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COMPUTER TUTORIAL ---------------------------------------------------------------- This tutorial discusses minimum basic DOS commands, DOS shells, disk subdirectory structure, start up boot sequence and file names/file handling. DOS stands for disk operating system. DOS is the software program which controls the primary input and output of your computer while you use an application program such as your word processor or database. Learning about DOS isn't that difficult after all. It seems that beginners live in fear of DOS. A better way to do things is to imagine that DOS is a kitchen of cooking tools and helpful chefs waiting for your instructions on what to fix for lunch. Here's the point of the analogy: you've got to be a little comfortable in the kitchen to live (no food - no you!) Same thing with DOS. Learn just a little and you can survive. But just as with the kitchen, a steady diet of peanut butter sandwiches may keep you alive (i.e., passing familiarity with only 4 or 5 DOS commands), life is more flavorful eating a variety of things like seafood, salad and dessert (i.e., a richer diet of DOS commands.) DOS or the disk operating system controls the flow of data to and from the screen, keyboard, disk drives, printers and of course the integrated circuit RAM (random access memory) chips wherein data is stored and processed. In as sense, DOS is the "verbal interpreter" through which your program (e.g., word processor) talks to the raw hardware. Somewhat like a person in a foreign land who needs a language interpreter. Over the years DOS has been produced in a variety of versions. New commands and capabilities have been added with different versions for a variety of machines. You might bump into a version of DOS for a true IBM machine and a version of DOS for a machine manufactured by Tandy. PC-DOS is a version of the more general MS-DOS developed for 16-bit computers using the Intel- manufactured line of CPU microprocessor chips. DOS is a software program having MANY parts! It consists of one (or more) disk(s) having an input/output system, a command processor, and many utilities. Don't worry about all of this right now, just be aware that DOS has many parts. DOS utilities are small software program files which are found on your DOS disk. These utility files perform helpful tasks such as formatting a disk or checking it for errors. Since they are a part of DOS, they live on the same disk but are not needed all of the time (e.g., you may need to format disks only once or twice a week and thus occasionally use FORMAT.COM which lives on your DOS disk.) Thus these EXTERNAL disk-based utility programs live in the computer's RAM (random access memory) chips TEMPORARILLY while in use and usually are kept on the disk until needed. They are EXTERNAL commands. Other commands live inside RAM memory because they are used frequently and are INTERNAL DOS commands. The file FORMAT.COM is an example of an EXTERNAL COMMAND. An example of an INTERNAL COMMAND would be DIR. Keep in mind that there are two basic types of DOS commands which will become more apparent as we delve into DOS magic. ---------------------------------------------------------------- DOS THE EASY WAY - DOS SHELLS AREN'T FOUND AT THE SEASHORE ---------------------------------------------------------------- Before we start our main DOS tutorial a brief alternative: There is always an easier way to do anything - given enough time and ingenuity. If DOS commands and structure are not interesting or you don't have the time to learn DOS, there exist programs called DOS SHELLS which essentially provide DOS access for routine things like moving and copying files; these menu programs hide the DOS commands behind a series of "point and select" choices and options. The typical DOS shell is a package which surrounds DOS (like a shell, hence the name) and allows you to perform the most common DOS functions by pressing only one or two keys or moving a highlighted arrow. Very appealing for beginners! This may be all the DOS control most people need . . . This is a bit like using a cash machine at the bank. If you need to take money out of the machine, you insert your card, key in a password and press a few different choice buttons. DOS SHELLS provide a screen of DOS command CHOICES, allowing you to point the arrow or cursor at the task you want done. You see a menu of choices instead of a cryptic C> prompt. The tradeoff is that you may miss out some of the more subtle operations that direct contact with DOS can provide, but then sometimes it is easier to get the task accomplished without fancy sidetracking and confusion. There are two flavors of DOS shells: memory resident which stay put in the computer memory and are always available whether the DOS shell disk is in the machine or not. The second type, non- resident shells, live on the disk and must be present in the disk drive to be used. Non-resident DOS shells do not use active RAM memory continuously and thus free more memory space for your main program. Some DOS shells also have added features: security passwords and macros - the capability to cause one key or key combination to instantly type a long string of commands. DOS shells are a good "beginners crutch" to let you work with the computer and its DOS operating system without having to learn the DOS commands and their somewhat arcane syntax. Some practical and easy DOS shell packages include: Still River Shell, DOS2ools, PC Tools, Powermenu, Automenu, Dirmagic and Directory Freedom. If you are beginner and don't want to be troubled learning DOS, then a shell program is the easiest way to use the PC. DOS version 5.0 contains its own shell system. ---------------------------------------------------------------- USING DOS - THE NUTS AND BOLTS ---------------------------------------------------------------- Next let's jump into our main DOS tutorial, for those interested. Remember, there are TWO ways to use DOS. Directly at the prompt using what is termed a COMMAND LINE. This is the detailed method we will study in a paragraph or so. A second way is to use a DOS SHELL to manage files and other data, as we discussed previously. The following examples are best practiced at the DOS prompt A> or C> rather than within this tutorial. You might wish to print this tutorial and then practice the examples with your computer displaying a true DOS prompt such as C> To print this tutorial, press P to print. Now let's begin the tutorial: When you first turn on the computer with only the DOS disk in place, assuming some automatic startup software or menu program has not been installed, you will see the lonesome A> prompt or maybe C> prompt if you have a hard drive. The DEFAULT drive is the disk drive in which DOS will search for a program or file if no other specification to another drive is given. The prompt tells you which drive is the default drive at the moment. DOS can specify up to 63 drive names (not just a, b and c!) If A> is on the screen it is the DOS prompt and in this case the A: drive is the DEFAULT floppy drive which will be searched for information if you issue a command and ask DOS to execute it. You can CHANGE the default drive simply. Let's try switching drives. If you see A> try the following example: (Example) b: <press enter or return key> The result on screen is now B> The computer now pays attention to b: (b drive). Hopefully there is a disk in b: drive or DOS gets confused and will give you an error message. If you have a hard drive (which is usually the C: drive,) you can try switching back and forth between your A: drive and C: in a similar manner. Try switching around between drives, go back and forth a few times. Switching drives is a VERY IMPORTANT SKILL, since DOS pays attention to the default drive whose letter is displayed on your screen. Let's try some other simple DOS commands. Type the short command (such as VER) when you see a DOS prompt. You can use either upper or lower case letters to type DOS commands. Try these examples . . . (Example) A>ver <then press enter key> (Example) A>time <then press enter key> (Example) A>date <then press enter key> In the above examples, you first asked DOS to tell you what version of DOS you are using then a request to tell you the time and date. Get the idea? Type in a word or phrase and something happens. But just what are the words and phrases? Let's delve more deeply . . . (Example) A>dir/p <enter> You get a listing of files in the drive (hopefully a disk is in the drive.) Notice that we added /p to the end of a command. P is shorthand for "pause after each screenful." The DIR command means "directory" (a list of files or programs on the disk.) You can modify a basic DOS command like DIR with additional COMMAND SWITCHES, PARAMETERS and ARGUMENTS (e.g., /p) which simply implies modifications to a basic DOS command. The following examples show DOS commands with modifying switches or parameters. Try this . . . (Example) A>dir/w <enter> /w means "wide screen" (Example) A>dir a: <enter> list a: drive contents (Example) A>dir b: <enter> list b: drive contents You will notice that the DOS prompt stays with or in the default drive you started from but can examine another drive directory then COME BACK to the default drive from where you started. Another way of explaining this is that you can switch back and forth between drives (typing a: or b:) and ask for directories OR you can stay in a drive and ask DOS to look at either a: or b: independently of the default drive. Flexibility! A REMINDER: DOS is a computer operating system. Many of its commands once loaded stay inside the machine. As long as the power is on, these commands stay resident (stay put) and are called INTERNAL commands. DIR is an example of an INTERNAL COMMAND - it lives inside the computer once DOS is loaded. EXTERNAL COMMANDS only live on the DOS disk and can be copied to other disks (example: SORT.COM). They load TEMPORARILY into the computer memory, do their job and then are gone. EXTERNAL DOS COMMANDS MUST HAVE A DOS DISK (OR COPY) of that command in a disk drive when you need them. While we are concentrating on DOS at the moment it is important to understand that DOS is only an operating system. DOS is the first step. The second step for most people is to use more useful APPLICATION programs such as word processors, accounting systems, databases or other software to accomplish real work. These higher level APPLICATION programs are started by entering a simple word or instruction at the DOS prompt. For example, if you purchased a word processing disk it might instruct you to insert that special disk into the computer and type: A>start (then press enter key) The point is that DOS is a program which itself allows other useful programs to be loaded into the PC and operated. TIME TO JUMP TO LIGHTSPEED! The listing which follows is a portion of the most useful DOS commands with examples and clarification tips. Your DOS manual contains many more. -- DIR -- (Internal command) lists a table of disk file contents. Use this command to view a disk volume label, all filenames, sizes of files in bytes, the date, time of file creation and amount of space left for storage on the disk. A disk for IBM PCs clones hold about 360,000 bytes or computer "words." DIR/W lists columns in "wide screen mode" DIR/P lists in "pause" mode (one screen at a time). You can also locate or find certain files. Example: A>dir letter.bak Example: C>dir rll.wks. You can switch and view another directory. Example: C>dir b: Example A>dir c: When you issue the DIR command your screen will produce a listing similar to this assuming you have a disk in the floppy drive: COMMAND COM 16037 2-15-84 3:55p ANSI SYS 1632 6-26-84 5:15p ASSIGN EXE 1386 5-22-84 3:42p AUTOEXEC BAT 40 3-26-87 6:32a BACKUP COM 11855 12-11-84 1:02p CHKDSK COM 6468 10-19-83 7:51p DEBUG COM 12223 10-19-83 7:52p DEVCNFG COM 4621 9-18-85 7:01p DISKCOMP COM 2088 9-12-85 4:41p DISKCOPY COM 1409 10-19-83 7:51p DISKSHIP EXE 2376 8-29-85 11:08a In the above partial screen listing, the first word in each line is the filename. The second word is the file extension. (Example: the first file is actually named COMMAND.COM not COMMAND COM ). The next number is the byte count or file size (i.e., how many computer words or bytes make up the file). The next item is the date of file creation. The final item is the time of file creation. This is very useful as you start to build up a collection of files! Which one is the latest and when did I write that financial report are common questions and good reasons why a date and time of file creation is important to both DOS and you. Tip: FILE HANDLING with the DIR command and DOS. On the screen a directory listing might show a file as LEARN WKS But the true filename syntax is always LEARN.WKS The point is that you need a dot between the filename (first part) and the extension of the file (second part) or DOS cannot handle the file properly. FILENAMES. There is a meaning to life, as they say. The clue as to the use of a file usually resides in its three character file extension. Files can be typed in upper or lower case, DOS doesn't care! Names longer than eight letters will be shortened automatically to eight letters. File extensions longer than three letters will be shortened to three letters. The file name frequently gives a clue as to the nature of the file. The file extension tells WHAT KIND of file it might be. Acceptable characters which can be used to make up a file name are: A through Z, 0 through 9, and these: $#&@!()-{}'`_~ Unacceptable characters which CANNOT be used in a filename are: |<>\^+=?/[]";,* (and also) Control characters and the space Examples of filenames. LOOK CAREFULLY AT THE THREE DIGIT EXTENSIONS: 123.EXE The program 123, an "executable" file. Think of as a program that can be started and "run" to do something. GO.BAT A Batch file (bat). Like an exe file. Contains plain english DOS commands and can be viewed with the DOS "type" command. VIEW.COM Unknown file, but a "command" type, similar to an exe file. 783.WKS A worksheet file from lotus possibly from July of 1983 (7/83) README.TXT Probably a text file in plain english. Can be read and viewed with the DOS command: TYPE (discussed below.) XVC.DBF Unknown file, but we might guess a dBase database program database file. CONFIG.SYS A PC system file. Helps "configure" your computer for specific hookups, and equipment. If you type A>ZIGZAG (then press enter key) DOS will look for: ZIGZAG.COM or ZIGZAG.EXE or ZIGZAG.BAT. As we illustrated in the directory listing above, the first (ZIZAG.COM) is a COMMAND file or program which can be run to do something. The second is an executable file. And, the third is a batch file (see the batch file tutorial.) COM and EXE files can execute as programs. The difference between the two relates to how memory is allocated. COM files when loaded into memory are exact mirror images of their structure on disk. EXE files are usually larger programs which use extensive chunks of RAM memory and are not exact images of their disk counterpart. An arcane but interesting distinction. A DOS command has a unique command syntax just like we humans have rules of grammar. A DOS command has a mandatory part and some DOS commands have an optional part. For example, DIR C:pathname\filename.ext/w/p is the complete syntax for the DOS DIR command we used above, BUT only DIR is mandatory. We will explain pathnames and directories in a later tutorial. For now, just realize that DOS commands have a central or mandatory command and additional "refinements" or options with little / and \ bars to refine the command. / is a slash. \ is called a backslash. You don't need to use the refinements, but they help as you grow in proficiency. DOS is quite honest for the most part. When you ask for a directory listing of files on a disk you usually get it. EXCEPT for two small lies! On the main DOS disk are two files which cannot be seen on the directory (hidden) but are there: IBMBIO.COM and IBMDOS.COM. These files are the core of the operating system. The designers of DOS hid them for two reasons 1) copyright concerns 2) protection from accidental erasure. But the biggest problem is that these two special files will not copy to disks in the normal manner (see our copy discussion below). These two files can only be copied with the SYS command or DISKCOPY command (also below). Without these two files a disk cannot boot or startup the computer. When you copy a DOS disk the COPY command copies almost everything (except IBMBIO and IBMDOS.) The DISKCOPY command copies everything. You only need IBMBIO.COM and IBMDOS.COM to start the computer. IBMBIO.COM and IBMDOS.COM do not have to be on every disk - only those disks which start the computer. Tip: STOP! Not a formal DOS command, but if you need to stop something in progress, (copying, listing) do this: If a directory is scrolling endlessly down the screen, hit control key AND the S key held together. This stops things until you want to continue (hit any key). To stop a DOS operation altogether, use control key and C key together. Easy way to remember: control-C means crash. control-S means stop. This will not always work within every program (e.g., inside lotus 1-2-3) but it does work within DOS. -- TYPE -- (Internal) displays or "types" the contents of a file on your monitor. Use type for a glimpse into files. Only text files (also known as ASCII files) will read in english. Other files (com or exe) will show gibberish since they are in computer code. Hit CTRL-Z to stop (control and Z keys). Hit Ctrl-S (control and S key) to pause and any key to restart. Example: A>type readme.1st (sends output to screen) Example: B>type readme.1st>prn (sends output to printer) -- ? and * -- DOS can use "wildcards" in many operations (? *). Simply stated, these wildcards take the place of letters and numbers. Use the question mark as any SINGLE character. Use the * as any GROUP of ANY LENGTH of characters. Think of them as shortcuts to get the job done! Very powerful and useful! Frequently used with the COPY and DEL commands which are discussed in a few paragraphs. Example: C>dir a:*.wks Means provide a directory listing of any files on the a: drive ending in WKS and beginning with ANY characters of ANY length from 1 to eight digits. Files such as MY.WKS or NUMBERS.WKS or NAMES.WKS would fit this description. Example: B>copy ???.dat a: Means copy any files to a: drive ending in DAT and having any characters in the filename AND ONLY filenames exactly three digits long. The often used *.* means ANY FILE NAME and ANY extension regardless of length. For instance: Example: C>copy *.* a: (means copy ALL files from the existing default c: into the a: drive) Example: C>copy a:*.* b: (means copy ALL files from a: to b:) Example: A>del finance.* (delete files from the a: drive which begin with finance and have ANY file extension size or character type.) -- COPY -- (Internal) copies one or several files to a disk or directory. Copy can duplicate a file onto another disk or into a subdirectory (more on subdirectories later). Copy is the most flexible and powerful of the DOS commands! Use the copy command with the wildcards seen above for even more flexibility. Example: B>copy zip.doc a: (copy zip.doc from b: drive to a: drive.) Example: A>copy c:why.me b: (copy why.com from c: drive to b: drive.) Example: C>copy c:fuss.txt b:whine.txt (copy fuss.txt from c: drive to b: drive and rename it whine.txt) Copy and /v verifies a good transfer or copy. Example: A>copy whine.bat b:/v Means copy the disk file whine.bat to the b: drive and then VERIFY this is a good copy. Verify is also an independent DOS command. Copy and the + symbol COMBINES two or more files into one larger file. Useful for combining two wordprocessor files into one larger file. Example: A> copy files.old+files.new files.all (The NEW file = files.all) Copy can send data to the printer. Example: B>copy files.new prn Example: B>copy files.new>prn. Copy CON (copy from the console or keyboard) can prepare batch files and autoexec.bat files to automate many DOS operations (examples below). In this fashion copy can create a new file and act like a very simple "mini" word processor! Example: A>copy con lotus.bat (press enter) A>123 (press enter) A>^Z (press enter) In the last line ^Z is produced by either pressing F6 (function key 6) or holding down control key and z key together. This file means (first line) create a file named Lotus.bat as typed from the keyboard or con (console). (Second line) execute the program named 123. (Final line) end of my orders from the keyboard - prepare the file Lotus.bat and save it on the disk. -- VERIFY -- (Internal) checks file copying operations to make sure a newly copied file is identical to its companion. It is usually added as a /V command at the end of a copy command, but also is a separate DOS command. Typing verify all by itself simply reports whether verify is currently on or off. Example: C>verify on (turns on verify function until you turn it off) Example B>verify off (turns off verify function until you turn it on) -- DATE and TIME -- (Internal) A calendar and clock exist within DOS. On some computers it automatically is updated and kept current. On other computers (without a clock card or chip installed) you type in the date and time on startup. If you don't type in the date and time manually or have an automatic clock chip which does this, the default values will be 1/1/80 and 00:00:00.00 for date and time respectively. You can enter the date with hyphens (-) or slashes (/). Do not enter the day of the week (e.g., Monday) even though it may show on the monitor. The PC will calculate this for you automatically. A two digit year references dates between 1980 and 1999. In 2000 you must use four digits. The time setting references a 24 hour military time clock (e.g., 1300 hours = 1PM). Date and time data is important to DOS since it is attached to all files to keep track of when they were created so you can determine which file is most recent. Example: B>time Example: A>date -- DEL or ERASE -- (Internal) deletes files or groups of files. Use DEL*.* to erase all files from a disk. See our previous mention of wildcards (* and ?). If you make a mistake, certain non-DOS utilities (e.g., Nortons Utilities and PC-Tools) can un- delete a deleted file. But DOS cannot do this! Be careful - a typographic mistake can delete an unintended file! Deleting old files is a necessary operation, though, which frees up space on a disk. Hard disk users may prefer to move files to a floppy to free up space yet still retain a backup copy of the file in case of need. Example: A>del whine.txt Example: B>del 784.wks Example: A>del *.wks (notice the use of the * wildcard we mentioned earlier!) Example: A>del old.* (notice the use of the * wildcard we mentioned earlier!) Example: C>del ??.rxd (notice the use of the ? wildcard we mentioned earlier!) -- DISKCOPY -- (External) copies entire contents of one floppy to another. Some DOS versions (Ver 2.11) require you to first format the blank disk while later versions (Ver 3.1 and higher) sense an unformatted disk and first format it then proceed with the diskcopy. Diskcopy is a wise idea since disks wear out after several hundred hours of operation. The /1 argument means copy to side 0 of the disk only. All information on the target disk will be destroyed and over-written with the new information, so be careful! Example: A>diskcopy a: b: (copy the contents of a: floppy to b: floppy) Example: A>diskcopy a: b:/1 (copy the partial contents of a: floppy to b: floppy using single side of disk only) -- COMP and DISKCOMP -- (External) compare two files or disks. Diskcomp is frequently used after diskcopy operations. These commands ensure identical accuracy of the copied files or disks. Example: A>comp a:fuzz.txt b:thatch.txt (compares two files) Example: A>diskcomp a: b: (compares two entire disks) -- CLS -- (Internal) clears the screen and puts the cursor in the home (upper left) position. Useful. Try it! Example: A>cls -- FORMAT -- (External) Prepares a blank floppy to receive data. Think of a fresh disk as blank paper. DOS prefers graph paper with little boxes drawn on it to receive data. Each little box stores a computer word or "byte." Format erases any old files on a disk - be careful! Format prepares the tracks and sectors which will receive the data. All disks must first be formatted prior to use. Example: B>format a: (format floppy in a: drive) Example: C>format a:/s (format floppy in a: AND add system files) Example: A>format (format the disk in the DEFAULT a: drive). Full command syntax is: format d:/s/1/8/b/v In the above example, d: tells where the disk is. /s put the system files IBMDOS.COM and IBMBIO.COM on the disk. /1 formats one side of the disk only. /8 formats as 8 sectors for use the older DOS 1.1. /b formats as 8 sectors per track and leaves room for the DOS system files. /v puts a volume label onto the disk for future identification. Tip: Only new (empty) formatted disks can receive the system files (IBMBIO.COM and IBMDOS.COM). Once you put a few files on the floppy, the system files will not fit since track 0, sector 0 have been used. Remember that the system files are designed to start the computer and MUST start on track 0, sector 0, However very few of your floppies NEED the system files: just the one or two which actually start the PC. Tip: Danger! A>format c: wipes out your hard drive! Also C> del *.* wipes out hard drive. -- REN or RENAME -- (Internal) changes name of a file to another new name. Destroys old name. Usually you will use this when you want to change on old backup file to another name so that it can be used by a program again. Wildcards are allowed but can cause trouble - be careful. If the new file name already exists, the ren command will give you an error message as a safety measure. Example: A>ren old.txt new.txt Tip: Use the copy command instead of rename if you want to KEEP the old file and its old name, and want another copy of that file with a new name. See the THIRD example given in the copy command. -- VER -- Shows the DOS version number. Example: A>ver -- VOL -- Displays a volume label, if one exists on a particular hard or floppy disk. The label is a name you can give the disk when it is first formatted. It can contain names, dates or helpful reminders much like the title on the cover of a book. Some special utilities help you change the volume label AFTER formatting has taken place. Example: C>vol -- SYS -- (External) copies the hidden files (BIO and SYS) to another disk which has been already formatted. This command makes a disk floppy bootable to the computer - you no longer need DOS to start the machine. The newly made disk with the two hidden files will boot (start) the machine by itself. The basic purpose of the SYS and format/s commands are to make a disk self-starting or self booting. The command FORMAT/S first formats a floppy then adds the hidden files. Example: A>sys b: (used when the disk is already formatted) Example: A>format b:/s (does same thing but first formats blank disk) Example: A>format b:/s/v (verify also used) -- CHKDSK -- (External) checks contents of a disk for errors. Chkdsk/f fixes minor file allocation table (FAT) errors. Chkdsk/v (v means verbose) displays all filenames as it works. Followed by a filename, chkdsk checks only that file. Always use the version of chkdsk which came with your DOS disk. Switching to a different version from another disk can do damage! Below is a sample display produced by running chkdsk on a floppy disk. The first three lines of the report tell about the disk. The last two tell about the RAM memory inside the computer. C>chkdsk b: produces following 362496 bytes total disk space 251904 bytes in 26 user files 110592 bytes available on disk 655360 bytes total memory 234016 bytes free Example: A>chkdsk b: (check b: floppy, all files) Example: C>chkdsk c:\*.* (check for contiguity of files in root of c: drive) Example: A>chkdsk b:this.doc/f/v (check only the file this.doc on b:floppy. Give verbose report and attempt to fix any errors) -- FDISK -- (External) prepares hard drive for data. First use fdisk then use format c:/s/v for second step. Some hard disks come shipped with fdisk already run and only need final formatting. Running fdisk is also known as partitioning the hard disk. Example: A>fdisk -- LABEL -- (External) attaches volume label or header to a floppy. Like stamping a book with a title. Only in DOS 3.0 and above. Some utilities can add this feature to DOS 2.11 and below. Example: A>label b:expenses.com -- CTRL & PRTSC -- (Internal) aren't really DOS commands but a combination of two keystrokes at the same time which sends all displayed data to the printer until you hit the same two keys to turn the command off. This allows you to print directory listings or files of interest. Remember to turn command off when finished. Press CTRL-PRTSC to toggle the printer on and print anything which goes to the monitor screen, then press CTRL-PRTSC to toggle the printer off when you have all you need printed. -- SHIFT & PRTSC -- (Internal) two key combination which copies only the current screen to your printer. DOS also uses device (equipment) names within commands. For example you can talk to your printer on keyboard by using the proper DOS name. Each name is unique. Examples follow: -- CON -- Is the name for the keyboard and monitor. Below is a repeat of a previous example using the con device name. Copy CON ("copy from the console or keyboard) can prepare batch files and autoexec.bat files to automate many DOS operations (examples below). In this fashion copy can create a new file and act like a very simple word processor! Example: A>copy con autoexec.bat (press enter) A>123 (press enter) A>^Z (press enter) -- AUX: or COM1 -- Is the first ansynchronous communication port which usually has a modem, serial printer or mouse connected to it. COM2 is the second port. PC's can have up to 4 serial ports. -- PRN or LPT1 -- Is the first parallel port which is usually used with a printer. LPT2 is the second printer. By the way, a PORT is an electrial socket on the back of the PC where a cable of some type plugs in. -- CAS1 -- Is an antique term still available within DOS which refers to the early PC days when a cassette recorder was used for storing data rather than floppies. This is the cassette recorder port. -- NUL -- Is a test device. Anything sent to nul goes nowhere. However it is useful in testing DOS batch programs or simply sending excess garbage from a screen report to nul (nowhere) thus uncluttering a busy screen. Odd but useful in its own right. This free tutorial is part of our LARGER computer training system for beginners. You can obtain a FREE disk containing the COMPLETE TUTORIAL SYSTEM by writing to: The Seattle Scientific Photoraphy Co. Dept F93, PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. To receive free disk, you MUST mention in your letter this authorization code: 1230LP. You will receive an unregistered shareware sample disk. Chapter 2 - Word processing ---------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1993, Jim Hood WORD PROCESSING - THAT FEELING OF SYNTAX ---------------------------------------------------------------- You'll never forget your first word processing software package. The bond is strong. It is usually the first program a new computer user learns and for many, the most frequent and only package ever used. The time and effort spent learning a quality word processing package is a an investment with instant productivity payoffs and continuing usefulness into the distant future. If personal computers were designed to run only ONE software package, this would rightfully be the choice for most users. But the time and effort learning a word processing package can sometimes work against learning additional features already inside the program or causing you to stay with a program when a better alternative or upgrade is available. ---------------------------------------------------------------- WORD PROCESSING PREHISTORY ---------------------------------------------------------------- But let's back up a bit and take a trip down memory lane. Although the manual typewriter existed for many years, serious word processing took shape with the classic IBM selectric which was introduced in July, 1961. The Selectric had changeable ball fonts which allowed better control over typeface size and quickly became the executive and corporate standard. By 1971 Wang Labs brought to market the Wang 1200 dedicated word processing system which stored up to 133,000 characters on crude cassette tapes. It was a miracle! Unlike the selectric typewriter, you could format documents and store them on tape for later recall and editing. Wang improved on this model and five years later had expanded document storage to a disk system having 4,000 page capability and additional word processing features. In September of 1976 personal computers were one year old and the original CP/M operating system was introduced which allowed early personal computers to store data and documents on disk. Wordstar for the CP/M operating system, the grandfather of all personal computer word processing programs, appeared in June of 1979 from a fledgling company named MicroPro. At about the same time Alan Ashton and Bruce Bastian of the Wordperfect Corporation of Orem, Utah were working to develop a powerful but easy word processing program for the town government. Their original product, the Wordperfect Word processor, ran only on the Data General Minicomputer. Between 1980 and 1981 both Wang Labs and IBM introduced two dedicated word processing systems with the IBM Displaywriter appearing in June of 1980 and the WangWriter in December of 1981. The market was primed. IBM introduced the original desktop PC hoping for modest corporate sales in August of 1981. A relatively simple machine by today's standards, the machine initially held only 64K of RAM and a crude cassette recorder port for data storage. But the PC attracted favorable reviews for its reliable design, exceptional keyboard and quality workmanship. The official and only word processing package for the PC at the time was EasyWriter. In September another package, Volkswriter for the PC, was added. Despite this initial small offering of software packages, most serious word processing continued to be done on dedicated systems and CP/M personal computers with Wordstar as the standard for CP/M hobbyists. One odd solution for some early IBM PC enthusiasts was to retrofit the early IBM PC with a card which could run CPM word processing programs - the so called "Baby Blue" card. However, the momentum was building behind the IBM desktop PC standard and other suppliers were busy re-writing word processing packages from CPM to the IBM standard. Wordstar for the PC was introduced in June of 1982 and was an instant hit. In July of 1982 Wordmate appeared which was a redesign of the popular MultiMate corporate standard word processing package. In April of 1983 Wordstar Version 3.3 was released which brought a robust and full-featured package to the needs of corporate user anxious to do serious word processing on the IBM PC. By then, the desktop PC was becoming an inexpensive option compared with dedicated word processing office equipment. The momentum escalated. One month later a truly easy word processing package PFS: Write emerged to capture the market for home and small office word processing users requiring simplicity and ease of use. Later in the year, Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Washington became the first to issue a full-featured WYSIWYG word processing package (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) named appropriately Microsoft Word. The new concept of seeing graphics and text on screen was stunning. Unlike the Wordstar image of text and funny control codes representing differing styles of bold and italic type, Microsoft Word showed the actual letters on screen in the same glorious form as they would appear on the printed page. By 1984, word processing packages were proliferating rapidly in features and menu options and the Hewlett-Packard Company released the desktop laser printer which produced print close to typeset in quality. Now text could look great both on screen and on paper. The feeling was addictive. The printed page looked better than ever and the computer and printer now formed a "professional image team" which rivaled professional typesetting at a fraction of the cost. By 1985 the first desktop publishing packages began to appear. Desktop publishing combined typeset quality text with images and layout design concepts. Pagemaker, the first desktop publishing package, appeared for the Apple Macintosh computer and was available for the IBM PC family by 1986. During the remaining years, word processing packages have begun to incorporate features formerly seen in desktop packages - such as graphics images and columnar layout capabilities. Another trend is that packages have become more feature rich offering nearly something for everyone at constantly decreasing prices. Spelling checkers, thesaurus options, footnotes and even style checking have become standard. When you consider the fact that word processing programs are generally more difficult and time consuming to design than spreadsheets and databases, it is surprising how inexpensive the packages have become in such a short time. Today there are hundreds of word processing packages from which to chose. Predictably each package has a somewhat fanatical following. How to chose from the richness at hand? Some initial considerations are primary. What size of documents will you be editing? Is there a particular printer or network the package will not support? Do you require full or partial compatibility with other software or hardware in your office? Are special features such as technical or scientific symbols offered? Generally, word processing software is divided into five broad categories. The first, personal word processors are easy to learn and low in cost but have limited features such as lack of spell checking or limited document length capabilities. Professional packages, the second broad category, are more difficult to learn but have more advanced features which may be needed later. Document length may be limited by disk space, not RAM memory space. All have spelling checkers and a plethora of features. Technical word processing packages are a third option which can perform calculations with onboard mathematics functions. They are used by engineers and scientists and may incorporate math and engineering symbols and the ability to construct special symbols when needed. Foreign language word processing software, a fourth option, provides non-English writing and style capabilities Finally, Desktop Publishing packages allow the operator to convey both text and pictures (graphics) on the printed page. They also incorporate advanced formatting capabilities such as columnar style sheets, the ability to wrap text around images and "flow" text from one column or page to the next. All desktop publishing packages show text as it will appear on the printed page which is highly appealing to the writer who works with the look of printed text as well as its content. ---------------------------------------------------------------- WORD PROCESSING TIPS AND TECHNIQUES ---------------------------------------------------------------- Next let's branch away from features the word processor contains and look at some helpful habits you should cultivate when using a word processing program. When you save a document within a word processor, try to assign a single key or macro to the saving function. It should be easy to reprogram an infrequently used key or key combination to make it possible to frequently save documents every ten or fifteen minutes or if you are otherwise interrupted. Many word processing packages have easy keystrokes for the file saving routine while others are awkward and inconvenient. Use a macro or keyboard reassignment portion of the package to make the file saving keystroke fast and easily remembered. Try to use dates as a part of the file name so that files can be identified for later use and editing. Instead of the cryptic BUDGET.DOC you might name the file LG011589.TXT which might be the bank ledger documentation file written on 01/15/89. Forethought in naming files saves many moments of wasted thrashing about directories trying to find THAT letter from last March. Also consider using the file extension productively. If all of your employee training documents end in .TNG it is easy to find, sort, update or delete them quickly using the DOS wildcards. One system could be a key or token starting the filename. Files containing these symbols could equate as: @=letter, )=initial draft, &=research, !=final version, <=expenses and so on. These internal codes which perhaps start a document filename can save hours later on searching and sorting among similar documents. Paper slipping can be a problem if you are feeding single sheets into a printer without the tractor feed. Try taping some stiff paper to the top of the printer so that the sheet to be printed can only move about 1/2 inch. Line up paper squarely when you begin to print. When all else fails, use the document preview and spell checker to make sure how the final output will look. Nothing is more maddening than having to print a document again when you find a single incorrectly spelled word in an otherwise perfect word processed document. Watch out for platen wear on the printer, also. When you always insert the paper at the same place, the platen will develop a groove or wear line. Insert the paper towards the middle of the platen and change to a wider margin from time to time to minimize platen wear. Experiment with the printer until you find the correct location to insert each piece of paper so that it prints perfectly. Then tape or etch marks on the printer and tractor feed to align future sheets the same way. Sample books are a great idea. Print standard document styles or formats you use and keep them in a binder for future reference with the settings or file names where they are located. Also keep the special symbols and printer setup codes you use frequently in the same binder. Using search and replace creatively. Want to change the justification of a document to flush left instead of every paragraph indented five spaces? Use the search and replace feature to find all occurrences of five blank spaces and then replace that with no spaces. Who says you can't teach an old word processor new tricks? In addition, some communications files downloaded from modems have excess carriage returns or control characters. Try using your word processor's search and replace to quickly find and remove the offending symbols or excess carriage returns. Grab a printed ASCII chart from the back of your DOS manual and locate the 3 digit decimal code. Next enter the code for that character within the search function of your word processor. You can enter any of these by holding down the alt key and hitting the three digit decimal code listed in the ASCII chart. When you release the alt key the ASCII symbol will appear. For instance the ASCII decimal code for { is 123. Try it! More tricks of the trade. When printing envelopes a clever trick is to prepare a special format file for printing to the odd size and space of envelopes. When ready, add this short file to the end of your document and copy or transfer the name and address info from the body of the letter to the envelope template at the bottom. Put a printer pause mark at the end of the letter so that when you print, first the document prints and then pauses at the end of the page for you to unload the sheet and insert an envelope. Hitting continue will print the envelope as the final task! If your package permits, store several templates for the various styles of documents you prepare. Each file hold the special tabs, margins and space plus any macros in a separate, easily recovered file. When you use citations to books and a bibliography or other footnotes, it is a wise idea to repeat them in the body of the text. That way you can use the search function to quickly zoom to the paragraph wherein the book was cited and update as necessary. When you are all done, you can use search to remove the citation(s) in the body of the text just before you print. Saving scraps is essential. If you chop out small or large blocks of text, save them to a file possibly named SCRAPS.TXT. You will be surprised that weeks or months later you may need that crucial deleted scrap for another document! Two are better than one. Sometimes you can't be sure if you should remove or leave a portion of text. Prepare a file for each and save BOTH to disk. Then read each version on screen or paper and then decide, knowing you have recourse to BOTH styles on the disk. Placeholders or bookmarks are useful. If a portion of the text needs more work in a certain area, devise a little bookmark such as <xxx> or other odd symbol. That way you can quickly come back to the section by having the search feature quickly zoom in to find that odd little symbol. Use an assortment of bookmarks for different stages of progress. Maybe a series of different bookmarks have different meanings, but all can be found quickly with the search feature. To save time when spell checking, try reverse checking. This means that if you have already spell-checked the majority of the document and have recently added only a couple of new paragraphs to the end, then move the cursor to the bottom of the document and instruct the spell checker to scan BACKWARDS from the bottom to the top since only the last two paragraphs need to be checked! This can save a considerable amount of time. Likewise you can tell the spell checker to start checking from a point deep within the document if that is all you need. Chapter 3 - History Of Computers This free tutorial is part of our LARGER computer training system for beginners. You can obtain a FREE disk containing the COMPLETE TUTORIAL SYSTEM by writing to: The SSP Company, Dept F93, PO Box 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. To receive free disk, you MUST mention in your letter this authorization code: 1230LP. You will receive an unregistered shareware sample disk. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1993, Jim Hood A LITTLE PC HISTORY WHERE WE'VE BEEN WITH NO IDEA WHERE WE'RE GOING! ---------------------------------------------------------------- In the beginning . . . Computing or calculating by machine began in the middle east with the use of pegs or stones in trays or channels. The Babylonians developed the idea of stone or bead counters into the more modern abacus - modern in the sense that the abacus is still in use today and in the hands of an experienced operator can calculate results faster than a computer! The beauty of the abacus is its simplicity in construction and operation. Inexpensive beads of stone or wood and a simple frame make up the abacus and the uneducated could quickly be trained in its use. In the 8th and 9th centuries we note the rise of the Arabic numeral system which slowly spread through Europe and the then civilized world. Although a superior calculating system, Arabic numerals required the user to understand the more complicated numerical theory associated with the system. By the early 1600's Napier (often associated with the development of logarithms and their practical application) introduced a series of rods which could be used for multiplication - a crude slide rule system. Soon, ever more complicated "calculating engines" or primitive mechanical computing devices appeared. One example is the complex Pascaline invented by Blaise Pascal. By 1791 the stage was set. Babbage, an English mathematician and inventor with the help of Ada Byron (daughter of lord Byron, the famous poet) developed the ideas for two mechanical calculators or "number engines." The Difference Engine was a device to solve polynomial equations by the methods of differences. The Analytical Engine (which was never built)) was designed as a general computing device. Both were mechanical in concept using gears, rods and cams to perform calculations. Unfortunately neither machine was built since the tooling and machining technology of the day was imprecise and could not construct the accurate parts needed. However the models and planning of Babbage and Byron did lead to important preliminary computing concepts still in use today. As an aside, we should note from the work of Babbage and Byron that computing even in its infancy was strongly influenced by BOTH women and men - let's face it, computing is NOT gender specific! Next we jump to the United States. By 1880 a problem had arisen with the United States census. By that time, it took 7 years to process all of the information gathered by the Census Bureau since all tabulation was done by hand on paper. It was assumed that the 1890 census might take 10 to 12 years to tabulate. Clearly a better method was needed to crunch the volume of numbers and data. A public competition was held to produce a better indexing or mechanical system to tabulate future census results. Herman Hollerith, a census employee, handily won by suggesting the use of punch cards and a form of punch card reader which tabulated the results in six weeks. Hollerith, wise in the ways of computing devices and seeing a good opportunity went on to found the Tabulating Machine Company (later changed to IBM). Hollerith might be thus thought of as our first computer entrepreneur! The advent of World War II provided the impetus for the development of more refined computing devices. The Mark I was an electromechanical device using relays. IBM built that computer for the Navy. Later, the Colossus was built for the British and used for wartime code breaking of German radio transmissions. The ABC (Atanasoff-Berry Computer) was constructed at Iowa State and was the first fully electronic digital computer. Admiral Grace Hopper, known as "Amazing Grace" to some, was a naval officer and pioneer in the field of computer programming during the 1940's and 50's. An innovative and fundamental thinker, she recognized that computers could be used for business applications - a pioneering insight beyond the then conventional use of computers for scientific and military applications. Her programming language called "Flowmatic" later evolved into COBOL, the most common and still popular language for programming business software. She died in 1992 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Computing science continued to evolve rapidly . . . Eniac was the most famous of the early computers and contained 18,000 vacuum tubes and was used by the Army for ballistics calculations. Edvac was the first stored memory computing device which did away with rewiring tasks associated with changing computer programs and represented a true computer breakthrough. This first generation of machines running from roughly 1951 through 1958 featured computers characterized by the use of radio type vacuum tubes. But the pace was increasing . . . Second generation machines such as the famous Univac were designed as true general or universal purpose machines and could process both alphabetic and numeric problems and data. Punch cards still formed the major input path to the machines of this era and all programming was done in complex low level machine language commands. By 1959 with the invention of the transistor, computers began to shrink in size and cost and operate faster and more dependably than the huge vacuum tube models. Programming languages began to feature English-like instructions rather than cumbersome machine code or assembly language. Fortran and Cobol are two modern "high level" languages developed during this period and still in use today. In many respects, the personal computer industry began in 1974 when the Intel corporation introduced a CPU integrated circuit chip named the 8080. It contained 4,500 transistors and could address 64K of memory through a 16 bit data bus. The 8080 was the integrated circuit brain behind the early MITS Altair personal computer which fired popular interest in home and small business computing when it appeared on the July 1975 cover of Popular Electronics Magazine. The first MITS Altair contained no keyboard or monitor, only crude LED lights and tiny flip switches to facilitate programming. Four years later in 1978 Intel released the 8086 chip which had a tenfold increase in performance over the 8080 chip. When IBM began the design phase of the first desktop PC units in 1980 and 1981, they chose the cousin of the 8086, the Intel 8088 chip, to power the first PC which was designed for modest corporate use but quickly exploded in popularity due to an excellent design, spectacular keyboard and openess to upgrade by the addition of "plug in" boards and cards. Early IBM PC computers retained a link with the past by allowing the addition of a small "Baby Blue" circuit board which could run software programs based on the then dominant CPM operating system. end