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l---+---L1----+-T--2-- Book -3--T-+----4T---+---T5----+-T--6----T----7r-J-+--r
.N:37
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 37
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════|
║ ╔═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ ╔═══════════════════╗█║ Password: None Selects: Menu Type: |
║ █║ Name Prompt Help ║█╚═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ ║███████████████████████████████████████████|
║ █║ Prompt Line: No ║ ╔═══════════════════════════════════════╗|
║ █║ ║ █║ Sample Menu Name ║|
║ █║ Shadow: Cursor: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Yes Yes ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ > Settings shown for this line ║|
║ █║ Stepped: Border: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ No Double ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Menu Colors ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ LtGray Black ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Option Colors ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ LtGray Black ║ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝|
║ █╚═══════════════════╝ ████████████████████████████████████████ |
║ ████████████████████ |
║ |
║ Press ENTER to Accept or ESC to Cancel Home End Ins Del to Ed|
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════|
Figure 25 - The top window settings may be different for each
line.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 38
Back: - B - Menu Colors
This allows you to set the background color for the current
menu's Border, Name and Prompt. Press B and use the right and
left cursor keys to change the value, and press RETURN.
Fore: - F - Menu Colors
This allows you to set the foreground color for the current
menu's Border, Name and Prompt. Press F and use the right and
left cursor keys to change the value, and press RETURN.
Back: - A - Option Colors
This allows you to set the background color for the current
menu's Items. Press A and use the right and left cursor keys to
change the value, and press RETURN.
Fore: - O - Option Colors
This allows you to set the foreground color for the current
menu's Items. Press O and use the right and left cursor keys to
change the value, and press RETURN.
The Current Item's Settings
The Current Item's Settings window is directly above the menu
window. The settings shown apply ONLY to the item highlighted by
the Cursor Bar. (Figure 25)
Password: - W -
Each menu item may have a password defined that must be entered
before the resulting operation will be performed. Passwords may
be up to seven characters long. As additional protection, the
password will only be displayed when it is being edited. At all
other times this option will show "None" if no password is
defined for the option, or '*******' if one has been defined.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 39
Selects: - S -
Menu
When selected the current item will display a sub-menu.
Action
When selected, a set of DOS commands will be copied to ACT.BAT
for execution by DOS. MSI will terminate and NOT be resident
while the commands are being processed (or programs run). The
same commands are entered into an Action Window (press F4) as
are used in a DOS batch file. For Action items to operate
properly you must install MSI as detailed in 'Installing MSI'
and start the program using RUNMSI.BAT.
Dual
Dual lets you define a sub-menu and two sets of Action
commands for the current item. The first Action is executed
prior to the display of the sub-menu. The second set of
Actions will be executed when the user leaves the sub-menu by
pressing the ESC key. MSI will be resident during the
execution of both sets of Action commands.
Dual Action commands are not issued through a batch file.
Rather, they are sent to DOS as individual system commands. If
the command causes a new program to execute, MSI will suspend
itself until the program terminates.
Rsidnt
This is the default setting. Resident works like Action
except that MSI will remain in Memory. This allows you to
return to the menu that the item was selected from, and
without having to reload the program. Approximately 115,000
bytes will be used by MSI and DOS.
Type: - T - (Toggle)
Normal
Normal items may be selected, meaning they may display a
sub-menu, execute a set of Action commands or begin a Dual
operation.
Text Only
Text Only items MAY NOT BE SELECTED. Text Only options have
several uses. They can be used as an extended selection
description, or to provide notes for an item immediately above
or below. They may also be used with other Text Only items
to provide quick reference help on the menu or to define Help
only menus, such as might be used after loading a TSR.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 40
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════|
║ ╔═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ ╔═══════════════════╗█║ Password: None Selects: Menu Type: |
║ █║ Name Prompt Help ║█╚═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ ║███████████████████████████████████████████|
║ █║ Prompt Line: No ║ ╔═══════════════════════════════════════╗|
║ █║ ║ █║ MSI Sample Menus ║|
║ █║ Shadow: Cursor: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Yes Yes ║ █║ 1. Lots of Stepped Menus ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ A 'Text Only' option... ║|
║ █║ Stepped: Border: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ No Double ║ █║ 2. Non-Stepped Menus ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ ...could be additional help. ║|
║ █║ Menu Colors ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║ 'Text Only' cannot be selected. ║|
║ █║ LtGray Blue ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ > 3. New alignment - 1, 2 & 4 only ║|
║ █║ Option Colors ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║ 4. Print Document Files..! ║|
║ █║ LtGray Black ║ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝|
║ █╚═══════════════════╝ ████████████████████████████████████████ |
║ ████████████████████ |
║ |
║ Press ENTER to Accept or ESC to Cancel Home End Ins Del to Ed|
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════|
Figure 26 - Selectable items will be re-aligned with #3 on RETURN.
╔═┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────|
║█│ @echo off |
║█│ echo ... |
║█│ echo Turn Printer ON and Press Any Key |
║█│ echo ... |
║█│ pause |
║█│ echo ... |
║█│ echo Printing README.DOC... |
║█│ echo ... |
║█│ copy README.DOC prn: |
║█│ echo ... |
║█│ echo Printing Complete. |
║█│ |
║█│ |
║█│ |
║█│ |
║█│ |
║█│ |
║█│ |
║█│ |
║█│ |
║█└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────|
║██████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████|
║ ALT-Q to Quit F1 Help F2 Import F3 Export Home End |
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════|
Figure 27 - An Action window opened for editing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 41
Menu Editor's Function Keys & Commands
These commands are available inside the Menus Editor. At the
bottom of the screen you will find the Command Assistance Line
(CAL). CAL will be updated as you use the various Menus
Editor features to show which Function Keys are active and other
commands you will be able to use.
Edit: - F2 -
Press F2 to add or edit a menu line highlighted by the Cursor
Bar. CAL will display the available Editor Commands. When you
are finished editing the line, press RETURN.
MSI automatically sets the command key used to select your items.
When you press RETURN the editor looks for the first NON-SPACE
character on the line. This will be the selection key, using
either upper and lower case, when it applies. You may number
your items, though it is by no means required.
The Editor also has an automatic selection string alignment
feature, block aligning them to the right. ONLY selectable items
will be aligned; Text Only items may be indented independently of
each other and of the selectable items. See Figure 26.
Move: - F3 -
Press F3 and use the up and down cursor keys to move a menu item
to a different line on the menu. This actually exchanges the
highlighted line with the line immediately above or below it, so
that associated sub-menus and Actions are also moved.
Define: - F4 -
The F4 key allows you to define an Action, Menu or Dual for a
highlighted item. The 'Selects:' setting, from the window
directly above the menu, determines what operation is defined. If
this is the first time an operation is defined for the item, a
warning window will appear first. This window will inform you of
the operation about to be defined, just in case you might need to
change the 'Selects:' setting first.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 42
NOTE: If a menu or Action has already been defined or allocated,
no warning window will appear. Instead, the appropriate Action
window or sub-menu will appear ready for editing. See Figure 27.
Delete: - F10 -
Like Move, Deleting an item involves more than just removing the
string defining the item. The memory allocated for an Action or
Dual Actions will be returned for use by your computer.
Save: - ALT-S -
The Save command may be used at any time in the Menus Editor.
This saves the current menu definitions to the menus definition
file, MSI.DAT.
Quit: - ALT-Q -
Press ALT-Q (the ALT and Q keys at the same time) to leave an
editing window, i.e Help or Action command window, or the Menus
Editor. If you leave the Menus Editor with unsaved changes, MSI
will automatically save them for you.
User Name: - ALT-U - (Registered Version Only)
This command allows you to add or edit an individual or company
name that will appear in the upper left corner of the menus'
backdrop screen.
Re-Install: - CTRL-F6 -
If you move your MSI program or data files you can use this Menus
Editor command to re-set the Home Directory and your AUTOEXEC.BAT
file.
Delete Menu: - CTRL-F9 -
Use this to delete the entire menu (or clear the Main Menu). If
the menu has items that select sub-menus, the menu may NOT be
deleted, as a safety precaution.
Delete ALL Menus: - CTRL-F10 -
Use this command with caution! It will clear out ALL of the
current menus. The command was primarily intended to be used to
delete the Sample Menus.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 43
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════|
║ ╔═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ ╔═══════════════════╗█║ Password: None Selects: Menu Type: |
║ █║ Name Prompt Help ║█╚═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ ║███████████████████████████████████████████|
║ █║ Prompt Line: No ║ ╔═══════════════════════════════════════╗|
║ █║ ║ █║ MSI Sample Menus ║|
║ █║ Shadow: Cursor: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Yes Yes ║ █║ 1. Lots of Stepped Menus ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ A 'Text Only' Option... ║|
║ █║ Stepped Border: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ No Double ║ █║ 2. Non-Stepped Menus ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ ...could be additional help. ║|
║ █║ Menu Colors ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║ 'Text Only' cannot be selected. ║|
║ █║ LtGray Blue ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ 3. Password Menu (PW = Pass) ║|
║ █║ Option Colors ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║ 4. Print Document Files..! ║|
║ █║ LtGray Black ║ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝|
║ █╚═══════════════════╝ ████████████████████████████████████████ |
║ ████████████████████ |
║ |
║ Press ENTER to Accept or ESC to Cancel Home End Ins Del to Ed|
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════|
Figure 28 - Command Assistance Line keeps you informed of active
editing keys.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 44
There are two special commands available in the Action Command
window; F2 - Import and F3 - Export.
Import: - F2 -
This command lets you read into the Action Window the contents of
a DOS text file, such as a batch file. The contents of the file
are INSERTED starting at the current line.
Export: - F3 -
The opposite of Import, this command allows you to write the
contents of the Action Window to a DOS file.
Arrows, Home, End, Ins & Del
These are editing keys. See 'Text Editing Commands' for details.
Text Editing Commands
MSI has been specially designed so that the same set of text
editing commands is used whether you are defining the Name for a
menu, Password, Help screen or a set of Action commands.
The cursor keys are used to position the cursor as you would
expect. If you are editing a single line, such as an item
string, Name or Password, the up and down cursor keys will not
operate (there's nowhere to go!). Otherwise the cursor keys will
move the cursor within the limits of the box or window for the
item being edited. CAL will keep you informed of the keys which
are active for any given editing operation (Figure 28).
If the cursor is positioned on the first character of ANY
editable line, and this is the first character entered since the
line was last edited, the line will be CLEARED then the typed
character entered. Otherwise, characters will be entered in
overstrike mode at the cursor position.
Cursor is at ^;
Example of First typed character
^
IF this is the First edit;
X_
^
pressing any non-editing key will cause the line to be
cleared first, then the typed character will be entered.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 45
The END & HOME Keys
Press END to move the cursor to the end of a line and the HOME
key to move to the beginning of a line.
The INSERT Key
INSERT will cause spaces to be inserted into the line at the
cursor position. Characters at the end of the line will be lost
as they are pushed beyond the line limit.
Cursor is at ^;
Example of INSERTing & lost chars
^
After pressing INSERT twice:
Exam_ ple of INSERTing & lost cha
^
Notice that the 'rs' at the end of the line has been
lost.
The DELETE Key
DELETE will delete the character under the cursor, moving all
characters to the right of the cursor one character left.
Cursor is at ^;
Example of DELETE
^
After pressing DELETE:
Exaple of DELETE
^
the 'm' under the cursor has been deleted and all
characters to the right moved left one character.
The BACK SPACE Key
BACK SPACE will delete the character immediately to the left of
the cursor by moving the character under the cursor, and all
other characters to the right, one character left.
Cursor is at ^;
Example of BACK SPACE
^
After pressing BACK SPACE:
Exmple of BACK SPACE
^
This time the 'a' immediately to the left of the cursor
was deleted and all characters to the right moved left
one character. Notice that the cursor moved one space to
the left also.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 46
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════|
║ ╔═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ ╔═══════════════════╗█║ Password: None Selects: Menu Type: |
║ █║ Name Prompt Help ║█╚═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ ║███████████████████████████████████████████|
║ █║ Prompt Line: No ║ ╔═══════════════════════════════════════╗|
║ █║ ┌───╨──╜─────────────────────────────────┐ ║|
║ █║ Shadow: Curs█│ │ ║|
║ █║ Yes Yes █│ Press F5 to enter the Menus Editor. │ ║|
║ █║ █│ │ ║|
║ █║ Stepped: Bord█│ _ │ ║|
║ █║ No Doub█│ CTRL-F10 'Unlocks' the Menus Editor. │ ║|
║ █║ █│ │ ║|
║ █║ Menu Color█│ Press CTRL for additional Control Keys.│ ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore█│ │ ║|
║ █║ LtGray Blac█│ Press F2 to print a Registration Form. │ ║|
║ █║ █│ │ ║|
║ █║ Option Colo█└────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore█████████████████████████████████████████ ║|
║ █║ LtGray Black ║ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝|
║ █╚═══════════════════╝ ████████████████████████████████████████ |
║ ████████████████████ |
║ |
║ ALT-Q to Quit ESC Cancels Line Changes Home End Ins Del to|
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════|
Figure 29 - ALT-D has been used to delete the second line of the
sample Help screen.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 47
ALT-C - Clear Line
Press ALT-C (the ALT and C keys pressed at the same time) to
clear the contents of the current line.
ALT-D - Delete Line
Press ALT-D (the ALT and D keys pressed at the same time) to
delete the current line. If you are editing a Help Screen or
Action commands, the lines below the current line will all be
moved up one line. See Figure 29.
ALT-I - Insert Line
Press ALT-I (the ALT and I keys pressed at the same time) to
insert a blank line at the cursor location, moving the cursor
line and all lines below it down one line in the window. If you
are editing a single line item, like a Prompt or Password, this
command will have no effect.
ALT-S - Save Menus
Anytime you would like to save your current work, press ALT-S (the
ALT and S keys pressed at the same time). This saves everything,
including sub-menus, Actions, Help Screens and item edits.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 48
Before Starting...
check that PATH and MSIPATH are set in AUTOEXEC.BAT.
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ (your commands) │
│ . │
│ . │
│ . │
│ REM Allow MSI to locate important files │
│ REM from anywhere on your system. │
│ │
│ SET MSIPATH=C:\MSI │
│ │
│ REM Allow DOS to find the MSI program files. │
│ │
│ PATH=c:\;C:\MSI │
│ │
│ REM Call MSI to display your menus │
│ REM at power-on or re-boot. │
│ │
│ RUNMSI │
│ │
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Figure 30 - Checking PATH and MSIPATH in AUTOEXEC.BAT.
NOTES
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 49
Section IV
Step-By-Step
Before you start making your own menus, make sure you have:
1. Followed the directions in "Installing MSI".
2. Included the MSI Home directory as part of your PATH;
PATH=C:\MSI
3. Set the MSIPATH variable to point to your data files;
SET MSIPATH=C:\MSI
4. Included the directories of any batch files that you will be
calling in your PATH.
5. Started MSI using;
RUNMSI
6. Unlocked the Menus Editor (CTRL-F10).
There are only four basic steps to creating a Menu Item or
creating a new sub-menu.
1. Enter a description of the Item on the Menu (F2)
2. Select the Item as either executing an Action (calling
a program) or displaying a Menu. (S = Selects)
3. Define the Item (F4)
4. Test the Item
However, the various MSI features allow a great deal of
versatility for each of these steps.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 50
Creating a Sub-Menu
1. Press F5 to enter the Menus Editor.
2. Use the up and down cursor keys to move the highlight bar
to the menu line that will hold the item string that will
select the sub-menu.
3. Press F2, enter or edit the item string, and press RETURN.
4. Make sure that 'Selects:' is set to 'Menu', and that
'Type:' is set to 'Normal'.
5. Press F4. The window should indicate that a MENU will be
defined. If it does, press Y to continue. If not, press
N and go back to step #4.
6. A blank menu window will appear, ready for your next set
of items. Press ALT-S to save your work to this point.
7. You may either start defining new items or press ALT-Q to
Quit the Menus Editor, and test your new sub-menu.
Creating an Action
1. Press F5 to enter the Menus Editor.
2. Use the up and down cursor keys to move the highlight bar
to the menu line that will hold the item string that will
select the Action.
3. Press F2 and enter/edit the item string, and press RETURN.
4. Make sure that 'Selects:' is set to 'Action', if you DON'T
want MSI resident when the item is selected, or set to
'Rsidnt' if it's okay to leave MSI resident (i.e. better
system control and a faster return to the menus result).
'Type:' must be set to 'Normal'.
5. Press F4. The window should indicate that an ACTION will
be defined. If it does, press Y to continue. If not,
press N and go back to step #4.
6. A large window will appear for entering your Action
Commands. Action Commands are the same commands used to
build batch files. You can also call existing batch files
with your Action Commands. Enter your commands (See 'Text
Editing Commands').
7. Press ALT-Q to Quit entering commands.
8. Press ALT-Q again to Quit the Menus Editor. Your new
commands will automatically be saved.
9. Test your new Action item.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 51
Creating a Dual Action
1. Press F5 to enter the Menus Editor.
2. Use the up and down cursor keys to move the highlight bar
to the menu line that will hold the item string that will
select the Action.
3. Press F2 and enter/edit the item string, and press RETURN.
4. Make sure that 'Selects:' is set to 'Dual', and that
'Type:' is set to 'Normal'.
5. Press F4. The window should indicate that a DUAL is to be
defined. If it does, press Y to continue. If not, press
N and go back to step #4.
6. A large window will appear for entering your first set of
Action Commands. Action Commands are the same commands
used to build batch files. You can also call existing
batch files with your Action Commands. Enter your
commands (See 'Text Editing Commands').
7. Press ALT-Q to Quit. A SECOND Action window will appear
for entering the set of commands executed when leaving the
Dual sub-menu.
8. Press ALT-Q to Quit entering the second set of commands.
A new sub-menu window will appear, ready for your next set
of items. Press ALT-S to save your work to this point.
7. You may either start defining new items or press ALT-Q to
Quit the Menus Editor, and test your new Dual item.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 52
NOTES
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