Current Shareware 1994 January

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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │──┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ I C O N S H E L L │ │ │ │ │ │ Version 1.8 │ │ │ │ │ │ (c) 1993 D.G. Sureau │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ For AT │ │ │ 80286 - 384 Kb RAM │ │ │ VGA │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └─┬───────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ DISK CONTENT - SHELL.EXE The program. - SHELL.SPR File of images. - SHELL.DOC This text file. - SE.BAT A loader for the program when installed on c: drive. - MOUS.BAT Example for installing a resident program - SHELL.CFG Main board of icons as example. - SUBDIR.CFG Alternate board for disk dir with icons. - DISK.CFG Alternate board for MS-DOS commands. - SWTOOLS.CFG Special board for shareware programs. - LICENSE.FRM Detailed license form and conditions. - SHELL.FRM Short license form. - VENDOR.DOC Info for shareware distributors and sysops. HISTORY 1.0 1.5 - Main change is phantom program feature: QUIT.EXE, EXIT.EXE, WAIT.EXE - Added HOME.BAT file. 1.6 - Now allows multiple boards. - Possibility to assign a path to the board file. - New phantom programs BOARD.EXE and ECD.EXE. ECD provides easy access to directories. - EGA resolution now accepts 12 icons. - Added 2 boards. 1.7 - Now sub-directories in the directory windows. - Added date to the disk catalog in ECD.EXE. - New phantom file CLOCK.EXE. - Display of the disk size in K. bytes. - Reduced size of icon file. - Now BAT file as EXE and COM file in program field. - Renamed program from Icon Menu to IconShell. 1.8 - The board of installed icons is now completed by the disk catalog with icon display. - A board now can hold 30 icons in VGA 18, and 20 in VGA 16. - Added the MOUS.BAT file. - Automatic installation of files from the iconed disk catalog now available. - New phantom program DIRECTORY - Some minor changes that come from the new icon catalog feature. - Some changes on the display. - Better handling of multiple drives. - The board-config files now are always stored in their original path, not the current one, avoiding having cfg and frm (!) file anywhere in the disk. - Title is no longer removable. - This version has the ultimate improvements available in the shareware copy, as all future adds only will be available in the registered version. Registered version improvements: + loading screens for background (PCX or very fast VRT). + extended iconed disk catalog, with multiple screens. + icon file as second parameter for program and board command. + two new files of icons. + removing screen and references as a shareware evaluation copy. STARTING UP ICONSHELL --------------------- Type: shell or better: shell c:\shell.cfg that gives to the IconShell program the path of the board of icon, and that will be useful when sailing in directories. OVERVIEW -------- IconShell is an useful DOS interface that replaces the MS-DOS Dosshell program to more friendly access to softwares and DOS commands. Iconshell displays a disk catalog with icons, and programs can be executed with the single click of a mouse on an icon. Automatic installation is allowed to run them without the search in disk sub-directories, as with Windows or Macintosh, and this program is besides designed to don't throw out regular users of Windows. Until 30 icons can sit on a board and each can store in is data fields all DOS commands, filenames and following options that are typed to run a software. Complex line commands with incredible syntax no longer require referring to manual, but once to install them. User can create unlimited number of boards. Some commands are already installed, that are only examples, user can change them and add so much that it would. The fonctions of the IconShell program in facts, are all these that you can install in icons, all these of DOS, plus all complementary shareware programs... This software is shareware, it can be freely copied and distributed by vendors, users, sysops, but using it on his computer more than the 15-DAY trial requires payment of an user licence. INSTALLATION ------------ Copy first the files SHELL.EXE, SHELL.SPR, *.CFG, SE.BAT, MOUS.BAT on the disk or the hard drive unit. Then add the following command on the last line of the AUTOEXEC.BAT file: SHELL.EXE C:\SHELL.CFG for direct load, when the computer is powered. To run directly it, type SHELL, or SE if installed on the c: drive (It is always preferable to give a CFG file as parameter, however). If previous version to 1.8 is already installed on the disk, erase first all the older files if no replaced by new ones with same name, to avoid compatibility problems. Once installed, change the content of icons to give files their path with correct drive, and the antislash if they stay at root. Specially, you must set an exact path to the four board loading icons: Shell, Dir only, Disk command, SW tools. For example, actual content of the "Disk command" icon is: BOARD DISK.CFG Change that to the right path, for example: BOARD C:\DISK.CFG And then, you can move to any sub-directory and apply disk commands to the current sub-directory. Do likewise for all boards you would create futurely (with the registered version, of course, beyond 15-days trial.) All files that are specified in an icon, either must have their path also specified, or must stay in a sub-dir of the PATH access variable. In some words, all files in the sub-dir EXAMPLE are accessible if autoexec.bat has a line as that: PATH C:\EXAMPLE DESCRIPTION OF AN ICON ---------------------- An icon displays an image and a title and has two data fields not displayed: a 'COMMAND' field for DOS commands and a 'PROGRAM' field for a program with his path and options. To see an example of setting of these fields, press the End key. The 'COMMAND' field gets DOS commands, which has to be executed without leaving IconShell, as for example, a directory change before to run a program. The command field can get any DOS command or a batch file name. When one selects an icon, IconShell always first performs the command field, and then the program field. The 'PROGRAM' field gets path and name of a program to run, with EXE or COM extension, and its options. Here are two examples of data fields of an icon: Example: Title: Word x.x COMMAND: cd \word PROGRAM: word mytext.doc Example: Title: Unpack COMMAND: PROGRAM: \tools\unpack a: \(file.pak) -x2 SELECTING AN ICON ----------------- All the menu functions apply to the icon whose title is currently highlighted. Use the cursor keys to move the cursor on an icon, then the title of current selected icon becomes highlighted, and press ENTER to execute it, or type a function key. Using a mouse, move the mouse cursor on the image or the title of an icon, and click to select this icon: his title then will be highlighted, click again on this icon to execute it. TO SEE THE DATA --------------- Select an icon and press the END key. A green window shows the title, the image, the command and program fields. To change these data, press a key or click to exit the window, and press the 'c' key or click on the change option in the menu. ACCESSING PULL DOWN MENU ------------------------ Press simultaneously the ALT key and a key among F, D, W, C, Q These letters are underlined on the menu bar. Press Enter or the down cursor key to display a sub-menu. Use cursor keys to move the selection bar or change sub-menu. Press Enter to execute the command. If this command must apply to an icon, it will apply to the currently highlighted one. Each option of sub-menus has shortcut key, that is shown at right on the menu bar when one move to the option line. Press Escape to quit the menu. Using mouse: Do a mouse click on the menu bar to active it, click on a sub-menu option to execute a function. There are two keys on the title bar. The one at the left is for the copyright display, and the one at right, that shows a root symbol, replaces the Escape key for mouse. THE PULL DOWN MENU COMMANDS --------------------------- Files Add icon: Opens a dialog box for resident icon creation. Change: Changes fields/image of a resident icon. Suppress: Suppress a resident icon in the board. Install: Create a resident icon from a disk catalog icon. Directory: Displays current directory. Dos command: Executes directly DOS commands. Save config: Saves changes made on the display (changes on resident icons are automatically saved). Exit: Returns to DOS. Display Icon info: Displays fields of a resident icon. Move: Reorganizes the board of resident icons. Screen: Changes the screen resolution to VGA/EGA.. Board mask: Selects displayable files on the board: exe, com, bat, dir or data (all others). Dir mask: Selects displayable files in the directory list displayed by the 'd' command. Colours: A help to colour change keys. Windows Open free space: Sets display of disk free space. Open self dir: Sets display of disk catalog on the board. View palette: Shows the 16 colours palette. Help: Lists essential commands. Close Close free space: Suppress display of disk free space. Close self dir: Suppress display of iconed disk catalog. Quit Quit: Saves changes and quit IconShell. Restart: Retrieves defaults colours, window size, etc... DIRECT COMMANDS --------------- Cursor keys Select icon, sub-menu, etc... END Shows content of an icon. c Creates an icon. PG up/down Selects the image (In Install/Add/Change dialog box). c Changes an existing icon. i Installs icon from iconed catalog, as resident. DEL Removes an icon. m Moves an icon ('m' to select icon, 'm' again to drop). ALT+key Sub-menu or colour. o Executes directly DOS command. d Shows directory (+ Enter to run highlighted program). n Sets board mask. s Sets directory mask. F3 Exits. q Saves changes and quit. ESCAPE Leaves current function, window, menu, etc... ENTER Keeps changes and quit any function. r Changes screen resolution. Shift-A..F Changes drive. EASY AUTOMATIC INSTALL ---------------------- Installation avoids to search a program in a sub-directory, and allows to put the options at command line if required. Move the cursor on the icon and type 'i'. A dialog box displays content of the future resident icon when installed: title, command, program name. You can edit these data now, or press Enter to keep them. To change the image, use page-up or page-down keys. Note than the program name in the 'program' field is preceded by the drive unit, that is because the lack of a 'change dir and drive' of DOS, that doesn't work as DOS, but rather as Windows: that first changes drive and then loads the program, while DOS loads the program in the specified path without leaving the current one. CREATING AN ICON ---------------- Press 'a'. A dialog box will appears. This box shows an image, the first in buffer, and three lines. One chooses an image with the page-up and page-down keys. This can be done at any time, in edit process and will not erase the text already typed. DON'T PRESS ENTER when a field is filled! All that is on the screen is also in the memory, and the Enter key serves to save data and to close the dialog box... To change line, use the up/down cursor keys. When each field is filled and an image chosen, press Enter or click on the 'Get' displayed key to save and quit. Press Escape or click out of the window to quit without saving these data. The title can be 16 letters long, other fields have size limited by the window width, and they are specially described in the two following paragraphs. The windows can be resized by a press on the F9 key, or a mouse click on the borders (See later for details of that). THE 'COMMAND' FIELD ------------------- This field gets any DOS command as if typed on the DOS line command. Starting MS-DOS version 5, one can chain several commands separated by '|' symbol. If the field remains blank, the program ignores it when the icon is selected. A batch filename (BAT) is a valid command. One must verify than the batch file process will not have memory action that can erase the IconShell code or data, as it remains in memory when the COMMAND field is performed. If the command uses variable data, put a string in parenthesis for replacing at the execution time. Example: COMMAND: cd \(directory) When one does a mouse click on this icon a message is displayed: Replace or press Enter to keep directory..................... If one types for example, 'windows', that will produce the following command: cd \windows If one press only Enter, there is no change except removing of parenthesis: cd \directory as the string in parenthesis is the default data. A file with EXE or COM extension is a valid command so long the program can run in on remaining memory, that is 400-500k on a 640k computer, according to the configuration. THE 'PROGRAM' FIELD ------------------- The program field gets a program name with 'EXE', 'COM' or 'BAT' extension, with his path if it is not in the current directory. If a path holds unit and directory, this will mask unit and path specified in the COMMAND field. This field can remain blank if the icon represents only a DOS command. Program name (but BAT file) can be followed by several parameters until a maximum of 5, separated by a space. The first parameter can be separated of the name by '/', if that is a correct syntax for this program. Example: win/s (to execute Windows in standard mode). A batch file (with BAT extension) is not a program, but a file of MS-DOS commands. However IconShell accepts it as a program, without option. Some programs as PKUNZIP, LHA, can have many parameters including filename that change each time, so to avoid often to type their complex syntax, IconShell allows strings to replace (as command field) that are in parenthesis. When the icon will be performed IconShell asks for the replacement. Example: PROGRAM: unpack -t a:(SOURCE) (DESTINATION) At the click on the icon, IconShell asks: Replace or press Enter to keep SOURCE........................ Type for example: MEGAPROG.PAK.................. IconShell then asks: replace or press Enter to keep DESTINATION................... Type for example: c:\temp....................... Substitution will produce the following result: unpack -d a:MEGAPROG.PAK c:\temp Parameters length and strings length are limited only by the screen width. TO CHANGE FIELDS OR TO CHANGE THE IMAGE --------------------------------------- Press 'c'. There is no difference with the 'add' or 'install' function. DELETING AN ICON ---------------- Press DEL, and confirm by a press on the 'y' key or a mouse click, with the left mouse button, into the dialog box. To abort, press 'n' or Escape or click out of the dialog box. SHOWING THE CURRENT DIRECTORY ----------------------------- Press 'd'. The directory displays filenames in upper black letters, and sub-directories in lower red letters. All filenames or only COM, EXE, BAT, are shown according to the mask options (see at further paragraph for that). Click on a sub-directory name to display it, click on '..' to return at previous level. Press Escape, or do a mouse click out of the window to quit. The window can be resized after a press on the F9 key. SETTING MASK OF THE DIRECTORY FILE TYPES ---------------------------------------- The 's' key opens a dialog box to select the file type that will be displayed in the directory window. Press '1' to change the switch for filenames with EXE extension. The box writes 'YES' or 'NO' and that means than these files will be displayed or no when the directory is shown. In same manner, press '2' for COM files, '3' for BAT files. Press '4' to keep all files or not. If the 'All files' option is 'YES', other options are ignored. Press Escape to abort and restore previous options, press Enter to keep, or press 'd' to keep and show directory. SETTING MASK OF THE ICON DIRECTORY ---------------------------------- As above. Press the 'b' key to access the dialog box. Press Enter to keep. TO RUN DIRECTLY PROGRAMS OR BATCH FILES --------------------------------------- One can run directly COM, EXE, or BAT files shown on the board or in the directory window. One moves the selection bar with the cursor keys to the name of the program, and press Enter to quit IconShell and run this program. With the mouse, click on a program name to move the cursor and when is name is highlighted, do another click on the same name to run the program. There is a lift at right to move across long files list. This 'd' command shows up to 256 files or directory names. TO SEND DIRECT DOS COMMANDS --------------------------- Press 'o', and type a command in the dialog box as on the DOS line command. To change drive unit type his letter in uppercase, for example shift-a, shift-c... TO CHANGE SCREEN RESOLUTION --------------------------- The screen can switch between two VGA displays, mode 16 (EGA resolution) or mode 18 (VGA 640x480 resolution). Press the 'r' key to toggle from one to the other. Mode 18 allows to have 30 icons on the board, mode 16 only 20, thus a message will be displayed if one attempts to go to mode 16 when there is more than 20 resident icons. TO REORGANIZE THE BOARD OF ICONS -------------------------------- Press 'm'. The title of the current icon is now displayed with a yellow background. Move the icon selection bar with the cursor keys on a new location, and press 'm' again or press Enter. The icon will move to the new location. To cancel moving, press Escape. With the mouse, select an icon and click on the 'move' option in the pull-down menu, and repeat to move, or click on the escape key at right of the title bar to cancel. PREFERENCES ----------- The IconShell display can be changed with many options, by changes on colours, or by opening or not windows, changing size, loading background screens. To change colours, press simultaneously ALT and another key: ALT+b: to change colour of the board background. ALT+n: to change colour of the icon's titles. ALT+h: to change the main title colour. ALT+j: to change colour of the menu bar. ALT+k: to make background dark or light. The title bar and background of windows can be changed in same manners, when opened. TO OPEN AND TO CLOSE WINDOWS ---------------------------- Press: '1': to set the disk free space display. '2': to set the self dir function. '3': to see the current palette. '9': to remove the disk free space display. '8': to suppress the self dir function. CHANGING SIZE OF WINDOW ----------------------- Press F9, or do a mouse click on the '+' button at the upper left of current window. A dotted rectangle appears. To move the window, use the cursor keys. Use following keys to change size: '>' increases width '<' reduces width, '+' increases height, '-' reduces height. Press Escape or Enter to exit. If the window is movable, the mouse cursor becomes a cross when mouse stay on left or top border. If it is resizable, a horizontal arrow replaces the diagonal standard arrow when staying at right or bottom border. Then press the left mouse command and drag to do a change. And then press the right mouse command to exit the process. Some windows can't change in size, and some can only change width. TO RESTORE DEFAULTS ------------------- Press 'z'. All changes relating to display will be cleared and the initial display restored. Changes on icons are preserved however. To suppress all changes including icons, erase the file SHELL.CFG. It will be rewritten with default icons. DISK COMMANDS ------------- Disk commands are not in the menu bar, but rather in a board of icons, that require more careful handle, but allows an unlimited set of commands. Disk commands are usually sent with IconShell, by moving to the proper sub-directory, and selecting the right icon. A dialog box asks for source and destination path. There is no path if this is the current one, but the filename or selection of filename with wildcards. All commands work exactly as with the DOS command line, but most have their syntax already typed in an icon; press the End key to view it, and how asked complementary data fits. SWTOOLS ------- The shareware tools board, handles precisely this kind of programs that enhance DOS, providing plenty of new powerful functions. Some examples are here already typed, that are: - Pkunzip (c) Phil Katz. - Arj (c) R.K. Jung. - Lha (c) H. Yoshizaki. - Diskdup (c) R. K. Snyder. - Q Edit (c) SemWare. - V-Scan (c) McAffee Associates. And much more that perhap you own, and that can be installed so much easily. Extrados (c) is another example of a set of complementary DOS commands, furnished so by shareware distributors or BBS. Remember than most of them require payment of a licence, and than I appreciate also $ and other money, for IconShell. DIR ONLY -------- This board is almost empty and serves to display much of files of the disk catalog, as icons. Much more can be displayed by using mask, with the 'b' command. The 'd' command allows a display of greater catalog if needed. In fact an iconed catalog handling more files is in work and will be provided with the registered version. TO QUIT ICONSHELL ----------------- Press 'q' to exit and save options of the display (windows, colours, ...) as they are not stored in the CFG file until there is change relating to icons or the F2 key is pressed. If you don't want changes on the display, press F3 instead to exit without saving the data. Alternate keys: ALT-F4, '*', ALT+X can replace F3. Mouse: do a mouse click on the Exit or Quit options in sub-menus to quit. EXAMPLES OF ICONS ----------------- 1) Going to a sub-directory and exiting IconShell TITLE: Change Directory COMMAND: cd \pascal PROGRAM: exit.exe 2) Displaying disk catalog with file sizes and dates. TITLE: Easy CD COMMAND: ecd.exe PROGRAM: This calls the ECD phantom program and then return to IconShell. 3) Selecting sub-directory and leaving IconShell. TITLE: CD and go COMMAND: PROGRAM: ecd.exe This call the ECD phantom program, and then exit IconShell when a sub-directory is selected with 'g'. 4) To come back to IconShell when exiting a program. One can write a two-lines batch file, with the name of the program to load on the first line, and shell.exe c:\shell.cfg on the second line, and the batch filename is put in the PROGRAM field of an icon. The MOUS.BAT file, that is present in the archive, is an example of that, for loading a resident program. PROBLEMS -------- 1) Don't put resident program in the COMMAND field, as it will install itself in the middle of the memory! 2) If any problem appears in the IconShell display, this probably come from a corrupted CFG file, or a CFG file that is for another program. Installing IconShell config files in a special sub-directory and setting the proper paths in the icons will fix the problem. 3) Version 1.8 is not compatible with older ones. An attemp to load older CFG file will blank the screen and the program will hang (this has no effect on user files). When installing the new version, be careful to erase all previous CFG files of IconShell first. 4) Some EXE file with overlays can't be loaded from IconShell. If this occurs, one can put the name of this program in a one-line batch file and put the batch filename in the icon. THE SE.BAT FILE --------------- Purpose of this program is to go to c: root directory and run IconShell from any disk and directory. If IconShell is not installed on c: drive, one can edit se.bat and change 'c' to proper drive letter. THE MOUS.BAT FILE ------------------ This batch file is an example for loading a resident program without leaving IconShell. By replacing the MOUSE.COM filename in the batch file, one can make loader for any resident program. Removing a resident program can be achieved in the same way, while this program provides function to uninstall it. PHANTOM FILENAMES ----------------- 'Phantom files' are programs integrated to IconShell, that can sit in command field, as independent programs. There are currently: EXIT.EXE Its action is to return to DOS. QUIT.EXE saves display changes and return to DOS. WAIT.EXE waits for a key press. Used when a command or a program displays something and exit. BOARD.EXE with CFG filename as parameter, allows to load a new board of icons. ECD.EXE Program to display extended disk catalog and select easily directory, and to run program. CLOCK.EXE Displays time. (The DOS command TIME allows to change it). DIRECTORY Shows current disk catalog. If by chance one would to put really program with the same names in fields of icon, or same names with 'COM' extension, one must specify path (for example: a:exit.com), and IconShell runs the file rather to execute the phantom programs. THE 'PHANTOM' PROGRAM BOARD.EXE ------------------------------- This integrated program allows multiple boards of icons. Use the 'a' command to create a new icon, fill the command field, for example: BOARD.EXE C:\MYBOARD.CFG Then a click on this icon display until 30 new icons. There is no limit but the disk size to the number of boards. It is preferable to put the complete path of the config file, as the icon can be selected from another sub-directory. CREATING A CONFIGURATION FILE ----------------------------- The program comes with some CFG files. To create a new CFG file is easy and done with following steps: 1) Add a new icon with this data in the program field: BOARD.EXE MYBOARD.CFG BOARD.EXE is the 'phantom' program that loads boards of icons. 2) Select the new icon. An error message is displayed, 'File no found, MYBOARD.CFG' This is normal. The program attemps to load it, does not found it, then restart with current parameters. Note than the name 'MYBOARD', without extension, is now displayed on the title bar. 3) Suppress the icons you don't want to keep, and add those you want. 4) Create an icon with 'BOARD.EXE SHELL.CFG' in the program field, that is to link the boards. 5) Click now on this icon to retrieve the main board of icons. THE 'PHANTOM' PROGRAM ECD.EXE ----------------------------- This integrated program allows to sail in directories, view files with sizes and dates, and run them. Put it in the command or program field of an icon. Commands of ECD are: - Escape: exits without any change. - Enter: changes to the selected directory and displays it. - Up, down arrow: changes sub-directory. - Home: moves cursor to first sub-directory on screen. - End: go to the last on screen. - Left arrow: comes back to parent directory. - Right arrow: go to child sub-directory level if one. - a, b, c, d, e, f: changes drive. - Space: toggles between directories and files. - G: Get current directory and return to shell (if ECD in the command field) or exit (if ECD in the program field). When files of a sub-directory are displayed, commands are followings: - Escape: returns to tree. - Enter: executes the program, if it is a COM, EXE, BAT file. - Up, down arrow: moves cursor to a new filename. - Home: moves cursor to the first file in this sub-directory. - End: moves to last file in this sub-directory. - Left arrow: returns to tree. - Space: returns also to tree. The mouse use if intuitive. Click where you want to go. Click on menu bar to exit. Click on a name to select. Click on a selected sub-directory name to do a CD command: with right button to display it, with left button to do a CD and exit. Click on a selected program name to both change directory and run. Use keyboard to change drive. Click at left, right, over, under the displayed list to change level or scroll. ABOUT IMAGES OF ICONS - AND HOW CREATE THEM ------------------------------------------- The SHELL.SPR file holds 33 images that are icons of commercial softwares or commands, loaded or drawn and stored in a file with the sprite designer MegaSprites, which is a part of VIRTUAL REALITY TOOLS, available also in shareware. ABOUT THE GRAPHICAL INTERFACE ----------------------------- IconShell has been written in C and assembly 80286, using a graphical interface that I have also written. This interface is used yet by V. R. Tools and programs that are in work. All these programs use a performing 'GUI' module that contains parts of the sprite library, character generator and graphical functions, and which is also work of mine. This interface will never be distributed as shareware, but software editors can contact me at address in the licence form.