home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Collection of Tools & Utilities
/
Collection of Tools and Utilities.iso
/
batchut
/
ansmat10.zip
/
ANSIMATE.DOC
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1991-05-19
|
27KB
|
540 lines
A N S I - M A T E
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* The friendly way to learn more about ANSI.SYS! *
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ANSI-MATE v1.0 and this documentation are |
| Copyright (C) 1991 BOB-KIT Software Company. All rights reserved. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Table of Contents
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANSI-MATE ■ A Shareware Program .............................. 1
Disclaimer ................................................... 2
BOB-KIT Software Company ■ About Us .......................... 2
Introduction / System Requirements ........................... 3
Registration Benefits ........................................ 3
CONFIG.SYS - An Important Detail ............................. 4
CONFIG.SYS (cont.) / Getting Started ......................... 5
Running ANSI-MATE ............................................ 6
Running ANSI-MATE (cont.) .................................... 7
Limitations of ANSI.SYS & Overcoming These Limitations ....... 8
Trying Different Colors / In Conclusion / VENDOR INFO ........ 9
Registration Form ........................................... 10
-- Page 1 --
ANSI-MATE ■ A Shareware Program
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANSI-MATE is currently released as a "shareware" program
and is provided, at no cost, to the user for evaluation. You
are encouraged to share copies of this program with friends and
"upload" it to local & national Bulletin Board Systems. PLEASE
BE SURE ALL FILES ARE INCLUDED and UNMODIFIED. Thank you!
"Shareware" is a concept where computer users have an
opportunity to try a software program before they buy it.
Shareware is comparable to commercial software in quality
(there are good ones and bad ones), but not usually in price.
Shareware is normally much less expensive because the author
has not spent the many thousands, even millions, of dollars
on advertising that commercial software companies do. Thus,
the overhead is much less and your cost reflects this. If you
use a shareware program for a reasonable period of time and
have found it useful, you are required to register it.
Disclaimer ■ Agreement
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Users of ANSI-MATE must accept this disclaimer of warranty:
"ANSI-MATE" is supplied "as is". The author disclaims all
warranties, either expressed or implied, including without
limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness
for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages,
direct or consequential, which may result from the use of this
program. If, for any reason, the user does not agree with
this, then the software program referred to by the author as
"ANSI-MATE" will not be used.
BOB-KIT Software Company - about us
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My name is Bob Smith. My wife, Kitty, and I operate this
business out of our home in Detroit. We have two children, but
are expecting a third in late August [then one of us is getting
the "snip" job =)].
I feel it's important to have as much personal contact with
our customers as possible - I've been known to call someone "out
of the blue" and ask their opinion on one of our programs. This
gives him/her an opportunity to offer suggestions while I get some
honest feedback. The most common suggestions are incorporated
into upgrades as soon as possible.
You'll find me to be very accessible. Call any weekday
10am-6pm and most likely you'll catch me at the computer banging
out some source code. If I'm away (like to the Post Office mailing
disks), Kitty is usually here to answer your call. Have a question
or suggestion? CALL US: (313)372-2669.
-- Page 2 --
Introduction
~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANSI.SYS is a "device driver" which sits idly on too many
hard-drives. Some of us load it in our CONFIG.SYS file because
we like the more colorful/graphic screens when calling our local
Bulletin Board Systems. Others have never loaded it because they
aren't sure what it does or how to use it.
Well, it's my goal to teach you a few things about this "free"
utility AND show you some effective ways of using it. ANSI-MATE
is the first step. We'll create batch files that take advantage
of ANSI.SYS's two most useful abilities: Changing DOS screen colors
to something more pleasant than the drab grey-white on black and,
more importantly, re-defining keys (& key combinations) to save us
mega-keystrokes creating a virtual "menu" of commands at our
fingertips!
ANSI-MATE walks you thru the process of producing these batch
files and writes REMarks in each one so you know what's going on.
Examine and/or make changes to any batch file you create with this
program - "hands on" is one of the best ways to learn.
NOTES: These key-definitions / color attributes are only in effect
while you're in DOS. They don't "get in the way" of running
any programs. Avoid assigning key combinations which are used
by any of your "terminate & stay resident" (TSR) programs -
one or the other simply won't function while in DOS.
System Requirements
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANSI-MATE version 1.0 will operate on any IBM PC/XT/AT or true
compatible running DOS 2.1 or higher with 135K free RAM.
* IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines.
Registration Benefits
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANSI.SYS can place the cursor anywhere on your screen, clear
one or more rows, & produce "blinking" colors along with other
useful capabilities. I've gathered all the information I could
find about ANSI.SYS, then wrote an essay. Included in that essay
is a chart showing all key "scan codes", color codes and the BEST
way for you to write your own batch files that use all of ANSI.SYS's
capabilities. Plus, I wrote a handy utility program that allows
you to change attributes RIGHT FROM THE COMMAND LINE! The essay,
key/color charts, utility, and your PERSONALIZED copy of ANSI-MATE
are all included when you become a registered user. How much does
all this cost, you ask? Registration is $10. Yep, only 10 bucks!
For your convenience, a registration form is attached to the end
of these instructions or can be printed right from the program.
NOTE: The key "scan code" chart includes [F11], [F12], other
~~~~ extended key combinations & how to use them with ANSI.SYS.
-- Page 3 --
CONFIG.SYS - An Important Detail
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANSI-MATE helps you create batch files that use ANSI.SYS
capabilities. Before executing any of these batch files, you
must have "device=[drive]\[directory]\ansi.sys" in the file
named "CONFIG.SYS". If ANSI.SYS resided in the directory named
"C:\DOS", that line would read "device=c:\dos\config.sys". Upper-
and/or lower-case letters are all