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DOOG
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PC-MIX.ZIP
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READ.ME
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1989-02-14
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<<<<<<<<<<<< PC-MIX READ.ME FILE >>>>>>>>>>>>
RELEASE 1.1
Please read this file carefully. It contains important information
not included in your PC-MIX manual.
<<<<<< NEW FEATURES >>>>>>
MONOCHROME VIDEO ADAPTERS
PC-MIX version 1.1 supports monochrome video adapters. PC-MIX does
operate a little different on a monochrome system. When a program
which writes directly to the video screen is executed with the
"RUN" command (see Chapter 5 of the PC-MIX User's Manual) the
program will be suspended when it is switched to the background.
With a CGA, EGA, or VGA video system PC-MIX will suspend the
background task when there are two or more programs which write
directly to the video screen. With a monochrome video system
PC-MIX will suspend the background task when there are one or more
programs which write directly to the video screen.
HOT KEY
With PC-MIX version 1.1 you can use the Alt and Ctrl keys when
defining the Hot key. For example, you can use the Alt key and
the Scroll / Lock key as the Hot key. When you press the
Scroll / Lock key along with the Alt key PC-MIX will switch to
the system status display.
If you configure the Hot key to be a combination of the Alt and
Ctrl keys along with another key the configuration editor will
display an "Alt", "Ctl", or "A-C" before the other key in the
Hot key field.
PC-MIX SWITCHES
Three run time switches are available in PC-MIX. These switches
are as follows:
/C - reduce CGA snow
/S - disable Hot key
/G - allow multitasking with graphics
To activate one or more of these switches you must include the
switch in the DOS command to start PC-MIX. For example, the syntax
of the DOS command to start PC-MIX with the graphics switch is
as follows:
< directory name > MIX < configuration filename > /G
The < directory name > is the name of the directory which contains
the PC-MIX files. You should have created this directory when you
installed PC-MIX. If you add the name of the directory which contains
the PC-MIX files to the DOS PATH command, the < directory name >
part of the DOS command is not required and you can start PC-MIX from
any directory without specifying the PC-MIX directory. Please refer
to your DOS manual for more detailed information and instructions
on the PATH command.
The < configuration filename > part of the DOS start up command
specifies which configuration file you want PC-MIX to use. This part
of the DOS command is optional. PC-MIX will use a default name of
MIX.CFG if you do not specify another filename. In some situations
it can be advantageous to have multiple configuration files. For
certain applications you may want to change the PC-MIX configuration.
PC-MIX allows you to redefine the name of the configuration file,
MIX.CFG, by including the file name in the DOS start up command.
/C SWITCH
PC-MIX may produce snow on some CGA video systems. If this is a
problem the /C option can be used to eliminate the snow.
/S SWITCH
The /S option disables the Hot key. Developers who wish to run
multiple programs but do not want their user's to switch between
the programs can use the /S option to disable the Hot key.
/G SWITCH
Because of the huge overhead involved in controlling the graphics
display buffer, PC-MIX does not allow graphics applications and
text applications to run at the same time. Section 6.5.6 of the
PC-MIX user's manual explains this in more detail.
To give you more flexibility we have provided a mode which allows
both graphics and text applications to run at the same time. When
you use this mode your text applications can continue to run in
the background while your graphics application runs in the foreground.
As before you will not be able to switch between the applications.
The /G switch tells PC-MIX to let both graphics and text applications
run at the same time.
<<<<<< SPECIAL NOTE >>>>>>
Some programs which you run will write over the screen of another
program. We have devised a solution to this problem. This solution
is also covered in Chapter 5 of the manual.
We have written a program which tells PC-MIX you are about to execute
a program that writes directly to the screen. If PC-MIX knows that
a particular program is going to write directly to the screen PC-MIX
can solve the problem.
The name of the program which notifies PC-MIX of direct write programs
is called VON.COM. Another program called VOF.COM tells PC-MIX when
you are finished with the program which writes directly to the screen.
We have included both these programs on the PC-MIX disk. We have also
included a batch file, RUN.BAT, which is used to automatically execute
the two notification programs and your "problem" program.
To convert a program all you must do is type in "RUN" before the
program name. The syntax of the RUN command is:
RUN < directory name > task name < parameters and flags >
The < directory name > is the name of the directory which contains the
application program's execution file. If the name of the directory
which contains the application program's execution file is included in
the DOS PATH command if or the application program's execution file is
in the local directory, the < directory name > part of the RUN command
is not required. Please refer to your DOS manual for more detailed
information and instructions on the PATH command.
Many application programs will accept parameters and flags which follow
the RUN command. You do not have to enter any parameters or flags. It
is optional.