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C O N f i g u r a t i o n E D i t o r VER 2.8 May 15, 1992 Copyright (c) 1990 - 92 All Rights Reserved -AV # TJV090 Ira T. Ashkenes 10288 Abbott Rd Manassas, VA 22110 (703) 335-2207 CONfiguration EDitor Page 2 May 15, 1992 TABLE OF CONTENTS Trademarks/Copyrights 3 Copyright Notice and Software License 3 SHAREWARE 3 Update Policy 3 Purpose: 4 WHY? 4 INSTALLATION 5 Using ConEd 8 FUNCTION KEYS 9 DISCLAIMER 10 Registration Form 11 CONfiguration EDitor Page 3 May 15, 1992 Trademarks/Copyrights: CONfiguration EDitor is copyrighted by Ira T. Ashkenes. TesSeRact is registered trademark of Innovative Data Concepts. The TesSeRact CXL User Interface Development System is copyrighted by Innovative Data Concepts. Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Borland C++ is a registered trademark of Borland International. QEMM is a trademark of Quarterdeck Office Systems. QEdit is a trademark of SemWare. Copyright Notice and Software License: This document, other accompanying written and disk-based notes, files, and all referenced and related program files are copyrighted by Ira T. Ashkenes. This is not free software. Non-registered users of this software are granted a limited license to make an evaluation copy for trial use. This trial period shall not exceed 30 calendar days. Any use of CONfiguration EDitor (ConEd) beyond the trial period without having sent in the registration fee is a violation of federal copyright laws. At the end of this trial period, you should either register your copy or discontinue using ConEd. SHAREWARE ConEd is distributed under the "shareware" concept, also known as "user-supported software". Under this concept, you save the high cost of packaging and distribution while still receiving high quality software. You are free, and in fact encouraged, to distribute this software in its unmodified form to your friends, to BBS's and to user groups. Companies that provide software duplication services may include ConEd in their catalog and provide copies for a reasonable duplication fee. All copies must include the files "CONED.EXE", and "CONED.DOC". You are not allowed to modify the files in any way, and this shareware notice must be kept intact. The author, Ira T. Ashkenes retains all other rights to the program. Why register? If you use this program, then you should pay for your copy. That way I will be able to provide you support and updates. Plus, registered users receive technical support. You will also receive a serial number which will display a name of your choosing. Update Policy Registered users of ConEd are registered for life. Plain and simple, you only make your purchase once, and I supply you with a 'key' that will register this version and all subsequent versions of ConEd. When you send in your payment, if you would like the latest version of ConEd sent to you, please include a $3.00 shipping fee. CONfiguration EDitor Page 4 May 15, 1992 Purpose: CONfiguration EDitor allows a user to boot their PC/MS-DOS Computer with any AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS that they have predefined, or interrupt the boot process and create a new one. You can create as many AUTOEXEC.BAT/CONFIG.SYS combinations as your computers memory will allow. WHY? Some history. As a Software Engineer, I have the need to use many different memory configurations and language compilers. When using Microsoft Windows, or Quarterdecks' QEMM, or running RAMDISKs, I need to have a different set of AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files available. When programming with different language compilers, I also need to have my environment set up for each compiler. The list goes on and on. To really complicate matters, when I am on a PC connected to a network, I need to incorporate the network configuration files into both my AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files. Things were really becoming cumbersome there for a while. I had a number of batch files I wrote which would copy a temporary AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS file to my root directory, then I would manually issue the famous <CTRL>-<ALT>-<DEL> command to reboot my PC. Searching through the local bulletin boards, I was able to find two good programs that allow a user to select a predefined boot configuration, however, each program boasted an internal editor. I had to learn a new set of editor commands if I wanted revise an AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS from within the program. This was not acceptable, as when I needed an 'on - the - fly' configuration, I usually needed it in a hurry. Additionally, I found the user interface to be a little clumsy for the novice end-user. Thus, the development of ConEd. With ConEd, you have the ability to boot up a machine and select from several different configurations. You can choose to invoke a Network/LAN, or choose a particular library to use, or free up as much memory for DOS as possible by NOT loading some TSRs'. The options are almost endless. If you are in need of more than one configuration, ConEd is for you. I'd be happy to hear of any improvements you'd like to see, as well as any bug reports. CONfiguration EDitor Page 5 May 15, 1992 When registering, or writing for any reason, please include the following: 1. ConEd version number 2. where you obtained your copy from 3. a description of your system 4. your full name and address If you are experiencing problems, in addition to the above requested information, please send me a copy of your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. This may help in identifying what program/ driver ConEd my be in conflict with. If you have any suggestions or discover any problems with the program you can reach me thru the Elusive Diamond BBS system (300/1200/2400/9600 HST, 8N1) at 703-323-6423/1782. The Elusive Diamond (DGS ALPHA) is part of a consortium of BBS sysops dedicated to providing the best in BBS support. The Elusive Diamond provides first time callers download access. Another Board providing support is The Break East BBS, (703) 680-9269 USR/DS HST/V.32 (a 4 Gig system!). On The Break, you can download the lates version of ConEd from the personal download area on your first call. At the Main prompt type "F" for files, then "P" for personal download. Both are among the finest of boards. You can direct mail to me thru RIME, using the ->DIAMOND mail address. If you have an account on CompuServe, my mail address is 72560,3553, or if you have an account on GEnie, I can be reached there as IASHKENES, and I usually call both services every 2 - 3 days to check on mail. I also monitor the RelayNet International Message Exchange C programming, Programming, ShareWare, and Software Review Conferences, and will respond to all questions from there as well. Support Shareware To register this product send $10.00 to: IJ Software 10288 Abbott Road Manassas, Virginia 22110 INSTALLATION Please read these instruction prior to actual installation, as you may think of an easier method to suit your particular environment, and perhaps get some idea of how you want your configuration naming convention to be. Where you see "<RTN>" in this document please press return or the enter key. 1. From the root directory of your boot disk, create a subdirectory named CONED (i.e. MD CONED <RTN>). Change to that directory (i.e. CD\CONED <RTN>). Copy CONED.EXE into that directory using the DOS COPY command. 2. Simply execute ConEd by typing CONED <RTN> from the DOS prompt. 3. The first screen to appear on the initial use of ConEd is the configuration menu. You are first prompted for your boot drive. Enter that letter here. CONfiguration EDitor Page 6 May 15, 1992 4. Next, you are prompted for the path of your editor. C:\DOS\ is the default. If you do not own a full screen editor, or cannot use a product which saves files in ASCII format, there is always EDLIN which comes supplied with DOS. If your editor is stored in another subdirectory, type in that path (i.e. C:\EDITOR\ <RTN>). 5. You are now prompted for your editors name and extension. For those users who do not have a full screen editor, EDLIN (yuk!) is the default. If you do own another editor, simply type the editors name and extension in here. (i.e. Q.EXE <RTN>) 6. The next item you are asked to enter is the drive and directory in which ConEd resides. The default is the directory in which you have called ConEd from. (i.e. C:\CONED\ <RTN>). 7. Next, you are asked if you use a cache program in any of your configurations. If you use a cache in ANY of your configs, answer Y to this question. 8. You are now asked to enter the command that your cache program requires to 'flush' its buffers. Enter that command here, along with any parameters your cache program may require. If you do not use a cache program, just press return, and do not bother to fill this parameter in. 9. Some machines require a 'cold' reboot (a reboot where a memory check is performed) because of various reasons such as an older bios, or use of hardware that conflicts with a software 'warm' reboot. You now have the ability to define if you want a warm or cold reboot in the setup menu. If you want/need your machine to have a cold reboot, answer Y to this option. 10. Next, you are asked if you would like to use an alternate reboot program. This may be necessary if your computer has an add in board that requires a specific machine instruction passed to it in order to reset properly prior to the actual reboot, or perhaps the internal ConEd reset is not compatible with your machine, and you have an alternate program that does work. 11. If you opt to use an alternate reboot program, enter the path and program name (with parameters if any) here. If you do not need this option, leave it blank. 12. After completing steps 1 thru 9 above, you are presented with ConEds main menu. This is where you choose, edit, add, delete or otherwise manipulate your configuration selections from. As you will see, the default for the first time installation is: "Your Current Configuration" CONfiguration EDitor Page 7 May 15, 1992 ConEd copies your current AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files to the ConEd directory during this first time installation, and that is why it is labeled as current. 13. By striking the <ALT>E key combination, you can edit the description of the highlighted configuration. You have up to 50 characters per description field. 14. Next, you must assign an extension for each description entered. Personally, I use text extensions such as NET for network, or LAN for Local Area Network. You can, however, use extensions such as 001, 002, etc. The idea is to make it as convenient as possible for you to associate the textual description with the associated extension. Simply type in the extension you desire to be assigned to the corresponding AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files (which will be renamed AUTOEXEC.xxx and CONFIG.xxx, where xxx represents the extension you have assigned). 15. After you have completed step nine, press the F10 function key to save this configuration. ConEd will create an AUTOEXEC.xxx and CONFIG.xxx for the configuration you have entered in the setup menu. After modifying your .CUR configuration description entry, you should press the <ALT>U key combination to copy the current configuration and assign it to the configuration extension you have assigned. Again, this only need be done for initial installation of ConEd. Everytime you add a configuration from this point on, ConEd will create a very small and basic set of configuration files, which you will need to edit to suit your needs. 16. To add more configurations to your menu configurations simply press the <ALT>A key combination. After pressing <ALT>A, you are brought to the Edit Configuration menu (Step 8). After repeating this step for each configuration you have entered, you can simply edit each configuration to suit your needs. 17. You have completed the installation instructions. Now that you have read the installation instructions, here are some suggestions/ideas to think about prior to actually running the program for the first time: A. Think about what configurations you want to have predefined, and what extensions you will assign them. B. If you don't want to edit the AUTOEXEC and CONFIG files that ConEd creates for you from the Configuration menu, by using the DOS COPY command, copy your current AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS to your CONED subdirectory, redirecting the file extension to an extension you will predefine. i.e. copy c:\autoexec.bat c:\coned\autoexec.xxx copy c:\config.sys c:\coned\config.xxx where xxx represents the extension you assign it. Do this for each configuration you are going to select during the installation process. After installation, you can use ConEd to edit each configuration to do what you want it to do. Remember to remember the extensions you have chosen for use. The first configuration you choose should be the CURRENT configuration (i.e. Your current AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS). CONfiguration EDitor Page 8 May 15, 1992 It is recommended that you invoke ConEd at the beginning of EACH and every AUTOEXEC file so that ConEd will be called prior to any other calls from the AUTOEXEC. This allows you to select immediately upon system boot which configuration you wish to invoke for the particular PC session. Additionally, add the ConEd subdirectory to your path, this will allow you to call ConEd from any drive/directory. Using ConEd To invoke ConEd, simply type CONED, or in your AUTOEXEC.BAT, have the following: cd\coned coned cd\ This will allow your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to invoke ConEd every time you boot up so you will be able to choose which configuration you want to use. The following command line parameters can be used as well: -c for CGA Video cards and monitors -m to force MONO mode -b for bios video support -dx to start the current configuration after x seconds has elapsed. This is useful for operations such as running a BBS. If the power fails, and then restarts, ConEd will select the current configuration after an x second duration. If the cursor bar is moved, the delay will be canceled. -sxxx to start configuration xxx WITHOUT going thru the ConEd menu. This allows you to quickly select a new configuration from the DOS prompt. ConEd will REBOOT your computer with the configuration you have selected. Examples: CONED -m This will force mono mode CONED -b -d7 Uses bios video support for ConEd and will start the current configuration after 7 seconds have elapsed. CONED -sNET ConEd will reboot your computer with the .NET configurations installed. When you execute ConEd you will be in the main menu. By using your arrow keys (UP and DOWN) you will move from one selection to the next. ConEd always starts with the cursor bar on the CURRENT configuration. If you wish to choose this configuration, simply press the <RTN> key. If you opt for another configuration, use your arrow keys to highlight the particular configuration you want, press the <RTN> key, and your computer will reboot your machine with the selected configuration. When selecting the current configuration, ConEd compares the file length and time stamp of the current AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files with the AUTOEXEC.xxx and CONFIG.xxx files to ensure they are the same file. CONfiguration EDitor Page 9 May 15, 1992 If your AUTOEXEC or CONFIG files have been modified, ConEd will present a menu that will allow you to continue to exit, implementing the current configuration; copy the AUTOEXEC.xxx and/or CONFIG.xxx file to the boot directory; edit or ConEd AUTOEXEC.xxx/CONFIG.xxx, edit your boot directory AUTOEXEC.BAT/CONFIG.SYS, or return to the ConEd main menu. FUNCTION KEYS: F1 - Brief on line help to instruct the user of the functionality of the program, and present available command keys. F2 - Gives the user the opportunity to view the DOS text screen as it was before ConEd was invoked. This is useful when attempting to ensure that all of the drivers that the CONFIG.SYS calls were correctly installed. F3 - Invokes the editor you have selected to edit the highlighted configurations' AUTOEXEC.BAT file. As you move your cursor bar up and down, the extensions of the AUTOEXEC. will change to correspond to whatever textual description you are on. To return to ConEd, simply exit your editor as you would at any other time. F4 - Invokes the editor you have selected to edit the highlighted configurations' CONFIG.SYS file. As you move your cursor bar up and down, the extensions of the CONFIG. will change to correspond to whatever textual description you are on. To return to ConEd, simply exit your editor as you would at any other time. F5 - Invokes the Configuration Menu. This allows you to change, any of the setup options that had been previously selected. When altering the setup, press the F10 function key to save the changes or the ESC key to abort changes. In either case, you are returned to the ConEd main menu. F6 - Presents you with an information screen which tells and how to get in touch with the author. F7 - Allows the user to reboot their computer without exiting to DOS or issuing a <CTRL>-<ALT>-<DEL> command. A user may wish to perform this operation if they realize that a particular function in the CONFIG.SYS file was not invoked properly. An example would be if you are connected to a LAN, and one of the drivers that the CONFIG.SYS calls was not correctly installed or failed. F8 - Environment Viewer. This allow you to view the current environment from within ConEd. This is the same as typing 'SET' from the DOS prompt. F9 - Ends the ConEd program, resumes the configuration in process. <ALT>A - Allows a user to ADD a configuration. CONfiguration EDitor Page 10 May 15, 1992 <ALT>C - Copy a configuration. This allows you to copy the highlighted configuration to the boot drives root directory WITHOUT re-booting at this time. This allows you plan ahead for an upcoming system reboot. <ALT>D - Deletes the highlighted configuration AND the associated AUTOEXEC.xxx and CONFIG.xxx files. <ALT>E - Edit the highlighted configuration description. <ALT>F - Find a configuration. If you have a large list of configurations, you may want to find your configuration using this method. <ALT>G - Go to your current configuration. Takes you to your current configuration in your list. <ALT>U - Update a configuration. This allows you to copy the root directory configuration to the highlighted configuration WITHOUT re-booting at this time. This allows you update a configuration that has been altered outside of ConEd. PGUP, PGDN, UPARROW, DNARROW, HOME and END keys move the highlighted cursor bar around the screen. DISCLAIMER Unfortunately, these are necessary, so I will make this as short and to the point as possible. Ira T. Ashkenes hereby disclaims all warranties relating to this software, whether express or implied, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Ira T. Ashkenes will not be liable for any special, incidental, consequential, indirect or similar damages due to loss of data or any other reason, even if Ira T. Ashkenes or an agent of Ira T. Ashkenes has been advised of the possibility of such damages. In no event shall Ira T. Ashkenes's liability for any damages ever exceed the price paid for the license to use software, regardless of the form of the claim. The person using the software bears all risk as to the quality and performance of the software. CONfiguration EDitor Page 11 May 15, 1992 ConEd version 2.8 Registration Form ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Make checks payable to: IJ Software 10288 Abbott Road Manassas, Virginia 22110 ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Quan Item PriceTotal ___ CONfiguration EDitor Ver 2.8 ....@ $10 $________ (see below for Site License) Subtotal$________ Virginia State residents add 4.5% sales tax. Tax $________ If you would like a diskette shipped to you add 3.00 $________ 5¼ [ ] 3½ [ ] Total$________ Checks or money orders in US FUNDS accepted. Would you like to receive a *FREE* Compuserve Introduction Account with a *FREE* $15.00 usage credit? YES [ ] NO [ ] Name _______________________________________________________ Company _______________________________________________________ Address _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ Home Phone _________________________ Bus._______________________ Registration Name you would like to appear on the screen: (25 character MAX) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Where did you obtain ConEd? _____________________________________ Comments/Suggestions: :____________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ SINGLE SITE LICENSE Pricing: 1 to 10 computers ..... at $10 each # computers ___x 10.00 _______ 11 to 20 computers .... at $9.00 each # computers ___x 9.00 ______ 21 to 49 computers .....at $7.00 each # computers ___x 7.00 ______ 50 to 99 computers .....at $6.00 each # computers ___x 6.00 ______ 100 or more computers .. $500 one time fee ______ For multiple site pricing, please call (703) 335-2207.