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KWIKMENU.ASC
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1993-01-01
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111 lines
The file you have unzipped contains:
KWIKMENU.ASC The text file you are reading
KWIKMENU.WK1 A sample menu in Lotus
A Macintosh TV spot shows two middle-aged men struggling with
DOS: "Let's see here, C colon backslash, enter...". Yes, DOS can be
hostile. It has made the folks at Apple rich.
One DOS challenge is to bring up the application of your choice
and the file within it. To ease that task, try the method described
here. It requires Lotus. An ASCII text editor can help; more about
that later.
WHAT KWIKMENU DOES
When I enter BATS at the DOS prompt, a Lotus screen like the
following appears:
MENU Alt-s sorts and saves
ADDRESS Address file in WP
B Backup in PC Tools
BATS Menu file in Lotus
CA Defragment drive a:
CB Defragment drive b:
CC Defragment drive c:
CORR Correspondence file
DIF Differential backup
DO To-do list
FUL Full backup
L Lotus 1-2-3
MCAFEE Full virus scan
P PC Tools
PL Personal letter in WP
RAM Configure for RAM disk d: 1.6 MB. MUST RE-BOOT.
W WordPerfect
The first column contains DOS batch files. On my system, for
instance, CORR is: q c:\qpro\data\pers\friends.wq1. When entered
at the DOS prompt in any subdirectory, it activates Quattro Pro,
finds a file called FRIENDS in one of its subdirectories, and brings
up that file.
I used BATS instead of the more logical name MENU because my
system already contains an executable file called MENU.
HOW IT WORKS
You'll need to write your own DOS batch files to build your own
menu. In case you did not know, a batch file is a DOS macro
written in ASCII. You tell DOS the keystroke sequences and record
them for later use. Here's how:
1. While in the root directory, type MD UTIL. That creates a
subdirectory where you can keep handy little utilities.
2. Enter CD UTIL to go to that new subdirectory.
3. Enter COPY CON XXX.BAT, where XXX is the name of the batch
file you are about to create. Substitute your own filename for
XXX for the task at hand. Use a short name you can easily
remember.
4. After entering COPY CON XXX.BAT, hit the Enter key and type
in the required keystrokes.
5. When finished, hit the F6 key. You will see ^Z appear after the
keystrokes you entered. That is an end-of file marker. DOS
now records the batch file in your UTIL subdirectory.
6. Test your batch file by entering XXX or whatever you used.
7. Put the UTIL subdirectory in your DOS path, which should be
part of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. See your DOS manual about
path files if necessary. Essentially, the PATH statement tells
DOS where certain subdirectories are. You can then access
them from any subdirectory.
SAMPLE LOTUS MENU FILE
I enclose a Lotus worksheet like the menu shown earlier. At the
top you will see the phrase "Alt-s sorts and saves". The worksheet
includes a Lotus macro that sorts the menu alphabetically by key
name and saves the file. Just put new menu items at the bottom
and hit Alt-s.
EDITING BATCH FILES
If you make a mistake in a batch file, you will have to edit it. DOS
has an ASCII text editor called EDLIN. Do not use it. It won first
prize in the 1921 World Exhibition of Discomfort Engineering.
Instead, download QEDIT from your bulletin board. It is a neat,
friendly shareware ASCII text editor.
When you change a file in QEDIT, it saves the original version with
a .BAK extension. That can help when the change you made does
not work.
Incidentally, you can use QEDIT to amend the PATH statement in
your AUTOEXEC.BAT file too.
FINE PRINT
This is freeware. Use it at your own risk. It is not endorsed by
Sally Struthers, Bob Vila, Dick Van Pattenhere, or Charlton Heston.
COMMENTS
Comments invited. Address them to Sander Schimmelpenninck via
the BBS where you found this file.