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1990-03-28
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97 lines
FC_SHELL v1.2
-------------
by Andy Inman
FC_SHELL is both a replacement for my earlier *IO* and RUNDOOR utilities,
and and add-on to F-Custom, to facilitate running external programs. The
memory overhead used by FC_SHELL is a mere 2.5 kbytes.
If you are already familiar with *IO* and RUNDOOR, then read on. If not,
please read the enclosed IO.DOC.
Using FC_SHELL to replace *IO* and RUNDOOR
------------------------------------------
FC_SHELL is 'self-contained', ie, it does *not* need to be loaded before
FoReM in the same way that *IO* did. In effect, you use it instead of RUNDOOR,
but without the need to load *IO* first.
The options for FC_SHELL give the same capabilites as RUNDOOR, but are
different in format.
The format for calling the program (to be used in your FDOORS.DAT file) is:-
FCSHELL [/options] [path\]<program> [cmd_line]
e.g. FCSHELL /icp c:\utils\gulam.prg startup.g
Option 'switches'
c Enables 'carrier detect'. If the called program is waiting for
user input, and the carrier drops, the called program will be exited.
i Enables IO re-direction. Text output from the called program will
be sent to both the local screen *and* the modem. Input will be
taken from both the local keyboard *and* the modem.
p The path, if given, (c:\utils\ in the above example) will become
the 'default' path before the program is executed. Note, this
is not *quite* the same as RUNDOOR2, which allowed the program path
and 'default' path to be specified independantly.
Use with F-Custom
-----------------
In addition to the above options, you will also normally use either the
's' or 'b' options, to prevent FoReM's 'status window' information from
being lost from the screen:-
b The current screen is saved to a 32k buffer (using 32k of memory)
before the called program is executed, and restored on extit. Thus,
the FoReM screen should be completely unchanged after execution.
s Enables 'scroll control'. When the called program outputs a
line-feed, only the portion of the screen *below* the FoReM status
window is scrolled (similar to the way F-Custom itself normally
outputs text). This is the best option to use, so long as the
called program does not clear the screen, or send other VT-52
screen-control sequences.
Example:-
{#FCSHELL.PRG /icb pcommand.prg} (PCommand clears the screen)
NOTE:-
For some reason, which I don't understand, LHARC.TTP will *crash* if the /s
option is used, but seems to work fine with the /b option. ARC.TTP, on
the other hand, works fine with the /s option. If anyone can tell me why
this is, please do!!
And finally...
--------------
FC_SHELL is free!! Many people have found my original *IO* and RUNDOOR
programs invaluable, and whilst FC_SHELL doesn't offer any additional
functionality, I hope you will find it a bit easier to use.
F-Custom itself is *not* free, but highly recommended <grin>.
Andy Inman, Scary MonSTer BBS, Fnet #1003, (UK)734 320297.
28th March 1990.