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The WAITER Menu System
Copyright 1988, 89, 90 (c) By Dennis L. Raney
All rights reserved
Version 3.00
An MS-DOS interface for the IBM(tm) PC/XT/AT/386
Dennis L. Raney
Raney & Associates
2612 Castle Drive
Blue Springs, Mo. 64015-2845
Bulletin Board (816) 228-1957 2400-1200-300,N,8,1
Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction 3
1.1 License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 Quick Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4 Purpose and Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.5 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.6 Using This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.6.1 Chapter Arrangement . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.6.2 Common Editing Keys . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.6.3 Getting Help From The Author . . . . . 10
Chapter 2 Getting Started 11
2.1 Backing Up Your Disks . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1.1 Diskette Version . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1.2 Archive Version . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1.3 Checking Disk Contents . . . . . . . . 12
2.2 Installing The WAITER . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2.1 Backup And Setup . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2.2 Create WAITER Data File . . . . . . . . 13
2.2.2.1 Run The WAITER . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2.2.2 Creating the data file . . . . . . 13
2.2.2.3 Exiting The Menu . . . . . . . . . 14
Chapter 3 Setup Reference 15
3.1 Add A Menu Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.1.1 DOS & Text Editors . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.1.1.1 Text Editor Access . . . . . . . . 16
3.1.2 DOS Level Access . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.1.3 Menu Description . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.1.4 Filename . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.1.5 Program Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.1.6 Working Directory . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.1.7 Command Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.1.7.1 Timed Execution . . . . . . . . . 19
3.1.8 Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.1.9 Batch Or Direct . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.1.10 Prompt For Command Line . . . . . . . 22
3.1.11 Pause On Return . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.2 Billboard Title Change . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.2.1 Billboard Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.3 Creat A New Sub-Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.3.1 Menu Description . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.3.2 Menu Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.3.3 Menu Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
i
3.4 Delete A Menu Selection . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.4.1 Selecting A Menu For Deletion . . . . . 25
3.4.2 Deleting Or Aborting . . . . . . . . . 26
3.5 Edit A Menu Selection . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.5.1 Choosing A Menu Selection . . . . . . . 26
3.5.2 Editing the Selection . . . . . . . . . 26
3.6 Move A Menu Selection . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.7 Set The Master Password . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.7.1 Why a Master Password? . . . . . . . . 27
3.7.2 Edit Master Password . . . . . . . . . 27
3.8 Change A Menu Title . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.8.1 Editing A Menu Title . . . . . . . . . 27
3.9 Zap (Delete) Current Menu . . . . . . . . . 28
3.10 System Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.10.1 Mouse Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.10.1.1 Cursor & Enter Simulation . . . . 29
3.10.1.2 Yes/No Response . . . . . . . . . 29
3.10.1.3 Insert Key . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.10.1.4 Mouse Sensitivity . . . . . . . . 29
3.10.2 Customizing Menu Colors . . . . . . . 29
3.10.3 Changing the Background . . . . . . . 29
3.10.4 Screen Blanking . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.10.5 Logging Menu Selections . . . . . . . 30
3.10.6 Extended Logging . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.10.7 24-Hour Clock (Time Format) . . . . . 32
3.11 Network Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.11.1 Network Installation . . . . . . . . . 33
3.11.2 Increasing The DOS Environment . . . . 34
Chapter 4 USING WAITER 37
4.1 Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.2 Using The Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.3 Finding Your Way Around . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.4 Problems/Trouble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.5 Basic Scenario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.6 Thanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4.7 Correspondence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Appendix A Forms 41
A.1 Registration, Single User (ONLY) . . . . . . 41
A.2 Registration, Network MULTIUSER (ONLY) . . . 42
A.3 Software Library Distributors . . . . . . . 43
A.4 Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
A.5 Bug Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Appendix B Upgrading Version 2.xx To Version 3.xx 47
B.1 UPGRADE.BAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Appendix C New Features Of Version 3.xx 49
Appendix D Additional WAITER Menu Tips & Hints 51
D.1 Example Menu Selection Setups . . . . . . . 51
D.2 Parent/Child Menu Color Schemes . . . . . . 52
D.3 TIP #1 Exit To DOS Menu Selection . . . . . 53
ii
D.4 TIP #2 Speeding Up WAITER Overlay File . . . 54
Index 65
iii
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 License
The WAITER Menu is what I like to call TRIALWARE. I encourage you
to use the WAITER for a trial period of time to see if it will
fit your needs. This trial period can be up to 30 days. After
all, that is what a lot of software guarantees are, and that is
plenty of time to tell if you like the program or not. After
that time I would hope that you are honest enough to pay for the
product. If you decide that it is not what you want, that is
fine; you have given me a chance, and that is all I can ask.
If you do or do not find the WAITER suits your needs I still want
to encourage you to distribute it to others who may find its
qualities useful. I do, however, ask that you not charge
anything more then a simple disk fee at most.
If you do use and like what you see, then by all means complete
the order/registration form at the end of this file. I will send
you the latest version, minus the TRIALWARE screens, and you will
also receive a clear consensus at no extra charge.
Please NOTE this is a full working version of WAITER! It is not
crippled in anyway. It will NOT blow up after 30 days of use, so
don't panic if you go over the trial period. I am relying on
your integrity to keep track of the amount of time you have used
the program. An easy way to tell how long its been installed is
to use the date on the WAITER.DAT file. This will tell you the
first day you installed the WAITER.
For those that need a stronger message, please read the
following:
The WAITER Menu program is protected by the U. S.
Copyright law (Title 17 United States Code).
Unauthorized reproduction and or sales may result in
imprisonment of up to one year and fines of up to
$10,000 (17 USC 506). Copyright infringers may also be
subject to civil liability.
That's a little cacophonous for me, and I'm sure most will agree,
but that .01% needs to have it drilled into them.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 3
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
1.2 Quick Start
For those who are like me and do not want to read a multipage
document before they even see what the product looks like; I'm
providing you with a brief synopsis of how to operate the WAITER.
1. Copy or extract files to hard disk.
2. Run the program WAITER.EXE.
3. The program will display a one-time only copyright screen.
Press any key to continue.
4. The program will then display an error message.
This message is provided to help users troubleshoot any
potential problems.
Once again press any key to continue.
5. How many menus?
The program will then prompt you for how many menus you
want to create. For starters, just press the <ENTER> key
for the default of 10 menus.
6. Main menu.
You should now be looking at the main menu screen. The
first and only selection so far is for system information.
This can provide important information as to amount of
memory, disk space, etc.
7. Add an entry.
Press the <INSERT> key to pop up the setup menu. This
menu contains all the commands to create an entire menu
system.
Select "Add a menu selection". This will bring up a fill
in form. Press the <F1> key to pop up the setup help
window for the current field your in.
Add the following information,
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 4
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
DESCRIPTION: Disk Directory
FILE NAME: DIR
PROGRAM PATH:
WORKING DIR:
COMMAND LINE: *.* /P
PASSWORD:
BATCH/DIRECT: D
PROMPT CMD LN: N
PAUSE ON RET: Y
Press <CTRL-ENTER> to save the record.
8. Return to main menu.
Press the <ESCAPE> key to return to the main menu.
9. Run new menu selection.
Move the cursor down one line and press return.
You should see Disk Directory displayed on the screen;
when finished press any key to return to the main menu.
You've created your first menu selection. Now you can
play around with some of the other commands to create,
edit and delete menus, make selections, and configure the
way the WAITER looks and acts.
10. Quitting the program.
When you are at any of the user menus you may press the
<ESCAPE> key to quit. The program will ask you to confirm
your choice, Press "Y" or "N".
If you set the system password you will need to enter that
also before the program will allow you to exit to the
operating system.
1.3 Features
The WAITER has a multitude of operating features that will make
it attractive to use in many different environments. The
following is a list of some of its qualities.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 5
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
No. Of Menus You can have anywhere from 1 to 254 separate menus
defined. Each menu has room for 15 selections, 14
definable, (254 * 14 = 3,556 menu selections).
Sub-menus No more paging through menus. If you want a
word-processing menu with five users with their
own menus branching off of it you may do it. Very
similar to DOS subdirectories.
Home Menu Many menu programs always return you back to the
first menu after you run a program. The WAITER is
more intelligent than that; it always returns you
back to the menu you were in when you selected the
program you wanted to run.
Custom Colors Don't like my colors, then change them to anything
you desire. Very easy to setup from the setup
menu. Just enter the colors you want and saved
them. You can go back and change them anytime you
want.
Configuration Everything is self-contained. There is no other
program that you need to run to set up the menu
and system configuration.
Menu Creation Create your menu selections and test them without
ever having to leave the WAITER menu program. No
menu separate menu building programs, text editors
required.
System Log Logs the date and time a selection was entered and
the date and time the user returned from the
program.
Extended Extended menu logging is now available. A
complete audit trail of a WAITER Menu session is
now available through this feature.
Password Each menu selection can have its own unique
password protection assigned to it.
Overlays WAITER uses overlays to unload itself from memory.
DOS Commands DOS commands are available from most configuration
menus.
Color Menus Each sub-menu can have its own color scheme.
Sorted Menus Menus are sorted if desired.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 6
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
1.4 Purpose and Goals
The WAITER was designed as an interface between the casual user
and the MS-DOS command line. The WAITER will, when setup
correctly, isolate the user from ever having to see the DOS
prompt again.
The goals I set in writing the WAITER were to have a menu system
that was virtually self-contained, easy to use, easy to setup,
pleasing to the eye, flexible and low cost.
1.5 System Requirements
The WAITER requires an IBM PC/XT/AT or compatible (386's
included) running PC/MS-DOS version 2.1 or above. The WAITER has
been tested on the following computers with no problems:
o IBM(tm) XT/AT/PS2
o COMPAQ(tm) 386
o NCR(tm) PC8
o SPERRY(tm) MICRO AT
o NORTHGATE Elegance 386
o DELL 386
The WAITER has also been tested on monochrome, CGA, EGA, and VGA
monitors and cards with no trouble.
WAITER has also been tested and works with Quarterdeck's
DESQVIEW(tm) software.
Some keyboard enhancing software prevents WAITER from running in
BATCH mode. Most of these are PUBLIC DOMAIN keyboard buffer
extenders, ie. KEYBUFF.COM, KEY128.COM, etc. These program
expand the keyboard buffer to 128 characters. The problem is
that they also change the location of the keyboard buffer, and to
not recognize any characters placed in them. Programs such as
SUPERKEY(tm) or PROKEY(tm) do handle these situations and will
work quite well with WAITER.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 7
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
1.6 Using This Manual
1.6.1 Chapter Arrangement
Chapter I Introduction to the WAITER. A quick start
section, features, system requirements, etc.
Chapter II Getting started. Backing up your disks,
extracting archived versions, installing the
WAITER on your hard disk, etc.
Chapter III Setup reference. This chapter is for the use of
the system installer. Information on how to enter
the various parameters when adding menu
selections, configuring the system, etc.
Chapter IV Using the WAITER Menu system for end users.
1.6.2 Common Editing Keys
When in an input field certain keys are used to edit and move the
text in that field. These keys are global throughout the
program.
NUMERIC KEY PAD
┌────────────┬────────────┬─────────────┬───────┐
│ HOME │ ARROW UP │ PGUP │ - │
│ 7 │ 8 │ 9 │ │
├────────────┼────────────┼─────────────┼───────┤
│ ARROW LEFT │ │ ARROW RIGHT │ + │
│ 4 │ 5 │ 6 │ │
├────────────┼────────────┼─────────────┼───────┤
│ END │ ARROW DOWN │ PGDN │ ENTER │
│ 1 │ 2 │ 3 │ │
├────────────┴────────────┼─────────────┤ │
│ INSERT │ DELETE │ │
└─────────────────────────┴─────────────┴───────┘
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 8
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
- ARROW DOWN
Move cursor down to next field.
- ARROW UP
Move cursor up to previous field.
- END
Move cursor to end of text in field.
- HOME
Move cursor to beginning of field.
- ENTER
Terminate input and move to next field.
- CTRL-ENTER
Save the current form.
- CTRL-END
Erase the current line.
- BACKSPACE
Delete previous character and move left.
- CTRL-ARROW LEFT
Move cursor word left.
- CTRL-ARROW RIGHT
Move cursor word right.
- ARROW LEFT
Move cursor left one character.
- ARROW RIGHT
Move cursor right one character.
- DELETE
Delete character under cursor.
- ESCAPE
Abort the current operation.
- INSERT
Insert a space at current position.
These conventions are used in every input field except for simple
"yes" and "no" responses. In the case of a "Y/N" answer, only
those keys are accepted as input.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 9
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
1.6.3 Getting Help From The Author
If you have problems with anything concerning the WAITER program
you may contact the author by mail. You may also call our
support bulletin board service; all users, both registered and
unregistered, are welcome. Call (816)228-1957 2400-1200-300
baud, N,8,1 (parity, bits, stop bits).
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 10
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
Chapter 2
Getting Started
2.1 Backing Up Your Disks
2.1.1 Diskette Version
If you received your program on a disk you should first backup
the files by using the DISKCOPY/COPY/XCOPY program provided with
your DOS disk.
If you are using a two-floppy drive system, place your master
disk in drive A: and your target disk in drive B: then enter the
command on the command line;
DISKCOPY A: B:/V
or
COPY A:*.* B:/V
or
XCOPY A:*.* B:/W/V
This will copy the disk to your backup disk in drive B:, the /V
tells DOS to verify the copy process to ensure you have a valid
copy.
If you have a single disk drive system, you may use the same
command with one difference. Place your source disk in drive A:
and enter the same command as above. The DISKCOPY program will
then prompt you for the target disk; when it does, swap it with
the source disk in drive A:. Keep repeating this process as the
program asks for each disk until finished.
2.1.2 Archive Version
If you received your program through a bulletin board or from a
users group it will no doubt be in an .ARC file. ARC or PKXARC is
a program that takes a collection of files and compresses and
gathers them into one file with an .ARC file extension.
To be able to use the program you must first remove the files
from the archive. If you do not have ARC.EXE or PKXARC.COM you
can find these programs on most, if not all, bulletin boards.
You may also request it from your user group and friends.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 11
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
Copy the .ARC file to a diskette with plenty of free memory left
on it, or your hard drive. If you are using ARC enter the
following command.
ARC -E WAITER <ENTER>
If you have problems extracting the files using ARC it could be
that the archive was created using PKXARC which uses a
nonstandard format (SQUASHED). This means only PKXARC or a
program call ARCE will extract them. Using PKXARC, enter the
following command:
PKXARC WAITER <ENTER>
Or
ARCE WAITER <ENTER>
You should see several messages on the screen as the program
starts extracting the files. Once the program is finished and
you are returned to the system prompt you may erase the .ARC file
(Be sure you have made your backup first) to save disk space.
2.1.3 Checking Disk Contents
The following programs should be on the disk or contained in the
archive if you received this program through electronic means
(BBS). There may be addtional files regarding updated
information.
o WMS.EXE The main program module.
o WAITER.OVL Waiter overlay file.
o WAITER.DOC This documentation.
o WAITER.RME Waiter Menu System last minute changes (if
any).
o UPGRADE.BAT Batch file to convert version 2.xx to
3.xx.
o W2TOW3.EXE Waiter version 2.xx to 3.xx conversion
program
o RETAILER.DOC Special offer for the Computer
Retailer/Reseller.
o SITE.DOC Site licensing information.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 12
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
2.2 Installing The WAITER
2.2.1 Backup And Setup
To install the WAITER on your disk simply copy the WAITER.EXE
file to the directory of your choice. You can use the root
directory or you can create a special directory using the
following commands:
MKDIR \WAITER <ENTER>
CD \WAITER <ENTER>
then
COPY A:WAITER.EXE /V <ENTER>
The WAITER will create one file, and that is all that is needed
for its operation.
The WAITER can be located in the DOS path and can then be
executed by simply typing WAITER. This allows you to bring up
the menu and then when you exit the program, you end up back in
the directory you started in.
You can also place the WAITER in its own directory. You then
must be in that directory when you run it. If you have DOS
version 3.x or greater, you can specify the full path name.
2.2.2 Create WAITER Data File
2.2.2.1 Run The WAITER
To create your data file (this file will contain all the
information for your custom menu), all you need do is run the
program by typing:
WAITER <ENTER>
A welcome and copyright screen will appear on the screen followed
by an error/explanation screen. The welcome/copyright screen
appears only the first time you run the program. If you agree to
its terms you may continue with the installation.
The next screen is provided as an explanation for the end user in
the unlikely event that an error should occur and the program can
not find its data file, and how to take appropriate action.
2.2.2.2 Creating the data file
The next message is a prompt for creation of the data file for
the WAITER program. If everything is correct you may respond by
pressing the "Y" key or else abort by answering "N".
If you answered yes the program will display a message informing
you that it is creating the data file on your disk. If you
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 13
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
answered in the negative an error message is displayed and you
are returned to the DOS prompt, and further execution at this
time is not possible.
2.2.2.3 Exiting The Menu
You may exit to the operating system from any of the menu
selections by pressing the <ESCAPE> key. You will be asked to
confirm your choice. If the system password has been set you
will be required to enter this also.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 14
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
Chapter 3
Setup Reference
3.1 Add A Menu Selection
This function is the one you will use the most as a system
installer when first setting up the menu's. This selection
allows you to set up new programs to run. You can run your
wordprocessors, spreadsheets, communications, etc. You can even
load your TSR's (terminate and stay resident) from the menu.
1. Select the menu you want to add selections to.
2. Press the <INSERT> key to enter the Setup Menu.
3. Choose the first option "Add a menu selection".
4. Fill in the entry form following these guidelines:
Use the <UP> and <DOWN> arrow keys to move from field to
field.
If you want to scrap the current form, press the <ESCAPE>
key to return to the Setup Menu.
Press the <CTRL-ENTER> key to save the information.
5. Press the <ESCAPE> key to return to the underlying menu
with the new selection.
6. Select the new menu item and press the <ENTER> key to run
it.
7. If there were no errors, you are finished with that entry.
If there should be an error (wrong path, filename, etc)
you will need to edit the entry (see Editing A Menu
Selection).
The following is a description of what each of the fields are
when you choose the "ADD A MENU SELECTION" option on the Setup
Menu. Use this as a guide to fill in the information on the
program you wish to run.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 15
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
3.1.1 DOS & Text Editors
While in the ADD/EDIT menu you have complete access to DOS level
services. A new feature the WAITER has added, allows you to use
your favorite text editor to create and modify batch files. All
of this without ever leaving your place in the WAITER.
3.1.1.1 Text Editor Access
In the "ADD A MENU SELECTION" and "EDIT A MENU SELECTION" you can
create and edit batch files by pressing the F9 key. There are
three basic requirements that must be met before this feature can
be utilized.
1. In the SETUP MENU enter the name of your text editor. The
default editor is EDLIN. Make sure that whatever you
select, it resides somewhere in the DOS path.
2. In the ADD/EDIT MENU SELECTION, you should have entered
the FILENAME and the PATH fields.
3. Make sure you press the <ENTER> key so the information is
recorded in WAITERS internal buffers.
Once these requirements have been met you can use the F9 key.
When F9 is pressed, WAITER takes your EDITORS name and builds a
command line. This is just like you would enter it at the DOS
level, for example, "EDLIN C:\DOS.BAT".
3.1.2 DOS Level Access
Press the F10 key and a window pops up and prompts for you DOS
command. Enter anything you would at the DOS prompt. To shell
to the operating system temporarily, enter COMMAND <ENTER>. When
you are finished, type EXIT <ENTER>.
3.1.3 Menu Description
This is the line of text that will be displayed to the user on
the menu. Make it as descriptive as possible so the user has no
trouble understanding what function the selection will perform.
Wordperfect(tm) (Summer/88 Letters)
or
1987 Tax records
or
MCI mail retrieval
Some Selections can be short and still obvious, like
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 16
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
DOS
or
QUIT
or
HELP
Of course DOS and QUIT have simple meanings, basically, to stop
the program, and HELP says it all.
Tip The first letter of the description is used when
selecting an option from the menu using the short
cut method. If two entries have the same first
letter, only the first one on the list would be
run. The program converts all lower-case letters
to upper-case and then compares it with the menu
list. You can use numbers as the first choice
also. You may also use any other key that
produces an ASCII character on the screen.
3.1.4 Filename
This is the complete name of the program or batch file that you
wish to execute. Enter the program name only, no path names or
parameters. The file extension is optional, however you should
see the section on DIRECT/BATCH mode for more information about
running batch files from the WAITER.
WS.EXE
or
XTALK.COM
or
MYBATCH.BAT
or
DBASE
or
COMMAND
Any legal filename will work. However the programs must have an
.EXE, .COM or .BAT extension as required by DOS.
Batch files can be tricky. You should have somewhat of a mental
picture of how memory is used as the WAITER is being run. You
should also read the description of how batch files are handled
in the section on BATCH/DIRECT modes of operation.
Tip You may or may not choose to use the full file
name and extension. There are certain occasions
where you do not want to also enter the file
extension. These are almost always batch files.
Please read the SECTION on BATCH/DIRECT mode.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 17
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
3.1.5 Program Path
This is the full path name of where the program you wish to run
is located. If Wordstar(tm) is located on the hard drive in the
WS directory you would enter the following,
C:\WS
or
C:\WS\
or
\WS
Anyone of the above would be acceptable for this example. Do use
the drive letter in the path name also.
Tip The drive is optional when entering the programs
path. If the file resides on a disk drive other
than the default one you should also enter the
drive letter.
If the program is already located in the DOS path,
you may leave this field blank.
3.1.6 Working Directory
This is the directory where you want the user to end up when the
program is run. As an example, say you wanted to have the user
run Wordstar(tm) but you wanted them to work in their own
directory on drive C: you would enter something like the
following.
C:\WS\JOHN
or
C:\WS\MARY
The WAITER will change (CHDIR) to that directory before running
the desired program.
Tip If you are running general DOS commands or
utilities, such as CHKDSK, FORMAT, DATE, TIME,
etc., just leave the field blank.
3.1.7 Command Line
The command line is simply the information you normally type
after the program's filename. When you display a disk directory
you often pass one or more parameters to the command, such as:
DIR *.BAT
or
DIR *.TXT /P
or
DIR *.* /W/P
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 18
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
Anything that follows the "DIR" is considered the command line.
You can use this field to pass filenames and program switches to
your application when it is chosen from the menu.
Here you can enter a command line to pass along to the program
that you are running. For instance, if your menu selection is
for running a spreadsheet program, entering some data and then
returning back to the menu, you could enter something like:
MYSHEET.WKS
This filename is passed along to the program being executed. At
this point, the program builds a complete command line for
running the program. Later you will learn how to enter your own
command line to add more flexibility to the menu program.
3.1.7.1 Timed Execution
Program selections may contain a time (in 24 hour military
format) for delayed execution of programs.
If you had a communications program that you wanted to run at
1:00am in the morning, you may specify the time you wish the
selection to execute. So when you leave the office you would
select your communications program and the WAITER will wait till
the requested time or until a key is pressed. The ESCAPE key
aborts the selection and returns to the menu, any other key runs
the selection immediately.
To implement timed execution is simple. When you set up the menu
selection all you need to do is add a tilde ( ~ ) character at
the end of your COMMAND LINE field, followed by the time you want
the selection to actually run at.
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Menu Description :E-Mail : ║
║ File Name :XTALK.EXE : ║
║ Program Path :C:\XTALK : ║
║ Working Directory :C:\XTALK : ║
║ Command Line :CALL MCI ~01:00:00 : ║
║ Password : : ║
║ Batch / Direct :B: ║
║ Prompt for Cmdln :N: Pause on return :N: ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
This setup would run Xtalk at one o'clock in the morning
and call MCI mail with the required script file to send
and receive e-mail.
Since you may not always want to run a program selection at the
same time you can have the WAITER prompt you for the scheduled
time. To do this you need only use a double tilde.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 19
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
Menu Description: ......
.....
....
....
Command Line : call mci ~~
....
By replacing the time with a tilde character the WAITER will
detect this and prompt you to enter the time. If you press the
enter key without entering the time it will assume a midnight
time "00:00:00". Pressing the ESCAPE key in the time prompt
aborts the operation.
You may use a short cut method also in the command line entry.
If you wanted to run a program at 10:00pm and had limited space
left in the command line field, you can simple enter the hour,
such as "~22", and WAITER will assume you mean "22:00:00".
While the WAITER is waiting to run a timed execution selection
it displays the current time and the requested time of execution.
on the screen.
3.1.8 Password
If the menu selection is of a sensitive nature and you want to
restrict access to the command, you can enter your password here.
Whenever someone chooses the selection on the menu they are first
prompted to enter the password you have set. If they do not
enter the correct password they are returned back to the menu.
The password is not case sensitive. Passwords may be from 1 to 8
characters long.
Tip Instead of password protecting entire menus of
selections it is often easier to password protect
access to a sub-menu. Thus you only need to enter
the password once to access a complete menu of
options.
3.1.9 Batch Or Direct
This is a crucial area to consider. You have two choices for
running your program, batch mode or what we call direct mode.
Batch mode is the least secure of the two choices because it will
write a batch file and then exit the program and run it. The
last statement in the batch file is a return to run the WAITER
menu. I say it is the least secure, because the user may press
the CTRL-C key while the batch file is running and break out to
the program and be at the DOS prompt. It does, however, offer
the most memory available for your application to run in (zero k
memory overhead). Sometimes for spreadsheet programs this may be
the only way to run them from the menu.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 20
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
The direct mode of operation is the most secure method because if
the user should break out of the program, he is returned
immediately to the menu program. This is because the program
invokes a secondary copy of COMMAND.COM and once it is terminated
it returns to the WAITER program which is still in memory (semi-
resident). This method does offer the least amount of available
memory because WAITER and a second copy of COMMAND.COM are in
memory while your program runs. For many programs, this does not
make much difference. Such as the many DOS commands -- FORMAT,
COPY, DISKCOPY. Never load TSR's using the DIRECT mode of
operation.
The following diagram will illustrate how memory is used when the
WAITER is running in both BATCH and DIRECT modes of operation.
┌─────────────────────────┐ 640k
│ │
│ Your Programs │
│ │
│ │
├─────────────────────────┤
│ The WAITER │
├─────────────────────────┤
│ TSR's & DOS │
└─────────────────────────┘ 0k
WAITER IN DIRECT MODE OF OPERATION
┌─────────────────────────┐ 640k
│ │
│ │
│ Your Programs │
│ │
│ │
│ │
├─────────────────────────┤
│ TSR's & DOS │
└─────────────────────────┘ 0k
WAITER IN BATCH MODE OF OPERATION
As you can see by the illustration above, if you load any TSR
(this includes DOS's PRINT.COM), it will load in above the WAITER
in DIRECT mode. DOS then marks the top of the TSR as the start
of your program's available memory.
Tip If you load any TSR's from the menu, you should
always load them straight and not through a
secondary batch file, unless you do not specify
the batch file's .BAT extension in the filename
field. Confusing? Ok; for example, if I load my
Sidekick Plus from the WAITER, I enter
"SKPLUS.EXE" in the FILENAME field. I then select
BATCH mode of operation. If I used a batch file I
created in DOS to load Sidekick, for example:
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 21
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
COPY CON SK.BAT <ENTER>
C:
CD \SKPLUS
SKPLUS
CD \^Z
and then entered the filename "SK.BAT" the WAITER
would recognize the .BAT extension and would use
the "CALL" or "COMMAND /C" function of DOS to run
the batch file. This is fine, except it loads in
a portion of DOS to track the second batch file.
In most cases this is fine, unless it's a TSR,
then you have the problem of excessive memory
usage. You can get around this problem, though,
by creating your batch file as follows:
COPY CON SK.BAT <ENTER>
C:
CD \SKPLUS
SKPLUS
CD \
WAITER^Z
Then enter the filename "SK" without using the
.BAT extension. The WAITER will then run the
batch file like it was a .COM or .EXE file. The
last line is necessary to return to the menu.
Still confused? See the file "EXAMPLES.TXT" for various ways to
run applications and DOS commands from the menu.
3.1.10 Prompt For Command Line
Here, you may designate whether or not the program will prompt
the user for a command line argument. You may enter data in the
COMMAND LINE prompt as described above and still prompt the user
to enter one. In that case it will prompt the user with the
information you entered for editing or complete replacement.
This is where you may want to have the user enter a filename for
editing in a word processor. This will keep you from having to
create a menu selection for each file you want to edit. You may
also want a menu selection that displays a disk directory.
Rather than having three menu selections, one each for A:, B: and
C: you could use the command line option for one directory
selection and then enter the command line parameters. Such as:
A: /P
or
C:\DOCUMENT /W/P
Using this method with the many other DOS and utility commands
can greatly extend their functionality.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 22
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
Tip This option allows the menus to be very flexible
in what they do. One format selection can be used
to format low and high density floppies in either
drive A: or B:, or use it to load word processor
files, spreadsheets, etc. Most programs will
accept command line parameters of one type or
another.
3.1.11 Pause On Return
Use the Pause on Return field to hold up the program just before
returning to the menu. This can be very useful for adding
selections that display data on the screen, such as a directory
of the disk, a check disk, etc. Rather than have the information
printed on the screen and then erased as soon as it is finished,
you would want to hold the program up until the user finished
viewing the screen display and then pressing a key when they are
ready to continue.
Tip Use this anytime you display a disk directory, or
perform a CHKDSK. If you use the PAUSE ON RETURN
option along with the BATCH mode of operation it
will use the DOS PAUSE function. This presents
the user with a perfect option to CTRL-C out of
the program. If this is a concern to you, use the
DIRECT mode of operation.
3.2 Billboard Title Change
The billboard is the large banner displayed at the top of the
screen. This is where you can personalize your menu to your own
liking. Enter your own name, or your company's name here. You
can enter whatever pleases you. Its your space; use it as you
wish.
3.2.1 Billboard Edit
After selecting the billboard edit option from the menu you are
presented with an input line with the current billboard entry, if
there is one, to edit. You can modify it, or erase it and start
over with one of your own choice. Personalize it:
Bob's Computing Center
or
Computers Are Us!
or
American Information Systems, Inc.
Be creative, this is your little bit of canvas, use it.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 23
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
3.3 Creat A New Sub-Menu
A menu program would not be much good if it offered you only one
menu to work with. So we need a way to create some unique sub-
menus of our choosing. This is where this option comes in. If
you want a menu just for games, and another for DOS commands,
just create them using this option. Keep in mind that when you
choose this option, the menu selection to change to the newly
created menu is placed in the current menu's list of options. So
if you are in the root menu (MAIN) the menu selection would
branch off the MAIN directory. You can have sub-menus branch off
of other sub-menus. The current version of the WAITER supports
up to 254 separate menus in the system.
These menus are structured very much like the DOS and UNIX file
system. They are of a tree style architecture. A simple system
would be something like this:
┌─────DOS
│
├─────GAMES
MAIN (ROOT)────┤
├─────COMMUNICATIONS ┌─────TOM
│ │
├─────WORDPROCESSING─────┼─────MARY
│ │
│ └────JOHN
└─────SPREADSHEETS
The MAIN (ROOT) menu could have application programs as well as
selections that branch to the other sub-menus (DOS, GAMES,
COMMUNICATIONS, WORDPROCESSING and SPREADSHEETS). To get to the
sub-menu JOHN you would first select WORDPROCESSING then select
JOHN to enter that menu. This menu style greatly reduces the
number of menus required to go through to get to the one you
want.
Tip As the system's installer you should organize the
system sub-menu structure beforehand if possible.
This will help ensure that the menus are well
structured and easy to get around in.
3.3.1 Menu Description
This is the description of the sub-menu you are creating. Make
it as explanatory as possible because this is what the user is
going to see when selecting it from the menu.
Bob's Wordprocessing Menu
or
DOS Utilities Menu
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 24
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
3.3.2 Menu Title
This is the title that goes at the top of the menu to let the
user know where he is:
Wordprocessing
or
E-Mail
or
Diversions
or
FY88 Budget
3.3.3 Menu Password
You may also password protect your sub-menu. Simply enter an
eight character password of your choice and the user will be
required to enter this password before allowed entrance into the
menu.
The sub-menu will automatically have one selection created. This
selection is a return to the previous menu. You may not change
the function of this selection, but you may change the
description and also password protect it if you have the need for
such a function.
Tip By using the password protection on sub-menus you
can greatly eliminate the redundancy of having to
enter a password every time you run a selection.
In other words, place sensitive menu selections in
a sub-menu to which only authorized personnel are
given the password. Once they enter the menu they
may then use any selection available to them.
3.4 Delete A Menu Selection
This option is used to delete a menu selection on the current
menu. You may not delete the first option on any of the menus.
These are protected from deletion. There must be at least one
item on each menu and this insures that this requirement is never
breached.
3.4.1 Selecting A Menu For Deletion
After selecting this option the current menu is displayed. Using
the arrow keys (<UP> & <DOWN>) select the menu item you want to
erase and press the <ENTER> key. You may abort the operation by
pressing the ESCape key.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 25
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
3.4.2 Deleting Or Aborting
A window will pop up with the menu selection name and a prompt to
continue with the erasure (Yes/No). Simply enter your choice "Y"
to erase it, "N" to abort the operation. The WAITER will accept
either upper or lower case, and will ignore any other key press
including the <ESCAPE> key.
Tip Using this option you are allowed to delete
program selections and not sub-menu selections.
If you choose a sub-menu, it will ignore your
request and return you to the Setup Menu. Be
careful! Just like DOS, once it's erased, it's
gone. Sorry, there is no Norton(tm) Utilities to
help you here.
3.5 Edit A Menu Selection
You may change any of the menu selections including the first
entry on the first menu (* SYSTEM INFORMATION *). If the
selection is a branch to a sub-menu you may change the
description and password only. For program entries you can
change any of the fields that you wish. You can change the menu
description or the method of execution, batch or direct, etc.
3.5.1 Choosing A Menu Selection
After choosing the EDIT option the current menu is displayed.
Using the cursor (<UP> & <DOWN>) keys to select the item you want
to edit and then press the <ENTER> key. You can abort the
operation by pressing the <ESCAPE> key before you select a menu
item.
3.5.2 Editing the Selection
The menu selection is displayed for your editing. You may use
the arrow keys to move around the fields. When in edit mode you
can change fields without erasing the field information. Use the
ADD A MENU SELECTION as a guide to the requirements of each
field.
3.6 Move A Menu Selection
Finally something to write about in this space! The move/swap
command allows you to swap two menu selections on the current
menu only. It does not allow you to move a selection to another
sub-menu. You cannot swap any selection with the first item on
any menu; the first item is always reserved for a return to the
previous menu.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 26
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
Tip You can use this to rearrange the menu selections
to any order you prefer -- alphabetical, numeric,
priority, etc. It is your choice. You may have
to do some shuffling around to get the desired
order you want, but at least the capability is
there.
3.7 Set The Master Password
When first installed, the system does not have a master password
set. You the installer must set this password at your option.
You should not set it until you have installed all the options in
the menu. If you set the password and are still entering
information into the program you will quickly realize why.
3.7.1 Why a Master Password?
The system's master password must be entered whenever a user
wants to enter the Setup Menu. This will aid you in keeping
unwanted hands from fouling up all your hard work. It also
protects the exit to system option when the <ESCAPE> key is
pressed in any of the menus. It pretty much locks up the system
from tampering. Do not forget your password.
3.7.2 Edit Master Password
Once the option is chosen an edit field is displayed. If this is
the first time you have selected this option, the field will be
blank. Simply enter the desired password and press the <ENTER>
key. If you want to eliminate the master password you can press
<CTRL-END> to clear the field and then press the <ENTER> key.
Press the <ESCAPE> key to abort this operation.
Tip The master password is always forced to upper-
case. Leading spaces are allowed so be careful.
Trailing spaces are trimmed off. So you may not
have a master password of just a space, but
<SPACE>PW would be allowed.
3.8 Change A Menu Title
The menu title is the short description of the menu located in
the top left corner of each menu. You may change any menu title,
including the root (MAIN).
3.8.1 Editing A Menu Title
Select the TITLE change option from the setup menu. A window
will pop up and display the current menu title in a field for
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 27
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
editing. You may change it to whatever you desire; press the
<ENTER> key to save the new title.
Tip Spaces, both leading and trailing, are allowed in
the menu title field. You can use this feature to
center and highlight the title for the user.
3.9 Zap (Delete) Current Menu
This is the only way to remove sub-menus from the system. To
delete a menu, first change to the menu you want to remove from
the system. The WAITER will always try to delete the current
menu, so be careful. You may not delete the root menu (MAIN)
from the system.
Keep in mind that when you delete a menu any menus that branch
off that menu will be erased also. For example, if you had the
following sub-menu tree:
┌─────DATABASE
│
MAIN──────┼────SPREAD SHEET
│ ┌─────WORD PERFECT
│ │
└──────WORD PROCESSING──┤
└──────WORDSTAR
If you were in the word processing menu and you pressed the
<INSERT> key and then selected the ZAP CURRENT MENU option you
would be presented with a list as follows;
╓──────────────────────╖
║ Delete this menu? ║
╙──────────────────────╜
╓──────────────────────╖
║ WORD PROCESSING ║
╙──────────────────────╜
If you are sure that you want to eliminate the menu displayed,
press "Y"; otherwise enter "N" to abort the operation.
Tip This can be a very powerful and destructive
command. You can easily destroy an entire sub-
menu tree. If you design the layout of your menu
structure in a well laid out fashion you can give
users their own sub-menu's and then wipe the sub-
menu's out when they are no longer needed, all
with one command.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 28
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
3.10 System Configuration
3.10.1 Mouse Setup
MOUSE SUPPORT! You may use your Microsoft(tm) Mouse or
compatible MS Mouse to breeze through the menus.
3.10.1.1 Cursor & Enter Simulation
Moving the mouse in an up or down (towards you and away from you)
direction causes the highlight bar to move just like you were
pressing the up and down arrow keys. Pressing the LEFT BUTTON
simulates pressing the ENTER key when making menu selections.
3.10.1.2 Yes/No Response
When you are at a yes/no prompt, pressing the LEFT BUTTON answers
as if you said YES. Pressing the RIGHT BUTTON emulates a NO
response.
3.10.1.3 Insert Key
You can also simulate the <INSERT> key with the mouse. Press and
hold down the right mouse button, then press the left button.
3.10.1.4 Mouse Sensitivity
Located in the SYSTEM SETUP menu is a new sensitivity setting for
your mouse. The valid range is from 0 (fastest) to 9 (slowest).
I find 4 to be the ideal setting for my mouse. You may will
need to do some experimenting to find the ideal setting for your
particular tastes and mouse.
3.10.2 Customizing Menu Colors
The System Configuration screen allows you to customize several
features of the WAITER to your liking. You can set the colors to
whatever your little heart desires. Use the color chart
displayed above the input fields and enter any number from 0 to
127. Once you make your changes, press <CTRL-ENTER> to save
them; the changes are saved in the WAITER.DAT file for future use
by the program. If you made some changes and want to abandon
them press the <ESCAPE> key.
3.10.3 Changing the Background
You can set the background to a different character than the
default. Using the <UP> and <DOWN> arrow keys, move the cursor
in the configuration screen to the field containing the current
background character, then use the left and right arrow keys to
cycle through the full 255 ASCII character set. Once you have
the character you want to use press <CTRL-ENTER> to save your
change. The screen will then be displayed with your new choice.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 29
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
If you have a financial services business you might want to use
the "$" for your background. You may want to use the initial of
your last name. Experiment; there are several different
combinations that will surprise you with the patterns that they
produce when the screen is filled with them.
Tip Try changing the background colors also; many
times the characters take on a quite different
effect when displayed in reverse video.
3.10.4 Screen Blanking
The WAITER has a screen blanking option which only works within
the menu program. You may set the number of minutes you want the
menu to be displayed without any keys being pressed before the
screen is blacked out. The screen will display a message that
randomly moves around the screen. This should save your monitor
from phosphor burn-in. You may set the time limit from 0 to 99
minutes. Setting it to 0 (zero) will disable this feature;
before doing this, however, try setting it to its highest
setting.
3.10.5 Logging Menu Selections
The WAITER will log all menu selections that run a program.
Built in utility functions, SYSTEM INFORMATION & setup menu
options are excluded from log. If you desire to have the WAITER
keep track of what programs are selected, along with the date and
time chosen, answer "Y" in this field; otherwise "N".
If you answered yes to this option the WAITER will create a file
WAITER.LOG in the default directory and append all menu
selections to this file. This file will contain a list of the
dates and times when a menu selection was entered, followed by
the date and time the user returned from the menu selection.
The log file looks similar to the following:
07/26/88 18:01:18 -> C:\DOS\TREE.COM
07/26/88 18:01:26 <- C:\DOS\TREE.COM
07/28/88 00:08:31 -> GWBASIC.EXE CRIBBAGE
07/28/88 00:09:29 <- GWBASIC.EXE CRIBBAGE
08/03/88 20:13:45 -> C:\XTALK\XTALK.EXE CALL PASSPORT
08/03/88 20:14:29 <- C:\XTALK\XTALK.EXE CALL PASSPORT
08/08/88 22:39:06 -> C:\XTALK\XTALK.EXE CALL AUSTIN
08/08/88 22:40:02 <- C:\XTALK\XTALK.EXE CALL AUSTIN
08/10/88 19:44:30 -> C:\GAMES\TETRIS.COM
08/10/88 19:52:08 <- C:\GAMES\TETRIS.COM
08/27/88 14:04:38 -> \NEW\TEST\EDL.EXE
08/27/88 14:04:47 <- \NEW\TEST\EDL.EXE
08/31/88 20:02:16 -> C:\WEBSTERS\WWP.EXE
08/31/88 20:02:25 <- C:\WEBSTERS\WWP.EXE
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 30
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
The first field is the date, followed by the time. The next
field tells you what direction the selection was going. The "->"
means the date and time the selection was first run. The "<-"
flags the next entry as the date and time the user returned from
the selection. Notice that the log also contains the command
line arguments also. This can be very important when your menu
options prompt the user for the command line. The XTALK
selection allows passing the system name to call along to the
program, and also records this information in the log.
If an entry does not have an accompanying "<<" entry, it means
the user never returned properly to the menu. Two things could
have occurred; they broke out of a batch file or program, or the
menu selection was not setup correctly and the program did not
return to the WAITER in the desired method. If you suspect the
second scenario occurred you should read the section on BATCH
mode.
At this time there is no utility program to help you decipher the
log file into the total time spent in a selection or how many
times it was run. You will have to use a text editor or type it
out to the console or printer when you need to verify
information. A program is being written to handle this for you
and should be available to all registered users in the next major
release of the WAITER.
3.10.6 Extended Logging
Extended logging will allow the tracking of selections involving
the operation of the WAITER menu itself. This option may be used
in conjunction with the normal logging features of the WAITER.
To turn the extended logging feature on enter the SYSTEM SETUP
menu and answer "Y" to the EXTENDED LOGGING option.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 31
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
The following is a sample of an extended log:
02/17/90 15:43:21 <- System Powered On
02/17/90 15:53:06 -> Entered System Setup
02/17/90 15:53:09 -> Entered Configuration Menu
02/17/90 15:53:23 -> Saved System Configuration Information
02/17/90 16:06:18 -> Entered Menu: Games And Other Diversions
02/17/90 16:06:20 -> Entered Menu: Ricks Game Room
02/17/90 16:06:21 -> Entered System Setup
02/17/90 16:06:50 -> Added Menu Entry: Clone Invaders
02/17/90 16:09:42 -> C:\GAMES\CLONEINV\CLONEINV
02/17/90 16:09:43 <- C:\GAMES\CLONEINV\CLONEINV
02/17/90 17:04:11 -> Entered Menu: Accounting (Quicken & DacEasy)
02/17/90 17:04:12 -> SECURITY Password Failed: Accounting (Quicken & DacEasy)
02/17/90 17:04:13 -> Entered Menu: Accounting (Quicken & DacEasy)
02/17/90 17:04:13 -> SECURITY Password Failed: Accounting (Quicken & DacEasy)
02/24/90 15:26:07 <- System Powered On
02/24/90 17:00:38 -> Entered Menu: Waiter Menu System Utility Menu
02/24/90 17:00:41 -> Entered System Setup
02/24/90 17:01:05 -> Added Menu Entry: Data Manager
02/24/90 17:01:08 -> C:\DM\DM
02/24/90 17:01:17 <- C:\DM\DM
02/24/90 17:01:53 -> Entered Menu: -) Return to previous menu
02/24/90 22:59:18 -> Entered System Setup
02/24/90 22:59:28 -> Edited Menu Entry: Exit To DOS (DISK OPERATING SYSTEM)
This is just a small sample of what is logged. Extended logging
adds many new entries to the log file. Due to this fact, it is
not recommended that it be turned on if disk space is critical.
If you will notice the first entry in the log, the "System
Powered On" line. This can be added to the log by starting
WAITER from you AUTOEXEC.BAT with with the following line:
WMS 0 "System Powered On"
WMS is the WAITER overlay manager. The "0" means start at menu
#0 (first defined menu). The string in quotes can contain any
text you wish. The log string is limited to 60 characters.
Tip The log file can be used to track computer time
and to check up on employees and associates. If a
secretary is supposed to run a report every day at
a certain time you will be able to tell when and
even if she did run it. It could also possibly be
used to document computer usage for tax purposes.
3.10.7 24-Hour Clock (Time Format)
The 24-hour clock field is used to tell the WAITER how to display
the clock on the screen. If you answer "Y" to this prompt the
time will be displayed in international/military (24-hour)
fashion. If you answer "N" it will be displayed in United
States/civilian format (AM/PM).
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 32
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
3.11 Network Model
The standard version of WAITER is usable on a network. The
method of networking should work on virtually any MS-DOS based
network.
3.11.1 Network Installation
When using WAITER on a network, the main problem is the temporary
batch file, "_WMS.BAT", that is created when running in BATCH
MODE. This file contains all of the users batch commands to run
their program, and return to WAITER. If a second user were to
login, and run a second program, in BATCH MODE, the first users
batch file would be overwritten.
To circumvent this problem, the DOS environment variable (WMSBAT)
may be added in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file or your NETWORK login
script. This provides a simple method of customizing the
WAITER's BATCH files and DATA files.
For each workstation that will be using the WAITER perform the
following steps:
1. Copy the files WAITER.OVL and WMS.EXE to your public
directory. This is the directory every user has at least
read access too. It must also be in the DOS PATH
variable.
2. In the AUTOEXEC.BAT file add the following line:
SET WMSBAT=WMS_U01;WMS_ACCT
The first entry, WMS_U01, is a unique batch filename for
this workstation. The second entry on the line, WMS_ACCT,
is a unique data filename. WMS_U01 replaces the _WMS
batch filename. The WMS_ACCT replaces the WAITER.DAT
filename.
When creating filenames for your workstations, you MUST
follow standard DOS rules for filenames.
3. FLAG the WMS.EXE, WAITER.OVL as SHAREABLE/READONLY.
4. FLAG the WAITER.DAT file as SHAREABLE/READ/WRITE. Once
finished setting you the menu, you may FLAG the WAITER.DAT
file as SHAREABLE/READONLY.
5. Logout and reset the computer to make the changes to the
DOS.
_________________________________________________________________
NOTE: DO NOT APPEND FILENAME EXTENSIONS TO ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 33
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
6. The remaining installation is the same as the standard,
single user installation. See the section on INSTALLATION
for more details.
Both variable filenames are required if you use this method. If
WAITER does not find the WMSBAT environment variable, it defaults
to the standard names (WAITER.DAT, _WMS.BAT, & WAITER.LOG).
Please note that the LOG file will have the same name as the
WAITER.DAT file, but with the .LOG extension.
On Novell(tm) networks, you may create the environment variable
in their AUTOEXEC.BAT file or in their LOGIN scripts.
DOS SET WMSBAT=WMSDEN;WMSDEN
DOS SET WMSBAT=WMS%STATION%;WMSACCT
You may use part of their name, a unique ID, a station number,
etc. The main rule is to keep the first name unique to the
individual or workstation. The second filename may be shared
among other users.
3.11.2 Increasing The DOS Environment
On MS-DOS computers, a minimum of memory is reserved for
environment variables. Generally speaking, around 256 bytes. As
we add more information to the DOS environment we find we must
increase its size. Under MS/PC-DOS 3.0 and greater, they have
provided the means to do this. To increase this we must add a
command to our CONFIG.SYS file. The syntax is a follows:
SHELL=[DRIVE]:[PATH]COMMAND.COM /P /E:xxxx
The /P command tells DOS to load the command processor
permanently into memory and execute any existing AUTOEXEC.BAT
file. The /E:xxxx tells DOS how much environment space you want
to reserve. Some examples of possible settings are as follows:
SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM /P /E:1024
SHELL=C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM /E:512 /P
SHELL=D:\COMMAND.COM /P /E:2048
For more information on increasing your environment see your MS-
DOS manual.
For users with DOS version 2.xx, you are not so fortunate. On
some bulletin boards and occasionally packaged with other
software, you can find a program that will search through your
COMMAND.COM processor and patch it. My personal experience with
these programs is that they are hit and miss. They seem to work
quite well with vanilla versions of MS-DOS, but other companies
customized versions fail to patch correctly. My best advice is
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 34
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
to upgrade. The benefits far out way any possible monetary
expense.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 35
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 36
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
Chapter 4
USING WAITER
4.1 Help
You can get a display of the available keys for selecting a menu
item by pressing the F1 key.
4.2 Using The Menus
You may use the arrow <UP> and arrow <DOWN> keys on your numeric
key pad to move from menu item to item. You may also use the
<SPACEBAR> to move down one item in the menu. All menus are wrap
around menus. In other words, when you reach the bottom of the
menu and press the <DOWN> arrow your highlight bar will wrap
around to the top of the menu.
To run the menu selection you may press the <ENTER> key when the
highlight bar is on the desired option. You may also use the
shortcut method by pressing the letter of the first character in
the option description. Using this method with descriptions that
start with the same letter will only run the first one on the
menu. If this is a problem, you should have the installer
preface the menu descriptions with a number (1.) or a letter (A.)
to differentiate among the selections.
4.3 Finding Your Way Around
The MAIN menu can have up to 14 (fourteen) sub-menus off it. You
can find these other menus by noting of the left side of the menu
item's description; if it is a sub-menu, it will have a small
triangle pointing towards the description. This is a flag that
this is another menu with its own selections. You may change to
this menu using the same methods described above.
4.4 Problems/Trouble
Should you experience any trouble when using the menu contact the
person responsible for the installation. Many times there is
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 37
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
nothing wrong with the WAITER program. Let them ascertain
whether the problem is the way the menu is set up or some other
problem.
If all else fails, give the bulletin board a call and leave a
message. Many times your question may have been asked by another
user. If you do not have a modem, ask a friend to call for you.
For complete information of the BBS system see the appendix.
4.5 Basic Scenario
We have a training facility where I work. We train employees in
Lotus(tm), Xtalk(tm), Wordstar(tm) and DOS. We need a menu to
help these novice users get to where they want without a lot of
fuss. We need something like the WAITER.
All the computers are essentially set up the same. So I first
sit down and figure out what directories contain the programs
that I want to run and what directories I want them to work out
of. One of the selections requires that I load a thesaurus
before the program is run. I create a small batch file that
contains the following;
C:\>COPY CON WSTRAIN.BAT <ENTER>
WF <ENTER>
WS <ENTER>
^Z <ENTER>
Once the <CONTROL-Z> is entered and I press the <ENTER> key the
file is saved to disk. I am now ready to create the menu.
I run the WAITER program on the first machine. I respond "Y" to
the prompt to create the "WAITER.DAT" file. Once at the opening
menu I press the <INSERT> key to bring up the Setup Menu. I
select the first option by pressing the "A" key for "ADD A MENU
SELECTION". This displays the fill in form presented earlier in
the documentation. I enter the information for the item that I
want displayed first on the menu following the guide lines in the
documentation. I enter all four options into the system and test
each one to ensure that they do indeed work. I then enter the
Setup Menu menu one more time to set the SYSTEM PASSWORD. This
is to guard against the possibility of someone changing (screwing
up) the menus without my permission. I then select the SYSTEM
CONFIGURATION option to change the colors to something
distinctive for the color monitors.
Once I have the first machine set up the way I want it I simply
copy the WAITER.DAT file and the WSTRAIN.BAT file to a diskette
along with WAITER.EXE. I then proceed to copy these three files
to each of the other training computers.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 38
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
Now I am finished. I setup five computers with menus by simply
setting up the first one and copying my work to each of the other
computers and I was done. A total of about 20 minutes of work.
4.6 Thanks
I would like to take this space to thank my wife, Sharlan, and my
son, Richard, for their support in my efforts. I would also like
to thank Dr. Pao-Kong Sun for his constructive criticism and
insightful suggestions. Bud Penney for his persistence in
finding those annoying bugs and making many helpful suggestions.
I would also like to thank all the users who have used my
software in the past. The BBS operators who are dedicated to
bringing you the best software available at the lowest possible
prices with a try before you buy system.
A very special thanks to Mr. James J. Reca for the many helpful
suggestions he provided on the documentation. Thank you Jim!
4.7 Correspondence
Make all checks/mo's payable to: DENNIS L. RANEY
Send all correspondence to the following address:
DENNIS L. RANEY
RANEY & ASSOCIATES
2612 CASTLE DRIVE
BLUE SPRINGS, MO. 64015-2845
I also maintain an account on GEnie (General Electric Information
Network). Address any e-mail to D.L.RANEY.
Check you local phone directory for local access numbers to
GEnie(tm).
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 39
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 40
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
Appendix A
Forms
A.1 Registration, Single User (ONLY)
NAME:____________________________________________________________
COMPANY NAME:____________________________________________________
STREET ADDRESS:__________________________________________________
CITY:__________________ STATE:_________ ZIP:_____________________
BUSINESS PHONE: (___)___-___________ HOME PHONE:(___)___-________
COMPUTER (BRAND):______________ MODEL:________ DOS VERSION:______
NUMBER OF USERS ____________ FIXED DISK CAPACITY _________ MEG.
5 1/4" DISK [__] 3 1/2" DISK [__]
SERVER COPIES REQUESTED ______ TIMES $20.00 = $_________
SEE BELOW (METHOD OF SHIPMENT) + $_________
TOTAL = $_________
MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: DENNIS L. RANEY
===============
METHOD OF SHIPMENT
------------------
ADD AMOUNT OF SELECTED DELIVERY FOR EACH ORDER (NOT PER COPY).
FIRST CLASS MAIL (NO EXTRA CHARGE) [____]
U.S.P.S. PRIORITY MAIL (ADD $3.00) [____]
UPS (ADD $6.00) [____]
UPS BLUE (ADD $9.00 SHIPPING) [____]
EXPRESS MAIL (ADD $10.00 SHIPPING) [____]
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 41
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
A.2 Registration, Network MULTIUSER (ONLY)
NAME:____________________________________________________________
COMPANY NAME:____________________________________________________
STREET ADDRESS:__________________________________________________
CITY:__________________ STATE:_________ ZIP:_____________________
BUSINESS PHONE: (___)___-___________ HOME PHONE:(___)___-________
COMPUTER (BRAND):______________ MODEL:________ DOS VERSION:______
NUMBER OF USERS ____________ FIXED DISK CAPACITY _________ MEG.
5 1/4" DISK [__] 3 1/2" DISK [__]
NUMBER OF COPIES REQUESTED ______ TIMES $20.00 = $_________
FOR 3 OR MORE COPIES TIMES $17.00
NUMBER OF WORKSTATIONS ____ TIMES $ 5.00 = $_________
SEE BELOW (METHOD OF SHIPMENT) + $_________
TOTAL = $_________
MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: DENNIS L. RANEY
===============
METHOD OF SHIPMENT
------------------
ADD AMOUNT OF SELECTED DELIVERY FOR EACH ORDER (NOT PER COPY).
FIRST CLASS MAIL (NO EXTRA CHARGE) ____
U.S.P.S. PRIORITY MAIL (ADD $3.00) ____
UPS (ADD $6.00) ____
UPS BLUE (ADD $9.00 SHIPPING) ____
EXPRESS MAIL (ADD $10.00 SHIPPING) ____
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 42
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
A.3 Software Library Distributors
SOFTWARE LIBRARY DISTRIBUTION REQUEST
THE LATEST TRIALWARE VERSION OF THE WAITER IS AVAILABLE FOR
SHAREWARE DISTRIBUTION LIBRARIES AND USER GROUPS.
SEND ONE (1) 5.25" DSDD FLOPPY OR ONE (1) 3.5" DSDD DISKETTE
AND
A STAMPED SELF ADDRESSED RETURN MAILER
PLEASE RESPECT MY REQUEST, THIS WILL HELP ME KEEP MY REGISTRATION
PRICE LOW AND ALSO PROVIDE YOU WITH CLEAN, VIRUS FREE,
DISTRIBUTION DISKETTES. IT WILL ALSO PLACE YOUR COMPANY/CLUBS
NAME ON OUR MAILING LIST FOR UPDATE NOTIFICATIONS.
COMPANY/CLUB NAME:_______________________________________________
LIBRARIANS NAME: ________________________________________________
STREET ADDRESS:__________________________________________________
CITY:__________________ STATE:_________ ZIP:_____________________
BUSINESS PHONE: (___)___-___________ NUMBER OF MEMBERS: ________
TYPE OF BUSINESS:
USER GROUP [__] NON-PROFIT LIBRARY [__] PROFIT LIBRARY [__]
SOFTWARE/HARDWARE RETAILER [__] COMPUTER SHOW MARKETER [__]
OTHER ____________________ [__]
MAIL THE ABOVE, ALONG WITH DISKETTE AND MAILER TO:
RANEY & ASSOCIATES
DENNIS L. RANEY
2612 CASTLE DRIVE
BLUE SPRINGS, MO. 64015-2845
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 43
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
A.4 Suggestions
THE WAITER MENU SUGGESTION FORM
NAME:____________________________________________________________
COMPANY NAME:____________________________________________________
STREET ADDRESS:__________________________________________________
CITY:__________________ STATE:_________ ZIP:_____________________
BUSINESS PHONE: (___)___-___________ HOME PHONE:(___)___-________
COMPUTER (BRAND):______________ MODEL:________ DOS VERSION:______
MEMORY SIZE:_____K DISK CAPACITY:_____
NUMBER OF USERS ON YOUR SYSTEM:________ WAITER VERSION:________
SUGGESTION:__________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
USE REVERSE SIDE IF NECESSARY.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 44
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
A.5 Bug Report
THE WAITER BUG REPORT FORM
COMPANY NAME:____________________________________________________
STREET ADDRESS:__________________________________________________
CITY:__________________ STATE:_________ ZIP:_____________________
BUSINESS PHONE: (___)___-___________ HOME PHONE:(___)___-________
COMPUTER (BRAND):______________ MODEL:________ DOS VERSION:______
MEMORY SIZE:_____K DISK CAPACITY:_____
NUMBER OF USERS ON YOUR SYSTEM:________ WAITER VERSION:________
EXPLAIN PROBLEM (PLEASE GIVE AS MANY DETAILS AS POSSIBLE):_______
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
USE REVERSE SIDE IF NECESSARY.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 45
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 46
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
Appendix B
Upgrading Version 2.xx To Version 3.xx
This release of WAITER is NOT compatible with previous version of
WAITER.
You MUST run the conversion utility (UPGRADE.BAT).
To convert your old WAITER v2.xx .DAT file to the new WAITER 3.00
1. Copy the following files to your WAITER directory:
UPGRADE.BAT
W2TOW3.EXE
2. Once you have done this, you SHOULD copy your WAITER.DAT
file to a diskette for safe keeping.
3. Run the batch file UPGRADE.BAT. This will convert your
WAITER.DAT file to version 3.00 and then rename the old
.DAT file to WAITER.OLD.
4. You may now run version 3.00 of WAITER (WMS.EXE).
REMEMBER: WAITER v2.xx and WAITER v3.xx use different .DAT file
structures. They must be converted to be used with v3.xx
B.1 UPGRADE.BAT
UPGRADE.BAT:
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 47
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
echo off
cls
echo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
echo !! BE SURE YOU ARE IN THE DIRECTORY WITH YOUR WAITER.DAT FILE !!
echo !! !!
echo !! PRESS CONTROL-BREAK (^C) TO ABORT NOW! !!
echo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
pause
if exist WAITER.old goto already
if exist WAITER.dat ren WAITER.dat WAITER.old
w2tow3
goto done
:already
echo ---================================================---
echo ---=== WAITER.OLD ===---
echo ---=== Already exists! ===---
echo ---=== Please rename WAITER.OLD to WAITER.BAK ===---
echo ---================================================---
:done
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 48
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
Appendix C
New Features Of Version 3.xx
Most of the features of the WAITER operate the same. Here is a
short list of the new features:
o OVERLAY FILE METHOD USED TO CONSERVE MEMORY WHEN RUNNING
IN THE DIRECT MODE OF PROGRAM EXECUTION. APPROX. 22K IN
DIRECT MODE, 0-4K IN BATCH MODE.
o DOS COMMANDS ARE ACCESSABLE ANYWHERE FROM THE
CONFIGURATION SCREEN AND THE ADD/EDIT MENUS BY PRESSING
THE F10 KEY. TO EXIT TO DOS, RUN COMMAND.COM. BE SURE TO
ENTER "EXIT" TO RETURN TO WAITER.
o A SAMPLE WINDOW DISPLAY CAN BE POPPED UP IN THE
CONFIGURATION SCREEN BY PRESSING THE F2 KEY.
o EACH MENU CAN HAVE ITS OWN COLOR SCHEME. CHILD MENUS
CARRY THEIR PARENTS COLOR SCHEME ON DOWN THE LINE.
o THE "* SYSTEM INFORMATION *" SELECTION CAN BE MOVED TO ANY
AVAILABLE POSITION ON THE SCREEN.
o UP TO 15 MENU SELECTIONS ARE NOW AVAILABLE ON EACH MENU.
o A SEPARATE PROGRAM (WAITCONV.EXE) IS NO LONGER NEEDED TO
INCREASE THE MENU COUNT. WAITER WILL NOW DETECT IF YOU
NEED MORE MENUS AND ADD THEM AS NEEDED. THIS IS A MAJOR
IMPROVEMENT THAT HAS BEEN NEEDED FOR SOMETIME NOW.
o WAITER WILL NOW OFFER TO SORT THE MENU AFTER YOU EDIT OR
ADD A MENU SELECTION.
NOTE: YOU MAY NOW EDIT THE "* SYSTEM INFORMATION *"
SELECTION. YOU CAN ONLY EDIT THE TEXT OF THE PROMPT AND IF
YOU WANT ADD A PASSWORD (FOR REALLY PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS
WHO DON'T WANT PEOPLE KNOWING HOW MANY LPT:PORTS OR
DISKSPACE, ETC).
o EXTENDED LOGGING FEATURE ADDED. THIS OPTION MAY BE
ENABLED SEPARATLY OR IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE REGULAR LOG
FEATURE. EXTENDED LOGGING WILL LOG ALL MENU CHANGES,
FAILED PASSWORD ATTEMPTS, EXITING TO DOS, EDIT & ADDING
MENUS, CREATING MENUS, ETC. THIS FEATURE GIVES YOU A
COMPLETE AUDIT TRAIL OF A WAITER MENU SESSION.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 49
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
o YOUR TEXT EDITOR IS CALLABLE FROM WITHIN THE ADD/EDIT
SETUP MENU. WAITER WILL LOAD YOUR TEXT EDITOR (EDLIN IS
DEFAULT) ALONG WITH THE BATCH FILE NAME AND PATH SPECIFIED
IN THE SELECTION SETUP FIELDS. SEE THE MANUAL SECTIONS ON
"ADDING/EDITING MENU SELECTIONS" FOR MORE DETAILS.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 50
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
Appendix D
Additional WAITER Menu Tips & Hints
D.1 Example Menu Selection Setups
The following is a sample of how to setup some basic DOS
commands in the WAITER Menu. All DOS commands should run without
any trouble from the menu using the following examples a guide.
FORMAT A DISK IN DRIVE A:
(THIS FORMATS A LOW DENSITY DISK IN DRIVE A:)
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Menu Description :Format a disk in drive A: : ║
║ File Name :FORMAT.EXE : ║
║ Program Path :C:\DOS : ║
║ Working Directory : : ║
║ Command Line :A: /4 : ║
║ Password : : ║
║ Batch / Direct :D: ║
║ Prompt for Cmdln :N: Pause on return :N: ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
CHECK DISK FOR ERRORS
(If we wanted to use the /F switch, we would place in in the command
line field. We could also prompt the user to enter the switchs by
entering a Y in the prompt for cmdln field.)
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Menu Description :Check Disk for errors : ║
║ File Name :CHKDSK.COM : ║
║ Program Path :C:\DOS : ║
║ Working Directory : : ║
║ Command Line : : ║
║ Password : : ║
║ Batch / Direct :B: ║
║ Prompt for Cmdln :N: Pause on return :Y: ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 51
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
COPY A DISK FILE
(This command shows how versatle a menu selection can be. This one item
can be used to copy files just like the user was at the DOS prompt. By
prompting the user for the command line, they can enter parameters like,
C:\*.BAT A:\ /V or *.* \BACKUP etc....)
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Menu Description :Copy a file : ║
║ File Name :COPY : ║
║ Program Path : : ║
║ Working Directory : : ║
║ Command Line : : ║
║ Password : : ║
║ Batch / Direct :D: ║
║ Prompt for Cmdln :Y: Pause on return :N: ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
SET THE SYSTEM DATE
(Very simple function to set the system date. Time can be set the same
way by replacing DATE with TIME.)
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Menu Description :Date, set system : ║
║ File Name :DATE : ║
║ Program Path : : ║
║ Working Directory : : ║
║ Command Line : : ║
║ Password : : ║
║ Batch / Direct :D: ║
║ Prompt for Cmdln :N: Pause on return :Y: ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
LOAD SIDEKICK PLUS/MEMORY RESIDENT
(I use this all the time to load Sidekick Plus from the WAITER. By
selecting the BATCH mode of operation to ensure that the WAITER is not
still loaded in memory I am able to load TSR's without any problems. I
also pause on return so I can see how much available memory Sidekick
reports that I have left.)
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Menu Description :SideKick Plus : ║
║ File Name :SKPLUS.EXE : ║
║ Program Path :C:\SK : ║
║ Working Directory :C:\SK : ║
║ Command Line : : ║
║ Password : : ║
║ Batch / Direct :B: ║
║ Prompt for Cmdln :N: Pause on return :Y: ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
D.2 Parent/Child Menu Color Schemes
Each menu may have its own unique color schemes. You can setup
DOS utilities with a RED background, word processing with GREEN
backgrounds etc...
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 52
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
┌───────────────┐ ┌───────────────┐
┌──┤ CHILD MENU #1 ├────────┤ CHILD MENU #4 │
│ │ BLUE/WHITE │ │ BLUE/WHITE │
│ └───────────────┘ └───────────────┘
┌────────────┐ │
│ PARENT ├─┘ ┌───────────────┐ ┌───────────────┐
│ MAIN MENU │ │ CHILD MENU #2 ├─────────┤ CHILD MENU #5 │
│ BLUE/WHITE ├───┤ YELLOW/BLUE │ │ GREEN/BLACK │
└────────────┴─┐ └───────────────┘ └───────────────┘
│
│ ┌───────────────┐ ┌───────────────┐
└─┤ CHILD MENU #3 ├─────────┤ CHILD MENU #6 │
│ WHITE/RED │ │ RED/WHITE │
└───────────────┘ └───────────────┘
ETC.....
This allows you to color code your sub-menus. By using RED
background colors as a warning for harmful disk utilities, GREEN
for games and such, BLUE for wordprocessing, etc.
D.3 TIP #1 Exit To DOS Menu Selection
Included on this disk is a short batch file that you can add to
your system to provide an EXIT TO DOS selection. Many users have
missed the method I described in the original documentation. The
method involves a trick on WAITER. To understand how this works
a short discription of how WAITER handles programs in BATCH mode
follows.
When BATCH mode is invoked to run a program one of the first
things WAITER checks is the file names extension to see if it is
a .BAT, .EXE or .COM file. If there is no extension WAITER
assumes it is an .EXE or a .COM program and inserts only the
programs name in the _WMS.BAT file it creates. If it is a batch
file, WAITER inserts either a CALL FILENAME (if the DOS version
is 3.3x or greater), or a /COMMAND FILENAME for lower versions of
DOS. This is the only way a batch file can call another batch
file and return to the original running batch file. It is the
equivalent of a procedure call or function call in a program.
So, you can see if we run a batch file (.BAT) in BATCH mode, and
leave the .BAT extension off, WAITER will try to run it like an
.EXE or .COM. When this happens the second batch file ends and
simply returns to DOS.
Confusing? Well if you don't understand it now or don't care to
its ok, just knowing that it works is all you need. So here is
how you would setup the STOP.BAT file in WAITER to exit to DOS.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 53
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Menu Description :EXIT TO DOS : ║
║ File Name :STOP : ║
║ Program Path :C:\ : ║
║ Working Directory :C:\ : ║
║ Command Line : : ║
║ Password : : ║
║ Batch / Direct :B: ║
║ Prompt for Cmdln :N: Pause on return :N: ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
D.4 TIP #2 Speeding Up WAITER Overlay File
Since the version 3.xx of WAITER uses an overlay file method of
execution some users will see a slow down going between programs
as WAITER loads its main program in and out of memory. For most
systems using a fast harddrive or disk caching, this does not
present a problem, but for older XT's and floppy based systems
this could be a problem.
Suggested solution #1:
If you have enough memory, create a RAM drive large enough to
copy the WAITER.OVL file to it on boot up and add the RAM drive
to your path variable.
EXAMPLE AUTOEXEC.BAT:
ECHO OFF
COPY C:\WAITER.OVL D:\
PATH D:\;C:\C:\DOS
....
Whenever WMS.EXE was run it searches the DOS PATH variable to
locate its files so it will find WAITER.OVL on the RAM drive and
loading will be extremely fast.
NOTE: Notice that the RAM drive is placed first in the path.
This is because the PATH variable is searched sequencially from
left to right and you want WMS.EXE to find it on the RAM drive
first.
Suggested Solution #2:
Use a disk caching program if you have EXTENDED or EXPANDED
memory. This will not only speed up WAITER, but all of your
other disk intensive programs.
Suggested Solution #3:
Use version 2.12. Not a very good solution, but in some cases it
may be the only viable option.
Suggested Solution #4:
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 54
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
We would modify WAITER to use EXPANDED memory to store and
retrieve its overlay file from. This option will be looked at in
the very near future. Keep in touch through our BBS for more
information.
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 55
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
Index
17 DIRECT/BATCH 17
.BAT 17, 21, 22 DIRECT MODE 23
.COM 17, 22 DIRECT MODE 21
.EXE 17, 22 DISKCOPY 11, 21
DOS LEVEL SERVICES 16
A DOS VERSION 13
ARC 11 DRIVE LETTER 18
AUTHOR 10
AUTOEXEC.BAT 33, 34 E
EDIT 8
B EDLIN 16
BACKGROUND CHARACTER 29 EGA 7
BACKGROUND COLORS 30 ENVIRONMENT 33
BANNER 23 EXAMPLES.TXT 22
BATCH 17, 26
BATCH/DIRECT 17 F
BATCH FILE 31, 38 FORMAT 18, 21
BATCH FILES 16, 17
BATCH MODE 31 G
BATCH MODE 20 GENIE 39
BILLBOARD 23
BULLETIN BOARD 11 H
HIGHLIGHT BAR 37
C
CALL 22 I
CGA 7 INSTALL 13
CHDIR 18 INSTALLER 27
CHKDSK 18, 23
CLOCK 32 K
COMMAND /C 22 KEY128.COM 7
COMMAND.COM 21, 34 KEYBUFF.COM 7
COMMAND LINE 22
COMMAND LINE 18, 19 L
CONFIG.SYS 34 LEFT BUTTON 29
CONVENTIONS 9 LOG 30, 31, 32
COPY 11, 21
COPYRIGHT SCREEN 13 M
CTRL-C 20, 23 MICROSOFT(TM) MOUSE 29
MOUSE 29
D MOVE/SWAP 26
DATE 18 MS MOUSE 29
DELETE 28
DESCRIPTION 24 N
DESQVIEW(TM) 7 NETWORK 33
DIRECT 26 NO. OF MENUS 5
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 65
The WAITER Menu System (TRIAL VERSION)
O SYSTEM INFORMATION 26
ORDER/REGISTRATION 3 SYSTEM INSTALLER 15
SYSTEM LOG 6
P SYSTEM'S INSTALLER 24
PASSWORD 38 SYSTEM SETUP 29
PASSWORD 14, 20, 25, 27
PATH 18 T
PAUSE 23 TIME 18
PC/MS-DOS VERSION 7 TITLE 25, 27
PKXARC 11 TRAILING SPACES 27
PRINT.COM 21 TRIAL PERIOD 3
PROBLEMS 10 TRIALWARE 3
PROKEY(TM) 7 TRIANGLE 37
TSR 15, 21, 22
Q
QUARTERDECK 7 U
QUITTING THE PROGRAM 5 U. S. COPYRIGHT LAW 3
R V
RIGHT BUTTON 29 VGA 7
S W
SCREEN BLANKING 30 WAITER.DAT 29, 38
SENSITIVITY SETTING 29 WAITER.EXE 4, 38
SETUP MENU 15, 38 WAITER.LOG 30
SHELL 34 WMSBAT 33
SQUASHED 12
SUB-MENUS 6 X
SUPERKEY(TM) 7 XCOPY 11
Copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990 By Dennis L. Raney Page 66