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README.XP
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1991-10-17
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Apologies for the shareware pause that comes up every time you
execute XPATH. The screen displayed is there because XPATH.EXE gets
distributed to other bulliten boards without the accompaning
README.XP file that has the order form in it. Thus, the shareware
screen provides a method for people to order the product. The screen
does not appear in the registered version of the program.
XPATH Version 3.7
-----------------
Have you ever tried to set your path longer than 127 characters?
Without XPATH, or a similar product, it just can't be done. The
reason is that you cannot type more than 128 characters at the
prompt. Even if you create a BAT file where you can type more than
128 characters on a line, you cannot set your path past 127
characters because the command interpreter will not read past the
128th column of you BAT file.
This problem is solved when you use XPATH. With XPATH, you create
a file that contains 1 line for each directory you want in your
path. You then simply execute XPATH, specifying the file that
contains the directories you want in your path.
For example, say you want your path to look like this:
c:\;c:\dos;c:\util;c:\util\rexx20\pgms;c:\windows;c:\windows\excel
You create an ASCII (text) file that looks like this:
c:\
c:\dos
c:\util
c:\util\rexx20
c:\util\rexx20\pgms
c:\windows
c:\windows\excel
Save the file giving any name you wish. Let's say you name it
PATH.TXT. You would then create your path by executing the XPATH
command as follows:
XPATH PATH.TXT
The above format assumes that PATH.TXT is in your current directory
and XPATH.EXE is in your current path or current directory.
If the file containing the directories you want in your path is not
in your current directory when you execute XPATH, you can specify
where the file is in the following way:
XPATH C:\DATA\PATH.TXT
That is how you would do it if your path file is called PATH.TXT
and is in a sub-directory on C called DATA.
-->Note: some versions of the shareware xpath is named XPATHSW. In this
case the command is XPATHSW rather than XPATH; or if you wish, you
may rename XPATHSW.EXE to XPATH.EXE.
_____________________________________________________
XPATH is a registered trandemark of XWARE Development
Page 1 copyright 1991
Extra Features
--------------
But wait, there's more. We have just added 3 new features!
You can now add and deleted from your path on the fly. Suppose you
want to add the directory C:\WING to your path right away. Simply
type:
XPATH -A C:\WING
That's all you have to do. Xpath will add the new directory to the
end of your current path. It does not modify your path data file
though, so the next time you reboot, the added path will not be there.
Suppose you want to delete the directory C:\WINDOWS out of your path.
Simply type:
XPATH -D C:\WINDOWS
That's all you have to do. The rest of your path remains intact, but
C:\WINDOWS is removed.
The 3rd new feature added to xpath is the directory list feature.
Simply type XPATH with no parameters, and all the directories in your
path are listed on separate lines. You can use this feature to
create a file that can later be used as input to xpath in your
autoexec.bat file. For example:
Type:
XPATH -L >PATH.TXT
You will get a file that has a list of directories in your path.
This file will also contain the xpath logo (and shareware information
if you have not yet registered), so you will have to edit the file to
delete that stuff. Remember to also delete the byte total at the end
of the file. Then save the file and use it as input to XPATH in your
autoexec.bat file as described on the previous page.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have not registered your copy yet, a pause
comes up and you are required to press enter after the pause.
When you use the above method to create an input file for Xpath, you
will not see the "press enter to continue" message", but you still
have to press enter. If you have an unregistered version, wait 3
seconds after typing XPATH >PATH.TXT and then press enter.
Starting with version 3.5, the total bytes in your path are reported
when you type XPATH with no parameters. I have found that some app-
lications lock up when your path starts to get long. The application
that I had a problem with was BRIEF (a text editor). When my path
reached about 265 bytes, BRIEF would lock up when I tried to invoke it.
-> Type XPATH -? for help and expamples.
_____________________________________________________
XPATH is a registered trandemark of XWARE Development
Page 2 copyright 1991
Possible problems
-----------------
One of the main reasons you would want to use xpath is because you
want a path longer than 127 characters. So, after using XPATH, if
you type the PATH command to display your path, you may see that your
path is longer than 127 characters. My path is 197 characters. When
I run the setup program for the text-editor I use (BRIEF), it tries
to insert d:\brief into my path. At the time it does this, it is a
little confused because it sees my path is longer than 127
characters. It issues a warning message that says my path is too
long, but no problems occur.
Anytime you run an install program that puts a path command in your
autoexec.bat file, you will have to take that path command out and
put that path in your path file that you use when you execute XPATH.
Some programs that read your path could have a problem with a path
longer than 127 characters. Some programs may stop searching the
path after the 127th character, or even blow up when they find that
your path is larger than 127 characters. I've only encountered this
problem with BRIEF and a path greater than 165.
-->When your path gets unusually large, the whole thing may not display
when you type the dos PATH or SET command. The reason for this is that
DOS doesn't expect your path to ever be longer than 127 bytes, so it gets
confused when it's longer, and it prints just part of the path. Sometimes
it will print the whole thing even when it's greater than 127 bytes, but to
be sure you're seeing your whole path, type XPATH with no parameters when you
want to see your path.
DOS 5.0
After you have set your path with XPATH, using the DOS path command to
look at your path will not work. You will see only part of your path.
The same is true when you look at your path by typing SET. To see your
path, type XPATH with no parameters. Your path will list out -- each
directory displaying on a new line.
-> Remember, the longer your path gets, the greater the possibility
some applications will have of locking up.
ONCE YOU HAVE CREATED A PATH > 127 CHARACTERS, DO NOT USE DOS'S