Monster Media 1996 #14

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SSL (System Scripting Language) Version 1.5 SSL Copyright 1995 Anthony Mathews All rights reserved DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs differ on details -- some request registration while others require it, some specify a maximum trial period. With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using the software to an updated program with printed manual. Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of distribution. The author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a specific group. For example, some authors require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware. Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it. DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT Users of SSL must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "SSL is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of SSL." SSL is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to the user for evaluation. Feel free to share it with your friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system. The essence of "user- supported" software is to provide personal computer users with quality software without high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products. If you find this program useful and find that you are using SSL and continue to use SSL after a 30 day trial period, you must make a registration payment to A.R.M. SOFTWARE. Prices can be found in the registration section of this manual. Anyone distributing SSL for any kind of remuneration must first contact A.R.M. SOFTWARE at the address below for authorization. This authorization will be automatically granted to distributors recognized by the (ASP) as adhering to its guidelines for shareware distributors, and such distributors may begin offering SSL immediately (However A.R.M. SOFTWARE must still be advised so that the distributor can be kept up-to-date with the latest version of SSL.). You are encouraged to pass a copy of SSL along to your friends for evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy if they find that they can use it. All registered users will receive a copy of the latest version of the SSL system. **** ASP OMBUDSMANOMBUDSMAN POLICY **** This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASPASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI USA 49442-9427, Fax 616-788-2765, or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. REGISTRATION Fill out the form on the next page or the form in the register.txt file and mail it to: A.R.M. Software 5656 Timberlane Rd. Lake Wales, FL 33853 Registration Fee: $49.95 plus $5.00 shipping and handling * Prices Subject to change without notification! What do you get when you register: 1) A nicely bound manual. 2) Latest version of SSL. 3) Upgrade notifications. 4) 90 days free technical support. 5) Royalty free distribution privileges to any machine owned or leased by the license holder. Support Policy: 1) Support can be by mail or by phone. If support is desired by phone, calls must be made in the evenings Monday thru Thursday. If someone is not there to take your call, you will be told when the next time someone will be available to take your call. The phone number for support will be sent to you when you register your software. 2) Please elect one or two people in your organization to coordinate support with A.R.M. Software. 3) Contracts can be negotiated for additional technical support after the initial 90 days. 4) Consultation is also available to help your business come up with better, more effective and cheaper ways to support your users. A.R.M. Software 5656 Timberland Rd. Lake Wales, FL 33853 Your Name: ____________________________________________________ Company Name: ____________________________________________________ Mailing Address: ____________________________________________________ P.O. Box: ____________________________________________________ City: _______________ State, Cntry, Zip: _______________ ______________ ________________ Phone: _______________________________ Registration Fee: $49.95 plus $5.00 shipping and handling * Prices Subject to change without notification! What do you get when you register: 1) A nicely bound manual. 2) Latest version of SSL. 3) Upgrade notifications. 4) 90 days free technical support. 5) Royalty free distribution privileges to any machine owned or leased by the license holder. Amount of Money enclosed: ___________________ ___ Cash ___ Personal Check ___ Business Check ___ Cashiers Check ___ PO# * Make checks payable to Anthony Mathews * A.R.M. Software is not responsible for any type of payment which is lost in the mail. FILES INCLUDED ON DISK INSTALL.BAT - Runs the INSTALL.SSL script. INSTALL.SSL - Copies SSL to your system. README.1ST - Last minute information. SSL.EXE - Application. SSL.TXT - Documentation in a plain ASCII text format. REGISTER.TXT - Registration form. \SAMPLES\ File name: Sample use of: CMDWHILE.BAT - SSL *C command line option. COLORS.SSL - MASTERBACK MASTERFORE MENUITEMBACK MENUITEMFORE WINBACK WINFORE FILEFUNC.SSL - INSERTTEXT NUMLINES PULLTEXT READLINE REMOVESECTION REMOVETEXT GROUP.SSL - ADDGROUP DELGROUP INVENT.SSL - INVENTORY LABELS.SSL - INPUTWINDOW INSERTTEXT WHILE LOOP MATH.SSL - ADD SUB MULT DIV MOD MENU.SSL - MENU IF ELSE END OUTWIN.SSL - OUTPUTWINDOW PUSHKEY.SSL - PUSHKEY COMMAND STRING.SSL - CONCAT CROP EXTRACTI LCROP LENGTH LTRIM RCROP RTRIM VARIABLE.SSL - EQU GLOBALENV LISTVARS LOCALENV RELEASE RELEASEALL VOLUME.SSL - GETVOLUME PUTVOLUME WHILE.SSL - WHILE LOOP INTRODUCTION A lot has changed in how businesses are run today. To go into a company and not see several computers is very unlikely. With an increasing base of computer systems being added to businesses a prominent problem has arose. How do you support so many computers with as few people as possible? The answer is to decrease the amount of time needed to support one computer. How do you do this? In an environment that has many computers which need the same operations performed on them you need to be able to decrease the number of keystrokes and checks on each workstation. This is where SSL(System Scripting Language) comes in. What is a script? A script is a lot like a batch file, but much more powerful. With SSL you can record repetitive tasks that will be performed on multiple workstations. This allows you to run the script on the workstation and avoid all the key strokes and checks you would normally have to do manually on every workstation. What can SSL do that a batch file can't? There are many things, but some of the most prominent are: 1. Adding and removing text from files. 2. Searching text files for a specified string. 3. Extracting data from files and manipulating it. 4. Windows ini file operations 5. Prompt users for input 6. Set up menus 7. Check available hard drive space. 8. Check installed RAM. 9. Check current Dos versions. Most checks can be used in conditional statements to allow you to determine a course of action. What are some of the biggest uses for SSL? 1) Installing software. 4) System maintenance. 2) Upgrading software. 5) Inventorying software on workstations. 3) Removing software. SSL's biggest use is doing everything that has been mentioned via a network so that someone doesn't even have to visit the user's desk. The easiest way to initiate a script is when a user logs into the network. I have worked for two major corporations who were using internally written scripting languages to automate tasks. The only problem is that the people writing the languages could not devote the time needed to make their languages as useful as they could be. So I set out to write a affordable scripting language that gives all the versatility needed to support large numbers of computer systems. HOW CAN SSL SAVE YOU $$MONEY$$ Every one has heard the saying "Time is Money" and it is very true. SSL's primary way of saving you money is by saving you time. SSL can save you time 4 different ways: a. Traveling to the users workstation b. Scheduling a time to visit the workstation c. Limited or No interaction with users d. Performing tasks on the workstation When it is necessary to perform tasks on multiple workstations, the only time you will have tied up in it is the time it takes to write the script. Below is a cost analysis of a install I did on about 250 workstations. These figures are very conservative and assume that scripts will run automatically when users login to the network. They also assume that the users you are installing are at the same site. If users are at different sites and you are not using automated scripts, the costs incurred for one install are even higher than in the example due to travel expenses. Man hours needed to Installation by Hand Installation using Script Install application .25 0 Schedule install .083 0 Travel to workstation .083 0 Write script 0 8 Technician's hourly rate $12.00 $12.00 Cost $5.00 per workstation $90.00 unlimited As you can see the cost associated with the use of SSL is fixed at $90 for this particular scenario, however manual installation costs grow from $100 for 20 workstation to $1000 for 200 workstations. CONVENTIONS USED IN THIS MANUAL 1. Required parameters are surrounded by [ ] 2. Optional parameters are surrounded by < > 3. Parameters need not be placed in " " unless there are spaces in them. 4. Any extra parameters given with a command will be ignored. 5. Any filename given as a parameter without a drive and path will be searched for in the current working directory. Special characters: @@ - You must enclose SSL variables in @ signs accept when assigning them a value. %% - You must enclose environment variables in percent signs accept when assigning them a value. // - Any special character preceded by "/" will not be treated as special. i.e. /@ or /% or /" or // "" - Used to enclose a string with spaces or tabs in it. PROGRAM EXECUTION SSL [<DRIVE\PATH\>FILENAME] Where FILENAME is the name of the file which contains the script. No special extensions are required. The following example shows how to execute a script named INSTALL.SSL which is found in the C:\UPDATE directory. SSL C:\UPDATE\INSTALL.SSL ******************************** IMPORTANT ********************************* SSL also has a very powerful feature that will save you tons of headaches when creating complex batch files. No more will you need a 100 different little executables to use in your batch files in order to perform tasks such as rebooting the computer, inserting text in a file, deleting text from a file, checking for the existence of certain text in a file, adding a group to windows, deleting a group from windows, putting keys in the keyboard buffer and so on. WHY? Because any SSL command can be specified on the command line without using a external script file. Better than that you can specify a series of up to 20 commands on the command line. Here is how: SSL *C COMMAND PARAMETERS ... *NL COMMAND PARAMETERS ... *NL COMMAND... <NB> The *C specifies that a external script file will not be used and the command desired will be put on the command line. Each command is separated by a *NL. That is all there is to it. There is one optional switch, "*NB", which keeps SSL from displaying a BANNER or information about what SSL is doing. This is useful when you do not desire users to know SSL is running. The following command can be placed in a batch file and will reboot the computer when executed: SSL *C REBOOT The following command will count from 0 to 10 and print each number to the screen: SSL *C EQU X 0 *NL WHILE "<=" @X@ 10 *NL DISPLAY @X@ *NL ADD @X@ 1 X *NL LOOP Any parameter containing a character that is recognized by DOS as special, such as "<", must have the entire parameter surrounded by double quotes so that the special character is not recognized as special. For an explanation of the commands in the previous examples refer to the particular command found latter in this manual. * Note: You must have write capabilities in the directory you run SSL from in order to use the *C option. VARIABLES Variables are a very powerful part of SSL. Variables allow you to prompt users for input, manipulate data and use the same data through out your script without having to hard code the value every time that value is needed. Variables can be used in any command that requires parameters. Often you will find it is better to define a variable and use it as a parameter than to hard code the value in the command, especially if the value of the parameter is a long string of characters. Commands are restricted to one line and a maximum of 255 characters. If you use variables you save a lot of the command line space. Many commands such as MENU and INPUTWINDOW can make use of this a great deal. It is always best to initialize a variable before using it. If you do not and a command that uses the variable fails to assign a value to the variable for what ever reason, the variable will not have a value for any other commands that use it latter in the script, causing multiple errors. Any uninitialized variable that is used in a conditional statement will return a false value. All variables are strings of characters, however, for a variable to have a math function performed on it, it must only contain numeric digits. TYPES: There are two types of variables: SSL variables - SSL variables are defined by SSL while executing a script and can only be used while executing the script. SSL variables can be used in any function that requires a value to be passed to it or passes a value back after execution. SSL variable names can not exceed 30 characters and SSL variable values can not exceed 255 characters. The maximum number of SSL variables allowed is 30. It is always good to delete a SSL variable when you are finished using it with the RELEASE command so that you don't reach the limit. Environment variables - Environment variables can only be assigned a value by LOCALENV or GLOBALENV. Environment variables can be used in any function that requires a value to be passed to it. Environment variables can be set up until you run out of environment space, which is dependent upon the size of your environment and the size of your variables. Variables: (continued) USE: To use a SSL variable just enclose the variable name in @ signs. i.e. @COUNT@ Any time you are trying to assign a SSL variable name a value do not enclose it in @ signs. i.e. EQU COUNT "12" To use a environment variable enclose the variable name in % signs. i.e. %PATH% When you are assigning a environment variable a value using LOCALENV or GLOBALENV, do not enclose it in % signs. i.e. LOCALENV PATH C:\DOS Remember, environment variables set up using GLOBALENV can not be used until execution of the current script is finished. PREDEFINED SYSTEM VARIABLES: @DATE@ - Returns the date. @DOSVER@ - Returns the current DOS version. @DISKSPACE(X)@ - Returns the available disk space on Drive (X). i.e. @DISKSPACEC@ i.e. @DISKSPACED@ This value is not fixed. It is calculated every time the variable is encountered. @STARTUP@ - Returns the directory that SSL was ran from. @TIME@ - Returns the time at which this variable was encountered. @TOTRAM@ - Returns the total amount of RAM installed. COMMAND SUMMARY # INLINE WAIT ADD INPUT WHILE ADDGROUP INPUTWINDOW WINBACK ATTRIBUTE INSERTTEXT WINFORE BEEP INVENTORY BREAK LABEL CD LCROP CLS LENGTH COMMAND LISTVARS CONCAT LOCALENV COPY LOOP CROP LTRIM DEL MASTERBACK DELGROUP MASTERFORE DISPLAY MD DIV MENU ELSE MENUITEMBACK END MENUITEMFORE EQU MOD ERRORLEVEL MOVE EXIT MSGLEVEL EXTRACTI MULT FILEDATE NUMLINES FILETIME OUTPUTWINDOW FILESIZE PAUSE GETVOLUME PULLTEXT GLOBALENV PUSHKEY GOTO PUTVOLUME IF = RCROP > RD < READLINE >= REBOOT <= REFRESH <> RELEASE DEFINED RELEASEALL !DEFINED REMOVETEXT EXIST REMOVESECTION !EXIST REN EXIST* RENDIR !EXIST* RTRIM TEXTEXIST SSL !TEXTEXIST SUB ISNUM !ISNUM COMMAND SYNTAX # PURPOSE: Used to add commentscomments to a script or temporarily disable a line in the script. Any line with # at the beginning of it will not be executed. SYNTAX: # <REMAINDER OF LINE> SAMPLE CALL: # EQU FIVE 5 COMMENTS: In the sample call the EQU statement would not be executed. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ADD PURPOSE: Adds two numbers together and stores the value in the given variable. SYNTAX: ADD [NUMBER1] [NUMBER2] [VARIABLE NAME] SAMPLE CALL: EQU COUNT 10 ADD 50 @COUNT@ ANSWER COMMENTS: Numbers and/or variables can be used. In the previous sample call the value of ANSWER will be 60. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: DIV, MOD, MULT, SUB ADDGROUP PURPOSE: Add a new group file entry to the progman.ini file. SYNTAX: ADDGROUP [<DRIVE\PATH\>INI FILE NAME] [GROUP ENTRY] SAMPLE CALL: ADDGROUP C:\WINDOWS\PROGMAN.INI C:\WINDOWS\NEW.GRP COMMENTS: ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: DELGROUP, INSERTTEXT, NUMLINES, PULLTEXT, READLINE, REMOVESECTION, REMOVETEXT ATTRIBUTE PURPOSE: Change file attributes. SYNTAX: ATTRIBUTE [<DRIVE\PATH\>FILE NAME] [ATTRIBUTE] <*SWITCH> ATTRIBUTES: +R - Sets the read only attribute. -R - Removes the read only attribute. +H - Sets the hidden file attribute. -H - Removes the hidden file attribute. +S - Sets the system file attribute. -S - Removes the system file attribute. +A - Sets the archive attribute. -A - Removes the archive attribute. SWITCHES: *S - Modifies attributes on files in all sub directories that match FILE NAME. SAMPLE CALL: (1) ATTRIBUTE C:\DATA\LETTER.DOC +R (2) ATTRIBUTE C:\DATA\*.DOC +H *S COMMENTS: DOS wild card conventions can be used to specify what files to change. Sample call #1 will add a read only attribute to the file LETTER.DOC. Sample call #2 will add a hidden file attribute to all files with a DOC extension, it will also change any files in any sub directories under C:\DATA with a DOC extension. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: COPY, DEL, FILEDATE, FILESIZE, FILETIME, GETVOLUME, INVENTORY, MOVE, PUTVOLUME, REN, RENDIR BEEP PURPOSE: Causes PC's speaker to sound. SYNTAX: BEEP SAMPLE CALL: BEEP COMMENTS: ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: BREAK PURPOSE: Disables Ctrl-BreakCtrl-Break and Ctrl-CCtrl-C keys. SYNTAX: BREAK [OPTION] AVAILABLE OPTIONS: (1) ON (2) OFF SAMPLE CALL: (1) BREAK ON (2) BREAK OFF COMMENTS: Sample call #1 will allow the user to terminate the script by pressing Ctrl-Break or Ctrl-C. Sample call #2 will not allow the user to terminate the script by pressing Ctrl-Break or Ctrl-C. When SSL finishes processing a script the BREAK state returns to the condition it was in when the script was first ran. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: CD PURPOSE: Change directory and/or drive. SYNTAX: CD [<DRIVE\PATH\>DIRECTORY] SAMPLE CALL: (1) CD C:\TEST (2) CD D: COMMENTS: Sample call #1 will change from the current working directory and drive to the directory test on the root of drive C:. Sample call #2 will change to drive D: from the current drive and remain in the current working directory on drive D:. If you want to test for the existence of a drive or directory use the IF EXIST conditional statement. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: RD, MD CLS PURPOSE: Clears the PROGRESS window. SYNTAX: CLS SAMPLE CALL: CLS COMMAND PURPOSE: Execute a external program or DOS command. SYNTAX: COMMAND ["INSTRUCTION"] SAMPLE CALL: (1) COMMAND C:\WINDOWS\SETUP (2) COMMAND "COPY C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT C:\DOS" (3) COMMAND COMMENTS: Sample call #1 will execute the Windows setup program. After exiting setup it will return control to the script. Sample call #2 will copy the autoexec.bat file to the Dos directory using the DOS COPY command, then return control to the script. Sample call #3 will shell out to DOS. Type EXIT at the DOS prompt and it will return control to the script. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: EXIT CONCAT PURPOSE: Takes two strings and concatenates them, then stores the new value in the given variable. SYNTAX: CONCAT [STRING1] [STRING2] [VARIABLE NAME] SAMPLE CALL: EQU STRING1 "He" EQU STRING2 "llo" CONCAT @STRING1@ @STRING2@ STRING1 COMMENTS: In the previous sample call the value of STRING2 will be concatenated to the end of the value of STRING1 and then stored back in the variable STRING1. In the previous sample call the value of STRING1 at the end of execution of the CONCAT statement will be "Hello". ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: CROP, EXTRACTI, INLINE, LENGTH, LCROP, LTRIM, RCROP, RTRIM COPY PURPOSE: Copies single files, multiple files or entire directory structures. SYNTAX: COPY [SOURCE] [DESTINATION] <*SWITCH> SWITCHES: *S - Copies all sub directories. SAMPLE CALL: (1) COPY C:\DATA\FILE.EXE C:\NEWDIR\FILE.EXE (2) COPY C:\DATA C:\BACKUP *S (3) COPY C:\DATA\WORK\*.DOC C:\BACKUP *S COMMENTS: Destination parameter must be given. Dos wild card conventions can be used. Most other PATH and FILENAME conventions used by DOS's COPY and XCOPY commands can be used. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ATTRIBUTE, DEL, FILEDATE, FILESIZE, FILETIME, GETVOLUME, INVENTORY, MOVE, PUTVOLUME, REN, RENDIR CROP PURPOSE: Takes the given SUB STRING and attempts to find an occurrence of it in the SOURCE string. If it does, it stores all the characters that are after the SUB STRING or before the SUB STRING, depending on the SWITCH used, in the given VARIABLE. SYNTAX: CROP ["SOURCE"] ["SUB STRING"] [VARIABLE] [*SWITCH] SWITCHES: *P - Extract text before the given sub string. *A - Extract text after the given sub string. SAMPLE CALL: EQU STRING "SET PATH = C:\DOS" CROP @STRING@ "PATH" STRING2 *a COMMENTS: In the previous sample all the characters in the variable STRING after PATH will be stored in the variable STRING2. The value of STRING2 will be " = C:\DOS". ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: CONCAT, EXTRACTI, INLINE, LCROP, LENGTH, LTRIM, RCROP, RTRIM DEL PURPOSE: Deletes individual files, multiple files, or entire sub directories. SYNTAX: DEL [<DRIVE\PATH\>FILENAME] <*SWITCH> SWITCHES: *S - Deletes files in all sub directories that match FILENAME and will remove all empty sub directories after deletion is complete, including the initial directory if nothing remains in it. SAMPLE CALL: (1) DEL C:\DATA\INFO.TXT (2) DEL C:\DATA\*.DOC *S (3) DEL C:\DATA\*.* (4) DEL C:\DATA\WORK *S COMMENTS: Dos wild card conventions can be used. Sample call #1 will delete the file INFO.TXT in the C:\DATA directory. Sample call #2 will delete all files with a DOC extension in the C:\DATA directory including any files with a DOC extension in any sub directories. Sample call #3 will delete all the files in the C:\DATA directory. Sample call #4 will remove the entire C:\DATA\WORK directory and everything underneath it. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ATTRIBUTE, COPY, FILEDATE, FILESIZE, FILETIME, GETVOLUME, INVENTORY, MOVE, PUTVOLUME, REN, RENDIR DELGROUP PURPOSE: Remove a group file entry from the progman.ini file. SYNTAX: DELGROUP [<DRIVE\PATH\>INI FILE NAME] [GROUP ENTRY] SAMPLE CALL: DELGROUP C:\WINDOWS\PROGMAN.INI C:\WINDOWS\NEW.GRP COMMENTS: ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ADDGROUP, INSERTTEXT, NUMLINES, PULLTEXT, READLINE, REMOVESECTION, REMOVETEXT DISPLAY PURPOSE: Displays a given string of text in the PROGRESS window. SYNTAX: DISPLAY <"TEXT"> SAMPLE CALLS: (1) DISPLAY "Press any key to continue." (2) DISPLAY @COUNTER@ (3) DISPLAY "The value of COUNTER is @COUNTER@." (4) DISPLAY COMMENTS: TEXT can be a string of characters, a variable or a combination of both. Double quotes must be placed around the TEXT if TEXT has spaces in it. If you do not supply a TEXT string then a blank line will be printed to the PROGRESS window. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: OUTPUTWINDOW DIV PURPOSE: Divides two numbers and stores the value in the given variable. SYNTAX: DIV [NUMBER1] [NUMBER2] [VARIABLE NAME] SAMPLE CALL: EQU COUNT 10 DIV 50 @COUNT@ ANSWER COMMENTS: Numbers and or variables can be used. In the previous sample call the value of ANSWER will be 5. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ADD, MOD, MULT, SUB ELSE PURPOSE: Marks a section of code that should execute if the associated IF command returns a false value. The section of code that executes is terminated by the END command. SYNTAX: ELSE SAMPLE CALL: IF . . ELSE . . END COMMENTS: If a condition in an IF statement is true, all the instructions following the IF command will be executed up to the associated END or ELSE command. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: IF, END END PURPOSE: Terminates an IF command if no ELSE command has been used. SYNTAX: END SAMPLE CALL: IF . . END COMMENTS: If a condition in an IF statement is true, all the instructions following the IF command will be executed up to the associated END command unless the ELSE command is used. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: IF, ELSE EQU PURPOSE: Set a variable name equal to some value. PREDEFINED SYSTEM VARIABLES: @DATE@ - Returns the date. @DOSVER@ - Returns the current DOS version. @DISKSPACE(X)@ - Returns the available disk space on Drive (X). @DISKSPACEC@ @DISKSPACED@ @STARTUP@ - Returns the directory that SSL was ran from. @TIME@ - Returns the time at which this variable was encountered. @TOTRAM@ - Returns the total amount of RAM installed. SYNTAX: EQU [VARIABLE NAME] [VALUE] SAMPLE CALL: (1) EQU COUNTRY USA (2) EQU BEST @COUNTRY@ (3) EQU @BEST@ #1 (4) EQU @USA@ @USA@ COMMENTS: Sample call #1 the variable COUNTRY will now have the value USA. Sample call #2 the variable BEST will have the value USA because that is what the value of COUNTRY is set to. Sample call #3 the value of BEST which is USA is set up as a variable with the value #1. Sample call #4 the value of USA which is #1 is set up as a variable with the value of the variable USA which is #1. COUNTRY = USA BEST = USA USA = #1 #1 = #1 Whenever you want to use the value of a variable in a command, enclose the variable name in @ signs. The maximum number of variables allowed is 30. It is always good to delete a variable when you are finished using it with the RELEASE command so that you don't reach the limit. It is also good to initialize a variable with some value before using it so that if a command fails that uses the variable you can test the value of the variable. If you do not initialize a variable and a command fails the variable is not given a value and you can not use it in other commands without receiving errors. If a variable is not defined it will produce a false value in conditional statements. ERRORLEVEL PURPOSE: Specify what type of error detection you desire and/or a file to log the errors to. SYNTAX: ERRORLEVEL [OPTION] <LOG FILENAME> OPTIONS: 0 - Prints errors to the ERROR window and to the LOG file. 1 - Prints errors to the ERROR window but does not save them in the LOG file. 2- Does not print errors to the ERROR window but does save them in the LOG file. 3 - Does not print errors to the ERROR window nor does it save them in the LOG file. 4 - Prints the first occurrence of an error to the ERROR window and to the LOG file, then exits the script. SAMPLE CALL: (1) ERRORLEVEL 3 (2) ERRORLEVEL 0 C:\ERROR.LOG COMMENTS: Sample call #1 will cause SSL to stop printing errors to the ERROR window and to the LOG file, if one has been opened previously. Sample call #2 will cause SSL to print errors to the ERROR window and open a file called ERROR.LOG in the root of the C: drive and log all errors to that file. By default ERRORLEVEL is set to 1 and no log file is opened. You must specify a LOG FILENAME when setting the ERRORLEVEL to 0, 2 or 4 for the first time. After initializing a LOG file you no longer need to specify a LOG FILENAME when using these ERRORLEVEL's. A LOG FILENAME should not be specified when setting ERRORLEVEL to 1 or 3. If you are running SSL by specifying commands on the command line, the only option that has an effect is 4. Option 4 will not log the error to a LOG file but will exit upon the first occurrence of an error. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: MSGLEVEL, PAUSE EXIT PURPOSE: Terminates the processing of the current script and runs any external command given on the command line or terminates the processing of the current script and sets the DOS errorlevel upon exiting the script. SYNTAX: EXIT <SWITCH> <COMMAND or ERRORLEVEL> <ARG1> <ARG2> .. <ARG10> SWITCHES: *C - Allows you to run an external command upon exiting the script. *E - Allows you to set the DOS errorlevel to a desired value upon exiting the script. SAMPLE CALL: (1) EXIT (2) EXIT *C EDIT C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT (3) EXIT *E 2 COMMENTS: Sample call #1 will just terminate the processing of the script and exit to DOS. Sample call #2 will terminate the processing of the script, exit and load the C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT file into the DOS edit program. Sample call #3 will terminate the processing of the script and set the DOS errorlevel to 2. The maximum number of arguments that can be given with a COMMAND using the *C SWITCH is 10. If you do not give any arguments with the EXIT command, the DOS errorlevel will be set to 0 when the script terminates. The DOS errorlevel is also set to 0 when a script finishes being processed and terminates on it's own. If an error occurs while processing a script which in turn causes a script to terminate, the DOS errorlevel will be set to 1. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: COMMAND EXTRACTI PURPOSE: Extracts a sub string from the given string using a given starting point and ending point. The sub string extracted is then stored in the given variable. SYNTAX: EXTRACTI [STRING] [FROM] [TO] [VARIABLE NAME] SAMPLE CALL: EXTRACTI "Fourscore and seven years ago" 11 13 SUB COMMENTS: In the previous sample call EXTRACTI will pull the 11th, 12th and 13th character out and store the value in the variable SUB. In the previous sample call the value stored in SUB will be "and". ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: CONCAT, CROP, INLINE, LCROP, LENGTH, LTRIM, RCROP, RTRIM FILEDATE PURPOSE: Determines the given file's date of creation and stores the value in the given variable. SYNTAX: FILEDATE [<DRIVE\PATH\>FILE NAME] [VARIABLE NAME] SAMPLE CALL: FILEDATE C:\COMMAND.COM FDATE COMMENTS: Dates are given in the following format: Month-Day-Year 09-10-95 If the Month, Day or Year is a single digit it will be preceded by a zero. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ATTRIBUTE, COPY, DEL, FILESIZE, FILETIME, GETVOLUME, INVENTORY, MOVE, PUTVOLUME, REN, RENDIR FILESIZE PURPOSE: Determines the given file's size in bytes and stores the value in the given variable. SYNTAX: FILESIZE [<DRIVE\PATH\>FILE NAME] [VARIABLE NAME] SAMPLE CALL: FILESIZE C:\COMMAND.COM SIZE COMMENTS: ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ATTRIBUTE, COPY, DEL, FILEDATE, FILETIME, GETVOLUME, INVENTORY, MOVE, PUTVOLUME, REN, RENDIR FILETIME PURPOSE: Determines the given file's time of creation and stores the value in the given variable. SYNTAX: FILETIME [<DRIVE\PATH\>FILE NAME] [VARIABLE NAME] SAMPLE CALL: FILETIME C:\COMMAND.COM FTIME COMMENTS: Time is given in the following format: Hour:Minutes 19:52 If the Hour or Minute is a single digit it will be preceded by a zero. All time is given in military time to make comparisons easier. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ATTRIBUTE, COPY, DEL, FILEDATE, FILESIZE, GETVOLUME, INVENTORY, MOVE, PUTVOLUME, REN, RENDIR GETVOLUME PURPOSE: Reads the volume label of the given drive and stores it in the given variable. SYNTAX: GETVOLUME [DRIVE LETTER:] [VARIABLE NAME] SAMPLE CALL: GETVOLUME A: VOLUME COMMENTS: ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ATTRIBUTE, COPY, DEL, FILEDATE, FILESIZE, FILETIME, INVENTORY, MOVE, PUTVOLUME, REN, RENDIR GLOBALENV PURPOSE: Change, Add or Delete a environment variable in the master or parent environment. SYNTAX: GLOBALENV [VARIABLE NAME] <VALUE> SAMPLE CALL: (1) GLOBALENV PATH C:\DOS (2) GLOBALENV PATH COMMENTS: Sample call 1 will change the PATH to C:\DOS. Sample call 2 will delete the PATH. Changes made by GLOBALENV will not take effect until execution of SSL is complete. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: LOCALENV GOTO PURPOSE: Jumps from the current position in the script to a location marked by the same LABEL as given with the GOTO statement. SYNTAX: GOTO [LABEL] SAMPLE CALL: GOTO END EQU COUNTRY USA LABEL END COMMENTS: In the previous sample call the EQU command will be skipped because the GOTO command causes control to jump to the line marked with the LABEL END statement. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: LABEL IF PURPOSE: The IF command will test a certain condition and execute the instructions following the IF command up to the associated ELSE and/or END command if the condition tested is true. If an ELSE command exists and the IF condition is false, all instructions following the ELSE command will be executed up to the associated END command. The ELSE command is not necessary if you do not want anything to execute when the IF condition is false. SYNTAX: IF [CONDITION] <LOGICAL OPERATOR> <CONDITION> ... instructions . . . ELSE instructions . . . END COMMENTS: Inputs may be literal values, variables or a combination of the two. Nested IF statements are permitted. AVAILABLE CONDITIONS: CONDITION: = PURPOSE: Checks for the equality of two inputs. SYNTAX: IF = [INPUT1] [INPUT2] SAMPLE CALL: EQU NAME Tony IF = "Tony" @NAME@ COMMENTS: The previous sample call will return a true value. IF (continued) AVAILABLE CONDITIONS: CONDITION: > PURPOSE: Check to see if one input is greater than the other. SYNTAX: IF > [INPUT1] [INPUT2] SAMPLE CALL: EQU COUNT 5 IF > 10 @COUNT@ COMMENTS: The previous sample call will return a true value. CONDITION: < PURPOSE: Check to see if one input is less than the other. SYNTAX: IF < [INPUT1] [INPUT2] SAMPLE CALL: EQU COUNT 5 IF < 10 @COUNT@ COMMENTS: The previous sample call will return a false value. CONDITION: >= PURPOSE: Check to see if one input is greater than or equal to the other. SYNTAX: IF >= [INPUT1] [INPUT2] SAMPLE CALL: EQU COUNT 5 IF >= 10 @COUNT@ COMMENTS: The previous sample call will return a true value. IF (continued) AVAILABLE CONDITIONS: CONDITION: <= PURPOSE: Check to see if one input is less than or equal to the other. SYNTAX: IF <= [INPUT1] [INPUT2] SAMPLE CALL: EQU COUNT 10 IF <= 10 @COUNT@ COMMENTS: The previous sample call will return a true value. CONDITION: <> PURPOSE: Check to see if one input does not equal to the other. SYNTAX: IF <> [INPUT1] [INPUT2] SAMPLE CALL: EQU COUNT 10 IF <> 10 @COUNT@ COMMENTS: The previous sample call will return a false value. CONDITION: DEFINED or !DEFINED PURPOSE: Determines whether the given variable name has been defined. ! negates the outcome. SYNTAX: IF DEFINED [VARIABLE NAME] IF !DEFINED [VARIABLE NAME] SAMPLE CALL: IF DEFINED VERSION COMMENTS: The previous sample call will return a true value if a variable named VERSION had been given any value prior to this call, otherwise it will return a false value. CONDITION: EXIST or !EXIST PURPOSE: Checks for the existence of a file. ! negates the outcome. SYNTAX: IF EXIST [<DRIVE\PATH\>FILENAME] IF !EXIST [<DRIVE\PATH\>FILENAME] SAMPLE CALL: IF EXIST C:\WIN.COM COMMENTS: In the previous sample win.com will be searched for on the root of C:. NUL can replace the filename if checking for the existence of a directory. No wild cards can be used. IF (continued) AVAILABLE CONDITIONS: CONDITION: EXIST* or !EXIST* PURPOSE: Checks for the existence of a file in the path given and all sub directories. ! negates the outcome. SYNTAX: IF EXIST* [<DRIVE\PATH\>FILENAME] IF !EXIST* [<DRIVE\PATH\>FILENAME] SAMPLE CALL: IF EXIST* C:\WIN.COM COMMENTS: In the previous sample the file win.com will be searched for on the root of C: and all sub directories. NUL can replace the filename if checking for the existence of a directory. No wild cards can be used. CONDITION: TEXTEXIST or !TEXTEXIST PURPOSE: Search for text inside a given text file. ! negates the outcome. SYNTAX: IF TEXTEXIST [<DRIVE\PATH\>FILENAME] [SEARCH STRING] IF !TEXTEXIST [<DRIVE\PATH\>FILENAME] [SEARCH STRING] SAMPLE CALL: IF TEXTEXIST C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT "PATH C:\;C:\DOS" COMMENTS: CONDITION: ISNUM or !ISNUM PURPOSE: Determines whether a string contains all numeric digits. ! negates the outcome. SYNTAX: IF ISNUM [VALUE] IF !ISNUM [VALUE] SAMPLE CALL: (1) IF ISNUM "1456" (2) EQU TEMP 345F IF ISNUM @TEMP@ COMMENTS: Sample call #1 will return a true value. Sample call #2 will return a false value. IF (continued) AVAILABLE LOGICAL OPERATORS: OPERATOR: AND PURPOSE: Separates multiple CONDITIONS which must return true values for the whole expression to be true. SYNTAX: IF = [CONDITION1] AND [CONDITION2] AND [CONDITION3] ..... SAMPLE CALL: IF = "Tony" @NAME@ AND exist c:\autoexec.bat COMMENTS: You can combine different LOGICAL OPERATORS on the same line, but there is no way to set precedence. OPERATOR: OR PURPOSE: Separates multiple CONDITIONS one of which must return a true values for the whole expression to be true. SYNTAX: IF = [CONDITION1] OR [CONDITION2] OR [CONDITION3] ... SAMPLE CALL: IF = "Tony" @NAME@ OR exist c:\autoexec.bat COMMENTS: You can combine different LOGICAL OPERATORS on the same line, but there is no way to set precedence. INLINE PURPOSE: Takes the given string and determines if the given substring is contained within that string, and if so returns the position of the first character of the substring in the given string. If the substring is not found in the string then the function returns 0. SYNTAX: INLINE [STRING] [SUBSTRING] [VARIABLE NAME] SAMPLE CALL: INLINE "HELLO WORLD" "WORLD" LOCATION COMMENTS: In the previous sample call the value of LOCATION will be 7. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: CONCAT, CROP, EXTRACTI, LCROP, LENGTH, LTRIM, RCROP, RTRIM INPUT PURPOSE: Prompts user for input and stores it in the given variable. SYNTAX: INPUT [VARIABLE NAME] SAMPLE CALL: INPUT CHOICE COMMENTS: In the previous sample the user will be prompted for input and when entered it will be stored in the variable CHOICE. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: INPUTWINDOW, MENU INPUTWINDOW PURPOSE: Create a window with various fields for the user to fill in. The fields are defined on the command line and can specify what type of character to accept and specify the format. SYNTAX: INPUTWINDOW [WINDOW TITLE] [HEADING] [PICTURE] [VARIABLE] <HEADING2> <PICTURE2> <VARIABLE2> ......... PARAMETERS: WINDOW TITLE - Title of window displayed on screen. If you do not want a title then enter "" for that parameter. HEADING - Describes to user what information you are asking for. PICTURE - Describes the format of the desired information. - OPTIONS: X - Any character. 9 - Only numbers accepted. L - Only 'Y' or 'N' accepted. (Default is 'N') VARIABLE - Variable name to store input in. SAMPLE CALL: INPUTWINDOW "MAILING LABELS" "NAME : " "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" NAME "ADDRESS: " "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" ADDRESS1 " :" "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" ADDRESS2 "PHONE : " "(999)999-9999" PHONE COMMENTS: The window produced from the previous sample call will look similar to the following along with a border: MAILING LABELS NAME : ADDRESS : : PHONE : ( ) - Any character added as part of the picture other than 'X', '9' or 'L' will be a permanent part of the users input and users will not be allowed to change it. The parenthesis and hyphen in the phone field above are such. You can have a maximum of 20 lines with a maximum of 75 characters in each line. User may use any of the typical navigation key to get around the window. When the user is satisfied with the entries he must press return with the cursor sitting on the last line in the window to terminate input. All values will then be stored in the variables specified on the command line. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: INPUT, MENU, MENUITEMBACK, MENUITEMFORE, OUTPUTWINDOW, WINBACK, WINFORE INSERTTEXT PURPOSE: Insert text into a text file. Text may be inserted anywhere in the text file depending on which switch is chosen. SYNTAX: INSERTTEXT [<DRIVE\PATH\>FILENAME] ["NEW TEXT"] [*SWITCH] <"SUB_STRING1"> <"SUB_STRING2"> SWITCHES: *P - Insert NEW TEXT on the line before the first occurrence of a line containing SUB_STRING1 but NOT if the line contains SUB_STRING2. *A - Insert NEW TEXT on the line after the first occurrence of a line containing SUB_STRING1 but NOT if the line contains SUB_STRING2. *R - Replaces the first occurrence of a line containing SUB_STRING1 with NEW TEXT only if the line does not contain SUB_STRING2. *PE - Insert NEW TEXT on the line before every occurrence of a line containing SUB_STRING1 but NOT if the line contains SUB_STRING2. *AE - Insert NEW TEXT on the line after every occurrence of a line containing SUB_STRING1 but NOT if the line contains SUB_STRING2. *RE - Replaces every occurrence of a line containing SUB_STRING1 with NEW TEXT only if the line does not contain SUB_STRING2. *T - Insert NEW TEXT on the first line of the file. *B - Insert NEW TEXT on the last line of the file. SAMPLE CALL: INSERTTEXT C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT "SET TEMP=C:\DOS" *P "PATH" COMMENTS: In the previous sample call "SET TEMP=C:\DOS" will be inserted in "C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT" before the first occurrence of "PATH" is found in the file. If you want to insert a blank line use "" in place of the NEW TEXT parameter. If you want to delete a given line, use the *R switch with "" in place of NEW TEXT. Remember that SUB_STRING2 is not required but can be used to exclude lines you do not want evaluated. SUB_STRING1 is required if you use the *P, *A or *R switches. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ADDGROUP, DELGROUP, NUMLINES, PULLTEXT, READLINE, REMOVESECTION, REMOVETEXT INVENTORY PURPOSE: Searches for all occurrences of the specified file(s) and stores their PATH in the specified text file. A heading can be specified that helps describe the purpose of the inventory or any other use you can think of. SYNTAX: INVENTORY [<DRIVE\PATH\>FILENAME1] [<DRIVE\PATH\>FILENAME2] ["HEADING"] [*SWITCH] FILENAME1 - File(s) being searched for. FILENAME2 - File to store the PATHs of files that are found. HEADING - String of text that is inserted in FILENAME2 before the PATHs of any found files. SWITCHES: *S - Searches all sub directories. SAMPLE CALL: INVENTORY C:\*.DOC "List of all documents" *S COMMENTS: If you do not want a HEADING use "" in place of this parameter. The output file FILENAME2 is never overwritten, but has all text appended to it. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ATTRIBUTE, COPY, DEL, FILEDATE, FILESIZE, FILETIME, GETVOLUME, MOVE, PUTVOLUME, REN, RENDIR LABEL PURPOSE: Mark a location in the script where an associated GOTO command will transfer control. SYNTAX: LABEL [NAME] SAMPLE CALL: GOTO END EQU COUNTRY USA LABEL END COMMENTS: In the previous sample the EQU command will not execute because the GOTO command causes control to skip to the line marked by the appropriate LABEL. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: GOTO LCROP PURPOSE: Extracts n# of characters from the left side of the given string and stores them in the given variable. SYNTAX: LCROP ["SOURCE"] [NUMBER OF CHARACTERS] [VARIABLE NAME] SAMPLE CALL: EQU STRING "PATH = C:\DOS" LCROP @STRING@ 4 STRING2 COMMENTS: In the previous sample call the 4 leftmost characters of "PATH = C:\DOS" will be placed in the variable STRING2. The value stored in STRING2 in this sample call will be "PATH". ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: CONCAT, CROP, EXTRACTI, INLINE, LENGTH, LTRIM, RCROP, RTRIM LENGTH PURPOSE: Determines the length of the given string and stores that value in the given variable. SYNTAX: LENGTH ["SOURCE"] [VARIABLE NAME] SAMPLE CALL: EQU STRING "PATH" LENGTH @STRING@ STRING2 COMMENTS: In the previous sample call the length of the value of STRING will be stored in the variable STRING2. The value stored in STRING2 in this sample call will be 4. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: CONCAT, CROP, EXTRACTI, INLINE, LCROP, LTRIM, RCROP, RTRIM LISTVARS PURPOSE: Displays all the currently defined SSL variables. SYNTAX: LISTVARS SAMPLE CALL: LISTVARS COMMENTS: ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: RELEASE, RELEASEALL LOCALENV PURPOSE: Change, Add or Delete a environment variable in the current or local environment. SYNTAX: LOCALENV [VARIABLE NAME] <VALUE> SAMPLE CALL: (1) LOCALENV PATH C:\DOS (2) LOCALENV PATH COMMENTS: Sample call 1 with change the PATH to C:\DOS. Sample call 2 will delete the current PATH. Once execution of SSL terminates the environment reverts back to the state it was in before SSL ran. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: GLOBALENV LOOP PURPOSE: Terminates a WHILE command. SYNTAX: LOOP SAMPLE CALL: WHILE . . LOOP COMMENTS: While a condition in a WHILE statement is true, all the instructions following the WHILE command will be executed up to the associated LOOP command. Control is then transferred back to the original WHILE statement and the condition is tested again. This process will continue until the conditional statement found in the WHILE statement is false. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: LTRIM PURPOSE: Remove leading spaces from a string or remove a specified number of character from the left side of the given string and store the remainder in the given variable. SYNTAX: LTRIM ["SOURCE"] [VARIABLE NAME] <NUMBER OF CHARACTERS> SAMPLE CALL: (1) LTRIM " Hello World" STRING2 (2) LTRIM "Hello World" STRING2 6 COMMENTS: Sample call #1 will remove the leading spaces and store "Hello World" in the variable STRING2. Sample call #2 will remove the first 6 characters from "Hello World" and store "World" in the variable STRING2. If you specify the number of characters to remove and the string has leading spaces, the spaces are not automatically removed but considered as actual characters which count against the number of characters you specified to remove. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: CONCAT, CROP, EXTRACTI, INLINE, LCROP, LENGTH, RCROP, RTRIM MASTERBACK PURPOSE: Changes the background color used for the application. SYNTAX: MASTERBACK [COLORCOLOR] AVAILABLE COLORS: BLACK BLUE GREEN CYAN RED MAGENTA BROWN LIGHTGRAY SAMPLE CALL: MASTERBACK BLUE COMMENTS: ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: MASTERFORE, MENUITEMBACK, MENUITEMFORE, REFRESH, WINBACK, WINFORE MASTERFORE PURPOSE: Changes the foreground color used for the application. SYNTAX: MASTERFORE [COLORCOLOR] AVAILABLE COLORS: BLACK BLUE GREEN CYAN RED MAGENTA BROWN LIGHTGRAY DARKGRAY LIGHTBLUE LIGHTGREEN LIGHTCYAN LIGHTRED LIGHTMAGENTA YELLOW WHITE SAMPLE CALL: MASTERFORE BLUE COMMENTS: ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: MASTERBACK, MENUITEMBACK, MENUITEMFORE, REFRESH, WINBACK, WINFORE MD PURPOSE: Create a directory. SYNTAX: MD [<DRIVE\PATH\>DIRECTORY] SAMPLE CALL: MD C:\TEST COMMENTS: ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: CD, RD MENU PURPOSE: Display a menu and have the user make a selection. The number of the menu option selected is then stored in the variable given on the command line. SYNTAX: MENU [VARIABLE NAME] [MENU TITLE] [MENU ITEM1] <"MENU ITEM2"> .... SAMPLE CALL: EQU ITEM3 "INSTALL APPLICATION" MENU CHOICE "MAIN MENU" "INSTALL DOS" "DELETE FILE" @ITEM3@ COMMENTS: Variables can be used as MENU ITEMs. This is the best way to set up the menu items because of the limited space you have on the command line. The maximum number of menu items is 20 with a maximum of 75 characters in menu title. If you do not wish to have a MENU TITLE then substitute "" for that parameter. In the previous sample call you will have the following menu options displayed on the screen with a MENU TITLE and border: MAIN MENU INSTALL DOS DELETE FILE INSTALL APPLICATION The user can then use the cursor keys to select the option they desire. The number of that option will be stored in the given variable name, in this case CHOICE. If you choose INSTALL APPLICATION then the value of CHOICE will be 3. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: INPUT, INPUTWINDOW, MENUITEMBACK, MENUITEMFORE, OUTPUTWINDOW, WINBACK, WINFORE MENUITEMBACK PURPOSE: Changes the background color of a highlighted window item. SYNTAX: MENUITEMBACK [COLORCOLOR] AVAILABLE COLORS: BLACK BLUE GREEN CYAN RED MAGENTA BROWN LIGHTGRAY SAMPLE CALL: MENUITEMBACK BLUE COMMENTS: ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: MASTERBACK, MASTERFORE, MENUITEMFORE, REFRESH, WINBACK, WINFORE MENUITEMFORE PURPOSE: Changes the foreground color of a highlighted window item. SYNTAX: MENUITEMFORE [COLORCOLOR] AVAILABLE COLORS: BLACK BLUE GREEN CYAN RED MAGENTA BROWN LIGHTGRAY DARKGRAY LIGHTBLUE LIGHTGREEN LIGHTCYAN LIGHTRED LIGHTMAGENTA YELLOW WHITE SAMPLE CALL: MENUITEMFORE BLUE COMMENTS: ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: MASTERBACK, MASTERFORE, MENUITEMBACK, REFRESH, WINBACK, WINFORE MOD PURPOSE: Divides two numbers and stores the remainder in the given variable. SYNTAX: MOD [NUMBER1] [NUMBER2] [VARIABLE NAME] SAMPLE CALL: EQU COUNT 10 MOD 52 @COUNT@ ANSWER COMMENTS: Numbers and or variables can be used. In the previous sample call the value of ANSWER will be 2. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ADD, DIV, MULT, SUB MOVE PURPOSE: Moves files from their given location to a new location. SYNTAX: MOVE [SOURCE] [DESTINATION] <*SWITCH> SWITCHES: *S - Moves files found in all sub directories. SAMPLE CALL: (1) MOVE C:\DATA\FILE.EXE C:\BACKUP\FILE.EXE (2) MOVE C:\*.BAT C:\BACKUP\*.* *S COMMENTS: Dos wild card conventions can be used. Files can not be moved between physical drives or logical partitions. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ATTRIBUTE, COPY, DEL, FILEDATE, FILESIZE, FILETIME, GETVOLUME, INVENTORY, PUTVOLUME, REN, RENDIR MSGLEVEL PURPOSE: Specifies what type of progress tracking you desire and/or a file to log the progress to. SYNTAX: MSGLEVEL [OPTION] <LOG FILENAME> OPTIONS: 0 - Prints progress to the PROGRESS window and saves progress in the LOG file. 1 - Prints progress to the PROGRESS window but does not save progress in the LOG file. 2- Does not print progress to the PROGRESS window but does save progress in the LOG file. 3 - Does not print progress to the PROGRESS window nor does it save progress in the LOG file. SAMPLE CALL: (1) MSGLEVEL 3 (2) MSGLEVEL 0 C:\SSL.LOG COMMENTS: Sample call #1 will cause SSL to stop printing progress to the PROGRESS window and to the LOG file, if one has been opened previously. Sample call #2 will cause SSL to print progress to the PROGRESS window and open a file called SSL.LOG in the root of the C: drive and log all progress to that file. By default MSGLEVEL is set to 1 and no log file is opened. You must specify a LOG FILENAME when setting the MSGLEVEL to 0 and 2 for the first time. After initializing a LOG file you no longer need to specify a LOG FILENAME when using these MSGLEVEL's. A LOG FILENAME should not be specified when setting MSGLEVEL to 1 or 3. If you are running SSL by specifying commands on the command line, this command has no effect. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ERRORLEVEL, PAUSE MULT PURPOSE: Multiply two numbers together and store the value in the given variable. SYNTAX: MULT [NUMBER1] [NUMBER2] [VARIABLE NAME] SAMPLE CALL: EQU COUNT 10 MULT 50 @COUNT@ ANSWER COMMENTS: Numbers and or variables can be used. In the previous sample call the value of ANSWER will be 500. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ADD, DIV, MOD, SUB NUMLINES PURPOSE: Determines the number of lines in a text file and stores that value in the given variable. SYNTAX: NUMLINES [<DRIVE\PATH\>FILENAME] [VARIABLE NAME] SAMPLE CALL: NUMLINES C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT VALUE COMMENTS: In the previous sample call the number of lines in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file will be calculated and stored in the variable VALUE. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ADDGROUP, DELGROUP, INSERTTEXT, PULLTEXT, READLINE, REMOVESECTION, REMOVETEXT OUTPUTWINDOW PURPOSE: Create a window and print information to it. SYNTAX: OUTPUTWINDOW [WINDOW TITLE] [STRING1] <STRING2> ..... SAMPLE CALL: EQU ADDRESS "610 Jackson Street" EQU CITY Greenville EQU STATE NC EQU ZIP 87654 OUTPUTWINDOW " CUSTOMER INFO " "Mike Johnson" @ADDRESS@ "@CITY@, @STATE@ @ZIP@" COMMENTS: The window produced from the previous sample call will look similar to the following along with a border: CUSTOMER INFO Mike Johnson 610 Jackson Street Greenville, NC 87654 Remember that the variables CITY, STATE and ZIP are between double quotes and will be treated as one parameter so they will be put on the same line. You can have a maximum of 20 lines with a maximum of 75 characters in each line. If you do not desire a menu title then use "" in place of that parameter. If you would like a blank line displayed use "" as the parameter. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: INPUT, INPUTWINDOW, MENU, WINBACK, WINFORE PAUSE PURPOSE: When issued, it will cause SSL to prompt the user to press any key when it finishes processing the entire script. SYNTAX: PAUSE SAMPLE CALL: PAUSE COMMENTS: This is useful in debugging if SSL is terminating so quickly that you can not see what kind of errors are being displayed. Also remember that you can set up log files using the ERRORLEVEL and MSGLEVEL commands that will aid you in debugging. This command is most effective if you make it the first entry in your script. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ERRORLEVEL, MSGLEVEL, WAIT PULLTEXT PURPOSE: Extract text from a text file by specifying a sub string of the line you want to extract. Extracted text is placed in the variable name given on the command line. SYNTAX: PULLTEXT [<DRIVE\PATH\>FILENAME] ["SUB STRING"] [VARIABLE NAME] <*SWITCH> <SUB STRING> <*SWITCH> <SUB STRING> ..... SWITCHES: *P - The line that is to be extracted must be found before the SUB STRING given after this switch is found in the file. This switch can only be used once. *A - The line that is to be extracted must be found after the SUB STRING given after this switch is found in the file. This switch can only be use once. *N - The line that is to be extracted can not contain the SUB STRING given after this switch. You can use this switch up to 10 times. SAMPLE CALL: (1) PULLTEXT C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT PROMPT STORE (2) PULLTEXT C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT "PATH" STRING *A "PROMPT" *P "DOSKEY" *N "SET PATH" COMMENTS: Sample call #1 will extract the first line that has the string PROMPT contained in it and store the entire line of text in the variable STORE. Sample call #2 will extract the first line that meets the following conditions and store the entire line of text in the variable STRING: 1. The line must contain PATH 2. The line must not contain SET PATH 3. A line that contains DOSKEY must not have been found yet 4. A line that contains PROMPT must have already been found. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ADDGROUP, DELGROUP, INSERTTEXT, NUMLINES, READLINE, REMOVESECTION, REMOVETEXT PUSHKEY PURPOSE: Places keys in the keyboard buffer. This can be done one of two ways, the first way is to give the string of characters you want pushed, the second is to give the SCAN code and ASCII code of the keys you want pushed. SYNTAX: PUSHKEY [SWITCH] [PARAMETER1] <PARAMETER2> SWITCHES: *A - Specifies that PARAMETER1 will be a string of characters you wish to have placed in the keyboard buffer which will have a RETURN appended at the end of it. *S - Specifies that a list of ASCII codes and SCAN codes of the characters you want PUSHED will be given. In this case, PARAMETER1 will be the ASCII code of the first character and PARAMETER2 will be the SCAN code of the first character you want PUSHED. Both ASCII CODE and SCAN CODE must be given unless it is not in the extended character set, then you would just pass 0 as the SCAN CODE. SAMPLE CALL: (1) PUSHKEY *S 69 0 68 0 73 0 84 0 32 0 67 0 58 0 92 0 71 0 79 0 46 0 66 0 65 0 84 0 13 0 (2) PUSHKEY *A "EDIT C:\GO.BAT" (3) PUSHKEY *S 0 61 COMMENTS: Sample calls #1 and #2 both will push "EDIT C:\GO.BAT" into the keyboard buffer along with a RETURN. Maximum of 15 characters. Sample call #3 will push the F3 key into the keyboard buffer. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: PUTVOLUME PURPOSE: Writes the given volume label to the given disk drive. SYNTAX: PUTVOLUME [DRIVE LETTER:] [VOLUME LABEL] SAMPLE CALL: (1) PUTVOLUME A: DISK1 (2) PUTVOLUME A: COMMENTS: Sample call #1 will change the Volume Label on the disk in drive A: to DISK1. Sample call #2 will delete the Volume Label on the disk in drive A:. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ATTRIBUTE, COPY, DEL, FILEDATE, FILESIZE, FILETIME, GETVOLUME, INVENTORY, MOVE, REN, RENDIR RCROP PURPOSE: Extracts n# of characters from the right side of the given string and stores them in the given variable. SYNTAX: RCROP ["SOURCE"] [NUMBER OF CHARACTERS] [VARIABLE NAME] SAMPLE CALL: EQU STRING "PATH = C:\DOS" RCROP @STRING@ 4 STRING2 COMMENTS: In the previous sample call the 4 rightmost characters of "PATH = C:\DOS" will be placed in the variable STRING2. The value stored in STRING2 in this sample call will be "\DOS". ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: CONCAT, CROP, EXTRACTI, INLINE, LCROP, LENGTH, LTRIM, RTRIM RD PURPOSE: Delete a directory. SYNTAX: RD [<DRIVE\PATH\>DIRECTORY] SAMPLE CALL: RD C:\TEST COMMENTS: The directory which is to be deleted can only be deleted if there are no files or sub directories in it. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: CD, MD READLINE PURPOSE: Reads the specified line number from the given file and stores it in the given variable.. SYNTAX: READLINE [<DRIVE\PATH\>FILENAME] [LINE NUMBER] [VARIABLE NAME] SAMPLE CALL: READLINE C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT 5 LINE COMMENTS: The previous sample call will read the 5th line in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and store the value in the variable LINE. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ADDGROUP, DELGROUP, INSERTTEXT, NUMLINES, PULLTEXT, REMOVESECTION, REMOVETEXT REBOOT PURPOSE: Performs a WARM or COLD boot depending on user's request. SYNTAX: REBOOT <OPTION> OPTIONS: 1. COLD 2. WARM SAMPLE CALL: (1) REBOOT (2) REBOOT COLD (3) REBOOT WARM COMMENTS: If no OPTION is given the default is COLD. Sample call #1 and #2 will do a COLD boot which is like powering the system up or pressing the reset button. Sample call #3 will do a WARM boot which is like pressing Ctrl Alt Delete. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: EXIT REFRESH PURPOSE: Refreshes the entire screen using the current MASTERBACK, MASTERFORE, WINBACK and WINFORE colors currently defined. SYNTAX: REFRESH SAMPLE CALL: REFRESH COMMENTS: This command also erases all the text in the PROGRESS and ERRORS windows. REFRESH uses the WINBACK and WINFORE colors to refresh the PROGRESS and ERRORS windows. It uses the MASTERBACK and MASTERFORE colors to refresh everything else. If all you want to do is change the colors of any new windows you open but not anything else, do not issue this command. REFRESH is not needed to change the colors of anything accept those things already displayed on the screen by default. Typically it will only be used to change the colors of the PROGRESS window and the ERRORS window. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: MASTERBACK, MASTERFORE, MENUITEMBACK, MENUITEMFORE, WINBACK, WINFORE RELEASE PURPOSE: Erases the given variable. SYNTAX: RELEASE [VARIABLE NAME] SAMPLE CALL: RELEASE STRING1 COMMENTS: It is always good to RELEASE a variable when you are finished using it so that you don't reach the limit. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: LISTVARS, RELEASEALL RELEASEALL PURPOSE: Erases all currently defined variables. SYNTAX: RELEASEALL SAMPLE CALL: RELEASEALL COMMENTS: ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: LISTVARS, RELEASE REMOVESECTION PURPOSE: Removes an entire section from a text file that uses file formatting conventions like those found in WINDOWS INI files and multiple boot configurations in the CONFIG.SYS file. SYNTAX: REMOVESECTION [<DRIVE\PATH\>FILENAME] ["[SECTION NAME]"] SAMPLE CALL: REMOVESECTION C:\WINDOWS\WIN.INI "[DESKTOP]" COMMENTS: The previous sample call will delete the first line with a heading of [DESKTOP] and all lines after it up to the next section heading or to the end of the file, which ever comes first. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ADDGROUP, DELGROUP, INSERTTEXT, NUMLINES, PULLTEXT, READLINE, REMOVETEXT REMOVETEXT PURPOSE: Removes text from a text file by specifying a sub string of the line you want to remove. SYNTAX: REMOVETEXT [<DRIVE\PATH\>FILENAME] ["SUB STRING"] <*SWITCH> <SUB STRING1> <*SWITCH> <SUBSTRING2> ............. SWITCHES: *P - The line that is to be deleted must be found before the SUB STRING given with this switch is found in the file. This switch can only be used once. *A - The line that is to be deleted must be found after the SUB STRING given with this switch is found in the file. This switch can only be use once. *E - When this switch is given, every line that meets the criteria for deletion will be deleted. *N - The line that is to be deleted can not contain the SUB STRING given after this switch. You can use this switch up to 10 times. SAMPLE CALL: (1) REMOVETEXT C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT PROMPT (2) REMOVETEXT C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT "PATH" *A "PROMPT" *P "DOSKEY" *N "SET PATH" COMMENTS: Sample call #1 will delete the first line that has the string PROMPT contained in it. Sample call #2 will delete the first line that meets the following conditions: 1. The line must contain PATH. 2. The line must not contain SET PATH. 3. A line that contains DOSKEY must not have been found yet. 4. A line that contains PROMPT must have already been found. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ADDGROUP, DELGROUP, INSERTTEXT, NUMLINES, PULLTEXT, READLINE, REMOVESECTION REN PURPOSE: Renames the given file(s) to the new name specified. SYNTAX: REN [<DRIVE\PATH\>CURRENT FILENAME] [NEW FILENAME] <SWITCH> SWITCHES: *S - Renames files found in all sub directories. SAMPLE CALL: (1) REN C:\DATA\FILE.EXE NEWFILE.EXE (2) REN C:\*.BAT *.BAK *S COMMENTS: NEW FILENAME must be given with NO PATH. Dos wild card conventions can be used. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ATTRIBUTE, COPY, DEL, FILEDATE, FILESIZE, FILETIME, GETVOLUME, INVENTORY, MOVE, PUTVOLUME, RENDIR RENDIR PURPOSE: Renames the given directory to the new name specified. SYNTAX: REN [<DRIVE\PATH\>CURRENT DIRECTORY NAME] [NEW DIRECTORY NAME] SAMPLE CALL: REN C:\DATA MYDATA COMMENTS: NEW DIRECTORY must be given with NO PATH. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ATTRIBUTE, COPY, DEL, FILEDATE, FILESIZE, FILETIME, GETVOLUME, INVENTORY, MOVE, PUTVOLUME, REN RTRIM PURPOSE: Remove trailing spaces from a string or remove a specified number of character from the right side of the given string and store the remainder in the given variable. SYNTAX: RTRIM ["SOURCE"] [VARIABLE NAME] <NUMBER OF CHARACTERS> SAMPLE CALL: (1) RTRIM "Hello World " STRING2 (2) RTRIM "Hello World" STRING2 6 COMMENTS: Sample call #1 will remove the trailing spaces and store "Hello World" in the variable STRING2. Sample call #2 will remove the last 6 characters from "Hello World" and store "Hello" in the variable STRING2. If you specify the number of characters to remove and the string has trailing spaces, the spaces are not automatically removed but considered as actual characters which count against the number of characters you specified to remove. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: CONCAT, CROP, EXTRACTI, INLINE, LCROP, LENGTH, LTRIM, RCROP SSL PURPOSE: Executes the given script file. SYNTAX: SSL [<DRIVE\PATH\>FILENAME] SAMPLE CALL: SSL C:\SCRIPTS\INSTALL.SSL COMMENTS: All currently defined variables are passed to the script being executed. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: SUB PURPOSE: Subtracts two numbers and stores the value in the given variable. SYNTAX: SUB [NUMBER1] [NUMBER2] [VARIABLE NAME] SAMPLE CALL: EQU COUNT 10 SUB 50 @COUNT@ ANSWER COMMENTS: Numbers and or variables can be used. In the previous sample call the value of ANSWER will be 40. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: ADD, DIV, MOD, MULT WAIT PURPOSE: Pauses execution of the script and prompts user to "Press any key to continue!". SYNTAX: WAIT SAMPLE CALL: WAIT COMMENTS: ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: DISPLAY WHILE PURPOSE: The WHILE command will test a certain condition and execute the instructions following the WHILE command up to the associated LOOP command which will then cause control to return back to the original WHILE command. This process will continue until the condition given to the WHILE command is false. The conditional statements and logical operators are the same as used in the IF command. Please refer to the IF command for further explanations of the conditional statements and logical operators. SYNTAX: WHILE [CONDITION] <LOGICAL OPERATOR> <CONDITION> ... instructions . . . LOOP SAMPLE CALL: EQU COUNTER1 5 EQU COUNTER2 0 WHILE > COUNTER1 COUNTER2 DISPLAY COUNTER2 ADD @COUNTER2@ 1 COUNTER2 LOOP COMMENTS: In the previous sample call the value of COUNTER2 will continue to be printed to the PROGRESS window until it is equal to the value of COUNTER1. The following will be printed to the PROGRESS window: 0 1 2 3 4 Nested WHILE LOOPs are permitted. Any variables used in a WHILE LOOP need to be initialized before use. ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: GOTO, IF WINBACK PURPOSE: Changes the background color of a window. SYNTAX: WINBACK [COLORCOLOR] AVAILABLE COLORS: BLACK BLUE GREEN CYAN RED MAGENTA BROWN LIGHTGRAY SAMPLE CALL: WINBACK BLUE COMMENTS: ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: MASTERBACK, MASTERFORE, MENUITEMBACK, MENUITEMFORE, REFRESH, WINFORE WINFORE PURPOSE: Changes the foreground color of a window. SYNTAX: WINFORE [COLORCOLOR] AVAILABLE COLORS: BLACK BLUE GREEN CYAN RED MAGENTA BROWN LIGHTGRAY DARKGRAY LIGHTBLUE LIGHTGREEN LIGHTCYAN LIGHTRED LIGHTMAGENTA YELLOW WHITE SAMPLE CALL: WINFORE BLUE COMMENTS: ASSOCIATED COMMANDS: MASTERBACK, MASTERFORE, MENUITEMBACK, MENUITEMFORE, REFRESH, WINBACK