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S E B F U Version 4.0 (C) 1989-1991 Scanlon Enterprises SUMMARY REFERENCE / USER GUIDE SEBFU is a series (over 80) of utilities to enhance the use of batch files. SEBFU, in addition to enhancing the DOS batch file capability, also offers many utilities which will aid the novice, intermediate and advanced user. Registering SEBFU, has several advantages over registering these utilities separately. 1) Price ....... All utilities, if ordered separately would cost your $113.50, registering SEBFU as a package is only $19.95, you save over $90 ! 2) You get enhanced versions of many utilities, plus several additional utilities (see ORDSEBFU.DOC for details). 3) You will be supporting the Shareware process, to keep quality products arriving in the market. 4) Additional advanced usage guide and batch file tutorial, with help for the novice and intermediate user. If you need only a few of the SEBFU utilities, then by all means, please register only the ones you need ! You will still be placed on our mailing list and will be supporting the Shareware concept. Each SEBFU utility has a separate DOC file, which has the same name as the utility with the extension COM . These DOC files contain all basic usage instructions, Syntax, Defaults, Errorlevels (if supported) and any Examples which may benefit the user. There is NO generalized explanation of batch file usage, as that is covered in the batch file tutorial, which is sent upon registration of SEBFU . In this document, we will attempt to give you ideas in using SEBFU as a set of powerful aids in developing your own batch files, from simple uses to advanced uses. Also, we will explain the usage of each of the utilities which are useful from the DOS prompt or run from an application. 1 S E B F U Version 4.0 (C) 1989-1991 Scanlon Enterprises SUMMARY REFERENCE / USER GUIDE Many of the SEBFU utilities can be executed from the DOS command line (called the prompt). These utilities include : ACOLOR ....... Sets the ANSI color, ANSI.SYS must be installed. CGABORDR ..... Changes the border on CGA systems CHKSUM ....... Generates Check sums for files CURSOR ....... Sets the Cursor attributes DLST ......... Enhanced replacement for DOS DIR cmd. FNDHID ....... Finds hidden files on a drive FSIZE ........ Reports the number of files, their total size, bytes required on floppy disks and bytes required on hard drives. GETMCB ....... Reports on memory usage, such as TSR location and size. HDTYPE ....... Reports on drive types supported by the computer Bios. KILL0 ........ Deletes files which have zero bytes LOG .......... A computer logging system PAGE ......... Change video pages PRINTC ....... Send control sequences to the printer SV28 ......... Set EGA/VGA to 28 lines SWPRN ........ Swap 2 printer ports TD ........... Displays Time & Date 16 utilities, Your registered version will have even more! Several of the above utilities will also be very useful when run from a batch file, such as the TD and DLST utilities. ACOLOR can be executed from a DOS prompt, but can also be very useful when included in a batch file. Since ACOLOR and many other SEBFU utilities require selecting the color, we suggest you print a copy of COLOR.DOC . To do this, enter the following command from your DOS prompt. COPY COLOR.DOC PRN You could, also, use any text editor to print it. ACOLOR requires both foreground an background colors be specified, such as : ACOLOR 1 7 Which selects the colors of white on blue (white is 7 and 1 is blue), note that the background color is first after the utility name. ACOLOR.COM could also be renamed to some other name such as COLOR.COM or C.COM . 2 ACOLOR is also very useful from a batch file, such as setting the colors when using the DOS echo command. You could display error messages in red (on black) as in this example. ECHO OFF CLS {Function which produces an errorlevel of 1 if failure} IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO FAIL ECHO Function ok GOTO XIT :FAIL ACOLOR 0 4 {Set red on black} ECHO Function Failed BEEP ACOLOR 0 7 {Back to white on black} :XIT {End of batch file The BEEP is one of the SEBFU utilities, and simply beeps the speaker. This is done to draw attention to the error. CGABORDER is a nifty utility to draw a border around video area. The border is the area at the outer edges of the video display, and is normally black. CGABORDR accepts all background colors as listed in the COLOR.DOC file. CHKSUM is a little utility which can serve as a basic virus check system. Just generate checksums for all your EXE and COM files, these are the ones a virus can attach to. Once the original check sums have been generated, simply verify the check sums on a regular basis, by using the syntax : CHKSUM fname chksum, where 'fname' is the file to check and 'chksum' the original check sum. This mode will return an errorlevel of 1 if the match fails. EXAMPLE: ECHO OFF CLS CHKSUM CHKSUM.COM 1592 IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO FAIL GOTO XIT :FAIL ECHO Check sum does NOT match BEEP :XIT When running some programs, which modify themselves, such as our PWRD.COM file, you will have to run CHKSUM to get a new check sum, when the program is modified. EXAMPLE: CHKSUM PWRD.COM Generates the check sum 1526 when run the first time. After using the new password option, you must run the above syntax again to generate new checksum. 3 S E B F U Version 4.0 (C) 1989-1991 Scanlon Enterprises SUMMARY REFERENCE / USER GUIDE CURSOR is the utility to set the cursor attributes, such as blink fast or slow, no blink, turn cursor off and to select which scan lines to use. Scan lines are the lines (rows) used to make a character, which is 9 for CGA systems. If you own Mono, EGA or VGA systems, the number of scan lines is different, and you should refer to your video system manual for the correct number. CURSOR allows you to select the cursor start and end scan lines, so that the cursor could look like this '_' or '─'. The standard cursor (on CGA) is set to use scan lines 6 & 7, which looks somewhat like the first case, but is two lines, one above the other. DLST is a small utility to display a five across (on CGA systems in 80 column text mode) directory listing, without displaying other file information like the DOS DIR command does. DLST automatically pauses when the screen is full (switch not required). You will be shipped an enhanced version of this, with even more features (see DLST.DOC) when you register. FNDHID will generate a list (which may be redirected) of all files which are hidden (invisible). The list also contains the other attributes, such as read only and system. The list begins with a directory name, followed by lines (indented) of file names and their attributes. Redirection may be used, by entering the following command at a DOS prompt: FNDHID>PRN This syntax would then send the output to the printer. FSIZE reports the size of all specified files (default is all files), the bytes required for all specified files to fit on a floppy disk and the bytes required to fit onto a hard drive. FSIZE also reports the total number of files, it found, matching the file specification specified. GETMCB reports on memory (conventional) usage. The list will contain any TSR name found, the size and segment where the TSR begins. By using this, you may get some idea of how much RAM those TSR's are using. HDTYPE reports what hard drive types are supported by your system. Both HDTYPE and GETMCB listings may be redirected, like the example shown with FNDHID. KILL0 deletes files which are empty (zero bytes). This will free up your directory entries, and help keep DOS running faster. 4 S E B F U Version 4.0 (C) 1989-1991 Scanlon Enterprises SUMMARY REFERENCE / USER GUIDE LOG is a utility to maintain and track computer usage. It's basic use is to log in and out, using the syntax LOG /I to log in and LOG /O to log out. This syntax used from the AUTOEXEC.BAT file will maintain a log file, which can be used to show computer usage for IRS purposes. PAGE can be used with the /Sp option to set the video screen to a different page. This is handy, for instance, if you want to save a screen for later recall as a reference. PRINTC is your key to quickly sending print controls to the PRN device driver. Just provide a series of decimal numbers after the PRINTC command, and they will be issued to the PRN device. EXAMPLE: PRINTC 27 77 Will place your printer into 12 character per inch mode (this is the same as ESCAPE 'M' .... SV28 simply places your EGA or VGA system into 28 line mode. SWPRN will swap printer ports 1 and 2 (by default) or any other printer ports supported by DOS (up to 4). This can be used, for example prior to using PRINTC to select the second printer, to send control strings to. TD will display the current time and date at the current video location, or to an optional video location. Use instead of the DOS TIME or DATE function, to quickly display time and/or date. When you register, an enhanced doc file will be included, showing examples of the above uses, and some ideas for such use. All other SEBFU utilities are really designed for use from a batch file, even though they may work from the command line. For example, using LOCATE from the command line doesn't really help you much. 5 S E B F U Version 4.0 (C) 1989-1991 Scanlon Enterprises SUMMARY REFERENCE / USER GUIDE The balance of this document will be to give examples of using SEBFU as a complete product (using the utilities together). Utilities which are stand alone products will NOT be used unless such use enhances the use of another batch file utility. Many utilities will only be mentioned, as their usage is either simple or there is enough documentation in the functions DOC file. BEEP is the utility to sound the speaker for a short time. Although this utility does NOT modify the tone (frequency), it is by far the most widely used utility and function used. Our version of this function offers some useful enhancements on this type of utility. The user can specify the number of beeps, such as: BEEP /+3 Makes 3 short beeps . The user can also space the beeps at one second intervals, or beep until a key stroke is detected. EXAMPLE: ECHO OFF CLS {Some application is run automatically} ECHO Application is finished BEEP /D /K In this example, beeping continues at 1 second intervals until the user presses a key. Thus, you can have the batch file start some application which does NOT require user interaction, walk away and simply wait for the beeping. BIGLTR is really a utility for advertising, but can be used to announce something such as 'HANDS OFF', 'COMPUTER', 'IN USE'. Lets take this last usage and make an example out of it. EXAMPLE: ECHO OFF CLS {Start application as TSR (for modem stuff??)} CLS LOCATE 1 1 BIGLTR HANDS OFF LOCATE 9 1 BIGLTR COMPUTER LOCATE 17 1 BIGLTR IN USE CR 6 S E B F U Version 4.0 (C) 1989-1991 Scanlon Enterprises SUMMARY REFERENCE / USER GUIDE This example will start some TSR, possibly a modem communications system, display the message 'HANDS OFF COMPUTER IN USE' and wait until someone presses the ENTER key. We have also demonstrated the use of another of our utilities, the LOCATE command. LOCATE positions the cursor. In our example, we used it to position the cursor 3 times, prior to each use of the BIGLTR command. This is done, since BIGLTR uses the current cursor location to begin it's display. Finally, we end the batch file with another of our utilities, CR, which simply waits for the ENTER key to be pressed. CALCYR can be useful in verifying that a real time clock is operating correctly, or if one is even installed. The fundamental usage is to test a selected year from that reported by DOS. EXAMPLE: ECHO OFF CLS CALCYR 1980 IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO XIT ECHO DATE is NOT set :XIT The above example compares the DOS derived year with 1980, and if they match, will generate an errorlevel of 0, which the batch file tests for. If the two years are different, then an errorlevel will be generated which is greater than 0. If this happens, then the line with IF ERRORLEVEL will pass control to the label XIT, which is the end of the batch file. CDCK, DETANSI, LIMCK, MOUSECK and XMSCK all are simple utilities which do NOT require options (command line options) to use. Simply enter the utility name, and an errorlevel of 1 will be returned if the device drive exists, otherwise the errorlevel will be 0. EXAMPLE: ECHO OFF CLS {Utility Name} IF ERRORLEVEL 1 ECHO {Utility Name} is installed The above is the basic usage. Alternately, the user could write the batch file to branch on an errorlevel of 1. 7 S E B F U Version 4.0 (C) 1989-1991 Scanlon Enterprises SUMMARY REFERENCE / USER GUIDE CDD is a very useful utility, which can save several key strokes. Its use can be from the DOS command line or a batch file. CDD simply backs up some number of directories, toward the root. The user specifies the number of directories to back up. IE... if we enter CDD 3, we end up 3 levels back of where we were, which is just as though we had entered CD ..\..\.. CHGLOCK is a utility which will change the state of 3 possible lock keys (CAPS LOCK, NUM LOCK & SCROLL LOCK). Although on an AT or 386 system the lights will change, reflecting the new state, PC/XT systems can NOT do this. This utility is useful for cases where the actual states have become different from the state the keyboard shows. Some applications do change the CAPS or NUM LOCK keys, but do NOT restore it. EXAMPLE: CHKLOCK C Toggles the caps lock to its alternate, if on, toggles it off. Replace the C in the above, with either N for num lock or S for scroll lock . CHKDRVR will test for 8 possible driver types, returning the appropriate errorlevel. (see CHKDRVR.DOC). CLRKEY is very useful, when used with our keyboard input routines, such as GALF. Use CLRKEY to clear the keyboard typeahead buffer when starting a keyboard input routine to assure that no key is in the typeahead buffer, this eliminates false entries. EXAMPLE: ECHO OFF CLS {Display a menu} CLRKEY GALF {Do something based upon the errorlevel} This short file would get an alpha keystroke, after first clearing any existing key stroke from the type ahead buffer. GALF sets an errorlevel equal to the alpha key, where 1=A and 26=Z. GALF ignores alpha key case (upper or lower case is the same). 8 S E B F U Version 4.0 (C) 1989-1991 Scanlon Enterprises SUMMARY REFERENCE / USER GUIDE CR is a replacement for the DOS PAUSE command. CR does NOT allow any key stroke, instead beeping if any key other than the ENTER key is pressed. Alternately, the Escape and ^C can cause CR to exit to the next batch command. DFREE places the bytes on a specified drive, into a variable or will display the result. The size is specified as a whole number, in bytes. Thus 360K = 360000 . DRVLST places a list of drives into a variable. Use INSTR and MID to extract or find a specific drive. DSKRDY is a powerful testing system for floppy based systems. All results set an errorlevel, depending upon the result. This utility not only tests if a disk is installed or the drive is ready, but if the disk has been formatted as well. ENVSIZE is useful, to test the DOS environment space. We suggest you use this to test if there is space available for the variables which many of our utilities will set, prior to using the utility. An enhanced version of this, sent with registration of ENVSIZE or SEBFU, will test a matching value to the actual size, generating an errorlevel based upon the result, such as equal to, greater than or less than. FUNKEY is a utility which waits for a function key to be pressed, then exits with an errorlevel equal to the function key number of 1 thru 10. The new function keys 11 and 12 are NOT tested for. GALF is one of our most useful keyboard input routines. This utility plus GETNUM allow for almost any possible menu system to be created. If we have the following menu in the file MENU MENU: A) Word-processing B) Accounting C) Checking System D) UTILITIES E) GAMES And a second menu with MENU2: 1) Wordstar 2) WordPerfect 3) MicroSoft Word 0) Main Menu 9 S E B F U Version 4.0 (C) 1989-1991 Scanlon Enterprises SUMMARY REFERENCE / USER GUIDE We could create the following batch file EXAMPLE: Batch file name is MENU.BAT ECHO OFF WINDOW 1 1 1 80 /F14 /B4 LOCATE 1 36 WRITE M E N U WINDOW 2 1 25 80 /F7 /B1 LOCATE 3 1 WRITEF MENU GOTO LP2 :LP1 BEEP :LP2 GALF IF ERRORLEVEL 6 GOTO LP1 IF ERRORLEVEL 5 GOTO GAMES IF ERRORLEVEL 4 GOTO UTIL IF ERRORLEVEL 3 GOTO CHK IF ERRORLEVEL 2 GOTO ACNT IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO MENU2 GOTO XIT :GAMES {Do a games menu ?} MENU :UTIL {Menu of utilities} MENU :CHK QUICKEN MENU :ANCT LOTUS MENU :MENU2 WINDOW 2 1 25 80 /F7 /B1 LOCATE 3 1 WRITEF MENU GETNUM 0123 IF ERRORLEVEL 3 GOTO WS IF ERRORLEVEL 2 GOTO WP IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO MS MENU :WS WS MENU :WP WP MENU :MS WORD MENU 10 S E B F U Version 4.0 (C) 1989-1991 Scanlon Enterprises SUMMARY REFERENCE / USER GUIDE The above batch file (MENU.BAT) is only a basic example of what you could create in making a menu, using a batch file. I have created batch files with several hundred command lines, which give my clients very powerful menus. Many of my customers rarely use a DOS prompt, but never by expensive menu systems ! Notice our use of several SEBFU commands, and extensive use of the batch file ERRORLEVEL function. SEBFU is one of the few utilities written especially to use this very powerful DOS feature. Our first function used, is WINDOW , which clears a portion of the display to a selected color (yellow on red). This is definitely something DOS commands do NOT offer. Next, we position the cursor to line 1, about the middle, so we can display the title 'M E N U' centered. A utility to center text on a line is included with registration of SEBFU. An advantage of WRITE is the ability to use existing screen colors to display the text, which is what the WINDOW command did. Another WINDOW command clears the rest of the display (thru line 25), to white on blue. We then use the LOCATE command to position the cursor at the 3rd line and display our first menu, using the WRITEF command (available to registered users). We use this, since it also uses existing colors to display text. If you do NOT have WRITEF, create a sequence of WRITE and LOCATE statements to place the menu lines into the batch file. The GOTO branches to the keyboard input function GALF, which waits for alpha keys. The first errorlevel tested for is a 6, which corresponds to F, which is NOT a menu choice, thus we branch to the label LP1 which simply beeps the speaker and restarts GALF. Testing for errorlevels 1 thru 5 cause the batch file to branch to the label following the GOTO. The line following the last errorlevel test is arrived at when the user presses the ESCAPE or ^C, this is how we exit the menu. The user may include text, in the menu, letting the user know how to get a DOS prompt. Normally, since we only want qualified persons at a DOS prompt in a business, we don't place this information into the batch file, but instead let those who need such access, have the information directly. Following the batch file down to the label MENU2, we present the second menu type using our GETNUM function. GETNUM does NOT automatically exit with the ESCAPE or ^C so we place the 0 as a menu choice to exit to the main menu. Once GETNUM has functioned, the balance of the batch file is just like the commands following the GALF command. 11 S E B F U Version 4.0 (C) 1989-1991 Scanlon Enterprises SUMMARY REFERENCE / USER GUIDE If you want to know the current location of the cursor, you can use our GCURS function, which will return either the row, column or both. GDIR is a very powerful function, and can be used to change directories automatically. EXAMPLE: ECHO OFF CLS GDIR LEV1 CD \WORD WORD CD %LEV1% Although we used the variable, LEV1, any variable name may be used. Since, any variable can be used, the user could save several of these and return to one at any time. GDRIVE is a power aid to batch file execution. We can save the drive in any valid DOS variable. Thus, between GDIR and GDRIVE, we know the drive and directory of previous events. EXAMPLE: ECHO OFF CLS GDIR DIR1 GDRIVE DRV1 D: GDIR DIR2 CD\WORD WORD CD %DIR2% %DRV1%: CD %DIR1% SET DRV1= SET DIR1= SET DIR2= In this example, we save both the current drive and path in variables DIR1 and DRV1, plus the current directory of the drive we change to. In this way, we preserve both paths and return back to the originating drive and directory at the conclusion of the application (WORD). ** An important note, GDRIVE does NOT add a colon to the drive letter, thus when specifying the drive (line before CD %DIR1%), be sure to add the color as we did. ** 12 S E B F U Version 4.0 (C) 1989-1991 Scanlon Enterprises SUMMARY REFERENCE / USER GUIDE GETCOLR will return an errorlevel or set an environment variable equal to the color at the current cursor location. When using the errorlevel mode GETCOLR will automatically return an errorlevel equal to the foreground color. If the back ground color is desired as an errorlevel, use the option switch '/B'. Both values may be returned in variables with the use of the option switch '/V'. This switch causes both values to be placed into separate variables, FCOL for foreground and BCOL for background. GETVER returns the current DOS version. IE... if the Dos version is 3.x then GETVER returns 3, for 2.x returns 2, etc... GETVER will return the minor portion of the DOS version by appending the option switch '/M', IE... 3.2 returns 2, 3.3 returns 3, etc...... IF you wish the entire version number, you can place this into a variable called VER by using the option switch '/V'. GEXT waits for extended key entries. To use this correctly, you will have to refer to the DOS scan code reference chart, or scan code reference chart which came with your keyboard, as GEXT returns an errorlevel equal to the scan code of the key pressed. If a key other than an extended key is pressed, GEXT will beep. Extended keys are keys such as function keys, page and arrow keys, insert & delete, home and end. Registered version brings details on extended key codes. GMEM will display the total available conventional ram, or by using an optional switch, '/R', display the bytes remaining. Also, the user may specify the use of a variable by using the option switch '/V', which places the value into the variable RAM GSMODE can change your video mode, yes, even to graphics mode. Now you can change to graphics mode, even from a dos prompt. Additionally, GSMODE will return an errorlevel equal to the current video mode. This feature, along with the ability to set the mode, is very useful when running some games. The following example will demonstrate how to use this powerful command. 13 S E B F U Version 4.0 (C) 1989-1991 Scanlon Enterprises SUMMARY REFERENCE / USER GUIDE EXAMPLE: ECHO OFF CLS GSMODE FOR %%F IN (1237) DO IF ERRORLEVEL %%F SET MODE=%%F GAME GSMODE IF ERRORLEVEL 8 GOTO GRPH IF ERRORLEVEL 7 GOTO XIT {MONO ?} IF ERRORLEVEL 4 GOTO GRPH GOTO XIT :GRPH GSMODE %MODE% :XIT The 3rd line gets the current mode, which is then saved in variable MODE on line 4. Line 5 executes the game, 7 gets the mode after executing the game. The next 3 lines check if we are in graphics or monochrome, or exit if in color text mode. Two errorlevel tests branch to GRPH which will restore the video mode to the correct mode. Of course, we could have simply left the testing out, and restored whatever mode was in effect prior to starting the game. We did NOT do this, as many menu systems use graphics (such as WINDOWS). INKEY is a very powerful input routine, as it sets an errorlevel for any keystroke, which is NOT an extended key, to the ascii value of the key pressed. IE... if 'a' is pressed, the ascii value is 97, while 'A' is 65 and a space is 32. INSTR and MID can be used together or separately. One, INSTR, will find the position in a variable, of a specified character, while the other extracts a portion of a variable. EXAMPLE: ECHO OFF CLS INSTR PATH /C: FOR %%F IN (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9) DO IF ERRORLEVEL %%F SET P=%%F MATH /-1 /VP MID %P% 2 PATH DRV The above will place the name of the first drive found in the PATH string, since each drive is appended with a color. The line containing INSTR finds the position of the first colon, while the following line sets variable P equal to the result. MATH is our utility to subtract or add values to variables, in this example, we subtract 1 from P, to obtain the drive letter position. The last line places the 2 characters, drive letter and colon into variable DRV. 14 S E B F U Version 4.0 (C) 1989-1991 Scanlon Enterprises SUMMARY REFERENCE / USER GUIDE INVERT will reverse the foreground and background colors, IE.. if the foreground is white and background is blue, then INVERT will change the background to white and foreground to blue. KEYSTAT tests for various special keyboard flags, such as shift, control, caps lock, insert, etc..... This can be used to give special meaning to our input routines, such as GALF or INKEY. KSTAT is slightly different from KEYSTAT, in that it tests for any key being pressed, returning an errorlevel of 1 if a standard key has been pressed, or 2 if an extended key is pressed, and 0 if none has been pressed. With this utility, we can cause a batch file to perform tasks until a key is pressed. LCASE is a utility to convert all characters in a variable to lower case. UCASE performs the opposite task. LEN is a utility to get the length of any variable, to an errorlevel. This is useful when displaying variables, and you know the cursor is NOT at the end of a line. LINE will draw lines, up to 255 characters in length, using various text characters, including the line drawing characters in the extended character set. LOG is a computer logging system, and can be used to develop IRS tracking records of your computer usage. MOVCUR is a power cursor location utility, which moves the cursor in the desired direction, relative from its current position. IE... if you wanted to move up 5 lines, and the cursor is at line 8, column 10, then the cursor would move to line 3, column 10. PATHCK can verify the existence of a specified path. This can be useful to avoid the DOS 'path not found' message. PFF simply sends the printer a form feed. PRDY returns an errorlevel based on the printer status, where a zero indicates everything is ok. PRINTC is a powerful enhancement to any DOS batch file. Set a batch file with lines containing setup strings for various printer modes, the call the batch file with the selected function. 15 S E B F U Version 4.0 (C) 1989-1991 Scanlon Enterprises SUMMARY REFERENCE / USER GUIDE EXAMPLE: PMODE.BAT ECHO OFF CLS IF %1*==* GOTO HELP IF %1==1 GOTO PICA IF %1==2 GOTO ELITE IF %1==3 GOTO LM ECHO Invalid option :HELP ECHO Usage PMODE 1 {Pica mode} ECHO PMODE 2 {Elite mode} ECHO PMODE 3 l (left margin value) GOTO XIT :PICA PRINTC 27 80 GOTO XIT :ELITE PRINTC 27 77 GOTO XIT :LM PMODE 27 108 %2 :XIT Although in this example, we have only 3 choices, the batch file could contain dozens of them, instead. Our first PRINTC use, to set PICA mode is ESCAPE (27) and "M" (80), the second use sets the printer to elite and the final, requires a second value. Notice our test early in the batch file of %1*==*, this is a typical way to check if a parameter is available. If %1, the first command line parameter, is empty, this result of the test, is that %1 (the variable) plus "*" is equal to just "*" ! When this is the case, we branch to our label HELP, which displays the usage and exits. PRNSET will cause a hardware reset to the attached printer, provided the printer supports this capability. PWRD is a password system, and PWRD.DOC provides enough information on usage. This utility is very useful, and could be included as the first command (line 1) of the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. RESP is a very powerful utility, as it allows inputting several keystrokes at one time. The utility can be used as a low level password system by selecting the no echo option. With this, the user can select functions, drives, paths or most anything from a batch file. We can even ask the user their name. 16 S E B F U Version 4.0 (C) 1989-1991 Scanlon Enterprises SUMMARY REFERENCE / USER GUIDE ROWS checks your system for the number of rows available on the video device. This is useful when placing information on EGA or VGA systems, since they can have more than 25 ! SAVEKEY is very powerful. Now, you can have your batch file pass commands to your application. SAVEKEY places a string, of up to 16 characters, into the keyboard type ahead buffer. Thus, for any application allowing type ahead, we can move past, say an opening screen, select a file to edit, and more.. SCRLMSG will scroll a message, of any length supported by the DOS command line, from right to left on the current cursor line. The line can first be cleared, using our WINDOW utility. This is great, for menus with a scrolling message, while waiting for a key stroke. SCRLMSG exits after any key press. SDATE is an easy to use utility to set the DOS date, which may be needed after running some games or applications. STIME is the utility to set the time. SETERR is used to set an errorlevel, which may be required by some applications. SOUND is a little utility to make various noises. You select the duration (up to several seconds) and the tone (frequency). Use this to replace the flat beep of our BEEP utility. Useful to announce error conditions, etc.... STRING is a utility to display one character as a string, IE... STRING /CA /L5 will display a string of 5 'A' s...... PSTRING is does the same as STRING, but the string is printer, rather than displayed. SWIDTH finds the width of the video system (number of usable columns). This is useful when dealing with VGA or EGA systems which can support 90 or more columns. TC is a utility to hide or un-hide the cursor. TD will display the date and/or time at a specified position, or at the current cursor location. WAIT is used to pause a batch file just after displaying a message, or to pause prior to doing something. 17 S E B F U Version 4.0 (C) 1989-1991 Scanlon Enterprises SUMMARY REFERENCE / USER GUIDE WDATE and WTIME are the utilities to get the current date and time, as DOS knows it. These can be used in a batch file to run special applications at specified times or dates. WINDOW is our handy screen clearing utility. WINDOW will clear any portion (including all) to any color values (foreground and background), or scroll any portion of the display up or down. WRITE is our replacement for the ECHO command, and is more useful in some instances, such as when color is required, or at least desired. This utility will also write messages (strings) to other video pages (if supported), thus by using our PAGE utility to switch between pages, we can view the message. Also we can display parts of a message on the same line. YN is a simple little utility to simply wait for yes/no responses using the single key response of y/n ('y' or 'n'). YN responds to either upper or lower case with the same result. This concludes the documentation for SEBFU shareware version. For details on registering SEBFU and what your registration brings, please read ORDSEBFU.DOC . Registering SEBFU is really a bargain. 18