Computer Installation Guide - Dragon Clan Series

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GRABBER/PCX(tm) Version 2.10 Shareware Issue ---------------------- The PCX Screen Capture Program for MS-DOS and IBM PC Compatibles DOCUMENTATION AND TECHNICAL NOTES August 1, 1995 Copyright 1987-1995 by Gerald A. Monroe All rights reserved. +-------------------------------------------------+ | Although they are shareware, GRPCX and this | | documentation file are copyrighted. They are | | not in the public domain and they are not | | "freeware." Please consult page 6 of the | | REGISTER.DOC file for important copyright | | information and license provisions. All use, | | copying or distribution of GRPCX.EXE or this | | document is governed by the terms and condi- | | tions of the Shareware License contained in | | the REGISTER.DOC file. | +-------------------------------------------------+ Thank you for your interest in the GRABBER(tm) screen capture system! The GRABBER package is being marketed in this special form as shareware. This means you have the opportunity to use and evaluate it for 30 days before you decide whether to buy. If you continue to use GRPCX.EXE or any of the other programs in the GRABBER package beyond such 30-day period, then you are required to send your registration fee to the publisher according to the instructions in the REGISTER.DOC file. When you register, you will receive a copy of the latest release of the registered GRABBER package that you order. You may not continue using GRABBER beyond such 30-day period without registering. For registration instructions and a complete statement of your license to use this software, please consult the REGISTER.DOC file. (IBM and PC are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. MS-DOS and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other trademarks referenced herein are the proper- ties of their respective owners.) Table of Contents Overview of GRPCX.EXE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 System Requirements for GRPCX.EXE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Types of Screens that GRPCX.EXE Can Capture . . . . . . . . . . 4 Standard Video Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 "Tweaked" Standard Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Super-VGA Graphics Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 How to Install GRPCX.EXE in Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 How to Capture the Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Ascending Two-Tone Chirp Indicates a Successful Capture . . . . 7 Three Low-Pitched Beeps Indicate a File System Error . . . . . 7 One Low-Pitched Beep Indicates an Unrecognized Video Mode . . . 8 Changing the Destination Drive or Directory . . . . . . . . . . 8 How GRPCX.EXE Names Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Configuring GRPCX.EXE for Your Super-VGA Adapter . . . . . . . 9 Tips on Capturing from Game Programs with GRPCX.EXE . . . . . 10 Configuration Options for GRPCX.EXE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 INT=nn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 INT=OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 MOUSE and NOMOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 SOUND and NOSOUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 CROP and NOCROP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 GRAYSCALE and NOGRAYSCALE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 EGAFONT and NOEGAFONT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 COLORTEXT and NOCOLORTEXT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 TEXTINVERT and NOTEXTINVERT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 NOSWAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 NOEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 NOUMB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 UNLOAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 NOVESA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 BATCHCAPTURE and BATCHCAPTURE:filename . . . . . . . . . . 19 Summary of Default Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Capturing 8514/A Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 How to Control GRPCX.EXE's Crop Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Using GRPCX.EXE with Microsoft Windows . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Changing GRPCX.EXE's Hotkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Testing Your VESA Video BIOS Compatibility . . . . . . . . . 25 Calling GRPCX.EXE From Your Own Software . . . . . . . . . . 27 How to Contact the Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Hotkey parameter code table no. 1 of 2 . . . . . . . Appendix A Hotkey parameter code table no. 2 of 2 . . . . . . . Appendix B GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 3 of 30 1. Overview of GRPCX.EXE GRABBER/PCX, or "GRPCX.EXE," is a memory-resident screen capture program. It saves the images on your computer screen to files on your disk using the very widely supported .PCX graphics file format. Virtually all word processing, desktop publishing and graphics programs for MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows-based computers are compatible with the .PCX graphics format. GRPCX.EXE captures both pixel-based graphic images and charac- ter-based text images to .PCX files. GRPCX.EXE can capture any text image regardless of the number of rows or columns of characters it contains, and gives a perfect dot-for-dot rendering of every character, even if custom screen fonts, a 512-character set, or the split-screen capabilities of the VGA adapter are being used. GRPCX.EXE can also capture virtually any type of pixel-based graphic image that a standard VGA adapter can generate, even if the display is being run in a graphics mode which uses a non-standard resolution or color depth. GRPCX.EXE can also capture several of the most common "Super-VGA" graphics modes that are available on most brands of Super-VGA adapters currently available. GRPCX.EXE is a memory-resident program, also known as a "terminate-and-stay-resident" program, or "TSR." After you start GRPCX.EXE, it waits in the background while you continue to run other programs. To capture the image on the screen, press the key combination (the "hotkey") which GRPCX.EXE reserves for itself. 2. System Requirements for GRPCX.EXE To use GRPCX.EXE, you will need the following: - An IBM-PC, PC-XT, PC-AT, PS/1, PS/2, or 100% compatible computer. - A VGA ("Video Graphics Array") video adapter that is 100% compatible with the original IBM VGA at the hardware register level. - MS-DOS, or IBM PC-DOS, Version 3.0 or later (Version 5.0 or later is recommended). - At least 512Kb of random-access memory ("RAM"). Two megabytes (2Mb) or more is recommended. GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 4 of 30 3. Types of Screens that GRPCX.EXE Can Capture GRPCX.EXE is designed to capture screens from programs that run in "real mode" or "virtual 8086" mode under MS-DOS, on systems that have a VGA-compatible display adapter. GRPCX.EXE can capture VGA character-based text images up to 132 columns by 60 rows. GRPCX.EXE also captures all of the standard graphics video modes displayable by a VGA display adapter. GRPCX.EXE is NOT designed to capture screens from Microsoft Windows. (With the right video driver and a little luck, however, you might be able to get GRPCX.EXE to capture Windows screens. See Section 16.) 3.1 Standard Video Modes The following is a list of all of the IBM-defined "standard" video modes. GRPCX.EXE is designed to work with all of them on a VGA-compatible system. Mode Type X/Y Image No. of No. of Mode Resolution Colors ----- -------- -------------------- ------ 00 text 40 x 25 characters 2 01 text 40 x 25 characters 16 02 text 80+ x 25+ characters 2 03 text 80+ x 25+ characters 16 07 text 80+ x 25+ characters 2 04 graphics 320 x 200 pixels 4 05 graphics 320 x 200 pixels 2 06 graphics 640 x 200 pixels 2 13 graphics 320 x 200 pixels 16 14 graphics 640 x 200 pixels 16 15 graphics 640 x 350 pixels 2 16 graphics 640 x 350 pixels 16 17 graphics 640 x 480 pixels 2 18 graphics 640 x 480 pixels 16 19 graphics 320 x 200 pixels 256 3.2 "Tweaked" Standard Modes Some programs use special graphics screen modes which are similar to one of the above standard modes for VGA, but which are GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 5 of 30 altered for increased resolution or color depth by making special adjustments to the video adapter registers. Examples include the 320 x 240 x 256-color mode and the 720 x 540 x 16-color mode. Even though these are not "standard" modes, GRPCX.EXE is designed to capture them as easily as the standard modes. 3.3 Super-VGA Graphics Modes In addition to the graphics modes listed in Section 3.1, GRPCX.EXE can also capture the following high-resolution graphics modes under MS-DOS, if your system is equipped with one of certain common "Super-VGA" graphics adapters: Mode Type X/Y Image No. of No.* of Mode Resolution Colors ----- -------- -------------------- ------ graphics 640 x 400 pixels 256 ) graphics 640 x 480 pixels 256 vary) graphics 800 x 600 pixels 16 by ) graphics 800 x 600 pixels 256 card) graphics 1,024 x 768 pixels 16 mfg.) graphics 1,024 x 768 pixels 256 ) graphics 1,280 x 1,024 pixels 16 graphics 1,280 x 1,024 pixels 256 GRPCX.EXE should be able to capture these high-resolution "Super-VGA" graphics modes on any video system which is fully compatible with the VESA Video BIOS Extension, sometimes called the VESA "VBE." (To capture 1,280 x 1,024 graphics screens, a VESA VBE is required.) In addition, GRPCX.EXE should be able to capture these modes from certain video adapters even if they are not fully compatible with the VESA VBE. This depends on the identity of the VGA controller chip that is used by the video adapter, and NOT on the adapter's brand name or manufacturer name. Supported VGA controller chips include the following: - ATI VGA Wonder - Western Digital - Video Seven - Tseng Laboratories - Headland Technologies - Oak Technology - Paradise - Trident Systems If you want to capture Super-VGA graphics, and your system does not fully support the VESA VBE, then you must tell GRPCX.EXE which kind of video adapter is installed in your system. To GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 6 of 30 check whether your current configuration supports the VESA VBE, use the CHKVBE.EXE program described in Section 18. If CHKVBE.EXE reports that the VESA VBE is not supported, see Section 11 for instructions on how to configure GRPCX.EXE for your particular type of Super-VGA hardware. 4. How to Install GRPCX.EXE in Memory To use GRPCX.EXE, load it into your computer's memory by entering a command that follows this example: GRPCX x:\pathname In this example, "x:" indicates the drive letter for the drive where GRPCX.EXE should place the .PCX files that it creates. You should use "C:" if you have a single-hard disk system. In this example, "\pathname" indicates the subdirectory on drive "x:" where GRPCX.EXE should place the .PCX files that it creates. Note that GRPCX.EXE will not stay resident in memory (and you will not be able to capture screens) until you tell GRPCX.EXE where to place its captured .PCX files, using the syntax shown above. What if you install GRPCX.EXE in memory by using the above syntax, but you change your mind about where to store captured .PCX files? This is not a problem. At any time, you can simply re-enter the GRPCX command, substituting the new drive and subdirectory location in place of your original "x:\pathname" parameter. When you install GRPCX.EXE in memory, it will display a start- up message in a green box in the corner of your screen. The start-up box is followed by a several lines of information about the way GRPCX.EXE is currently configured to run on your system. If you want to change this configuration, you can do so at the time you install GRPCX.EXE in memory by adding additional parameters on the command line after your "x:\pathname" parameter, or you can change it after GRPCX.EXE is already installed. See Section 13 for more information about this. GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 7 of 30 5. How to Capture the Screen To capture the screen, press GRPCX.EXE's current hotkey combination, as listed on the start-up information screen. GRPCX.EXE's default hotkey is [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[F1] (i.e., press and hold the both the [Ctrl] and [Alt] keys, then press the [F1] key, then release all three keys). (If you want to, you can change GRPCX.EXE's hotkey to some combination other than [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[F1]. See Section 17 for instructions.) After you press the hotkey, GRPCX.EXE will make a series of clicking sounds on your computer's speaker to let you know that it is busy capturing the screen. 6. Ascending Two-Tone Chirp Indicates a Successful Screen Capture If you hear an ascending, two-tone chirp from your computer's speaker, it means that GRPCX.EXE has successfully completed the screen capture, and the resulting .PCX file containing the current screen image is located in the "Drive/path for .PCX files" as shown on GRPCX.EXE's information screen. 7. Three Low-Pitched Beeps Indicate a File System Error If you hear three low-pitched beeps from your speaker, it means that no .PCX file was created. GRPCX.EXE was unable to complete the screen capture for one of the following reasons. Correct the error condition and try to capture the screen again. Possible errors include: - The destination disk is write-protected. - The destination disk is full. - The destination disk has no more directory entries available. - The destination disk has a critical surface defect. - The door is open on the destination disk drive, or the drive is otherwise indicating a "not ready" status. - The "FILES=" command in your CONFIG.SYS file does not specify enough files; increase the number and reboot your computer. GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 8 of 30 8. One Low-Pitched Beep Indicates an Unrecognized Video Mode If you hear one low-pitched beep from your computer's speaker when you press the hotkey, it means that no .PCX file was created. GRPCX.EXE could not recognize the video mode in which the screen is currently running, and did not know the pixel dimensions of the image or how many different colors it contains. In general, this will happen if you are trying to capture a Super-VGA image (see Section 3.3), and your system is not VESA VBE-compatible or you have not told GRPCX.EXE what type of VGA controller chip is used by your video adapter. 9. Changing the Destination Drive or Directory To change the drive or directory where GRPCX.EXE deposits captured .PCX files, enter another GRPCX.EXE command like the one described in Section 4. From that point forward, GRPCX.EXE will place captured .PCX files in the new destination you specify. 10. How GRPCX.EXE Names Files GRPCX.EXE automatically tries to detect the name of the program that is running when you tell it to capture the screen. If GRPCX.EXE is able to detect the program's name, it takes the first six characters of that name and adds: (1) a two-digit number from "00" through "99", and (2) a file name extension of ".PCX". This is the name that will be assigned to the captured screen file. GRPCX always picks the lowest available two-digit number in the destination path. For example, if you are running a program called "WORDPROC.EXE" and there are already four files in the destination path named "WORDPR00.PCX" through "WORDPR03.PCX", then your next screen capture from that program will be called "WORDPR04.PCX". If there are already 100 files in the destina- tion path named "WORDPR00.PCX" through "WORDPR99.PCX", then your next screen capture from that program will be called "WORDPR00.PCX", and the contents of the original WORDPR00.PCX file will be overwritten and lost forever. GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 9 of 30 If GRPCX detects that you are sitting at the DOS prompt when you request a screen capture, it will name the captured files MSDOS00.PCX, MSDOS01.PCX, and so forth. If GRPCX is unable to detect the name of the currently running program, it will assign the names SCREEN00.PCX, SCREEN01.PCX, and so forth. 11. Configuring GRPCX.EXE for Your Super-VGA Adapter You should read this section if your system is not fully compatible with the VESA VBE. To check whether it is, run the CHKVBE.EXE utility. If your system is not compatible with the VESA VBE, this section describes the steps you need to take to allow GRPCX.EXE to capture Super-VGA graphics images like the types listed in Section 3.3. To configure GRPCX.EXE to work with your Super-VGA graphics, include one of the following "@chiptype" parameters on the GRPCX.EXE command line. For example: GRPCX [other options] @CHIPTYPE These parameters can be used when you initially install GRPCX.EXE in memory, or after it is already resident in memory. The "@chiptype" parameters and the types of Super-VGA controller chips with which they are designed to work, are as follows: "@chiptype" Parameter Use With These Super-VGA Controller Chips ----------- ----------------------------------------- @ATI ATI Technologies "VGA Wonder" chips @VIDEO7 Video Seven chips @HEADLAND Headland Technologies chips @PARADISE Paradise PVGA chips @WD Western Digital WD90C00 chips @TSENG3 Tseng Laboratories ET-3000 chips @TSENG4 Tseng Laboratories ET-4000 chips @STB4 STB Systems adapters using the ET-4000 chip @OAK Oak Technology OTI-067 chips @TRIDENT Trident Systems chips Frequently, the type of Super-VGA controller chip will match the brand name of the video adapter itself. For example, most ATI, Video Seven and Trident brand-name adapters have matching GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 10 of 30 chipset names. However, be aware that this is not always true. Many brand-name adapters use chipsets that were manufactured by some other company. Such manufacturers (for example: STB, Orchid, Genoa and Everex) frequently produce Super-VGA adapters which include chipsets from other sources. The only way to be sure which controller chip is used by your Super-VGA adapter is to examine the adapter itself, and to check the name printed on top of the VGA logic chip. (Usually, the Super-VGA is a card in one of your computer's expansion slots, but sometimes it is a section of the main system board itself.) Another way to determine which of the "@chiptype" parameters may work with your Super-VGA adapter is by trial-and-error. If one setting does not work properly, try the next setting in the list. If you attempt to capture a Super-VGA graphic image and hear one single low-pitched beep, it means that GRPCX.EXE does not recognize or is not configured to capture the specific display mode in which the adapter is currently operating. This will happen if your video system is not VESA-compatible and you have not configured GRPCX.EXE for the correct type of Super-VGA controller chip. You should also note that GRPCX.EXE cannot capture some 16- color Super-VGA images even though they are of common resolutions. An example is ATI's video mode numbered 65h (used for 1024 x 768 x 16 on older VGA Wonder cards). GRPCX.EXE only captures 16-color modes which conform to the IBM-standard "four- plane planar" video memory organization scheme, such as the one used by the standard 640 x 350 x 16 EGA graphic mode. 16-color modes which do not conform to the "four-plane planar" memory scheme cannot be captured by GRPCX.EXE, but such modes are not common, so this limitation will probably not affect you. 12. Tips on Capturing from Game Programs with GRPCX.EXE Game programs using animated graphics can be a challenge for GRPCX.EXE to capture reliably. You may find a game program from which GRPCX.EXE seems unable to capture accurate .PCX images, or any images at all. Here are some suggestions that may help solve the problem: - Some games put the computer into what is called "protected mode." GRPCX.EXE may work with some protected-mode GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 11 of 30 programs, even though it is not specifically designed for protected-mode compatibility. However, it may be necessary to load GRPCX.EXE using the INT=OFF command-line switch to make it work with protected-mode programs. See Section 13.2 for a description of the INT=OFF switch. - In some games, GRPCX.EXE's optional "crop box" (described below in Section 13.5) will leave behind garbage on the screen, or cause improper operation of the game after the crop box is cleared. Try using the default NOCROP option, which is described below in Section 13.5. - Some games require complete control over the keyboard, and will not let you use the keyboard to communicate with GRPCX.EXE. If you cannot capture the screen using your keyboard, try using your mouse buttons to capture the screen instead. See the MOUSE option, which is described below in Section 13.3. - You may have to try more than once to capture a game screen successfully. If a game screen turns out scrambled, it may be because the game was in the middle of a timing-sensitive operation at the instant you pressed GRPCX.EXE's hotkey. 13. Configuration Options for GRPCX.EXE This section describes the command-line switches recognized by GRPCX.EXE. A "command line switch" is a word which you type on the command line after the GRPCX command itself. (For example: "GRPCX MOUSE NOSOUND". The words "mouse" and "nosound" are command-line switches.) These switches allow you to modify the way GRPCX.EXE performs certain operations. For example, turning beep sounds and clicking sounds on and off, or enabling the use of the mouse buttons to capture the screen, are just two of the many functions which these command line switches allow you to control. All of the command line switches described in this section may be used to configure GRPCX.EXE's operation when you initially install the program in memory. For example: GRPCX x:\pathname {COMMAND LINE SWITCHES} GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 12 of 30 In addition, after GRPCX.EXE is installed, you may continue to use most of these switches to communicate with the copy that is resident in memory, and reconfigure its operations on the fly. Unless the description states otherwise, that switch may be used both when you initially install GRPCX.EXE in memory, and to reconfigure its operation after the program is already resident. If a particular switch is valid only when you initially load GRPCX.EXE, that fact will be indicated below. A single command line may contain as many switch options as you desire, in any order, in either uppercase or lowercase letters. 13.1 Option: INT=nn This switch tells GRPCX.EXE to try to use a particular block of interrupt vector numbers for relocating the IRQ0-IRQ7 hardware interrupts while it is resident in memory. The "nn" in the string represents a two-digit hexadecimal number, which may be any one of the following: D8, D0, C8, C0, B8, B0, A8, A0, 98, 90, 88, 80, or 78. The program will try to use the eight consecutive interrupt vector numbers beginning with the number you specify as "nn". (For example: INT=78 tells the program to try allocating interrupts 78 hex through 7F hex, while INT=B0 instructs the program to try allocating interrupts B0 hex through B7 hex.) GRPCX.EXE will ignore your INT=nn request, and will not redirect the IRQ0-IRQ7 hardware interrupts at all, if either of the following is true: (1) the "nn" number you specify is not included in the list above; or (2) the program detects a possibility that one or more of the eight interrupt numbers in the block starting with "nn" might already be in use by some other software in your system. If you do not specify the INT=nn option, and you do not specify the INT=OFF option (described in Section 13.2), then GRPCX.EXE will automatically search for a block of eight consecutive interrupts beginning with one of the interrupt numbers in the above list (searching in the order listed above), and will allocate the first free block it finds. The INT=nn option is valid only when you are initially installing GRPCX.EXE in memory. If you use it after the program is already resident, it will be ignored. GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 13 of 30 13.2 Option: INT=OFF This switch tells GRPCX.EXE not to attempt to redirect the IRQ0-IRQ7 hardware interrupts to any other block of interrupt numbers from where the program originally finds them. On most PC's, the IRQ0-IRQ7 hardware interrupts are almost always mapped to the interrupt vector numbers 08 hex through 0F hex. Using the INT=OFF option ensures that the program will not attempt to disturb this mapping arrangement. If your computer stops responding at all (it "hangs") or shows other unexplained behavior when GRPCX.EXE is loaded in memory, you should try using this INT=OFF option on the command line to solve the problem. The INT=OFF option is valid only when you are initially installing GRPCX.EXE in memory. If you use it after the program is already resident, it will be ignored. 13.3 Options: MOUSE and NOMOUSE The MOUSE switch tells GRPCX.EXE to pay attention to the status of your mouse buttons, and to capture the screen when both the left and right buttons are depressed for more than about one second. This "mouse hotkey" function is supported only if your mouse is running under the control of a Microsoft-compatible mouse driver, as most mice do. The default setting for this option is NOMOUSE (i.e., no mouse support). For example, the command GRPCX MOUSE can be used to turn it on. The mouse hotkey will then remain enabled until the command GRPCX NOMOUSE is issued. To capture a screen, press and hold both the left and right mouse buttons for about one or two seconds. This has the same effect as pressing the current hotkey combination at the keyboard, and GRPCX.EXE will begin to capture the screen (or will display the crop box, if the CROP function is enabled; see Section 13.5). When used together with the INT=OFF option, the MOUSE option may allow you to capture screens from within applications which completely take over the keyboard hardware and do not allow software loaded before them in memory (like GRPCX.EXE) to be informed about what is happening on the keyboard. Many game programs behave this way, among others. GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 14 of 30 13.4 Options: SOUND and NOSOUND These switches tell GRPCX.EXE whether it should beep the computer's speaker ("SOUND"), or remain silent ("NOSOUND"), while the program is busy capturing the screen and when a screen capture is successfully completed. The default setting is SOUND (i.e., sounds enabled). For example, the command GRPCX NOSOUND can be used to silence the program. The beep sounds will then remain disabled until the next GRPCX SOUND command is issued. Please note that GRPCX.EXE also makes three low-pitched beep sounds whenever it is unable to capture a screen because of a disk or file system error (see Section 7), and one low-pitched beep sound whenever it is unable to capture a screen because of an unrecognized video mode (see Section 8). Using the NOSOUND switch does not disable these error indicators. 13.5 Options: CROP and NOCROP Use the CROP option to enable GRPCX.EXE to capture only the part of the screen which you select. When CROP is enabled and you request a screen capture, GRPCX.EXE does not capture the screen right away. Instead, it first prompts you to indicate which portion of the screen you wish to capture to a .PCX file by drawing a box on top of the current screen image, which you can move and reshape to your preference. Instructions for moving and reshaping this "crop box" are given below in Section 15. The default setting is NOCROP (i.e., crop box is disabled). The command GRPCX CROP can be used to enable the crop box. The crop box will then remain enabled until the next GRPCX NOCROP command is issued. 13.6 Options: GRAYSCALE and NOGRAYSCALE The GRAYSCALE option forces GRPCX to convert all palette colors in the current screen image to evenly spaced shades of gray. For 16-color images, colors in the resulting .PCX file will be forced to 16 shades of gray. For 256-color images, colors in the resulting .PCX file will be forced to 64 shades of gray. The GRAYSCALE option functions on both character-based text images and on graphic-mode images. The default setting is NOGRAYSCALE (i.e., grayscale conversion is disabled and all palette colors are preserved). The command GRPCX GRAYSCALE can be used to enable grayscale conversion. Grayscale conversion GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 15 of 30 will then remain enabled until the next GRPCX NOGRAYSCALE command is issued. 13.7 Options: EGAFONT and NOEGAFONT The EGAFONT option forces GRPCX.EXE to use the standard EGA- style 8x14 character font that is built into your VGA adapter when capturing text-mode screens. This option is included so that a standard 80-column by 25-row text image (which is the most common type of text-mode image) can be captured to a .PCX file measuring an even 640 dots (horizontally) by 350 dots (verti- cally). The 640 x 350 size is sometimes desirable because it happens to correspond to the dimensions of the standard EGA/VGA graphics mode 16 (10 hex), and this makes it easy to view the entire captured .PCX image at once using popular DOS picture viewing utilities, without having to pan or scroll around the screen. Note that when the EGAFONT option is enabled, it forces GRPCX.EXE to ignore any customized screen fonts that may currently be active, and therefore it may cause the captured text characters to be rendered incorrectly in the .PCX file if you are capturing from a foreground program that uses customized screen fonts, a 512-character set, or the split-screen capabilities of the VGA adapter. The EGAFONT option has no effect at all when capturing graphic-mode screens. The default setting for this option is NOEGAFONT (i.e., use of the 8x14 character cell is not forced, and characters are captured using the actual font data that is presently active). NOEGAFONT allows an exact dot-for-dot rendering of each character in the captured .PCX file, even when customized screen fonts, a 512-character set, or the split-screen capabilities of the VGA adapter are being used. The command GRPCX EGAFONT can be used to enable the 8x14 character cell. The 8x14 cell will then remain enabled until the next GRPCX NOEGAFONT command is issued. 13.8 Options: COLORTEXT and NOCOLORTEXT The COLORTEXT option allows GRPCX.EXE to retain the exact color palette of the original image when capturing character- based text screens. When COLORTEXT is enabled, color text images will be captured to 16-color .PCX files with a palette that matches the original image's palette exactly. The COLORTEXT option has no effect at all when capturing graphic-mode screens. GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 16 of 30 The NOCOLORTEXT option forces GRPCX.EXE to capture character- based text images to monochrome, or "2-color," .PCX files. This option is sometimes useful when you need to print a text-screen image using a low-resolution printer, or using graphics software which does a poor job of dithering colors for printing on a black-and-white device. When NOCOLORTEXT is active, none of the palette color information from the original text image will be retained in the captured .PCX file. The NOCOLORTEXT option has no effect at all when capturing graphic-mode screens. By default, the NOCOLORTEXT option is disabled. The default setting for this option is COLORTEXT (i.e., the color palette is preserved when capturing text screens). The command GRPCX NOCOLORTEXT can be used to force monochrome text captures. Monochrome text captures will then remain enabled until the next GRPCX COLORTEXT command is issued. 13.9 Options: TEXTINVERT and NOTEXTINVERT The TEXTINVERT option forces GRPCX.EXE to invert the black and white elements of a character-based text image that is being captured while the NOCOLORTEXT option is active. This creates, in effect, a negative of the monochrome .PCX image. This option is sometimes useful for improving the appearance of a captured text image that is being reproduced on a black-and-white printer. The TEXTINVERT option has no effect on text-screen captures unless the NOCOLORTEXT option is also enabled, and it has no effect at all when capturing graphic-mode screens. The default setting for this option is NOTEXTINVERT (i.e., monochrome text captures under NOCOLORTEXT are not reversed). The command GRPCX TEXTINVERT can be used to force negatives of monochrome text captures. Negatives will then remain enabled until the next GRPCX NOTEXTINVERT command is issued. 13.10 Option: NOSWAP This switch tells GRPCX.EXE not to "swap" certain sensitive regions of the MS-DOS kernel out of memory during a screen capture operation. By default, the program will perform this swapping during a screen capture operation in order to eliminate delays between the time you press the hotkey and the time the program actually begins capturing the screen image. On rare occasions, however, this swapping activity may lead to a system crash. If your system hangs when you request the program to GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 17 of 30 capture the screen, try using the NOSWAP option on the command line. The NOSWAP option is valid only when you are initially installing GRPCX.EXE in memory. If you use it after GRPCX.EXE is already resident, it will be ignored. 13.11 Option: NOEMS The NOEMS option prevents GRPCX.EXE from using EMS expanded memory, such as the kind provided by the EMM386.EXE program supplied with DOS, the QEMM and 386^Max programs, and by certain memory-expansion boards. If at least 32Kb of EMS expanded memory is available when you initially install GRPCX.EXE in memory, then unless you specify this option, GRPCX.EXE will automatically allocate that amount of expanded memory to itself, and use the expanded memory to store most of its program buffers. If GRPCX.EXE is able to use EMS expanded memory, then it will occupy only about 5,000 bytes of your system's memory below the 1-megabyte DOS threshold ("DOS memory"). However, if no EMS ex- panded memory is available (and no UMBs are available either -- see Section 13.12), then GRPCX.EXE will occupy about 20,000 bytes of DOS memory. The NOEMS option is not recommended unless, in contrast to the rest of us, you have DOS memory to burn and need to conserve expanded memory space for other programs. The NOEMS option is valid only when you are initially install- ing GRPCX.EXE in memory. If you use it after the program is already resident, it will be ignored. Special note for QEMM users: The Quarterdeck Expanded Memory Manager (QEMM) Versions 6.0 and later include a special feature called "Stealth" ROM management, which is incompatible with GRPCX.EXE. If GRPCX.EXE detects that QEMM Stealth has remapped your video BIOS segment (which is usually the segment at C0000h, but it can also be elsewhere), then GRPCX.EXE program will auto- matically disable EMS expanded memory usage as though you had included the NOEMS option on the command line. However, in rare situations, GRPCX.EXE might be unable to detect that QEMM Stealth has remapped your video BIOS segment. This may be the case if your system hangs when you attempt to capture the screen. To cure this problem, try using the NOEMS option when you initially install GRPCX.EXE in memory. You can still take advantage of GRPCX.EXE's EMS expanded memory capability as long as your video BIOS segment is not one of the segments that has been remapped by GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 18 of 30 QEMM Stealth. For instructions on excluding the video BIOS segment from Stealth coverage, consult the description of the "XST:" option in your QEMM manual. 13.12 Option: NOUMB The NOUMB option prevents GRPCX.EXE from using upper memory blocks (UMBs) to store its program buffers. UMBs are regions of DOS memory above the 640Kb "conventional memory" limit and below the 1-megabyte threshold that can be enabled with DOS versions 5.0 and later, on computers with 80386 or later processors. When you initially install GRPCX.EXE in memory, it first looks for 32Kb of EMS expanded memory in which to store its program buffers, as described above in Section 13.11. If a 32Kb block of EMS expanded memory is not available (or if you specified the NOEMS option), then GRPCX.EXE will try to allocate a UMB of 24Kb in which to store its program buffers. If one is available, GRPCX.EXE will reserve it for itself unless you tell it otherwise using this option. As noted above, GRPCX.EXE requires only about 5,000 bytes of conventional DOS memory if a 32Kb block of EMS expanded memory or a 24Kb UMB is available at installation time. Otherwise, GRPCX.EXE requires about 20,000 bytes of conventional DOS memory. The NOUMB option is valid only when you are initially install- ing GRPCX.EXE in memory. If you use it after the program is already resident, it will be ignored. 13.13 Option: UNLOAD The UNLOAD switch tells GRPCX.EXE to try to remove itself from your computer's memory if it is already installed. If removal is successful, then a message is displayed at the upper left corner of your screen stating that GRPCX.EXE is not resident in memory, and all memory that GRPCX.EXE was occupying will be released and made available for other programs. This includes any conventional DOS memory, plus any EMS expanded memory or upper memory block (UMB) which GRPCX.EXE may have been using as temporary workspace. Also, if the resident copy of GRPCX.EXE was redirecting the IRQ0-IRQ7 hardware interrupts to somewhere other than their usual location (see Section 13.1), the UNLOAD option causes these interrupts to be restored to their original locations. GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 19 of 30 GRPCX.EXE cannot be removed from memory if, after you initially installed it, you then loaded other memory-resident software which is activated by any of the same hardware or software interrupts which GRPCX.EXE uses. Attempting to use the UNLOAD option under such circumstances will not work, and a message to this effect will be displayed. You should always be able to unload GRPCX.EXE from memory if it was the most recent memory-resident program installed. 13.14 Option: NOVESA This option tells GRPCX.EXE not to use VESA VBE functions, even if they are available on your system. (Some VESA VBE implementations are defective and cannot be relied on by GRPCX.EXE to capture screens. For more information, refer to Section 18.) 13.15 Options: @ATI, @VIDEO7, @HEADLAND, @PARADISE, @WD, @TSENG3, @TSENG4, @STB4, @OAK, @TRIDENT These options tell the screen capture program what kind of Super-VGA controller chip is used by your video adapter. You will need to use one of these if (1) you wish to capture Super- VGA graphic images, and (2) your system is not compatible with the VESA VBE. See Section 11 for more information. 13.16 Options: BATCHCAPTURE and BATCHCAPTURE:filename These options tell a memory-resident copy of GRPCX.EXE to capture the current screen immediately. This is called a "batch capture" because the most useful way to use these options is in a batch file, when you want to capture the screen without having to stop and press a hotkey. If you use "BATCHCAPTURE" by itself, the captured screen will be given a file name according to GRPCX.EXE's default "serial number" scheme (see Section 10). GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 20 of 30 If you use "BATCHCAPTURE:" followed by a file name, the image will be captured to a file with the name you specify. The "filename" parameter may be any length, and may optionally include a drive or directory path specification. For example: GRPCX BATCHCAPTURE:C:\PICTURES\TESTPIC.PCX If the batch capture is completed successfully, GRPCX.EXE passes an errorlevel of zero back to the batch file which issued the batchcapture command. If any error occurs, an errorlevel of 1 is returned. Both BATCHCAPTURE options may be used only after GRPCX.EXE has been installed in memory. Also, any other configuration options which are specified on the same command line as a BATCHCAPTURE option will be ignored. 13.17 Summary of Default Options For your reference, here is a description of GRPCX.EXE's default configuration. This is how GRPCX.EXE will be set up if you do not specify any command-line options when you initially install GRPCX.EXE in memory: - Super-VGA logic: Generic VGA - Use VESA video BIOS calls: Yes, if a VESA BIOS is present at the time GRPCX is initially installed in memory; otherwise, No. - Allow captures using mouse buttons: No (NOMOUSE) - Use sounds to indicate capture progress: Yes (SOUND) - Convert color images to grayscale: No (NOGRAYSCALE) - Force the use of the EGA-style 8x14 character font for text screen captures: No (NOEGAFONT) - Retain color palette information for text screen captures: Yes (COLORTEXT) - Invert black and white elements (i.e., make a negative) of black-and-white text screens: No (NOTEXTINVERT) GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 21 of 30 - Crop image before saving to .PCX file: No (NOCROP) - Load GRPCX into EMS expanded memory or a DOS upper memory block, if available: Yes - Enable swapping of DOS kernel: Yes - Redirect IRQ0-IRQ7 hardware interrupts: Yes, to the first available block of eight interrupt numbers as explained under "INT=nn" above in Section 13.1. 14. Capturing 8514/A Graphics GRPCX.EXE is able to capture high-resolution graphics from systems that are compatible with the 8514/A Adapter Interface, also known as the "AI". The AI is a graphics programming stan- dard that was originally invented by IBM for its 8514/A and XGA video adapters, and is now supported by several other video card manufacturers. The AI is similar to the VESA video BIOS exten- sion in that it takes the form of a memory-resident driver that other programs, like GRPCX.EXE, can call on to create and work with high-resolution graphics. The AI supports screen resolutions of 640 x 480 and 1024 x 768 pixels, in either 16 or 256 colors. If your video adapter is part of the popular "Graphics Vantage," "Graphics Ultra" or "8514 Ultra" series of boards manufactured by ATI Technologies, then you can add AI compatibil- ity to your system by loading the HDILOAD.EXE program that is supplied with the board. AI drivers are also available for other non-IBM video adapters, such as the many Super-VGA boards which use the Tseng Laboratories ET4000 chipset or some S3 ("S-Cubed") chipsets. You do not have to configure GRPCX.EXE to capture screens from programs that use the AI for graphics output. GRPCX.EXE automatically detects the presence of an AI driver when you initially install GRPCX.EXE in memory. Note, however, that GRPCX.EXE will not be able to capture AI-compatible graphics unless you load your AI driver (for example, HDILOAD.EXE) *before* you install GRPCX.EXE in memory. GRPCX.EXE will not recognize an AI driver that is loaded after it in memory. Some AI video adapters are compatible with the IBM 8514/A adapter at the hardware register level. These include, for example, the ATI adapters mentioned above. Some programs, GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 22 of 30 including Microsoft Windows, work with such hardware-compatible adapters by writing directly to the hardware registers and bypassing the AI completely. GRPCX.EXE is not able to capture screens from such programs, and can only capture 8514/A graphics from programs that use the AI for screen output. 15. How to Control GRPCX.EXE's Crop Box When the CROP option is enabled (see Section 13.5), you can move and reshape GRPCX.EXE's crop box on your screen by using the following keys: <Esc> . . . . . . . . . . Abort the screen capture and exit back to the foreground program. <Return> . . . . . . . . Accept the area enclosed or covered by the crop box, and begin capturing. <Left Arrow>, <Right Arrow>, <Up Arrow> or <Down Arrow> . . . . . . Move the crop box in the direction indicated, without changing the shape of the box. <Shift><Left Arrow> . . . Shrink the box horizontally. <Shift><Right Arrow> . . Expand the box horizontally. <Shift><Up Arrow> . . . . Shrink the box vertically. <Shift><Down Arrow> . . . Expand the box vertically. <Insert> . . . . . . . . Toggle between coarse and fine increments for moving or reshaping the box. <Home> . . . . . . . . . Move the box to the upper left-hand corner of the screen. <End> . . . . . . . . . . Move the box to the lower left-hand corner of the screen. <Ctrl><PgUp> . . . . . . Move the box to the upper right-hand corner of the screen. GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 23 of 30 <Ctrl><PgDn> . . . . . . Move the box to the lower right-hand corner of the screen. <PgUp> . . . . . . . . . Move box to top edge of the screen. <PgDn> . . . . . . . . . Move box to bottom edge of the screen. <Ctrl><Left Arrow> . . . Move box to left edge of the screen. <Ctrl><Right Arrow> . . . Move box to right edge of the screen. 16. Using GRPCX.EXE with Microsoft Windows GRPCX.EXE is designed to work with programs that run in "real mode" or "virtual 8086" mode under MS-DOS. If you are running an MS-DOS application in full-screen mode under Microsoft Windows, GRPCX.EXE should be able to capture screens from that application just as though you were running it outside of Windows. GRPCX.EXE is not specifically designed to capture images from the Windows desktop itself, or from MS-DOS applications which are running in a window instead of full-screen mode. However, you might still be able to use GRPCX.EXE to capture the Windows desktop. To increase your chances that GRPCX.EXE will work with your Windows configuration, make sure you install GRPCX.EXE in memory before starting Windows. Also, make sure you use the INT=OFF command-line option (see Section 13.2) when you initially install GRPCX.EXE in memory; if you don't, GRPCX.EXE will not allow Windows to load. While Windows is running, GRPCX.EXE automatically changes its hotkey combination to [Ctrl Shift]. When you exit Windows, GRPCX.EXE's hotkey combination reverts back to [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[F1] or whatever you may have changed it to be. Also, while Windows is running, GRPCX.EXE ignores the status of the CROP option and capture the entire screen image. When you exit Windows, GRPCX.EXE will resume following the status of the CROP option. Whether your captured .PCX files turn out correctly will depend on what type of video hardware is installed, which Windows video driver you are using, and what other memory-resident GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 24 of 30 programs are also loaded. GRPCX.EXE has been known to work using the generic VGA video driver supplied with Windows 3.1 (640 x 480 x 16 mode), as well as with recent Super-VGA drivers for ATI VGA Wonder adapters and adapters based on the Tseng Labs ET-4000 chipset (in the 640 x 480 and 1,024 x 768 x 256 modes). It may work with other Super-VGA cards. It will not work with XGA, 8514/A, ATI Mach-8, ATI Mach-32, ATI Mach-64, S-Cubed, Weitek, Hercules XGE, or other video coprocessor drivers for Windows. After GRPCX.EXE captures a Windows screen, it might upset the Windows video driver in such a way that garbage is left on the screen when you move the mouse, push menu items and buttons, or move graphic objects around. To cure this, exit back to DOS and restart Windows. Please note, again, that GRPCX.EXE is designed for use only in the MS-DOS environment, and is not supported by the publisher as a Windows screen capture program. 17. Changing GRPCX.EXE's Hotkey Every GRPCX.EXE hotkey has two parts. We'll call them the "KEY" and the "SHIFT". The KEY can be an alphanumeric key such as the letter A or the number 4, or a punctuation key such as the semicolon [;], or a function key such as [F10], [Esc], [PgDn] or [Del]. In GRPCX.EXE's default [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[F1] hotkey, [F1] is the KEY part. The SHIFT part of a hotkey can be made up of any combination of the following keys: [Shift], [Ctrl], or [Alt]. In GRPCX.EXE's default [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[F1] hotkey, the combination of the [Ctrl] and [Alt] keys is the SHIFT part. You can specify a hotkey on the command line either when you are initially installing GRPCX.EXE in memory, or after it is already resident. Use this syntax: GRPCX [other options] KEY=KK SHIFT=SS [SAVEHOTKEY] "KK" represents a two-character KEY code. Valid KEY codes are listed in Appendix A of this manual. "SS" represents a two-character SHIFT code. Valid SHIFT codes are listed in Appendix B of this manual. GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 25 of 30 The "SAVEHOTKEY" parameter is optional. When you include it on the command line together with the KEY and SHIFT parameters, it instructs GRPCX.EXE to save your new hotkey choice permanently. This way, your new hotkey will take effect automatically every time you reinstall GRPCX.EXE in memory. If you do not include the savehotkey parameter, the hotkey you specify will be effective only for as long as the current copy of GRPCX.EXE remains resident in memory, or until you change it again with new KEY and SHIFT codes. Please read Appendices A and B in this manual for additional important information. 18. Testing Your VESA Video BIOS Compatibility "VESA" stands for the Video Electronics Standards Association, which has invented something called the "VESA Video BIOS Extension" (VESA VBE). The VESA VBE is a standardized method for MS-DOS programs to utilize high-resolution Super-VGA adapters, without having to know exactly which manufacturer's adapter is installed or how its low-level hardware details work. The VESA VBE is built into some systems, and on most others, it can be added by loading a software driver which the manufacturer supplies with the adapter, or by loading a VBE driver from a third-party source. In general, it is easier for GRPCX.EXE to capture Super-VGA graphics images when a VESA VBE is present. If your video adapter is supplied with a memory-resident VESA VBE program or you have a third-party VBE driver, you should load it in memory according to the its instructions before you load GRPCX.EXE in memory. To determine whether your system has a built-in VESA VBE or a software VESA VBE installed, run the CHKVBE.EXE program which is supplied with GRPCX.EXE. CHKVBE.EXE will tell you whether a VESA VBE is present. It will also tell you whether the installed VESA VBE is 100% compatible with GRPCX.EXE and the international VESA VBE standard (some manufacturers have shipped VBE's which are not). GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 26 of 30 If CHKVBE.EXE determines that the VESA VBE is not 100% compatible with international standards, then CHKVBE.EXE will report that the VESA VBE "appears to be incompatible with GRPCX." In this case, you should prevent GRPCX.EXE from trying to use your VESA VBE by including the "NOVESA" switch on the command line. For example: GRPCX [other parameters] NOVESA If your VESA VBE is incompatible with GRPCX.EXE, you may still be able to capture Super-VGA graphic images, but you will need to determine the type of controller chip used by your Super-VGA adapter and tell GRPCX.EXE what it is by using one of the @chiptype parameters. Refer to Section 11 for more information. GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 27 of 30 19. Programmers' Note: Calling GRPCX.EXE From Your Own Software If you are a programmer developing your own software, you can invoke GRPCX.EXE to capture the screen from within your own pro- gram, assuming that GRPCX.EXE is already resident in memory. This is accomplished by using GRPCX.EXE's external programming hook, which is a customized call to Interrupt 16h, described below. You can write a routine to implement this hook in 80x86 assembly language or in any high-level programming language which supports BIOS-level interrupt calls. INTERRUPT 16h, FUNCTION 4750h On entry: AX = 4750h DL = 0 (to check only if GRPCX.EXE is resident) DL = 1 (to capture the current screen) On return: AX = 5047h (if GRPCX.EXE is installed in memory) For DL=0 or DL=1: BL contains the logical drive to which the capture would be attempted (for DL=0), or was attempted (for DL=1). 0 = default drive, 1 = drive A, 2 = drive B, and so forth. For DL=1: If CF=0: Capture was successful. ES:DX points to an ASCIIZ string which contains the [drive:][\path\]filename of the newly created .PCX file (the drive is also coded in BL; see above). If CF=1: If DX = FFFFh, then a capture attempt failed due to a critical disk error or disk-full error on the logical drive encoded in BL (see above). Speaker will beep. If DX does not equal FFFFh, capture was not attempted. GRPCX.EXE was busy servicing a prior capture request, or some other disk I/O was occurring, or DOS was not in a reenterable state. Try again momentarily. GRPCX.EXE Documentation and Technical Notes Page 28 of 30 20. Technical Questions? Reporting a Problem or Bug? >> Do not contact the Public Software Library if you are experiencing a technical problem with GRPCX.EXE or if you have any questions about how GRPCX.EXE is supposed to work. Instead, contact the publisher directly, as described in this section. << The publisher wants to know if GRPCX.EXE ever fails to function on your system as documented in this manual. Also, if you feel there is an aspect of the program which is not clearly or completely described here, we appreciate your suggestions. Please read all of the documentation before submitting a problem report. This way you can be certain whether there really is a problem, or whether the program is being put to a use for which it is not designed or intended. When submitting a problem report, be as specific as possible about what happens and in what sequence or situation. Be sure to list these specific things: (1) All of the information provided on the screen after you enter the GRPCX command at the DOS prompt with the program already resident in memory. (2) Your brand and model of video adapter. (3) Your brand and model of PC. (4) Your brand and version of DOS (for example, MS-DOS V6.20, DR-DOS V5.0, PC DOS V4.0, etc.). (5) Your brand and model of video adapter. (6) The program from which you are trying to capture when the problem occurs. (7) The contents of both your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. Without all of this information, it is difficult to solve a problem, and a response will be delayed. The publisher can be reached at the following addresses: Mail: Gerald A. Monroe Fax: (216) 333-6299 P.O. Box 16296 Telephone: (216) 333-6075 Cleveland, Ohio 44116 U.S.A. CompuServe: 72321,1257 Internet: 72321.1257@compuserve.com APPENDIX A ------------ These are the codes you may use with GRPCX.EXE's "KEY=kk" parameter to change its hotkey combination. See also Section 17 and Appendix B. Key Code Key Code Key Code Key Code --------- --------- ----------- ------------------ A 30 1 02 F1 59 Keypad plus 78 B 48 2 03 F2 60 Keypad minus 74 C 46 3 04 F3 61 Keypad 5 76 D 32 4 05 F4 62 Print Screen 89 E 18 5 06 F5 63 Backspace 14 F 33 6 07 F6 64 Enter 28 G 34 7 08 F7 65 H 35 8 09 F8 66 Tab 15 I 23 9 10 F9 67 Esc 01 J 36 0 11 F10 68 Ins 82 K 37 F11 87 Del 83 L 38 ` 41 F12 88 PgUp 73 M 50 - 12 PgDn 81 N 49 = 13 Home 71 O 24 , 51 End 79 P 25 . 52 * 55 Q 16 / 53 Up Arrow 72 R 19 ; 39 Down Arrow 80 S 31 ' 40 Left Arrow 75 T 20 [ 26 Right Arrow 77 U 22 ] 27 V 47 \ 43 W 17 X 45 Y 21 Z 44 To view this table on your screen, enter: GRPCX KEY=? The asterisk key (fifth from the bottom in the fourth column) refers to the <*> key which is located next to the right-hand <Shift> on 83-key PC and PC/XT keyboards (which is also marked "PrtSc"), and also refers to the <*> key which is located on the numeric keypad of 101-key PC/AT and PS/2 enhanced keyboards. The <Print Screen> key (fourth entry in the last column) refers to the key which is labeled "Print Screen" on 101-key enhanced keyboards only. It does not refer to the "PrtSc" key on 83-key keyboards. The "Print Screen" key does not exist on non-enhanced keyboards. Do not specify KEY=89 unless your keyboard has a "Print Screen" key. APPENDIX B ------------ These are the codes you may use with GRPCX.EXE's "SHIFT=ss" parameter to change its hotkey combination. See also Section 17 and Appendix A. Combination Code --------------------------- No shift keys 00 Shift 03 Ctrl 04 Alt 08 Alt + Shift 11 Ctrl + Shift 07 Ctrl + Alt 12 Ctrl + Alt + Shift 15 NOTES: To view this table on your screen, enter GRPCX SHIFT=? If you wish to use a hotkey which does not include any of these shift keys (for example, <F10> or <Print Screen> alone), you may do so by specifying SHIFT=00 or no SHIFT= parameter at all. However, it is recommended that you include some nonzero SHIFT= parameter to avoid probable keyboard conflicts between GRPCX.EXE and other software in your system. The exceptions to this are the <Esc> and <Enter> keys. If you wish to use either of these in your GRPCX.EXE hotkey, then you must include some nonzero SHIFT= parameter. GRPCX.EXE does not distinguish between the left-hand and right-hand <Shift> keys, which are present on all keyboards. Pressing the left <Shift> key has the same effect on GRPCX.EXE as pressing the right <Shift> key, and vice-versa. If you have an enhanced keyboard which has two <Ctrl> keys and two <Alt> keys, GRPCX.EXE treats the left and right members of each pair identically as well. *** End of GRPCX.DOC ***