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1992-03-15
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A U T O C O N
Version 2.0g
March 15, 1992
by
Larry Weaver
Copyright (c) 1989-92 Larry Weaver
P.O. Box 2639
Weaverville CA 96093-2639
Office : (916) 623-5045
BBS : (916) 623-4455
_______
____|__ | (tm)
--| | |-------------------
| ____|__ | Association of
| | |_| Shareware
|__| o | Professionals
-----| | |---------------------
|___|___| MEMBER
AUTOCON
Introduction
Definitions:
In order to describe AutoCon, I need to establish a couple of
definitions. When I use the word "reconfigure", I mean the
process of updating the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files on the
boot drive, followed by an optional reboot of the system.
When I use the word "configuration", I am referring to an
AUTOEXEC/CONFIG combination held in a record of AutoCon's
database. You will use AutoCon to set up these combinations, and
give each of them a familiar name.
The ^ symbol denotes the Control key, so ^F3 means hitting the
Control and the F3 key at the same time. Alt denotes the Alt key
(tricky, huh?), so that AltR means hitting the Alt and the R key
at the same time. ENTER (all caps) denotes hitting the Enter key.
Description:
AutoCon is essentially a database manager for your AUTOEXEC.BAT
and CONFIG.SYS files. It enables you to keep up to fifty
different configurations, and to change easily between those
configurations.
The first time you run AutoCon, it will create a file named
AUTOCON.DAT. That file will contain five configuration records.
Each record will contain a copy of the AUTOEXEC.BAT and
CONFIG.SYS files from the C: drive. The records are initially
named RECORD01 - RECORD05. When you set up a configuration for a
specific purpose, you can change the name to reflect that purpose
(something like Win3 for a Microsoft Windows configuration, and
SDOS for a simple DOS configuration). You can add more records by
hitting the F3 key.
AutoCon incorporates a full-screen editor to make it easy to
change the AUTOEXEC/CONFIG records. The editor uses Turbo
IDE/Sidekick/WS-compatible keystrokes. If you are not familiar
with these, there is an on-line help file which details all the
keystrokes. If you desire, you can change the editor keystrokes.
The F6 key will pop up a key editor for this purpose.
If you don't like the built-in editor, you can configure AutoCon
to use a different one. The ^F6 key combination will pop up a
window asking for the name of the editor you wish to run. Since
the configurations will eventually be used as AUTOEXEC.BAT and
CONFIG.SYS files, the editor must be able to produce pure ASCII
files. You can toggle between the internal and external editors
with the ^F6 and the ShiftF6 key combinations.
After you have established your records and names, you can
reconfigure your system by entering the name of the new
configuration on the command line. Typing "AutoCon Win3" would
cause AutoCon to copy the AUTOEXEC and CONFIG fields of the
record named Win3 into the boot drive as AUTOEXEC.BAT and
CONFIG.SYS and optionally reboot the system.
In the interactive mode, you can page through the records and
reconfigure (using the current on-screen configuration) with a
couple of keystrokes.
The AutoCon package also includes a device driver which will
allow you to select different configurations during the boot
process. Using this method is optional, and you can switch
between the two methods with a couple of key strokes.
Why AutoCon for Configuration Control:
Three programs were initially responsible for the creation of
AutoCon: my schematic program, my scanner program, and my
programmable logic compiler. Each of these programs require
various device drivers, and almost 600k of memory. When the
computer is configured to run one of the three, neither of the
other two will run; in addition, if the computer is configured the
way I like to work with it, _none_ of the three will run. After
playing with batch files for a while, I decided to write a program
to make it easy to change configurations.
The above scenario is responsible for the default of five records
in AutoCon. I had a regular configuration, the three special
configurations, and one for experimentation. After I had worked
with AutoCon for a few days, I told a few of my friends about the
program and they wanted to try it. After some very positive
feedback, I decided to try the program out in the Shareware
community.
An unexpected bonus of using AutoCon became evident when I
received programs with automatic installation modules -- you know,
the ones that like to mess around with your AUTOEXEC and CONFIG
files. Since your configurations are stored in a database, a
change to the AUTOEXEC and CONFIG files doesn't cause a problem.
I'll use Windows to demonstrate. When I got Windows, and saw
what it was going to do to my system configuration, I used my
"Simple" configuration to reconfigure my system. This
configuration has only the basic stuff in it (path, prompt,
files, and buffers). I then let Windows install itself. After
the installation was finished, I called up AutoCon and created a
new configuration containing the changes Windows had made. After
playing with Windows for a while, I went back to my favorite DOS
configuration in a matter of moments. Now, whenever I want to
run Windows, I just type "AutoCon Win3" on the command line --
and it's up and running!
INSTALLING AUTOCON
New Installation:
To do a new installation of AutoCon, you need to copy four files
(AUTOCON.EXE, AUTOCON.HLP, MENU.CTL, and MENUNUM.COM) to your
hard disk. It doesn't really matter which subdirectory you copy
them into, as long as it's included in the PATH statement. If
you like to have files relating to booting up (such as device
drivers) in your root directory, then MENU.CTL and MENUNUM.COM
should be placed there, otherwise all four files may be placed in
the same subdirectory. When AutoCon is started, it will first
look in the current subdirectory for its Help and data files. If
they are not there, then AutoCon (if you are using DOS 3.3+) will
search the subdirectory it was started from. If they are not
_there_, then AutoCon will search the PATH. As long as the Help
and data files are in the PATH (or in the subdirectory AutoCon
was started from - DOS 3.3+), AutoCon can be installed in any
subdirectory.
After you have copied the files, change to the subdirectory
AUTOCON.EXE was copied to, and type "AUTOCON" ENTER. You will now
be in the interactive mode, pointing to the name of the first
configuration. This first configuration is a special one to
AutoCon. Several of the default parameters are stored in this
configuration. When you make changes to the first record, you
will be asked whether you want to copy those changes across all
the records.
IMPORTANT: If you are currently using a disk cache program that
buffers disk writes (P