The 640 MEG Shareware Studio 2/The 640 Meg Shareware Studio CD-ROM Volume II (Data Express)(1993).ISO/utility/hdos15.zip/README.DOC

Text File | 1992-09-24 | 24KB | 537 lines

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                    The 'HandyDOS' Utilities - (C) 1992
                            All Rights Reserved.
  ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
       Abri Technologies, Inc., HCR62 Box 100K, Cacapon, WV 25422 USA
  ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
                             ┌───────┐
                        ┌────┴──┐    │               (Tm)
                      ──┤       │o   ├───────────────────
                        │  ┌────┴──┐ │  Association of
                        │  │       ├─┘  Shareware
                        └──┤   o   │    Professionals
                      ─────┤   ╥   ├────────────────────-
                           └───╨───┘    MEMBER


1.0  SHAREWARE INFORMATION:

     This software was written under the shareware concept. Try it free for
     30 days. If you find it useful please register. Registration is only
     $25 for all the utilities. Registrations make it possible for authors
     to continue giving you and your children the benefits of the shareware
     concept. "Don't starve the goose that lays the golden egg".

     When you register you will receive all updates, additions and latest
     corrections and software support for a minimum of three months. We
     strive to continually improve the current utilities and to add handy
     new ones, so it will be worth your while to register. Suggestions for
     "HandyDOS" additions are welcome.

     Please pass this software on to your friends and associates.

     ** Please read the shareware agreement near end of this file and the
     Registration/Ordering form in file REGISTER which also contains
     information on other software available from ATI.

2.0  INTRODUCTION: (Version 1.5)
     HandyDOS resulted from a need for several handy utilities which are
     absent in DOS. One purpose was to improve users' time efficiency and
     disk use without nonessential frills frequenting multipurpose menu
     programs - often requiring several steps for a simple task.

     Version 1.5 adds three new handy utilities to aid in professional
     batch programming and makes minor improvements in the others. The
     author has found no comparable collection of utilities of this quality
     for the $25 registration.

3.0  COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS:
     The software uses little memory and should run on any DOS 2.1 and up.

4.0  FILES INCLUDED:

     INSTALL.BAT  README.DOC (this file)  REGISTER

     0.EXE     MV.EXE    VMODE.EXE   INPUT.EXE   DELTREE.EXE   WINDOW.EXE
     D.EXE     BAK.EXE   ATTRB.EXE   ECH.EXE     PRINTAT.EXE   TIMETONE.EXE

5.0  INSTALLATION:
     All programs will work standalone on floppy or hard drive - except
     D.EXE which is designed mainly for hard drive use.  You can use the
     INSTALL program to install the software in the C:\HANDYDOS directory
     of your hard drive. Use your editor or word processor to place the
     HandyDOS software directory the DOS path statement in the AUTOEXEC.BAT
     file. The line should look something like

     PATH C:\DOS;C:\HANDYDOS;

6.0  DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAMS:
     NOTE: All programs will give USAGE summary information with the
     /? switch, as is common for DOS 5.0.

     Section 6.1 describes disk and file utilities. The D.EXE in-DOS-menu
     and directory utility is described in section 6.2. Video utility
     VMODE.EXE is under section 6.3, while the batch utilities are
     described in section 6.4.

6.1 Disk and File Utilities.

ATTRB.EXE
     This program is meant to replace the awkward dos ATTRIB utility.
     It is an easy-to-use WYSIWYG full-screen utility for changing file
     attributes - to/from ReadOnly, Hidden, System and Archive modes (RHSA).

     USAGE:   ATTRB [FileSpec]

     FileSpec can be general like *.* or a specific filename. If not given
     the default FileSpec is *.*. To change FileSpec on screen press the
      key when  appears beside "Files spec:" and then type in new file
     spec.

     The R, H, S or A attributes for a highlighted file are changed simply
     by pressing one of the RHSA keys. Pressing the Alt key and one of the
     RHSA at same time changes attributes for all files specified - except
     directories, which can only be changed individually.

BAK.EXE and 0.EXE
     These programs can delete all .BAK extension and zero length files
     in a directory and all subdirectories. They are about as fast as the DOS5
     "DIR *.BAK /S" is in finding the files.

     BAK USAGE:       bak [directory] [/S]

     0 USAGE:         0 [directory] [/S]

     If /S is used, all subdirectories are searched.

     [directory] can be omitted for current directory.

MV.EXE
     This versatile utility can rename or move any file or directory to
     anywhere else on the disc.
     USAGE:        MV OldPath NewPath [/O]

     OldPath can have wild card '*' chars for file transfer only.

     Switch /O will overwrite existing NewPath files/directories.

     NOTES: (I) A directory cannot be moved into its subdirectory. (II)
     MV does not transfer directories from one drive to another - for that
     use XCOPY /S and DELTREE (included here).

     CAUTION: Be careful when using *.* on a root directory with system
     files. For example "MV \*.* Newpath" will also move the hidden system
     files IO.SYS and MSDOS.SYS to Newpath and you may not be able to boot
     from that disk.

DELTREE.EXE
     This program deletes any directory with its subdirectories and all
     files.

     USAGE:     DELTREE directory

     Any valid directory can be specified. If the current directory is
     specified it will be deleted and the next upper directory will become
     the current directory.

     NOTE: Before deleting directories on floppies, it will save time if the
     DOS verify is OFF, since each deletion has to be read verified if
     verify is ON. On hard drives the delay is less noticeable.

     Some uses of Deltree:
   * handy for cleaning up the drive of stale software or moving
     it to another drive in conjunction with the XCOPY /S command.
   * an alternative to formatting a floppy to erase all the files/directories.
   * deleting old backup files on floppies.
   * defragmenting a hard drive without reformatting. After backing up all
     your disk files use deltree (example: deltree c:\) to delete all files
     and then RESTORE the files back on the drive.

6.2 D.EXE - Program Menu Substitute and Directory Utility.
     You will find this utility a real time saver. With a simple number
     reference (0-99) you can find your way around DOS drives/directories
     and execute programs without complicated menu software.

     USAGE:            ACTION:

      D +# [program]   Sets jump point # to current drive and directory with
                         optional [program] execution.
      D # [program]    Jumps to directory # and optionally executes [program]
      D -#             Deletes jump point # from list
      D                Lists jump points

             # is any number 0 to 99

     EXAMPLES:

     d +9               adds the current directory as #9 on the jump list.

     D +12 GWBASIC MENU   (adds current directory as #12 to jump list with
                                   GWBASIC to execute MENU.BAS program.)

     D 12               (will jump to directory associated with #12 on list
                                and execute GWBASIC MENU combination)

     d 9                (will jump to directory associated with #9 on list)

     D -12              (will remove directory/program reference from list)

     Some Uses of D:
   * It can be used by different users to "logon" their directories and/or
     start programs.
   * Frequently, PC users will add the command "CD directory" to the
     AUTOEXEC.BAT file to go to a particular directory at boot up. This can
     be now changed to "D #", the # representing a directory (and optional
     program execution) on the jump list. Subsequent changes can be simply
     done using D +# [program] without editing the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
   * The program execution feature can be a substitute for DOS menu
     programs. When the optional program is specified for execution, the D
     program releases all DOS memory to that program (except about 3k for
     batch programs).

     Notes:
        The first time D is executed it establishes an ASCII jump list
        file "D.DDD" in the same directory as D.EXE".

        Some packed programs (Example: QBASIC) may not execute when called
        directly by D.EXE. If you find this to be true you can get around
        this by prefixing the program name with the command.com pathname
        and the /C switch. Example: "D +23 C:\COMMAND /C QBASIC" instead of
        "D +23 QBASIC".

6.3 VMODE.EXE - Video Display Setting and Testing Utility.

     This versatile program can set or find the current video mode and
     graphics capabilities of the video card and change the cursor type -
     all in one package.

     The program is handy for laptop users to get the large █ block cursor
     and find the best video text mode for greatest contrast. For example,
     The Leading Edge DLT/386SX default is 3, but the best contrast is with
     video mode number 7. Thus an AUTOEXEC.BAT command "VMODE -7" will set
     the block cursor and best contrast at bootup.

     USAGE:              COMMENTS:

     VMODE              to display current video mode
     VMODE [-]#         to set video mode # [and get █ cursor]
     VMODE /A           to display all video mode #'s

     Notes: The █ is available only for text modes. Some software will
              change to default "_" DOS cursor when exiting.
            VMODE returns DOS errorlevel 1 with an error message and 0
              otherwise.

6.4 Batch Utilities

    These utilities will give you a relief from programming in C or other
    similar languages to achieve many tasks with simple batch files.

  INPUT.EXE

     Even DOS5 still does not facilitate direct batch menu selection.
     INPUT.EXE fixes this problem. It is much more powerful than similar
     utilities on the market, having the capability to select function keys
     and turn off the cursor in desired situations.

     USAGE:     INPUT [/CF] string1 string2 string3 .....

     The program gets keyboard input and returns to DOS the number (#) of
     the character string matching the input (i.e. returns 1 if string1 is
     same as the keyboard input, 2 if string2, etc.). A zero is returned if
     no match is found. The number returned is called the errorlevel - but
     is really not an error here. Upper/lower case character differences
     are ignored.

     If switch F is used, only one character is accepted from the keyboard
     which is then compared to only the first character of each string.
     INPUT /F is a good substitute for the dos PAUSE command since it
     doesn't interrupt with 'Press any key to continue ...' or add an extra
     <CR><LF>.

     If switch C is used INPUT "hides" the cursor until after the character
     or string is entered. This is handy for display screens where you
     don't want the cursor to show.

     /F or /C or /CF or /FC are all acceptable but not "/F /C" or "/C /F"
     in which case the second one will be regarded as one of the strings.

     Input also recognizes function keys with the F switch. This is very
     useful for making professional batch menu programs. The function key
     is indicated by preceding it with the \ slash and its keyboard
     symbol - example:

     INPUT /F A C \F4 D X

     Not all variations of function keys are allowed. Acceptable forms are

     \F1 \F2 \F3 \F4 \F5 \F6 \F7 \F8 \F9 \F10
     \Esc \Home \End \PgUp \PgDn \Ins \Del
     \Left \Right \Dn \Up  (for arrow keys)

  ECH.EXE

     USAGE:         ECH string

     This command is similar to the DOS echo but does not add a <CR><LF>
     pair - i.e. it does not move the cursor to next line. This is
     useful in batch menu programs when you want the cursor to stay beside
     the "question".

     If the string has spaces ECH will reduce all spaces to a single
     space. If you wish an exact string echo use quotation marks around
     the whole string. Example:

     ECH "Do you wish to make a selection?      (y/n) "

  PRINTAT.EXE

     If you want more professional results in your batch files than with
     "echo" or "ech" now you can use the PRINTAT utility. It can position
     the cursor at any position of the screen and optionally print a
     message there using different colour or monochrome attributes
     (different background/foreground colour text, blinking or inverse
     video text, etc.).

     USAGE:     PRINTAT [/Cbfmm] row col [message]


     Row (0 to 24) and col (0 to 79) are the row and columns where the
     cursor will be positioned, [message] is the optional text, and / Cbfmm
     is optional attribute setting for the text.

     To view the available text attributes, use the "PRINTAT /C" command.

     The attribute switch has two forms. The /Cfb will set the fb attribute
     regardless of the video mode, whereas the /Cfbmm form will select
     the fb text attribute for colour video mode and mm text mode for
     monochrome video modes depending on the video card and mode.

     Examples:

     "PRINTAT /Cca70 15 43 Enter Selection..."

     will print the message "Enter selection..." starting at row 15 and
     column 43 in reverse video for monochrome monitor mode and with red
     background and blinking white characters for colour monitor mode.

     "PRINTAT /C70 15 43 Enter Selection..."

     will have similar position results but will use text attribute 70
     whatever the video display happens to be - ok for personal use, but
     not always portable.

     "PRINTAT 15 43" simply positions the cursor at 15 43 screen position.

  TIMETONE

     On occasions in batch programs it is desirable to have a time delay for
     the operator to view a screen message. Also, sometimes it is convenient
     to alert them of a program event with a beep.

     TIMETONE incorporates both time delay and warning tones in a single
     package. We have gone a step further and incorporated the ability to
     play musical notes, with adjustable time delays between notes and
     duration of notes - why not have some fun too! The default time delay
     and note duration is .25 sec.

     USAGE:     TIMETONE [-DELAY].. [TONE(S)].. [duration].. [\] [/]

     where a negative number denotes the time delay, any other number the
     tone duration, the \ indicates lowering by one octave and / one octave
     higher, and the tones (notes) are denoted by letters C D E F G A B.
     A "#" after a tone letter denotes a sharp and "-" denotes a flat.

     Examples:

     "TIMETONE -4.5"
     will generate a time delay of 4.5 seconds before handing control to
     next batch program step (it will just sit there for 4.5 sec).

     "TIMETONE C"       will sound a .25 sec tone (middle C).

     "TIMETONE -.5 .5 C D E F G / -.1 .2 C D E- F# G"
     will set the time delay between tones and the tone duration to .5
     seconds and play notes C D E F G. It will then raise by one octave,
     set the delay and duration to .1 sec and .2 sec and play notes C D
     Eflat Fsharp G.

     As shown above all the parts should be separated by spaces except the
     notes which can be lumped together. The last example is equivalent to
     "TIMETONE -.5 .5 CDEFG / -.1 .2 CDE-F#G".

  WINDOW.EXE

     This utility will give your batch programs a professional look. It can
     draw any window size with or w/o borders at any position on the screen.
     It is excellent for batch menuing and creating pull-down menus in
     batch programs. Some text mode "animation" is also possible.

     USAGE 1:     WINDOW char attrib top bot left right

     Example: WINDOW * -1 5 20 10 69

     This example will draw a window on the screen with the "*" at the
     borders, using current screen attribute for "attrib", with window
     extending from screen line 5 down to 20 and from column 10 on the left
     to 69 on the right. (Screen lines number from 0 to 24 and columns from
     0 to 79.)

     Any character can be used for "char", even a space (use " ").
     If you cannot type some characters like ║, just use its decimal
     code (186 in this case) and precede it with a backslash - i.e.
     WINDOW \186 -1 5 20 10 69. Check the ASCII "code-page tables" in
     your DOS manual for character listings. Or you can experiment
     with different \number values (max 255).

     The "attrib" determines the attribute (colour, blinking, etc.) of the
     window. You can view the attributes with the "PRINTAT /C" command. To
     to use the current attributes of the screen use -1. When attrib is in
     double form "bfmm", the automatic selection of attributes applies here
     just as in PRINTAT. For example "WINDOW * 1f70 5 20 10 69" will select
     reverse video for monochrome video modes and a blue screen with
     white characters for colour video text modes - very useful if your
     batch files may be used on different computers.

     USAGE 2:   WINDOW /SFileName top bot left right

     Example: WINDOW /SC:\TEMP\WINDOW1.IMG 5 20 10 69

     This will save the window you generated previously to the file
     C:\TEMP\XXXYYY.BAK for later use.

     USAGE 3:   WINDOW /RFileName

     Example: WINDOW /RWINDOW1.IMG

     This will restore the window image saved in the file WINDOW1.IMG.

     Hints:

     It may be a good idea to use .BAK extensions for temporary window save
     files. That way, if they pile up on your disc, you can easily clean
     them up with BAK.EXE utility.

     You can generate desired menu screens of your choice with a good
     editor (or word processor in ascii mode) and save the images with the
     WINDOW utility. A batch file "SAVE.BAT" to save such a text file for
     later screen display use, would be

     ---------------------
     @echo off
     TYPE %1
     WINDOW /S%2 0 24 0 79
     INPUT /F
     ---------------------

     If you edited your desired screen display in file DISPL.TXT you
     can save it into (for example) WINDOW10.IMG with the command

     SAVE DISPL.TXT WINDOW10.IMG

6.4.1 General Sample Batch file

     A sample batch file program using several of these utilities is listed
     below. Note the sequence of the errorlevel tests - see DOS manual for
     further info.

     ----------------------------------------
     @echo off
     rem    save original screen
     window /SC:\TEMP\XXXYYY.BAK 0 24 0 79
     :programs
     cls
     rem    display message window
     window \186 -1 0 24 0 79
     window \186 -1 5 19 10 69
     printat 8  30 A Word Processing
     printat 10 30 B Invoicing
     printat 12 30 C Communication
     printat 14 30 D Exit to DOS
     printat /c8f 21 28 Press choice letter...
     input /cf a b c d
     if errorlevel 4 goto end
     if errorlevel 3 goto C
     if errorlevel 2 goto B
     if errorlevel 1 goto A
     goto programs
     :A
     C:
     cd \WS
     WS
     goto programs
     :B
     C:
     cd \BUS
     INVCX5
     goto programs
     :C
     C:
     cd \USR\COM
     TELIX
     goto programs
     :end
     rem     restore original screen
     window /GC:\TEMP\XXXYYY.BAK
     del c:\XXXYYY.BAK
     rem     place cursor at bottom
     printat 24 0
     ----------------------------------------

7.0  Custom Programming Info.

     If you or your company have specific custom programming needs including
     hardware/software interaction, please drop a note to the author

     Attn: Paul Lee
     Abri Technologies, Inc.
     HC 62, Box 100K
     Great Cacapon, WV 25422

     or leave a message at CompuServe 72345,1623. DISCLAIMER and SHAREWARE - AGREEMENT:
     Users of HandyDOS must accept this disclaimer of warranty: HandyDOS is
     supplied as is.  The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or
     implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of
     merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no
     liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result
     from the use of HandyDOS."

     HandyDOS is a "shareware software" and is provided at no charge to the
     user for evaluation.  Feel free to share it with your friends, but
     please do not give it away altered or as part of another system.  The
     essence of "user-supported" software is to provide personal computer
     users with quality software without high prices, and yet to provide
     incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products.  If you
     find this program useful and find that you are using HandyDOS and
     continue to use HandyDOS after a reasonable trial period, you must
     make a registration payment of $25 to Abri Technologies.  The $25
     registration fee will license one copy for use on any one computer at
     any one time.  You must treat this software just like a book.  An
     example is that this software may be used by any number of people and
     may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as
     there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it's
     being used at another. Just as a book is not read by two different
     persons at the same time.

     Commercial users of HandyDOS must register and pay for their copies of
     HandyDOS within 30 days of first use or their license is withdrawn.
     Site-License arrangements may be made by contacting Abri Technologies.

     You are encouraged to pass a copy of HandyDOS along to your friends
     for evaluation.  Please encourage them to register their copy if they
     find that they can use it.  All registered users will receive a copy
     of the latest version of HandyDOS and software support for a minimum
     of three months after registration.

     For registration and software ordering view the 'REGISTER' file.

    "This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware
    Professionals (ASP).  ASP wants to make sure that the shareware
    principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a
    shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member
    directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you
    resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide
    technical support for members' products.  Please write to the ASP
    Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send a CompuServe
    message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536."