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LANutils Version 2.01 (2/91)
Essential Tools for your LANtastic network.
All programs and documentation are
Copyright 1990,1991 by Jon Marbry. All rights reserved.
--- INTRODUCTION ---
I'll take LANtastic over the networks that come in expensive, big
red boxes any day. It's fast , flexible, easy to install, and
easy on system resources. It can be a bit tricky to set up a
turnkey LANtastic network for novice users, though. Not every user
on an office network needs or even wants to use the tremendous
amount of control that LANtastic gives over every aspect of
operation. Managing the details of print and mail queueing, server
selection, printer selection etc. is a frightening, unfamiliar job
for someone who just wants to run their WordStar or Lotus 123. What
is needed, then is a way to minimize what users need to know
about the operation of the network in order to get their own
computer to cooperate.
The SoftMagic LANutils are tools that I developed a couple of years
ago when I was selling and installing lots of LANtastic Networks for
a living. They made my job just a little easier -- hopefully they
can do the same for you.
-------------------
| IMPORTANT NOTE: |
-------------------
As of this version (2.01, March 1991) SoftMagic is officially out of
business -- I'm doing product development for Artisoft now, and will
no longer charge for LANutils registration. Any registration fees
that I receive after March 1, 1991 will be returned.
You are free to use and distribute these programs without charge, and
I could definitely use your help in replacing all those old (v1.5 or
worse!) versions of the LANutils that are floating around the
electronic community. If you see an old copy on a BBS, please upload
this version or let the sysop know that a new version is available on
Artisoft's BBS at (602) 293-0065 or on Compuserve (GO ARTISOFT).
The programs in this package are the latest, completely functional
versions, without the (only slightly obnoxious) "Shareware" message
that graced previously distributed versions.
-----------------
| SOURCE CODE! |
-----------------
Complete Microsoft C and Assembler source code for the LANutils is now
***TOTALLY FREE***. Look for it in Artisoft's Compuserve forum
(GO ARTISOFT) or on the Arti-Facts BBS.
All LANutils code and support files are included. To build the LANutils
from source, you need
- Microsoft C 4.0 or later
- Microsoft MASM 5.1 or compatible assembler
- MS compatible LINK utility
- EXE2BIN utility
- EXEMOD utility
- NMAKE or compatible MAKE utility
The programs included in the LANutils package are:
LOGIN - allows you to log in to multiple servers
with a single command. Adds system and
user "login script" capability.
LOGOUT - log out of one or more servers with a single
command.
WAITFOR - pause until a given set of servers are online.
FASTNET - processes entire files of "NET" commands at
once, at .
MSET - allows you to set variables in DOS's "master"
environment from login script files and other
programs run from secondary command shells.
REBOOT - causes your computer to reboot as though
Ctrl-Alt-Del had been pressed.
USERLIST - gives you a neatly organized list of who's
logged in to what server.
INTERCOM - INTERCOM is a very compact pop-up station
to station communication program.
SYSTEM - The SYSTEM utility gives your batch files
the ability to make decisions based on the
computer's hardware and software configuration.
FU - FindUser reports the machine names at which
a given user is logged in.
SU - The SendUser utility allows you to send
network messages to users rather than nodes.
DELAY - With DELAY, you can cause your batch files to
pause for a specified period of time.
LUSETUP - LUSETUP allows you to change the screen color
and for MESSAGE and INTERCOM and the activation
key for INTERCOM and Artisoft's LANPUP.
MESSAGE - an improved version of MESSAGE, a pop-up,
receive only message handler is also included.
--- HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS ---
To use the LANutils, you must have a PC, AT, PS/2 or compatible
computer running MS or PC-DOS 3.1 or greater and the LANtastic
Network Operating System (LANOS) version 2.53 or greater.
Special Note for 4DOS users:
If you need to change environment variables from your login
scripts, you must start 4DOS using the /M command line option to
specifiy environment size instead of the normal /E. For example,
SHELL=C:\4DOS.COM /S:B /M:512 /P
The /M option keeps 4DOS from swapping the master environment out
of memory every time it loads a program.
*** DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY ***
THESE PROGRAMS ARE PROVIDED ON AN AS-IS BASIS. SOFTMAGIC, INC. AND
BUSINESS NETWORKS OF AMERICA MAKE NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
AS TO PERFORMANCE, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT WILL SOFTMAGIC, INC. OR BUSINESS NETWORKS OF
AMERICA BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED
TO LOSS OF USE, LOST REVENUE, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT OR
SIMILAR DAMAGES, EVEN IF SOFTMAGIC, INC. OR AN AGENT OF SOFTMAGIC,
INC. HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO
EVENT SHALL SOFTMAGIC, INC.'S LIABILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES EVER EXCEED
THE PRICE PAID FOR THE SOFTWARE, REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF THE
CLAIM.
--- LOGIN ---
The LOGIN utility allows you to log onto multiple servers with a
single command. LOGIN is really handy for setting up boot disks
on floppy-only workstations, since you don't have the overhead of
loading NET over and over for each login.
In addition, LOGIN provides a "login script" both for servers and
for individual users. LOGIN will automatically redirect a
specified drive to the server's network directory and execute a
batch file keyed to the user's name.
The syntax for LOGIN is:
LOGIN <server list> <user id list> <password list> [/OPTIONS]
The server list is a list of file servers to be logged into,
separated by commas. The list is processed sequentially, left to
right. An asterisk (*) in the server list field means all
currently available (but not logged in) servers.
The user id list is a list of user ids, one to a server. Again
the list is scanned from left to right. If more servers are
specified that ids, the id list will be reused in a circular
fashion. This makes it easy for you to log in to multiple
servers under the same user id.
The password list works the same way as the user id list. If a
question mark (?) is entered as the password for a server, LOGIN
will prompt the user for the password at an appropriate point.
The password list will also be recycled if more servers and
userids are specified than passwords. If you've got the same
user ID and password on all the servers on your net, you can log
in everywhere with the command.
LOGIN * USERNAME ?
LOGIN will ask you once for your password, then it will log you
on to all the available servers on the net.
If you omit any of the parameters, LOGIN will prompt you
accordingly. For example, the command
LOGIN
results in the following exchange: (Text in all caps entered by
user)
Server: SERVER1,SERVER2
Userid: MANAGER
Password: PASS (Not really a good idea for a password, of course!)
COMMAND LINE OPTIONS
/NODUPLICATES
LOGIN's default behavior on encountering a duplicate login error
is to log the user out of that server and retry the login without
saying anything to the user.
If the /NODUPLICATES option is specified, attempts to log in to
the same server more than once will be reported as errors.
/NOSCRIPT
The /NOSCRIPT option allows you to log in without invoking either
the system or user login script facilities. This option is only
necessary when the specified servers HAVE login scripts and you
want to bypass them. LOGIN is smart enough not to try to execute
login scripts on servers that don't have them set up.
/SUPPRESS
The /SUPPRESS option prevents LOGIN from displaying ANY warning
or error messages. If an error does occur however, LOGIN will
still terminate with a non-zero return code, so your batch files
can detect any problems.
/HELP
/HELP displays a brief instruction summary and a list of command
line options. If the /HELP option is specified, all other command
line input is ignored and no action (i.e. logging in) is taken.
THE LOGIN SCRIPT FACILITY
A login script is simply a batch file to be executed whenever a
user logs in to a server. LOGIN supports two types of scripts, a
system login script, executed by everyone who logs into the
server, and a user specific login script, with commands to be
executed only when a particular user logs in.
With the login script capability, when a user logs in, you can
set his PROMPT, COMSPEC and other environment variables,
automatically configure a set of network devices for him, print a
welcoming message, display news bulletins, or even log him right
back out.
LOGIN expects all its login script files to be kept in the
server's network directory, LANTASTI.NET (the \. device in the
NET menu). To create a system login script for a server, just
put the commands you want executed in a batch file called
$SYSTEM.BAT in the network directory. Similarly, user login
scripts are just batch files with the same names as their users.
For example user BOB 's login script would be called BOB.BAT.
Login scripts can contain any command that you'd normally use in
a batch file. The node name of the user's machine (the name given
in the REDIR command) is given to both the system and user script
files as the first parameter, %1, so that you can check it and do
different things for different stations (like changing COMSPEC on
floppy based stations to use a faster network disk). A couple of
warnings, however: If you use external (disk based) commands, be
sure that the user's computer has a path to them. It's easiest to
do all your redirections first, set up proper paths, then call
external commands.
To set environment variables from login scripts you must use the
included MSET utility. MSET works the same way as the DOS SET
command, but it modifies the master copy of the environment, no
matter how many levels deep in shells and menus you may be. For
example, to set the path in a login script, use the command
MSET PATH=F:\;F:\UTILITY;F:\LANTASTI
A Brief Technical Note: The login script facility works by
temporarily redirecting drive B: on the user's station to the
server's network directory. The redirection is always cancelled
after the login script is done. I chose B: because most machines
don't need to use the B: floppy (even if they really have one)
during bootup. If you normally redirect the B: drive to a
network drive however, you will have to wait until after LOGIN
has executed to redirect it.
--- LOGOUT ---
LOGOUT allows you to log out of one or more servers with a single
command. Its syntax is
LOGOUT <server list> [/HELP]
The server list is a list of servers separated by commas, spaces
or plus signs. An asterisk '*' is used to specify all currently
active servers, so the command
LOGOUT *
will log you out of all the servers that you are currently logged
into, as will simply entering the LOGOUT command with no arguments.
The only available command line option is the /HELP option. As
with LOGIN, /HELP causes a brief instruction summary and a list
of available options to be displayed. If /HELP is specified,
LOGOUT will take no other action -- it will not log you out of
any servers.
--- WAITFOR ---
OK, this is the situation -- you've set up a small office, with 6
or 7 computers connected by LANtastic. They're turned off each
night after work and turned on in the morning. It's a totally
turnkey system, so the network is started and everyone is logged
in automatically. So far so good.
Now here's the problem. There's no way you can turn 6 or 7 (or
10 or 12) computers on at exactly the same time. Unless you put
a
PAUSE "Press any key when all the machines are ready..."
statement in the AUTOEXEC file, the automatic logins stand a good
chance of failing because of missed timing.
The solution?
WAITFOR <list of servers> [/OPTIONS]
WAITFOR will cause the computer to pause until all the servers in
the given list are on line, or until the escape key is pressed or
optionally until a specified time-out interval is exceeded.
COMMAND LINE OPTIONS
/TIME=[1..999 seconds] (default: no timeout)
The /TIME option lets you set the maximum length of time that
WAITFOR will sit around and wait for all the specified servers to
come on line. If /TIME is not set, WAITFOR will wait forever.
/HELP
/HELP displays a brief instruction summary and a list of command
line options. If the /HELP option is specified, all other command
line input is ignored and no other action is taken.
--- FASTNET ---
Sometimes it seems to take forever for a batch file of "NET USE"
commands to execute, especially on floppy based workstations.
The poor computer not only has to execute the commands, it also
has to reload the 16K NET utility for each command. FASTNET
speeds things up by processing a whole file full of "NET"
commands at once. You can use the batch interpreter to debug
your network setup, then when you're done, just use the name of
your batch file as a parameter to FASTNET and see how much faster
it runs.
FASTNET handles the following NET commands, exactly as described
in your LANtastic documentation:
NET USE D: \\Server_name
NET USE D: \\Server_name\Path\...\Path
NET USE LPTn: \\Server_name\@Device
NET UNUSE D:
NET CLOCK \\Server_name
NET LPT [COMBINE,FLUSH,SEPARATE]
NET LPT TIMEOUT t
NET QUEUE [START,STOP,HALT,PAUSE,SINGLE,RESTART] \\Server_name
If FASTNET doesn't directly support a command (such as NET SHOW
or NET POSTBOX or other batch commands) it will pass it on to the
command processor. In this way, FASTNET can handle all NET
commands and all batch file commands except those involving
branching within the batch file and changes to environment
variables. If an error occurs, FASTNET returns the same error
messages that NET does, and returns with a non zero error code.
FASTNET's syntax is:
FASTNET <file name> [/OPTIONS]
The filename can be any valid DOS file name. If no extension is
given, an extension of .BAT is assumed.
COMMAND LINE OPTIONS
/STOP
Normally, if an error occurs, FASTNET will report it and continue
processing. If you use the /STOP option, however, FASTNET will
immediately terminate with an appropriate return code if any kind
of error occurs.
/SUPPRESS
The /SUPPRESS option prevents FASTNET from displaying ANY warning
or error messages. If an error does occur however, FASTNET will
still terminate with a non-zero return code, so your batch files
can detect any problems.
/HELP
/HELP displays a brief instruction summary and a list of command
line options. If the /HELP option is specified, all other command
line input is ignored and no other action is taken.
--- MESSAGE ---
The MESSAGE utility is an alternative to LANtastic's built in pop
up message receiver. Like the built in message handler, MESSAGE
causes messages sent to your machine with "NET SEND" to pop up
on the bottom lines of your screen. Unlike the built in
handler, messages thus popped up will stay on your screen until
you tell them, via the escape key, to leave. The message display
also includes information on who sent you the message and the time
at which it was sent for your reference. If you're away from your
desk a lot, MESSAGE will probably work better for you than
LANtastic's message handler, since your messages won't vanish
after a certain interval, never to be seen again.
MESSAGE will also pop up even over graphics programs (by popular
demand). Be warned however, that to save memory, it doesn't save
the underlying screen. You get your message, but you must ask your
application to redraw the screen. Also, as is the case with quite
a few resident programs, MESSAGE doesn't always behave well with
Windows 3.0.
To install the MESSAGE utility, enter the command
MESSAGE
The computer will display the installation message
SoftMagic Resident Message Handler Version 1.5 for LANtastic
Copyright 1990 by SoftMagic, Inc. All rights reserved.
LANtastic is a trademark of Artisoft, Inc.
MESSAGE has no parameters or command line options and it's
smart enough not to let you install more than one copy at
a time. Note that if you chose to use MESSAGE, you can disable
Artisoft's pop-up function by entering the command
NET MESSAGE/DISABLE POP
at the DOS prompt or in a batch file.
--- REBOOT ---
REBOOT is a small program that causes your computer to execute
a "hard" reboot -- a restart that clears everything out of memory
and runs your computer's power-on diagnostics.
It can be handy for all sorts of things, from providing a foolproof
way of resetting communications hardware from a batch file to
keeping people out of places where they don't belong. I've even
got the habit of typing REBOOT instead of Ctrl-Alt-Del whenever
I need to reboot my machine.
To use REBOOT, simply enter
REBOOT
at the DOS command line or in a batch file. There are no options
or command line parameters. You wanna reboot, you gotta reboot!
--- MSET ---
The MSET utility allows you to set or change variables in the
"master copy" of the environment -- the one that belongs to the
command processor that was loaded when your computer was first
started. You use MSET exactly the same way you would use the
SET command:
MSET <variablename>=<value>
For example, to set the variable MONITOR to CGA, you would issue
the command
MSET MONITOR=CGA
MSET is provided with the LANutils specifically so that you can
set master environment variables from login scripts run by the
LOGIN command. Just substitute MSET for SET in all your login
scripts and the "right" copy of the environment will be altered.
--- USERLIST ---
I wrote this one after working on a network in a large office -- I
wanted to send someone a message but I didn't know where they were
logged on. So off I went, through the NET menus, checking the
"Display System Activity on Server" screen for all the various
servers that I was logged into. "There must be an easier way", I
thought.
USERLIST makes it easy to find people on the network. It tells
you who's using what machine and who's logged into which servers.
For example, the userlist for our office network as I write looks
like this:
Users on server JON:
JON on machine JEARL
JON on machine JON
CAROLYN on machine CAROLYN
(3 users)
Users on server CAROLYN:
CAROLYN on machine CAROLYN
JON on machine JEARL
JON on machine JON
(3 users)
Users on server JEARL:
JON on machine JEARL
JON on machine JON
(2 users)
As you can see, there are a few of us still here at midnight.
To get a user list, type
USERLIST <server list> [/HELP]
The only available command line option is the /HELP option. As
with the rest of the LANutils, /HELP causes a brief instruction
summary and a list of available options to be displayed. If
/HELP is specified, USERLIST will take no other action.
--- INTERCOM ---
At only 2.9K, INTERCOM is the smallest two way pop-up communicator
I've come across. It allows you to pop up a window from virtually
any application, carry on a conversation with one or several other
users, then return immediately to your application.
To load INTERCOM, type
INTERCOM
at the DOS prompt (or include it in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file). Once
the program is loaded, to pop up the INTERCOM window, press Alt-I .
(If you need to, you can change the activation key with the
supplied LUSETUP program). The INTERCOM window looks like this:
+-From: USERNAME ---------------------------------------------+
| This is the (incoming) message line. |
+-To:---------------------------------------------------------+
| USERNAME |
+===========================================Press Esc to exit=+
It's really a lot easier to just try out intercom a time or two
than it is to try to explain how to use it. The top line of the
window tells who last sent you a message and the second line
displays the text of the last received message. The third line
holds a prompt that tells you what to type in the fourth line.
If the prompt is "To:: (as in the example above), enter
the node name of the station to which you're sending.
If the prompt is "Message:", enter the text of your
message. You can enter up to 65 characters of text.
To move between "To:" and "Message:" fields, use the up and down
arrow keys or simply press enter. Once you have filled out both
fields, press enter and your message will be sent. For example,
to send a message to node MANAGER, you would use the following
commands:
Alt-I (to pop up the INTERCOM window)
MANAGER (the name of the intended recipient)
<enter> (to switch to the "Message:" field)
HI THERE (the text of the message)
<enter> (to transmit the completed message)
At this point, a message has been transmitted and you can either wait
for a reply or press the escape key to return to what you were doing
before you activated INTERCOM.
Note that although you can pop up INTERCOM over graphics programs,
when you leave INTERCOM by pressing escape, it does not restore
the graphics screen. This is a result of a compromise made in the
interest of keeping INTERCOM's RAM usage as low as possible. With
most graphics programs, this isn't much of a problem because the
application itself provides an easy way to redraw the screen. For
other applications, it's easiest to handle it the way I do MS
WINDOWS -- I use MARK and RELEASE to unload INTERCOM before
starting.
--- SYSTEM ---
Have you ever accidentally run a copy of 123 on a network station
with the "wrong" type of video hardware? The same diversity of
hardware options that makes the PC such a useful computer can
cause all kinds of headaches for network administrators.
Typically, efforts to avoid the problem of different, incompatible
hardware on the network turn even the fanciest, most expensive
system into a jungle of batch files. For example, to solve the
problem above, you must either write a special batch file for each
type of video hardware or teach all your users to start 123 with
the correct driver set, or both. In any case, you're likely to
wind up with some confused users with blank, black screens. What
a headache!
That's where SYSTEM comes in. SYSTEM lets your batch files ask
the computer about its hardware and software configuration so
you can easily pick exactly the right program version or driver
set. To demonstrate, here's a batch file that solves the 123
video driver problem:
ECHO OFF
REM Batch file to run Lotus 123 with the proper driver set
REM for the computer's video board. Note that the driver
REM sets must have been created in advance using the Lotus
REM INSTALL program.
REM Check for monochrome or Hercules video
SYSTEM (VIDEO LT CGA)
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO COLOR
123 MONO
GOTO END
:COLOR
REM Check for CGA video
SYSTEM (VIDEO = CGA)
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO EGA
123 CGA
GOTO END
:EGA
REM Check for EGA
SYSTEM (VIDEO = EGA)
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO VGA
123 EGA
GOTO END
:VGA
SYSTEM (VIDEO = VGA)
IF (ERRORLEVEL 1) GOTO ERROR
123 VGA
GOTO END
:ERROR
ECHO Error: Unable to determine video adapter type
:END
Think of SYSTEM as an extension to DOS's "IF" command. You ask
SYSTEM a question with a true/false answer and it places the
result in the DOS ERRORLEVEL variable -- 0 if the answer was true,
1 if it was false. You can then use "IF ERRORLEVEL" to check the
result. The batch file above uses this strategy to accomplish two
things: it runs 123 with the correct driver set for each video
board and it detects errors and gives a safe exit route if the
video board type is unknown.
The formal syntax for SYSTEM is:
SYSTEM <expression> | <@filename> [/OPTIONS]
An <expression> is a question composed of a system parameter, a
relational operator and a value. For example, the expression
(EXPANDED = 512)
in effect asks the question, "Does this computer have exactly 512K
of expanded memory available?" Expressions can be more complex, as
in
(EXPANDED GE 512) AND (VIDEO GE EGA) AND (MOUSE = YES)
which asks the compound question, "Does this computer have at
least 512K of expanded memory, EGA video or better and a mouse?"
For all you compiler-writing hacker types out there, SYSTEM scans
expressions from right to left and evaluates from left to right,
using no operator precedence. SYSTEM recognizes the following
system parameters:
CPU - the computer's CPU type, 8086/88, 80286 or 80386
FPU - is the computer equipped with a coprocessor? YES or NO
MEMORY - the amount of available conventional memory
EXPANDED - the amount of available expanded memory
EXTENDED - the amount of installed extended memory
DISK - the amount of disk space available on the current drive
VIDEO - the type of video adapter installed on the computer
MONO, HERCULES, CGA, EGA or VGA
MOUSE - is an MS compatible mouse driver loaded? YES or NO
DOSVER - the current MS-DOS version number
LANVER - the current LANtastic version number
Relational operators available are:
Operator(s) Meaning
--------------------------------------------
=,==,EQ Equality:
!=,NE Inequality:
GT Greater than:
LT Less than:
GE Greater than or equal to
LE Less than or equal to
AND,&,&& AND
OR,|,|| OR
Here's a complex SYSTEM expression that asks if a station is
capable of running large Microsoft Windows programs like Excel and
Word for Windows.
(CPU GT 8088) AND (MEMORY GT 450) AND (EXP GT 512) AND (VIDEO GE EGA)
A batch file using the expression to run Excel would look something
like this:
ECHO OFF
REM This batch file runs MS Excel on stations equipped with
REM at least an 80286 CPU, at least 450K of free conventional
REM memory, at least 512K of EMS memory, and at least EGA
REM video.
SYSTEM (CPU GT 8088) AND (MEMORY GE 450) AND (EXP GE 512)
AND (VIDEO GE EGA)
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO ERROR
EXCEL
GOTO END
:ERROR
ECHO This station is not equipped to run Excel.
:END
SYSTEM has two command line options that you can use to get extra
information. They are:
/HELP
The HELP option displays a brief instruction summary for the SYSTEM
program. You can also get the HELP instructions by typing
SYSTEM
on the command line with no parameters.
/REPORT
Use the REPORT option if you'd like to see exactly what hardware
and operating software your computer is equipped with. You'll get
a summary report that looks like this:
SYSTEM utility for LANtastic -- Copyright 1990 by SoftMagic, Inc.
All rights reserved. LANtastic is a trademark of Artisoft, Inc.
Current system configuration:
-----------------------------------
Hardware
CPU: 80286
FPU: INSTALLED
Video: EGA
Mouse: INSTALLED
-----------------------------------
Available Memory
Conventional: 349K
Expanded: 880K
Extended: 0K
-----------------------------------
Disk space available: 442K
-----------------------------------
Software
DOS Version: 3.30
LANtastic Version: 2.57
-----------------------------------
--- FU ---
The Finduser utility, FU for short, is a quick way to find out where
people are logged on. It's syntax is:
FU <user name 1,user name 2,...user name n> [/OPTIONS]
User names can be separated by commas or spaces. The only
available option is /HELP, which displays the condensed version of
these instructions. To give you an idea of what FU does, I'm going
to find out where user Mark is currently logged in.
FU MARK
MARK is logged in to server \\CAROLYN using machine MARK.
MARK is logged in to server \\MAIN using machine MARK.
--- SU ---
Senduser, SU for short, lets you route network messages to
specific users rather than to nodes. For example, to send a
message to user MARK, no matter what machine he is currently
using, just type
SU MARK "Hello there, Mark"
SU will automatically determine where Mark is logged in, and
get the message to him.
Note that you can send messages to more than one user. For example,
to send a message to MARK, JON and CAROLYN, type
SU MARK,JON,CAROLYN "Hello ladies and gentlemen!"
--- DELAY ---
If you're running your network software from your computer's
AUTOEXEC.BAT file, you may have noticed that some servers on the
net may not respond to your first attempt to log on. In fact,
sometimes you may not even be able to log on the first time to a
server that's running on the computer you're using.
Usually this is due to the fact that LANtastic servers broadcast
their existance on the net only every few seconds. If your
computer comes up between ID broadcasts, it will not see a given
server until the next time its ID is broadcast.
The WAITFOR utility gets around this problem by simply waiting
until all the specified servers are available -- but what if you
don't know in advance which servers are going to be available?
DELAY provides an easy answer. Its formal syntax is:
DELAY <time> [<message>] [/HELP]
You can specify any delay time from 0 to 32768 seconds. The optional
<message> will be displayed on the screen before the delay begins.
The /HELP argument displays a brief summary of DELAY's instructions
on the screen. Pressing the Escape key during a delay will cause
the delay to be aborted, returning you to normal operation. If you
want to stop a delay and return to the command line, press Ctrl-C.
To give LANtastic time to listen for server IDs, just insert a few
seconds of delay between the time you start your network software
and the time you try to log in. For example, if you include the
sequence
LANBIOS2
REDIR
SERVER
DELAY 5 Pausing to see who's out there...
LOGIN ?
in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, your computer will pause for 5 seconds
after running the LANtastic server and before attempting to log
in. This should be plenty of time for all the servers on the net
to identify themselves.
--- LUSETUP ---
LUSETUP allows you to change the screen colors for the pop-up
programs MESSAGE and INTERCOM and the activation keys for INTERCOM
and Artisoft's LANPUP (version 3.00 only!). For LUSETUP to work, you
have to be in the directory that contains MESSAGE.COM and
INTERCOM.COM.
To start LUSETUP, type
LUSETUP
from the DOS command line. LUSETUP is menu driven and is fairly
self explanitory. Complete instructions for changing colors and
hotkeys are displayed on the screen.