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______________________________________________________________________________
MSI Menu System
______________________________________________________________________________
User's Manual
______________________________________________________________________________
Larry B. Rice
2907 St. Tropez Dr.
Ontario, CA 91761
(714) 923-2599
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page i
MSI Menu System & MSI User's Manual
Copyright (C) 1991, 1992 Larry B. Rice
- DISCLAIMER -
The MSI Menu System and the MSI User's Manual are distributed 'as
is'. The Author make no warrants, either express or implied, as
to appropriateness or suitability for any particular use of this
product, or to the accuracy of this or other related
documentation, nor to the error-free operation of the software.
Except as may be provided by law, neither the Author nor any duly
authorized representatives may be held liable for any damages or
loss resulting from the use of, or the inability to use, this
product. Under no circumstances shall any liability for the use
of, or the information contained in, either of these products
exceed their purchase price.
The MSI Menu System is distributed as Shareware. Unaltered
copies of this program and its related files may be made for the
purpose of sharing with other computer users so long as no
compensation is received and ALL program and documentation files
are included IN THEIR ORIGINAL CONDITION as distributed by the
Author.
Neither the MSI Menu System nor the MSI User's Manual, all or
portions thereof, may be used for any commercial or compensated
purpose without the prior written permission of the Author, with
the following exception:
Vendors approved by the Association of Shareware Professionals
(ASP) are excepted and may make use of the program immediately as
long as the Author is notified of such use and the Vendor's
current mailing address is provided so that the Vendor may be
kept current with the latest revisions.
Complete Vendor information is included in the file, VENDOR.DOC.
MS-DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
PC-DOS is a registered trademark of IBM Corporation.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page ii
CONTENTS
Section I - Introduction
Thank-You. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Who can use it?. . . . . . . . . . . 4
Installing The MSI Menu Sytem. . . . . 4
The 'Home' Directory . . . . . . . . 6
Locating Program & Data Files. . . . 8
Distribution Files . . . . . . . . . . 9
A Note for Mouse Users . . . . . . . . 10
Section II - Using the MSI Menu System
Starting the Program . . . . . . . . . 11
Important Terms. . . . . . . . . . . 13
TSR-Type Programs & MSI's Resident.. 15
Using the MSI with a Mouse . . . . . 15
Special Menu Types . . . . . . . . . . 17
Special Menu Commands. . . . . . . . . 18
'Fast-Adding' Menu Items . . . . . . . 23
Section III - The Menu Editor
Creating Your Own Menus. . . . . . . . 25
The Menus Editor . . . . . . . . . . 22
How ACTION Items are Executed. . . . 27
How RSIDNT Items are Executed. . . . 28
Menu Design Tip. . . . . . . . . . . 28
How DUAL Items are Executed. . . . . 29
DOS 5.0 NOTE . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
How REBOOT Items are Executed. . . . 30
How REBOOT Items are Executed. . . . 31
How KEYBRD Items are Executed. . . . 31
How EVENT Items are Executed . . . . 33
Creating a Submenu . . . . . . . . . . 33
The Menu Settings. . . . . . . . . . . 35
The General Menu Settings. . . . . . 35
The Current Item's Settings. . . . . 38
Menu Editor Function Keys & Commands . 40
Action Command Window. . . . . . . . 47
Text Editing Commands. . . . . . . . 47
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page iii
Section IV - Advanced Use Features
System Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Using the Event Scheduler. . . . . . 51
Defining the Event . . . . . . . . . 52
Executing Events Manually. . . . . . 52
Using the ERRLEV Menu Item . . . . . . 53
Using the 28-Item Menu . . . . . . . . 54
Design Tip for Large Menus . . . . . 56
Section V - Step-by-Step Menu & Menu Item Creation
Before You Start . . . . . . . . . . . 57
The Basic Steps. . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Creating a Submenu Item. . . . . . . . 59
Creating a Rsidnt or Action Item . . . 59
Creating a Dual or ReBoot Item . . . . 61
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 1
Section I - Introduction
Thank-You
for your interest in the MSI Menu System. I believe that you
will find MSI a valuable enhancement to your computer system.
After evaluating the program, please use the form provided in the
file ORDER.MSI to obtain a registered version of either the MSI
Personal Menu System or the MSI Business Menu System, both of
which are described in the file. To obtain a printed order form,
press F2 at the MSI Menu System Main Menu or copy the order form
to your printer directly from DOS:
COPY ORDER.MSI PRN:
PLEASE NOTE:
Only the "MSI Menu System" is distributed as Shareware. The "MSI
Personal Menu System", the "MSI Business Menu System", the "MSI
Catalog System", and the "MSI Menu System Custom Edition" are not
authorized for Shareware distribution.
The MSI Menu System is provided through Shareware as a courtesy
to computer users so that they may take the time necessary to
properly evaluate the program. All the features of the MSI
Personal Menu System are included and are functional with the two
following exceptions:
1. To guard against distributed copies that may not be fully
evaluated, the Menu Editor Unlock Key may NOT be redefined in the
Shareware version. As users may appreciate, if the Menu Editor
were locked and the documented key for unlocking it were changed,
it would be impossible for a recipient of such a copy to fully
explore the features of the program.
2. Submenus will not be saved as part of the menus data file,
MSIMENU.DAT. Only menu items defined on the Main Menu may be
reloaded and reused. However, submenus may be created and menu
items added to allow a full evaluation of the programs features.
Another advantage of Shareware distribution is that it allows
authors to keep prices as low as possible. While distributing a
program through Shareware is not always free, it is significantly
less expense than commercial distribution channels involving
expensive packaging, advertising and the well-known middle men.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 2
Introduction
The MSI Menu System provides computer owners with an easy and
professional method of organizing and controlling access to the
various programs on their computer system. MSI Menu System
owners will spend less time using DOS and more time using the
programs for which they purchased their computers in the first
place.
The MSI Menu System is rich in features. It comes complete with
a full-featured Menu Editor that not only allows you to add and
subtract programs from menus, but also provides a broad range of
individual functionality for each Menu Item. Two easy-to-use
control panels let you manage everything from a menu's appearance
to whether or not the MSI Menu program will remain in memory when
a menu item is selected.
And the MSI Menu System fully supports mouse operations. Any
mouse may be used that is 100% compatible with the Microsoft
Mouse standard. Nearly all MSI features may be selected or
controlled with a mouse. There are even pull down menus which
mouse users may access by pressing the right mouse button.
It's possible that no other menu software on the market today
offers the range of features found in the MSI Menu System. Yet,
MSI is easy on your computer's memory, using less than half the
memory of some menu programs which have only a fraction of the
features.
Unlike some other products, the MSI Menu System doesn't just
provide you with finger-tip access to your programs. It also
helps you manage your computer system. For instance, you may:
1. Define and manage up to 14 separate System Events,
programmed to occur any time, night or day, on a daily,
weekly or even monthly basis.
2. Define and manage multiple AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS
files. Now you can easily define multiple system
configurations and change from one to another at a moment's
notice, with a single keystroke...
3. Control access to programs, menus and to the Menu Editor
itself. The MSI Menu System provides individual password
controlled access for each Menu Item and allows you to Lock
the Menu Editor, preventing accidental tampering with your
menus. You can even define your own command for unlocking
the Menu Editor, different from the documented command,
which no one but you will know.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 3
The MSI Menu System lets you replace this:
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ C:\ > _ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
--------------------------------------------------------------------
with this:
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ║
║ 9:46 April 21, 1992 ║
║ ┌───────────┐ ║
║ █│ F1 - HELP │ ╔═════════════ Your Programs ═══════════╗ ║
║ █└───────────┘ █║ ║ ║
║ ████████████ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ 1. Editor ║ ║
║ ┌───────────┐ █║ 2. Spreadsheet ║ ║
║ █│ F5 - EDIT │ █║ 3. Paint Program ║ ║
║ █└───────────┘ █║ ║ ║
║ ████████████ █║ E)ditor Help ║ ║
║ █║ S)preadsheet Help ║ ║
║ █║ P)aint Program Help ║ ║
║ ┌─────────────┐ █║ ║ ║
║ █│ F10 │ █║ ║ ║
║ █│ System Menu │ █║ Your Selection _ ║ ║
║ █└─────────────┘ █║ ║ ║
║ ██████████████ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝ ║
║ ████████████████████████████████████████ ║
║ ║
║ MSI Menu System 2.00 Copyright (C) 1991, 1992 Larry B. Rice ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
FIGURE I-1 The MSI Menu Screen.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 4
The MSI Business Menu System provides even more layers of system
security. It includes additional password protection for access
to the the Menu Editor and specific functions inside the Editor,
plus extra password protection for each MSI feature that allows
access to DOS.
Who can use it?
You may be thinking, "Surely a program with that many advanced
features must be difficult to learn and use?".
In a word, no. A great deal of development time has been spent
designing a menu system that is powerful, flexible and yet, easy
to use. In fact, you don't even need to use the Menu Editor to
add programs to your menus. There is a simple "Fast-Add" command
that leads you step-by-step through the addition of a new program
or through the creation of a menu item to display a submenu.
When you do need it, you will find that the Menu Editor contains
many useful on-screen aids to help define and maintain your
menus. The commands you will use most frequently are there,
ready for instant use. And, there are numerous detailed, context
sensitive help screens when additional information is needed.
In short, if you are currently starting your programs from DOS,
or if you have some familiarity with DOS batch files, or if you
have many years of experience with DOS, you will be able to use
the MSI Menu System efficiently.
Installing The MSI Menu System
The MSI Menu System has it's own Installation Utility. From the
directory where you have placed the unarchived MSI Menu System
files, type
RUNMSI (ENTER)
The Installation Utility should automatically appear. For a
complete installation, your AUTOEXEC.BAT file will need to be
modified. The Installation Utility can handle this task for you.
However, if you have 'write-protected' your AUTOEXEC.BAT file or
wish to make the changes yourself, you may skip this process
during installation and use the Manual Installation instructions
that follow.
Since the MSI Menu System is distributed as Shareware, it's
possible that you have not received all of the files (Page 9),
including the Installation Utility, INSTALL.EXE. If this is the
case, follow the manual installation instructions that follow.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 5
Setting the Home Directory MANUALLY
1. With your Editor or Word Processor, create HOME.DIR
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ C: │
│ CD C:\MSI │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
--------------------------------------------------------------------
FIGURE I-2 Setting the Home Directory (HOME.DIR)
2. On the first line put the DRIVE LETTER of the disk drive where
the MSI Menu System files have been placed.
3. On the second line, put the DOS Change Directory Command (CD)
followed by the full pathname to the installation directory.
4. Save the new file.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 6
The 'Home' Directory
Automatic Setup
The MSI Menu System comes complete with its own Installation
Utility. When the program is started for the first time on your
system, this utility will automatically appear.
You will first be prompted for the Drive Letter and Directory
where the MSI Menu System files are to be stored. The current
directory will appear as the default. If this is the
installation directory then press the ENTER key. The home
directory file, HOME.DIR, will be created (see FIGURE I-2).
Manual Setup
The steps outlined below for setting up the Home Directory are
for MANUAL INSTALLATIONS ONLY. Using the Installation Utility
that automatically appears is faster and easier, and will
correctly install the program on most systems. The instructions
offered here are for unique installation requirements ONLY, and
should be attempted only by those with a good working knowledge
of DOS and their computer system.
The MSI Menu System needs to know how to get back to the Home
disk and directory when returning from an application or set of
Action commands that were started from a Menu Item defined as
"Action". When Action Items are selected the MSI Menu program is
removed from memory. When the application or Action commands are
complete, Use your word processor or editor to create a new file
called HOME.DIR. (See FIGURE I-2.)
NOTE: For MANUAL Installation ONLY!
1. On the first line of the file put the drive letter of the
disk drive where your MSI files are installed.
C:
2. On the second line, use the DOS Change Directory (CD)
command to move to the directory containing your MSI
files.
CD C:\MSI
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 7
Modifying AUTOEXEC.BAT manually...
With your Editor or Word Processor open AUTOEXEC.BAT...
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ (your commands) │
│ . │
│ . │
│ . │
│ REM Optional Mouse Driver Load. This is NOT │
│ REM done by the Installation utility. │
│ │
│ MOUSE │
│ │
│ 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 startup or after a reboot. │
│ │
│ RUNMSI │
│ │
│ │
--------------------------------------------------------------------
FIGURE I-3 Modifying AUTOEXEC.BAT
...and add the lines above. 'REM' lines are optional. Save the
edited file.
The Installation Utility will add these lines for you, saving
your old AUTOEXEC.BAT as AUTOEXEC.BAK.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 8
FOR EXAMPLE:
If you've installed MSI on an F drive, in a sub-directory off of
a directory called UTILITY, HOME.DIR should contain these two
lines:
F:
CD F:\UTILITY\MSI
These allow MSI to return properly to the menus regardless of the
drive or directory you are in when a set of Action commands is
completed, or when you return from an application.
NOTE: Versions 1.5 and later include an Installation Utility.
However, if the file HOME.DIR is found in the current directory
when MSI is first run, the Utility will assume the program has
already been installed. In this case, run the program, enter the
Menus Editor (F5) and press CTRL-F6 to re-install MSI to your
specifications.
Locating Program & Data Files
DOS uses the 'PATH' variable to locate program files. FIGURE I-3
and the instructions on this page show you how to add your Home
directory to this variable. Also, the environment variable,
MSIPATH is used to help MSI locate important data files.
Automatic Setup
If you use the second part of the Installation Utility, this will
be done for you. The following instructions are for those who
would prefer to edit AUTOEXEC.BAT themselves. The Installation
Utility will allow you to quit, after the Home Directory is set
(this is required) but before the AUTOEXEC.BAT file is changed.
The Utility will also give you the option of having MSI started
automatically when your computer is turned on or rebooted.
Manual Setup
AUTOEXEC.BAT will normally be found on the root directory of your
boot drive. If you have a hard disk, this will probably be drive
C:.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 9
NOTE: It is possible that AUTOEXEC.BAT may not be on your
system. DOS looks for this file when your system is started or
rebooted and, if found, executes any commands it contains before
presenting you with the DOS prompt. AUTOEXEC is not a mandatory
file but will be found on most systems.
FIGURE I-3 illustrates the changes required in AUTOEXEC.BAT:
1. MSI uses MSIPATH to locate important data files. If this is
not set to the proper drive and directory, MSI may not be able to
locate your menu definitions, among other things.
2. Adding the MSI directory to the DOS 'PATH' variable enables
DOS to locate program files regardless of the current working
directory.
3. The example in FIGURE I-3 uses C:\MSI for the Home directory.
Your Home Directory may be different or you may have the program
files located in one directory and data files in another.
A. Set PATH to locate PROGRAM files.
B. Set MSIPATH to locate DATA files.
4. Add the RUNMSI command to have your menus available when the
system is first turned on or rebooted.
Distribution Files
The following files will be found in the MSI directory.
RUNMSI.BAT - This is the DOS batch file used to start MSI and
control 'Actions'.
MSI.EXE - The MSI program file.
INSTALL.EXE - The MSI Installation Utility.
README.1ST - This file is MUST reading for all MSI users.
SMPL.DAT &
SAMPLE.DAT - A set of sample menus for you to explore.
MANUAL.BAT - A DOS batch file to print this manual.
PRINTQWK.BAT - A DOS batch file to print the supporting
documentation files.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 10
SUPPORT.MSI - Lists the Online Regional Support BBS's and
Official Distribution BBS's for MSI.
INSTALL.MSI - This file contains installation instructions.
WHATS.NEW - Contains changes and new feature information for
the current MSI release.
PRODUCTS.MSI - Other products from Micris Softworks.
IMPORTANT NOTE: One of the sample menus contains items that will
print this manual and selected supporting text files for you.
A Note for Mouse Users...
If you already load a mouse driver as part of your boot-up
routine, MSI will recognize its presence automatically. MSI
checks for the presence of a mouse driver each time it loads. If
one is found, menus and other MSI windows will include an 'Exit
Button' in the upper left corner, and MSI will automatically
begin responding to mouse commands. FIGURE II-2 illustrates the
Exit Button.
Inside MSI, the mouse pointer will appear as a small rectangle,
initially located near the middle of the screen. The pointer
will respond to movements of the mouse just like other mouse
pointers do. To select items with the mouse, move the pointer
over top of the item and press the left mouse button. For menu
items, a single button press will cause the item to be
highlighted. Two button presses, in rapid succession, will
select the item.
If the Exit Buttons are missing and you don't see the mouse
pointer, MSI has not recognized the presence of a mouse driver.
In this case you should exit the MSI Menu System (F9) and add a
mouse driver installation command either to your AUTOEXEC.BAT
file or to the MSI start-up file, RUNMSI.BAT. FIGURE I-3
illustrates a mouse driver installation command inside the
AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Note that this command must be inserted
before the RUNMSI command.
There are commands inside RUNMSI.BAT for loading and unloading a
mouse driver. These are commented out with REM commands. To
activate these, use your editor or word processor to open the
file and remove the REM commands that are directly in front of
the 'MOUSE' and 'MOUSE U' commands. The second command unloads
the mouse driver from the computer's memory. If you have a mouse
other than a Microsoft Mouse, this command may be different.
Refer to the user's manual that came with your mouse for the
correct loading and unloading commands.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 11
Section II - Using the MSI Menu System
Starting the Program
If you let the installation Utility modify your AUTOEXEC.BAT
file, or if you have done it manually as described in "Locating
Program and Data Files", then from any drive and/or directory on
your system you simply need to type
RUNMSI (ENTER)
MSI will search the MSIPATH directory, or the current directory
if MSIPATH is not defined, for a menus data file, MSIMENU.DAT.
If one is not found then MSI will search the same directory for
the Sample Menus file, SAMPLE.DAT. If SAMPLE.DAT is found, you
will be prompted with the following:
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Menu Data File not found. Use Sample Menus? ║
║ ║
║ No Yes ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Press Y (Yes) to create a menus data file using the Sample Menus
found in SAMPLE.DAT. The resulting MSIMENU.DAT file will be
placed in the directory given by the MSIPATH variable, or in the
current directory if MSIPATH is not defined.
If you press N, OR if MSI cannot locate either MSIMENU.DAT or
SAMPLE.DAT, a default data file will be created. The default
file contains a single menu and a Help Screen to go with it.
This is a good place to start after you have experimented with
the Sample Menus and are ready to create menus for your own
system.
If this is the first time the program has been run, you will also
be asked for a Backdrop Display Name.
╔═ Backdrop Display Name: ══════════════════════════════╗
║ █████████████████████████████████████████████████████ ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
You may enter your personal name or the name of your company.
This name will be displayed in the top-left corner of the MSI
Menu backdrop screen.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 12
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Micris Softworks ║
║ 9:46 April 21, 1992 ║
║ ┌───────────┐ ║
║ █│ F1 - HELP │ ╔════════════════════════ Sample Menus ═╗ ║
║ █└───────────┘ █║ ║ ║
║ ████████████ █║ 1. 'Stepped' Menus Demonstration ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ 2. Daily 'To-Do' List ║ ║
║ ┌───────────┐ █║ ║ ║
║ █│ F5 - EDIT │ █║ 3. Non-Stepped Menus ║ ║
║ █└───────────┘ █║ ║ ║
║ ████████████ █║ 4. Password Menu (PW = Pass) ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ 5. Print Document Files...! ║ ║
║ ┌─────────────┐ █║ ║ ║
║ █│ F10 │ █║ These are 'Text Only' items, useful ║ ║
║ █│ System Menu │ █║ for extra help on your menus or for ║ ║
║ █└─────────────┘ █║ daily reminders, i.e. deadlines... ║ ║
║ ██████████████ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝ ║
║ ████████████████████████████████████████ ║
║ ║
║ MSI Menu System 2.00 Copyright (C) 1991, 1992 Larry B. Rice ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
FIGURE II-1 The sample menus show you how various menus are
constructed, and let you experiment.
╔{■}═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Your Company Name ║
║ Today's Time & Date ║
║ System Prompts ║
║ ┌───────────┐ ║
║ █│ F1 - HELP │ ╔{■} Menu Name ═════════════════════════╗ ║
║ █└───────────┘ █║ Item #1 ║ ║
║ ████████████ █║ . ║ ║
║ █║ . ║ ║
║ █║ Item #4 ║ ║
║ ┌───────────┐ █║ . ║ ║
║ █│ F5 - EDIT │ █║ . ║ ║
║ █└───────────┘ █║ . ║ ║
║ ████████████ █║ . ║ ║
║ █║ . ║ ║
║ █║ . ║ ║
║ ┌─────────────┐ █║ Item #11 ║ ║
║ █│ F10 │ █║ . ║ ║
║ █│ System Menu │ █║ ║ ║
║ █└─────────────┘ █║ Prompt Line (If Used) ║ ║
║ ██████████████ █╚═ Optional Menu Name Location ═════════╝ ║
║ ████████████████████████████████████████ ║
║ ║
║ MSI Menu System 2.00 Copyright (C) 1991, 1992 Larry B. Rice ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
FIGURE II-2 Component parts of the menu. The buttons ({■}) are
activated for mouse users.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 13
The Sample Menus are specially created to illustrate many of the
features of the MSI Menu System. When selected, each item on the
Main Menu (see FIGURE II-1) will display a submenu with
additional selections. To choose a submenu, you may press the
number at the beginning of the submenu's description item or use
the arrow down key to highlight the item and press ENTER. Press
the ESC key to return to any previous menu.
MOUSE TIP: Mouse users may select a menu item by moving the
mouse pointer on top of the desired item and 'Double Clicking'
the left mouse button. To Double Click, press the left button
twice in rapid succession. To return to a previous menu, move
the mouse pointer on top of the Exit Button ({■}) and press the
left button once.
As you explore the various menus and submenus, be sure to enter
the Menu Editor (F5) from time to time, to see what settings have
been used to define each menu and it's options. This is probably
the fastest way to learn to use the Menu Editor.
You may also experiment freely with the Sample Menus. The
original data for the Sample Menus is kept safely in a separate
file. You may restore the menus at any time by leaving the MSI
program (F9) and deleting the data files, BGLK.DAT and
MSIMENU.DAT, located in the Home Directory.
> DEL BGLK.DAT (ENTER)
> DEL MSIMENU.DAT (ENTER)
When MSI is restarted, you may then reload the original Sample
Menus.
After examining and experimenting with the Sample Menus, enter
the Menus Editor and press CTRL+F10. This is the 'Delete All
Menus' command, so use it carefully! You will be asked to verify
the command. Press Y (Yes) to continue. After deleting all the
current menus, MSI will create a single blank menu titled MAIN
MENU. You are now ready to create your own menus.
Important Terms
Most of the terms encountered here will probably already be
familiar to you. If you don't have a working knowledge of Batch
File commands and would like to know more, consult your DOS
manual. There are a number of these commands and it is beyond
the scope of this manual to detail them all.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 14
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Micris Softworks ║
║ 9:46 April 21, 1992 ║
║ ┌───────────┐ ║
║ █│ F1 - HELP │ ╔═══════════════════════════════════════╗ ║
║ █└───────────┘ █║╔════════════ Stepped Menu ════════════╩╗ ║
║ ████████████ ██║ ║ ║
║ ██║ ║ ║
║ ██║ 1. Edit Month-End Report ║ ║
║ ┌───────────┐ ██║ 2. Year-End Report ║ ║
║ █│ F5 - EDIT │ ██║ 3. Telephone List ║ ║
║ █└───────────┘ ██║ ║ ║
║ ████████████ ██║ Note: #1 Due by the 5th ║ ║
║ ██║ Note: #2 Due by 1-15 ║ ║
║ ██║ #3 - Office Numbers ║ ║
║ ┌─────────────┐ ██║ ║ ║
║ █│ F10 │ ██║ ║ ║
║ █│ System Menu │ ██║ ║ ║
║ █└─────────────┘ ██║ ║ ║
║ ██████████████ ██║ My Selection _ ║ ║
║ ██╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝ ║
║ ████████████████████████████████████████ ║
║ MSI Menu System 2.00 Copyright (C) 1991, 1992 Larry B. Rice ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
FIGURE II-3 A 'Stepped' menu is on top of, and slightly offset
from, the previous menu.
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Micris Softworks ║
║ 9:46 April 21, 1992 ║
║ ┌───────────┐ ║
║ █│ F1 - HELP │ ╔═══════════ Prompted Menu ═════════════╗ ║
║ █└───────────┘ █║ Item #1 ║ ║
║ ████████████ █║ Item #2 ║ ║
║ █║ . ║ ║
║ █║ . ║ ║
║ ┌───────────┐ █║ . ║ ║
║ █│ F5 - EDIT │ █║ . ║ ║
║ █└───────────┘ █║ . ║ ║
║ ████████████ █║ . ║ ║
║ █║ . ║ ║
║ █║ . ║ ║
║ ┌─────────────┐ █║ . ║ ║
║ █│ F10 │ █║ Item #12 ║ ║
║ █│ System Menu │ █║ ║ ║
║ █└─────────────┘ █║ Prompt String Here _ ║ ║
║ ██████████████ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝ ║
║ ████████████████████████████████████████ ║
║ ║
║ MSI Menu System 2.00 Copyright (C) 1991, 1992 Larry B. Rice ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
FIGURE II-4 Prompted menus may have up to 12 menu items.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 15
Menu - The Menu is the largest window area on the screen. The
Menu contains an optional Name at the top, an optional Prompt at
the bottom and the Selection Items lying between them. Menus may
have up to nine items if a Prompt Line is used, or up to eleven
if it isn't.
Actions - A selected Item may send a set of commands to DOS.
These commands are defined in an 'Action Window'. A set of
Action commands is actually a set of DOS batch file commands
defined in the Action Window. In fact, you may read existing DOS
batch files into an Action Window (Import) and write them out to
existing or new batch files (Export). Your Action commands may
also call external batch files. The Action Windows simply give
you a convenient place to store and maintain batch commands.
Since most of your Menus will use Actions, they are covered in
detail later in this manual.
Menu Items (Options) - These are the selectable and non-
selectable text strings which you define on a line of a menu.
FIGURE II-2 shows the location of the items on the menu.
Resident & Non-Resident - MSI can remain in memory and send
Action Commands to DOS. In this mode MSI is said to be
'Resident'. Menu items with a "Selects:" setting equal to RSIDNT
or DUAL execute in Resident mode.
MSI will be removed from memory when menu items with a "Selects:"
setting equal to ACTION are selected. This is the non-Resident
mode.
TSR-Type Programs & MSI's Resident Mode
Don't confuse MSI's Resident Mode with "Terminate and Stay
Resident" (TSR) type programs. These latter type of programs
load themselves in memory then cease executing until a specific
user command is entered to re-activate the program. On the other
hand, MSI's Resident Mode also leaves MSI in memory but execution
is only paused while a set of Action Commands is executed. MSI
will resume control, i.e. become active again, when the Action
Commands, and any programs they initiated, have terminated. TSR
programs are specially programmed to load into your computer's
memory in a specific way. MSI is NOT a TSR program and may not
be loaded as such.
Using the MSI Menu System with a Mouse
All MSI features are programmed to respond to mouse commands. If
you have a mouse driver loaded, MSI will recognize the fact and
change the appearance of the menu and other windows slightly to
include the 'Exit Button' ({■}) illustrated in FIGURE II-2. If
you find you have problems using your mouse after returning from
certain programs, such as Microsoft Windows, refer to "Using the
ERRLEV Item" in Section IV.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 16
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Micris Softworks ║
║ 9:46 April 21, 1992 ║
║ ┌───────────┐ ║
║ █│ F1 - HELP │ ╔═════════════ Main Menu ═══════════════╗ ║
║ █└───────────╔══════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ║
║ █████████████║ ║ ║ ║
║ █║ Each Menu may have a Help Screen ║ ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║ ║
║ ┌──────────█║ like this one which you define. ║ ║ ║
║ █│ F5 - EDIT█║ ║ ║ ║
║ █└──────────█║ The blank lines you see here are ║ ║ ║
║ █████████████║ ║ ║ ║
║ █║ shown for example only. There are ║ ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║ ║
║ ┌───────────█║ 10 full lines for your use. ║ ║ ║
║ █│ F10 █╚══════════════════════════════════════╝ ║ ║
║ █│ System Men███████████████████████████████████████ ║ ║
║ █└─────────────┘ █║ ║ ║
║ ██████████████ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝ ║
║ ████████████████████████████████████████ ║
║ ║
║ MSI Menu System 2.00 Copyright (C) 1991, 1992 Larry B. Rice ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
FIGURE II-5 F1 displays the menu's Help screen.
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Micris Softworks ║
║ 9:46 April 21, 1992 ║
║ ┌───────────┐ ║
║ █│ F1 - HELP │ ╔═════════════ Your Programs ═══════════╗ ║
║ █└───────────┘ █║ ║ ║
║ ████████████ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ 1. Editor ║ ║
║ ┌───────────┐ █║ 2. Spreadsheet ║ ║
║ █│ F5 - EDIT │ █║ 3. Paint Program ║ ║
║ █└───────────┘ █║ ║ ║
║ ████████████ █║ E)ditor Help ║ ║
║ █║ S)preadsheet Help ║ ║
║ █║ P)aint Program Help ║ ║
║ ┌─────────────┐ █║ ║ ║
║ █│ F10 │ █║ ║ ║
║ █│ System Menu │ █║ ║ ║
║ █└─────────────┘ █║ Your Selection _ ║ ║
║ ██████████████ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝ ║
║ ████████████████████████████████████████ ║
║ ║
║ MSI Menu System 2.00 Copyright (C) 1991, 1992 Larry B. Rice ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
FIGURE II-6 E, S and P call 'Help' menus.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 17
Special Menu Types
The MSI Editor lets you create three special types of menus.
1. Stepped
2. Prompted
3. Help Only
The sample menus that come on the distribution diskette contains
an example of each of these menu types.
1. Stepped Menus (FIGURE II-3)
A stepped menu will display on top of the previous menu but
slightly offset so that a portion of the previous menu is still
visible. The purpose of the stepped menu is to provide a visual
reference to the user's location within a set of sub-menus. If
several sub-menus are defined, the stepped menu can help to keep
the user oriented with respect to the main (first) menu. See
item #1 of the Sample Menus. Non-Stepped menus will completely
obscure the previous menu. Item #2 of the sample menus shows a
number of different non-stepped menus.
2. Prompted Menus (FIGURE II-4)
A Prompted Menu has a Prompt Line defined at the bottom of the
menu. The normal underline cursor will appear immediately
following the prompt string. The prompt has historically been
used to indicate to a user that the computer is awaiting a
command. The prompt option has been provided pretty much for
this purpose only. To allow for more responsive operation, MSI
will execute an option just as soon as a valid key is pressed, or
when the RETURN key is pressed on a highlighted option. Using
the prompt will reduce the maximum number of selections on a menu
to 12. Items #2 and #4 of the Sample Menus display prompted
menus.
3. Help Only Menus
Actually each menu can contain both selectable and non-selectable
('Text Only') items. However, the Help Only menu can be a useful
feature. For this type of menu, all the menu items are defined
as 'Text Only'. In this case, only the ESC key is active,
allowing the user to return to the previous menu.
Note that each menu has a definable Help Screen which is
displayed by pressing F1. While sufficient for most situations,
there may be instances in which additional help space would be
useful. FIGURE II-6 shows one way that additional help can be
put to good use.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 18
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Micris Softworks ║
║ 9:46 April 21, 1992 ║
║ ┌───────────┐ ║
║ █│ F1 - HELP │ ╔════════════════════════ Sample Menus ═╗ ║
║ █└───────────┘ █║ ║ ║
║ ████████████ █║ 1. 'Stepped' Menus Demonstration ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ 2. Daily 'To-Do' List ║ ║
║ ┌───────────┐ █║ ║ ║
║ █│ F5 - EDIT │ █║ 3. Non-Stepped Menus ║ ║
║ █└───────────┘ █║ ║ ║
║ ████████████ █║ 4. Password Menu (PW = Pass) ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ 5. Print Document Files...! ║ ║
║ ┌─────────────┐ █║ ║ ║
║ █│ F10 │ █║ These are 'Text Only' items, useful ║ ║
║ █│ System Menu │ █║ for extra help on your menus or for ║ ║
║ █└─────────────┘ █║ daily reminders, i.e. deadlines... ║ ║
║ ██████████████ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝ ║
║ ████████████████████████████████████████ ║
║ ║
║ CTRL+ F2: Dir On/Off F3: Reserved F4: Use DOS F5: Lock ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
FIGURE II-7 The Control Key help line.
The first three options, 1, 2 and 3, select Actions to execute an
Editor, Spreadsheet or Paint Program. The E, S and P options
each display a sub-menu containing additional help on the use of
each program, or perhaps goals and deadlines for a project. Each
Help menu may have up to 14 lines of text.
Special Menu Commands
There are several special commands available in the normal
operating mode. These commands are available through a pull-down
menu, press F10 or the right mouse button, as well as through
direct keyboard entry. A Control-Key reminder window is also
displayed anytime a Control Key is pressed.
ALT+B - Change the Background Color
There are eight different colors available for the menus'
backdrop screen. Pressing ALT+B lets you toggle through all of
of the choices. Your choice of backdrop color is automatically
saved and will be used each time the program is subsequently
loaded.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 19
ALT+E - Access the Event Menu
This command calls up the Menu of Scheduled Events. Any
Scheduled Event may be executed at any time by selecting it from
the menu. Events are scheduled inside the Menu Editor.
F1 - Help
Display a Help window for the current menu. You can define your
own Help Screens for each menu inside the Menu Editor.
F2 - Print an Order Form
Order additional copies of MSI or extra manuals.
F3 - Set the Screen Blanking Delay
When there has been no activity at the keyboard for the amount of
time set here, the screen will be blanked. Even color monitor
screens, over a period of time, can have an image 'burned' into
them. The Screen Blanking feature will help extend the life of
your computer monitor.
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Micris Softworks ║
║ 9:46 April 21, 1992 ║
║ ┌───────────┐ ║
║ █│ F1 - HELP │ ╔════════════════════════ Sample Menus ═╗ ║
║ █└───────────┘ █║ ║ ║
║ ████████████ █║ 1. 'Stepped' Menus Demonstration ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ 2. Daily 'To-Do' List ║ ║
║ ┌───────────┐ █║ ║ ║
║ █│ F5 - EDIT │ █║ 3. Non-Stepped Menus ║ ║
║ █└───────────┘ █║ ║ ║
║ ████████████ █║ 4. Password Menu (PW = Pass) ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ 5. Print Document Files...! ║ ║
║ ┌─────────────┐ █║ ║ ║
║ █│ F10 │ █║ These are 'Text Only' items, useful ║ ║
║ █│ System Menu │ █║ for extra help on your menus or for ║ ║
║ █└─────────────┘ █║ daily reminders, i.e. deadlines... ║ ║
║ ██████████████ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝ ║
║ ████████████████████████████████████████ ║
║ ║
║ Directory: C:\MSI Free: 7654321 ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Figure II-8 CTRL+F2 lets you change the copyright line to
display the current directory and free disk space.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 20
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Micris Softworks ║
║ 9:46 April 21, 1992 ║
║ ┌───────────┐ ║
║ █│ F1 - HELP │ ╔════════════════════════ Sample Menus ═╗ ║
║ █└───────────┘ █║ ║ ║
║ ████████████ █║ 1. 'Stepped' Menus Demonstration ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ 2. Daily 'To-Do' List ║ ║
║ ┌───────────┐ █║ ║ ║
║ █│ F5 LOCKED │ █║ 3. Non-Stepped Menus ║ ║
║ █└───────────┘ █║ ║ ║
║ ████████████ █║ 4. Password Menu (PW = Pass) ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ 5. Print Document Files...! ║ ║
║ ┌─────────────┐ █║ ║ ║
║ █│ F10 │ █║ These are 'Text Only' items, useful ║ ║
║ █│ System Menu │ █║ for extra help on your menus or for ║ ║
║ █└─────────────┘ █║ daily reminders, i.e. deadlines... ║ ║
║ ██████████████ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝ ║
║ ████████████████████████████████████████ ║
║ ║
║ MSI Menu System 2.00 Copyright (C) 1991, 1992 Larry B. Rice ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
FIGURE II-9 Users are locked out of the Menu Editor when the F5
window displays 'Locked'.
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Micris Softworks ║
║ 9:46 April 21, 1992 ║
║ ┌───────────┐ ║
║ █│ F1 - HELP │ ╔════════════════════════ Sample Menus ═╗ ║
║ █└───────────┘ █║ ║ ║
║ ████████████ █║ 1. 'Stepped' Menus Demonstration ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ 2. Daily 'To-Do' List ║ ║
║ ┌───────────┐ █║ ║ ║
║ █│ F5 - EDIT │ █║ 3. Non-Stepped Menus ║ ║
║ █└───────────┘ █║ ║ ║
║ ████████████ █║ 4. Password Menu (PW = Pass) ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ 5. Print Document Files...! ║ ║
║ ┌─────────────┐ █║ ║ ║
║ █│ F10 │ █║ These are 'Text Only' items, useful ║ ║
║ █│ System Menu │ █║ for extra help on your menus or for ║ ║
║ █└─────────────┘ █║ daily reminders, i.e. deadlines... ║ ║
║ ██████████████ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝ ║
║ ████████████████████████████████████████ ║
║ ║
║ MSI Menu System 2.00 Copyright (C) 1991, 1992 Larry B. Rice ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
FIGURE II-10 Unlocked menus may be edited.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 21
F4 - DOS Command Optional Password Protection
Lets you send a single command to DOS. This is especially useful
for reading or changing the current directory. This command may
be password protected to prevent unwanted access to DOS.
F5 - Enter the Menu Editor Optional Password Protection
You MUST be able to see the 'F5 - Menu' window on the left of the
screen for this command to work. If the window reads 'F5 LOCKED'
the Menu Editor has been locked to prevent access and accidental
changes. See CTRL+F10 to unlock the Menu Editor.
F6 - Fast-Add Menu Item Optional Password Protection
Use this command to quickly add a new Action or Submenu item to
the current menu. If a password is defined for the Menu Editor,
it must be entered here as well. The Fast-Add feature is
detailed at the end of this Section.
F9 - Exit the MSI Menu System Optional Password Protection
This lets you leave the MSI Menu System and return to DOS. This
command may be password protected to prevent unwanted access to
DOS. You will be asked to verify this command.
The following commands are Control Key commands. MSI displays a
reminder window when a Control Key is pressed. See FIGURE II-7.
CTRL-F2 - Current Directory Toggle
The bottom screen line will display the Copyright notice during
normal operation. CTRL-F2 lets you select between this and
displaying the current working disk and directory. The state
will be saved as part of the menus data file so that you will be
able to return from Action commands to the same setting. If you
are displaying the directory, when you return to the program the
Copyright notice will appear briefly then be replaced with the
directory display. See FIGURE II-8.
CTRL-F3
This command is reserved for future use.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 22
CTRL-F4 - Exit Temporarily to DOS Optional Password Protection
Also known as a DOS Shell command this lets you leave MSI
temporarily to perform DOS functions. When you are ready to
return to the menus type;
EXIT
MSI will remain resident in the computer's memory while you are
in DOS, allowing you to return to the exact location from which
you left.
CTRL-F5 - Lock Menu Editor
Locking the current menus makes the Menus Editor unavailable.
However, you will still have access to all the commands given in
this section for use during normal operations. The locking
feature lets you protect your menus from accidental changes.
CTRL-F10 - Unlock Menu Editor Optional Password Protection
This is the default command to unlock a locked Menu Editor. Note
that this command may be changed inside the Menu Editor by
pressing CTRL-F5 and entering a new single or two-key combination
command.
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Micris Softworks ║
║ 9:46 April 21, 1992 ║
║ ┌───────────┐ ║
║ █│ F1 - HELP │ ╔════════════════════════ Sample Menus ═╗ ║
║ █└───────────┘ █║ ║ ║
║ ████████████ █║ 1. 'Stepped' Menus Demonstration ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ 2. Daily 'To-Do' List ║ ║
║ ╔═ New Item's Description ════════════╗ ║ ║
║ ┌───────█║ ███████████████████████████████████ ║ ║ ║
║ █│ F5 - E█╚═════════════════════════════════════╝ ║ ║
║ █└───────██████████████████████████████████████ ║ ║
║ ████████████ █║ 4. Password Menu (PW = Pass) ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ 5. Print Document Files...! ║ ║
║ ┌─────────────┐ █║ ║ ║
║ █│ F10 │ █║ These are 'Text Only' items, useful ║ ║
║ █│ System Menu │ █║ for extra help on your menus or for ║ ║
║ █└─────────────┘ █║ daily reminders, i.e. deadlines... ║ ║
║ ██████████████ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝ ║
║ ████████████████████████████████████████ ║
║ ║
║ MSI Menu System 2.00 Copyright (C) 1991, 1992 Larry B. Rice ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
FIGURE II-10 Use F6 to 'Fast-Add' a Menu Item.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 23
┌────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Will This Item: │
│ │
│ Start a Program Display a Sub-Menu │
│ │
└──────── Press Red Letter or ESC to Cancel ─┘
FIGURE II-11 Second 'Fast-Add' prompt selects new item's
operation.
'Fast-Adding' Menu Items
New items may be quickly added to the current menu without
entering or using the Menu Editor. Instead, the 'Fast-Add'
command (F6) enables you to create either an RSIDNT or submenu
item by answering a few simple prompts.
FIGURE II-10 illustrates the first prompt. MSI is asking for the
Item Descriptor for the new item. Simply enter the description
as you would like it to appear on the menu and press ENTER or
press ESC to cancel the Fast-Add command.
FIGURE II-11 illustrates the second 'Fast-Add' prompt. Press the
'D' key if the item is to display a submenu. MSI will create the
submenu and display it for you. You may then 'Fast-Add' new
items onto the new submenu.
Press the 'S' key if the item will be used to start a program.
MSI will need to know two things, where the program is located
(drive and directory) and the filename of the file used to start
the program. The file may be a .COM, .EXE or .BAT (batch) file.
To simplify this as much as possible, MSI will display the pick
list window illustrated in FIGURE II-12. Only program files with
extensions of .COM, .EXE and .BAT and that are in the current
directory will be listed. To change the current directory, press
TAB until the cursor appears in the PATH: window. Enter a new
pathname, including a drive letter if necessary, and press ENTER.
MSI will list any program files it finds in the directory you
have indicated.
To select a file from the list, you may either type in the
filename or press the TAB key and select the file directly from
the list. Press either the arrow up or arrow down key until the
file you desire is highlighted and press ENTER. Arrows will
appear on the right side of the window indicating if there are
more files in the list than may be shown in the window. The
PageUp and PageDown keys may be used go scroll through long
lists.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 24
After you have selected the file, MSI will create a set of Action
Commands which will change directories and call the file. Note
that if you select a batch file, .BAT extension, MSI
automatically use the DOS CALL command to execute the batch file.
The set of Action Commands that MSI creates may be edited or
changed later using the Menu Editor. See Section III for
details.
╓─────────────────────────────────────────────╖
║ PATH: C:\UTILITIES ║
╟─────────────────────────────────────────────╢
║ Name of file to start Program: ████████████ ║
╟─────────────────────────────────────────────╢
║ F║
║ ░║
║ ░║
║ ░║
║ Program files will be listed here... ░║
║ ░║
║ ░║
║ ░║
║ ░║
║ ░║
║ ░║
║ L║
╙─────────────────────────────────────────────╜
FIGURE II-12 The MSI pick list window lets you select the file
that starts a program added with the 'Fast-Add' command. The
current directory is set using the PATH window.
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ @ECHO OFF │
│ C: │
│ CD \UTILITIES │
│ CALL VISCAN │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
-------------------------------------------------------------
FIGURE II-13 MSI will create a set of Action Commands similar
to these when you 'Fast-Add' a program to a menu. The commands
may be edited later, if necessary, using the Menu Editor. Note
that MSI has used the DOS CALL command on the fourth line. This
means that MSI recognized VISCAN as a batch (.BAT) file. If
VISCAN had been a .EXE or .COM file, VISCAN would appear on the
line by itself.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 25
Section III - The Menu Editor
Creating Your Own Menus
Hopefully by now you have examined the Sample menus and are ready
to look at the Menus Editor. First though, you will need to make
sure that the Menu Editor has not been locked.
If you press either the F5 key or the F6 key and nothing happens,
the Menu Editor has been locked. MSI has a user-definable unlock
command. As shipped, the command is CTRL+F10. If you press this
and are still unable to access the Menu Editor by pressing F5, it
is possible that the unlock command may have been changed. If
you have been experimenting with the sample menus and do not have
anything important to save, you can exit MSI, delete the file
BGLK.DAT and restart the program (RUNMSI). The Menu Editor will
now be unlocked and the Unlock Command restored to CTRL+F10.
If you have created menus that you don't want to lose, contact
Micris Support for help. The user-definable Unlock Key is a
security function, and as such, special procedures are needed to
protect the integrity of your menus. You will be instructed by
Micris Support on how to proceed.
╔══╔═══════════════════╗═╔═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ Name Prompt Help ║█║ Password: None Selects: Menu Type: |
║ █║ Name Loc Top ║█╚═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ Name Jus Center ║███████████████████████████████████████████|
║ █║ ║ |
║ █║ Use Prompt: No ║ ╔════════════════════════ Sample Menus ═╗|
║ █║ Boot Drive: C ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ 1. 'Stepped' Menus Demonstration ║|
║ █║ Shadow: Cursor: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Yes Yes ║ █║ 2. Daily 'To-Do' List ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Stepped Border: ║ █║ 3. Non-Stepped Menus ║|
║ █║ No Double ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ 4. Password Menu (PW = Pass) ║|
║ █║ Border Colors ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║ 5. Print Document Files...! ║|
║ █║ LtGray Blue ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ These are 'Text Only' items, useful ║|
║ █║ Item Colors ║ █║ for extra help on your menus or for ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║ daily reminders, i.e. deadlines... ║|
║ █║ LtGray Black ║ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝|
║ █╚═══════════════════╝ ████████████████████████████████████████ |
║ ████████████████████ |
║ |
║ ALT-Q Quit F1 Help F2 Edit F3 Move F5 Define F6 PW F8 Del |
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════|
FIGURE III-1 Inside the Menu Editor. Note that you may only
use the highlight bar or mouse to select items inside the Editor.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 26
NOTE: You may enter the Menu Editor from any of your menus (if
the Menu Editor is unlocked, of course). This allows you to make
quick changes and test them from anywhere inside your menu
structure.
FIGURE III-1 shows the initial Menu Editor screen. Notice the
options windows that open to the left and top of the menu window.
Also, notice that the Command Assistance Line (CAL) has replaced
the copyright notice on the bottom of the screen. Watch the CAL
as you enter various editing modes or perform editing functions.
It will keep you up-to-date on the commands available at any
given time while you are inside the Menu Editor.
The various command options inside the windows are discussed
individually in the next section. These options allow you to
define the 'look' of the menu and how each menu selection will
operate.
MSI allows you to see changes in your menus immediately. To
illustrate this, press the 'D' key. This will turn the menu's
shadow on and off. The menu will immediately be redrawn using
the new setting. Watch the 'Shadow' setting in the option window
to the left as you press the key. When the Shadow setting is
'Yes' the menu will be drawn with an underlying shadow, providing
a 3-D effect. When the setting is 'No' the shadow will not be
used, giving you a flat menu window.
The 'Shadowed' setting is an example of a 'Toggled' setting.
These settings will change immediately when the command key is
pressed. Many of the command options are toggled commands.
Other settings are changed by pressing the command key and then
using the left and right arrow (cursor) keys to display a new
setting. Pressing the red command key will move the cursor to
the black boxed area to the right or immediately below the
setting selected. Use the cursor keys to change settings and
press ENTER when the setting you desire is displayed. The CAL
line will provide on-screen help for this.
NOTE: You may select Submenu and Dual menu items inside the Menu
Editor by using either the highlight bar or mouse. Action and
Keyboard Command items will not execute inside the Editor. To
test these items you must return to normal operating mode by
pressing ALT+Q to Quit the Editor.
A menu may have up to fourteen user selectable items defined, if
a Prompt Line is not used. Otherwise it may contain up to
twelve. Creating a menu item is as simple as moving the Cursor
Bar to a line on the menu, pressing F2 and entering an item
descriptor string.
There must be at least one character on the line for MSI to
recognize it as a menu item. MSI uses the first character of the
string as the item's 'command key'; that is, a user selects the
item by pressing the first character of the item descriptor.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 27
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ╔══════════╗ Exits to RUNMSI ╔════════════╗ │
│ ║ Action ║ ─────────────────> ║ RUNMSI ║ │
│ ║ Selected ║ <───────────────── ║ Batch File ║ │
│ ╚══════════╝ Returns to DIR ╚════════════╝ │
│ Actions & Calls MSI ^ │ Calls │
│ Written to DOS │ │ DOS │
│ ACT.BAT Done │ v │
│ ╔════════════╗ Executes Your ╔════════════╗ │
│ ║ ACT.BAT ║ <──────────────── ║ DOS ║ │
│ ║ Batch File ║ Action Commands ║ ║ │
│ ╚════════════╝ ╚════════════╝ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
FIGURE III-2 Command Flow for an Action.
Each selectable menu item will cause some type of action to be
taken. This might be to display a submenu, send one or more
commands to DOS for execution, send a keyboard command to MSI, or
multiples of these. What type of action is taken is determined
by the "Selects:" setting for each menu item defined.
Some or all of the items on a menu may be defined as 'Text Only'.
These options are NOT selectable. They allow you to enter
extended selection descriptions, notes or help text on the menu
itself. If an item is set to Text Only, the "Selects:" window
will display "N/A" for the item, since no action is possible.
Before going further, it will be useful to note how the
"Selects:" setting affects the operations of menu items. The MSI
Menu System offers perhaps the widest range and most
sophisticated types of menu items available in menu software
today. A detailed explanation of these will help sort out the
differences.
How ACTION Items are Executed
MSI will NOT be in memory for ACTION items.
There are only two batch files used by MSI; RUNMSI.BAT which is
the program control batch file, and ACT.BAT which is created from
an item's Action Commands each time an ACTION item is selected.
MSI creates ACT.BAT by copying the contents of the item's Action
Window to the file. MSI then terminates and ACT.BAT is called
from the RUNMSI.BAT file. The Action Commands in ACT.BAT are
then executed by DOS as they would be in any batch file. When
DOS has completed all of the commands, control is returned to
RUNMSI.BAT, which then executes MSI once more. FIGURE III-2
illustrates this process.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 28
Note that in order for DOS to return properly to the directory
containing RUNMSI.BAT, MSI appends the contents of HOME.DIR,
discussed in "Installing MSI", to ACT.BAT after the Action
Commands have been copied. If the installation was not properly
done or if HOME.DIR is missing, you may see this message from DOS
Bad command or file name
scrolling repeatedly up your screen after the Action Commands
have been completed. This means that DOS is unable to locate
either RUNMSI.BAT or the MSI program file. To correct the
problem, press CTRL+C to quit the batch file, restart MSI and
enter the Menu Editor. Press CTRL+F6. This allows you to re-
install the program correctly.
How RSIDNT Items are Executed
MSI will remain in memory for RSIDNT items.
RSIDNT items operate similar to ACTION items but with two
important distinctions. First, MSI will remain in memory as the
Action Commands are executed. Second, ACT.BAT is not used.
Rather, each Action Command is sent to DOS as if it were an
individual command. If the command is to load and execute
another program, MSI will pause until the program terminates then
it will resume control, either sending another Action Command to
DOS or returning for a new menu selection if no more Action
Commands are available for the item.
Since MSI remains in memory, drive and directory changes do not
affect DOS as they do with ACTION items. Also, returning to the
menus is significantly faster (the program does not have to
reload) and, unlike ACTION items, you will return to the same
menu. In fact, except for programs requiring 350K or more RAM,
you will find that using RSIDNT items will give you crisper
control over your system.
Menu Design Tip:
Some programs, like database applications and spreadsheets, will
need the extra memory provided by setting an item to ACTION.
It's useful to try and keep these items on the Main Menu or, at
most, one submenu away since ACTION items always return you to
the Main Menu.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 29
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ╔══════════╗ Dual Selected ╔════════════╗ │
│ ║ Dual ║ ─────────────────> ║ DOS ║ │
│ ║ Selected ║ 1st Action Cmds. ║ executes ║ │
│ ╚══════════╝ to DOS ║ commands ║ │
│ ^ Return to ╚════════════╝ │
│ │ Calling Menu Display │ │
│ ╔════════════╗ Submenu v │
│ ║ DOS ║ ESC Pressed ╔════════════╗ │
│ ║ executes ║ <──────────────── ║ Dual ║ │
│ ║ commands ║ 2nd Action Cmds. ║ Submenu ║ │
│ ╚════════════╝ to DOS ╚════════════╝ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
FIGURE III-3 Command flow for Dual.
How DUAL Items are Executed
MSI will remain in memory for Dual Actions.
A DUAL menu item lets you define TWO sets of Action Commands and
a submenu. MSI will execute the FIRST set of Action Commands,
display the submenu and then wait for further selections. The
second set of Action Commands will be executed when the ESC key
is pressed to return to the previous (calling) menu. You are not
required to define both sets of Actions; just leave the Action
Window blank if one or the other set of actions are not required.
FIGURE III-3 illustrates the command flow of a DUAL item.
The DUAL item was specifically designed to help in controlling
the use of 'Terminate and Stay Resident' (TSR) programs. The
first Action can load and/or configure the TSR. The submenu
would then provide help with TSR features, hotkeys or control
flow while the TSR is active. The second second set of actions
can then deactivate or unload the TSR. Of course, there are many
variations on this, the only limit being your imagination.
IMPORTANT: TSR's can be very dependent on the order that
programs are loaded in memory. If you load a TSR from MSI, you
should not execute ACTION items since these may inadvertently
cause the TSR to unload or cause 'memory holes' in your system
RAM. If you need a TSR program in memory for an ACTION item, you
may either load it as part of the Action Commands (be sure to
unload it as the last Action Command!) or load it from
AUTOEXEC.BAT. Another option is to use an ERRLEV menu item to
control the TSR with the RUNMSI.BAT file. See Section IV.
Also, note that loading a TSR from a batch file is VERY tricky.
The TSR will remain in memory only as long as the batch file
remains in memory. You may safely load, use and unload a TSR
from a single ACTION item but you may not load a TSR from one
ACTION item then try to use it after executing another ACTION
item. For this type of operation you must use RSIDNT items.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 30
DOS 5.0 NOTE:
Version 5.0 of DOS seems to offer better memory control with
respect to batch files and TSRs than earlier versions. Our
testing seems to indicate that 'memory holes' can still exist
when TSRs are not properly unloaded but that the TSRs do not
'disappear' when loaded from a batch file like they did with
earlier versions. However, our testing was done with DOS loaded
HIGH which may have some bearing on the matter.
Another application of the Dual action is to change working
directories as you progress to and from your submenus. See
FIGURE III-4.
MSI will display a DOS screen when each set of the Dual Action
commands is executed. This allows DOS, or your TSRs, to display
messages. You may want to liberally use the DOS 'Pause' command
in your Actions to allow yourself or others a chance to read the
messages. You can also use the redirect commands ( > and >> ) to
send the messages to a file or other device. Refer to your DOS
manual for more on redirection.
When 'Defining' (F5) a DUAL item you will first define the PRE-
menu Action Commands, then the POST-menu Action Commands, then
the submenu itself.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ╔═══════════╗ Change ╔═══════════╗ Change ╔═══════════╗ │
│ ║ MSI ║ ───────> ║ Dual ║ ───────> ║ Dual ║ │
│ ║ Menus ║ Dir ║ Submenu ║ Dir ║ Submenu ║ │
│ ╚═══════════╝ ╚═══════════╝ ╚═══════════╝ │
│ │ │ │
│ <Change Back - ESC < <Change Back - ESC < │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
FIGURE III-4 Using Dual options to change working directories.
How REBOOT Items are Executed ADVANCED USE
This special menu item type lets you easily maintain multiple
AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files for your system. This item
type should only be used by those with a good working knowledge
of DOS.
Like the DUAL item, ReBoot lets you define two sets of Action
Commands. When the ReBoot item is selected, the first set of
Commands, if any are defined, are written to AUTOEXEC.BAT,
replacing any commands present at the time. The second set of
Action Commands, if any are defined, are written to CONFIG.SYS.
Note that the "Boot Drive" setting tells MSI where these files
are located (i.e. the root directory of the Boot Drive).
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 31
After the two sets of commands are written out, YOUR COMPUTER
WILL BE REBOOTED. The new AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS commands
do not take effect until this happens, so MSI does it for you,
automatically.
It's a good idea to have two ReBoot items on your menu; one to
set the alternate configuration and the other to restore the
original configuration. Be sure to make RUNMSI the last command
on each set of commands for AUTOEXEC.BAT to automatically restart
the menus.
Another good idea with ReBoot items is to password protect them.
That way you won't find yourself reconfiguring your system
accidentally.
How ERRLEV Items are Executed ADVANCED USE
MSI will NOT be in memory for ERRLEV items.
This very special menu item type lets you return an ERRORLEVEL
code to the RUNMSI batch file. Only those with a good working
knowledge of DOS batch files should use this type of item.
By editing the RUNMSI.BAT file, you can trap the returned
ERRORLEVEL code and do pre-processing or post-processing type
commands before calling ACT.BAT. (Note that you will have to
specifically call ACT.BAT yourself within the ERRORLEVEL routine
that you provide.)
One potential use of ErrLev item types is to load and unload TSR
underneath MSI, but not from ACT.BAT. This allows more reliable
TSR control with pre-5.0 versions of DOS.
How KEYBRD Items are Executed
The KeyBrd item lets you assign a keyboard command to the menu
item. This type of item is specifically designed to allow you to
add features like Single DOS Command (F4) and DOS Shell (CTRL+F4)
to your menus. When a KeyBrd item is selected, MSI processes the
command just as if it had been entered from the keyboard.
When you define (F5) a KeyBrd item, a window will appear
containing a simulated keyboard. The keypresses you make will be
highlighted in the window. When you have entered a keyboard
command, a second window will appear asking you to verify your
choice. If the highlighted key(s) are correct, press 'Y' and the
command will be assigned to the menu item.
If the highlighted key(s) are not correct, press 'N' and you will
return to the keyboard window for a new selection.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 32
╔══╔═══════════════════╗═╔═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ Name Prompt Help ║█║ Password: None Selects: Menu Type: |
║ █║ Name Loc Top ║█╚═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ Name Jus Center ║███████████████████████████████████████████|
║ █║ ║ |
║ █║ Use Prompt: No ║ ╔════════════════════════ Sample Menus ═╗|
║ █║ Boot Drive: C ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ 1. 'Stepped' Menus Demonstration ║|
║ █║ Shadow: Cursor: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Yes Yes ║ █║ 2. Daily 'To-Do' List ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Stepped Border: ║ █║ 3. Non-Stepped Menus ║|
║ █║ No Double ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ 4. Password Menu (PW = Pass) ║|
║ █║ Border Colors ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║ 5. Print Document Files...! ║|
║ █║ LtGray Blue ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ These are 'Text Only' items, useful ║|
║ █║ Item Colors ║ █║ for extra help on your menus or for ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║ daily reminders, i.e. deadlines... ║|
║ █║ LtGray Black ║ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝|
║ █╚═══════════════════╝ ████████████████████████████████████████ |
║ ████████████████████ |
║ ALT-Q to Quit F1 Help ESC Home End Ins Del to Ed|
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════|
FIGURE III-5 F2 lets you access the Item Descriptor Editor.
╔══╔═══════════════════╗═╔═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ Name Prompt Help ║█║ Password: None Selects: Menu Type: |
║ █║ Name Loc Top ║█╚═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ Name Jus Center ║███████████████████████████████████████████|
║ █║ ║ |
║ █║ Use Prompt: No ║ ╔══════════ MSI Sample Menus ═══════════╗|
║ █║ Boot Drive: C ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ 1. 'Stepped' Menus Demonstration ║|
║ █║ Shadow: Cursor: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Yes Yes ║ ╔╩══════════════════════════╗ ║|
║ █║ ║█║ Define MENU. Continue? ║ ║|
║ █║ Stepped Border: ║█║ ║ ║|
║ █║ No Double ║█║ No Yes ║ ║|
║ █║ ║█╚═══════════════════════════╝Pass) ║|
║ █║ Border Colors ║████████████████████████████ ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║ New Submenu ║|
║ █║ LtGray Blue ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ These are 'Text Only' items, useful ║|
║ █║ Item Colors ║ █║ for extra help on your menus or for ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║ daily reminders, i.e. deadlines... ║|
║ █║ LtGray Black ║ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝|
║ █╚═══════════════════╝ ████████████████████████████████████████ |
║ ████████████████████ |
║ ALT-Q to Quit F1 Help ESC Home End Ins Del to Ed|
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════|
FIGURE III-6 Memory will be allocated for a new menu.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 33
How EVENT Items are Executed
IMPORTANT: EVENT items may only be defined on the System Events
Menu (ALT+E). The 'Event' setting will only appear as a Selects
option when this menu is displayed.
Event items let you define a set of Action Commands that will
execute at a pre-determined time. Events may be defined that
execute daily, once-a-week or even once-a-month. However, any
event may be executed manually by accessing the Event Menu and
selecting the appropriate event.
NOTE: MSI assumes that current user activity has precedence over
system events. What this means is that events will not be
executed if other programs are in use or if the keyboard or mouse
have been active within the time span defined for Screen
Blanking.
If an event should have occurred while you are in another
program, you will be alerted when you return to the menus. You
can instruct MSI to execute the event at that time.
If an event is scheduled to occur while you are using MSI, you
will be alerted and may instruct MSI to continue and execute the
event, or ignore it. If you choose to ignore the event, you may
access the System Event Menu later and execute it manually.
Creating a Submenu
All the MSI menu settings have default values (see FIGURE III-7).
These allow you to quickly define menu items and submenus. To
see how the default values are used, define a new submenu item.
Move the Cursor Bar to a blank menu line and press F2. The
familiar blinking underscore cursor will appear on the first
editable space on the line. Enter the following:
New Submenu_
and press ALT-Q. This defines an item descriptor string for the
new submenu item and its quick select key (N).
To make this a submenu item, press the 'S' key (the highlight bar
should still be on top of the 'New Submenu' line) and press the
arrow right key until "Menu" appears in the "Selects:" window.
Press ENTER. Now press F5 to 'Define' the new item.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 34
╔══╔═══════════════════╗═╔═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ Name Prompt Help ║█║ Password: None Selects: Menu Type: |
║ █║ Name Loc Top ║█╚═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ Name Jus Center ║███████████████████████████████████████████|
║ █║ ║ |
║ █║ Use Prompt: No ║ ╔═══════════════════════════════════════╗|
║ █║ Boot Drive: C ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Shadow: Cursor: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Yes Yes ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Stepped Border: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ No Double ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Border Colors ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ LtGray Black ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Item Colors ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ LtGray Black ║ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝|
║ █╚═══════════════════╝ ████████████████████████████████████████ |
║ ████████████████████ |
║ ALT-Q to Quit F1 Help ESC Home End Ins Del to Ed|
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════|
FIGURE III-7 The new submenu is drawn using default settings.
╔══╔═══════════════════╗═╔═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ Name Prompt Help ║█║ Password: None Selects: Menu Type: |
║ █║ Name Loc Top ║█╚═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ Name Jus Center ║███████████████████████████████████████████|
║ █║ ║ |
║ █║ Use Prompt: No ║ ╔════════════════════════ Sample Menus ═╗|
║ █║ Boot Drive: C ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ 1. 'Stepped' Menus Demonstration ║|
║ █║ Shadow: Cursor: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Yes Yes ║ █║ 2. Daily 'To-Do' List ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Stepped Border: ║ █║ 3. Non-Stepped Menus ║|
║ █║ No Double ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ 4. Password Menu (PW = Pass) ║|
║ █║ Border Colors ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║ 5. Print Document Files...! ║|
║ █║ LtGray Blue ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ These are 'Text Only' items, useful ║|
║ █║ Item Colors ║ █║ for extra help on your menus or for ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║ daily reminders, i.e. deadlines... ║|
║ █║ LtGray Black ║ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝|
║ █╚═══════════════════╝ ████████████████████████████████████████ |
║ ████████████████████ |
║ ALT-Q Quit F1 Help F2 Edit F3 Move F5 Define F6 PW F8 Del |
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════|
FIGURE III-8 Selectable items (numbered items shown here) are
automatically aligned on the right by the Item Descriptor Editor.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 35
You should now be seeing the window shown in FIGURE III-6. The
'..Continue?' window appears any time a new operation is defined
for a menu selection. MSI will require some additional computer
memory for each item defined (see the Technical Note at the end
of this section). This window lets you back out if the Define
key was pressed by mistake, or if the "Selects:" setting for the
item is not correct. If the window says "Define MENU..." then
press the 'Y' key. Otherwise, press 'N' and make sure that
"Selects:" is set to "Menu".
When defined, the new submenu will appear directly atop the
previous menu since the default menu is non-stepped (FIGURE III-
7). The submenu window is now ready for defining and adding
items.
You can view the selection in normal operation by pressing ALT-Q
to Quit the Menu Editor. Note that the new selection is now
fully operational, although the submenu it displays will be blank
until you provide a menu name and start adding menu items.
The Menu Settings
This section contains detailed discussions of all the settings
available in the two Menu Settings windows. The command key for
each setting will be found immediately to the right of the
setting title. The settings are given in the order that they
appear in each window, beginning with the General Menu Settings
on the left side of the screen. Refer to FIGURE III-8 to find
the location of the various settings. Many of these settings,
those that are not marked TOGGLE, have context sensitive help
available when the setting is selected.
NOTE: MSI will recognize either upper OR lower case keys.
The General Menu Settings
Name: - N -
Lets you define a name for the current menu. Press N to open the
Menu Name editing window. The window will allow you to edit the
current Menu Name, if any, or add a name if one does not exist.
Watch the CAL display for the editing commands available.
Prompt: - P -
Lets you define an optional Prompt Line to be displayed at the
bottom of the current menu. Press P to move the cursor to the
Prompt Line and enter a string. The prompt has no functional job
other than to indicate to the user that MSI is waiting for input.
Defining and using a prompt line (see Use Prompt below) reduces
the number of Menu Items to 12 since MSI leaves a blank line
above the prompt to make it more visible to the user.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 36
Help: - H -
Lets you define a Help Window for the current menu. This is the
Help Window displayed when the F1 key is pressed during normal
operation. Watch the CAL display for the editing commands
available. Also see the section titled 'Editor Commands' for
details on each of the editing commands.
Name Loc: - L - (TOGGLE)
When set to 'Top' the Menu Name will display on the top border
line of the current menu. When set to 'Bottom' the Menu Name
will display on the bottom border line of the current menu.
Pressing the L key toggles between the two settings.
Name Jus: - J - (TOGGLE)
The Menu Name will be displayed Centered or on the Left or Right
side of the menu window based on this setting. Pressing the J
key toggles between the three settings.
Use Prompt: - U - (TOGGLE)
When set to 'Yes' and a prompt string has been defined, MSI will
display the string on the bottom line of the menu, followed by
the familiar blinking underscore cursor. When set to 'No' the
prompt string will not be displayed, even if it has been defined.
Both the Cursor Bar and Prompt Line may be used on the same menu.
Pressing the U key toggles between the two settings.
Boot Drive: - V -
Tells MSI where AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS are (most likely)
located on your system. This is necessary if you are using the
REBOOT Menu Item defined earlier. Except in unusual cases, this
will normally be set to 'C'.
Shadow: - D - (TOGGLE)
Press the D key to toggle the underlying shadow on or off for the
current menu. Shadows lend depth to your display and add even
greater depth when Stepped submenus are displayed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 37
Cursor: - C - (TOGGLE)
Enables and disables the 'Cursor Bar'. The Cursor Bar allows you
to use the Arrow Up and Arrow Down keys to highlight selectable
menu items. The highlighted item is then selected by pressing
ENTER. When the Cursor Bar is disabled, Menu Items may only be
selected by pressing the first one or two characters of the item
descriptor.
Stepped: - E - (TOGGLE)
This is a special feature that allows you to layer subsequent
submenus slightly offset from each other. Stepped menus give the
viewer 'depth perspective'; an important visual reference to
location within a set of submenus. Press the E key to Step or
un-Step the current menu.
Border: - R -
Several border options are available to help you individualize
each of your submenus. Press R and use the right and left arrow
keys to change the setting (press F1 to see a sample of each
border type). When you have located the border you would like to
use, press ENTER.
Back: - B - Border Colors
This allows you to set the background color for the current
menu's Border. Press B and use the right and left arrow keys to
change to the desired color and press ENTER.
Fore: - F - Border Colors
This allows you to set the foreground color for the current
menu's Border. Press F and use the right and left arrow keys to
change to the desired color and press ENTER.
Back: - A - Item Colors
This allows you to set the background color for the current
menu's item area. Press A and use the right and left arrow keys
to change to the desired color and press ENTER.
Fore: - O - Item Colors
This allows you to set the foreground color for the current
menu's item area. Press O and use the right and left arrow keys
to change to the desired color and press ENTER.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 38
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.
Password: - W -
Each menu item may have a password defined that must be entered
before the item may be selected. Passwords may be up to seven
characters long. As additional protection, the password window
will display '*******' if a password has been defined. If no
password is defined for the current item, 'None' will appear in
the window.
NOTE: BUSINESS MENUS ONLY. If a 'Manager' Password has been
defined, it must be entered before the Item Password may edited.
Selects: - S -
The Selects setting define the kind of operation that the current
menu item will perform when selected. There are eight different
operations, each described here. A detailed description of how
each of these settings operate begins on page 27. When the
cursor is in the 'Selects' window, press the F1 key to display a
synopsis of the settings.
N/A - This appears in the 'Selects' window when 'Type' is set to
'Text Only'. MSI ignores the 'Selects' setting in this instance.
Menu - The current item will display a submenu.
Rsidnt - Default Setting. This is normally the setting used to
run your Action Commands. MSI REMAINS in memory for 'Rsidnt'
items. When the Action Commands are completed or you return from
another program, you will be returned to the same menu. 'Rsidnt'
items allow faster program switching and better overall control.
Action - Use this setting when running programs requiring large
amounts of memory. MSI will NOT remain in memory when 'Action'
items are selected. As a result, the Item's Action Commands are
copied to ACT.BAT and DOS called to execute them (after MSI
terminates). When the Action Commands are completed or you
return from another program, you will be returned to your Main
Menu. For this reason it is a good idea to try an place your
'Action' items on the Main Menu if possible.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 39
IMPORTANT: If MSI has NOT been installed correctly, you may see
a repeating
Invalid command or file name
message displayed when trying to return to your menus. In this
case, press CTRL+C to escape the message loop, restrart MSI and
use the re-install command (CTRL+F6) in the Menu Editor.
Dual - Dual lets you define a submenu and two sets of Action
commands for the current item. The first set of Action Commands,
if any are defined, is executed prior to the display of the
submenu. The second set of Action Commands, if any are defined,
will be executed when the user leaves the submenu by pressing the
ESC key. MSI will REMAIN in memory during the execution of both
sets of Action commands.
ReBoot - This special setting allows you to easily reconfigure
your system and manage multiple AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS
files. When this type of item is selected, MSI will copy one set
of Action Commands to AUTOEXEC.BAT and a second to CONFIG.SYS,
then 'soft-boot' your computer to make the changes effective. If
no Action Commands are defined, the matching file will remain
unchanged. See "How REBOOT items are executed.".
Keybrd - Lets you define a Keyboard Command to be issued when the
item is selected. This setting is implemented so that you may
add certain MSI commands to your menus. This is particularly
useful for the Single DOS Command (F4) and the Shell To DOS
command (CTRL+F4).
ErrLev - Lets you define an ERRORLEVEL code to be returned to
RUNMSI.BAT when the item is selected. See "How ERRLEV items are
executed." for details.
Event - AVAILABLE ONLY WHEN THE SYSTEM EVENT MENU IS DISPLAYED.
This special setting is restricted to use with the Event Menu.
Type: - T - (TOGGLE)
Normal Sets the item to 'Normal' operation. Basically this
means that the 'Selects' setting is not ignored.
Text Only - Text Only items may NOT be selected. Use 'Text Only'
items to place helpful tips or bits of information directly on
your menus. For example, they may be used to extend an item
descriptor or to provide on-menu help for one or more items on
the menu. They may even be used to provide deadline information
for reports or other projects that can't be ignored. A number of
the sample menu illustrations in this manual show uses for 'Text
Only' menu items.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 40
Menu Editor Function Keys & Commands
The Menu Editor has a number of commands that effect not only how
menu items operate but also the appearance of your menus. At the
bottom of the screen you will find the Command Assistance Line
(CAL). The CAL will be updated as you use the various Menus
Editor features to show which Function Keys are active and other
commands that may be in effect as you work.
Help: - F1 -
There are a number of MSI help screens offering assistance
throughout the Menu Editor. Not only are these useful reminders
but they can be great learning tools as well. The MSI Help
Windows are context sensitive, which means you have instant
access to useful information as you work with the various Editor
features.
Edit: - F2 -
Users of earlier versions of the program will find that editing
item descriptors has been vastly improved. Rather than editing
items line-by-line, you may now edit the entire window just as
you would a Help Screen or set of Action Commands.
F2 accesses the Item Descriptor Editor. Use the arrow keys to
move the cursor from line to line and make any changes or
additions you require. When the items read the way you would
like them to, press ALT+Q to Quit the Descriptor Editor and
return to the Menu Editor.
MSI automatically sets the quick-command key(s) for each item as
you add or change them. MSI uses the first NON-SPACE character
on the line as a single key command to select the item in normal
operating mode.
IF ONE OR MORE ITEMS HAVE MATCHING FIRST CHARACTERS, MSI will
automatically add the second character as a multi-key command for
those items. In normal operating mode, when the first character
is typed, MSI will move the highlight bar to the first item on
the menu with the match character and display a window
instructing the user to type in the second character. If the
first character was typed by mistake, press the ESC key to cancel
the window. The two-character command key is a version 2.0
enhancement.
The Editor also has an automatic descriptor 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 III-8.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 41
╔══╔═══════════════════╗═╔═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ Name Prompt Help ║█║ Password: None Selects: Menu Type: |
║ █║ Name Loc Top ║█╚═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ Name Jus Center ║███████████████████████████████████████████|
║ █║ ║ |
║ █║ Use Prompt: No ║ ╔═══════════════════════════════════════╗|
║ █║ Boot Drive: C ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Shadow: Cursor: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Yes Yes ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Stepped Border: ║ █║ This item to be moved... ║|
║ █║ No Double ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Border Colors ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ LtGray Black ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Item Colors ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ LtGray Black ║ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝|
║ █╚═══════════════════╝ ████████████████████████████████████████ |
║ ████████████████████ |
║ Press F3 again to Quit moving... |
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════|
FIGURE III-9 Highlight an item and press F3 to move it to a
different line on the menu.
Move: - F3 -
It's frequently nice to be able to move menu items around on the
menu. A good layout not only enhances the appearance of the menu
but contributes significantly to its usability. Items are easier
to locate on a well designed menu which makes program switching
that much less of a chore.
To move an item, highlight it first with the highlight bar and
press F3. Use the arrow up or arrow down keys to re-position the
item on the menu. When the item is located on the line desired,
press F3 again to place the item.
DOS Command: - F4 -
Long-time MSI users will remember this as the old 'Define' key.
However, in order to maintain an ergonomic command-key structure
with the new enhancements that have been added to version 2.0, it
seemed advisable to use F4 to issue a single DOS command. This
is a complementary function of CTRL+F4, the DOS Shell command.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 42
╔══╔═══════════════════╗═╔═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ Name Prompt Help ║█║ Password: None Selects: Action Type: |
║ █║ Name Loc Top ║█╚═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ Name Jus Center ║███████████████████████████████████████████|
║ █║ ║ |
║ █║ Use Prompt: No ║ ╔══ MY MENUS ═══════════════════════════╗|
║ █║ Boot Drive: C ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ 1. Spreadsheet ║|
║ █║ Shadow: Cursor: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Yes Yes ║ █║ ╔═══════════════════════════╗ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ █║ Define ACTION. Continue? ║ ║|
║ █║ Stepped Border: ║ █║ █║ ║ ║|
║ █║ No Double ║ █║ █║ No Yes ║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ █╚═══════════════════════════╝ ║|
║ █║ Border Colors ║ █║ ████████████████████████████ ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ LtGray Black ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Item Colors ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ LtGray Black ║ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝|
║ █╚═══════════════════╝ ████████████████████████████████████████ |
║ ████████████████████ |
║ ALT-Q Quit F1 Help F2 Edit F3 Move F5 Define F6 PW F8 Del |
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════|
FIGURE III-10 Once an item has been described, highlight it and
press F5 to Define its operation.
A window will appear into which the DOS command is typed. Press
ENTER to issue the command or ESC to cancel the command. If the
command is issued, a DOS window will be opened and the command
sent to DOS. MSI will append a DOS 'Pause' command to the typed
command so that you will be able to see any messages that occur
as a result of the command. Any valid DOS command may be used.
See your DOS manual.
DOS Shell: - CTRL+F4 -
This command allows you to temporarily leave the MSI Menu System
to use DOS. When you are ready to return, type EXIT (ENTER) and
you will return to the Menu Editor.
If you need to move some files around or otherwise issue more
than a single DOS command, the DOS Shell is generally preferred
over issuing the commands one at a time through F4.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 43
Define: - F5 -
As explained previously, the Define command key has been changed
to F5 with the release of version 2.0.
The F5 key allows you to Define the specific 'Actions' that the
item is to take when selected, a function that is determined by
the item's 'Selects:' setting. If the setting is Action, Dual,
Rsidnt, ErrLev or ReBoot, one or more Action Windows will appear
to let you add or edit the item's Action Commands. If the item
selects a submenu, the submenu will be displayed.
If the item is being defined for the first time, a warning window
will appear, giving you the opportunity to verify the item's
'Selects:' setting. The window will inform you of the operation
about to be defined, just in case you might need to change the
'Selects:' setting first.
If an item has already been defined, the Action Window or submenu
associated with the item will appear, ready for editing.
Unlock Command: - CTRL+F5 -
To help protect the integrity of your menus, this command allows
you to change the command used to unlock the Menu Editor.
Obviously, the original command, CTRL+F10, had to be documented
and standardized. Of course, this means that anyone familiar
with the MSI Menu System would be able to unlock your menus.
If you do change your Unlock Command, be sure to MAKE A NOTE OF
THE NEW COMMAND. It is possible to lock yourself out of the Menu
Editor if you change the command then forget the new command.
IMPORTANT SECURITY NOTE:
To provide absolute security, the operating system used by your
computer must itself be a secure environment. DOS is not. For
this reason, anyone who has access to DOS is a potential security
risk to all data and programs on your system. The MSI Menu
System provides a number of safeguards that prevent unwanted
access to MSI features and to DOS, from all but exceptionally
experienced programmers. However, until DOS itself becomes a
secure environment, no safeguards can ever be absolute.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 44
╔══╔═══════════════════╗═╔═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ Name Prompt Help ║█║ Password: None Selects: Action Type: |
║ █║ Name Loc Top ║█╚═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ Name Jus Center ║███████████████████████████████████████████|
║ █║ ║ |
║ █║ Use Prompt: No ║ ╔══ MY MENUS ═══════════════════════════╗|
║ █║ Boot Drive: C ║ █║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║ ╔═══════════════════╗eet ║|
║ █║ Shadow: Cursor: ║ █║ ║ Passwords: ║ ║|
║ █║ Yes Yes ║ █║ ║ Manager: ║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║█║ None ║ ║|
║ █║ Stepped Border: ║ █║█║ ║ ║|
║ █║ No Double ║ █║█║ Editor: ║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║█║ None ║ ║|
║ █║ Border Colors ║ █║█║ ║ ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║█║ DOS: ║ ║|
║ █║ LtGray Black ║ █║█║ None ║ ║|
║ █║ ║ █║█║ ║ ║|
║ █║ Item Colors ║ █║█╚═══════════════════╝ ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █║████████████████████ ║|
║ █║ LtGray Black ║ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝|
║ █╚═══════════════════╝ ████████████████████████████████████████ |
║ ████████████████████ |
║ |
║ F1 Help ESC Quit Press Red Key to Select |
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════|
FIGURE III-11 F6 gives you access to the Password Window. If
defined, these passwords protect access to a number of different
MSI features.
Passwords: - F6 - BUSINESS MENU SYSTEM ONLY
Version 2.0 contains a number of security enhancements. Specific
password protection within the MSI Menu System is one. This
command opens a window to define passwords for access to the Menu
Editor and to the DOS command functions. And, there is a
separate password to protect access to this function.
The window lets you define three passwords; Manager, Editor and
DOS.
Manager: If a password is defined here, MSI will request it
before allowing a user to access the Password Window (F6), the
Menu Item Passwords, the Menu Editor Unlock Key Definition Window
(CTRL+F5 - lets you re-define the unlock command) and to the Re-
Installation Feature (CTRL+F6).
Editor: If a password is defined here, MSI will request it
before a user will be given access to the Menu Editor (F5), the
Fast-Add feature (F6) and to Unlock the Menu Editor (CTRL+F10 or
User Defined).
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 45
DOS: If a password is defined here, MSI will request it before
a user may access the Single DOS Command (F4), the DOS Shell
(CTRL+F4) or Quit the program and return to DOS (F9).
Re-Install: - CTRL+F6 -
If you move your MSI program or data files to a new directory or
drive, you can use this Menus Editor command to re-set the Home
Directory and your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
Delete Item: - F8 -
Any menu item that does not select a submenu, i.e. Menu and Dual,
may be deleted. To Delete an item, highlight it with the Cursor
Bar and press F8. You will be asked to verify the command.
If the item selects a submenu, a window will appear instructing
you to first delete any submenu(s). To do this, select the item
to display the submenu and press F9, the Delete Menu Command.
Note that if the submenu itself has submenu items on it, they
must be deleted first.
Delete Menu: - F9 -
This command lets you delete the current menu. If the menu may
be deleted, it will also remove the menu item from the previous
menu that calls this one.
NOTE: Only the last menu in a chain of submenus may be deleted.
In other words, the current menu may only be deleted if there are
no submenus attached to it. If you need to remove a string of
submenus, go to the last menu in the string, delete it and work
your way back.
System Menu: - F10 -
There are actually two different System Menus, one for the normal
operating mode and a second for the Menu Editor. Each offers the
MSI commands, like those detailed here, as menu selectable items.
Delete All Menus: - CTRL+F10 -
USE WITH CAUTION! This command will delete all your current
menus and leave you with a single, blank, MAIN MENU. This
command has been specifically designed to remove the Sample Menus
after they have been explored and experimented with. You will be
asked to verify this command.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 46
System Events: - ALT+E -
This commands displays the System Events Menu. You may define up
to 14 individual events which MSI will execute at pre-determined
times. The System Events Menu is discussed in Section IV.
Save: - ALT+S -
The Save command may be used at any time in the Menu Editor to
save the current menu definitions to the menu definition file,
MSIMENU.DAT, pointed to by the DOS environment variable, MSIPATH.
If MSIPATH is NOT defined the data will be saved in the current
working directory.
Quit: - ALT+Q -
Press ALT+Q to leave an editing window, i.e Help or Action
Command window, or the Menu Editor. If you leave the Menu Editor
with unsaved changes, MSI will automatically save them for you.
Display Name: - ALT+U -
This command lets you add or edit the name displayed on the MSI
backdrop screen.
Additional Commands:
Certain MSI features, such as the Action Command Window and the
Text Editor, have additional commands worth detailing.
Toggle Menu: - M - BUSINESS MENU SYSTEM ONLY
ONLY ACTIVE when editing a large, 28-Item menu. To allow more of
the current menu to be seen, the large window of menu settings
has been cut in half, with only one-half of the settings
displayed at any time. To see the other half, press M.
Toggle Menu Size: - Z - BUSINESS MENU SYSTEM ONLY
Lets you set the current menu to a single column, 14-item menu or
a double column, 28-item menu. See "Using the 28-Item Menu" in
Section IV.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 47
Action Command Window:
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 current Action Window to a DOS file.
A very useful function of the Import and Export commands is to
create a template set of commands that will be used by several
menu items with only minor changes. For instance:
@ECHO OFF
C:
CD \
CALL
This is a nice template that a number of menu items may use to
start programs using your existing batch files.
To create this template, enter the commands in a new menu item
window, exactly as they are shown above. Press F3 to Export
using a filename of CALL.TMP (MSI will create the file if it
doesn't already exist). Now complete the commands by entering
the name of the directory on the third line, for example
CD \GAMES
then entering the name of the batch file, or program file if you
remove CALL, on the fourth line:
CALL BLASTER
To use the template for a new menu item, Define (F5) the item
then press F2 to Import the template (filename = CALL.TMP).
Complete the template exactly as shown above, using your
directory and program names.
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 48
Use the Up, Down, Left and Right arrow keys to position the
cursor for editing.
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.
END and 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.
INSERT Key
INSERT spaces into the line beginning 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.
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 49
╔══╔═══════════════════╗═╔═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ Name Prompt Help ║█║ Password: None Selects: Menu Type: |
║ █║ Name Loc Top ║█╚═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ Name Jus Center ║███████████████████████████████████████████|
║ █║ ║ |
║ █║ Use Prompt: 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 an Order Form. │ ║|
║ █║ █│ │ ║|
║ █║ Option Colo█└────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║|
║ █║ Back: Fore█████████████████████████████████████████ ║|
║ █║ LtGray Black ║ █╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝|
║ █╚═══════════════════╝ ████████████████████████████████████████ |
║ ████████████████████ |
║ ALT-Q to Quit F1 Help ESC Home End Ins Del to|
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════|
FIGURE III-12 ALT+D has been used to delete the second line of
the sample Help screen.
BACKSPACE Key
BACKSPACE 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 BACKSPACE
^
After pressing BACK SPACE:
Exmple of BACKSPACE
^
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.
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. This is a clear unwanted
passwords or names.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 50
ALT+D - Delete Line
Press ALT+D 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 III-12.
ALT+I - Insert Line
Press ALT+I 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.
╔══╔═══════════════════╗═╔═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ Name Prompt Help ║█║ Password: None Selects: Menu Type: |
║ █║ Name Loc Top ║█╚═════════════════════════════════════════|
║ █║ Name Jus Center ║███████████████████████████████████████████|
║ █║╔═ Event Scheduler ═╗ |
║ ██║ ║ █▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ System Menu ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█|
║ ██║ Define Event # ║ █ █▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ System Events Menu ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀|
║ ██║ Status: ║ █ █ |
║ ██║ ║ █ █ |
║ ██║ Hour: Min: ║ █ █ |
║ ██║ AM PM ║ █ █ |
║ ██║ ║ █ █ |
║ ██║ Daily ║ █ █ |
║ ██║ Weekly ║ █ █ |
║ ██║ Monthly ║ █ █ |
║ ██║ ║ █ █ |
║ ██║ Continue ║ █ █ |
║ ██╚══════════════════╦╝ █ █ |
║ █████████████████████║ █ █ |
║ █║ Back: Fore: ║ █ █ |
║ █║ LtGray Black ║ █ █ |
║ █╚═══════════════════╝ ███ |
║ ████████████████████ ███████████████████████████████████████|
║ Press Red Key to Select Scheduler Function |
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════|
FIGURE IV-1 The System Events Menu and Event Scheduler.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 51
Section IV - Advanced Use Features
System Events
The MSI Menu System lets you define up to 14 separate 'Events'
which it will execute at pre-determined times as daily, weekly or
even monthly operations. These events are nothing more than a
set of Action Commands which MSI will execute for you. The MSI
program is not in memory when the Action Commands are executed.
NOTE: MSI assumes that user activity has precedence over System
Events. If you are using MSI at the time that an event is
scheduled, MSI will display a window, when you return to normal
operating mode, informing you of the event. If you are in
another program, MSI will inform you of the event when you return
to the menus. In either case, MSI can then be instructed to
continue and execute the event or ignore it. If you choose to
ignore the event, you may return to the System Events Menu later
and execute the event manually.
To define an Event, enter the Menu Editor (F5) and press ALT+E.
The Events Menu is actually a submenu of the System Menu
available in normal operating mode. You should now be seeing the
System Events Menu with the System Menu behind it.
On the left side of the screen, a new window will have opened.
This is the Event Scheduler. The Scheduler is used to activate
or de-activate the current (highlighted) event, and to set the
time and the frequency that it will execute.
Events are defined on the menu just as ACTION or RSIDNT items are
defined. First, an item descriptor is entered then the item is
Defined (F5) to open the Action Window.
Using the Event Scheduler
The Event Scheduler is always displayed when you first enter the
Event Menu. However, to edit item descriptors for the Events,
you must leave the Scheduler to access the regular Menu Editor
features. After editing the items, press either the right or
left arrow key to regain access to the Event Scheduler.
Each Event on the Event Menu may be independently controlled.
The first option on the Event Scheduler, 'Define Event #',
indicates which Event is being scheduled. To change Events, use
the up or down arrow key to move the cursor bar to the proper
Event on the menu. The Event Number will be shown in the 'Define
Event #' window.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 52
"Status:" indicates whether the current Event is active or
inactive. If active, the Status window will display 'On'. If
inactive, the window will display 'Off'. To change the Status,
either press 'S' or click on the Status line with the mouse.
Inactive Events may only be executed manually.
The time at which the event should execute is entered as an Hour
and Minute. Check either AM or PM to indicate if the time is in
the morning or afternoon, respectively.
To complete the scheduling, select a frequency at which the Event
is to be executed. If the event is to be executed daily, press
the 'L' key or click on the Daily line with the mouse.
If the Event should only run once-a-week, press the 'W' key and
use the right or left arrow keys to select the day of the week.
If the Event should only run once-a-month, press the 'O' key and
enter the Day of the month (0 - 31) that the Event should
execute.
Defining the Event
Events may be Defined by highlighting them with the cursor bar
and pressing F5, just as any other menu item is Defined, or by
selecting the 'Define Event' option from the Event Scheduler
window (press 'D'). Either method will open an Action Window for
the Event where you may add or edit the Event's Action Commands.
Executing Events Manually
Events may be executed at anytime. This is particularly useful
if you have defined one or more Events for backing-up all or part
of your harddrive.
In normal operating mode, access the Event Menu either via the
System Menu (F10) or by pressing ALT+E and select the appropriate
Event just as you would any other menu item.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 53
Using the ERRLEV Menu Item
The ErrLev menu item was specifically created as a result of
earlier problems reported when Microsoft Windows was started from
the MSI Menu System. The problems actually occurred after
returning from Windows. Some MSI users were finding that their
mouse would no longer work in other applications. It was
determined then that the problem could be solved by re-loading
the mouse driver after quitting Windows. At the time, we found
that this could only be done safely within RUNMSI.BAT.
The ErrLev item is a formalized enhancement of that earlier
solution. The ErrLev item lets you define an ERRORLEVEL value, 1
- 8, that MSI will return to the RUNMSI.BAT file. Inside the
batch file is code that identifies the ERRORLEVEL value and
directs DOS to the appropriate set of instructions to execute.
The principal purpose of the ErrLev item is to allowing loading,
configuring and unloading of drivers and other Terminate and Stay
Resident (TSR) programs. In this fashion the TSRs are located
underneath MSI in memory, preventing MSI from being 'trapped' in
memory when an ACTION item is selected. This is important since
the ErrLev item assumes large programs may be running and
therefore terminates MSI to free up the memory it uses. A driver
loaded from an Action Command would load 'above' MSI in memory.
In this case, when MSI terminates, DOS is unable to return the
memory it uses to the system since the driver prevents the memory
from being contiguous with the other free memory in your
computer. By allowing drivers and TSRs to be managed underneath
MSI, the ErrLev item avoids this problem.
When the ErrLev item is defined, you will first be asked to
provide the ErrLev code that is to be returned (1 - 9), then the
Action Window is opened.
For example, the following set of instructions, which are already
included in RUNMSI.BAT, will allow Windows to run with its own
mouse driver. The mouse driver used for other applications and
MSI is first unloaded, Windows is run, then the original driver
is re-loaded. Note that the Windows start-up commands must be
placed in the item's Action Window and the item set to return an
ERRLEV code of 1.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 54
-------------------------------------------------------------
│ IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO Level1 |
│ |
│ GOTO Exit |
│ |
│ REM For MSI Action Commands ONLY |
│ :MSIAction |
│ CALL ACT |
│ GOTO MenusOnly |
│ |
│ |
│ REM Change this section to unload your mouse and setup you|
│ |
│ :Level1 |
│ MOUSE U |
│ |
│ REM Your Action Window MUST contain the Windows start-up i|
│ |
│ CALL ACT |
│ GOTO Reload |
-------------------------------------------------------------
FIGURE IV-2 This section of RUNMSI.BAT has been specifically
designed to help those who have mouse problems after returning
from Windows. An ErrLev item is created to return a code of 1.
The "IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO Level1" instructions identify the code
and send DOS to the instructions immediately below the ":Level1"
label. Note that in RUNMSI.BAT the "MOUSE U" command, unload the
mouse driver, is prefixed with "REM ". The REM command must be
removed as shown here before this section of code will work.
Also, you should substitute your mouse driver command for EVERY
occurrence of mouse in RUNMSI.BAT.
Using the 28-Item Menu BUSINESS MENU SYSTEM ONLY
A special feature of the Business Menu System is the larger, 28-
item menu window. FIGURE IV-3 illustrates the larger menu.
Any menu you create may be instantly converted to a 28-item menu
by entering the Menu Editor (F5) and pressing the Z key. The
menu may be changed back to a regular 14-item menu by pressing
the Z key again.
NOTE: A warning window will appear when converting a 28-item
menu back to a 14-item menu. ONLY the first 14 items defined on
the larger menu will appear on the smaller menu. Any items in
the second column will not appear and therefore will not be
usable. However, they ARE NOT LOST. They will appear once more
when the menu is converted back to a 28-item menu.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 55
There are only a couple of significant differences between the
two menu sizes, other than the number of menu items available.
To allow more of the menu to display, the large window of Menu
Settings is reduced to half the regular width. This only allows
roughly half of the menu's settings to appear at any time. To
see the other settings, press the M key. This allows you to
toggle between the two setting's windows.
Also, the left and right arrow keys are now active, allowing you
to move the cursor bar between the two columns of menu items.
You'll notice that the Menu Settings window will always stay
opposite of the cursor bar, 'jumping' from side to side as you
change columns.
NOTE: When editing item descriptors (F2) the left and right
arrow keys are needed to move the text editing cursor. To change
column, press CTRL+Left Arrow and CTRL+Right Arrow instead.
Another difference is that there is less room available for item
descriptors; 34 characters instead of the 45 available on the 14-
item menu. If you convert the smaller menu, any descriptors
longer than 34 characters will be truncated to fit the smaller
area. This does not mean that the extra characters are lost,
they just don't display on the larger menu. If you convert back
to the smaller menu you will find that they appear once more.
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Micris Softworks ║
║ ║
║ 9:46 April 21, 1992 ║
║ ║
║ ╔═════════════════════════════════════════ MSI Sample Menus ═╗ ║
║ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ 1. Lots of Stepped Menus ║ ║
║ █║ A 'Text Only' Option... ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ 2. Non-Stepped Menus ║ ║
║ █║ ...could be additional help. ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ 'Text Only' cannot be selected. ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ 3. Password Menu (PW = Pass) ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║
║ █║ 4. Print Document Files...! ║ ║
║ █║ ║ ║
║ █╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ ║
║ ██████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ ║
║ ║
║ MSI Menu System 2.00 Copyright (C) 1991, 1992 Larry B. Rice ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
FIGURE IV-3 BUSINESS MENU SYSTEM ONLY. The larger 28-item menu
lets you define two columns of menu items.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 56
Design Tip for Large Menus
A good design tip for any menu size is that 'white' space, i.e.
fewer menu items on the menu, makes the menu easier to read,
hence easier and faster to use. This is especially true with the
larger menu. When working with a large number of menu items,
it's a good idea to have groups of 3 or 4 items separated by
blank lines.
Before Starting check that PATH and MSIPATH are set.
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ (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 start-up. │
│ │
│ RUNMSI │
│ │
--------------------------------------------------------------------
FIGURE V-1 - Checking PATH and MSIPATH
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 57
Section V - Step-by-Step Menu & Menu Item Creation
Before You Start...
Before you start making your own menus, make sure you have:
1. Followed the directions in "Installing The MSI Menu System".
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
NOTE: Steps 2 & 3 are done in the Installation Utility, IF it is
allowed to edit your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
4. Start MSI using;
RUNMSI (ENTER)
5. Unlocked the Menu Editor (CTRL-F10).
The Basic Steps...
There are only four basic steps to creating a menu item.
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 (F5)
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 58
NOTES
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MSI User's Manual Page 59
══>> Creating a Submenu Item
1. Press F5 to enter the Menu Editor.
2. Use the up and down arrow keys to move the highlight bar to
the menu item line for the submenu item.
3. Press F2 and enter the item descriptor. Press ALT+Q when
done editing.
4. Make sure that 'Selects:' is set to 'Menu', and that 'Type:'
is set to 'Normal'.
5. Press F5. 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 up to this point.
7. You may either start defining new items or press ALT+Q to
Quit the Menu Editor and test your new submenu.
══>> Creating a Rsidnt or Action Item
1. Press F5 to enter the Menu Editor.
2. Use the up and down arrow keys to move the highlight bar to
the menu item line for the Rsidnt or Action item.
3. Press F2 and enter the item descriptor. Press ALT+Q when
done editing.
4. Make sure that 'Selects:' is set to 'Rsidnt' if MSI can
REMAIN RESIDENT when the item is selected or set to 'Action' if
MSI CANNOT remain Resident. Make sure 'Type:' is set to
'Normal'.
5. Press F5. The window should indicate that either a RSIDNT or
an ACTION item is about to be defined. If it is correct, press Y
to continue. If not, press N and go back to step #4.
6. The Action Command window will open. Action Commands are the
same commands used to create batch files. If you prefer,
existing batch files may be called from your Action Commands,
i.e. CALL BATCH.
7. Press ALT+Q to Quit the Action Command window.
8. Press ALT+Q again to Quit the Menu Editor. Your new commands
will automatically be saved.
9. Test the new Menu Item.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MSI User's Manual Page 60
NOTES
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MSI User's Manual Page 61
══>> Creating a Dual or ReBoot Item
1. Press F5 to enter the Menu Editor.
2. Use the up and down arrow keys to move the highlight bar to
the menu item line for the Dual or ReBoot item.
3. Press F2 and enter the item descriptor. Press ALT+Q when
done editing.
4. Make sure that 'Selects:' is set to either 'Dual' or 'ReBoot'
and that 'Type:' is set to 'Normal'.
5. Press F5. The window should indicate that a DUAL or REBOOT
item is about to be defined. If it is correct, press Y to
continue. If not, press N and go back to step #4.
6. The first Action Command window will open. If you are
creating a Dual item, this will hold the set of commands executed
before the submenu is displayed. If you are defining a ReBoot
item, this is the set of commands that will be copied to your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Note that if no commands are defined,
AUTOEXEC.BAT will not be changed when the item is selected.
Action Commands are the same commands used to create batch files.
If you prefer, existing batch files may be called from your
Action Commands, i.e. CALL BATCH.
7. Press ALT+Q to Quit the Action Command window. A second
Action Command window will open. If you are defining a Dual
item, this will hold the set of commands that will execute when
the user ESCapes from the submenu. If you are defining a ReBoot
item, this is the set of commands that will be copied to your
CONFIG.SYS file. Note that if no commands are defined,
CONFIG.SYS will not be changed when the item is selected.
8. Press ALT+Q to Quit the second Action Command window. If you
are defining a Dual item, the new submenu will now be displayed,
ready for editing. Press ALT+S to save your work up to this
point.
7. Press ALT+Q to Quit the Menu Editor and test your new Menu
Item.
NOTE: When creating a ReBoot item, it's always a good idea to
create a second item to restore your system to the original
configuration. The fastest way to do this is to use the Action
window's 'Import' command (F2) to read your current AUTOEXEC.BAT
and CONFIG.SYS into the windows.