Shift-Tab....... Move cursor left four positions.
Arrow Keys...... Move cursor one position in direction of arrow.
Enter........... Starts a new line.
If your system is equipped with a mouse, the editor window may be
re-sized as needed or moved about your screen.
To re-size the editor window:
1>- Placing the mouse on the arrow icon at the upper right corner
of the edit window and then clicking the left mouse button
will expand the window to full size.
2>- Placing the mouse on the upper left diamond icon on the edit
window and while holding the left mouse button down, you may
move the top and left side of the window.
3>- Placing the mouse on the lower right diamond icon on the edit
window and while holding the left mouse button down, you may
move the bottom and right side of the window.
4>- The edit window may be moved about on your screen by placing
your mouse on the ruler bar and then while holding the left
mouse button down, the window will follow your mouse movement.
To copy a block. Move cursor to upper left corner of block then
while holding the shift key down move the cursor
right or down to lower right corner of block.
At this point pressing any key except the ESC or
delete key will copy block to clipboard. If you
press the delete key at this point the block will
be deleted and also copied to the clipboard.
Pasting a block. Move the cursor to the new location and then press
the Shift-Insert keys.
NOTE ! Block operations may also be accomplished with
a mouse.
Also Once a block has been copied to the clipboard
you may return to the files menu, reload or create
a new file then from the options menu choose
option (1) to load this new file into the editor
and then past a previously saved block to this
new file. Also saved blocks may be copied between
the batchDOS editor and the system file editor.
Page 29
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Re-assigning the built-in icons or prompts.
==========================================:>
The following list of icons or prompts on the main menu may be
re-assigned to run your favorite applications.
(P)hone (N)otePad (D)isk (B)atchDOS (C)alc (I)nfo (M)oney D(o)s
To re-assign these icons simply press the Ctrl key down while pressing
the hot key for the icon that you want to re-assign or you may also
do this by clicking your right mouse button on the icon. A window will
open up giving you three fields to enter the path instructions for the
application you want this icon to run. The first thing you need to do
is select the (C)hange option and then fill out the path instructions.
After completeing this, simply select the (S)ave option. If you ever
deside to change back to the default simply enter this window and
select the (D)elete option. This will return the icon back to its'
standard operation.
Entering more than one command at the Run File field.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An new option has been added to fastmenu PLUS that allows entering
more than one command at the Run File field when adding applications
to the menu. The following commands are now allowed:
* Any legal DOS command line command.
* Any legal DOS batch file command.
* Any legal and existing executable file name.
* The keyboard character ^ (carat key) Shift+6
* The keyboard character + (plus key)
This option will allow doing away with those small batch files you
sometimes need to execute an application with. In other words, if
you have an application that you want to backup after every time
you run it you could enter the following command:
Drive: C
Directory: CHOICE
Run File: FIRST+^ECHO Insert backup disk into A:^PAUSE^COPY *.DAT A:
The above command list would first move to drive C, change to the
CHOICE directory, run the executable file FIRST, at exit of the
application it would prompt you to insert a backup disk, pause for
you, copy the DAT files to drive A, and then return to fastmenu PLUS.
Notice the carat character between each command. Also notice that
you can mix DOS command line commands and batch file commands.
Also notice the plus character after the 'FIRST' run file name. This
plus character tell fastmenu PLUS to also ask the user for a command
line parameter at execution. NOTE ! before this plus character will
be active you must also switch the Parms: Y/N field to 'Y'.
Any number of commands can be executed, just make sure you separate
each command with the carat character (^).
If you experience a problem of fastmenu dropping out after executing
a batch file, you might try adding the CALL statement just before
the batch file name.
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Example:
Drive: C
Directory: PCTOOLS
Run File: PCTOOLS^CD\BAT^CALL BATCH
The above example would switch to the PCTOOLS directory, execute
the PCTOOLS executable file, switch to the 'BAT' directory, execute
a batch file named BATCH, and then return to fastmenu PLUS.
Example:
Drive: C
Directory: DOS
Run File: CHKDSK+^PAUSE
The above example would first ask you for a command line parameter,
switch to the DOS directory, execute the CHKDSK application with
your command line parameter, pause for you to press enter, and then
return to fastmenu PLUS.
Displaying PCX picture files during screen blanking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
During screen blanking fastmenu PLUS now first looks for a script
file named PCX.DAT. If this file exists, fastmenu will display
the PCX files acording to the way you have them listed in this
script file. You may also include a time parameter with each PCX
file that tells fastmenu how long to display each PCX file. The
format of this file is as follows:
PCX.DAT < FileName of the script file.
4 < The first line is a number representing the
MOUNTANS.PCX 10 \ number of PCX files listed in this file.
HOUSE.PCX 10 \
UNICORN.PCX 5 > < All remaining lines are used to list the
RACECAR.PCX 15 / PCX files along with the time (seconds)
to display the PCX file.
All PCX files and the PCX.DAT file must be located in the same
directory that you have fastmenu PLUS in.
NOTE ! If this PCX.DAT file does not exist, fastmenu PLUS will
still display all PCX files found in the directory.
ALSO If you want, you may also have fastmenu PLUS display any PCX
file you want during start up. Simply rename the PCX file you
want displayed to OPENING.SCR.
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fastmenu PLUS has options to execute batch files (.BAT) just before
going into screen blanking and also just after screen blanking. To
use these options simply place a batch file that you want executed
in the directory that the fastmenu PLUS files are located.
If you want to execute a batch file before screen blanking, name the
batch file: BEFORE.BAT.
If you want to execute a batch file after screen blanking, name the
batch file: AFTER.BAT.
DISCLAIMER
Users must accept this disclaimer of warranty:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This application is supplied as is. The author Jack W Hildenbrand
disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without
limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any
purpose. The author also assumes no liability for damages, direct
or consequential, which may result from the use of this application.
Jack W Hildenbrand Author
jwh: SoftWare
PO Box 410 9500 St.Rt.61
Berlin Heights, Ohio 44814
Phone: 419-588-3608
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