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- ANSI.COM
- Command
-
- Michael J. Mefford
- 1989 No. 2 (Utilities)
-
-
- Purpose: A memory-resident utility that enables selectable use of the
- extended screen and keyboard control sequences that normally require loading the
- ANSI.SYS device driver. Unlike ANSI.SYS, ANSI.COM supports all video modes,
- permits sizing and clearing the key-assignment buffer, and provides high-speed
- screen updating.
-
- Format: ANSI [FAST | SLOW][ON | OFF][/B nnn][/C][/U]
-
- Remarks: ANSI.COM may be installed either at the DOS prompt or through an
- AUTOEXEC.BAT file. It will not load itself if ANSI.SYS has already been loaded
- as part of a CONFIG.SYS file. ANSI.COM will not load multiple copies of itself,
- so its command name may be invoked repeatedly in the same session to change
- user-selectable parameters.
-
- Upon loading, ANSI defaults to the FAST and ON status parameters. For
- use with IBM CGA video cards (where direct screen writes produce "snow") or with
- some screen capture software, the SLOW (screen writing via the BIOS, as with
- ANSI.SYS) status option may be selected. Entering ANSI OFF disables recognition
- of the ANSI control codes.
-
- The ANSI.COM key assignment buffer defaults to a size of 200 bytes. The
- buffer may be increased to as much as 60K or decreased to 0 bytes by entering
- ANSI with the /B switch and the desired number of bytes as nnn. Resizing the
- buffer after initial installation requires deinstallation, which may be
- accomplished using the /U switch. Current key assignments are lost if the
- buffer is resized. The buffer can be cleared without resizing by invoking ANSI
- with the /C switch.
-
- The full command set of IBM-ANSI control sequences is printed in the
- original article and in the DOS Technical Reference manual. This information
- can also be downloaded from PC Magnet.
-
- Available for downloading from PC MagNet (see the ANSI by Modem
- sidebar), ANSI.COM is already compiled and ready to run. ANSI.BAS will
- automatically create ANSI.COM when run once in BASIC. To create ANSI.COM from
- the ANSI.ASM source code requires use of a macro assembler (IBM or Microsoft,
- Version 2 or later) and the following commands:
-
- MASM ANSI;
- LINK ANSI;
- EXE2BIN ANSI ANSI.COM;