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┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ ╒═════════╗ ╒═════════╗ ╒════╗ ╒════╗ │ │ └┐ ╓───┐ ╚╗ └┐ ╓───┐ ║ │ ╚╗ └┐ ╓╜ │ │ │ ║ │ ║ │ ║ └─╜ │ ╟┐ ╚╗ │ ║ │ │ │ ╚═══╛ ║ │ ╚══╗ │ ║└┐ ╚╗ │ ║ │ │ │ ╓───┐ ║ │ ╓──╜ │ ║ └┐ ╚╗│ ║ │ │ │ ║ │ ║ │ ║ ╒═╗ │ ║ └┐ ╚╡ ║ │ │ ╒╛ ╚═══╛ ╓╜ ╒╛ ╚═══╛ ║ ╒╛ ╚╗ └┐ ║ │ │ └─────────╜ └─────────╜ └────╜ └────╜ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ BATCH ENHANCER VERSION 3.00 │ │ │ │ │ │ (C) 1992 by Simvis Soft │ │ All Rights Reserved │ │ │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ This program is distributed under the Shareware scheme. You are encouraged to give copies of this program to other computer users. If you decide to use the program, support the Shareware marketing concept by becoming a registered user. Read section 6.1 for more details. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Table of Contents 1.1 What is BEN? 1.2 Advantages of BEN over other batch file enhancement programs 1.3 System requirements 1.4 How to install BEN 1.5 How to run BEN 2.1 Quick introduction to BEN's functions 2.2 In-depth discussion of each BEN function 2.3 BEN and environment variables 3.1 BENEdit 4.1 Legality information 5.1 How to install ANSI.SYS 5.2 Hints and tips 5.3 Support, bugs report, comments, problems... 6.1 Shareware registration ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1.1 What is BEN? BEN stands for the Batch ENhancer: *BATCH* Batch is a very simple yet powerful language DOS uses. Batch files always end with the extension .BAT. For example, the AUTOEXEC.BAT in the root directory of your boot disk is a batch file. Although batch file is very flexible, it has some unwelcome weaknesses. For example, it cannot get input from the user or even do simple color-changing. *ENHANCER* BEN is developed to compensate for Batch language's weaknesses. BEN improve many aspects of the current batch file functions, and it also introduce many new ones. With BEN, you can produce very useful batch files that can even compete with compiled programming codes. Yet, BEN is so simple to use that even a beginner can produce attractive batch files in no time at all. Once you start using BEN, you will be able to incorporate colors, sounds, menus, pop-up boxes and a host of other spectacular features into any batch file that you ever write. To see an example of what BEN can do for you, run the included BENDEMO.BAT. Remember to keep in mind that BENDEMO.BAT is only a batch file! ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1.2 Advantages of BEN over other batch file enhancement programs: - Large number of powerful functions (38 in total) all contained into one EXE file. - All of these functions are very easy to use. - Comes with BENEdit, a text editor that is tailored for BEN. With BENEdit, you can edit all your batch files and access all the features of BEN quickly and easily. - Optimized for speed. - Perfect for complementing any menuing system (eg. Magik Menu). - Can be used for programming any batch utilities (eg. INSTALL.BAT). - Compatible with DOS and Windows. - Compatible with the network environment. You can now use BEN to program all the network batch files! ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1.3 System requirements: IBM PC/Compatible with 256k+ RAM PC/MS-DOS 2.1 or higher Suggested: ANSI.SYS or equivalent (Note: ANSI.SYS is a driver for the display format designed by the American National Standards Institute. This driver is included with all versions of PC/MS-DOS. It is required for the COLOR function. If ANSI.SYS is not installed in your computer yet, please refer to section 5.1 for instructions on installation.) ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1.4 How to install BEN: Use the supplied INSTALL.BAT, or just copy every file into a directory of your choice. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1.5 How to run BEN: Format: [d:][pathname] BEN function [params] [functions [params]...] Entering the command "BEN" alone in DOS gives you an online help of BEN's functions. Make sure that the file BEN.HLP is in the same directory as BEN.EXE. Otherwise, the online help wouldn't work. To access a BEN function, you must enter the command "BEN" followed by the name of the function. Some functions doesn't require any parameter. An example of this is the BEEP function. You can use it by entering this command into your batch file: BEN BEEP Other functions of BEN require one or more parameters. For example, you can clear the screen with the color blue by entering this command into your batch file: BEN CLS BLUE BEN functions can be "stacked" one after another in a command line. For example, you can group the BEEP function and the CLS function together, one after another. In this case, BEN will first create a beep, then it will clear the screen with the color blue: BEN BEEP CLS BLUE When you stack functions together, you may use the "/" separators if you want. This is not mandatory, but it helps to increase the readability of your batch file. For example: BEN BEEP / CLS BLUE ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 2.1 Quick introduction to BEN's functions: ASK: ASK gives the user a choice of keys to press. The batch file can then interpret the result and act accordingly. BEEP: BEEP simply creates a "beep" sound. BOX: BOX creates a BOX on the screen. CLEANUP: CLEANUP is used at the end of batch files. Its purpose is cleaning up the mess left behind by batch routines. CLS: CLS clears the screen with the specified color. COLOR: COLOR changes the current writing color. CURSOR: CURSOR changes the cursor shape. DELAY: DELAY pauses the computer for the specified period of time. DIRDISP: DIRDISP displays a directory selection dialog box where the user is given the opportunity to choose a file. This is similar to the FILE OPEN dialog box of Windows. DIRDISPA: DIRDISPA is an advanced version of DIRDISP. ECHO: Same as the DOS ECHO command. EGAVGA: EGAVGA switches the EGA 43 / VGA 50 line mode on or off. EXTRACT: EXTRACT returns a part of a fully qualified filename. FLUSH: FLUSH clears the keyboard buffer. GETCD: GETCD returns the current directory to the batch file. GETKEY: GETKEY pauses the computer until the user presses a key. This key is returned to the batch file. GETKEYU: GETKEYU is the same as GETKEY, except the key pressed by the user is converted into uppercase before it is returned to the batch file. GETLINE: GETLINE pauses the computer until the user types a string and presses ENTER. The string is returned to the batch file. GETLINEU: GETLINEU is the same as GETLINE, except the string typed by the user is converted into uppercase before it is returned to the batch file. GETVIDEO: GETVIDEO checks what kind of video system is installed (eg. CGA, VGA) and return the result to the batch file. GROWFILLEDBOX: GROWFILLEDBOX displays a filled box on the screen. The box "grows" out to the screen for a special effect. LIST: LIST is a file browser. LOCATE: LOCATE moves the cursor to the specified screen position. MENU: MENU displays a menu on the screen. The choice selected by the user is returned to the batch file. MESSAGE: MESSAGE draws a box on the screen and displays the specified message. PAUSE: PAUSE pauses the computer until the user presses a key. PLAY: PLAY produces music from the speaker. BEN PLAY uses the same statements that the BASIC PLAY uses. SAVEPATH: SAVEPATH is a environment-memory conservation function. SCROLL: Scrolls a specified region of text up, down, left or right. SHADFILLEDBOX: SHADFILLEDBOX displays a filled box on the screen. This box has a shadow. SHELL: SHELL lets the user jump to DOS in the middle of a batch file. SOUND: SOUND produces a sound with the specified frequency and the specified duration. T: T uses a data file to run BEN functions more efficiently. TITLEDBOX: TITLEDBOX displays a filled box with a title on the screen. TRANSPARENTBOX TRANSPARENTBOX shades a specified region of the screen with the specified color. WRITE: Displays a string of text on the screen with the specified color. WRITEC: Displays a string of text on the screen with the specified color. The text is centred between the two sides of the monitor. WRITEV: Displays a string of text on the screen with the specified color. The text is oriented vertically. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 2.2 In-depth discussion of each BEN function. BOX FUNCTIONS ───────────── BOX x1 y1 x2 y2 foreground background borderstyle This function draws an empty box on the screen with an upper-left corner of (x1,y1) and a lower-right corner of (x2,y2). Borderstyle can be one of the following: 0 - no border 1 - single line box (─) 2 - double line box (═) 3 - double sides, single top and bottom 4 - single sides, double top and bottom 5 - single left and upper, double lower and right 6 - menu box style 7+ - the border is drawn using the ASCII character represented by the style value. The "foreground" and "background" colors can be specified with special words that BEN recognize. These words are: BLACK, BLUE, GREEN, CYAN, RED, MAGENTA, BROWN, LIGHTGRAY, DARKGRAY, LIGHTBLUE, LIGHTGREEN, LIGHTCYAN, LIGHTRED, LIGHT MAGENTA, YELLOW, and WHITE. You can also specify the colors with a number if you want. For example, instead of using the word "BLACK", you can use the number 0. Instead of using the word "BLUE", you can use the number 1. And so on. Examples: BEN BOX 1 1 80 25 WHITE BLUE 1 BEN BOX 10 10 20 20 YELLOW BLACK 3 BEN BOX 4 4 8 8 9 2 65 In the first example, BEN draws a white on blue box with a single-line border, an upper-left corner of (1,1) and a lower-right corner of (80,25). In the second example, BEN draws a yellow on black box with double-lined borders on the sides and single-lined borders on the top and the bottom. The box has an upper-left corner of (10,10) and a lower-right corner of (20,20). In the third example, BEN draws a light-blue on green box with a border that is drawn by the ASCII character 65 ("A"). The box has an upper-left corner of (4,4) and a lower-right corner of (8,8). FILLEDBOX x1 y1 x2 y2 foreground background borderstyle Same as BOX, but the box is filled instead of empty. Examples: BEN FILLEDBOX 1 1 80 25 WHITE BLUE 1 BEN FILLEDBOX 10 10 20 20 YELLOW BLACK 3 BEN FILLEDBOX 4 4 8 8 9 9 2 65 GROWFILLEDBOX x1 y1 x2 y2 foreground background borderstyle Same as FILLEDBOX, but the box "grows" out onto the screen, creating a spectacular effect. Examples: BEN GROWFILLEDBOX 1 1 80 25 WHITE BLUE 1 BEN GROWFILLEDBOX 10 10 20 20 YELLOW BLACK 3 BEN GROWFILLEDBOX 4 4 8 8 9 2 65 SHADFILLEDBOX x1 y1 x2 y2 foreground background borderstyle Same as FILLEDBOX, but the box has a shadow. Examples: BEN SHADFILLEDBOX 1 1 80 25 WHITE BLUE 1 BEN SHADFILLEDBOX 10 10 20 20 YELLOW BLACK 3 BEN SHADFILLEDBOX 4 4 8 8 9 2 65 TITLEDBOX x1 y1 x2 y2 foreground background borderstyle title Same as FILLEDBOX, but the box has a title. Please note that tildes (~) in the title are interpreted as spaces. Examples: BEN TITLEDBOX 1 1 80 25 WHITE BLUE 1 Great~box! BEN TITLEDBOX 10 10 20 20 YELLOW BLACK 3 Another! BEN TITLEDBOX 4 4 8 8 9 2 65 Best~box~here! TRANSPARENTBOX x1 y1 x2 y2 foreground background Paints the region specified by (x1,y1) - (x2,y2) with the specified foreground and background colors. Text that are originally on the screen are not erased; they are just painted with a new color. Please note that the borderstyle parameter is not required. Examples: BEN TRANSPARENTBOX 1 1 80 25 WHITE BLUE BEN TRANSPARENTBOX 10 10 20 20 YELLOW BLACK BEN TRANSPARENTBOX 4 4 8 8 9 2 INPUT FUNCTIONS ─────────────── ASK options Waits for the user to press a key that is contained in the 'options' string. The option that the user selects is passed to the batch file as an errorlevel. (For more details on errorlevels, please refer to your DOS manual.) For instance, if the options string is ABCDE and the user presses the letter C on the keyboard, an errorlevel of 3 is returned (C is the third character of the string). Example: @ECHO OFF BEN ECHO A. Format your hard drive. BEN ECHO B. Diskcopy a disk. BEN ECHO C. Run Windows. BEN ECHO D. Run DOSShell. BEN ECHO E. Play Sim City. BEN ECHO ~ BEN ECHO Please make your selection. BEN ASK ABCDE IF ERRORLEVEL 5 IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 6 GOTO SIMCITY IF ERRORLEVEL 4 IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 5 DOSSHELL IF ERRORLEVEL 3 IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 4 C:\WIN\WIN IF ERRORLEVEL 2 IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 3 DISKCOPY A: A: IF ERRORLEVEL 1 IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 2 FORMAT C: GOTO END :SIMCITY C: CD\SIMCITY SIMCITY :END GETKEY Waits for the user to enter a key. This key is returned via the environment variable %BEN% (or %BEN2%, %BEN3%, etc. Please refer to section 2.3: "BEN and Environment Variables" at for further details.) Example: BEN GETKEY BEN ECHO You've pressed the %BEN% key! GETKEYU Same as GETKEYU, but the key is converted into uppercase before it is returned. Example: BEN GETKEYU BEN ECHO You've pressed the %BEN% key! GETLINE Waits for the user to enter a string. This string is returned via the environment variable %BEN% (or %BEN2%, %BEN3%, etc. Please refer to section 2.3: "BEN and Environment Variables" for further details.) Example: BEN ECHO What's your name? BEN GETLINE BEN ECHO So your name is %BEN%! GETLINEU Same as GETLINE, but the string is converted into uppercase before it is returned. Example: BEN ECHO What's your name? BEN GETLINEU BEN ECHO So your name is %BEN% in uppercase! MENU title choice1 [choice2 choice3...] Displays a menu on the screen. The choice that is selected by the user is passed back to the batch file as an errorlevel. For instance, if the user chooses choice #3, an errorlevel of 3 is returned. On the other hand, if the user opts to choose nothing, then an errorlevel of 0 is returned. Please note that tildes (~) are interpreted as spaces, and no other function can be stacked after the MENU function is used. Also, use a minus sign (-) to tell BEN to display a blank line. Example: @ECHO OFF BEN MENU Please~make~a~selection: Format~your~hard~drive Diskcopy~a~disk Run~Windows Run~DOSShell Play~Simcity - Quit IF ERRORLEVEL 6 GOTO END IF ERRORLEVEL 5 GOTO SIMCITY IF ERRORLEVEL 4 GOTO DOSSHELL IF ERRORLEVEL 3 GOTO WINDOWS IF ERRORLEVEL 2 GOTO DISKCOPY IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO FORMAT BEN ECHO You didn't make a selection! GOTO END :FORMAT FORMAT C: GOTO END :DISKCOPY DISKCOPY A: A: GOTO END :WINDOWS C:\WIN\WIN GOTO END :DOSSHELL DOSSHELL GOTO END :SIMCITY C: CD\SIMCITY SIMCITY :END Note: This example is same in functionality as the example that illustrates the ASK function. MESSAGE FUNCTIONS ───────────────── ECHO message [message...] Works like the DOS ECHO function. Everything after the word ECHO is displayed using the current writing color. Thus, no other functions can be stacked after ECHO is used. If you wish to display a blank line, use the command "BEN ECHO ~". If you wish to display more than one space between two words, use the tilde (~) as a separator instead. For example, if you want to display the words "Hello World, this is the computer speaking.", use the command "BEN ECHO Hello~~~World, this is the computer speaking." Examples: BEN ECHO Hello World! BEN ECHO This is a test! BEN ECHO ~ BEN ECHO Hello~~~World, this is the computer speaking. LIST filename title Acts as a file browser for the file specified by "filename". Tildes (~) in the title are interpreted as spaces. Examples: BEN LIST C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT This~is~your~AUTOEXEC! BEN LIST BEN.TXT You~are~reading~BEN.TXT! MESSAGE line1 [line2 line3...] Pops up a message box onto the screen. Tildes (~) are interpreted as spaces. Examples: BEN MESSAGE Hello~World! This~is~a~test! This example will pop up a message box on the screen as shown below: ┌─[■]───────────┐ │ │ │Hello World! │ │This is a test!│ │ │ │ OK ▄ │ │ ▀▀▀▀▀▀ │ └───────────────┘ WRITE foreground background message Writes a string onto the screen using the specified foreground and background colors. Tildes (~) in the message are interpreted as spaces, and a semi-colon (;) at the end of the message tells BEN not to wrap to the next line. The "foreground" and "background" colors can be specified with special words that BEN recognize. These words are: BLACK, BLUE, GREEN, CYAN, RED, MAGENTA, BROWN, LIGHTGRAY, DARKGRAY, LIGHTBLUE, LIGHTGREEN, LIGHTCYAN, LIGHTRED, LIGHT MAGENTA, YELLOW, and WHITE. You can also specify the colors with a number if you want. For example, instead of using the word "BLACK", you can use the number 0. Instead of using the word "BLUE", you can use the number 1. And so on. Examples: BEN WRITE LIGHTRED BLUE Hello~World! BEN WRITE LIGHTGREEN BLACK This~is~a~test!; BEN WRITE 7 1 Another~test! In the first example, BEN displays the string "Hello World!" with a color of light red on blue. In the second example, BEN displays the string "This is a test!" with a color of light green on black. Since there is a semi-colon (;) at the end of the line, BEN doesn't move the cursor to the beginning of the next line. Instead, BEN keeps the cursor after the exclamation mark. In the third example, BEN displays the string "Another test!" with a color of light gray on blue. WRITEC foreground background message Same as WRITE, but the message is centered between the two sides of the monitor. Examples: BEN WRITEC LIGHTRED BLUE Hello~World! BEN WRITEC LIGHTGREEN BLACK This~is~a~test!; BEN WRITEC 7 1 Another~test! WRITEV x y foreground background message Same as WRITE, but the message is written as a vertical column that starts from the position (x,y). Examples: BEN WRITEV 1 1 YELLOW BLUE An~important~message BEN WRITEV 40 10 LIGHTCYAN BLACK Hello! BEN WRITEV 80 1 7 1 Great!!! In the first example, BEN displays a yellow on blue vertical column of string starting from (1,1). The string reads "An important message". In the second example, BEN displays a light cyan on black vertical column of string starting from (40,10). The string reads "Hello!". In the third example, BEN displays a light gray on blue vertical column of string starting from (80,1). The string reads "Great!!!". MUSIC FUNCTIONS ─────────────── BEEP Creates a beep sound. Example: BEN BEEP PLAY playstring Plays music using the computer's speaker. The playstring is exactly the same in format as the BASIC PLAY statement. Here is a list of the music commands supported: ML: legato (8/8 note length) MN: normal music (7/8 note length) Ln: length of notes (n=1-64; note length=1/n, eg. n=2 for 1/2 note) Nn: Note number (n=0-84; 0 is a rest) On: Octave (n=0-6, default 4) Pn: Pause (n=1-64; pause length=1/n, eg. n=4 for 1/4 note) Tn: Tempo (n=32-255, default 120; quarter notes per minute) [: Move down an octave (min 0) ]: Move up an octave (max 6) You can also use the actual letters of the notes (C, D, E, F, G, A, and B). These correspond to "do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti". To play a scale, you should use "CDEFGAB]C". The notes may be followed by dots, by note lengths, and by sharp or flat symbols (a '+' or '#' for a sharp, a '-' for a flat). For example, 'D-.' is a dotted D flat. The dot means that the note will play for half again its usual length. Dots can be repeated. You can also use "<" for "[" and ">" for "]" in BEN data files that are read by BEN's T function. Don't use these in the command line however, because DOS will interpret them as redirection signs. If you use them, strange errors may occur. Examples: BEN PLAY O5CDEFGFEDCP1CC BEN PLAY ]EEEC SOUND frequency duration Uses the computer's speaker to produce a tone with the specified frequency for the specified duration. Frequency is measured in hertz and duration is measured in milliseconds. Examples: BEN SOUND 1000 1000 BEN SOUND 2000 100 SCREEN FUNCTIONS ──────────────── CLS background Clears the screen with the specified color. The colors can be specified with special words that BEN recognize. These words are: BLACK, BLUE, GREEN, CYAN, RED, MAGENTA, BROWN, LIGHTGRAY, DARKGRAY, LIGHTBLUE, LIGHTGREEN, LIGHTCYAN, LIGHTRED, LIGHT MAGENTA, YELLOW, and WHITE. You can also specify the color with a number if you want. For example, instead of using the word "BLACK", you can use the number 0. Instead of using the word "BLUE", you can use the number 1. And so on. Examples: BEN CLS BLUE BEN CLS GREEN COLOR foreground background Changes the current writing color. ANSI.SYS must be loaded for this function to operate. The "foreground" and "background" colors can be specified with special words that BEN recognize. These words are: BLACK, BLUE, GREEN, CYAN, RED, MAGENTA, BROWN, LIGHTGRAY, DARKGRAY, LIGHTBLUE, LIGHTGREEN, LIGHTCYAN, LIGHTRED, LIGHT MAGENTA, YELLOW, and WHITE. You can also specify the colors with a number if you want. For example, instead of using the word "BLACK", you can use the number 0. Instead of using the word "BLUE", you can use the number 1. And so on. Examples: BEN COLOR YELLOW BLUE BEN COLOR WHITE RED BEN COLOR 7 1 CURSOR ON/OFF/FULL/HALF Changes the cursor shape. Use ON for a normal cursor (_), OFF for no cursor ( ), FULL for a block cursor (█) and HALF for a half-block cursor (▄). Examples: BEN CURSOR OFF BEN CURSOR FULL EGAVGA ON/OFF Switches the EGA 43 / VGA 50 line mode on or off. If the EGA 43 / VGA 50 line mode is switched on successfully, an errorlevel of 2 is passed back to the batch file. Otherwise, an errorlevel of 1 is returned. Example: @ECHO OFF BEN EGAVGA ON IF ERRORLEVEL 2 GOTO SUCCESS BEN ECHO Sorry. Your computer cannot display in BEN ECHO the EGA 43 or the VGA 50 line mode. GOTO END :SUCCESS BEN CLS BLUE COLOR WHITE BLUE LOCATE 30 30 BEN ECHO See how big your screen is! BEN LOCATE 30 33 PAUSE BEN EGAVGA OFF :END BEN CLEANUP GETVIDEO Finds out what kind of video system is installed and returns the result via %BEN% (or %BEN2%, %BEN3%, etc. Please refer to section 2.3: "BEN and Environment Variables" for further details.) The possible values that can be returned are as follows: MONO: The computer has a monochrome system. CGA: The computer has a CGA system. EGA: The computer has an EGA system. MCGA: The computer has a MCGA system. VGA: The computer has a VGA system. Example: @ECHO OFF BEN GETVIDEO IF "%BEN%"=="MONO" GOLF /MONO IF "%BEN%"=="CGA" GOLF /CGA IF "%BEN%"=="EGA" GOLF /EGA IF "%BEN%"=="MCGA" GOLF /MCGA IF "%BEN%"=="VGA" GOLF /VGA This example shows a batch file that passes different parameters to the GOLF program (a game?) depending on what video system the computer has. LOCATE x y Moves the screen cursor to the position (x,y). Examples: BEN LOCATE 1 1 BEN LOCATE 10 15 SCROLL x1 y1 x2 y2 direction Scrolls the text enclosed in the (x1,y1)-(x2,y2) box. 'Direction' can be one of the following: UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT. Examples: BEN SCROLL 1 1 80 25 UP BEN SCROLL 10 10 20 20 LEFT MISCELLANEOUS FUNCTIONS ─────────────────────── CLEANUP This function should be called at the end of batch files. It does four things: 1. Changes the writing color to normal DOS color (same as calling BEN COLOR LIGHTGRAY BLACK). 2. Changes the cursor to a normal shape (same as calling BEN CURSOR ON). 3. Erases all the environment variables that have been created by BEN (IE. %BEN%, %BEN2%, %BEN3%, etc.) 4. Restores the PATH if the SAVEPATH function had been called previously. (Please refer to the discussion on the SAVEPATH function.) Example: BEN CLEANUP DELAY milliseconds Pauses the computer for the specified number of milliseconds. (1000 milliseconds = 1 second) Examples: BEN DELAY 1000 BEN DELAY 5000 DIRDISP directory Displays a file selection box and allows the user to select a file. The name of the selected file is stored into %BEN% (or %BEN2%, %BEN3%, etc. Please refer to section 2.3: "BEN and Environment Variables" for further details.) If the user presses ESC and opts not to choose any file, then %BEN% is set to contain nothing. Example: BEN DIRDISP C:\ IF "%BEN%"=="" GOTO CHOSE_NOTHING BEN ECHO You've chosen %BEN%! GOTO END :CHOSE_NOTHING BEN ECHO You didn't choose any file! :END DIRDISPA directory filemask sortorder returnstring This is the advanced version of DIRDISP. In addition to the starting directory, you can specify the file mask and the sorting order. 'Filemask' specifies the types of file you want to display. For example, if you want to display only EXE files, you can use a filemask of "*.EXE". If you want to display both EXE and COM files, you can use a filemask of "*.EXE~*.COM" [different types of files are separated with tildes (~).] 'Sortorder' specifies the order which DIRDISPA uses to display the files. It can be one of the following: NAME - Files sorted on names in ascending order. EXTENSION - Files sorted on extensions in ascending order. TIME - Files sorted on time from the earliest to the latest. SIZE - Files sorted on size from the smallest to the largest. X - Files are unsorted. You can also specify only the first letter of the sortorder you want. For example, instead of "BEN DIRDISPA C:\ *.* NAME", you can use "BEN DIRDISPA C:\ *.* N". This is not suggested, however, because it decreases the legibility of your batch file. Example: BEN DIRDISPA C:\ *.BAT~*.SYS~*.EXE EXTENSION BEN ECHO You've picked the file %BEN%! EXTRACT source part This is a function that extracts a certain part of a fully qualified filename (eg. the result from DIRDISP or GETCD) and stores it into %BEN% (or %BEN2%, %BEN3%, etc. Please refer to section 2.3: "BEN and Environment Variables" for further details.) 'Source' specifies the source string from which you want to extract information. Usually, you should place an environment variable here. 'Part' specifies the part of the selected filename you want BEN to return to you. It can be one of the following: DRIVE - Returns only the drive part of the source (eg. C:) PATH - Returns only the path part of the source (eg. \) NAME - Returns only the name part of the source (eg. AUTOEXEC) EXTENSION - Returns only the extension part of the source (eg. BAT) FILENAME - Returns both the name and the extension part of the source (eg. AUTOEXEC.BAT) You can also specify only the first letter of the part you want. For example, instead of "BEN EXTRACT C:\ EXTENSION", you can use "BEN EXTRACT C:\ E". This is not suggested, however, because it decreases the legibility of your batch file. Example: BEN DIRDISP C:\ SET SELECT=%BEN% BEN EXTRACT %SELECT% DRIVE BEN ECHO You've selected a file that is located in drive %BEN% BEN EXTRACT %SELECT% PATH BEN ECHO This file has a path of %BEN% BEN EXTRACT %SELECT% NAME BEN ECHO This file's name is %BEN% BEN EXTRACT %SELECT% EXTENSION BEN ECHO And its extension is %BEN% BEN EXTRACT %SELECT% FILENAME BEN ECHO Its filename (name+extension) is %BEN%! BEN ECHO ~ BEN GETCD BEN EXTRACT %BEN% DRIVE BEN ECHO You're currently in %BEN% drive. FLUSH Clears the keyboard buffer. Example: BEN FLUSH GETCD Finds out what the current directory is and stores it into %BEN% (or %BEN2%, %BEN3%, etc. Please refer to section 2.3: "BEN and Environment Variables" for further details.) Example: BEN GETCD BEN ECHO Hey man, you're in the %BEN% directory! PAUSE Pauses the computer until the user presses a key. Example: BEN PAUSE SAVEPATH Saves the PATH environment variable into a file called SAVEPATH.DAT (this file is stored in the current directory) and erases the PATH environment variable. Using this function can free up environment space so that BEN functions that make use of the environment (eg. GETLINE) can function better. Remember to use the CLEANUP function to restore the PATH upon the completion of the batch file. Caution: Make sure that you don't change directory after using SAVEPATH. If you do, you must change back to the directory where SAVEPATH stores SAVEPATH.DAT before you run CLEANUP. Example: @ECHO OFF BEN SAVEPATH BEN ECHO Your PATH has been saved! BEN CLEANUP BEN ECHO Your PATH is restored! SHELL "Jumps to DOS". After this function is used, the user can work in DOS as long as he/she want. He/she can let the batch file regain control by typing EXIT. Example: BEN SHELL T filename Runs all the instructions in the data file. This lets BEN perform its jobs at a quicker speed. The data file is just a normal text file (ASCII format). It can be created with any text editor, such as BENEDIT or the EDLIN or the EDIT programs included with DOS. The format of the text file is as follows: FUNCTIONS FUNCTIONS FUNCTIONS . . . FUNCTIONS <End of File> The FUNCTIONS are exactly the same functions as those that are ran from the command line. For example: BEN T DATA.DAT where DATA.DAT contains: BOX 1 1 80 25 YELLOW GREEN 3 PAUSE CURSOR OFF CLS BLUE <End of File> is exactly the same as doing this: BEN BOX 1 1 80 25 YELLOW GREEN 3 BEN PAUSE BEN CURSOR OFF BEN CLS BLUE ;This is a comment line. ;Comment lines start with a ';'. Usually, you should only use the T function when you have a large quantity of functions that you wish to be processed by BEN. Examples: BEN T MYFILE.DAT BEN T C:\BATCH\INSTRUCT ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 2.3 BEN and environment variables Several of BEN's functions (IE. GETKEY, GETKEYU, GETLINE, GETLINEU, DIRDISP, DIRDISPA, EXTRACT, GETCD and GETVIDEO) return their results using environment variables. After you use any one of these functions, you can access the data that BEN returns by calling the variable %BEN%. Just put %BEN% in your batch file where you want the data to appear. For example, if you want to get the user's name and re-display it, you can do the following: BEN WRITE White Black Please~enter~your~name:~; GETLINE BEN WRITE White Black Your~name~is~%BEN%! If you stack several functions that return data via environment variables, the first result would be stored into %BEN%, the second result into %BEN2%, the third into %BEN3%, and so on. For example, if you want to ask the user to enter two favorite colors and re-display them, you can do the following: BEN WRITE White Black Enter~your~two~favorite~colors: BEN GETLINE GETLINE BEN WRITE White Black So~they~are:~%BEN%~and~%BEN2%! Note: At the end of your batch file, you should make a call to BEN's CLEANUP function to erase all the variables that BEN have created (IE %BEN%, %BEN2%, %BEN3%, etc.) ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 3.1 BENEdit BENEdit is a text editor that is included with your BEN package. With BENEdit, you can create and edit batch files quickly and easily. BENEdit and BEN (the Batch ENhancer) work together to provide you with the perfect environment to do all your batch works. Now, you can use all your time to productive means by accessing all the features of BEN inside BENEdit. Just select any BEN function under the "BEN Functions" menu and answer a few questions. BENEdit will instantly create the necessary batch program lines for you. Creating batch files is never so easy before! To run BENEdit, simply enter this command in DOS: BENEDIT If you want to open up a file when BENEdit loads, type BENEDIT followed by the filename in DOS. For example, if you want to load the file "QD.BAT", you can enter this command in DOS: BENEDIT QD BENEdit is so easy to use that further documentation is not required. If you have a problem, press F1 in BENEdit to bring up the context-sensitive help. Make sure that the file BENEDIT.HLP is in the same directory as BENEDIT.EXE. Otherwise, the context- sensitive help wouldn't work! ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 4.1 Legality information Disclaimer: Use of this program acknowledges this disclaimer of warranty: "This program is supplied as is. SIMVIS SOFT disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness of this program for any purpose. SIMVIS SOFT assumes no liability for damages directly or consequential, which may result from the use of this program." Trademarks: IBM and PC-DOS are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. MS-DOS, EDLIN, WINDOWS and SMARTDRV are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. SPEEDISK is a trademark of Symantec. SIM CITY is a trademark of Maxis. MAGIK MENU is a trademark of SIMVIS SOFT. Acknowledgments: Doyal Belcher Edwin Lee Erik Lee Jay Norwalk Jonathan Shek ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 5.1 How to install ANSI.SYS a. Find ANSI.SYS from your DOS distribution disk and put it in the C:\ directory. b. Add the following line to your CONFIG.SYS (CONFIG.SYS is located in your C:\ directory) by using BENEdit, EDLIN or other text editors: DEVICE=C:\ANSI.SYS Note: If you don't know where to add this line in CONFIG.SYS, just add it before the first line. c. Reboot your computer. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 5.2 Hints and Tips: - If you run out of environment space in the middle of your batch file, you should use the SAVEPATH function. If this still doesn't work, increase your environment space by adding this line to your CONFIG.SYS: SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM /P /E:4096 If this still doesn't work, increase 4096 to a higher number. - Stack functions together to speed up access. For example, instead of using "BEN BEEP" followed by "BEN PAUSE", use "BEN BEEP PAUSE" or "BEN BEEP / PAUSE". Note: Don't stack functions so much that a command line has more than 120 characters. DOS can only read about 120 characters at a time. - Using a disk optimizer on the disk (eg. SPEEDISK) containing BEN.EXE will speed up the operation of BEN. - Using a cache on your disk (eg. SMARTDRV, PC-CACHE) will speed up the operation of BEN. - In Windows, if you run a batch file that uses blinking characters, run it inside a full screen, since DOS windows cannot display blinking characters. - Use BENEdit to develop all your batch files. It's much easier to access the features of BEN from BENEdit than trying to memorize all of them. - In BENEdit, if you have a mouse, you can find out the coordinates of any screen positions by: a. moving your mouse pointer to that position b. reading the (X,Y) ordered pair at the right side of the status line. - If you are trying to develop a password program, you may discover that BEN doesn't function properly. For example, this may be the core of your batch file: BEN ECHO Please enter the password: BEN GETLINEU IF "%BEN%"=="COMPUTER RULES" GOTO ACCESS BEN ECHO You have entered the incorrect password. Bye. GOTO END :ACCESS BEN ECHO You have entered the correct password! :END Why doesn't this work? Because GETLINE and GETLINEU turns spaces into nulls (ASCII 255) before putting the result into %BEN%. You can work around this by using the null character when you test the password. Instead of the command: IF "%BEN%"=="COMPUTER RULES" GOTO ACCESS ^ SPACE You should use the command: IF "%BEN%"=="COMPUTER RULES" GOTO ACCESS ^ NULL You can enter a null character from any text editor (eg. BENEdit) by holding the ALT-key, pressing the keys "2", "5", "5" on the numeric keypad, and releasing the ALT-key. - To create blinking text, use a light background. For example, if you want to display a blinking yellow message on a blue background, use a foreground color of yellow and a background color of light blue: BEN WRITE YELLOW LIGHTBLUE Hello~World! - Files browsed with LIST can be zoomed, moved and sized by using the F5, CTRL-F5 and ALT-F5 keys respectively. MENU boxes can also be moved with the CTRL-F5 key. - If you use the BOX, FILLEDBOX, GROWFILLEDBOX or SHADFILLEDBOX functions, you can create good-looking borders by specifying an ASCII number as the borderstyle. For example, to create a box with a border made up of "√", enter the following command: BEN BOX 1 1 80 25 LIGHTGRAY BLUE 251 - If you port some BASIC PLAY statements to BEN's PLAY commands, remember to turn all "<"'s to "["'s and all ">"'s to "]"'s. Or, put all the statements into a data file and use BEN's T function to access them. - Use the COLOR command before the LOCATE command. - Examining the BENDEMO files is a good way to learn BEN functions. - If you are a programmer, use BEN to develop INSTALL.BATs for your programs. - If you work in a network, use BEN to develop network batch utilities. - Register BEN and get the bonus BENMOUSE program. With BENMOUSE, you can make use of the mouse in your batch files. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 5.3 Support, bug reports, comments, problems... If you need technical support, feel that this manual is inadequate, or uncover any bugs, please contact me: Simon Lee 7905 Bayview Ave. Unit 1019 Thornhill Ontario Canada L3T 7N3 Phone: (416) 882-2514 Fax: (416) 882-2527 Comments are extremely welcome. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 6.1 Shareware Registration BEN is NOT free software. BEN is NOT public domain software. BEN is shareware: you are expected to pay a registration fee to the author of this program if you find it useful. You are allowed to use BEN for free within a trial period of 60 days. After 60 days, if you continue to use BEN, you must register. There are three editions of BEN available for registration: A> Personal Edition - $39 With registration, you get the following: - Complete BEN package on a disk: - BEN.EXE with your specified registration name encoded into the code. - BENMOUSE.EXE (a bonus version of BEN that has the ability to make use of mouses) with your specified registration name encoded into the code. - BENEDIT.EXE with your specified registration name encoded into the code. - All other BEN-related files. - Next version of the complete BEN package on a disk free of charge. - One printed manual that covers all aspects of BEN. - Free technical support. B> Programmer's Edition - $99 With registration, you get the following: - Complete BEN package on a disk: - BEN.EXE with your specified registration name encoded into the code. - BENMOUSE.EXE (a bonus version of BEN that has the ability to make use of mouses) with your specified registration name encoded into the code. - BENEDIT.EXE with your specified registration name encoded into the code. - All other BEN-related files. - Next version of the complete BEN package on a disk free of charge. - One printed manual that covers all aspects of BEN. - A distribution license. With this license, you are permitted to use BEN to create batch utilities that you can distribute, royalty-free. - Free technical support. C> Business Edition - $199 With registration, you get the following: - Complete BEN package on a disk: - BEN.EXE with your specified registration name encoded into the code. - BENMOUSE.EXE (a bonus version of BEN that has the ability to make use of mouses) with your specified registration name encoded into the code. - BENEDIT.EXE with your specified registration name encoded into the code. - All other BEN-related files. - All future versions of the complete BEN package on a disk free of charge. - Five sets of printed manuals that covers all aspects of BEN. - A site license for unlimited number of users on a LAN. - A distribution license. With this license, you are permitted to use BEN to create batch utilities that you can distribute, royalty-free. - Free technical support. To order, please send $39, $99 or $199 (depending on which edition you want) + $5 Postage/Handling to the following address: Simon Lee 7905 Bayview Ave. Unit 1019 Thornhill Ontario Canada L3T 7N3 Notes: - Do specify the registration name (eg. Mr. Bill Smith, ABC Company). - Do specify the size of the disk you want (IE. 5.25" or 3.5") - Pay in cash or cheque. - Make all cheques payable to Simon Lee. - Pay in Canadian currency if ordered from Canada. Pay in US currency if ordered from US or other countries. * You can simplify the registration process by selecting the "Register" option under the system menu in BENEdit.