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M a x - M e n u Version 1.2 Copyright (C) 1988,1989 by Don Cappaert All rights reserved. Don Cappaert P.O. Box 249 Andalusia, IL 61232-0249 CompuServe user ID: 71170,740 Page i Table of Contents ================= Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Reporting Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Files on the Distribution Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Sample Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Chapter 1: Using the Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Invoking Max-Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Menu Anatomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Menu Cursor Movement Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Choosing a Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Menu Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Input Prompts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 System Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Programmable Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Run Programs, Commands and Batch Files . . . . . . . . . 12 Quitting Max-Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Chapter 2: Modifying Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Modify Menu Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 ID Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Add a Selection / Sub-Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Sub-menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Batch commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Update a Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Copy or Transfer a Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Delete a Selection / Sub-Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Advanced Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Wild Cards in Sub-Menu Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Input Prompt and Initial Input . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Batch Commands Execution Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Copy or Transfer a Sub-Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Chapter 3: Customizing Max-Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 RamCopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Main Menu Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 ScreenSave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Entry Mode for Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Password Protecting System Functions . . . . . . . . . . 35 Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Page ii Appendix A: Hints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Invoke Max-Menu Without Directory Change . . . . . . . . 37 Invoke Max-Menu Automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Keep Max-Menu from Changing Directory . . . . . . . . . 37 Removing ECHO OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Renaming MENU.BAT file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Forgotten Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Selection Password Annoying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Providing Help for Menus and Selections . . . . . . . . 39 Maximizing Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Appendix B: Networks and shared PCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Appendix C: Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Appendix D: Registering Max-Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Page 1 Introduction ============ Max-Menu is the flexible menu system that allows you to define your menus as you wish. This menu system was designed for both the beginner and the advanced computer user. It provides the simplicity of choosing selections from menus, unparalleled flexibility in menu/selection definition and power through the use of programmable "hot" keys. The menus you define provide an easy and friendly interface to the programs on your hard-disk. Like an index for floppy disks, it keeps track of where these programs are and how to invoke them. Thus, for often used programs, you need not continually enter the commands required to run them. Max-Menu also frees you from remembering the location of seldom used programs and how to invoke them. Also, batch files that invoke your programs can be replaced by selections. Max-Menu provides flexibility beyond other menus, such as: + User can fully customize menus, selections, colors and directories. + Simplified selection entry/update with on-board editor. + Single keystroke or point-and-press selection. + Three types of selection IDs. Selections may be chosen by an alpha-numeric ID, a numeric ID or by the first character of the selection's description. + Each menu may have up to 99 selections. + Menus may have sub-menus: up to 10 menus deep. + A selection may run up to 99 lines of DOS commands, programs or batch files. These conform to standard batch file conventions. + A selection's commands may be received from or sent to, a batch file. + Commands for a selection may be executed directly for speed or by temporarily exiting to provide more memory. + Selections may prompt user for input. + Full use of variables: Environment, global, input and special (which give the date, time, drive, directory and DOS version information). + Programmable "hot" keys can be defined just as selections are. These keys can be used from any user menu. + Extensive password protection (6 levels of security) and encryption. + Ram Drive options for performance. + Screen save feature provided to clear screen after a defined period of inactivity. + Complete Local Area Network (LAN) and shared PC support. + Extensive on-line help. Max-Menu is the simple, powerful and flexible menu system. Page 2 System Requirements =================== Max-Menu requires MS-DOS / PC-DOS 2.0 or above. It is designed to work on the IBM PC, XT, or AT models, or a fully compatible machine. A minimum of 256K of memory is also required. While Max-Menu can run from a floppy-based system, it is highly recommended that it be ran from a hard-disk system. Reporting Problems ================== To report problems, first print the registration form as outlined in appendix C. Then fill in your name, address, phone and registration number (on distribution disk label). Use the comment section to explain your problem and then send to the address shown. You may also send a message on CompuServe to user ID 71170,740. Files on the Distribution Disk ============================== The files contained on the distribution disk are: INSTALL.BAT installs or reinstalls Max-Menu. MENU.BAT starts Max-Menu. MAX-MENU.EXE is the program invoked by MENU.BAT. MAX-MNUX.BAT is the batch file created from selection. MAX-MENU.HLP is the on-line help file. MAX-MENU.KYS is the sample programmable "hot" keys. MAX-MENU.FRM is the registration form. *.MNU are sample menus (all menus have .MNU extension). README contains information more current than the manual. To view this file, insert the distribution disk into drive A. Then enter "TYPE A:\README || MORE" at the DOS prompt. MAX-MENU.DOC is the manual in ASCII text form. PRINTDOC.BAT prints the documentation file(s). Page 3 Installation ============ To install/reinstall Max-Menu perform the following steps: 1. Insert the distribution disk into your diskette drive (ex. A). 2. Then, assuming the distribution disk is in drive A, enter the following at the DOS prompt: C>A:INSTALL A: If the distribution disk is not in drive A, substitute the proper drive letter. This will install/reinstall Max-Menu, by copying the appropriate files from the distribution disk to the directory of C:\MAX-MENU. - OR - If you prefer to use a directory other than C:\MAX-MENU, you must first create the directory (using DOS MKDIR command), make this drive and directory the current one (using DOS CHDIR command) and type A:INSTALL A: /C at the DOS prompt. The /C switch causes the installation to be done to the current drive and directory instead of C:\MAX-MENU. For example, the commands required to install into a new directory called C:\MYDIR are: C>MKDIR \MYDIR C>CHDIR \MYDIR C>A:INSTALL A: /C 3. Remove the distribution disk and store it in a safe place. 4. Next, verify the installation by invoking Max-Menu. Since the Max-Menu directory is the current directory, simply enter MENU at the DOS prompt as follows: C>MENU The main menu will be displayed on the screen. 5. If you are reinstalling Max-Menu (ie. a prior version is being replaced), redo setup changes made to prior version. Congratulations, you have now completed the installation. Page 4 Sample Menus ============ Max-Menu comes complete with a set of sample menus. These menus are designed to give you ideas on how to structure your menus and also how to create selections. The structure of the sample menus is depicted in the following "tree" diagram that shows each of the menu names: MAIN -+- SAMPLES -+- SAMPDIR | +- SAMPDRVE | +- SAMPATTR +- DBMS +- GAMES +- LANGUAGE +- MISC +- GRAPHICS +- UTILITY --- FLOPPY NOTE: SAMPDRVE is a sub-menu of SAMPLES which is a sub-menu of MAIN. The selections on these sample menus can be broken into three categories: + Selections that display a sub-menu. The description for these types of selections include the word "menu". For example, choosing the "Max-Menu samples menu" selection on the MAIN menu causes the SAMPLES menu to be displayed. + Selections that will perform the indicated task using DOS commands. These selections exist only in the SAMPLES menu and its sub-menus. Thus, choosing the "DOS version" selection on the SAMPLES menu will display the version of DOS running on your computer. These functional selections are intended to show the various ways selections may be coded. + All remaining selections, such as "Word processing" on the MAIN menu, do not invoke any program. Instead, these selections "ECHO" statements to your screen indicating how you might change them to actually invoke your programs. You are encouraged to modify these menus and selections to suit your tastes and needs. Please keep in mind that the SAMPLES menu and its sub-menus will be referenced in this manual and should therefore be kept for future reference (you may want to move them off the MAIN menu). Page 5 Chapter 1: Using the Menus ========================== Invoking Max-Menu ================= To invoke Max-Menu, you must first change to the directory containing Max-Menu (unless this directory is in your PATH) and then type MENU at the DOS prompt. Thus, if you installed into C:\MAX-MENU, the commands are: C>CHDIR \MAX-MENU C>MENU This will display the main menu. If you would like to start at a menu other than the main menu, follow MENU with the menu name to start at. The following switches can also be used: /I re-initialize the setup (except passwords) to its original values. /K will pass to Max-Menu keys to be entered after it starts (as if they were entered from the keyboard). This allows selections to be invoked when starting Max-Menu (especially from a AUTOEXEC.BAT file). Programmable keys are represented by the @ sign followed by the desired key (ex. @A is Alt-A). Use @@ to represent a single @ sign. For example, to reset the setup, display the SAMPLES menu and then cause the keys "A", "Alt-B" and "@" to be entered: C>CHDIR \MAX-MENU C>MENU SAMPLES /I /KA@B@@ Menu Anatomy ============ After invoking Max-Menu, the main menu will be displayed. Pictured below is the sample main menu (this may have been altered) showing each of the components of a menu: Page 6 Border-+ Selection IDs-+ Title-+ Selection Description-+ Selection Bar-+ | | | | | v | v | | +-------------------------+------- Main Menu ---------------+----------------+-+ | | | | | | | | | | | +--+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | v | | | | Max-Menu samples menu <--------+ | | | Data management menu | | | _Games_menu <------------------------------------+ | | Languages menu | | Miscellaneous menu | | Picture graphics menu | | Utilities menu | | Word processing | | Shutdown | | Help | | | | | | | | | | | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 11:26:53 AM Friday May 06, 1988 F1=Help Max-Menu ^ | Bottom line ----+ Border is the double line drawn around the menu. Title is the name given to the menu. For instance, a menu containing games might be titled "Games". Selection Description is a short description of what the selection will do. For example, the "Help" selection provides additional help specific to this menu. Selection IDs is the highlighted identifier at the left of each selection. This selection ID may be the first character of the description as shown above, a number (from 1 to 99) or alpha- numeric (the letters A to Z, followed by numbers 0 to 9). Selection Bar highlights the current selection. In the sample main menu above, "Games menu" is the current selection. Bottom line will always be displayed at the bottom of the screen showing the current date and time. It also indicates to press the F1 key for help. In addition to this the status of the Alt, Ctrl, Caps Lock / Shift, Num Lock and Scroll Lock keys is displayed. Try pressing these keys to see how each is displayed. Page 7 Menu Cursor Movement Keys ========================= Max-Menu uses the same keys in all menus to move the selection bar. These keys are: Up arrow . . . . : Up one selection. Down arrow . . . : Down one selection. Left arrow . . . : Left one column. Right arrow . . : Right one column. Home . . . . . . : First selection. End . . . . . . : Last selection. PgUp . . . . . . : Page up / top of current column. PgDn . . . . . . : Page down / bottom of current column. Ctrl-left arrow : Start of current row. Ctrl-right arrow : End of current row. Try each of these keys. Notice the selection bar "wraps" around when the arrow keys are held down. If you press the down arrow key when positioned on the last item, the selection bar will be placed on the first item. The Ctrl-left arrow and Ctrl-right arrow keys have no effect when the menu contains only one column of selections. Getting Help ============ Press the F1 key to get help. This will display the help screen which consists of two windows. The left window contains a menu of topics, and the right window has an explanation of the highlighted topic. The sequence of topics allows new users to read all about Max- Menu by pressing the down arrow key to read the next topic. To view the explanation for a topic, enter the first character of the topic. For example, press F1 and then Y to get the following help: Page 8 +----------------------++----------------- User menu window -------------------+ | Help explained || | | Notice of copyright || User menu windows are the main menu and all of its | |_Your_menu_window || sub-menus. Their selections are defined by you. | | List of menu keys || Selections may be added, updated, deleted, copied or | | Pop-up system menus || transferred. The addition and deletion of menus is | | Input prompt window || accomplished by adding, deleting or updating | | Warning messages || selections. Also, menu characteristics (ex. title) | | Add selection || may be modified. | | Update selection || | | Batch commands || You may choose a selection by using the arrow keys | | Variables || to highlight the selection and then hit enter. See | | Delete selection || the List of menu keys help topic for all the keys | | Copy selection || available and ways to choose selections. | | Transfer selection || | | Menu modification || The following keys are also valid: | | Keys - programmable || | | Setup || Esc . . . . . .: Return to prior menu. If in | | - Setup directories || main menu, will quit Max-Menu. | | Run DOS commands || Back-slash (\) .: Return to main menu. | | Exit - shell to DOS || Slash (/) . . .: Invoke system menu options. | | Quit Max-Menu || Alt-? . . . . .: Invoke programmable key. Where | | Form to register || ? is "A" through "Z". | +----------------------++------------------------------------------------------+ 3:41:15 PM Friday May 13, 1988 F1=Help Max-Menu To leave Max-Menu's help, enter the Esc key. Choosing a Selection ==================== To choose a selection, type the highlighted ID at the left of the selection or move the selection bar to the desired item and press the Enter key. Try choosing the "Help" selection on the sample main menu by pressing H. Menu Navigation =============== Navigating to a lower level (sub) menu is done by choosing the appropriate selection. For example, choosing the "Max-Menu samples menu" selection on the sample main menu will display the following sub-menu: Page 9 +------------------------------ Max-Menu Samples ------------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | | | _A_Execute_a_DOS_command M Date change | | B Dynamic PATHing example N Time change | | C Change DOS PATH O Read-only attribute menu | | D Display directory menu P Type a file | | E Copy floppy on A: to B: Q Print a file | | F Format floppy menu R Copy a file | | G Format floppy with DOS menu S Rename a file | | H Check disk drive menu Y Delete a file | | I Display volume label menu U Find text in file | | J Set volume label menu V Blank selection | | K DOS version = 3.10 W Log events menu | | L Display information X Help | | | | | | | | | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 2:24:15 PM Saturday May 14, 1988 F1=Help Max-Menu To return to the prior menu enter the Esc key. To return to the main menu from any sub-menu, enter the back-slash (\) key. Input Prompts ============= The Input prompt window is displayed when prompting for a single line of input. It is used for all selection and most system input requests. The window will appear at the bottom of your screen. The top line of the window will contain a message indicating the desired input. The input line may be blank or contain a default value. You may then enter or change the input using the following editing keys: Enter .......: Enter input in response to prompt. Esc .........: Abort input prompt request. Left arrow ..: Move cursor left one character. Right arrow .: Move cursor right one character. Home ........: Move cursor to start of input. End .........: Move cursor to end of input. Insert ......: Toggle between insert/overwrite mode. Delete ......: Delete character at cursor. Backspace ...: Delete character before cursor. Ctrl-Home ...: Clear input. Ctrl-End ....: Clear input from cursor to end. Up arrow ....: Get previous input in buffer. Down arrow ..: Get next input in buffer. PgUp .......: Get oldest input in buffer. PgDn .......: Get newest input in buffer. Page 10 Each time you enter input into this window, it is saved into a buffer. Once the buffer becomes full, the oldest input(s) is removed as new input is entered. By using the up arrow, down arrow, PgUp and PgDn keys, you can scroll through prior inputs. Once you have located the desired input, you may modify it if need be and then hit enter. The bottom line of the screen will show whether you are in insert or overwrite mode. When in insert mode the characters you type are inserted at the cursor position. When in overwrite mode the character you type replaces the character at the cursor position. For example, select "Execute a DOS command" on the Max-Menu Samples menu. The input prompt window will pop-up at the bottom of your screen: +------------------------------ Max-Menu Samples ------------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | | | _A_Execute_a_DOS_command M Date change | | B Dynamic PATHing example N Time change | | C Change DOS PATH O Read-only attribute menu | | D Display directory menu P Type a file | | E Copy floppy on A: to B: Q Print a file | | F Format floppy menu R Copy a file | | G Format floppy with DOS menu S Rename a file | | H Check disk drive menu Y Delete a file | | I Display volume label menu U Find text in file | | J Set volume label menu V Blank selection | | K DOS version = 3.10 W Log events menu | | L Display information X Help | | | | | | | +- Enter DOS command, program or batch file to execute: -----------------------+ | | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 4:09:35 PM Saturday May 14, 1988 Ins F1=Help Max-Menu Then enter a DOS command such as DIR /W. Choose this selection several times, each time entering a different DOS command, such as, VER and CHKDSK. Be sure to try each of the editing keys listed previously. System Menu =========== The system menu contains selections that allow you to modify the current menu being displayed. You can also choose to display the programmable keys, change the setup (configuration), print the registration form, or quit Max-Menu. Finally, you can run DOS commands, batch files and programs, or temporarily exit to DOS. Each of these will be discussed in detail later in the manual. To display the system menu type a slash (/): Page 11 +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |_Add Update Delete Copy Transfer Menu Keys Setup Run Exit Quit Form| | Add a selection before or after current selection | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | | | _A_Execute_a_DOS_command M Date change | | B Dynamic PATHing example N Time change | | C Change DOS PATH O Read-only attribute menu | | D Display directory menu P Type a file | | E Copy floppy on A: to B: Q Print a file | | F Format floppy menu R Copy a file | | G Format floppy with DOS menu S Rename a file | | H Check disk drive menu Y Delete a file | | I Display volume label menu U Find text in file | | J Set volume label menu V Blank selection | | K DOS version = 3.10 W Log events menu | | L Display information X Help | | | | | | | | | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 2:24:15 PM Saturday May 14, 1988 F1=Help Max-Menu The second line of the system menu is a description of the item that the selection bar is positioned on (in this case Add). Using the right arrow key, position the selection bar on each item and read its description. To leave this system menu, enter the Esc key. Programmable Keys ================= Programmable keys allow you to invoke often used functions without having to navigate to a menu to choose the desired selection. To view the menu of programmable keys enter K from the system menu. The following is the sample programmable keys: Page 12 +----------------------------- Programmable Keys ------------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | _Alt-A_Alter_PATH Alt-N | | Alt-B Alt-O | | Alt-C DOS command Alt-P | | Alt-D Disk manager Alt-Q | | Alt-E Edit file Alt-R | | Alt-F Alt-S | | Alt-G Alt-T | | Alt-H Alt-U Change user ID | | Alt-I Alt-V | | Alt-J Alt-W | | Alt-K Alt-X | | Alt-L Alt-Y | | Alt-M Display a menu Alt-Z | | | | | | | | | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 5:36:29 PM Saturday May 14, 1988 F1=Help Max-Menu The programmable key selection IDs are Alt-? (where ? is A through Z). To choose a programmable key simply hold down the Alt key while pressing the desired letter (ex. E for edit). This can be done even when the programmable key menu is not displayed! If you define your editor as Alt-E, it can easily be invoke by pressing Alt-E even when the programmable keys are not displayed. If a programmable key has no description (as Alt-B above), it has not been defined and has no action. To leave the programmable keys menu enter Esc. Try using the programmable keys while they are NOT displayed. First enter Alt-C and then enter a DOS command to execute (such as DIR /W) in the input prompt window. Run Programs, Commands and Batch Files ====================================== To run a DOS command, program or batch file enter R from the system menu. Then enter the DOS command, program or batch file to run in response to the input prompt (such as DIR /W). If you want to enter several commands, enter E from the system menu. This will temporarily exit you to the DOS command processor - the DOS prompt will be displayed. You may then enter commands, programs, and/or batch files. Enter Exit at the DOS prompt to return to Max- Menu. Page 13 Quitting Max-Menu ================= To leave Max-Menu enter Q from the system menu. You may also leave Max-Menu by entering Esc twice from the main menu. Page 14 Chapter 2: Modifying Menus ========================== This chapter discusses the modification of "user" menus and the selections on them. These user menus include the main menu and any sub-menus below it. The modification of programmable keys should be treated the same as selections. Differences, if any, will be noted. Menu modification can be split into two categories: modifying characteristics of the menu and modifying selections. The former refers to items specific to the menu and all of its selections, such as the menu title, password and type of selection ID. The later refers to adding, deleting, updating and other modifications to a specific selection. Notice, there is no mention of adding or deleting a sub-menu. This is done through the adding/deleting of a selection. For example, to add a sub-menu to an existing menu, simply add a selection and enter the name of the new/existing sub-menu. To delete a sub-menu, simply delete the selection that displays it. Modify Menu Characteristics =========================== Menu characteristics are those items which pertain to the menu and all of its selections as a group. These items are the title of the menu, the type of selection ID, and the password to protect the menu. Items specific to a selection are not included. Menu characteristics may not be modified for the programmable keys menu. To modify a menu follow these five steps: 1. Display the menu to be modified. 2. Enter a slash (/) and the system menu will appear at the top of your screen. 3. Press M for menu modification. The menu modification window will pop-up on the screen: Page 15 +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Add Update Delete Copy Transfer _Menu Keys Setup Run Exit Quit Form| | Update current menu's title, password and selection ID type | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | | | _A_Execute_a_DOS_command M Date change | | B Dynamic PATHing example N Time change | | +------------------------------ Samples menu ------------------------------+ | | | Title: Max-Menu Samples | | | | | | | | Password: | | | | | | | | ID type:_Alpha-numeric First character Numeric | | | | | | | +-- Use Tab, Enter and arrow keys to move cursor. F3=Accept F10=Abort ---+ | | K DOS version = 3.10 W Log events menu | | L Display information X Help | | | | | | | | | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 2:24:15 PM Saturday May 14, 1988 Ins F1=Help Max-Menu The title line of the menu modification window contains the menu name (in the example above it is Samples). The window contains three fields: Title is a description of the contents of the menu. For example, "Games" might be the title of a menu containing selections that invoke games. This title is displayed in the middle of the menu's top border line. If this field is blank, the menu will have no title. Password protects the menu and all of its selections. Before the menu is displayed, the password will be asked for and must be entered. This protects the menu and its selections from being altered since the menu must first be displayed before it can be altered. The menu file stored on disk will also be encoded when password protected. If this field is blank, the menu will not be protected. ID Type determines the identifier shown to the left of each selection and the key stroke(s) used to choose a selection. Choose the desired type: Alpha-numeric (A through Z then 0 to 9). This limits a menu to 36 selections. First character of selection's description. Numeric (1 through 99). Page 16 4. Modify or fill in the desired fields. Use the Tab, Shift-Tab, Enter and arrow keys to move between and within the fields. The current field will be highlighted (in the above example Title is the current field). The same editing keys provided with the input prompt window are used when entering the title and password. 5. Press F3 to accept the modifications or F10 to abort. Menu Modification Exercise ========================== Now, use one of the sample menus and change the title. Then change the ID type to each of the three selections - each time viewing the result of this change to the menu. While doing this, try each of the keys for moving between and around the fields. Add a Selection / Sub-Menu ========================== The main purpose of a selection is to invoke a program (through batch commands) and/or display a sub-menu. If the sub-menu to be displayed is new, then it will be added. You may add a selection to a menu, as long as the maximum number of selections has not been used. The maximum is 99 for all menus, except those with alpha-numeric type ID's which allows for 36 selections. Remember, selections cannot be added to the programmable keys menu. To add a selection follow these seven steps: 1. Display the menu where the selection is to be added. 2. If the menu contains selections, move the selection bar to where the new selection is to be added. 3. Enter a slash (/) and the system menu will appear at the top of your screen. 4. Press A for add selection. 5. If the menu contains selections, you will be given a choice on whether to add after or before the current selection. Reply A or B. The selection window will pop-up below the system menu: Page 17 +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |_After Before | | Add after current selection | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Description: | | Password: | | Sub-menu: | | Input prompt: | | Initial input: | | Execution mode: _Exiting_temporarily_(more_memory) Shelling (faster) | | Batch commands: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +---- Use Tab, Enter and arrow keys to move cursor. F3=Accept F10=Abort -----+ 2:24:15 PM Saturday May 14, 1988 Ins F1=Help Max-Menu The following is an explanation of some of these fields. The remaining ones will be covered in the advance topics section. Description is shown on the menu and describes what the selection does. If the menu uses the first character of the description for the selection ID, be sure that it is unique for this menu. The description cannot be blank. Password protects the selection. Before the selection can be executed or altered the password will be asked for and must be entered. Also, the selection will be encoded in the menu file stored on disk when password protected. If this field is blank, the selection will not be protected. NOTE: This password will NOT protect a sub-menu displayed by the selection! Instead, use the menu password to protect the sub-menu. Sub-menu is the next menu to be displayed by the selection. This sub-menu display is the last thing done during the execution of the selection. It must conform to the standard DOS file name convention and may be an existing, new or wild card menu name. If the sub-menu is blank, then no sub-menu will be displayed. When a new menu name is entered, the menu modification window will pop-up in the middle of the screen. Follow the instructions for modifying menu characteristics. Batch commands are the DOS commands, programs or batch files to be executed. In most cases, these are the same as those entered at the DOS prompt to invoke a program. You may enter up to 99 lines. They must conform to the normal batch file conventions except the Page 18 SHIFT command will not work. Also, batch files executed must include the .BAT extension or be preceded by a ~ sign. Unless you want to use the current drive and directory, be sure to change them both. For example, C: will change to the C drive and CHDIR \NEWDIR will change to the \NEWDIR directory. 6. Fill in the desired fields. Use the Tab, Shift-Tab, Enter and arrow keys to move between and within the fields. The current field will be highlighted (in the above example Description is the current field). When Batch commands is the current field, only the Tab and Shift-Tab keys will move to the next/prior field. All input fields use the same editing keys provided with the input prompt window. Batch commands have the following additional editing keys: Enter inserts a new line after the current line when in insert mode. If in overwrite mode, the cursor is positioned on the next line. Delete will delete the character above the cursor or the entire line if it is blank. Ctrl-A adds a line prior to line the cursor is positioned on. Ctrl-D deletes line cursor is positioned on. Ctrl-R receives commands from a (batch) file. Lines from the specified file will replace the current commands. If the file specified includes wild cards, a menu of matching files will be displayed to choose from. Ctrl-S sends commands to a (batch) file. The current commands will be placed in the file specified. If the file specified includes wild cards, a menu of matching files will be displayed to choose from. 7. Press F3 when selection is complete or F10 to abort. Add a Selection Exercises ========================= Let's add a selection at the bottom of the main menu. Follow these steps: 1. Display the last selection on the main menu by typing \ and then the End key. Type /AA for add after current selection. The selection window will be displayed as shown previously. 2. Enter a description of "Add selection exercise". 3. Using the down arrow key, position the cursor in Sub-menu. Enter a sub-menu name of "sampadd". 4. Hit enter and the menu modification window will appear. Enter a title of "Add selection exercise". 5. Press the F3 key twice (once to accept the menu modification and again to accept the selection). Page 19 6. A selection and sub-menu have been added to the main menu. Choose this new selection. The "sampadd" menu will be displayed, with no selections. Let's add one more selection, this time to the "sampadd" menu just added above. 1. Since this menu is already displayed and has no selections, enter /A to add a selection. 2. Enter a Description of "Directory display". 3. Press the Enter key until the cursor is positioned on the first line of the batch commands. Enter three batch commands: ECHO ON DIR /W PAUSE 4. Hit the F3 key to accept the selection. 5. You have now added a selection that will display the contents of the current directory. Choose this selection. Notice that the commands are displayed on the screen as they are executed. This is due to the ECHO ON command. Also, after the directory is displayed, the computer pauses until you've entered a key. This pause is due to the PAUSE command. Update a Selection ================== All fields of a selection may be updated. This allows for the correction or improvement of a selection added previously. Undefined programmable keys (those that have no description) may be defined through the update process. To update a selection follow these six steps: 1. Display the menu containing the selection to be updated or display the programmable keys. 2. Position the selection bar on the selection to be updated. 3. Enter a slash (/) and the system menu will appear at the top of your screen. 4. Press U for update selection. The selection window will pop-up below the system menu: Page 20 +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Add _Update Delete Copy Transfer Menu Keys Setup Run Exit Quit Form| | Update current selection | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Description: Directory display | | Password: | | Sub-menu: | | Input prompt: | | Initial input: | | Execution mode: _Exiting_temporarily_(more_memory) Shelling (faster) | | Batch commands: | | ECHO ON | | DIR /W | | PAUSE | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +---- Use Tab, Enter and arrow keys to move cursor. F3=Accept F10=Abort -----+ 2:24:15 PM Saturday May 14, 1988 Ins F1=Help Max-Menu This is the same window used to add a selection, except the fields are not blank. A description of this window and the fields within it can be found under the add selection section. 5. Modify the desired fields as described in the add selection section. 6. Press Esc when selection is complete or F10 to abort. Update Selection Exercise ========================= Let's update the directory display selection added previously in the add selection section. Follow these steps: 1. Display the "sampadd" menu and position the selection bar on the "Directory display" selection. Then type /U to update the selection. 2. Using the down arrow key, position the cursor on the batch commands line containing ECHO ON. Then press CTRL-D to delete this line. 3. Hit the Esc key to accept the change. 4. Choose the updated selection. You will notice that the DIR and PAUSE commands are no longer displayed. Page 21 Copy or Transfer a Selection ============================ Copying a selection results in a duplicate selection in another location. Transferring a selection results in the selection being moved to a new location. To copy/transfer a selection follow these steps: 1. Display the menu containing the desired selection or display the programmable keys. 2. Position the selection bar on the selection to be copied or transferred. 3. Enter a slash (/) and the system menu will appear at the top of your screen. 4. Press C for copy or T to transfer the selection. 5. Display the menu to receive the selection. To locate a programmable key just enter it (ex. Alt-A). While in this locate mode, batch commands and input prompts for a selection will be ignored. Also, Esc returns prior menu and F10 aborts the copy/transfer. 6. If the menu has selections, place selection bar where selection should be inserted or on selection to be replaced. 7. Press slash (/). 8. If the menu already had selections, you may choose to insert the selection before or after the current selection or to replace it. NOTE: When copying or transferring to the programmable keys, be sure to select replace, since selections cannot be insert into them. 9. If you choose to replace a selection that displays a sub-menu, you will then have to specify whether to delete this sub-menu. Copy/Transfer a Selection Exercises ==================================== Copy the first selection from the main menu to the "sampadd" menu (added previously in add selection section). Follow these steps: 1. Display the first selection on the main menu by typing \ and then the Home key. Press /C to copy the selection. 2. Choose "Add selection exercise" to display the "sampadd" menu. 3. Type /B to copy the selection before the first selection. Copy from the programmable keys menu to the "sampadd" menu. Follow these steps: Page 22 1. Display the programmable keys menu by typing /K. Position the selection bar on the programmable key to be copied (for example, Alt-C). Press /C to copy the selection. 2. Display the "sampadd" menu by typing \ and then choosing "Add selection exercise". 3. Position the selection bar on the first selection (copied previously from the main menu). Then press /R to replace the first selection with the programmable key being copied. 4. The selection being replaced may display a sub-menu. If so, you will need to select "Leave" so this sub-menu is not deleted. Transfer first selection from the "sampadd" menu to a programmable key. Follow these steps: 1. The selection bar should be positioned on the first selection of the "sampadd" menu. Enter /T to transfer the selection. 2. Press the programmable key to be replaced (for example, Alt-Z). The programmable key chosen should not have a description. 3. Type /R to replace the programmable key with the selection being transferred. Note: the selection has been moved from the "sampadd" menu to the programmable key. Delete a Selection / Sub-Menu ============================= Deleting a selection removes it from the menu. Deleting a programmable key causes the selection to be cleared but not removed. When the selection displays a sub-menu, you may also choose to delete the sub-menu. To delete, follow these steps: 1. Display the menu containing the selection to be deleted or display the programmable keys. 2. Position the selection bar on the selection to be deleted. 3. Enter a slash (/) and the system menu will appear at the top of your screen. 4. Press D for delete selection. 5. Select the desired option from the confirmation menu that appears at the top of the screen. The options are: Sub-Menu and current selection deleted. This choice only appears if the selection displays an existing sub-menu. Delete current selection (if the selection displays a sub-menu, the sub-menu will NOT be deleted). Abort deletion of selection. Page 23 CAUTION: When the selection displays an existing sub-menu, the confirmation menu will contain the Sub-Menu option. If you choose to delete the sub-menu, be sure that no other selection also displays this same sub-menu! Also, sub-menus below the sub-menu being deleted are not deleted and will become orphans if no remaining selections display them. If you delete only the selection, the sub-menu will become an orphan should no other selection display it. NOTE: An orphan menu is defined as having no selection that displays it. Delete Selection/Menu Exercises =============================== Let's delete a selection on the "sampadd" menu (added previously in add selection section). Follow these steps: 1. Display the "sampadd" menu by typing \ and then choosing "Add selection exercise". 2. Position the selection bar on the first selection and press /D to delete the selection. 3. Confirm the deletion by pressing D. Then delete the selection on the main menu which displays the "sampadd" menu. Follow these steps: 1. Display the main menu by pressing \. 2. Then position the selection bar on "Add selection exercise" and press /D to delete the selection. 3. Confirm the deletion by pressing S. This will delete the selection and the "sampadd" menu. Advanced Topics =============== This section covers the more advanced topics relating to selections. You should be comfortable with modifying the menus and selections before continuing. Using Wild Cards in Sub-Menu Name ================================= As mentioned earlier, sub-menu is the next menu to be displayed by a selection. It may be entered whenever adding or updating a selection. The name must conform to the standard DOS file name convention and may be an existing, new or wild card menu name. Page 24 A wild card menu name contains question marks (?) or asterisks (*). The question mark indicates that any character can occupy that position. For example, M??N will match with any menu name starting in M, ending in N and four characters long (like main and moon). The asterisks indicates that any character can occupy that or any of the remaining positions in the menu name. Thus, * will return all menu names and G* will return all menu names starting with the letter G. Wild cards cause a menu to pop-up in the middle of the selection window containing existing menu names that match the wild card name: +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |_After Before | | Add after current selection | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Description: Wild card menu name | | Password: | |_Sub-menu: * | | Input p+---------------------- Choose Menu: ----------------------+ | | Initial|_DBMS FLOPPY GAMES GRAPHICS LANGUAGE | | | Executi| MAIN MISC SAMPATTR SAMPDIR SAMPDRVE |ter) | | Batch c| SAMPLES UTILITY | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +----------------------------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | | | +--- Use Tab, Enter and arrow keys to move cursor. Esc=Continue F10=Abort ---+ 2:24:15 PM Saturday May 14, 1988 F1=Help Max-Menu You may choose a menu name by positioning the selection bar on it and pressing enter. To leave this menu without choosing a menu name, press Esc. Wild Card Menu Exercise ======================= Let's add a selection to the main menu as follows: 1. Press \ and then End to position selection bar at bottom of main menu. Then press /AA for add after current selection. 2. Enter a description of "Wild card menu". 3. Hit Enter until the cursor is positioned in sub-menu. Enter a sub-menu of "*" and hit enter. Page 25 4. A list of all of your menus will be displayed. Position the selection bar on one of the menus and hit Enter. 5. Press Esc to accept the selection. 6. A selection has been added that will display the sub-menu chosen in step number 4. 7. Delete the "wild card menu" selection by positioning the selection bar on it and typing /DD. Input Prompt and Initial Input =============================== When adding or updating a selection, you may specify an input prompt and the initial input. The input prompt is a message requesting input for the selection. It will be placed at the top of the input prompt window. Initial input is the text to be placed in the input prompt window. The first phase of selection execution is to display the input prompt window using this message and the initial input. The user may then enter/modify the input with the result being placed in variable %#. This variable (and others) can then be used in the batch commands. If the input prompt is blank, then there will be no prompt for input. Input Prompt Exercise ===================== For example, add a selection as follows: 1. Display the main menu by typing back-slash (\). Position selection bar at end by pressing End. Then type /AA. 2. Enter a description of "Prompt exercise". 3. Enter an input prompt of "Enter the directory to display". 4. Enter an initial input of "C:\". 5. Enter the following batch commands: ECHO ON DIR %# /W PAUSE 6. Press Esc to accept the selection. 7. Choose the selection. You will be requested for the directory to display. Hit enter to accept the default of C:\ or enter a different directory and press enter. The directory will then be displayed. Notice that the %# in the DIR command has been replace with the text entered on the input prompt window. 8. Delete the "Prompt exercise" selection by positioning the selection bar on it and entering /DD. Page 26 Batch Commands Execution Mode ============================= When adding or updating a selection you may choose from the following Execution modes: Exiting temporarily (more memory) - Max-Menu will temporarily exit, invoke the batch commands and then reinvoke itself. This option provides maximum memory since Max-Menu is not in memory. Shelling (faster) - Max-Menu will invoke the batch commands by shelling directly to them. This option is faster since Max-Menu does not have to temporarily exit and then reinvoke itself. Be sure to choose Shelling where possible (memory permitting). If there is not enough memory, DOS will display message "Program too big to fit in memory" on your screen. You should then change to Exiting temporarily. To see the difference in speed, create a selection with a description of "more memory" and a batch command of "CD \". Then create another selection with a description of "faster", specify "Shelling (faster)" for execution mode, and a batch command of "CD \". Now choose each selection and compare the difference in speed. When done, delete both selections. Variables ========= Variables make it possible to pass information within a selection and between selections (even when these selections are on different menus). They are also used to provide information, such as the current directory, to a selection/menu. When a variable is used (not set), the value the variable holds (was last set to) replaces the variable. The four types of variables are global, input, environment, and special. + Global variables start with an ampersand (&) followed by the numbers 0 through 9 (&0 to &9). They retain their value until you quit Max-Menu. Thus, they can be used to pass information from one menu selection to another selection (in perhaps different menus). For example, MENU1 has a list of actions - each selection places its action in variable &0 and then displays MENU2. MENU2 has a list of items - each selection invokes the same batch file passing the action (in &0) and its item. The batch file then does the action on the item. In this example, &0 is used to pass the action from a selection on MENU1 to the selection chosen on MENU2. + Input variables start with a percent (%) sign followed by the pound (#) sign or the numbers 0 through 9 (%# or %0 to %9). They retain their value only while the selection is executing. Each time %# is set, %0 to %9 are set to the first ten parameters of %# (where parameters are separated by blanks). Thus, if %# is set to "my dataset", %0 will be "my", %1 will be "dataset", and %2 through %9 will be null. Each time a selection is chosen, %# Page 27 is set to the initial input string (even if it is null). Then, if there is an input prompt, %# is set to the input string entered. Through the use of the input variables, a selection may prompt for input and act on the individual parameters. The selection may also set the %# variable (for example from a global variable) and then act on the individual parameters. + Environment variables are provided by DOS. When used (not set), enclose the variable in percent (%) signs. For example, %PATH% is the DOS PATH variable. They retain their values as long as your computer is powered up. However, if your selection has an execution mode of Shelling, any environment variables set in the batch commands section will last only for the duration of that selection. This can be very useful at times and confusing at other times. Environment variables are nice since they can be set outside of Max-Menu (like in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file) and will not be lost when Max-Menu quits. Use the DOS SET command within the Batch commands section of a selection to set environment variables. For example, SET PATH=C:\;%PATH%, will add the "C:\" directory to the front of your path. + Special variables cannot be set and are replaced with the desired information. The following are each of the special variables and the information they contain: &DATE& - Current date as MM-DD-YYYY. &DATEM& - Current date as MM-DD-YYYY. &DATED& - Current date as DD-MM-YYYY. &DATEY& - Current date as YYYY-MM-DD. &TIME& - Current time as HH:MM:SS. &DRIVE& - Current drive letter. &DIR& - Current directory. &DIR?& - Current directory for drive ? (? is A to Z). &VER& - DOS version number (ex. 3.30). Variables may be used (not set) in all the fields of a selection or menu, except password. Again, the current value of the variable will replace the variable where it is used. Thus, if %# has been set to "/W" and your batch command line was "DIR %#", the result would be "DIR /W". As mentioned earlier, the input variables are automatically set each time you choose a selection. However, you may also set the input variables along with the global and environment variables. To set a global or input variable in the batch commands section, enter the variable as the first thing on a line and follow it immediately (no intervening blanks) by an equal sign. The variable will be assigned the value to the right of the equal sign. For example, %#= DIR /W, will result in variable %# being set to the value " DIR /W". Variables may also be set to other variables. For instance, if %1=DIR and %0=/W, then &0=%1 %2 will result in &0 being set to "DIR /W". The use and setting of non-environment variables in the batch commands is done prior to the execution of them. If a line sets a variable, this line will not be part of the commands later executed by Page 28 DOS. The processing of variables is done starting with the first line proceeding till the last line of the batch commands. For example, suppose you had the following batch commands: &0=%PATH% PATH=C:\NEWPATH;%PATH% %1=%PATH% MYPROG PATH=&0 The result of these commands is: . &0=%PATH% sets &0 to the path prior to the commands being ran. . PATH=C:\NEWPATH;%PATH% adds C:\NEWPATH to the front of your current path. . &1=%PATH% sets &1 to the path prior to the commands being ran. Thus, &1 contains the same path as &0. . MYPROG runs the program by this name. It is assumed in this example that MYPROG can be found in C:\NEWPATH. . PATH=&0 resets the path to its setting prior to the commands being ran. This example not only shows that variables are filled in prior to the batch commands execution, it also shows how environment variables can be saved into a variable and later restored. Thus, in the example above, the PATH can be dynamically changed before running a program and then restored. The samples menu (select the Max-Menu samples menu from the main menu) contains a number of selections that exploit variables. This includes using global variables to pass information from one selection to another and the use of the input variable parameters. Try these selections and then carefully study them and their sub-menus. Copy or Transfer a Sub-Menu =========================== The copying (duplicating) of entire menus is accomplished through the DOS copy command. The file name for a menu is the menu name and the extension is .MNU. The file name for the programmable keys is MAX-MENU.KYS. You may copy these files to other computers to distribute your menus and programmable keys. Also, an entire menu can be duplicated by copying the menu's file to the new (duplicated) file. For instance, assuming the current directory contains menus, the DOS copy command COPY EXISTING.MNU DUPLICAT.MNU will create a duplicate of the "existing" menu and call it "duplicat". You can then add a selection and specify "duplicat" as the sub-menu. To transfer a menu to another location within the menu system, simply transfer the selection that displays that sub-menu. Page 29 Chapter 3: Customizing Max-Menu =============================== Max-Menu has a number of options that allow you to customize it to your liking. These options include directories, colors, performance enhancements, passwords and more. To inspect or change Max-Menu's configuration: 1. Enter a slash (/) from any user or programmable keys menu. This will display the system menu. 2. Press S for setup. The setup menu will be displayed at the top of your screen: +----------------------------------- Setup ------------------------------------+ |_Directories Colors RamCopy=OFF MainMenu ScreenSave Entry=INS Passwords Files | | Change Batch, User menus, RAM menus, System and Commands directories | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | _Max-Menu_samples_menu | | Data management menu | | Games menu | | Languages menu | | Miscellaneous menu | | Picture graphics menu | | Utilities menu | | Word processing | | Shutdown | | Help | | | | | | | | | | | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 10:53:14 PM Monday May 16, 1988 F1=Help Max-Menu 3. Choose any of the items shown on the setup menu. For an explanation of each item and instructions on how to inspect/change it, see sections below. 4. Enter Esc after inspecting/changing the setup. 5. If you have changed the setup, you will be requested to save or abort the changes. Enter Y to save the new configuration and N or Esc to abort it. Directories =========== All of the directories used by Max-Menu are modifiable. To inspect or change these: Page 30 1. Press D while viewing the setup menu. The directory menu will pop-up below the setup menu: +----------------------------------- Setup ------------------------------------+ |_Directories Colors RamCopy=OFF MainMenu ScreenSave Entry=INS Passwords Files | | Change Batch, User menus, RAM menus, System and Commands directories | +-+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+ | |_Batch_and_restart_files | | | | User menus and keys | | | | RAM menus and keys | | | | System files |Max-Menu_samples_menu | | | Commands - send/receive |Data management menu | | +-------------------------+Games menu | | Languages menu | | Miscellaneous menu | | Picture graphics menu | | Utilities menu | | Word processing | | Shutdown | | Help | | | | | | | | | | | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 10:53:14 PM Monday May 16, 1988 F1=Help Max-Menu 2. Choose the directory to inspect/modify: Batch and restart files directory contains the batch file (MAX- MNUX.BAT) built from a selection's commands and then executed. It also contains the restart information file (MAX-MNUX.RST). User menus and keys directory contains the permanent copy of your user menus (.MNU extension) and programmable keys (MAX-MENU.KYS). Multiple directories may be specified separated by semi-colons (;). Menus are read from the first directory they are found in. A new menu is saved in the first directory and an updated menu in the same directory it was read from. RAM menu and keys directory is provided to improve performance. Always specify a directory on a RAM drive. This directory will be searched before the user menus and keys directory. User menus and keys files should then be copied into this directory by your AUTOEXEC.BAT file or by setting RamCopy=ON in the setup. System files directory contains Max-Menu's system files (ex. MAX- MENU.EXE, MAX-MENU.HLP and MAX-MENU.FRM). Commands - send/receive directory contains (batch) files to export from or import into a selection. 3. The directory chosen will be displayed in the input prompt window. Inspect/change the directory. Then press Enter to accept or Esc to abort change. Page 31 4. Press the Esc key from the directory menu to return to the setup menu. Colors ====== To change any of Max-Menu's colors: 1. Press C from the setup menu. The color menu will pop-up below the setup menu: +----------------------------------- Setup ------------------------------------+ | Directories_Colors RamCopy=OFF MainMenu ScreenSave Entry=INS Passwords Files | | Change colors of menus and windows | ++-------------------------------------------------+---------------------------+ ||_User_defined_menus Help menu / window | | || Pop-up system menus Input prompt window | | || Selection update window Warning message window | | || Menu update window Bottom line | | |+-------------------------------------------------+ | | Games menu | | Languages menu | | Miscellaneous menu | | Picture graphics menu | | Utilities menu | | Word processing | | Shutdown | | Help | | | | | | | | | | | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 2:34:48 AM Tuesday May 17, 1988 F1=Help Max-Menu 2. Choose the item to inspect/change: User defined menus are those menus which you create and modify. This includes the programmable keys display. Pop-up system menus are the menu and sub-menus displayed by entering a slash (/) from the user defined menus. Selection update window is the window displayed when adding or updating a selection. Information about a selection is then entered or changed in this window. Menu update window is the window displayed when creating or modifying a menu. Information pertaining to the menu is then entered or changed in this window. Help menu / window is the menu and window displayed when the help key (F1) is pressed. Page 32 Input prompt window is the window that is displayed at the bottom of the screen requesting input. Warning message window is the window that is displayed at the bottom of the screen when a warning, error or informational message is displayed. Bottom line is the bottom line of the screen. Among other things, it contains the date, time and status of certain keys (such as Num Lock). Choosing one of the first five selections above results in the color sub-menu being displayed to the right of the color menu: +----------------------------------- Setup ------------------------------------+ | Directories_Colors RamCopy=OFF MainMenu ScreenSave Entry=INS Passwords Files | | Change colors of menus and windows | ++-------------------------------------------------+--------------------------++ ||_User_defined_menus Help menu / window |_Window_/_Border || || Pop-up system menus Input prompt window | Title || || Selection update window Warning message window | ID for selection || || Menu update window Bottom line | Description of selection || |+-------------------------------------------------| Selection Bar || | Games menu +--------------------------+| | Languages menu | | Miscellaneous menu | | Picture graphics menu | | Utilities menu | | Word processing | | Shutdown | | Help | | | | | | | | | | | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 2:34:48 AM Tuesday May 17, 1988 F1=Help Max-Menu 3. If the color sub-menu appears, further qualify the item to inspect or change by selecting: Window / Border is the color of the blank area and border (double/single line) around the outside of the window. This selection may also be Window / Border / Text, which indicates that the text within the window will also have this color (for example, the text within the help window). Title is the color of the window's heading displayed in the top border line. This selection may also be Title / Message or Title / Highlighted text. The former indicates that the message line of the pop-up system menu will have the same color as the title. The later indicates that the highlighted text will have the same color as the title (for example, the highlighted text within the help window). Page 33 ID for selection is the highlighted selection identification to the left of each selection's description. For example, T is the ID for "Title" in the color sub-menu. Description of selection is the description given to each selection. For example, "Title" is the description given to the second selection of the color sub-menu. Selection Bar is the highlighted current selection. For example, "Window / Border" is the current selection in the above color sub- menu. 4. Inspect/change the color number shown in the input prompt window at the bottom of the screen. Then press Enter to accept or Esc to abort the change. Notice that the color chart appears just above the input prompt window: +----------------------------------- Setup ------------------------------------+ | Directories_Colors RamCopy=OFF MainMenu ScreenSave Entry=INS Passwords Files | | Change colors of menus and windows | ++-------------------------------------------------+---------------------------+ || User defined menus Help menu / window | | || Pop-up system menus _Input_prompt_window | | || Selection update window Warning message window | | || Menu update window Bottom line | | |+-------------------------------------------------+ | | Data Management | | Games | | +------------------------- Color Chart --------------------------+ | | | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15| | | | 16 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31| | | | 32 33 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47| | | | 48 49 50 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63| | | | 64 65 66 67 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79| | | | 80 81 82 83 84 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95| | | | 96 97 98 99 100 101 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111| | | | 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127| | | +----------------------------------------------------------------+ | +- Select Color (number) from chart above for Input prompt window -------------+ | 63 | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 7:55:14 AM Tuesday May 17, 1988 Ins F1=Help Max-Menu The color chart contains 120 different combinations of foreground and background colors. Some of these colors may not show up clearly or at all on your screen. 5. Once you have changed all the colors desired, use the Esc key to return to the setup menu. Page 34 RamCopy ======= RamCopy is used in conjunction with the RAM menus and keys directory. As mentioned earlier, you may specify a directory on a RAM drive to search for user menus and the programmable keys before looking into the User menus and keys directory. This will improve the performance of Max-Menu for those menus on the RAM directory. You may move the user menus (and programmable keys) desired to this directory in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. However, this will increase the time it takes your computer to initialize when you power it on. A better alternative could be to use RamCopy. When RamCopy is on Max-Menu copies user menus and programmable keys from the User menus and keys directory to the RAM menus and keys directory. This occurs when user menus or programmable keys are accessed, but are not currently in the RAM menus and keys directory. Enter R to toggle RamCopy option on or off. Main Menu Name ============== The default main menu name is "Main". You may make an existing or new menu your main menu. To do this, press M while viewing the setup menu. This will display the input prompt window. You may then change the main menu name. If a new menu name is entered, a selection menu with no selections will be displayed the next time the main menu is displayed. You may then add selections to this menu. ScreenSave ========== ScreenSave is the number of seconds Max-Menu waits for a response from the user before clearing the screen. Thus, if you get interrupted by a phone call, the characters currently on the screen will not get "burnt" into the screen. The user can press any key to display the screen again. To change or deactivate this option, type S from the setup menu. Then enter 0 to deactivate option (that is, screen will not be cleared at all) or enter the number of seconds Max- Menu should wait for a response before clearing the screen. Entry Mode for Input ==================== Entry is the default input entry mode and is either INS for insert or OVR for overlay. Each time you are requested for input, this will be the initial entry mode. The Insert key can then be used to toggle between modes. In insert mode, characters typed will be inserted into the text, while overlay will replace the character above the cursor with the character typed. Press E to toggle between default entry modes. Page 35 Password Protecting System Functions ==================================== In addition to allowing menus and selections to be password protected, Max-Menu allows for the following passwords: Creator password satisfies a prompt for any password. It uniquely identifies the person who enters it as the installer of Max-Menu. With this password, any other password protection can be bypassed and changed. REMEMBER THIS PASSWORD! Entry password protects entry into Max-Menu. It will be requested for each time Max-Menu is entered. In this way Max-Menu disallows unauthorized access. Quitting password protects leaving Max-Menu. This password will be requested each time an attempt is made to quit Max-Menu and can be used to ensure that use of your computer is through the use of Max-Menu. System password protects system windows/menus. Whenever a slash (/) is entered from a user menu or the programmable keys menu, the first system window appears. From this window, you can change Max-Menu's setup, menus and selections. You can also exit to the DOS prompt and run DOS commands, programs and batch files. This password prevents unauthorized use of these capabilities. Each time the first system window is invoked, this password is requested. NOTE: The system password can become an irritant when doing massive updates to your menus and selections. In this case, you should temporarily remove it. To change any of the above passwords: 1. Enter P for passwords from the setup menu. 2. If a creator password has been entered previously, you will be requested to enter it. Thus, only the "creator" is allowed to inspect/modify these passwords. The password menu will be displayed at the top of the screen: Page 36 +--------------------------------- Passwords ----------------------------------+ |_Creator Entry Quitting System | | Creator password will always satisfy a prompt for any password | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | _Max-Menu_samples_menu | | Data management menu | | Games menu | | Languages menu | | Miscellaneous menu | | Picture graphics menu | | Utilities menu | | Word processing | | Shutdown | | Help | | | | | | | | | | | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 8:59:46 AM Tuesday May 17, 1988 F1=Help Max-Menu 3. Press the first character of the type of password you want to change (ex. C for creator). This will display the input prompt window to allow you to change/enter the password. To remove a password, either delete it or set it to blanks. 4. When the desired passwords have been entered or changed, press Esc from the password menu to return to the setup menu. Files ===== The Files selection allows you to change the name of the following files: + Temporary batch file built when executing a selection's batch commands (BAT extension). + Restart file used to retain information when a selection's execution mode is "Temporarily exit" (RST extension). + Setup file used to retain setup information (SET extension). The default is MAX-MNUX. While you may change this to any valid file name (no extension), the purpose of Files is to allow multiple users of networks (LANs) and shared PC's to run at the same time and also have separate setup (configurations). This will be covered later in the appendix on Networks and shared PCs. To change the Files name, enter F from the setup menu and then enter the new file name. Page 37 Appendix A: Hints ================= This appendix is intended to provide hints on how to get the most from Max-Menu. Only after installing and using Max-Menu, should you read these hints. It is assumed that the reader has developed some knowledge of DOS and has the DOS manual available as a reference. Invoke Max-Menu Without Directory Change ======================================== You may want to invoke Max-Menu by entering MENU from the DOS prompt without having to change the current directory. To do this, add the directory containing the MENU.BAT and MAX-MENU.EXE files to your PATH. This directory is usually the directory you installed Max-Menu in. Also, it is normally specified in the setup as the "System files" directory. Assuming you installed into the default directory of C:\MAX-MENU, you could change your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to include the command PATH C:\MAX-MENU\. If you already have a PATH command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT, then simply add this directory to those already specified (the directories are separated by semi-colons (;)). Another alternative is to copy the MENU.BAT and MAX-MENU.EXE files to a directory that is already in your path. Invoke Max-Menu Automatically ============================= You may want Max-Menu invoked automatically each time you power on you computer. To do this, edit your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Then add a line to the bottom of the file that changes (DOS CHDIR command) to the directory Max-Menu was installed in. This is not needed if this directory has already been added to your PATH. After this, add a line to invoke Max-Menu by entering MENU. Now save the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Keep Max-Menu from Changing Directory ====================================== When Max-Menu executes your batch commands, they are first written to a batch file. This batch file is then executed. The batch file may then intentionally change the directory. During this process, Max-Menu may change the drive and directory to ensure that DOS will find the batch file mentioned above (MAX-MNUX.BAT) and/or the MAX- MENU.EXE program. This can cause additional overhead. It can also be undesirable if you have a selection that changes the current drive and directory and other selections that operate on that directory. For instance, you could have a menu with a selection that changes the current directory. Page 38 Other selections could display the files in that directory, type these files, delete them etc. If Max-Menu is constantly changing the current drive and directory, this type of menu simply won't work. The solution: add the directories specified in your setup for the Batch and Restart files and the System files into your PATH. To do this, edit your AUTOEXEC.BAT file and change (or add) the PATH command specifying these directory(s). Be sure to enter the directory(s) exactly as it is specified in the setup. Assuming you installed into the default C:\MAX-MENU directory, the command PATH C:\MAX- MENU\;C:\DOS\ would be used if you already had a path to the C:\DOS directory. Max-Menu will first check that these directories are in the PATH (thus, DOS will be able to find the desired batch file and program). If they are not, then it is forced to change the current drive and directory so DOS will find them. Removing ECHO OFF ================= To keep "ECHO OFF" from appearing on your screen, upgrade to DOS version 3.30 or above. Then change the MENU.BAT file's "ECHO OFF" statement to "@ECHO OFF". You can use this same technique in your batch files to also suppress the ECHO OFF. Renaming MENU.BAT file ====================== The MENU.BAT file can be renamed. This may become necessary if it conflicts with another batch file or program. This ability is provided through the /M switch in this file. To rename this file, use the DOS REN command. Forgotten Passwords =================== Max-Menu has a very generous password protection system. This allows for protecting a menu, selection or system function (for example, quitting Max-Menu). Once this password protection is set, it may not be removed unless you either know the password or the "creator" password. The same is true when trying to view a menu, choose a selection or do a system function that is password protected. For this reason, it is very important to set the "creator" password to identify you as the creator of Max-Menu. It is equally important to not forget it! If you forget a menu or selection password, you (that is the creator of Max-Menu) may enter the "creator" password instead. The "creator" password will always be accepted on any prompt for a password. To determine what the menu password is, display and then modify the menu. To determine what a selection's password is, update the selection. In either case, you will need to enter the "creator" password when Page 39 requested for the menu/selection password (assuming you have forgotten it). You may then view or modify the password through the normal menu/selection update window. Selection Password Annoying =========================== Selection password protection can become bothersome for selections you repeatedly choose (since the password is requested each time). As an alternative, group selections to be protected on a menu(s) and use the menu password. Then, the password will be requested once when the menu is displayed as opposed to each time the selection is chosen. Providing Help for Menus and Selections ======================================= Max-Menu provides help on how to use and update the menus by pressing the F1 key. You may want to provide help for your menus and the selections on them. The best may to do this is to include a "Help" selection. This selection can either ECHO help text, list a file containing help text or display a sub-menu of help topics with each selection displaying help text. Maximizing Performance ====================== While Max-Menu's performance is quite good, there are several things you can do to get maximum performance. One of the easiest is to specify BUFFERS=20 in your CONFIG.SYS file. This change will benefit many of the programs you run. When creating selections, use the Shelling (faster) option for execution mode where possible. If there is not enough memory, DOS will display message "Program too big to fit in memory". In this case, choose the Exiting temporarily (more memory) option. Also, keep the Batch commands short. If they become too long (more than 11 lines), consider sending (use Ctrl-S) these commands to a batch file and then execute the batch file. This is particularly important for frequently used menus or selections (it slows up menu display and selection invocation). Finally, if you have a RAM drive (virtual disk) or are willing to create one consider: + Copying COMMAND.COM file from the root directory of your hard drive to the root directory of the RAM drive. Turn on the read- only attribute so it will not be deleted accidentally. Then set COMSPEC to the new location of COMMAND.COM file. This can be done in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. For instance, if your RAM drive is D the batch file could do the following after creating the RAM drive: Page 40 COPY C:\COMMAND.COM D:\*.* ATTRIB +R D:\COMMAND.COM SET COMSPEC=D:\COMMAND.COM This will speed up all programs that "shell" since the COMMAND.COM file can be loaded quicker from the RAM drive then the hard disk. Thus, any selection that specifies an execution mode of Shelling (faster) will be quicker. + In the setup, change the Batch and restart files directory to be on the RAM drive. Since the RAM drive is quicker than a hard disk, this will speed up the execution of the batch commands for a selection. It will also make selections that specify an execution mode of Temporarily exiting (more memory) faster since the restart file can be read quicker. + In the setup, change the RAM menus and keys directory to be on the RAM drive. Then turn RamCopy=ON. This will do two things: first, menus that do not exist in the RAM menus and keys directory will be copied into the directory as they are displayed. Secondly, menus that exist in this directory will be read quicker and thus displayed quicker. Page 41 Appendix B: Networks and shared PCs =================================== Max-Menu supports Local Area Networks (LANs) and will also allow several people to share a PC. In both cases, each user may use their own and/or shared menus. Each user will also have their own setup if different from the system administrator's. Thus, each user may have different colors, directories, passwords, main menus, menus, etc. However, each user will be running off one copy of the Max-Menu code. To enable this function, first install Max-Menu. Then follow these steps: + Decide what DOS environment variable will be used to indicate to Max-Menu which user it is working with. You may already have one established. In these examples and in the sample menus, ID will be used. + Use the DOS SET command to set your environment variable equal to max-mnux to identify yourself as the system administrator: SET ID=MAX-MNUX NOTE: The system administrator is the only "user" allowed to update the Files and System files directory items in the setup for a multi-user system. + Modify the MENU.BAT batch file which invokes Max-Menu. You will need to change MAX-MNUX to your environment variable enclosed in percent (%) signs. For example, it might look like: ECHO OFF MAX-MENU %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9 /M%0 %ID% When you invoke MENU, the %ID% variable will be replaced by the users identification (in this case MAX-MNUX). This in turn will invoke the temporary batch file built from the selection chosen by that user. + Invoke Max-Menu through the MENU.BAT file above. Get into the setup by entering /S, then press F to modify the Files name. Now enter your environment variable enclosed in percent (%) signs (ex. %ID%). This tells Max-Menu that this is a multi-user system and that ID is the environment variable containing the user identification. Use the Esc key to exit the setup, entering Y to the save setup prompt. + Each user must set this environment variable prior to invoking Max-Menu. They may do this either by modifying their AUTOEXEC.BAT file, their network login script, or explicitly entering the DOS set command (ex. SET ID=janet). If this is not set or is set to a value which is not a standard DOS file name, Max-Menu will issue an error message and stop. Page 42 + The Alt-U programmable key will allow users to change the user identification. This is particularly useful when working with a shared PC. The programmable key uses the ID environment variable. If you are using a different environment variable, please update this programmable key, changing all occurrences of ID to your environment variable. + It is a good idea to include the user identification environment variable (%ID%) in the main menu title. This will allow users to easily determine that the desired identification is being used. Some selections may also use this environment variable. In this way the selection could act differently for each user. For example, each user may have a separate directory that the selection switches to. If this is the case, the selection's description should also have the user identification in it (ex. "Word processing for %ID%"). This will help identify which selections are dependent on the user's identification being correct. + As each user modifies the setup, it is saved to a file with their user identification as the file name and an extension of SET. This file is saved in the directory Max-Menu was installed in (see System files under setup directories). If this file should be saved in a different directory, you may modify Files name in the setup to: A) Precede environment variable with the directory to use. For example, C:\DATA\%ID% will cause the setup files to be saved in the C:\DATA directory. B) Specify two environment variables. The user sets the first to the directory to get/save the setup in and the second to their user identification. For example, %MAX- DIR%%ID% will allow the user to specify which directory to use by setting the MAX-DIR environment variable (SET MAX- DIR=C:\DATA\). IF MAX-DIR is not set, then the directory Max-Menu was installed in is used. + If some users have their own menus (in addition to a shared set), they can modify the User menus and keys directory of the setup. They should specify their directory and then the shared directory separated by a semi-colon. + The /I parameter can be used when invoking Max-Menu to reset the setup to its original values. When this parameter is used in a multi-user system it will only reset the setup to its original values for the system administrator (ID=MAX-MNUX). For all other users, the setup will be reset to those specified by the system administrator. Page 43 Appendix C: Messages ==================== The message window reports any informational, warning or error messages. The vast majority of messages are warnings. In addition to the message, the window contains the message number in the lower right hand corner. All messages are documented by this message number below. After reading the message, you may hit any key to continue. Max-Menu will then take an appropriate action as documented. You may then take corrective action, if any, for the message. The following is a list of message numbers on the left and the text of the message on the right. Each message will have a description of the problem, the action Max-Menu will take and any corrective action you might want to take. 101 Turn your printer on and position to top of page Description: Before printing the registration form, please be sure that your printer is on and that the print will start at the top of a page. Action: None. Correction: None. 102 Setup re-initialized as requested by /I parameter. Description: /I parameter was specified when invoking Max-Menu. Action: The setup has been re-initialized to the original values. Correction: None. 200 Menu [menu] not in [directory] where [menu] will be replaced with a menu name and [directory] will be replace with a directory name. Description: The menu shown cannot be found in the user menus and keys directory (also shown). Action: The menu will be displayed using a title of the menu name with no selections. Correction: If the menu should exist, press Esc to return to prior menu. Then locate the menu file and copy it to the directory shown. If the menu is new, add selections. 201 Maximum number of menus reached, ignoring [menu] where [menu] will be replaced with the name of the sub-menu requested. Description: A selection chosen has specified a sub-menu however, the maximum number of nested menus has been reached. Action: Max-Menu will ignore the Sub-menu and display the current menu. Correction: Transfer this selection to a higher level menu. Page 44 202 RAM menu directory does not exist, ignoring RamCopy - change setup Description: The RAM menu and keys directory specified in the setup does not exist, however, RamCopy=ON. Action: RamCopy=ON option is ignored. Correction: In the setup, change the RAM menu directory to a valid directory on a RAM drive or delete it. 301 No action defined for programmable key: [Alt-?] where [Alt-?] will be replaced with the programmable key pressed (ex. Alt-A). Description: A programmable key was pressed for which no action (sub-menu or batch commands) has been defined. Action: Max-Menu will ignore the request. Correction: Either the wrong programmable key was pressed or this programmable key must be updated to have an action. 400 Menu has no selections - must choose a selection Description: You have requested to update a selection, however, the current menu has no selections to update. Action: None. Correction: Locate a selection to be updated or add a selection to this menu. 401 No room in menu to insert selection. Change menu option type to allow more. Description: You have attempted to insert a selection into a menu which already has the maximum number of selections allowed. Action: Insert is not allowed. Correction: The menu has the alpha-numeric option ID. Its maximum number of selections can be increased from 36 to 99 by changing the option ID to numeric. Otherwise, split this menu into smaller menus. 402 No room in menu to insert selection - [function] aborted where [function] is either add, copy or transfer. Description: You have attempted to insert a selection into a menu which already has the maximum number or selections allowed. Action: Insert is not allowed. Correction: Split this menu into smaller menus. 403 Description is a required field - please fill it in Description: The description field must be filled in when adding or updating a selection. Action: Cursor will be placed in the description field. Correction: Enter a description for the selection. This description will be displayed on the menu. 404 Batch commands and/or Sub-menu must be filled in Description: The batch commands and/or sub-menu fields must be filled in when adding or updating a selection. Action: None. Correction: Enter a sub-menu or batch commands. Page 45 405 Menu [menu] is invalid where [menu] is the sub-menu Description: The sub-menu specified for a selection is not a valid file name. Action: Allows you to change sub-menu name. Correction: Change the sub-menu name to a valid one. Menu names must conform to the same standards as file names. 406 Menu [menu] has no matches where [menu] is the sub-menu Description: The sub-menu specified for a selection is a generic name (that is, it has * or ? characters). However, no menu name matches. Action: List of menu names matching the generic name are not shown. Correction: Correct the generic menu name. This may include changing the generic file name to * to get a listing of all menus. 451 Cannot update programmable keys menu Description: You have attempted to update the programmable keys menu characteristics. This cannot be done. Action: None. Correction: None. 452 Cannot insert into programmable keys - [function] aborted where [function] is either add, copy or transfer. Description: You cannot insert a new selection into the programmable keys menu. Action: The add, copy or transfer is not allowed. Correction: For copy or transfer, specify replace instead of before or after. This will replace the highlighted programmable key with the one being copied/transferred. 501 Only system administrator can change [item] where [item] is either "System files directory" or "Files name". Description: These items in the setup can only be changed by the "system administrator" for your Local Area Network or PC through the max-mnux ID. Action: The change is disallowed. Correction: None. 900 Could not find help file (MAX-MENU.HLP) in [directory] where [directory] is the directory specified in the setup for the system files. Description: The help file is not in the directory shown. Action: Help will not be displayed. Correction: Change the setup directory for system files to the directory Max-Menu was installed in. Page 46 901 Programmable keys (MAX-MENU.KYS) not in [directory] where [directory] is the directory specified in the setup for the user menus and keys. Description: The programmable keys file is not in the directory shown. Action: The programmable key is not invoked. Correction: Change the setup directory for user menus and keys to the directory containing these files (normally, this is the directory Max-Menu was installed in). If the programmable keys file has been lost, display the programmable keys and then define them. 902 Registration form (MAX-MENU.FRM) not in [directory] where [directory] is the directory specified in the setup for the system files. Description: The registration form is not in the directory shown. Action: The registration form is not printed. Correction: Change the setup directory for system files to the directory Max-Menu was installed in. 903 Setup could not be saved Description: Max-Menu could not save its setup configuration. Action: The current user menu or keys is displayed. Correction: Report this as an error. 904 Directory contains too many directories/files, will use first [number] where [number] is the maximum number of directories or files allowed. Description: The directory contains too many files or directories (depending on whether you were trying to list files or directories). Action: The maximum number of files or directories is displayed. Correction: For files, change the file mask specified on the send or receive to reduce the number of files to be displayed. 905 Setup directories are invalid, changed to initial values Description: One or more of the directories specified in the setup does not exist. Action: These directories will be reset to their initial setting. This will either be the directory Max-Menu was invoked from or none at all, depending on the directory that is bad. Correction: Review all directories specified in the setup to ensure they are correct. Page 47 Appendix D: Registering Max-Menu ================================ You may register additional copies of Max-Menu. Registration includes the manual, notification of any changes and support. Once registered, you may upgrade to new versions for a nominal fee. To print the registration form, enter /F from any user menu or the programmable keys menu. You will be asked to turn your printer on and to set it to the top of a page. Then enter any key and the registration form will be printed. Once the registration form has been printed, fill in the requested information, attach a check for the indicated amount and send to the address shown. Thank you for your support!! Page 48 Index ===== AUTOEXEC.BAT 5, 37-39 Batch commands 17, 36, 39, 40 Editing keys 18 Execution mode 26, 39 Colors 31 Bottom line 32 Description of selection 33 Help menu / window 31 ID for selection 33 Input prompt window 32 Menu update window 31 Pop-up system menus 31 Selection Bar 33 Selection update window 31 Title 32 User defined menus 31 Warning message window 32 Window / border 32 Configuration Changing the 29 Colors 31 Directories 29 Files 36 Main menu name 34 Password 35 RamCopy 30, 34, 40 Resetting 5 ScreenSave 34 Directories Batch and restart files 30, 38, 40 Commands - send/receive 30 In configuration 29 RAM menu and keys 30 RAM menus and keys 34, 40 System files 30, 37, 38, 42 User menus and keys 30, 42 Distribution disk 2 DOS Exit to 12 Run a command 12 Execution mode 26, 39 Files 36, 41 Help For Max-Menu 7 For Menu/Selections 39 Input Default entry mode 34 Editing keys 9 Entry mode 10 Initial 25 Prompt message 25 Prompt window 9 Variable 26 Page 49 Installation 3 Invoking Max-Menu 5, 37, 38 Keys Batch command editing 18 Input editing 9 Menu cursor movement 7 Programmable 5, 11 Menu Add a sub-menu 16 Anatomy 5 Copy 28 Cursor movement keys 7 Delete a sub-menu 22 ID type 15 Main menu name 34 Modify characteristics 14 Navigation 8 Password 15, 39 Samples 4 System 10 Title 6, 15 Transfer 28 Messages 43 Networks 36, 41 Password Change forgotten 38 Creator 35, 38 Entry 35 Menu 15, 39 Quitting 35 Selection 17, 39 System 35 Performance 39 Programmable keys 5, 11 Quitting Max-Menu 13 RamCopy 30, 34, 40 Sample menus 4 ScreenSave 34 Selection Add 16 Bar 6 Batch commands 17, 39, 40 Choosing 8 Copy 21 Delete 22 Description 6, 17 Execution mode 26, 39 Input prompt 25 Password 17, 39 RamCopy 40 Sub-menu 17 Transfer 21 Update 19 Shared PCs 36, 41 Page 50 Sub-menu 17 Add 16 Copy 28 Delete 22 Transfer 28 Wild cards 23 Switches /I 5, 42 /K 5 /M 38 System administrator 41 System requirements 2 Variables 26 Environment 27 Global 26 Input 25, 26 May be used in 27 Setting 27 Special 27