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4DOS Compatibility Documentation
Version 3.02, 9/7/90
Copyright 1989, 1990, J.P. Software. All Rights Reserved. Published by
J.P. Software, P.O. Box 1470, E. Arlington, MA 02174 USA, (617)
646-3975.
This file provides information on compatibility between 4DOS and a
variety of other software products. It is intended for use whenever you
have a question about using another product with 4DOS, or suspect a
compatibility problem.
Inclusion of a product in this file does NOT mean there are compatibili-
ty problems with it! It only indicates that we have some information
that may be useful to you when you use the product with 4DOS.
Sections added or significantly changed in version 3.02 of 4DOS are
identified with a "3.02" in the left margin. If this mark appears on
the first paragraph of a section, assume the whole section has been
changed. Otherwise the mark applies only to the paragraph it's next to.
This file is formatted at 58 lines per page, and contains form feeds and
page footers. It can be printed properly on most PC printers using the
command:
copy compat.doc prn
Printing it with a program that formats the pages is not likely to work
due to the formatting included in the file.
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 1
Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Causes of Compatibility Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Multi-Way Software Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Running 4DOS along with COMMAND.COM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Executing DOS Commands via Interrupt 2E . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4DOS and Multitasking / Task Switching Programs . . . . . . . . 7
CAUTION: Multitaskers and Disk Swapping . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Swapping to RAM Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Loading 4DOS High with /U or /E:nnnnU . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4DOS and Command Line Editing Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4DOS and TSR (Memory-Resident) Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Information on Specific Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
MS-DOS APPEND Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
MS-DOS DATE and TIME Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
MS-DOS FASTOPEN Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
MS-DOS 4.0+ FORMAT Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
MS-DOS 4.0+ SELECT Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1DIR+ (Bourbaki) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3+Open Network (3COM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
AllCharge Card (All Computers Inc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
ANSI.SYS (various manufacturers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Btrieve (Novell) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
CED and PCED (Cove Software) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
CheckFree (CheckFree Systems) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
DESQView (Quarterdeck) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
DESQView DOS Services (Quarterdeck) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
DoubleDOS (SoftLogic Solutions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
DR-DOS (Digital Research) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Epsilon (Lugaru Software) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Headroom (Helix Software) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
HIMEM.SYS (Microsoft) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Hot Line (General Information Inc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
MOVE-EM (Qualitas) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Netware (Novell) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
OmniMouse Software Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
PC Tools (Central Point Software) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
QEMM and QRAM (Quarterdeck) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
QuickCache II (Glassel and Associates) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Software Carousel (SoftLogic Solutions) . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Telix Communications Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
TSRCOM Utilities (TurboPower Software) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
UltraVision (Personics) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Ventura Publisher (Xerox) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
VP/ix with Sun/OS (Sun Microsystems) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
VTSR (Golden Bow Systems) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Windows 3.0 (Microsoft) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
WordPerfect 5.1 (WordPerfect Corp.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 2
Introduction
------------
We have made every effort to insure that this file is as accurate and up
to date as possible. Our information is based on our own investiga-
tions, technical support calls, conversations with manufacturers of
other products, and reports from our beta testers. Unfortunately, test-
ing for software compatibility is not always reliable. Varying condi-
tions between systems or between software releases can easily invalidate
the results of previous tests. Therefore we cannot guarantee that every
item in this file is accurate for all systems or will remain accurate
over time; you may have to do your own testing to determine what works
well on your system with the software you own.
In some cases we may have found that upgrading another manufacturer's
software to a newer release helps with a particular problem. Unfortu-
nately we cannot guarantee that it will always do so on your system, for
the reasons described above.
If you have a compatibility problem, the first thing you should do is
read through Appendix D of the 4DOS manual ("Troubleshooting and Tips").
Appendix D gives general suggestions for solving compatibility problems,
and should always be used along with this file when attempting to solve
such a problem.
If the information in Appendix D doesn't help, check below for both
general suggestions which pertain to your problem, and information on
the specific product with which you are having trouble. Please note
that some products are listed by category rather than or in addition to
specific listings by product name; check the Table of Contents carefully
to see where any particular product may be covered.
If you cannot resolve a compatibility problem, contact J.P. Software for
technical support.
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 3
General Information
-------------------
This section describes some techniques you can use to either diagnose or
solve compatibility problems. It also includes general information
which may be used in solving problems with a whole group of products
(e.g., multitaskers).
Causes of Compatibility Problems:
In most cases software which does not to run properly under 4DOS
is experiencing one of the following problems:
* 4DOS is not configured properly;
* The other software is not configured properly;
* Some condition in your system (for example, insufficient
memory) is preventing the other software from running at
all, but you are so used to 4DOS that you haven't noticed
that the same problem occurs under COMMAND.COM, i.e. the
problem is not related to 4DOS;
* There is a multi-way interaction between 4DOS, the other
software, and one or more of your TSRs or device drivers;
* The presence of 4DOS in your system has uncovered a bug
or design problem in the other software that did not appear
when running it under COMMAND.COM, but that is not due to
a malfunction or error in 4DOS.
* The other software was written based on specific
characteristics of COMMAND.COM, and cannot run under 4DOS
unless COMMAND.COM is also loaded.
* The other software was written based on specific
characteristics of COMMAND.COM, and cannot run under 4DOS
at all.
Multi-Way Software Interactions:
In many cases programs which appear to fail under 4DOS, yet run
properly under COMMAND.COM, are actually involved in a 3-way
interaction with one of your TSRs or device drivers. If you are
having trouble with a program, try removing then replacing your
TSRs and device drivers as described in Appendix D, and see if
you can determine whether there is such an interaction occurring.
Running 4DOS along with COMMAND.COM:
You may find a rare program which will not work under 4DOS, but
runs properly under COMMAND.COM. If you have determined that the
problem cannot be solved through configuration changes or by
eliminating or reconfiguring a third program which is causing the
problem, use this section to see how to run 4DOS and COMMAND.COM
together in order to diagnose such a problem.
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 4
There are two methods of loading COMMAND.COM before another pro-
gram. The first is to load it only when a specific program is
running. This can be accomplished with the following command
(assuming COMMAND.COM is in the root directory of drive C:):
c:\command /c progname options
where "progname" is the program name (with path if necessary) and
"options" are any parameters for the program. This command will
run COMMAND.COM, load and run the program, and upon exit from the
program will exit from COMMAND.COM and return to 4DOS. If this
is necessary to run a specific program, it can be defined as an
alias:
alias progname `c:\command /c progname %&`
The "%&" passes all command line arguments on to the program.
With this method, if the program is large COMMAND.COM may need to
reload itself when the program exits. It will not be able to do
so unless the COMSPEC is set properly. If you experience prob-
lems such as "Invalid COMMAND.COM" errors when using this method,
use a batch file like the following to run the program in ques-
tion (the SETLOCAL and ENDLOCAL cause COMSPEC to be restored to
its previous value after the program exits). You will need to
modify this file if your copy of COMMAND.COM is not stored in the
C:\ directory:
setlocal
set comspec=C:\COMMAND.COM
c:\command /c progname %&
endlocal
The second method is more drastic: you can start your system
under COMMAND.COM, then run 4DOS. This approach is rarely neces-
sary, and will use about 4 - 5K of additional RAM for the resi-
dent portion of COMMAND.COM.
The following steps will set your system up to boot with
COMMAND.COM, and run 4DOS automatically as part of the boot pro-
cess:
(1) Set up the SHELL= statement in CONFIG.SYS to run
COMMAND.COM, or leave it out entirely. In other words, set
it up just as you would if 4DOS were not on your system.
(2) Be sure the statement:
DEVICE=KEYSTACK.SYS
is included in CONFIG.SYS if you wish to use the 4DOS
KEYSTACK command.
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 5
(3) Separate your AUTOEXEC file into two parts: part 1,
which remains in AUTOEXEC.BAT, should contain any commands
you wish to have COMMAND.COM execute before 4DOS is started.
This might include loading any TSRs which you cannot get to
load properly under 4DOS. Part 2, which you must place in a
separate batch file (we suggest the name 4DAUTO.BAT, but you
can use any name with a .BAT or .BTM extension), should con-
tain the commands you wish to have 4DOS execute when the
system is started.
(4) Place the following line as the last line in the modified
AUTOEXEC.BAT:
4DOS parameters filename
where "parameters" represents the appropriate 4DOS parameters
for swapping, environment and history size, etc. (see the
Installation section of the manual), and "filename" is the
name of the new batch file you created for part 2 of your old
AUTOEXEC file. Do NOT include a /P in the "parameters" or
4DOS will re-run AUTOEXEC and therefore load itself again, ad
infinitum!
This will load COMMAND.COM, execute the commands in AUTOEXEC,
load 4DOS, execute the commands in your new batch file, and then
give you the normal 4DOS prompt.
There is one drawback to this second approach: because 4DOS is
not loaded with a /P, the EXIT command will return you to
COMMAND.COM if you inadvertently enter it at the primary shell
prompt. You can get around this by including the /P parameter
despite the caution above, and then placing the following line at
the start of AUTOEXEC.BAT:
if not "%@eval[2+2]"=="4" quit
This line tests the 4DOS variable function %@EVAL, which will be
blank under COMMAND.COM and non-blank under 4DOS. If %@EVAL is
non-blank, the statement QUITs the batch file, preventing the
infinite loop described above.
Executing DOS Commands via Interrupt 2E:
3.02 COMMAND.COM contains an undocumented (and unsupported) feature
which allows programs to execute DOS commands by passing the
command through software interrupt number 2E (hex). Very few
programs use this feature, and the current release of 4DOS does
not support it internally. However the SHELL2E TSR included with
4DOS will allow you to run most programs that use INT 2E.
If you have a program which is supposed to execute DOS commands
and it does not work under 4DOS, first read the Troubleshooting
appendix in the manual, especially page 160, and check over your
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 6
settings of COMSPEC and 4DSHELL. If these appear correct, your
program may be trying to use INT 2E to execute commands.
If you believe this is the case, try loading the SHELL2E program
which came with your copy of 4DOS. Documentation on SHELL2E is
in the file SHELL2E.DOC. If you aren't sure whether your program
is using INT 2E, SHELL2E's /W switch can help you find out -- see
SHELL2E.DOC for the details.
See below for specific information on Novell's MENU program,
which requires SHELL2E.
4DOS and Multitasking / Task Switching Programs:
(For convenience below we will refer to all these programs as
"multitasking", even though some are only task switching pro-
grams, and to all windows or partitions they use as "windows",
even though some systems do not support windowing).
4DOS can be used with most multitasking systems including Win-
dows, DESQView, Back and Forth, OmniView, Software Carousel, and
VM/386. See the sections on specific products below for informa-
tion on the individual products.
3.02 If you require task switching (switching between multiple pro-
grams) without multi-tasking (multiple programs actually execut-
ing concurrently), we particularly recommend that you try the
shareware task switcher Back & Forth, from Progressive Solutions.
Back & Forth is fully compatible with 4DOS by design, runs effi-
ciently using small amounts of memory, and provides a wide range
of configuration options and compatibility. It is available from
most common sources of shareware (disk vendors, CompuServe, Ge-
nie, bulletin boards, etc.).
Unless otherwise noted below, 4DOS should work properly both as
the root shell loaded before the multitasking system, or when run
inside a window.
To start 4DOS inside a window in any of these systems you can
define it as a program to be run directly, or you can have the
multitasker load it automatically as the command processor, by
leaving COMSPEC set to 4DOS. Regardless of the approach used,
you can use the 4DSHELL environment variable to set the 4DOS
command line parameters (such as swapping method and environment
size) to be used when starting the 4DOS window. If 4DOS is de-
fined as a program to be run directly you can also set these
parameters on the command line.
Under most multitasking systems the COMSPEC setting will control
whether 4DOS or COMMAND.COM is used to run batch files and to
open windows that are NOT closed on exit to DOS. In some cases
setting the COMSPEC to COMMAND.COM before starting the multi-
tasker can provide slightly more efficient operation (when most
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 7
windows do not require the capabilities of 4DOS), and 4DOS can
then be set up in its own window. In most other cases you will
find it works best to leave the COMSPEC set to 4DOS.
Note that if you boot your system with COMMAND.COM, then set the
COMSPEC to 4DOS, if you return to COMMAND.COM (e.g., by exiting
from your multitasking program) the system may hang, as
COMMAND.COM needs to use the COMSPEC setting to find and reload a
portion of its own code.
CAUTION: Multitaskers and Disk Swapping:
When 4DOS is swapping to disk in multiple windows of a multi-
tasking system, it must be configured properly to avoid conflicts
among the swap file names used in each window.
When loaded normally, the primary copy of 4DOS will act as a
"traffic cop" for the copies of 4DOS in the different windows,
assigning each one a unique "shell number" which is used as the
extension for the disk swap file (4DOSSWAP.001, 4DOSSWAP.002,
etc.). In this case no conflict will occur.
However, if 4DOS is NOT loaded before the multitasking program
this capability will not be available. In this case the copy of
4DOS in each window will use the swap file name 4DOSSWAP.000. To
avoid a filename conflict every copy of 4DOS started in disk
swapping mode MUST place its swap file in its own unique direc-
tory specified with the "/S:Dd:\path" switch. If this rule is
not observed the system will hang when switching windows or upon
exit from an application.
In version 3.0 and earlier, you could satisfy this condition
simply by starting each window in its own unique directory. But
beginning with 4DOS version 3.01, disk swap files default to the
root directory of the drive COMSPEC points to, and not to the
current directory; hence to make 4DOS disk swapping work properly
under these conditions you must EXPLICITLY use /S:D to place the
swap files in separate directories.
This problem will only occur if 4DOS is NOT the primary shell,
AND disk swapping is used in more than one window as described
above. There is no such conflict with EMS or XMS swapping. Note
that since the default /S:B swapping option uses disk swapping if
no EMS or XMS memory is available, you can be invoking disk swap-
ping your multitasker windows even if you haven't explicitly
requested it.
Swapping to RAM Disks:
In order to swap to a RAM disk with the root shell the RAM disk
must be completely defined in CONFIG.SYS via a DEVICE= statement
(most RAM disks are set up this way). RAM disks completely or
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 8
partially defined in AUTOEXEC.BAT (such as the RAM disk / cache
combination in Multisoft's PC Kwik Power Pak) cannot be used for
root shell swapping, because AUTOEXEC.BAT has not been executed
at the time that the root shell is loaded, and hence the RAM disk
does not exist at that point.
Loading 4DOS High with /U or /E:nnnnU:
3.02 To load 4DOS or the master environment into high memory with the
/U or /E:nnnnU switches, you MUST be running a memory manager or
a combination of a memory manager and XMS driver which provides
BOTH the ability to remap memory into the area between 640K and
1MB, AND software support for the eXtended Memory Specification
(XMS). In general /U and /E:nnnnU will work on any system which
can load TSRs high. The combinations of hardware and software
which will support /U and /E:nnnnU include:
386 systems:
Hardware: Sufficient memory space; no additional
hardware required.
Software: Qualitas's 386MAX, or Quarterdeck's QEMM
version 5.0 or later.
286 systems:
Hardware: Chips and Technologies NEAT chip set, or
EMS board with LIM 4.0 or EEMS hardware;
sufficient memory space.
Software: Qualitas's MOVE-EM version 1.02 or later
with Microsoft's HIMEM.SYS, or Quarter-
deck's QRAM and QEXT.
Other memory-management software may also work; the listings
above are examples, not exhaustive lists. See specific informa-
tion on your memory management program below.
The following software will NOT allow /U or /E:nnnnU to work:
HIMEM.SYS by itself; QRAM without QEXT; or MOVE-EM without
HIMEM.SYS. Also these switches will not work on systems with
expanded memory boards with LIM 3.2 hardware (regardless of the
software used); if you are trying to load 4DOS (or TSRs) high
using an expanded memory board you need hardware which supports
either LIM 4.0 EMS, or the similar EEMS. Check with your system
or board manufacturer to determine whether your board supports
LIM 4.0 or EEMS.
4DOS and Command Line Editing Programs:
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 9
Programs such as Anarkey (Moderne Software), PCED (Cove Soft-
ware), and ReDOS (Multisoft) will work properly with 4DOS. How-
ever these programs require the use of SETDOS /L1 to operate,
which will disable 4DOS's command recall and command line edit-
ing. In most cases you will be able to switch back and forth
between 4DOS editing and the other editor by toggling the SETDOS
/L state.
3.02 When another editor is used 4DOS's command history will be main-
tained, and can be viewed with HISTORY, but will not be available
for recall until a SETDOS /L0 is executed. 4DOS aliases, execut-
able extensions, and other features will be active with another
command line editor running, regardless of the SETDOS /L state.
Aliases will be processed after any processing done by the other
editing program. You must use care with other programs that
provide an aliasing capability to avoid confusion if a command is
expanded by both the other program and 4DOS!
4DOS and TSR (Memory-Resident) Programs:
3.02 In 4DOS version 3.0 and above many memory-resident programs
should be able to unload themselves, even if they could not do so
under earlier versions of 4DOS. You may still experience unload
problems if you have a complex system or many TSRs loaded; if you
do, use MARK and RELEASE from the TSRCOM utilities, available on
many bulletin boards and on the 4DOS Utility Disk. These prod-
ucts will allow you to unload virtually all TSRs without diffi-
culty. See more specific information on TSRCOM below.
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 10
Information on Specific Products
--------------------------------
The information below is listed alphabetically by product, with manufac-
turers' names included. MS-DOS commands are listed before other soft-
ware products.
Items marked with two asterisks [**] after the product name were sup-
plied by users, and have not been tested by J.P. Software.
MS-DOS APPEND Command:
Unlike most other commands in MS-DOS, APPEND has both an external
portion and an undocumented internal portion. The first time
APPEND is run the external portion is executed, and loaded into
memory as a TSR. Subsequent uses of APPEND to adjust the APPEND
path use the internal portion built into COMMAND.COM.
4DOS does not support the internal portion of APPEND command.
This means that you cannot change the APPEND path directly from
4DOS. However you can still use APPEND with 4DOS.
APPEND should be started in the usual way, from AUTOEXEC or any
other batch file, or from the command line. However to change
the APPEND path you must run APPEND from COMMAND.COM, not from
4DOS. To do this, enter the following command (modify the com-
mand appropriately if COMMAND.COM is not in the directory C:\):
c:\command /c append [new append path list]
You could also set up a 4DOS alias to do the above command for
you, for example:
alias app `c:\command /c append`
which would be invoked with the command
app [new path list]
The /X switch can be used, and it will affect 4DOS directory
searches for many 4DOS commands (as it does for COMMAND.COM).
Please note that this makes APPEND a little dangerous: if you
APPEND a directory and then (say) delete all the .BAK files, the
.BAK files in the APPENDed directory will be deleted too.
The APPEND /E switch will not work with 4DOS.
CAUTION: In our opinion APPEND is an extremely dangerous com-
mand. It is capable of "fooling" programs into thinking they are
accessing one file when they are really accessing another one
with the same name in a different directory. This can either do
just what you want, or cause all sorts of trouble, depending on
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 11
the circumstances. In particular, this behavior can cause 4DOS
to place descriptions which go with files in one directory in the
description file for another directory, because with APPEND run-
ning 4DOS can't tell whether APPEND has opened a file different
from the one it asked for.
If you must use APPEND to make certain applications work, we
STRONGLY suggest that you set up the aliases described above, and
load APPEND in AUTOEXEC.BAT with an empty path. Then, for each
application, set up an alias to run it that is similar to the
following:
alias myprog `app c:\mydata^d:\util\myprog.exe^app ;`
This alias sets the APPEND path, runs the application, and clears
the APPEND path. When used in this way APPEND is less likely to
cause trouble because it is disabled except when it is explicitly
needed.
3.02 In MS-DOS version 4.0 the new APPEND /PATH:OFF switch mitigates
this problem somewhat; in particular it will keep 4DOS file de-
scription files from getting mixed up between directories. For
this reason 4DOS version 3.02 will automatically set this switch
if it detects that you are running APPEND and DOS 4.0 or above.
MS-DOS DATE and TIME Commands:
Versions of DOS distributed by some manufacturers will automa-
tically set the hardware clock date and time (which is maintained
while the system is turned off, and is different from the DOS
date and time) when the corresponding DOS command is executed.
This is a hardware-specific feature which may not function as you
expect under 4DOS. If you normally set the hardware clock's date
and time with DOS commands, either run a secondary copy of
COMMAND.COM to set them, or invoke your system's SETUP or other
utility program to do so.
MS-DOS FASTOPEN Command:
The MS-DOS FASTOPEN command generally works with 4DOS, but does
not properly detect renamed directories. If you use FASTOPEN and
rename a directory with the 4DOS REN command, then do a DIR com-
mand, you may see the old name and not the new one displayed; you
may also occasionally have trouble accessing files under the new
name. The only solution we are aware of in this situation is to
reboot your system.
Our feeling is that, if you have the memory to support it, a disk
caching program will provide a much larger and more effective
performance improvement than FASTOPEN.
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 12
MS-DOS 4.0+ FORMAT Command:
When formatting a bootable disk with FORMAT /S, the FORMAT com-
mand in MS-DOS 4.0 and above has the annoying behavior of copying
whatever file your COMSPEC environment variable points to to the
disk and renaming it COMMAND.COM. When 4DOS is running COMSPEC
normally points to 4DOS.COM, so FORMAT will copy 4DOS.COM to the
floppy disk and rename it COMMAND.COM. This will render the
floppy disk NOT bootable -- 4DOS won't mind the file name change,
but 4DOS.COM alone is not enough for 4DOS to get started; one of
the 4DOS EXE files is also required.
To solve this problem, after formatting a bootable floppy disk
under MS-DOS 4.0 we recommend that you copy COMMAND.COM to the
disk manually. You may want to set up a simple alias or batch
file for this purpose, for example:
alias bootdisk `format a:/s^copy c:\command.com a:`
Alternatively, you can copy the 4DOS88 or 4DOS286 EXE file to the
root directory of the floppy disk, which will make the disk boot
under 4DOS instead of COMMAND.COM. However we do not recommend
this method unless you also rename the "COMMAND.COM" file back to
4DOS.COM and place a proper CONFIG.SYS file on the floppy disk to
load 4DOS.COM. Leaving a copy of 4DOS.COM on the disk with the
name COMMAND.COM is bound to confuse the next person who examines
it!
MS-DOS 4.0+ SELECT Command:
In MS-DOS 4.0 and above a SELECT command was introduced. This
external command is totally unrelated to the 4DOS internal SELECT
command. If you need to use both, you can set up aliases to
adjust how the command names are handled. For example, the fol-
lowing two aliases set up SELECT to access the DOS 4.0 external
SELECT command (assumed to be stored in C:\DOS\SELECT.EXE), and
SEL to access the internal 4DOS SELECT command:
alias select c:\dos\select.exe
alias sel *select
1DIR+ (Bourbaki):
The information below was obtained from tests with 1DIR+ version
3.02.
1DIR+ will work properly under 4DOS version 3 in its partially
resident or EMS modes when set up as described below. It will
work in its fully resident mode but cannot reliably exit back to
4DOS once started.
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 13
If your copy of 1DIR+ is set up for fully resident mode, you can
load it into memory under 4DOS to switch it to partially resident
or EMS mode. To do so, from the directory where you normally run
1DIR+, type the commands:
setdos /l1
1dirplus
When 1DIR+ starts go to the "Wonder" / "Setup" menu (F8 then F2)
and switch the mode to partially resident or EMS. Hit Esc to
exit, and take the "Exit/Save" option (not "Save/Reset"). Back
at the main menu, exit with "Wonder" / "Exit" (F8 then F8). At
this point the system will probably hang. Reboot your computer.
You should then be able to run 1DIR+ as described below.
The above steps only need to be done once, when you install or
re-install 1DIR+.
Once 1DIR+ is set to EMS or partially-resident mode, you can
start it from 4DOS using the following alias:
alias 1dir `setdos /L1 ^ 1dirplus`
The SETDOS /L1 is necessary to allow 1DIR+ to send command lines
to 4DOS.
You must do a SETDOS /L0 when you are done with 1DIR+ in order to
get normal 4DOS command-line editing back. You can NOT do this
within the alias above, as 1DIR+ returns to 4DOS in order to
accomplish its work, and you don't want to switch back to /L0
mode until 1DIRPLUS has been removed from memory. If, after
exiting from 1DIR+, you find that 4DOS's command line editing and
history are unavailable, it is because you forgot to do the
SETDOS /L0. If you go in and out of 1DIR+ regularly aliases like
the following can be used to make the process quick:
alias 1d `setdos /L1 ^ 1dirplus`
alias 1e setdos /L0
3+Open Network (3COM): [**]
3.02 Previous problems with 3+Open's LOGON have been resolved. If
your system hangs when loading 3+Open's NBP program, upgrading to
the latest release of NBP should resolve the problem. Please
note that 3COM issues multiple releases with the same version
number; the fact that you have "version 1.1" does not necessarily
mean you have the latest release. Check with your 3COM support
representative to be sure you have the latest release.
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 14
AllCharge Card (All Computers Inc.): [**]
4DOS, including EMS swapping, works properly with the latest
AllCharge Card software release (ALLEMM4.SYS file dated 10-3-89).
Earlier releases may hang. The feature to put FILES and BUFFERS
in AUTOEXEC may not work; if you have trouble with it, try rear-
ranging the position of these commands in AUTOEXEC.BAT, or as a
last resort place them in CONFIG.SYS.
ANSI.SYS (various manufacturers):
If you have trouble with screen scrolling in 43-line or 50-line
mode, try a different version of ANSI (we use PC Magazine's free
utility ANSI.COM); for more information see page 156 of the 4DOS
manual.
Btrieve (Novell): [**]
The most recent release of Btrieve as of this writing should work
properly under 4DOS. Earlier releases contain a bug in their EMS
(expanded memory) access which conflicts with 4DOS's EMS swap-
ping, and therefore will not run with EMS swapping enabled. If
you have an earlier version of Btrieve, run 4DOS with XMS or disk
swapping and the two products should work properly together. If
you aren't sure whether you are encountering this problem, just
try switching 4DOS from EMS to disk swapping and see if any
Btrieve problems are cleared up. If so, upgrade to the newest
release of Btrieve.
CED and PCED (Cove Software): [**]
3.02 4DOS has been modified to allow CED and PCED to properly recog-
nize 4DOS secondary shells. This recognition may not work if the
either primary or the secondary shell is loaded high with 4DOS's
/U option. Also see the section on command line editors (above).
CheckFree (CheckFree Systems): [**]
Version 2.0 of this package should work properly under 4DOS.
Earlier versions may need to be run under COMMAND.COM, using the
method discussed above in the General Information section (use
the batch file shown there which begins with a SETLOCAL command).
Because CheckFree uses Btrieve, see the note on Btrieve (above)
as well.
DESQView (Quarterdeck):
3.02 Please see the section on multitaskers under General Information
above before reading this section.
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 15
The information below was obtained from tests with DESQView ver-
sion 2.26.
To use 4DOS with DESQview, you must add it to your DESQview Open
Window menu. To do this, select the Add a Program option, then
press the "O" key (for Other Program). Press Enter and you will
get a standard Change a Program window.
You must set the program parameters and startup directory before
opening a 4DOS window. Set the Program Name to d:\path\4DOS.COM
where "d:\path" is the drive and directory where 4DOS.COM is
stored. Set the Parameters to whatever 4DOS startup options you
want (swapping type, environment size, etc.; do NOT use /C or
/P). For other DESQView parameters, the defaults are workable
except for the following changes:
Writes Text Directly to Screen Y (screen 1)
Close on Exit to DOS Y (screen 2)
Uses its Own Colors Y (screen 2)
These parameters assume that you are running 4DOS in a full-
screen window; if so the window dimensions on screen 2 must be
set accordingly.
You may wish to run 4DOS in a window smaller than the full
screen. If so set the window dimensions accordingly, and change
the "Writes Text Directly to Screen" field to "N". 4DOS is writ-
ten to be "Desqview-aware", and will not "bleed through" when
running full-screen commands (DRAWBOX, DRAWHLINE, DRAWVLINE,
LIST, SCRPUT, and SELECT) in such a window. We have found that
the only ANSI driver which works properly in a window smaller
than the full screen is Quarterdeck's DVANSI.COM. If you need to
load DVANSI.COM, you can do so from a window startup batch file
as described in the next paragraph. As of version 3.01 the 4DOS
HELP command has been modified to be DESQView-aware, and should
also work properly in a window smaller than the full screen.
You can set up a startup batch file to be run when a DESQView
window is opened -- just create it, and place its name (with
drive and path if necessary) as the last thing on the Parameters
line. This batch file will be run after and independently of any
4START.BAT or 4START.BTM file.
DESQView will work properly with the 4DOS /U and /E:nnnnU options
in the primary shell, but may not work properly if these options
are set in 4DSHELL and/or used explicitly in a DESQView window.
The 4DOS /E:nnnnS (swapped environment) option is incompatible
with DESQView.
DESQView DOS Services (Quarterdeck):
Under 4DOS, the DESQView DOS Services option will not work in its
default configuration. To make DOS Services work under 4DOS, you
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 16
must first create a batch file, DOSSERV.BAT, in your DESQView
directory to run DOS Services under COMMAND.COM. (We are assum-
ing that DESQView is in directory C:\DV and COMMAND.COM is in
directory C:\; you will need to modify the settings below if your
system is configured differently.) The batch file is:
set comspec=c:\command.com
c:\dv\dosserv
c:\command
exit
Then, make the following changes on the DESQView change a program
screen for DOS Services (items marked ** are on the second page
of the screen):
* Memory Allocation = 100K or greater
* Program Name = C:\DV\DOSSERV.BAT (modify from
previous value of C:\DV\DOSSERV).
** Close on Exit to DOS = N
** System Memory = 10K or greater
** Allow Close Window = N
Once these steps are taken, you should be able to open the DOS
Services window normally. However you will not be able to close
it with a close window command. Instead, go to the window where
DOS Services allows you to compose a DOS command, and type EXIT
to close the window.
DoubleDOS (SoftLogic Solutions): See Software Carousel.
DR-DOS (Digital Research): [**]
3.02 4DOS appears to work properly as a command processor (including
as the primary shell) under DR-DOS 3.x, and preliminary reports
indicate that it will work under DR-DOS version 5.0 as well.
DR-DOS's design makes the ASSIGN, JOIN, and SUBST commands inter-
nal (in MS-DOS / PC-DOS they are external). To access these
commands when using 4DOS as the command processor, you must set
up aliases which run DR-DOS's COMMAND.COM to invoke the commands.
The following 4DOS aliases accomplish this (adjust these if
COMMAND.COM is not in C:\):
alias assign `c:\command /c assign %&`
alias join `c:\command /c join %&`
alias subst `c:\command /c subst %&`
Epsilon (Lugaru Software): [**]
3.02 Epsilon can run 4DOS as a concurrent process, and pass commands
to 4DOS for execution. In this mode it traps 4DOS's input re-
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 17
quests and feeds the keystrokes to 4DOS. However it does not
feed backspaces etc. -- only actual characters. This means that
editing of input isn't seen by 4DOS. To fix the problem, either
run 4DOS as a shell, and not as a concurrent process, or use a
SETDOS /L1 for the copy of 4DOS that is run under Epsilon.
To use the more flexible SETDOS /L1 approach you must use
4START.BAT (or .BTM) to set up the SETDOS /L1 before running
Epsilon. To do so, first set up an alias for Epsilon that sets
an environment variable (change the name of the variable if you
wish):
alias eps `set epsi=YES^epsilon %&^unset epsi`
Then placing the following line in 4START will issue the SETDOS
/L1 command in a secondary shell started by Epsilon, but ignore
it otherwise:
if "%epsi"=="YES" setdos /l1
Headroom (Helix Software): [**]
4DOS and Headroom have been tested by both J.P. Software and
Helix Software and should work properly together. Headroom will
NOT work correctly if the COMSPEC is not set properly, so if you
do have trouble check your COMSPEC (see pages 15 - 16 of the
manual). There is a problem running 4DOS's HELP with a mouse
when Headroom is loaded. If you have trouble with this please
contact Helix Software technical support; a fix will be incorpo-
rated into Headroom version 2.03.
HIMEM.SYS (Microsoft):
3.02 4DOS's XMS swapping will work properly with HIMEM.SYS, but
HIMEM.SYS alone does NOT support the memory mapping required to
use the 4DOS /U and /E:nnnnU options. See the general section on
/U and /E:nnnnU above for more information.
Hot Line (General Information Inc.):
The information below was obtained from tests with Hot Line ver-
sion 2.10.
Previous problems with Hot Line have been solved. You should
have no trouble accessing Hot Line via any of its hot keys.
If you get "insufficient memory" error messages when installing
Hot Line, reboot with COMMAND.COM to complete the installation.
These errors are due to an old version of the PKSFX program used
to extract files from the compressed copies of Hot Line on dis-
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 18
kette. This problem occurs only during installation, and is
unrelated to the actual operation of Hot Line.
If you load Hot Line from your AUTOEXEC file, you may find that
it will not pop up properly at the prompt if you try to invoke it
immediately after boot. As soon as even the simplest application
or utility program is run this problem clears up, and does not
appear to recur. We have been unable to determine its source, as
it clears up when we run our debugger!
MOVE-EM (Qualitas): [**]
MOVE-EM version 1.00 contains a bug which causes the system to
crash whenever any program attempts to access XMS memory. 4DOS
will attempt to access XMS memory if you specify the /U or
/E:nnnnU option, or use the MEMORY command, so these 4DOS fea-
tures cannot be used if MOVE-EM 1.00 is installed.
MOVE-EM version 1.02 corrects the above bug, but is only compat-
ible with 4DOS's /U and /E:nnnnU options if Microsoft's HIMEM.SYS
is also loaded in your system. MOVE-EM itself does not fully
support the XMS specification which permits 4DOS to load itself
and the master environment in high memory. See the general sec-
tion on /U and /E:nnnnU above for more information.
Netware (Novell): [**]
The information below was obtained from tests with Netware ver-
sions 2.12 and 2.15 and Netware 386, and from discussions with
Novell support personnel.
When Netware's LOGIN and/or MAP commands are used to map network
drives into the path, the local path will be lost if it is not
stored in upper case. Earlier versions of 4DOS stored the path
in whatever case it was entered in; beginning with version 3.0
the PATH command always shifts its input to upper case to get
around this problem. However if you use SET to modify the path
you can still manage to include lower case characters, and there-
by exercise this Netware bug. Novell has informed us that they
intend to fix this problem in an upcoming release. In the mean-
time, keep your PATH environment variable entirely in upper case
to avoid the problem.
Netware also appears to lose one or more characters from the name
of an environment variable (usually the second or third one in
the environment) when setting other environment variables from
inside a LOGIN script. If you are setting environment variables
such as COMSPEC within your LOGIN script, you can get around this
problem by using a batch file to set the variables after LOGIN is
complete. Even if you cannot control the LOGIN script, you can
still use a batch file to reset the "damaged" variables after
LOGIN has finished.
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 19
It is not currently possible to do disk swapping to a network
drive under Netware. This is because Netware closes all files --
including the 4DOS swap file -- each time an application exits.
When 4DOS goes to reload itself or swap out to start another ap-
plication, a swap file seek error will occur. We are considering
possible internal workarounds for this problem; for now the
available methods are to swap to EMS, XMS, or a local hard disk
or RAM disk.
Use caution with the 4DOS UNSET command under Netware. When Net-
ware is loaded it remembers the exact location of the COMSPEC
variable in the master environment, and it may therefore have
problems if variables such as COMSPEC and PATH are removed and
reloaded in a different sequence.
3.02 The Novell MENU system distributed with Netware uses Interrupt 2E
to execute menu options, and therefore requires the use of the
SHELL2E program to work properly. SHELL2E is included with 4DOS;
see the general section above on INT 2E and the SHELL2E documen-
tation in SHELL2E.DOC for more information.
3.02 When using MENU with SHELL2E, remember that a secondary 4DOS
shell will be started to execute each command in the menu file.
This can be quite slow if you execute many commands for each menu
option, and it won't work if you use SET commands whose results
are used later in the command sequence. However if you put the
commands in a batch file and put the name of the batch file as
the command to be executed for each menu option then there should
be no performance problems, and the results of SET commands will
be available to commands that occur later in the batch file.
The 4DOS /U command line option is reported to be compatible with
Netware, but the /E:nnnnU and /E:nnnnS options are not.
OmniMouse Software Drivers: [**]
The OmniMouse TSR driver, MSCMOUSE.COM, works correctly with
4DOS. The CONFIG.SYS driver, MSCMOUSE.SYS, may not. If you have
trouble with MSCMOUSE.SYS use MSCMOUSE.COM instead.
PC Tools (Central Point Software):
The information below was obtained from tests with PC Tools ver-
sion 5.5, and from user reports on versions 5.5 and 6.0.
Most elements of this popular package work properly with 4DOS.
We have had some problems reported but in all cases investigation
has shown that the problems occurred under COMMAND.COM as well
(though not always with the same exact symptoms).
3.02 PC Tools' PCSHELL 5.5 will refuse to launch applications from the
4DOS prompt, giving an error indicating that you are not at the
prompt. This problem is due to the design of PCSHELL, and occurs
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 20
with all command line editing programs. We have had one report
that the problem has been solved in PC Tools 6.0. It can be
solved in any PC Tools version by loading PCSHELL with Innovative
Data Concepts' shareware product SWAPSH, available on the 4DOS
Utility Disk and on many bulletin boards and on-line systems.
SWAPSH will reduce PCSHELL's resident memory requirements as
well.
We have had one report that PC Tools' MIRROR program will not run
properly from AUTOEXEC.BAT under 4DOS if SWAPPING OFF is in ef-
fect. If you experience this problem, be sure SWAPPING is ON
before running MIRROR.
QEMM and QRAM (Quarterdeck):
3.02 The information below was obtained from tests with QEMM versions
4 and 5, and user reports on QRAM.
Both QEMM 5.0 and QRAM are compatible with 4DOS, and will allow
you to load the 4DOS resident code and the master environment
into high DOS memory (UMBs) via the /U and /E:nnnnU switches
respectively. For /U and /E:nnnnU to work with QRAM you must
have QEXT loaded also (this is the normal method of loading
QRAM). See general information on these switches above as well.
QEMM version 5 allocates both XMS and EMS memory from the same
memory area. Therefore it always reports the exact same amount
of free XMS and EMS memory. You will see this in the free EMS
and free XMS values displayed by the 4DOS MEMORY command -- they
will be exactly the same under QEMM 5. Just remember that if
both values are (say) 512K, that means you have 512K of free
memory which can be allocated either way -- not 1024K!
The FILES.COM program distributed with QEMM version 5 allows
parts of the DOS file handle table to be loaded into high memory,
using the LOADHI FILES=nn command. This option will work proper-
ly under 4DOS as long as you follow Quarterdeck's recommendations
and keep a minimum of FILES=8 in CONFIG.SYS. Lower values of
FILES= in CONFIG.SYS may cause 4DOS to hang during boot, espe-
cially if disk swapping is used.
If you use QEMM's OPTIMIZE and your AUTOEXEC has 4DOS-specific
commands like GLOBAL, IFF, aliases, etc., OPTIMIZE will not rec-
ognize them as DOS commands. Instead, it will act as if these
commands are actually programs being invoked and attempt to see
whether they should be loaded high. This can confuse OPTIMIZE
and make it either fail, or run much too long. To address this,
run OPTIMIZE with the switch /LOADHIONLY and then place a LOADHI
command before each entry in AUTOEXEC that you actually want
OPTIMIZE to examine.
QuickCache II (Glassel and Associates): [**]
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 21
QCACHE is compatible with 4DOS only if its "Use low memory" op-
tion is enabled. If this option is disabled (the QCACHE default)
your system is almost certain to hang when QCACHE is loaded and
4DOS is running in swapping mode.
Software Carousel (SoftLogic Solutions):
Please see the section on multitaskers under General Information
above before reading this section.
The information below was obtained from tests with Software Car-
ousel version 3, and discussions with SoftLogic technical sup-
port.
Neither Software Carousel nor DoubleDOS will work properly with
4DOS loaded as the primary shell. Both programs are written with
the assumption that COMMAND.COM is the system command processor,
and both contain logic which specifically depends on COMMAND.COM
and the way it is written. This makes it impossible to write a
program which works properly as an alternate command processor
loaded underneath (i.e. before) these products.
However, 4DOS can be run without difficulty inside a Software
Carousel partition, and should work properly as a program to be
run under DoubleDOS.
When loading 4DOS into a Carousel partition, the best method is
to leave the COMSPEC set to COMMAND.COM when Carousel is loaded.
4DOS should then be set up in the Carousel options file just like
any other program. For example, to load 4DOS into partition 1:
d:\path\4DOS.COM [parameters] [filename]
where:
d:\path is the drive and path where 4DOS.COM is lo-
cated
[parameters] is the 4DOS command line parameters (/S, /E,
etc.; do NOT use /P here)
[filename] is the name of a batch file to be executed
when the partition is started
Because 4DOS can only be loaded in a partition when running Soft-
ware Carousel, and not as the primary command processor, using
4DOS disk swapping in multiple partitions is subject to the cau-
tionary note on this subject in the general information section
on multitaskers; please read it carefully.
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 22
Telix Communications Software:
Telix will work properly with 4DOS. However because Telix uses
all available EMS memory, this memory will not be available for
4DOS swapping when you shell to DOS from Telix. As a result, if
you have set 4DOS up to swap secondary shells to EMS (e.g. with
SET 4DSHELL=/S:E) then the secondary shell from Telix will load
resident. If you have allowed 4DOS to determine the swapping
method itself for secondary shells, then it will swap to disk
(unless XMS is available). This behavior isn't a problem -- it's
just different from what you may see if you shell to DOS from
other programs that don't take all available EMS.
TSRCOM Utilities (TurboPower Software):
3.02 Versions 2.5 and earlier of these popular utilities from Turbo-
Power Software are not compatible with 4DOS. The problem was
corrected in release 2.6, issued in January, 1989. Up-to-date
copies of these utilities are available on the 4DOS Utility Disk
and on many bulletin boards and on-line systems.
If you use TSRCOM's MARK and RELEASE to manage your TSRs, 4DOS
swapping (as set with the SWAPPING command) must be in the same
state when RELEASE is run as it was when MARK (or FMARK) was run.
This is a characteristic of the design of MARK and RELEASE (or
any other such products), and not a bug.
The specific circumstances are that if you run RELEASE with SWAP-
PING ON when MARK was run with SWAPPING OFF it will work, but if
RELEASE is run from a batch file it will generate a "Cancel batch
job (Y/N/A)?" message. If you run AUTOEXEC.BAT with SWAPPING OFF
for speed reasons, use MARK in AUTOEXEC, and later run RELEASE
from a batch file, you will see this problem. The solution is to
have swapping ON when MARK is run in AUTOEXEC. In the opposite
situation (run RELEASE with SWAPPING OFF when MARK was run with
SWAPPING ON), the system will hang.
UltraVision (Personics): [**]
3.02 When using 4DOS and Personics' UltraVision 2.0, you may need to
have a 4START.BAT (or .BTM) that contains a SETDOS /S command to
set the cursor shape, or your cursor may disappear. The proper
cursor start and end values depend to some extent on the UV line
size, but all values less than 14 appear to work in all UV line
sizes.
The DE program distributed with UltraVision is written specifi-
cally for COMMAND.COM, and cannot currently be used to set direc-
tory colors with 4DOS.
If you load UltraVision inside a Microsoft Windows 3.0 window
which was started with 4DOS, and don't unload it before EXITing,
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 23
then when you do EXIT Windows will display a message that a pop-
up program has been activated. Type Ctrl-C when this message
appears to close the window and return to Windows.
Ventura Publisher (Xerox): [**]
3.02 Ventura Publisher may issue an Error 0019 if run with a 4DOS (or
COMMAND.COM) environment size of more than 256 bytes. The prob-
lem occurs based on the environment size set with /E:, not on how
much of the space is actually in use. This is a bug in Ventura
Publisher, and not a problem in 4DOS. In our last conversation
with Xerox we were told this bug "might" be fixed in the next
release of Ventura.
Xerox recommends that Ventura be run with the DOS default envi-
ronment size of 160 bytes, but 4DOS only allows reduction to 256
bytes. In all cases we have seen the Error 0019 problem can be
eliminated by reducing your environment size to 256 bytes. Since
this will not be enough environment space for many users, you may
have to keep multiple CONFIG.SYS files and reboot specially for
Ventura to get around this problem.
VP/ix with Sun/OS (Sun Microsystems): [**]
4DOS appears to work as the primary command processor in a DOS
window started under VP/ix on a Sun 386i system. The /L: switch
does not permit 4DOS to find its EXE files outside the root di-
rectory, so the 4DOS files must be placed there.
VTSR (Golden Bow Systems): [**]
Version 2.0 of VTSR will work properly with 4DOS. Earlier ver-
sions will report (incorrectly) that no TSRs are installed.
Windows 3.0 (Microsoft):
3.02 When the instructions below are followed 4DOS will work properly
with Windows 3.0 in all modes.
The standard "DOS" icon provided with Windows is set up to run
COMMAND.COM, regardless of your COMSPEC setting. To run 4DOS,
either go into the Program Manager's File / Properties menu se-
lection for the DOS icon and change the command line entry to
refer to 4DOS, or create a new DOS icon (take the File / New menu
selection, then choose "Program Item") with the name "4DOS" and a
command line which refers to 4DOS. In either case the command
line should include the full path and filename for 4DOS.COM, plus
any switches you wish to set (swapping, alias and environment
size, etc.).
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 24
If you want a real 4DOS icon displayed, rather than the generic
"DOS" icon Windows gives you, copy the file 4DOS.ICO which comes
with 4DOS into your Windows directory (for a monochrome system,
use 4DOSM.ICO). You can also leave the file in your 4DOS direc-
tory and enter the full path when prompted for the icon file
name. Select the 4DOS icon on the Program Manager screen (click
on it once), then open the Program Manager's File Properties
dialogue box and click on the Change Icon button. You'll be
prompted for the name of the new icon file -- just type it in and
click on OK, and when you go back to the Program Manager screen
you'll have a custom icon for 4DOS. (Thanks to 4DOS user Charles
Jay Pilzer for providing the original icon design; we modified it
with the shareware program ICONDRAW by Philip Eskelin Jr.).
When creating a 4DOS icon, you may wish to set up a .PIF file
instead of simply using the File Properties screen. A .PIF file
will give you more control over how 4DOS is set up and started.
We have included a sample Windows .PIF file with 4DOS, called
4DOS.PIF; the values in this file are examples and should be
checked before using the .PIF file on your system. The 4DOS .PIF
file can be called by any name, though of course using "4DOS.PIF"
will make maintenance easier. You can set up more than one .PIF
file for 4DOS if you wish to run different windows with different
parameters or characteristics.
To associate a .PIF file for 4DOS with a Program Manager icon
set up as described in the previous paragraphs, first set up the
.PIF file itself (using the PIF editor from the Accessories
screen), then set up the icon as described above, placing the
full path and name of the .PIF file into the command line field
instead of the path and name for 4DOS.COM.
Whether you use a PIF file or the simpler Program Manager ap-
proach, if you are running Windows 3.0 in real mode or standard
mode, you MUST add the parameter /V to the 4DOS command line. If
you don't, the system will hang if you switch away from and then
return to a 4DOS window which is at the 4DOS prompt or otherwise
running 4DOS itself (rather than an application). You can add
the /V to the command line in the File Properties screen, or to
the Parameters field in your PIF file. You can also set it be-
fore running Windows by using the 4DSHELL variable:
set 4dshell=/v
If you are running Windows in 386 enhanced mode the /V is not
necessary, but it will do no harm. We recommend that you always
use /V when setting up 4DOS for Windows, so that if you change
Windows modes 4DOS will continue to operate correctly.
When running in 386 enhanced mode, you can run 4DOS in a window
that's smaller than the full screen. All 4DOS commands, includ-
ing "full screen" commands like LIST and SELECT, will work prop-
erly in such a window. To invoke this option you must set up a
4DOS .PIF file, and set the "Windowed" (as opposed to "Full
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 25
Screen") flag in the PIF editor. This flag is visible only when
running the PIF editor in 386 enhanced mode. It is not set in
the sample .PIF file provided with 4DOS.
Some Windows 3.0 EGA and VGA drivers have a bug which can cause
Windows to set the screen color palette to all black, so nothing
appears on the screen. If this occurs with 4DOS it is probably
due to this bug, and not a 4DOS problem.
WordPerfect 5.1 (WordPerfect Corp.): [**]
Early releases of WordPerfect 5.1 had a variety of problems in
the way they accessed expanded (EMS) memory, and therefore may
conflict with 4DOS's EMS swapping. Symptoms of the conflict
include incorrect response to keystrokes, and system hangs. If
you have a problem with WordPerfect 5.1 and 4DOS when using
4DOS's EMS swapping, try changing to disk swapping. If this
resolves the problem, you can probably solve it permanently by
upgrading to a later release of version 5.1.
4DOS 3.02 [9-7-90] COMPAT.DOC page 26
