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Cheet Sheets 1995 February
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CHEET38.ZIP
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INSTALL.DAT
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1OPTIP38.TXT
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1995-02-07
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~Today's Top DOS Tip
By Simon Burrows
~`Intro:
~`-----
`This month sees a more advanced Top Tip than usual. It will allow
`you to define the meanings to the F-Keys to save typing the full
`names of frequently-used commands. For example, you could define
`the F10 key to the DIR command, so that every time you press F10 in
`DOS, it gives you a directory listing of the present directory.
~`Method:
~`------
`This tip requires the use of ANSI.SYS. To use this, you need to
`add a line in your CONFIG.SYS file as follows :- (You could
`replace 'Device=' with 'Devicehigh=' to load it into high-memory)
`DEVICE=C:\DOS\ANSI.SYS (The path C:\DOS may differ on your PC)
`When this is loaded you can then add lines to your AUTOEXEC.BAT to
`define the F-Keys to the tasks you desire. The best way to explain
`how to do this is to give an example :-
~`ECHO 8;"DIR";13p
~` │ │ │ │
~` *1 *2 *3 *4
~` │ │ │ │
~` │ │ │ This "13p" enters the command that you have
~` │ │ │ put at *3.
~` │ │ │
~` │ │ This part in " "s specifies what command the key-
~` │ │ press will do.
~` │ │
~` │ This "0;68" specifies which key you press to run the
~` │ command.
~` │
~` This "" is called an 'ESC character'.
`This example will do a list of the present directory each time you
`press F10.
`*1) This character is created in different ways in different
` programs. The most commonly-used program to edit AUTOEXEC.BAT
` is MS-DOS Edit. In MS-DOS Edit, you first press ALT+P (to
` generate a ^P appear at the bottom of the screen), then you
` press the [ESC] key where you want the '' character to appear.
`*2) If you want to change the task the F-Key does (eg, instead of
` doing a directory listing, clearing the screen) you need to
` change the section in " "s to the new command.
`*3) If you want to change which F-key you have to press to carry
` out the command, you have to change the 0;68 after the open
` square bracket to a different ASCII code. Here's a list of all
` the F-key ASCII codes :-
` F1 - 0;59 F6 - 0;64
` F2 - 0;60 F7 - 0;65
` F3 - 0;61 F8 - 0;66
` F4 - 0;62 F9 - 0;67
` F5 - 0;63 F10 - 0;68
~`NOTE: F1 & F3 are both used in DOS to repeat the characters
~` typed at the last prompt. If you want these facilities to
~` stay, you musn't assign a command over the top of them.
`*4) If you don't have this part in the line, the F-Key will put
` your command at the prompt, but not 'press' [ENTER] after it
` for you.
~`Example:
~`-------
ECHO 2;"CLS";13p
This will run the CLS command (to clear the screen) every time the
F4 key is pressed.
~`Advanced Use:
~`------------
It is also possible for an F-Key to carry out two commands. All you
need is a linefeed code (linefeed code is 10) between the two
commands.
For example, if you wanted F5 to enter the \GAMES\POOL directory,
then run the file POOL.EXE, then you would use the following
command line :-
ECHO 3;"CD\GAMES\POOL";13;10;"POOL";13p
~Until the next time, folks....
~Simon Burrows