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BLACKBOX.HLP
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OS/2 Help File
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1994-10-15
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16KB
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433 lines
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. General ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
The DOS BlackBox is designed to simplfy assigning DOS settings to your DOS
programs. It especially deals with the "special settings" found on the second
page of the DOS settings notebook with the tab of SESSION.
Here there are more than 50 settings with names like:
COM_RECEIVE_BUFFER_FLUSH
and
EMS_HIGH_OS_MAP_REGION
With BlackBox you can fiddle with these individual settings - but the intent is
to help you optimize your DOS and Windows programs without having to go to that page.
BlackBox needs you to assign a Program Category and the Execution Method. The
DOS BlackBox is designed to simplify assigning DOS settings to your DOS
programs. It especially deals with the "special settings" found on the second
page of the DOS settings notebook with the tab of SESSION.
Here there are more than 50 settings with names like:
COM_RECEIVE_BUFFER_FLUSH
and
EMS_HIGH_OS_MAP_REGION
With BlackBox you can fiddle with these individual settings - but the intent is
to help you optimize your DOS and Windows programs without having to go to that page.
BlackBox needs you to assign a Program Category and the Execution Mode. And
then press Apply & End. BlackBox will then create a program Object placing it
onto your OS/2 Desktop - and assign it the optimal DOS settings. The intent is
to be Clear & Simple.
First BlackBox needs the name of your DOS program. This is a name with an
extension of either:
.EXE, .BAT or .COM
e.g. BLACKJACK.EXE or CARDS.BAT or POKER.COM
BlackBox lets you choose from three simple entry methods:
1) Enter the fully qualified drive:\path\progname.exe name into the Entry Field.
2) Press Retrieve DOS Program File button for an OS/2 dialog box.
3) Drag and drop a DOS program file icon to the drop area.
After entering a valid name - (BlackBox does check to see if it exists and if
it is a DOS executable)
PRESS the Next step... button.
ode. And then press Apply & End. BlackBox will then create a program Object
placing it onto your OS/2 Desktop - and assign it the optimal DOS settings.
The intent is to be Clear & Simple.
First BlackBox needs the name of your DOS program. This is a name with an
extension of either:
.EXE, .BAT or .COM
e.g. BLACKJACK.EXE or CARDS.BAT or POKER.COM
BlackBox lets you choose from three simple entry methods:
1) Enter the fully qualified drive:\path\progname.exe name into the Entry Field.
2) Press Retrieve DOS Program File button for an OS/2 dialog box.
3) Drag and drop a DOS program file icon to the drop area.
After entering a valid name - (BlackBox does check to see if it exists and if
it is a DOS executable)
PRESS the Next step... button.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.1. Program Name Entry Field ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
First BlackBox needs the name of your DOS program. This is a name with an
extension of either:
.EXE, .BAT or .COM
e.g. BLACKJACK.EXE or CARDS.BAT or POKER.COM
Enter the fully qualified drive:\path\progname.exe name into the Entry Field.
e.g. D:\GAMES\CARDS\BLACKJACK.EXE
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.2. Drop Area ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Drag and drop a DOS program file icon to the drop area.
OS/2 provides a facility to drag and drop objects represented by icons. Using
the DRIVES folder find the program icon that represents your DOS program and
select and drag it with the mouse pointer. Holding down the right mouse button
drag it to the BlackBox drop area and release the mouse button. BlackBox will
verify that it has a file extension of .exe, .bat or .com and proceed to the
next screen where you can assign it a category and execution mode.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3. Retrieve DOS Program File ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
A standard way to open a file in OS/2 is with a dialog box that helps you
locate the file name found in a directory. Press this Retrieve DOS Program
File button to open a dialog box. Then choose a drive and directory to locate
your filename. BlackBox will verify that it has a file extension of .exe, .bat
or .com and proceed to the next screen where you can assign it a category and
execution mode.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.4. ? Starting ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
? Starting? Starting
A simple help panel to guide the first time user.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.5. Next step... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Press the Next Step button after identifying the program name in the Entry
Field. It will pass control to the next screen where you will assign Program
Categories and Execution Mode.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.6. Getting Started ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Follow the steps outlined on this panel to get started.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.7. Assign Group Settings ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Assign Group Settings
This is the main control panel screen for the BlackBox program.
Here you should:
o Assign Program Categories to your DOS program.
o Assign an Execution Mode
o Apply and End - This creates the program object onto your desktop.
Optionally you can also:
o Search the migration Database for setting for your program.
o Display and/or Modify Individual DOS Settings
o Exit without creating a new program object.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.8. Program Categories ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Program Categories
BlackBox has identified those DOS settings that should be changed for "groups"
of program categories. For instance a program that displays Graphical images
on the screen like a drawing or painting program would have different settings
than a text based program. BlackBox asks you to check those categories that
best describe your program.
Best results are achieved when the boxes are checked from top to bottom, for
example a game that also uses graphics and is a Windows based program - check
the categories in the following order:
o Graphical
o Windows
o Game
Some of the settings values are shared by each category - selecting them from
top to bottom usually yields the optimal results.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.8.1. Text Program ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Text Program
This category is best described as the "good old DOS application" like Lotus
123 Release 2 or Word Perfect 5.1. Those applications that only produce
characters on the screen. This category will be deselected if you also choose
Graphical and vice versa.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.8.2. Graphical ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Graphical category means that graphical information is displayed on the screen
(perhaps in addition to characters). Pictures, bitmaps, clipart, and icons are
examples of graphical information.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.8.3. Windows ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Windows category simply means that the program was written to run in the
Microsoft Windows environment. Examples are EXCEL and WORD for Windows.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.8.4. Communications ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
The communications category is for those programs that use a modem to
communicate with other computers. HyperAccess/5 for Windows would be in this
category as well as the Windows category.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.8.5. Game ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Games are often the most difficult DOS programs to get to run under OS/2.
That's because the game manufacturer has often written the program to interface
with the hardware directly for fast action. BlackBox assigns those settings
most common for this type of program.
If you have checked this box and your DOS game won't run (or won't run well)
then call us to see if there are some special settings for this program.
Likewise, if you have discovered a special set of settings for a particular
game call us and we'll share it with other users.
WARNING - Some games execute in 386 PROTECTED MODE. This is usually stated on
the box. What this means is that the program takes over the computer system.
OS/2 WILL NOT ALLOW A PROGRAM TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE SYSTEM. If you have one
of these programs you will have to run it with stand-alone DOS. You can
implement DUAL-BOOT or the Boot Manager to have the option to boot DOS or OS/2.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.8.6. MultiMedia ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
DOS Multimedia programs are also a challenge to get running under OS/2. First
be sure that your sound card and video adapter card have t