Collection of Tools & Utilities

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Collection of Tools & Utilities / Collection of Tools and Utilities.iso / dskut / dcom344.zip / DCOM.DOC < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1989-10-03 | 392KB | 8,928 lines

Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Neither the owner or distributors make any expressed or implied warranties with regard to this software, including merchantability, applicability for any purpose or non-infringement of patents, copyrights or other proprietary rights of others. This software is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. In no event will the owner or distributors be liable to you for any damages, including any lost profits, lost savings or other incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use or inability to use this software. dCOM is not, nor has it ever been, public domain or free software. It is distributed in two forms: 1) under the User Supported software concept (Shareware) or, 2) in pre-paid form complete with typeset documentation, quick reference cards, and user registration. Non- registered users of dCOM are granted a limited license to use dCOM for a trial period, in order to determine if it suits their needs. Any other use of dCOM or use past this period, requires registration. All users are granted a limited license to copy dCOM only for the purpose of allowing others to try it, subject to the above restrictions as well as these: 1) dCOM must be distributed in absolutely unmodified form, including ALL program files, documentation files, and other files. dCOM may not be included with any other product for any reason whatsoever without a license from DAC Micro Systems. No charge or payment may be levied or accepted for dCOM (except that recovered for media costs). Bulletin Board system operators may post dCOM on their BBS for downloading by their users without written permission only if the above conditions are met, and only if no special fee is necessary to access the dCOM files (a general fee to access the BBS is ok). Registering dCOM allows you to use the product after the trial period. Registered dCOM users get mailed notification of dCOM updates and priority when calling the dCOM Support BBS. Most importantly, registered users know they are helping to make sure that high-quality software like dCOM can continue to be distributed in this low-cost manner. For more information on ordering, refer to the ORDERS.DOC file included with this package or, call the dCOM Support Board for on-line ordering. All DAC Micro Systems products are trademarks or registered trademarks of DAC Micro Systems. Other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. DAC Micro Systems 40941 176th St E Lancaster, CA 93535 Voice: 805/264-1700 Data: 805/264-1219 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There have been many fine people who have contributed ideas, suggestions, time, and support through the many phases and iterations of dCOM's development - and it would be nice to mention all of them by name. However, the list has grown too long to fit on one page, and is probably a bit more than what the average user cares to read. So, I will just leave it that I am most thankful for the individuals that have worked with me through all the beta versions, for the individuals that would call for an upgrade after hearing a minor change had been made, for the individuals who played the role of devil's advocate (developers who would rather hear superficial praise instead of what can be the cold harsh reality are only fooling themselves), for the individuals that would bring the most minute inconsistency to my attention, and for the individuals that worked with me time after time in testing dCOM on equipment not readily at my disposal, until we got it right. Additionally, I would also like to credit this excellent word processor, Microsoft Word. And not least, to the good Lord for any talents that may be apparent. Dave Frailey Lancaster, CA October 1989 iiii PREFACEPREFACE As with most fine things in life, they didn't just evolve or happen as the result of a big bang. The collective research, development, and design represented in dCOM amounts to tens of thousands of hours of hard work. Please remember this and how you would feel the next time you have an urge to illegally make a copy of some software. Generically, MS-DOS would have you seated behind the wheel with no instrumentation, no daylight, and no headlights. In response, quite a number of DOS Shells and DOS Utilities have materialized over the years. A lot of them however, have only succeeded in tainting many a good user against DOS Shells. Lest we forget, a DOS Shell should reduce keystrokes, not impose an overwhelming variety of uncorrelating commands and sub-menus that take 200 lumens of brain activity to remember. If nothing else, please set aside any previous bias' concerning DOS Shells. For the novice dCOM provides a simple way to learn and use a hard disk. For the hacker, there is no end to the undying need for flexibility and sophistication. For the programmer, there is no greater development tool than the programmable macro keys and high powered text editor. The initial concept of dCOM was to provide the hard disk user with an aesthetically quick, convenient, non-cumbersome means with which to "get around" subdirectory structures, run programs, and perform housekeeping chores. Throughout its evolvement, this concept has remained intact and uncluttered, enhancement after enhancement. dCOM is still a window into your hard disk, capable of changing directories and running programs quicker than you can say Jack be Nimble. This, however, is only where it begins.... iiiiii FEATURESFEATURES o Tag files for block copying, moving, deleting, printing, or attribute changing. Copying can span multiple target diskettes. Optional caching for floppy accesses to track 0 improves copying to floppy disks by as much as seven times. o A variety of directory sort modes including one with executable files first. Optionally see hidden and system files (which can be protected with an access password). Hide and rename subdirectory names. o Change directories and run programs just using the keypad. o A Command Set that correlates with functionality and is easy to learn and use. o High-powered macro keys that are programmed similarly to batch files and are automatically compiled and "tokenized" to a memory buffer for instantaneous response times and efficient use of memory. All batch commands are supported plus an additional subset of commands like nestable IF blocks, DO blocks, looping, etc.... o Extensive menuing systems can be built using the macro keys. The menu mode can be configured to pop-up automatically and fully supports password protection for each selection or for access to dCOM's utility functions. The powerful macro command set lets you build menu selections which can even display a menu of files to select from before running a program. o A high-performance, full-feature, multi-window, multi-buffer text editor with PC line drawing and enhanced video options. Buffer sizes are limited only by available memory. o A powerful visual tree which is fully mouse driven. Copy and move actions can easily invoke the tree for use in selecting the destination drive and directory. o Full Mouse support. Most file-oriented commands can be performed totally with the mouse. o Fully configurable color (snow inhibited automatically on CGA) with support for EGA/VGA extended colors. o File extensions other than COM, EXE, or BAT can also be configured as executable by having another program run and passing it the selected filename. o A high-performance, resizeable print spooler with hot-keys for clearing the spooler's buffer, sending form-feeds, and sending line-feeds to the printer. Printer output for the system and the iviv spooler is easily redirected to another LPT port or a COM (RS232) port. o The keypad "+" key can be configured to emulate a Return key, which can be toggled on-the-fly with a hot-key. o A Screen Saver configurable from 1 to 59 minutes, which is mouse- sensitive. o A hot-key that blanks the screen and locks the keyboard. If the system password is active, it is required to reactivate the screen and keyboard. o An extensive alarm clock system which can hold 38 different alarms based on daily or calendar events. o An optional activity log can keep track of every program run, when it started, stopped, minutes active, and any parameters used. o dCOM only consumes approx. 50K of conventional memory. vv ContentsContents ================================================== PREFACE........................................iii INTRODUCTION.....................................1 Requirements...................................3 The Documentation..............................3 Term Definitions...............................4 INSTALLATION.....................................5 The Home Directory.............................7 RUNNING dCOM.....................................8 Command Line Switches..........................9 As the Primary Shell..........................14 With MS-DOS Version 2.........................16 A Guided Tour.................................17 On a Z100.....................................19 Color on the Z100...........................20 USING dCOM......................................22 Hot-Keys......................................23 With a Mouse..................................25 Prompt Editing................................27 TSR Programs..................................28 Critical Errors...............................30 Encountering Trouble..........................31 THE UTILITY MODE................................33 Tagging Files.................................35 Extension Execute.............................37 Screen Layout.................................39 Quick Reference...............................41 Command Reference.............................42 Configuration Menu............................53 Colors......................................59 Mouse.......................................61 Disk Drive Override Table...................62 vivi THE VISUAL TREE.................................63 Using the Tree With Copy or Move..............64 Using The Tree - General Use..................65 PRINT SYSTEM & SPOOLER..........................66 Menu..........................................68 THE ALARM/EVENT MENU............................72 THE MACRO KEYS..................................73 General Use...................................74 Editing.......................................76 File Format...................................78 Title Line Switches...........................80 Commands Quick Reference......................81 Variables Quick Reference.....................82 Command Reference.............................83 Variable Reference............................94 Examples......................................99 Technical Tricks.............................107 MENUING........................................109 Security.....................................111 THE TEXT EDITOR................................112 General Use..................................113 Windows and Buffers..........................115 Marked Blocks................................116 Copying/Moving...............................117 Screen Layout................................118 Quick Reference..............................119 Command Reference............................120 Configuration Menu...........................125 TECHNICAL DISCUSSIONS..........................127 AUTHOR.........................................128 viivii Introduction ---------------------------------------------------------------------- INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION ====================================================================== dCOM is a full-screen, high-performance, interactive DOS Shell and DOS Utility. You can change directories, sort directories, execute, edit, print, copy, move, rename and delete files with a single correlating keystroke. You can selectively tag files to be copied, moved, deleted, or printed. Entire directory contents can be copied, moved, and deleted. Subdirectories can be renamed or hidden. And, the copy command has the capability to span several destination diskettes when multiple files are involved. Directories can be sorted in many different ways. One puts all of the executable files in alphabetical order, right up front before the other files that you wouldn't be interested in if you wanted to run a program. Another categorizes your files based on their extensions. And of course, the standard sorts on date/time or size, in ascending or descending order. Hidden and system files can also be seen with the touch of a key. dCOM's user-interface provides you with a command set that correlates with functionality, making it easy to learn and remember. All destructive commands prompt for confirmation first before proceeding. dCOM features an extremely flexible and powerful macro (function) key facility. The macro keys are programmed in a manner similar to batch files and are memory resident, providing instantaneous responses. But, unlike other shells, they do not use temporary batch files, nor do they invoke a second copy of COMMAND.COM (unless programmed to do so, or a resident DOS command is used). With the macro keys, you can program dCOM to perform any of your most commonly used MS-DOS commands, change directories, run programs, compile source code, and more.... You can also use the macro keys to build extensive menuing systems. dCOM also includes a high-powered print spooler which tunes itself to your computer and printer, and can be resized or disabled at will. It is supported with a hot-key that will clear its contents and any internal buffer in the printer. When its output is configured to talk directly with the printer port, CPS rates exceeding 5200 have been noted during graphics or font downloads to a laser printer. Fully configurable mouse support is built-in. With the mouse you can perform almost all of your normal file-oriented functions such as copying or deleting files. You can also use the mouse to change directories, run programs, execute macro keys, and invoke the visual tree. dCOM sports a full-screen, full-featured, multi-window, multi-buffer text editor which out-performs editors twice the size of dCOM. No other editor loads, saves, or searches faster. This editor searches case-insensitive as much as twice as fast as editors that are case- sensitive. In a development atmosphere, the macro keys and text editor become a tool that soon becomes a necessity. 11 Introduction ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dCOM is also available in a Zenith Z100 version. There are some features mentioned in this documentation that are not supported in the Z100 version, most notably are the print spooler and the hot-keys. If you are an IBM user, please disregard the occasional references made concerning the dissimilarities. If you are inclined to think that since we have gone out of our way to support two different types of MS-DOS based computers, that dCOM might contain some extraneous code for the machine other than you're using, think again. Each version of dCOM only contains code for the processor it was written for. Also, each version of dCOM is solely written in extremely tight and efficient assembly language. (For some reason, the author feels like he's buying more code than needed to do the job, and somewhat jilted when he pays money for software that ends up being written in some high-order language like BASIC, Fortran, Pascal, or even C.) 22 Introduction ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RequirementsRequirements IBM compatible with MDA, CGA, EGA, or VGA video. Or, a Zenith Z100 series microcomputer, monochrome or color. A good minimum is 512K memory, but dCOM can easily run in 256K. MS-DOS Version 2.0 or higher. Expanded Memory (Lotus/Intel/Microsoft EMS, Version 3.2 or greater) can be helpful, but is not required. If present, dCOM uses it in several ways. The print spooler uses it before resorting to conventional memory for its buffer. And, whenever dCOM runs a program, it will save its working buffers to EMS rather than having to leave them in precious conventional memory. This provides a nice side effect with the Text Editor because you can have it loaded to the gills and not impact conventional memory when you run a program. You can also configure dCOM to run its transient portion straight from EMM (using the /EMM command line switch), improving performance each time you run a program or macro key, but consumes 48K of expanded memory. The DocumentationThe Documentation For the sake of readability and to keep this documentation from being dull reading, there may be an occasional blurb containing dry humor, slang, or improper English. If this seems unsavory, we beg your indulgence. We have tried to be as comprehensive as possible while still sticking to the essence. At times, in an effort to satisfy the technically inclined, we may go into a topic in-depth. In which case, the pertinent information will be described first. Frequently this manual will make use of quotation marks to set-off a particular section of text. When the use of quotes surrounds something meant to be typed from the keyboard, do notdo not type the quotation marks. They are only intended to isolate what would be your typed response from the other text comprising this documentation. 33 Introduction - Term Definitions ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Term DefinitionsTerm Definitions FILENAMEFILENAME - Under MS-DOS based computers, filenames are comprised of up to 11 possible characters; the first eight characters are the filename, which are separated with a period from the last three characters called the extension. By Microsoft's definition filename only means the first eight characters; however, it seems that filename is more often used as slang for a file's name as a whole, including the extension. Some common sense may be required if ambiguous circumstances are encountered. DIRECTORYDIRECTORY - Though it generally refers to a listing of files found on a specific disk or subdirectory, within dCOM it is usually (unless explicitly stated otherwise) used to refer to a subdirectory's name. DRIVE SELECT BOXDRIVE SELECT BOX - Refers to the lower right corner of the screen when the utility mode is active which, if the mouse pointer is moved into, will display a set of valid disk drive designations. ENTRYENTRY or DIRECTORY ENTRYDIRECTORY ENTRY - Refers to a file or subdirectory name displayed on the screen that was read from the default drive's current directory. HOME DIRECTORYHOME DIRECTORY - Refers to the drive and directory where you installed dCOM. MENU MODEMENU MODE - Refers to when the macro key menu mode is active, which is initially controlled using the /M or /MP command line switches. SELECTEDSELECTED - Refers to the directory entry currently highlighted in the utility mode. SIDEBAR MENUSIDEBAR MENU - Refers to the menu which runs vertically along the right edge of the utility mode's screen when the mouse is active. TOGGLETOGGLE - Refers to a mode that can be in either an on or off condition, sometimes used as yes or no. When the command that controls the mode is issued, the current state of the mode is inverted (or reversed) causing it to cycle back and forth. TSRTSR - A program that terminates and stays resident in memory. UTILITY MODEUTILITY MODE - Refers to when dCOM is in its utility mode where filenames are displayed and you can then copy, move, delete, run, etc... WILDCARDSWILDCARDS - Refers to the use of the "?" and "*" in a typed response for a filename. In dCOM, they function identically to their use in regular MS-DOS. ^^ - (the caret symbol) When it prefixes a keyboard key (e.g. ^X), it indicates the use of CtrlCtrl with that key (similar to shifting a key). ss - (lower case S) Implies the use of shiftshift with that key (e.g. sF1). 44 Installation ---------------------------------------------------------------------- INSTALLATIONINSTALLATION ====================================================================== Installing dCOM consists of making a subdirectory on your hard disk and copying the contents of the distribution disk to it. This subdirectory that dCOM is installed in is referred to throughout this documentation as the Home Directory. Under MS-DOS Version 3, dCOM automatically determines where the Home Directory is when you run it from the path. Under MS-DOS Version 2, however, you must tell dCOM where the Home Directory is. Refer to The Home Directory for more information. The distribution disk consists of at least the following files: DCOM.COMDCOM.COM Initialization and loader. DCOM.000DCOM.000 Resident code (IBM). DCOMZ.000DCOMZ.000* Resident code (Z100). DCOM.001DCOM.001 Transient utility code. DCOM.002DCOM.002 Text Editor Overlay. DCOM.003DCOM.003 Configuration Overlay. DCOM.004DCOM.004 Macro Key Compiler Overlay. DCOM.005DCOM.005 Help Overlay. DCOM.006DCOM.006 Search Disk Overlay. DCOM.007DCOM.007 Visual Tree Overlay. DCOM.008DCOM.008 Alarm Overlay. VCNV.COMVCNV.COM Version Convert Program. ZIBM.FNTZIBM.FNT*! Alternate IBM Look-alike Screen Font (Z100). README.DOCREADME.DOC Contains any errata found in the manual. CHANGES.DOCCHANGES.DOC Contains any changes not in the manual. * These files may be deleted for use on IBM compatibles. ! This file must be renamed to DCOM.FNT before it is recognized. 55 Installation - Copying the Program Files ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copying the Program Files to a Hard DiskCopying the Program Files to a Hard Disk 1. Determine where to install dCOM on your hard disk and make a subdirectory for it. (MD C:\DCOM). 2. Insert the dCOM distribution diskette in drive A. 3. Copy the distribution files to your hard disk. (COPY A:*.* C:\DCOM). Normally it is desirable to have the subdirectory containing dCOM searched by the PATH. This allows you to exit dCOM and rerun it without having to worry about what drive or directory you're currently using. Additionally, you may also want your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to automatically run dCOM when your computer is first turned on. Both of these capabilities are performed by modifying your current copy of the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, using a suitable text editor. Adding dCOM to the PATH is done by locating the existing PATH statement (if one doesn't exist, insert a new line containing one) and appending the full pathspec of the drive and directory where you installed dCOM (e.g. "PATH C:\DOS;C:\DCOM;C:\DCOM"). Having dCOM run automatically every time your computer is powered up is done by adding a line on the end of AUTOEXEC.BAT that reads "DCOM". If you are already running dCOM and want to use its text editor to do this, select the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and press "E" to edit it. After you are done making changes, press Alt-W to save it and Alt-X to exit the editor. To test changes made to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, you must reboot your computer. An example of what a AUTOEXEC.BAT file might look like is: @ECHO OFF PATH C:\DOS;C:\DCOM;C:\UTILITYS SET DCOM=/E300/T DCOM 66 Installation - The Home Directory ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Home DirectoryThe Home Directory As stated earlier, the subdirectory that dCOM is installed in is referred to as the Home Directory. If you are using MS-DOS Version 3 or greater, dCOM automatically determines where the Home Directory is and all you need to know is what it means when we refer to it. If you are using a version of MS-DOS below Version 3, you must tell dCOM (by setting its environment variable) where the Home Directory is. If you do not set the environment variable and you run dCOM from a different drive or directory then its Home Directory, dCOM will have no idea where to find its overlay files and will immediately exit with an error message indicating so. Setting the environment variable is done using the MS-DOS SET command and can be accomplished by adding a line in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file as follows: "SET DCOM=pathspec" (where pathspec is the drive and subdirectory to be considered the Home Directory). For example, if you had made a directory on drive C called DCOM, and copied dCOM's files into it, you would add this line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file before it runs dCOM: SET DCOM=C:\DCOMSET DCOM=C:\DCOM NOTE: The dCOM environment variable can also be used to set default command line switches. If it is used to hold both the Home Directory and command line switches, list the Home Directory first (i.e. SET DCOM=C:\DCOM /M/E300). 77 Running dCOM ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RUNNING dCOMRUNNING dCOM ====================================================================== Running dCOM is the same as running most other programs. If the current drive/directory does not contain DCOM.COM, then you must tell MS-DOS where to find it or have the PATH set to find it in another subdirectory. For instance, if you installed dCOM in a subdirectory on drive C called "DCOM", and you are now in a different subdirectory or at the root directory, you could issue the following to tell MS-DOS Version 3 where to find and run dCOM: "\DCOM\DCOM". NOTE: As shown in the example above, MS-DOS Version 3 allows you to include a directory path when issuing commands. On MS-DOS Version 2, however, you must change directories first and then run the program. If the current drive and directory contains DCOM.COM or the subdirectory holding dCOM is included in the MS-DOS PATH, you would simply type: "DCOM" (and press return). NOTE: It may be desirable to have the AUTOEXEC.BAT file automatically run dCOM when your computer is first powered up. If so, add the necessary command(s) (described above) after the last line of AUTOEXEC.BAT. If you are using dCOM under DesqView or TopView environments, configure them that dCOM does not write directly to the screen and that it uses its own colors. Even though dCOM does write directly to the screen, it conforms to TopView multi-tasking BIOS protocols. 88 Running dCOM - Command Line Switches ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Command Line SwitchesCommand Line Switches Command line switches are optional parameters that can be provided on the command line when you run dCOM. They control various features that dCOM needs to know when it initializes itself. For example, if you want a bigger environment size than the default (160 bytes), you could enter "DCOM/E300" to run dCOM and set the environment size to 300 bytes. Multiple switches can be given by appending one right after the other (the use of spaces is optional). Command line switches can also be given using dCOM's environment variable. Using the environment variable has the advantage that you don't have to retype the switches every time you exit and rerun dCOM, because variables installed in the environment remain in effect and intact throughout your use of the computer until another command is issued on the same level to change them. Using the environment variable also ensures that each time you run dCOM, it will be configured the way you intended. Setting dCOM's environment variable is done using the MS-DOS SET command and would best be done by adding a line in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file before dCOM is run. For example: ECHO OFF PATH C:\DOS;C:\DCOM SET DCOM=/M/E300SET DCOM=/M/E300 DCOM If you are already using the environment variable to set the Home Directory, do not use an additional SET command. Append the command line switches after the Home Directory pathspec (i.e. SET DCOM=C:\DCOM /M/E300). /A/A Enables an activity log of all programs run while dCOM is resident. Using this switch consumes 2k of memory for the activity log buffer (if EMS is not present). When the activity log is active, a file called DCOM.LOG is built and updated in dCOM's Home Directory, containing the date, start time, stop time, minutes active, full program pathspec, and parameters used. The anticipated usefulness of this option is in documenting computer usage. If you enable this option, some systematic method of purging the log file should be implemented on a weekly or regular basis - its size can easily grow to large proportions. You can also write a macro key to log user names into the log file as shown below: [F1] LOG ON :L1 GET %1 Enter Your Name: IF %1<=@ GOTO L1 ECHO %DT %TI %1>>C:\DCOM\DCOM.LOG GOSUBMF MAIN 99 Running dCOM - Command Line Switches ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Using this macro key would work best if the F1 key were all that was in the default macro file, and the /F1 and /M command line switches are also used. The main macro file in the above example would then be MAIN.MAC, which would have all the normal macro key (menu) functions. Control would return to the default macro file when a RETURN macro command is encountered in the MAIN.MAC macro file, or the Esc key is used. You might also want to prevent unauthorized access to the utility mode by using the /MP switch instead of /M. /E###/E### Overrides the default environment size (usually 160 bytes) with the size specified in bytes following the "/E". Without specifying this switch, dCOM creates an environment the same size as which MS-DOS is using. When dCOM runs a second copy of COMMAND.COM, it will pass its environment size imbedded in the command line (which makes sure that any SET commands issued by a batch file have the same amount of environment space that dCOM would have) if the MS-DOS version is 3.2 or greater. Due to a little bit of technical wizardry, dCOM will pick up on changes made to the environment when its using a second copy of COMMAND.COM to run a batch file. dCOM's environment size can be viewed using the Alt-V command. Note: The macro key temporary variables (%0 - %9) temporarily use the environment for storage. If you use them frequently, you will probably want to use the /E command line switch, making sure that there's at least 100 bytes of environment space available (free) for their use. Normally, /E300 is a good safe number. /EMM/EMM Tells dCOM to load and run its transient portion directly from expanded memory. This reduces some of the memory overhead in checksuming and/or reloading the transient portion from disk every time an application is run, at the cost of consuming 48K of expanded memory. If you use this switch, do not configure the buffers statement in CONFIG.SYS to use expanded memory with the "/X" switch (which is only available in MS-DOS Version 4+). At least through MS-DOS Version 4.01, MS-DOS does not properly restore the mapping context of the EMM page frame after a critical error occurs. Irregardless of this switch, the print spooler still uses EMM if existent and all of dCOM's internal buffers are still saved to EMM when an application is run. /F##/F## Tells dCOM to automatically run a macro (function) key when dCOM first runs. Shifted function (macro) keys are indicated either by prefixing with an "s" or by adding 10 to the number (e.g. sF10 or F20 both represent shifted F10). If more than one of these switches are used, they are executed in numerical order. For example, "/sF10/F5" will automatically run the F5 and then the ShiftF10 macro keys, respectively. Using an auto macro key can be useful to have dCOM always start on one particular drive/directory, to load TSR programs (which can be removed with the ^V command at a later point), to set the printer to a desired pitch, etc.... If the /MF command line switch is also used, specifying a different 1010 Running dCOM - Command Line Switches ---------------------------------------------------------------------- macro file than the default (DCOM.MAC), the alternate macro file is loaded first before any auto macro keys are executed. Note: This feature is automatically disabled if there are multiple copies of dCOM in memory. Also, the execution of automacro keys can be aborted if Esc is pressed in time. /K/K Tells dCOM to KEEP the transient portion's memory when it runs a program, instead of releasing it for the program to use. This switch was mainly intended for users running dCOM from a floppy disk and eliminates the need to keep a working copy of dCOM in the drive dCOM was originally run from (except when you invoke a command that uses an overlay file), but at the expense of tying up approx. 45K more memory. Without this switch, dCOM will still run from a floppy disk, but if a program is run that modifies the high memory area that had contained the transient portion, dCOM will then try to reload the transient portion from the original drive it was run from. If the file containing the transient portion is then not found, an error message is posted to reinsert the working dCOM disk, or press Esc to exit dCOM. This switch may also be used by hard disk users to eliminate the minor disk accesses which happen every time control returns to dCOM after it runs a program that overwrites the transient portion in high memory. But its hard to imagine anyone being THAT critical on performance, enough to give up the 45K more of conventional memory that is required to hold the transient portion. /M/M Forces dCOM to initially run in the Macro Key Menu Mode instead of the utility mode. When this switch is specified, dCOM loads as usual, but then simply displays a menu of the macro key titles. The user can exit to dCOM's utility mode by pressing Esc when no gosub'd macro files are active. If a gosub'd macro file is active, pressing Esc forces a return to the previous active macro file (and displays its menu). To return back to the menu mode after escaping out of it, press the Esc key again. For more information, refer to the section called Menuing. /MP/MP Same as /M described above except that the user must enter the access password (set using the utility modes's Alt-A - Access Password command) before being allowed access to the utility mode (provided the access password is active). This would ensure that user's not having your confidence never reach a potentially destructive arena. For more information, refer to the section called Menuing. /MF=file/MF=file Specifies an alternative macro file as the first macro file loaded. If not specified otherwise with this switch, the default macro file is DCOM.MAC. Macro files must always reside in dCOM's Home Directory. The full syntax of this switch would have the name of the macro file immediately following the "/MF", optionally separated with a space or equals sign (e.g. "/MF=MAIN.MAC"). If this switch is set using the environment variable, the equal sign must be left out or MS-DOS will produce a syntax error. Using this switch 1111 Running dCOM - Command Line Switches ---------------------------------------------------------------------- is mainly useful for running an auto macro key and you don't want to give up a regular function key in the process. You would specify the filename containing the auto macro file with this switch, also include a switch to automatically run that macro key, and then at the end of that macro key do a GOTOMF to your main macro file. /P/P Gives the printing application priority when the print spooler is active. This will result in the current print operation returning control back to you sooner, but conversely causing the printer to take a little longer before finishing its job. 1212 Running dCOM - Command Line Switches ---------------------------------------------------------------------- /T/T Informs dCOM that it can safely use any valid tree files saved from the last session. Without this switch, dCOM will always initially assume that all saved tree files are invalid and the first time the tree is invoked for each nonremovable drive, its entire contents will be scanned to read in the directory structure. If you use dCOM constantly from power up to power down, you will probably want to use this switch. For more information, refer to the section called The Visual Tree. /TREE/TREE Forces dCOM to start up in the visual tree instead of the utility mode. 1313 Running dCOM - As the Primary Shell ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Running dCOM As the Primary ShellRunning dCOM As the Primary Shell You may run dCOM as the primary shell (meaning dCOM is the first program loaded by your computer - not COMMAND.COM) by using the SHELL command of CONFIG.SYS and telling dCOM that this is how it is being run by giving it a /SH command line switch. You must tell dCOM that it is being invoked as the primary shell so that it will know that it must establish the environment (not just create a copy of it), and so that it knows there is nothing to exit to. Running dCOM as the primary shell has advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that it squeaks the most out of your free memory because COMMAND.COM isn't loaded, providing about a 5000 byte increase (depending on DOS version). And it provides better security if you enable the password protected macro menu mode (/MP command line switch) because Ctrl-C's and Ctrl-Break's are ignored while CONFIG.SYS is being interpreted, effectively eliminating any opportunity for the user to abort a hard disk boot sequence (unless he/she is knowledgeable that a PC will boot off the floppy first). The disadvantage is that there is no exiting dCOM. When you run dCOM as the primary shell, the /SH command line switch does two things: 1) it tells dCOM its being run as the primary shell, and 2) it informs dCOM where its Home Directory is. An example of what a CONFIG.SYS file might look like in this case is: FILES = 20 BUFFERS = 20 DEVICE = \DOS\ANSI.SYS SHELL = \DCOM\DCOM.COM /SH=\DCOM/E300 SHELL = \DCOM\DCOM.COM /SH=\DCOM/E300 Note the use of the /SH tells dCOM its Home Directory is located in a subdirectory called DCOM on drive C: (because its the current drive). The /E300 (which is a normal command line switch) sets up a 300 byte environment. Any other command line switches desired must be included on this line and should be appended after the /SH (like /E300 is). If you do not provide a path (and the equal sign) immediately after the /SH switch, dCOM will assume the root directory of the default drive as its Home Directory and it follows that all of dCOM's files must then be in the root directory. When dCOM is run as the primary shell, it will attempt to execute the AUTOEXEC.BAT file as part of its normal initialization. In this case, the AUTOEXEC.BAT file should make no references to dCOM (dCOM is already running). Its much too late to be specifying any command line switches using the environment variable, or worse, running another copy of dCOM. Also, avoid using the AUTOEXEC.BAT to load TSR programs; their memory will "sandwich" the memory temporarily being used by COMMAND.COM (which is always invoked to run a batch file) and render that 5K or so that COMMAND.COM uses as useless. TSR programs in this instance are better loaded by using an auto macro key. 1414 Running dCOM - As the Primary Shell ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: At least MS-DOS Version 3.3 has a bug regarding the CONFIG.SYS SHELL command. It only supports command line lengths of 36 characters or less. Using more than 36 characters produces hyroglyphics on the command line for the command processor being invoked. This means that starting at the /SH switch, you should be mindful of the number of characters you're using if you use this version of MS-DOS. 1515 Running dCOM - With MS-DOS Version 2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Running dCOM With MS-DOS Version 2Running dCOM With MS-DOS Version 2 When dCOM is run under Version 2 of MS-DOS, there are some things that it can't determine automatically like it can under Version 3 or greater, that need to be configured for or told to dCOM explicitly. One of these is the Home Directory, which is discussed in detail in an earlier section under Installation called Home Directory. Another is your disk drive configuration. Under Version 2, dCOM can determine which drives are valid, but it can't determine which drives are removeable vice nonremoveable (nonremoveable drives are usually hard disks). Under Version 2, dCOM considers all drives to be removeable unless specifically overridden. This can adversely affect the operation of a couple of dCOM's features, like the tree and the search disk function. To correct this assumption, you will need to configure the Valid Drive Override Table in the utility mode's K - Configuration Menu, so that dCOM will know which of your drive's are removeable and which are not. Under Version 2, dCOM cannot automatically pickup on changes made to the environment by a second copy of COMMAND.COM (which would mainly play when a batch file uses a SET command). This same limitation will also have an adverse affect on using dCOM as the Primary Shell because when dCOM runs the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, the normal use of setting the PATH (which is an environment variable) won't remain in effect. This can be circumvented however by using an auto macro key instead to do the same setup work that AUTOEXEC.BAT would. 1616 Running dCOM - A Guided Tour ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A Guided TourA Guided Tour Once you have installed dCOM, started the engine, and made the necessary pre-checks (mirrors, seat belts, controls, driver visibility, etc...), you are now ready to be taken on a tour of some of dCOM's fundamental capabilities. The first screen displayed is the Utility Mode's screen. While you are in the utility mode, you can always press "H" to get a list of all commands or functions available (and also some help on other areas like the hot-keys). One of the first things you need to know about the utility mode is that all the entries on your screen with a "<D>" following their names, are subdirectories. If you have a color monitor, subdirectories are displayed in a different color from executable files (files that you can run having a COM, EXE, or BAT extension) which are also in a different color from just regular old files. You can change into a subdirectory by selecting it with the cursor keys and pressing Return (or select it with the mouse and press the left button). When you change into a subdirectory, the entry that always shows first is "PREVIOUS <DIR>". This is representative of the prior directory (". .") and if you select it and press Return, you'll be back in the directory you were just in. You can log onto a different drive by pressing "L" and dCOM will ask you which drive you want to log onto. (If you have a mouse, you can move the pointer into the extreme lower right corner of the screen and a menu of valid drives will pop-up (the drive select box) where; clicking the left button will also log onto that drive). A thing to remember is that each drive maintains its own unique current directory. When you log onto drive D, its current directory will be displayed (in a lot of cases it's usually the root directory). If you change drive D's current directory, log onto drive C, and then return to drive D, it will still be in the same directory you had left it in. The next thing to learn is how to run a program. Well, just like changing directories, you just pick the file and press return (or click on it with the mouse left button). While you are running a program, dCOM is still active in the background doing such things as spooling to the printer (if you ask it to), looking out for upcoming alarms, or anything else you might ask it to do by pressing one of the Hot-Keys. Well, right about now, everyone starts to wonder "how do I enter MS- DOS commands?". Very easily, just press the Tab key. When you press the Tab key, dCOM clears the bottom line and displays a prompt like MS-DOS does (i.e. "C>") and whatever you type now will react just as if you typed it at the normal MS-DOS command prompt. Ok, now lets say you want to copy some files to drive A. Well, you could sit there, pick each file one at a time, press "C" to copy it, 1717 Running dCOM - A Guided Tour ---------------------------------------------------------------------- and type "A:" to tell dCOM where to copy it to. But there's an easier way. Before pressing "C" to copy, use the "T" key to tag each file you want copied and then press "C". After you press "C" to copy, dCOM clears the bottom line and asks you where you want to copy the files to. What you enter here is exactly like what you would enter if you were using COPY from MS-DOS (if you type "A:", they will get copied to whatever is the current directory on drive A). If you would like to use the visual tree to select the destination directory, press the keypad's "-" (hyphen) key while the copy command is prompting you for the destination. dCOM also offers a very powerful cache option when copying files to or from a floppy disk (enabled in the Utility Mode's configuration menu) which can better than double the performance of any other mechanism for copying files (i.e. MS-DOS' XCOPY or COPY commands). Considering everything we've said so far, can you imagine how files are deleted? Right, pick the ones you want by tagging, or with no files tagged, select the file you want, and then press "D". Since this is potentially very dangerous, dCOM will stop and ask you to confirm before it goes ahead and deletes anything. How about moving files to a different subdirectory? The same thing, pick them and then press "M". And like the copy command, the tree can be used to select the destination directory by pressing the keypad's "-" (hyphen) key after the move command has been invoked. To complete this quick tour, we will quickly show you how to invoke the text editor so you can easily make changes to batch files or text files. This is done by selecting the file and pressing "E". The editor will immediately pop up on the screen and load the file. After the file is loaded and displayed (which only takes a heartbeat), you can move around the text using the cursor keys and make any changes needed. When you are ready to save your changes and exit, press Alt-W to write the changes back to the file, and press Alt-X to exit the editor. Help is available while in the editor by pressing Alt-H (or F7). There is a lot more to the editor than just this, but this is enough to get you going. Should you ever have a need to exit dCOM (strongly discouraged), press "X" while in the utility mode. If the editor has any open files, the print spooler buffer is not empty, or there are TSR's resident in dCOM's memory, you will be warned first before dCOM actually exits. dCOM is a very powerful tool with which to use and manage your computer. It has a lot of features and capabilities that not everyone will need or ever find. You shouldn't feel uncomfortable thinking that you don't have a complete hold or knowledge on its entire workings right away. It will take some time before even the most avid power user might have a complete mastery of all its intricacies. But even using it with the functions we just mentioned, it provides an ease of use and unparalleled speed not found in any other Dos Shell. 1818 Running dCOM - On a Z100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Running dCOM On a Z100Running dCOM On a Z100 This section describes the differences for operation on Zenith's Z100 series microcomputers. If you are an IBM (compatible) user, you may skip this section. The major differences between use on the Z100 and use on IBM (compatibles) computers is the Z100 version provides no support for the print spooler, the hot-keys, or background colors. Other subtle differences here and there will be encountered, and must be accepted using a little common-sense. There are some things the Z100 just can't do (like support EGA palette colors). The Z100 version does however, for the most part, function identically with the IBM version (they are compiled using the same source code). On a Z100, the lack of an Alt key is adjusted for by using its F0 key (the IBM has no F0 key), which you press and release to get an "Alternate:" message and then press the letter of the Alt key desired. Mouse support can easily be added by attaching a serial mouse (ensure you acquire one compatible with the mouse driver software mentioned next) and purchasing a Z100 mouse driver from: Paul F. Herman, Inc. Software Graphics Tools 3620 Amazon Drive New Port Richey, FL 34655 813/376-5457. The Z100 version fully emulates the IBM character set (through dCOM's internal video drivers) which means you can edit text files (with dCOM's editor) containing extended (high-order) characters without any trouble. You can also use the editor to create files containing line- drawing characters using the editor's line-drawing mode, and print them on a similarly capable printer. When you run dCOM on a Z100, it automatically determines that its being used on a Z100 and loads the resident portion from DCOMZ.000 instead of DCOM.000 (you can delete DCOM.000 if you are sure you'll never need to run dCOM on an IBM compatible). Alternate character fonts are also supported on the Z100. By default, dCOM uses its own internal font (identical to the Z100's default font if no ALTCHAR.SYS is used) which may be overridden by renaming the included font file ZIBM.FNT to DCOM.FNT, which produces IBM look-alike characters. This font file uses the same format as ALTCHAR.SYS so it may be edited using Zenith's font editor or, an already custom- tailored font file may be copied and used instead as DCOM.FNT, without any further fuss. If you are using MS-DOS Version 2, you will definitely need to configure the Valid Drive Override Table in the utility mode's configuration menu. If you are using MS-DOS Version 3 or greater, the Zenith version of MS-DOS still tends to need some adjustment to the 1919 Running dCOM - On a Z100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Valid Drive Override Table because it likes to create extra drive control blocks that appear as valid drives, even though not physically present. Its a good idea to visit this menu and do the automatic test with either MS-DOS version and make changes if necessary. After starting a copy command, the advertised method of invoking the tree for use in selecting the destination directory (from the keyboard) is to press the keypad "-" (minus) key. However, on the Z100, since the keypad "-" and the regular "-" are not distinguishable (under the current keyboard mode that dCOM configures it to), and the "-" character is also a valid filename character, dCOM takes the safe route and only reacts to the Tab key. An alternative method to invoking the tree during a copy command is to press the Tab key. Since the "-" character is a valid filename character, the "-" key next to the equals key still generates the "-" character. Another method of paging through files in the utility mode (instead of using F11 and F12) can be done using an unadvertised command, N - Next Page. When "N" is used to page through the utility mode, it functions similarly to a Page Down except that it will wrap around to the first page when issued on the last page. To compensate for the Z100's lack of some essential cursor keys, dCOM remaps some of the Z100's extraneous keys (to dCOM's needs) to provide an equivalent for most of their capabilities: IBM Z100 Description ----- ---- ----------------------- ^LEFT ^B ^LEFT ^B Move back a word ^RIGHT ^F ^RIGHT ^F Move forward a word HOME ^S HOME ^S Position to start of field/line END ^N END ^N Position to end of field/line PgUp F11 PgUp F11 Display previous page PgDn F12 PgDn F12 Display next page ^HOME sF11 ^HOME sF11 Depends on situation Color on the Z100Color on the Z100 Color on the Zenith Z100 is supported but, unlike the IBM, it is not used automatically. You must issue a command to the utility mode's configuration menu before dCOM will switch to the use of color. When dCOM is run on a Z100, the utility mode's K - Configuration Menu will display an additional command in its prompt, "C - Color". To switch the Z100 in and out of using color, press the "C" and dCOM will immediately reflect the new condition (if on, using the values entered for Colors). The prompt then reflects an option to save the new state as the default. NOTE: Background color is not supported and the maximum color range for any of the working colors is 0 to 7. If a color higher than 7 is specified, the modulus 8 remainder is used. These limitations also apply to the editor's configuration menu. 2020 Running dCOM - On a Z100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: For performance reasons, dCOM defaults to not using color on the Z100. Using color on the Z100 degrades video performance noticeably. The Z100's video hardware requires that three banks of video ram be managed simultaneously when using color instead of just one for monochrome. 2121 Using dCOM ---------------------------------------------------------------------- USING dCOMUSING dCOM ====================================================================== Throughout this documentation, we will constantly refer to several distinct modes of operation that dCOM can be operated in. It is important to understand which mode is which when we refer to them. For example, the most commonly referred to mode is the utility mode. The utility mode is the default operating mode from which you copy files, delete files, run programs, change directories, etc.... Another mode that is also referred to a lot is the menu mode (sometimes referred to in full form as the macro key menu mode). dCOM can be configured using the /M or /MP command line switches to come up in the menu mode instead of the utility mode (described in detail in a latter section called Menuing). This mode is provided so that you can utilize the sophisticated features of the macro keys in a menu driven environment, enabling you to build a powerful and flexible menuing interface. It is also important to understand that dCOM is not just a program that disappears after you instruct it to run another program. It is still alive and working when you do, and there are a lot of things that we will talk about that pertain to this. For instance: the hot- keys, the print spooler, printer redirection, and the alarm/event system are all examples of things that still work even though you're running another program. There is a lot of capability and sophistication built into dCOM. Extreme care has been taken to provide it as benignly to your environment as possible and still provide the utmost in power and performance. It will constantly look out for you as intuitively as it can. Its error checking, handling, and reporting are as explicit and in depth as is possible. Do not feel you have to learn it all overnight, or in a week. But you can easily be tapping a lot of its power in a just a matter of minutes. 2222 Using dCOM - Hot-Keys ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hot-KeysHot-Keys Hot-Keys are commands that dCOM recognizes no matter what you happen to be doing or what program you happen to be running. Shift-Ctrl-BShift-Ctrl-B Blanks the screen and locks out the keyboard (also locking out the mouse when dCOM is running). This could be handy when unwanted company walks in the room or when leaving your computer unattended. The only way to resume is by pressing it again. If the access password is active (as set with Alt-A - Access Password), it must be entered instead of Shift-Ctrl-B to reactivate a blanked screen. If someone had been fooling with your computer during your absence, the first time you enter the password you will probably receive a beep for an invalid password (because it still contains some of their keystrokes). Note that while you type the password, the screen will remain blanked until the correct password is entered and followed by the Return key. Shift-Ctrl-CShift-Ctrl-C Clears the print spooler buffer and resets the printer (clearing its buffer). After this command is issued, dCOM flushes (discards) any output to the printer until 15 seconds of dormancy occur, ensuring that the current print operation is thoroughly cancelled (this feature works even if the print spooler is disabled). The flush period can be cancelled sooner by issuing a second Shift-Ctrl-C. Shift-Ctrl-FShift-Ctrl-F Sends a form-feed to the printer on the current printer port (set with ^P). This can be handy when you print something that didn't advance the paper to a new page and you want to continue printing starting with the next page, or just want to eject the current page (and not have to get up from your seat to do so). Form- feeds sent using this command will wait till any existing characters in the spooler are depleted before actually being transmitted. Shift-Ctrl-LShift-Ctrl-L Sends a line-feed to the printer on the current printer port (set with ^P). This can be handy when you print something and then want to advance the paper one or more lines before continuing to print something else (and not have to get up from your seat to do so). Line-feeds sent using this command will wait till any existing characters in the spooler are depleted before actually being transmitted. Shift-PlusShift-Plus Toggles the current mode of whether the "+" key on the keypad will react as a Return key or as a "+" key. Many of the 84-key keyboards do not provide a second Return key on the keypad. If you would rather that the keypad's "+" key acted as a Return key, dCOM can do 2323 Using dCOM - Hot-Keys ---------------------------------------------------------------------- this for you. Normally you would have this mode default on in dCOM's Configuration Menu and then use this hot-key to temporarily toggle the keypad "+" back to its original meaning in the event that you pull-up a calculator type TSR (or find yourself in any other situation) that would make you want the keypad "+" to act as a "+" key. 2424 Using dCOM - With a Mouse ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Using dCOM With a MouseUsing dCOM With a Mouse dCOM features a very powerful mouse interface. Most file-oriented commands can be performed totally using the mouse without keyboard intervention. dCOM automatically defaults with the mouse enabled, if a mouse driver is present. The mouse can be disabled if desired, using the utility mode's configuration menu. The mouse driver installed must be Microsoft or Logitech compatible. When the mouse is enabled, a side bar menu appears along the right edge of the utility mode's screen and a smaller mouse selection menu also appears in the tree. When working in dCOM's utility mode, some of the mouse side bar commands, when picked, wait for further selection before they execute. For instance, if you had tagged 10 files (using the right mouse button) and then picked "Copy" from the side bar, it would execute immediately because the source is already clear. However, if no files are tagged, selecting "Copy" from the side bar menu highlights "copy" and then waits till you go click the left button on a filename or directory before the copy command is actually invoked. After a copy or move command has been invoked, the tree may be selected from the side bar menu and used to indicate the destination for the copy or move. Alternatively, if you wish to use the tree to select a directory on a different drive after you have started a copy command, you can move the mouse into the drive select box (lower right portion of the screen) and click the left button on the drive you wish the tree to display. If you originally invoke a copy or move command from the tree, control stays in the tree for selection of the destination directory. All pop-up menu's except the side bar menu and the macro key menu are draggable by holding down the right mouse button while positioned in the menu. Their new position is saved automatically in DCOM.INI for future use. All pop-up menu's can be cancelled by clicking the mouse outside their windows. The normal use of the mouse buttons is that the left button acts like pressing Return on whatever is selected and the right button tags files. This means you can change directories and run programs just by positioning the mouse pointer on the appropriate entry's name and click the left mouse button. Or, you can use the right mouse button to expeditiously tag a number of files because it will tag with dragging as fast as you can move the mouse (while holding down the right button). If you have a Logitech three-button mouse, the center button will cause the selection to move to where the mouse pointer is with no further action. This is useful to position the selection on a file that you then wish to perform some action on that isn't supported by 2525 Using dCOM - With a Mouse ---------------------------------------------------------------------- the side bar menu, or if you want to exhibit your ambidextrous capabilities by using the mouse with one hand and then the keyboard with the other. When in any kind of a subfunction that asks for a Yes or No answer (except the editor), you can answer Yes by pressing the left mouse button or you can cancel by pressing the right mouse button (like when confirming that you want to delete files). Paging the screen in the utility mode (or any menu that has enough entries to contain more than one page) can be accomplished with the mouse by clicking the left button on the appropriate set of double up or down arrows that appear at the bottom of the side bar. In the utility mode, the mouse can be used to log onto a different drive by moving the mouse pointer into the drive select box (bottom right corner of the screen) and clicking the left button on the drive desired. The list of valid drives is only displayed in the drive select box when the mouse pointer is actually in its area. If you have more valid drives than will fit totally within this window, it can be scrolled horizontally by attempting to move the mouse beyond the window's left or right borders. 2626 Using dCOM - Prompt Editing ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Prompt EditingPrompt Editing Quite a few commands, when invoked, prompt for additional information (e.g. the utility mode's copy command asks for a destination). When you are editing a response to a multi-character prompt, the following special keys are available: Left ArrowLeft Arrow Moves the cursor one character to the left. Right ArrowRight Arrow Moves the cursor one character to the right. BackspaceBackspace Moves the cursor one character to the left destructively. InsIns Toggles the current insert/typeover mode, changing the shape of the cursor to indicate so. DelDel Deletes the character under the cursor, closing from the right. Up ArrowUp Arrow In the utility mode, scrolls backward through the last commands entered to the prompt involved. Dn ArrowDn Arrow In the utility mode, scrolls forward through the last commands entered to the prompt involved (you must scroll backwards first, before you can scroll forward). ^X ^X Delete from cursor to end of field/line. ^Left ^Left Move back a word. ^Right ^Right Move forward a word. Home Home Position to start of field/line. End End Position to end of field/line. Taking the time to learn the use of these basic editing keys can seriously enhance your use of dCOM. 2727 Using dCOM - TSR Programs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TSR ProgramsTSR Programs TSR (terminate and stay resident) programs pose some problems when installed from anywhere but at the command prompt of the first MS-DOS command processor (COMMAND.COM). When they are installed from a shell (such as dCOM), they can irreversibly fragment user memory (if the shell doesn't go to some trouble to avoid this), and they can be wagering quite a nasty little war over who is doing what with interrupt handlers. When you run and load a TSR from within dCOM, you are advised of how much memory the TSR(s) consumed when control returns to dCOM (you can view and clear (remove) TSR's loaded since dCOM was run using ^V). TSR's loaded prior to running dCOM generally do not present a problem except for one: SideKick. To the author's knowledge, only SideKick goes to such lowly extremes as to check 18 times a second (quite a sizeable amount of processing time stolen from your application), whether or not you've loaded a program that has inserted itself as a keyboard interrupt handler. If SideKick is resident when dCOM is first run, you will be given the message: "SideKick Resident Error". When this occurs, it means that dCOM isn't going to waste its time fighting with SideKick and removes its hardware keyboard interrupt handler, which removes its capability to catch "hot-keys". If you load SideKick after running dCOM, there is no technical problem and life goes on as planned. If you are a SideKick fan, you may want to consider having SideKick loaded by an auto macro key (refer to Command Line Switches). If there are TSR programs resident when you exit dCOM, you will be warned that continuing with the exit will remove the TSR's. TSR's can't be allowed to stay resident when dCOM exits for two reasons: It would seriously fragment your memory and the TSR would unknowingly attempt to chain back to what were dCOM's interrupt handlers, which would now be non-existent (lock-up city). When you load a TSR from dCOM, you should avoid doing it in a manner that invokes a second copy of COMMAND.COM first. When COMMAND.COM is used to load a TSR, the resident portion of COMMAND.COM's memory becomes sandwiched between dCOM's and the TSR, and cannot be recovered (unless you use the Clear command of ^V - View/Clear TSR's). Currently, under MS-DOS Version 3, the amount of memory lost because of this is approximately 4,000 bytes per incident. Techniques that would use COMMAND.COM are: Running a TSR from the utility mode's MS-DOS command prompt (the Tab command), running a TSR from a batch file, or running a TSR using the ">" operator in a macro key. Techniques that would not invoke a second copy of COMMAND.COM are: Running a TSR using dCOM's (point-n-shoot) Ret or Space Bar commands, or running a TSR in a macro key without the ">" operator. 2828 Using dCOM - TSR Programs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Each macro key has an optional switch (/R) that can be used on its title line to force dCOM to remove any TSR's loaded by that macro key when it finishes, but TSR's loaded prior to the macro key are kept. 2929 Using dCOM - Critical Errors ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Critical ErrorsCritical Errors dCOM goes to great lengths to prevent and intercept critical errors (the familiar Abort, Retry, Ignore message which you receive under MS- DOS whenever you didn't close a drive door or remove a write-protect tab, etc...). One example is instead of blindly attempting to access a destination drive for any file I/O operation, dCOM always checks to ensure that the drive you have specified is valid and ready. While this may be above and beyond the normal call of duty, at the least, all well behaved programs should trap for critical errors. If not trapped, a painstakingly, well-designed screen gets obliterated by the message and the opportunity exists for the user to abort back to the previous process, giving the program no opportunity to save unwritten information to disk or remove interrupt handlers. When a critical error occurs, dCOM's critical error handler pops-up on the screen with the particular error displayed inside a box, giving the same three options. Responding with Retry or Ignore behaves identically to the MS-DOS counterpart. Responding with Abort forces dCOM to cancel the current disk operation in progress, close any open files, and return to the command mode of either dCOM or the editor (no harm done). dCOM cannot allow an Abort to behave like it does under the MS-DOS critical error handler which exits the current process and returns control to the calling program. 3030 Using dCOM - Encountering Trouble ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Encountering TroubleEncountering Trouble This section is provided to inform you of the known problems encountered so far in using dCOM under various versions of MS-DOS and with certain programs or types of programs. At least MS-DOS Version 3.3 has a bug regarding the CONFIG.SYS SHELL command. It only supports command line lengths of 36 characters or less. Using more than 36 characters produces hyroglyphics on the command line for the command processor being invoked. This is only significant if you run dCOM using the SHELL command from CONFIG.SYS and are also specifying a healthy number of command line switches. Refer to the /SH command under Command Line Switches for more information. MS-DOS Versions 4 through at least 4.01 have a bug if you specify the /X switch on the BUFFERS statement of CONFIG.SYS (to enable the buffers to use EMM if present). It does not properly restore the mapping context of the EMM page frame after a critical error occurs, which can blow dCOM out of the water if its transient portion is running in EMM (by giving dCOM the /EMM command line switch). (Thanks Microsoft for a week of hair-pulling frustration.) Some versions of Borland's Sidekick go to such lowly extremes as to check 18 times a second (quite a sizeable amount of processing time stolen from your application), whether or not you've loaded a program that has inserted itself as a keyboard interrupt handler. If Sidekick is resident when dCOM is first run, you will be given the message: "Sidekick Resident Error". When this occurs, it means that dCOM isn't going to waste its time fighting with Sidekick and removes its hardware keyboard interrupt handler, which removes its capability to catch "hot-keys". If you load Sidekick after running dCOM, there is no technical problem and life goes on as planned. If you are a Sidekick fan, you may want to consider having Sidekick loaded by an auto macro key (refer to Command Line Switches). MS-Windows can be a real problem for any screen saver program. Windows, in its efforts to provide device independence for its applications, becomes very device dependant internally. It provides (among other things) its own internal drivers for both the keyboard and the mouse. What this means is that when you run Windows under dCOM, dCOM has no idea that you've been merrily pounding the keyboard or fondling your mouse, and proceeds to save the screen (should it be enabled to save outside dCOM) x number of minutes after running Windows. And, since Windows has taken the keyboard interrupt, any further attempts to bludgeon the keyboard will have no favorable effect in trying to get the screen restored - except for one key, the Scroll Lock key. For some uncanny reason, Windows regenerates a keyboard interrupt to the previous keyboard handler when the Scroll Lock key is pressed, which should work to restore the screen dCOM saved. You should then press Scroll Lock again (to turn it off). If you are a frequent Windows user, you may want to disable the screen 3131 Using dCOM - Encountering Trouble ---------------------------------------------------------------------- saver from working when dCOM is running another program (which is an option in the utility mode's configuration menu called "Save Scn Out of dCOM"). When using dCOM with a mouse, in order to support the screen saver being sensitive to mouse activity, dCOM chains into the mouse driver interrupt handler. Whether dCOM stays chained into the mouse handler depends on whether the screen saver is enabled for use when dCOM is running another program (which is an option in the utility mode's configuration menu called "Save Scn Out of dCOM"). If the screen saver is configured to work when dCOM is running another program, dCOM will stay chained into the mouse interrupt handler. However, some programs use the current address of the mouse driver interrupt vector (namely Logitech's MENU.COM program) to determine whether a mouse driver is actually installed (rather than the advertised method of calling interrupt 33h) and if it doesn't actually point to the mouse driver, produces an error. If you experience this problem, either disable the screen saver from working when dCOM runs another program, or run another copy of MOUSE.COM. 3232 The Utility Mode ---------------------------------------------------------------------- THE UTILITY MODETHE UTILITY MODE ====================================================================== Unless specified otherwise, the default operating mode is the utility mode. (Configuring otherwise would be having the tree come up first using the /TREE command line switch, or the macro key menu mode using the /M or /MP command line switches.) The utility mode is where you change directories, run programs, copy files, delete files, edit files, configure dCOM, etc.... The utility mode always displays the contents (files read) of the default drive's current directory, using up to four columns of files per page (a maximum of 60 files on screen at one time). Whether you also see hidden or system files is controlled by the View mode which is changed using the V - View mode command. Viewing hidden files can be password protected using the Alt-A - Access Password command. Most of the utility mode commands utilize what is called a point-n- shoot technique. Point-n-shoot means you first pick what you want to work with and then you select the command you want to use. For example, to copy a file to another drive, you would first point by selecting the file (using the cursor keys), and then shoot by pressing "C" to invoke the copy command. Certain commands recognize tagged files before, and instead of, whatever is currently selected (such as Copy, Move, Delete, Print, etc...). Additionally, some commands reference the entire contents of a subdirectory when the subdirectory's name is selected from the previous directory. Commands that react in these ways are so noted at the start of their description in Command Reference. All commands are single-stroke (you don't have to press the return key) and none of them are case-sensitive (you don't have to worry about responding in upper case). All destructive commands prompt for confirmation before proceeding. Some commands prompt for further information before actually proceeding (i.e. the delete command asks for confirmation before proceeding). Such prompts can be configured whether they are single- stroke or whether they require the Return key before they proceed. This is changed temporarily using the ^K - Single Key Prompts command or permanently using the utility mode's configuration menu. The factory configuration defaults to requiring the Return key. All commands and actions are escapable by pressing the Esc key. If the command has already started (such as copying several tagged files), Esc will abort after the current file is finished. Issuing a ^C also aborts, reacting quicker (it is caught at the key-press level) by aborting when the current MS-DOS function is finished, but will probably leaving a destination file unusable. All pop-up menu's are moveable by engaging the Scroll Lock key and then using the cursor keys to move them or, by moving the mouse pointer within the window and holding down the right mouse button. 3333 The Utility Mode ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Each pop-up window maintains its own set of screen position coordinates which are saved automatically in DCOM.INI. 3434 Utility Mode - Tagging Files ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tagging FilesTagging Files The capability to selectively tag files as a way to identify the source for subsequent file-oriented commands is a very powerful feature. Without this capability, the user would have to contrive a wildcard that hopefully will catch the files he/she wants MS-DOS to work with. In many situations, the user would end up identifying each file separately. With dCOM, it is easy to pick the files that would be involved in a subsequent copy, delete, etc..., by selecting and tagging the files before issuing the command. There are actually three ways to tag files: T - Tag, ^T - Priority Tag, and Alt-T - Tag All. Files tagged using the normal T - Tag command are processed in the order they are displayed. Files tagged using the ^T - Priority Tag command are processed in the order they are tagged and before any normally tagged files. The Alt-T - Tag All command simply fills in those files not already tagged using normal tags. When it is desirable to process tagged files in a different order than they are displayed (such as when concatenating files with the copy command), use priority tags. A common practice is to use priority tags on the files you are concerned with and then use Alt-T to tag the rest. Tagging can also be accomplished with the mouse by clicking the right button on the filename desired (producing a normal tag). However, tagging with the mouse also supports dragging, meaning you can tag entire columns of files as fast as you can put the mouse pointer on the first file in a column, hold down the right mouse button, and sweep the pointer to the bottom of the column. NOTE: Sometimes it is easier when you want almost the whole directory to be considered the source to use the Alt-T - Tag All command and then selectively untag with the T - Tag command. When there are tagged files, the area that normally displays the number of files in the current directory and the total of their file sizes (*4 of Screen Layout) is replaced with how many files are tagged and the sum of the tagged file(s) sizes. When analyzing the sum of file sizes tagged (sometimes with thoughts of copying them to a floppy), you must understand that a file's size as indicated in the directory is notis not the actual amount of space required to hold the file on disk. It is only an indication of how long the file is. Disk space is allocated by clusters. The amount of space a file consumes on a disk is actually governed by how many clusters are required to hold it (no two files may share the same cluster). If a file is only comprised of one byte, the directory says its size is one byte; on a 360k floppy disk it will consume 512 bytes of disk space because the cluster size on a 360k diskette is 512 bytes. If you had five files all just one byte in length, they would require 2,560 bytes of disk space even though the sum of their sizes 3535 Utility Mode - Tagging Files ---------------------------------------------------------------------- is just 5. This is a rather extreme example, but it helps portray why 3 tagged files only summing 900 bytes will not fit on a disk with 1,024 bytes of disk space free. Cluster size varies depending on the type of media involved; for hard disks it can be 512, 1024, and so on.... Any time free disk space is given, be it in dCOM, MS-DOS, or some other program, it is actually a product of the number of clusters free multiplied with the number of bytes per cluster. When copying tagged files to a floppy diskette and its disk space becomes full, a window will pop-up that gives you the option to change diskettes and continue. When this occurs, the file that produced the error is deleted from the destination (before the prompt is given) and, if copying does continue, it resumes with the start of that file. dCOM attempts to retain tagged files through a variety of actions, but any change to the originally read order of the current directory forces dCOM to automatically untag any tagged files. This means that you can issue DOS commands, run programs, invoke the editor, etc... and as long as you don't do something that modifies or updates the contents of the current directory, your tags will remain intact. NOTE: The tagging commands, T - Tag, and ^T - Priority Tag can be configured to automatically advance the selection bar to the next entry by using the utility mode's ^A - Advance After Tag command. 3636 Utility Mode - Extension Execute ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Extension ExecuteExtension Execute Not only does dCOM directly execute files with COM, EXE, or BAT extensions, but other extensions can also be configured to generate a form of execution when they are selected and the Return key is pressed. This feature is almost functionally equivalent to MS-Windows and its "[extensions]" field. What happens is that dCOM allows you to define filename extensions which are executable in the sense that dCOM will run a program and pass to it parameters that you configure (usually involving the filename that was selected). For instance, all files having a BAS extension generally have to be run using a BASIC interpreter. You could define the extension "BAS" so that when you press Return on a file having a BAS extension, dCOM will run BASIC and pass it the file's name that was selected (which BASIC then runs). Or, you could do the same with files having a "DOC" extension by having dCOM run your favorite word processor, passing it the selected filename to be edited. (Files having an extension defined in this manner also become executable using the mouse left button.) You define executable extensions by creating a text file in dCOM's Home Directory called DCOM.EXT, having the following format: ext=[d:][\path\]program %fe[%w]ext=[d:][\path\]program %fe[%w] ext= ext= Is the extension you are defining. d: d: Is an optional drive for the program. pathpath Is an optional path to the program. programprogram Is the name of the program that gets run. %fe%fe Is a macro variable which becomes the currently selected filename. %w%w Is an optional flag indicating to dCOM that a pause is necessary after the program exits, to preserve its screen contents so you can read it before dCOM rebuilds its screen. As vaguely indicated above, the command line of the extension execute file accepts macro variables. There are a number of other macro variables in addition to %FE, and you are welcome to use them, but %FE is normally enough to get this facility to do what it was basically designed to do. If you would like to poke around into some of the other macro variables, refer to the section titled Macro Variables for more information. There is no limit on how many lines of extension definitions you can create. Also, if the drive and path of the program you are running is not given, the PATH will be searched if the program doesn't exist in the current directory. Changes made to the DCOM.EXT file are automatically picked up on and reloaded if you edit it using dCOM's text editor. If you edit the file with another editor, you must exit and rerun dCOM to have the new changes take effect. Also, on the technical side, if the program name supplied is a batch file, dCOM 3737 Utility Mode - Extension Execute ---------------------------------------------------------------------- will load another copy of COMMAND.COM to interpret it, otherwise the program is run directly. For example, DCOM.EXT could contain the following lines: BAS=C:\BASIC\GWBASIC %FE DOC=C:\MS-WORD\WORD %FE ASM=C:\COMPILER\MASM %FN,,%FN;%w With this example you could select any file with a BAS extension and press Return to have GWBASIC load and run it or, select any file with a DOC extension and press Return to run Microsoft Word and edit it or, select any file with a ASM extension and press Return to have the Macro Assembler compile it.... 3838 Utility Mode - Screen Layout ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Screen LayoutScreen Layout ,---------------------------------------------------------------, | CURRENT DIRECTORY | The Directory Commander | Date: *1 | Page | | ----------------- | (c) 1989 - Dave Frailey | Time: *2 | *3 | | *4 | DAC Micro Systems R#.# |-----------------| |-------------------`-------------------------| Free Memory: *6 | | *5 | Free Drive: *7 | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | *8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | *9 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | *10 | *11 | `---------------------------------------------------------------' *1*1 Shows the current date held by your computer. *2*2 Shows the current time held by your computer. *3*3 Indicates the current page number being displayed and how many total pages of directory entries are loaded, separated with a slash. *4*4 Displays the total number of files that were loaded from the current drive's directory and the sum of all their file sizes. If there are any tagged files, this will instead display the number of tagged files and the sum of their file sizes. *5*5 Shows the default drive and current subdirectory. *6*6 Indicates the amount of conventional memory available to programs run under dCOM. This number is affected by the size of any open buffers in the editor, the size of the print spooler's buffer, the space consumed by macro keys, memory used by TSR programs, etc.... *7*7 Indicates the amount of disk space free on the default drive. *8*8 This is where dCOM displays the entries read from the default drive's current directory. Though it is possible for subdirectories to have extensions (the use of which is somewhat rare), for purposes of clarity, when an entry is a subdirectory name, dCOM displays a "<D>" in the column used for file extensions. If a subdirectory does have an extension, all is not 3939 Utility Mode - Screen Layout ---------------------------------------------------------------------- lost; dCOM does maintain their full names and, when selected, you will see it in the detail area (*9). If the current directory is a subdirectory, the first entry displayed will always be "PREVIOUS <D>" which represents the directory immediately preceding the subdirectory you are currently in. *9*9 This area only shows when the mouse is active. It is referred to as the Sidebar Menu. The command set displayed here allows you to perform almost all of the common file operations (i.e. Copy, Move, Delete, etc...) needed. For more information, refer to Using dCOM - With a Mouse. *10*10 Shows the name, size, date, and time of the currently selected entry. If Show File Attributes has been turned on in the utility mode's configuration menu, the attribute flags of the currently selected entry will also show here. *11*11 This is where dCOM displays the most recent advisory, warning, or error message or, for some commands, to prompt for further information. If dCOM displays an error message here, it will remain displayed until you issue another command or change the currently selected entry. There is no delay or pausing for a keystroke imposed; you can continue business as soon as you digest the error message. This area is also referred to as the Drive Select Box because certain modes allow you to move the mouse pointer into this area, and it will temporarily display a list of valid drives for you to select from (e.g. the basic utility mode allows you to log onto a new drive by moving in this area and clicking the left button on the drive desired). 4040 Utility Mode - Quick Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Utility Mode Quick ReferenceUtility Mode Quick Reference AA - Alarm Menu P P - Print [CTD] CC - Copy [CTD] R R - Rename [C] DD - Delete [CTD] S S - Search Dir EE - Edit [C] TT - Tag [C] FF - Find File UU - Untag All HH - Help V V - View Mode KK - Configuration W W - Wait Mode LL - Log Drive X X - Exit MM - Move [CTD] Z Z - Sort Mode NN - Next Page ^A^A - Advance After Tag ^P^P - Printer Port ^K^K - Single Key Prompts ^T^T - Priority Tag [C] ^O^O - Overwrite Warnings ^V^V - View/Clear TSR's Alt-AAlt-A - Access Password Alt-PAlt-P - Print System Alt-EAlt-E - Edit, No Load Alt-RAlt-R - Read Only [CT] Alt-HAlt-H - Hidden Flag [CT] Alt-SAlt-S - Search Disk Alt-KAlt-K - Edit Macro File Alt-T Alt-T - Tag All Files Alt-MAlt-M - Make Directory Alt-V Alt-V - View/Set Env HomeHome - Select First Entry ^Home^Home - Root Dir EndEnd - Select Last Entry Ret Ret - Execute or ChDir SpaceSpace - Execute w/opt Tab Tab - MS-DOS Cmd "/""/" - Gosub a Macro File ".""." - Goto a Macro File "-""-" - Visual Tree Hot KeysHot Keys s^Bs^B - Blank Screen & Lock Kbd s^Cs^C - Clear Spooler s^Fs^F - Send Form-feed to Printer s^Ls^L - Send Line-feed s+s+ - Toggle Keypad Plus = Return Mode ____________________ CC - Operates on currently selected entry. TT - Operates on tagged files before recognizing the currently selected entry. DD - Operates on the entire contents of a subdirectory by selecting its name from the previous directory. 4141 Utility Mode - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Command ReferenceCommand Reference Most of the file-oriented commands recognize both tagged files as well as the currently selected file. When using a command that recognizes tagged files, the tagged files are used first and instead of the currently selected file. Also, some commands can reference the entire contents of a subdirectory by selecting the directory's name in its parent directory. Commands that do indicate so with the words "entire directories". When a command is issued that recognizes tagged files and there are tagged files, the selection bar (which is normally reverse video) will be removed to help remind you that you're dealing with tagged files and not what was currently selected. A - Alarm MenuA - Alarm Menu Displays the Alarm Menu. From the alarm menu you may enter up to 38 different alarms (events). There are basically two different types of alarms; daily or calendar. A daily alarm qualifies based on the day(s) of the week (Monday Tuesday, etc...). A calendar alarm qualifies based on a specific date. When an alarm sounds, the text you enter for the description flashes on the screen (provided its in text mode) and the speaker beeps. Alarms are then cancelled by pressing the Esc key (which is discarded). The beeping will automatically time-out after it has sounded 30 times if not cancelled sooner, but the flashing description will continue to display until actually cancelled with the Esc key. For more information, refer to The Alarm/Event Menu. C - CopyC - Copy Copies tagged files, the selected file, or entire directories. When invoked, you are prompted where to copy to. The destination entered here is identical to what you would enter for the destination of a MS-DOS COPY command (including wildcards). After invoking the copy command, you may use the visual tree to select the destination directory by pressing the keypad "-" (minus) key or by clicking the mouse left button on "tree" in the sidebar menu. Another option is to move the mouse pointer into the drive select box and click the left button on the drive desired. If the drive selected has no subdirectories, copying will start immediately. Otherwise, the tree will be invoked for use in selecting the destination subdirectory. When copying multiple files and the destination entered does not resolve to an existing directory, a window will pop-up that advises that the destination directory does not exist. From this window you may: a) make the destination directory and continue, b) continue and concatenate or, c) cancel the copy command. If you 4242 Utility Mode - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- intended to copy the files to the destination drive/directory, knowing that the copy command can make the directory for you can save some time in not having to previously go make it. If you intended to concatenate (join) the files, and did so, Ctrl-Z end- of-file markers on the end of intermediate ASCII text files are automatically stripped. When copying begins, dCOM attempts to read in as many of the source files as memory permits before writing destination files. Should the disk space free on the destination drive become insufficient to hold the next file to be copied, a window will pop-up indicating so and give you the following options: a) change disks and continue, b) change disks, delete all files and continue or, c) abort the copy operation. Selecting the first or second options allows you to continue copying onto one or more diskettes. If overwrite warnings are not enabled (default), copying will overwrite an already existing destination file of the same name without saying a word. If overwrite warnings are enabled, a window will pop-up when an overwrite is about to happen and allow you to a) skip the current file, b) overwrite the current file and continue, c) overwrite for the rest of the operation or, d) cancel the copy operation. Overwrite warnings are set temporarily using ^O - Overwrite Warnings or permanently by setting the default in the configuration menu. Performance when copying to floppy disks can be seriously improved by enabling a cache option in the utility mode's configuration menu. Without this option enabled, it's hard enough to beat dCOM's performance when copying files, but with it enabled, nothing comes half as close when copying a large number of files. Try it! D - DeleteD - Delete Deletes tagged files, the selected file, or entire directories. When invoked, dCOM will prompt you for confirmation before deleting the files. When this command is used to delete a subdirectory by selecting its name, it will also delete any subdirectories that are in that directory. E - EditE - Edit Invokes the built-in text editor using the currently selected file. For more information, refer to The Text Editor. F - FindF - Find Selects a file using the first character of its filename. This is a shortcut to quickly selecting the start of files beginning with a certain letter if the sort in effect is "Executables First" or "Name - Extension". H - HelpH - Help Brings up the help menu. 4343 Utility Mode - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- K - ConfigureK - Configure Invokes the utility mode's configuration menu which allows changes to the initial defaults, some of the current operating characteristics, colors, and mouse. For more information, refer to Configuration Menu. L - Log DriveL - Log Drive Changes the default drive. When invoked, you are prompted for the drive letter of the new drive you want to change to. If you are logged on a floppy drive and have changed diskettes, use this command to read the new diskette's directory. To relog the same drive, you do not have to retype the drive letter; select this command and just press Return. You can also log a new drive with the mouse by moving the mouse pointer into the drive select box (lower right corner of the screen) and click the left button on the drive desired. M - MoveM - Move Moves tagged files, the selected file, or entire directories to a different drive or subdirectory. This can be very useful in cleaning up or reorganizing your subdirectories. If you are several directories deep and the directory you want to move to can be accessed through the previous directory, you can use ". ." (as you would to MS-DOS) to represent the previous directory. For example, ". .\TEMP" would move files to a directory in the previous directory called TEMP. When files are moved within the same drive, only the file directory entries are moved (not their contents). When files are moved to a different drive, a copy and delete is actually performed. After invoking the move command you may use the visual tree to select the destination directory by pressing the keypad "-" (minus) key or by clicking the mouse left button on "tree" in the sidebar menu. Another option is to move the mouse pointer into the drive select box and click the left button on the drive desired. If the drive selected has no subdirectories, moving will start immediately. Otherwise, the tree will be invoked for use in selecting the destination subdirectory. If the destination directory entered does not exist, a window will pop-up advising this and prompt you: a) create the directory and continue or, b) cancel the move command. Knowing that the move command can make a directory for you can save some time in not having to previously go make the directory to move the files into. If overwrite warnings are not enabled (default), moving will overwrite an already existing destination file of the same name without saying a word. If overwrite warnings are enabled, a window will pop-up when an overwrite is about to happen and allow you to a) skip the current file, b) overwrite the current file and 4444 Utility Mode - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- continue, c) overwrite for the rest of the operation or, d) cancel the move operation. Overwrite warnings are set temporarily using ^O - Overwrite Warnings or permanently by setting the default in the configuration menu. P - PrintP - Print Prints tagged files or the selected file. Files that do not contain an embedded escape sequence are considered text files and are automatically ejected from the printer by appending a form-feed. Files are printed based on their directory size. Any occurrences of a Ctrl-Z (end-of-file marker) encountered beforehand will be ignored and printed. If the print spooler is active, this command dumps straight to the spooler's buffer. R - RenameR - Rename Renames the selected file or subdirectory. S - SearchS - Search Searches the contents of the current directory for a filename or substring of a filename. If a match is found, the found entry becomes the currently selected entry. The search text entered does not have to be the complete name of the file to search for. If only one character was entered, dCOM would find the first entry that contained that same character somewhere in its name. For a search of the entire drive (or all hard drives), refer to the Alt-S command. T - TagT - Tag Toggles the tagged status of the currently selected file (directories can't be tagged). The right button of the mouse also performs this tagging command and supports high-speed dragging. When a file is tagged with this command, an intensified chevron ("««") is displayed right after its name. When there are tagged files, dCOM indicates (in *4 of Screen Layout) how many files are tagged and what the sum of their file sizes is. Files tagged with this command are processed in the order they are displayed. If you want to override this and selectively control the order in which tagged files are processed, refer to ^T - Priority Tag. For more general information, refer to Tagging Files. U - UntagU - Untag Untags any and all files that are tagged. V - View ModeV - View Mode Displays a window that allows changing whether entries with hidden or system attributes are shown in the current directory. If the view mode includes hidden entries, they are displayed with a dot preceding them. This mode can be password protected before allowing hidden files to show by using the Alt-A - Access Password command. W - Wait ModeW - Wait Mode Displays a window that allows changing the current wait mode. The wait mode is what controls whether dCOM will pause after running a program (so you can see what it might have displayed) before dCOM continues and rebuilds its screen. It is useful to have the wait 4545 Utility Mode - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mode on when running programs that display information but don't pause for a keyboard command before they exit (i.e. CHKDSK displays drive and memory information when it has finished). This command has an automatic mode which will work correctly 99% of the time to determine whether it should display the pause message. The theory is that if you execute a program that displays something but accepts no input from the keyboard, that it most likely needs to have a pause before dCOM rebuilds its screen. Programs that query the keyboard for input probably will get your permission before they exit. The initial setting of the wait mode is governed by the utility mode's configuration menu. X - ExitX - Exit Returns control to the program that initially ran dCOM, usually MS-DOS. If the print spooler's buffer contains unprinted data, the editor has open buffers, or there are TSR programs resident (which were loaded while in dCOM), you will be warned and prompted before dCOM actually exits. Z - Sort ModeZ - Sort Mode Displays a window that allows changing the current sort method applied to files read from the current directory. The initial sort mode setting is governed by the utility mode's configuration menu. Note that the directory contents are not actually "sorted", but rather they are indexed using a highly efficient algorithm. This technique allows changing the sort method almost instantly without having to rearrange filenames using slower memory accesses and, at the same time, hang onto whatever files may have been tagged. The eight possible sort methods are: NormalNormal - The directory is shown exactly the way it was read. Executables FirstExecutables First - Subdirectories are shown first, executable files (.BAT, .COM, and .EXE extensions) second, and other files third. Files are sorted within these categories by their extension first and filenames second. Name - ExtensionName - Extension - Subdirectories are shown first, and then files are shown sorted by their name first and extension second. Extension - NameExtension - Name - Subdirectories are shown first, and then files are shown sorted by their extension first and name second. Date (Ascending)Date (Ascending) - Subdirectories are shown first, and then files are shown sorted by their date and time in ascending order. Date (Descending)Date (Descending) - Subdirectories are shown first, and then files are shown sorted by their date and time in descending order. Size (Ascending)Size (Ascending) - Subdirectories are shown first, and then files are shown sorted by their size in ascending order. 4646 Utility Mode - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Size (Descending)Size (Descending) - Subdirectories are shown first, and then files are shown sorted by their size in descending order. ^A - Adv After Tag^A - Adv After Tag Displays a window that controls whether the selection bar is advanced to the next entry after a tag command (T - Tag, or ^T - Priority Tag) is used. The initial setting of this mode is controlled by the utility mode's configuration menu. ^C - Abort^C - Abort Ctrl-C and Esc are both trapped at the keypress level. The difference is that Ctrl- C is treated like an emergency abort. When it is pressed, a small window flashes on the screen indicating the Ctrl-C was received and the current operation will abort as soon as any DOS function request in progress terminates. If you were copying files, this will probably leave the destination file incomplete, where using Esc wouldn't. ^K - Sngl Key Prompts^K - Sngl Key Prompts Displays a window that allows changing whether various prompts throughout dCOM and the Text Editor require the Return key before they are enacted (e.g. L - Log Drive). The initial setting of this mode is controlled by the utility mode's configuration menu. ^O - Ovrwrite Warnings^O - Ovrwrite Warnings Displays a window that allows changing whether dCOM will check for and display overwrite warnings during copy and move operations. The initial setting of this mode is controlled by the utility mode's configuration menu. ^P - Printer Port^P - Printer Port Displays a window that selects the printer port dCOM uses for any of its own print operations (LPT1, LPT2, or LPT3). This setting has no bearing on what the rest of the system uses. If you want to redirect output for the entire system, refer to the Alt-P - Print System/Spooler Menu. The initial setting of this mode is controlled by the utility mode's configuration menu. Note: It is actually possible to print two files at the same time by giving the Print Spooler enough memory to swallow the first file, change the port to a second printer, and then print the second file. The Spooler will print the first file in the background and pass print requests for the second file on to BIOS because it is not the same destination port as what is currently printing from the spooler's buffer. 4747 Utility Mode - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ^T - Priority Tag^T - Priority Tag Toggles the priority tagged status of the currently selected file (directories can't be tagged). When a file is tagged with this command, an intensified arrow ("") is displayed right after its name. When there are tagged files, dCOM indicates (in *4 of Screen Layout) how many files are tagged and what the sum of their file sizes is. Files tagged with this command are processed in the order they are tagged and before any files tagged with a normal tag (T - Tag File). For more information, refer to Tagging Files. ^V - View/Clear TSR's^V - View/Clear TSR's This command displays the names of all TSR programs that have been loaded since dCOM was run and how much memory they are consuming. Selecting the Clear option removes all TSR's indicated and restores dCOM's free memory to its original state. If your DOS Version is 2.x or the TSR released its environment segment (most of them don't), then only question marks will show for the TSR's name. Alt-A - Access Pass.Alt-A - Access Pass. Sets or removes the access password. If set, the access password is required for such things as viewing hidden files, entering configuration menus, unblanking a blanked screen (Shift-Ctrl-B), and escaping the macro menu mode (if the "/MP" command line switch is specified). If the password is currently not set, the text entered becomes the new password (after entering it a second time to make sure dCOM uses what you thought you typed). If the password is set, entering the correct password will disable password checking. The password is not case sensitive and is automatically saved. If you forget the password, your only recourse is to delete DCOM.CFG. Alt-EAlt-E - Edit, No LoadEdit, No Load Invokes the text editor without regard for whatever entry is currently selected. Editing resumes as you last left the editor. This can be useful to edit a new file or to return to the editor after it was exited using Alt-Q. For more information, refer to The Text Editor. Alt-HAlt-H - Hidden AttribHidden Attrib Toggles the hidden attribute of the currently selected file, tagged files, or directory. (Hiding directories can be a very convenient way to discreetely deal with sensitive files, since viewing their names can be password protected with Alt-A.) When using this 4848 Utility Mode - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- command with tagged files, the on or off state of the toggle is determined by inverting the hidden attribute of the first tagged file encountered. All tagged files found subsequent receive the inverted state regardless of their current state. Alt-KAlt-K - Edit Macro FileEdit Macro File Displays a menu of existing macro files along with an option to start a new file. Selecting an existing macro file loads the text editor with that file. Selecting the new file option loads the text editor with an empty buffer. After you edit a new macro file and go to save it, the editor's Alt-W command will automatically use the correct Home Directory path to save the file to, but you must remember to append a ".MAC" extension onto the filename entered. For more information, refer to The Macro Keys. Alt-MAlt-M - Make DirMake Dir Makes a new subdirectory in the current directory. Alt-PAlt-P - Print SpoolerPrint Spooler Invokes the print spooler/print system menu. From this menu you can clear the spooler, enable the spooler, change its buffer size, and control any system-wide redirection. For more information, refer to Print System/Spooler. Alt-RAlt-R - Read AttribRead Attrib Toggles the read-only attribute of the currently selected file or tagged files. (Setting the read-only attribute is a convenient way to ensure a file won't be accidentally deleted.) When using this command with tagged files, the on or off state of the toggle is determined by inverting the hidden attribute of the first tagged file encountered. All tagged files found subsequent receive the inverted state regardless of their current state. (To see a file's attributes, the Show File Attributes option in the utility mode's configuration menu must be turned on.) Alt-SAlt-S - Search DiskSearch Disk Searches all directories of the default drive. When invoked, you are prompted for the filename to search for. Unlike the "S" command, you must fully specify the filename or use wildcards. If you want to search all non-removeable (hard disk) drives, prefix the text entered with a colon (i.e. ":*.bak"). If you want to search all directories on a different drive than the default drive, start the text with that drive (i.e. "c:*.bak"). 4949 Utility Mode - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- After the search text is entered, dCOM proceeds to search for all files that match the text entered. Matching files are immediately displayed and you may cancel continued searching after the one you are looking for is displayed by pressing the Esc key. After all searching is completed, if you then select one and press Return, dCOM will change drives and/or directories to the directory holding that file and that file becomes the currently selected entry. Note: Search Disk will not search hidden directories or find hidden files if the view mode is not set to show hidden files. Alt-TAlt-T - Tag All FilesTag All Files Tags all files in the current directory that are not already tagged. Alt-VAlt-V - View/Set EnvView/Set Env Displays and allows changes to dCOM's environment. When dCOM is first invoked, it makes a copy of the environment passed to it by MS-DOS, using the same size as the one in use by MS-DOS unless the /E command line switch was specified when dCOM was run. Programs run under dCOM are passed a copy of this environment. Also, any usage of the macro key SET command will be reflected here. Invoking this command is identical to the MS- DOS SET command. When you exit dCOM, any changes to this environment are lost. "-" - Visual Tree"-" - Visual Tree Invokes the visual tree allowing full access to all of its functions such as: logging a different drive, changing directories, and copying, moving, and deleting entire directories. Invoking the tree in this mode can also be performed with the mouse by clicking the left button on "tree" in the sidebar menu. For more information, refer to The Visual Tree. "." - Goto Macro"." - Goto Macro Displays a window of existing macro files which allows permanently changing the active macro file. If one of these macro files is then selected, it becomes the currently active macro file and a menu of its macro key titles is then displayed. When a different macro file is active than the one originally active when you first ran dCOM (which is usually DCOM.MAC), the name of the currently active macro file is constantly displayed (highlighted) in the bottom right corner of the screen. This is to help remind you that a different set of macro keys are active from that of which you're probably used to. For more information, refer to The Macro Keys. 5050 Utility Mode - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "/" - Gosub Macro"/" - Gosub Macro Displays a window of existing macro files which allows temporarily changing the active macro file. If one of these macro files is then selected, it temporarily becomes the active macro file and a menu of its macro key titles is then displayed. After you execute one of its macro keys or if you escape the menu, the active macro file will automatically revert back to what was the active macro file when you activated this command. For more information, refer to The Macro Keys. ReturnReturn This key can be thought of as an execute key. If the currently selected entry is a subdirectory, dCOM will change the current directory to it. If the currently selected entry is a directly executable file (COM, EXE, or BAT extension), the program will be loaded and run. Otherwise, the contents of what was read from DCOM.EXT is checked to see if the currently selected file has an executable extension (refer to Extension Execute for more information). When the mouse left button is clicked on a file, it has this same effect as pressing the Return key. On the technical side, if a batch file is executed, another copy of COMMAND.COM is loaded to interpret it; COM and EXE files, however, are loaded and run directly. Space BarSpace Bar Is similar to the return key when executing files except that dCOM will stop to let you add parameters or switches before executing the program. Plus KeyPlus Key The keypad "+" key can be configured to act as a Return key both in dCOM and in programs run under dCOM. Its current mode can be toggled on-the-fly using the Shift- Plus hot-key. Setting the initial default mode is done in the utility mode's configuration menu. For more information, refer to Hot-Keys and Utility Mode - Configuration Menu. EscEsc If the Macro Key Menu Mode is active, Esc drops in and out of the Menu Mode. Otherwise, Esc aborts a command or action. TabTab Prompts for an MS-DOS command. Entering a command here reacts identically as if it were typed at the normal DOS command prompt. If the Tab key is pressed again to this prompt, the names of all tagged files are brought down into the prompt at the current cursor position. If no files are tagged, the currently selected file is used instead. Like with other prompts accepting multiple characters, the up and down arrows can be used to scroll through the last commands issued. BackspaceBackspace Pops-up a quick reference menu of the Macro Key titles for the active macro file. From this menu you can 5151 Utility Mode - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- execute a macro key by either pressing the appropriate function key, select the desired macro using the cursor keys and then press Return or, click the mouse left button on the macro desired. If you just want to return back to the utility mode, press Backspace again or press Esc. F0F0 On Zenith Z100 series microcomputers, allows the issuing of alternate key commands. HomeHome Selects the first entry on the first page. This is normally useful when you are in a subdirectory and you want to get back to the preceding directory ("PREVIOUS <D>" will always be the first entry of the first page). Ctrl-HomeCtrl-Home Changes directories to the Root Directory. EndEnd Selects the last entry on the last page. PgUpPgUp Displays the previous page of directory entries if existent. PgDnPgDn Displays the next page of directory entries if existent. Up/Dn ArrowsUp/Dn Arrows Normally the up and down arrow keys serve to just move the selection bar from file to file. However, when a command is issued that then prompts for something requiring more than one character of input (i.e. the Tab key asks for an MS-DOS command or the copy command prompts for a destination), the up and down arrows now function to scroll through previous commands issued to that prompt. These previous commands are efficiently stored in a 512 byte community buffer. This means that while in the MS-DOS command prompt, you can scroll through as many of the last responses issued as the 512 bytes will allow. Note: you must first scroll back with the up arrow before you can scroll forward with the down arrow. Knowing this capability exists can seriously augment your use of the commands that support this feature. Sometimes its a lot easier to recall a previous command, cursor over and change a couple characters, then to retype the line all over again. (Hint: Remember to use the End key to position the cursor after the last visible character already in the field.) F1 - sF10F1 - sF10 Execute a macro key. Refer to The Macro Keys for more information. 5252 Utility Mode - Configuration Menu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Utility Mode Configuration MenuUtility Mode Configuration Menu The utility mode's configuration menu allows changing the default values of a lot of the operating modes and it also directly controls some of the current operating modes. It is somewhat important to understand that editing a mode's "default" value will not have any affect until the next time you run dCOM (provided you save your changes). However, editing a mode's "current" value will have an immediate affect on the operation of that mode. After editing any portion of the configuration menu, you will be presented with an additional option to "S - Save" the changes you have made. If you are confident with the changes you made, then a good habit to be in is to immediately perform the save option before exiting the configuration menu. If you think you really screwed things up, you can revert back to the way it was the last time you saved it by exiting dCOM and then re-running it. dCOM's configuration menu has two submenus: M-Mouse and D-Drives. The Mouse submenu enables and controls mouse sensitivity. The Drives submenu is used to override any incorrect assumptions dCOM may make concerning the number and type of disk drives you have attached. Normally the Drives submenu will not require any modification except possibly if you are using MS-DOS Version 2.x or you are a Zenith Z100 user. Although dCOM's configuration menu has two submenus, the option to Save is always presented at the main configuration prompt. Using the save option only saves changes made to the utility mode's configuration menu. If there have been changes to the editor's configuration or the print spooler, their changes must be saved from their respective menus. This allows temporary changes (not meant to be permanent) to be made to any one of the configuration menus, and keep it like that even if a save is made from another menu. 5353 Utility Mode - Configuration Menu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Configuration Menu Screen LayoutConfiguration Menu Screen Layout ,-----------------------------------------, ,------------------, | CONFIGURATION | CURENT | DEFLT | | GENERAL COLORS | |-----------------------+--------+--------| |------------------| | Directory Sort Mode.. | *1 | *16 | | Background.. *24 | | Show Hidden Files.... | *2 | *17 | | Foreground.. *25 | | Wait After Execute... | *3 | *18 | | dCOM Lines.. *26 | | Keypad Plus = Ret.... | *4 | *19 | | Menu Lines.. *27 | | Single Key Prompts... | *5 | *20 | | Misc Lines.. *28 | | Advance After Tag.... | *6 | *21 | `------------------' | Overwrite Warnings... | *7 | *22 | | Printer Output To.... | *8 | *23 | ,------------------, | Sound Suppression.... | *9 | :::::: | | FILE AREA COLORS | | Show File Attributes. | *10 | :::::: | |------------------| | Use Solid Lines...... | *11 | :::::: | | Background.. *29 | | EGA Palette Mode..... | *12 | :::::: | | Directory... *30 | | Cache Floppy I/O..... | *13 | :::::: | | Exec File... *31 | | Screen Saver Minutes. | *14 | :::::: | | Other File.. *32 | | Sav Scn out of dCOM.. | *15 | :::::: | | Selec Bar... *33 | `-----------------------------------------' `------------------' ----------------------------------------------------------------- E-Edit, C-Colors, M-Mouse, D-Drives, X-Exit: Current modes *1*1 through *8*8 are displayed only to show their mode's current setting. The configuration menu will not edit them directly and has no control over them other than to establish their initial default values. Controlling their current values is done using various commands from back within the utility mode itself. Current modes *9*9 through *15*15 are edited by the configuration menu and have an immediate affect on their respective features. The configuration menu is the only means with which to change their values. What is entered and saved for these modes determines both their current values and their future default values. Default modes *16*16 through *23*23 are edited by the configuration menu but have no immediate effect when changed; they are only used when dCOM is first run to initially set their respective current modes (i.e. *16 sets dCOM's initial Z - Sort Mode). Establish items *16 through *23 as you would like dCOM initially configured when it is first run. Note: You must use the Save option when done editing for the changes to become permanent. *1 Directory Sort Mode *1 Directory Sort Mode (Current) - Shows the current value of the Z - Sort Mode utility mode command. *2 Show Hidden Files *2 Show Hidden Files (Current) - Shows the current value of the V - View Mode utility mode command. 5454 Utility Mode - Configuration Menu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- *3 Wait After Execute *3 Wait After Execute (Current) - Shows the current value of the W - Wait Mode utility mode command. *4 Keypad Plus = Ret *4 Keypad Plus = Ret (Current) - Indicates the current state of whether the keypad "+" key generates a Return or a "+", as controlled by the Shift-Plus hot-key (refer to Hot-Keys for more information). *5 Single Key Prompts *5 Single Key Prompts (Current) - Shows the current value of the ^K - Single Key Prompts utility mode command. *6 Advance After Tag *6 Advance After Tag (Current) - Shows the current value of the ^A - Advance After Tag utility mode command. *7 Overwrite Warnings *7 Overwrite Warnings (Current) - Shows the current value of the ^O - Overwrite Warnings utility mode command. *8 Printer Output To *8 Printer Output To (Current) - Shows the current value of the ^P - Printer Port utility mode command. *9 Sound Suppression *9 Sound Suppression (Current) - Controls whether dCOM will sound its various bells and whistles throughout your use of dCOM. The only thing exempt from this is a sounding alarm entered via the A - Alarm Menu. *10 Show File Attributes *10 Show File Attributes (Current) - Controls whether the selected file's attributes are shown along with its date, time, and size - down on the left portion of the 24th screen line. Possible flag values are: A-Archive, D-Directory, S-System, H-Hidden, and R- Read Only. *11 Use Solid Lines *11 Use Solid Lines (Current) - Controls whether screen and menu borders use PC Line drawing characters or heavier (solid) block characters. If Solid Lines are enabled, *26 and *27 control the border colors and *28 controls the miscellaneous PC lines drawn within the borders. If Solid Lines are not enabled, *26 and *27 control the border colors and *28 has no effect. *12 EGA Palette Mode *12 EGA Palette Mode (Current) - Controls whether dCOM activates and uses the extended set of 64 EGA Palette colors (provided an EGA/VGA compatible video card is installed). If this mode is disabled, dCOM will use the standard 16 CGA colors of old. If this mode is enabled, the entire vibrant set of 64 extended EGA colors are used and displayed. There is one drawback to using EGA colors though. TSR programs called up while dCOM has the palette remapped will probably inherit a much different set of colors than that which they were designed to use. *13 Cache Floppy I/O *13 Cache Floppy I/O (Current) - Controls whether dCOM caches floppy disk accesses to track 0 during I/O intensive functions such as copying, moving, deleting, etc.... If the cache is enabled, dCOM will always flush the cache after a particular function finishes. Enabling this cache can produce astounding improvements when copying many files to a floppy disk. Since track 0 holds the boot, FAT, and directory records on a floppy disk, every time a file is written (without caching), the disk heads have to move from where they were when writing finishes, 5555 Utility Mode - Configuration Menu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- back to track 0 to update the directory and FAT entries. This would mean that if you were copying 40 tagged files to a floppy, it would mean 40 trips back and forth for the disk heads (usually producing quite a racket). With caching active, they stay put (after the directory and FAT sectors have been read once) so they can immediately begin writing again. Improvements over MS-DOS' XCOPY command have been noted at better than 3 times. Improvements over MS-DOS' COPY command have been noted at better than 7 times. It should be noted though, that this technique mainly benefits write accesses to a floppy disk's root directory. Write accesses to floppy disk subdirectories tend to lose some of this effect since the area of the disk holding the directory entries will probably not be on track 0. *14 Screen Saver Minutes *14 Screen Saver Minutes (Current) - Controls whether the screen saver is active, and if so, how many minutes of keyboard inactivity (or mouse inactivity) will trigger a screen save. Valid values are between 1 and 59 minutes. Enter a value of zero to disable the screen saver. To re-enable a saved screen, press any keyboard key (which is discarded) or move the mouse. *15 Save Screen out of dCOM *15 Save Screen out of dCOM (Current) - Controls whether the screen saver, if active, will work when dCOM is running another program. If this field is disabled, the screen saver will only work while dCOM is the active process (program). Since dCOM goes to the trouble of detecting mouse activity as a sign of operator presence (unlike other screen savers), it has to chain into the mouse interrupt handler. However, some click-type menuing programs rely on scanning a portion of the current mouse interrupt vector to determine whether the mouse driver has actually been installed. In most cases, this will test false if dCOM has the vector (there are better ways to do this) and the menu program will fail to load. If you use one of these programs and encounter this problem, disabling this field (so that dCOM won't save the screen when running another program) will cause dCOM to rearrange the mouse interrupt vectors before and after running a program, and they should then work properly. *16 Directory Sort Mode *16 Directory Sort Mode (Default) - Controls the initial setting of Z - Sort Mode when dCOM is first run. Its possible values are: NONENONE The directory is shown exactly the way it was read. EXECUTEXECUT Subdirectories are shown first, executable files second, and other files third. Within these categories, files are sorted using EXT+FN. FN+EXTFN+EXT Subdirectories are shown first, then files are shown sorted by their name first and extension second. EXT+FN EXT+FN Subdirectories are shown first, then files are shown sorted by their extension first and name second. DATE-A DATE-A Subdirectories are shown first, then files are shown sorted by their date and time in ascending order. DATE-D DATE-D Subdirectories are shown first, then files are shown sorted by their date and time in descending order. SIZE-A SIZE-A Subdirectories are shown first, then files are shown sorted by their size in ascending order. 5656 Utility Mode - Configuration Menu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SIZE-D SIZE-D Subdirectories are shown first, then files are shown sorted by their size in descending order. *17 Show Hidden Files *17 Show Hidden Files (Default) - Controls the initial setting of V - View Mode when dCOM is first run. Its possible values are: NORMALNORMAL The standard directory is shown. HIDDENHIDDEN Both normal and hidden/system files show in the directory. *18 Wait After Execute *18 Wait After Execute (Default) - Controls the initial setting of W - Wait Mode when dCOM is first run. The possible values are either ON, OFF, or AUTO. A pause is necessary after running some programs (which don't ask you anything before they exit), so that you can view the display before dCOM rebuilds its screen. The AUTO setting causes dCOM to make a automatic determination of whether the program displayed something but didn't ask for your input before exiting. Note: The AUTO option is not supported on Z100 computers. *19 Keypad Plus = Ret *19 Keypad Plus = Ret (Default) - Controls the initial setting of whether the keypad "+" key generates a Return or a "+". Having the keypad plus key act as a Return key can be handy if you have an 84 key keyboard and little use for the key to actually generate the plus character. Enabling the plus key to act as a Return key may prove to aide quite a bit in letting you cursor around menu's and screens, change directories or run programs - just with one hand on the keypad. *20 Single Key Prompts *20 Single Key Prompts (Default) - Controls the initial setting of the ^K - Single Key Prompts utility mode command. All of dCOM's 1st generation commands (top level) are already single key (dCOM reacts as soon as you press they key, you don't have to press the Return key). What the ^K - Single key Prompts command controls is whether various prompts that come up after that will require the Return key before proceeding. For instance, when you press "L" to log onto a different drive. If you have single key prompts enabled, all you will have to do is press the letter of the drive you want to log onto. If you have single key prompts disabled, you would have to press the drive's letter and then press Return. *21 Advance After Tag *21 Advance After Tag (Default) - Controls the initial setting of the ^A - Advance After Tag utility mode command. What this command does is control whether the selection bar will automatically move to the next file after you tag a file. Enabling this feature saves having to press the down arrow after each time you tag a file. However, some people who are both ambidextrous and rather adept at using the keypad probably will not want this feature enabled so they can interact a little more efficiently with the tagging process. *22 Overwrite Warnings *22 Overwrite Warnings (Default) - Controls the initial setting of the ^O - Overwrite Warnings utility mode command. Enabling overwrite warnings protects copy and move operations from inadvertently writing over an already existing file of the same name on the destination drive or directory. 5757 Utility Mode - Configuration Menu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- *23 Printer Output To *23 Printer Output To (Default) - Controls the initial setting of the ^P - Printer Port utility mode command. This controls the port dCOM will use for printer output. It has no bearing on what the rest of the system uses. If you want to redirect output for the entire system, refer to the Alt-P - Print System/Spooler Menu. 5858 Utility Mode - Configuration Menu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ColorsColors Naturally, changes to these fields have no effect when the active video board is monochrome. Changes to these fields are made with the Space Bar or Backspace keys and are immediately reflected on the screen. Also, the EGA Palette Mode controls whether these fields show and control the 16 standard colors or the 64 EGA Palette colors. When using the 16 standard colors, the background colors can range from 0 to 7, and the foreground colors from 0 to 15. When using the EGA Palette, all colors can range from 0 to 63. *24 Background *24 Background (General) - Controls the background color used for the top and bottom header sections of the utility mode's main screen and all other menu backgrounds. *25 Foreground *25 Foreground (General) - Controls the text foreground color used for the top and bottom header sections of the utility mode's main screen and all other menu foreground colors. *26 dCOM Lines *26 dCOM Lines (General) - Controls the color of the utility mode's border lines. If Solid Lines (*11) is disabled, this field also controls the color of the PC line drawing characters drawn within the utility mode's screen. *27 Menu Lines *27 Menu Lines (General) - Controls the color of all other menu border lines. If Solid Lines (*11) is disabled, this field also controls the color of the PC line drawing characters drawn within the other menu screens. *28 Misc Lines *28 Misc Lines (General) - This field is only active if Solid Lines (*11) is enabled. It will then control the color used for the PC Line drawing characters (i.e. "|-|-") drawn with all menu screens. *29 Background *29 Background (File Area) - Controls the background color used for the big area of the utility mode's screen that shows the files read from the current directory. *30 Directory *30 Directory (File Area) - Controls the color used to display subdirectory entries found in the current directory ("<D>" entries).. *31 Exec File *31 Exec File (File Area) - Controls the color used to display executable entries found in the current directory (files with a COM, EXE, or BAT extension). *32 Other File *32 Other File (File Area) - Controls the color used to display entries found in the current directory that are not subdirectories or executable. *33 Selec Bar *33 Selec Bar (File Area) - Controls the background color used to indicate the currently selected entry. If this value is zero, the reverse video colors of the selected entry are used. 5959 Utility Mode - Configuration Menu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: If EGA Palette colors are not enabled and reverse video is used for the Selec Bar, it may be desirable to keep the range of *30, *31, and *32 below 8 even though it can be from 0 to 15. This is because a high order color (one that is eight or above) will be reduced to its low order equivalent when displayed as a background color. 6060 Utility Mode - Configuration Menu - Mouse ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MouseMouse The mouse submenu of the utility mode's configuration menu controls whether or not dCOM attempts to recognize a mouse and, if so, its sensitivity. The factory default has the mouse enabled and sensitivities set to what have been found to be good for average use. If you would rather the mouse was more sensitive in a particular dimension, reduce the mickey counts. For less sensitivity, increase the mickey counts. A Mickey (in the widely spoken language of mice) is defined as the smallest unit of measurement in mouse motion. The mickey ratio determines how many mickey counts it takes before a mouse motion is generated. In essence, it determines the sensitivity. The lower the number, the higher the sensitivity. Only a little trial-n-error will determine which values yield the best operation for your purposes. 6161 Utility Mode - Configuration Menu - Disk Drive Table ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Disk Drive Override TableDisk Drive Override Table The use of this menu is rather advanced and it should only be modified if you know you have a problem it can resolve. The Disk Drive Override Table can override dCOM's automatic determination of whether a drive exists and if so, whether it is removeable or not. Users that might have a need to change this menu are those using MS- DOS Version 2.x or a Zenith Z100 computer. The key to using this table is don't activate an override unless you are sure you need it - as reported by an obvious discrepancy by using the "Test" command. Generally speaking, an IBM compatible using MS-DOS Version 3 or greater will not require any modification to this table. When you enter this menu, the display will show any overrides currently in effect. To test whether dCOM is correctly determining the number and types of drives on your system, use the T - Test Auto Config command. Carefully scan the results displayed. If a discrepancy exists, you may then edit an override into the table so that dCOM will correctly access the drive. Currently the only areas in dCOM impacted by this table are the drive select boxes for use with the mouse and the Search Disk (Alt-S) command when using it to search all non-removeable drives. 6262 The Visual Tree ---------------------------------------------------------------------- THE VISUAL TREETHE VISUAL TREE ====================================================================== A sophisticated visual tree is provided as an integral function for users that identify with this form of presenting a drive's directory structure. The tree fully supports operation from both the mouse and/or keyboard. When the tree is first invoked, it checks an internally maintained set of flags to determine whether it can load a saved image of the tree from file. If it can, the file is read and the tree pops up almost instantly. If it can't, the visual tree pops up a message "Reading Drive d:" and proceeds to scan the entire disk, reading in its directory structure (which is then saved in a image file). These flags that determine whether the saved image files are still valid are maintained at a very low level and are reset whenever an internal MS- DOS function request is used (by dCOM or any other program) that would modify a drive's directory structure. By default, whenever dCOM is first started, the flags that hold the valid status for the saved tree image files are all reset. This means that the first time you request the tree for a particular drive, it will always have to read its contents by scanning the disk. This is the safest approach in assuring that the dCOM does not use a saved image file that no longer accurately represents the disk's tree structure (because you could exit dCOM and run something or do something that makes, renames, or deletes a directory name). However, if dCOM is used constantly from power up to power down (you get a gold star), you can give dCOM a command line switch, /T, which will force dCOM to assume the state of the internal valid image flags from the last session. This means that if a drive's tree was still valid yesterday when you powered down your computer, it will still be valid today when you power it back up. If for some reason you think a drive's tree structure has changed and is not being reflected, simply relog the same drive while in the tree and the visual tree will reread the entire drive. 6363 The Visual Tree - Using with Copy or Move ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Using the Tree With Copy or MoveUsing the Tree With Copy or Move Invoking the tree as an aide to selecting the destination for a copy or move command is done by first initiating the copy or move command and then when prompted for its destination, press the "-" (minus) key on the keypad (Z100 users must press the Tab key instead), or click the mouse left button on "tree" in the sidebar menu. An optional way to invoke the tree for selecting the destination of a copy or move command is to move the mouse pointer into the drive select box (lower right corner of the screen), and click on the drive you desire to see a tree of. When the tree is invoked for this purpose, its use is limited to just displaying the current drive's tree structure with the only option being to log onto a different drive in order to select one of its directories as the destination desired. When the tree is displayed for the drive you wish to copy or move to and you have spotted the directory you wish to use - with the keyboard you use the cursor keys to select it and then press Return; with the mouse you click the left button on the directory desired. 6464 The Visual Tree - General Use ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Using The Tree - General UseUsing The Tree - General Use Invoking the tree for general use from the utility mode is also done by pressing the keypad "-" (minus) key or by clicking the mouse left button on "tree" in the sidebar menu. The tree can also be invoked automatically when dCOM is first run by using the /TREE command line switch. If any type of sort mode is active in the utility mode, the contents of the tree will be sorted. Also, hidden directories will not show in the tree unless the utility mode's V - View Mode is set to show hidden files. When a mouse is active, the tree will display a small menu (by default in the lower right corner of the screen) which performs similarly to the utility mode's sidebar menu. This menu is draggable (like the other pop-up windows employed throughout dCOM) by positioning the mouse pointer within the menu and holding down the right mouse button. Scrolling the tree with the mouse is done by bumping the mouse pointer against the window border you wish to see more of. All commands displayed on the menu for the mouse are also available through the keyboard and directly coincide with their equivalent commands in the utility mode. Like the utility mode, to select a command with the mouse you click the command you want first, and then you go click the directory you want it to use. Commands available from the tree are: C-Copy, M-Move, D-Delete, L-Log drive, and changing directories. The main use of the tree in this mode would be for changing or viewing subdirectories. You can quickly view the contents of one of the subdirectories displayed by selecting it and pressing Return (or click on it with the mouse left button). When you do this, control temporarily returns back to dCOM's utility mode and the contents of that directory are displayed. You can now issue any of the normal utility mode commands (like copy, move, delete, run, etc...) or return back to the tree by pressing Return on "PREVIOUS <D>" (which is where the selection bar will be if you haven't moved it). This allows you to drop into a subdirectory, take a quick look around, and pop back to the tree using just two keystrokes. (Click the left mouse button on "PREVIOUS <D>" or "tree" in the sidebar menu to accomplish the same thing.) When you ask the tree to display a subdirectory by pressing Return on it, and it does so by dropping back into the utility mode and displaying it, dCOM will inform you that the visual tree is still active by constantly displaying a message in the drive select box indicating so. All this means is that if you press Return on "PREVIOUS <D>", control is going to return back to the tree instead of changing directories to the previous directory. Should you decide that you want to permanently stay in the directory, press the Esc key and the visual tree active mode will cancel. 6565 The Print System/Spooler ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PRINT SYSTEM & SPOOLERPRINT SYSTEM & SPOOLER ====================================================================== The print system built into dCOM out-performs other stand-alone spooling systems costing more than twice the price of dCOM. In the Print System/Spooler Menu, you can totally define and control your systems printing characteristics, spooling, and redirection. Changes made in this menu affect your entire system (both in dCOM and when you run programs under dCOM). If you use dCOM's redirection capabilities, there is no need to use the MODE program to initialize a serial port and/or remap a parallel port to a serial port. dCOM will do it all for you. The spooler supports ultra high-speed, demand (interrupt) driven interfaces, in both parallel and serial configurations. Reliable RS232 baud rates as high as 38,400 have been achieved (even on a XT). Parallel throughputs exceeding 5,000 Cps have been observed when performing graphics or font downloads to a laser printer (with no noticeable impact on system performance). 5,000 Cps is the equivalent of 50,000 baud! If present, the spooler will recognize and use expanded memory (LIM EMS) instead of consuming precious conventional memory with its buffer. When the spooler is actually using expanded memory, it displays "Buffer(E)" instead of "Buffer", in the Print System/Spooler Menu. The print system is also complimented with several hot-keys. One allows you to clear the spooler's buffer and flush any further print output. Other hot-keys can send form-feeds and/or line-feeds to the printer (refer to Hot-Keys for more information). Unlike other spoolers, the size of dCOM's print spooler can easily be increased or decreased at will, or disabled, should you suddenly have a need to have the memory back (by simply re-editing the buffer's size). Whether performance is given to getting the paper out of the printer or to getting the data into the spooler's buffer can be controlled using the /P command line switch. When specified, the switch shifts the priority to the printing application so that it gets all the cpu time by preventing the printer from being serviced when the printing application is actively trying to send data to the printer. This results in getting control back sooner but takes longer for the paper to come out of the printer. If the spooler's buffer becomes full when this switch is on, its effect is temporarily cancelled for the current print operation and the priority immediately switches to getting the buffer printed. Refer to Command Line Switches for more information. On the technical side: The print spooler uses a triple buffer technique to provide maximum efficiency and throughput. BIOS level write requests are buffered immediately into a small front-end buffer which needs little overhead to manage, getting control back to the 6666 The Print System/Spooler ---------------------------------------------------------------------- calling application in no time. The front-end buffer is then flushed into the main buffer on every timer tick (18 times a second), unless required sooner if the front-end buffer fills up. The main buffer is then bled off into another small buffer, the printer output buffer (also on each timer tick) which services the print device through the appropriate method (BIOS, PORT, or IRQ). This technique allows the use of 16 bit pointers instead of 32 bit pointers during time- intensive periods and also keeps EMS management at a minimum (if present). 6767 The Print System/Spooler - Menu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Print System/Spooler MenuPrint System/Spooler Menu ,----------------------------------, | Spooling | Buffer | In Use | |------------+----------+----------| | *1 | *2 | *3 | |----------------------------------| | SYSTEM REDIRECTION | |----------------------------------| | LPT1 -> *4 | | LPT2 -> *5 | | LPT3 -> *6 | `----------------------------------' *1*1 Indicates the current status of the print spooler (Enabled, Disabled, Clearing, or Flushing). If the spooler is actively sending characters to the print device, this area displays the port that originally received the data, the port that it is actually being sent to, and the type of method used. The format of this display is "LPT#->LPT#(*)" or "LPT#->COM#" depending on whether output is redirected to a COM port. The "#" characters will be filled in with the ports involved and the "*" characters filled in to indicate the method currently in use ("(B)" to indicate BIOS, "(P)" to indicate Port, or a "(I)" to indicate demand driven IRQ servicing). Note: Redirection to a COM port with the spooler active always uses demand driven IRQ servicing. *2*2 If the spooler is static, the current size of the print spooler's buffer is displayed. The value entered here also determines whether the spooler is enabled, depending on whether the value is not zero. If the spooler is actively sending characters to a print device, this area instead displays an accumulated CPS (characters per second) average since the current print job started. If you use the /P command line switch to give the printing application priority, the CPS value displayed will be unfavorably affected by the periods when no attempts are made to send data from the spooler's buffer to the printer. *3*3 Indicates in real-time how many characters are in the spooler's buffer waiting to be printed. *4 -6*4 -6 These fields control whether output to a port is redirected to another port and what techniques are used to communicate with the destination port. NOTE: dCOM will not allow this menu to be edited if the spooler is currently active (sending characters to the printer) or if you are running a multiple copy of dCOM. When you edit this menu, the first field edited is the buffer size. As indicated above, any value other than zero activates the spooler. If the spooler is using conventional memory, the values are always 6868 The Print System/Spooler - Menu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- converted to multiples of 16. If the spooler is using expanded memory (LIM EMS), the values are converted to multiples of 16,384. After editing the buffer size, editing proceeds to the three System Redirection ports (*4 through *6). The factory defaults are that no redirection is used (i.e. output to LPT1 is sent to LPT1, etc...) and that the spooler will use BIOS/Network calls. Changing these fields is done by using the Space Bar or Backspace keys. Parallel Port OutputsParallel Port Outputs When the output of a LPT port is sent to another parallel port (LPT1 through LPT3 instead of COM1 or COM2), and the print spooler is enabled, there are two methods which can be used to talk to the parallel port: 1. BIOS/NetworkBIOS/Network - Is the safest and most compatible method and must be used if the output needs to be sent to a printer over a network. This method polls the printer port in the background and intelligently decides when its time to give up and return to the current application, based on cpu speed and printer reactiveness. 2. Port/IRQPort/IRQ - Is the fastest and most efficient method to send data to a parallel port. This method generally won't work properly on XT computers due to an inherent design flaw in XT printer adapters (which was then copied by numerous clone manufacturers). This method should work fine on AT compatible printer ports and should be the method of choice (at least for LPT1). If this method is selected and the IRQ needed is already in use or not functioning correctly, dCOM will automatically switch to polling the printer port directly. This method services the printer based on printer demand (using the printer acknowledge interrupt) making it by far the most efficient and fastest of the two methods to send data to a parallel port (sending data as fast as the printer can ask for it). Since the processor is only interrupted when the printer is ready for another character, very little CPU time is taken from the foreground application in order to keep data flowing to the printer. Since the Port/IRQ method requires that the associated LPT interrupts be available and working (LPT1 requires IRQ7 and LPT2 requires IRQ5), dCOM automatically detects whether the required interrupts are already in use by another device before assuming it can use the IRQ for this purpose. IRQ5 (LPT2) tends to be a commonly used auxiliary interrupt for a lot of add-on cards (i.e. mouse cards, network cards, scanner cards, etc...) and on an XT, IRQ5 is required to support the hard disk. If the required interrupt is already in use or not functioning correctly, dCOM will automatically switch to spooling with a polling technique directly with the port. You can determine the exact method dCOM is using to talk to a LPT device by watching the status indication displayed under "Spooling" when output is actually being transferred to the printer. If an "(I)" 6969 The Print System/Spooler - Menu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- is displayed, the printer acknowledge interrupt is being used and functioning fine. If a "(P)" is displayed, the printer acknowledge interrupt could not be used and direct port writes are being used in polling fashion. If a "(B)" is displayed, BIOS requests are being used in a polling fashion. An easy way to check this is to take your printer off-line, select a ASCII file and press "P" to print it. Disregarding the flashing message "Check Printer", go to the Print System/Spooler Menu and watch what happens to these indicators when you put the printer back on-line. NOTE: Whether a LPT port has been configured to use Port/IRQ instead of BIOS/Network is only significant if the spooler is active. If the spooler is disabled, output is always sent through BIOS (unless redirected to a COM port). Serial Port RedirectionSerial Port Redirection The print output can be redirected very easily and efficiently from any LPT port to any COM port. When the output is redirected to a COM port, dCOM automatically manages the initialization of the RS232 port, making this capability totally self-contained within dCOM and eliminating any need to use the MS-DOS MODE command. When redirection is enabled to a COM port and the spooler is also enabled, dCOM services the spooler using interrupts on transmit register empty (demand driven) which allows high-speed baud rates with minimal impact on system performance. Redirection to a COM port supports all common forms of hardware and software flow control. While editing a LPT port to be redirected to a COM port, the following additional commands are also recognized from the keyboard that control the operating parameters of the RS232 port: B B - Cycles the baud rate from between 300 to 38400. E E - Selects even parity. O O - Selects odd parity. N N - Selects no parity. 7 7 - Selects 7 data bits. 8 8 - Selects 8 data bits. 1 1 - Selects 1 stop bits. X X - Toggles Xon/Xoff software flow control. C C - Toggles CTS/RTS hardware flow control. D D - Toggles DSR/DTR hardware flow control. Selecting the proper RS232 parameters is based on what type of printing device you are sending your output to. You should be very 7070 The Print System/Spooler - Menu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- careful to match these parameters with the way the device is currently configured. 7171 The Alarm/Event Menu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- THE ALARM/EVENT MENUTHE ALARM/EVENT MENU ====================================================================== The alarm menu is invoked by pressing "A" at the utility mode. From the alarm menu you may enter up to 38 different alarms (events). There are basically two different types of alarms; daily or calendar. A daily alarm qualifies based on the day(s) of the week (Monday Tuesday, etc...). A calendar alarm qualifies based on a specific date. There are also two different ways to enter calendar alarms: 1) as recurring calendar which is immune from automatic deletion or, 2) as a (normal) calendar alarm which is automatically deleted when obsolete. Recurring calendar alarms are good for such things as birthdays, anniversaries, etc... Automatic deletion of non-recurring calendar alarms is checked when dCOM is first run and alarms which fall within the range of last month through yesterday are then deleted. New alarms are added in the alarm menu by selecting an empty slot and pressing E-Edit. You are then asked to enter the type of alarm being added (as just described with Daily, Calendar, or Recurring calendar). The insert and delete options of this menu are relative to the column you are in, not the entire screen. Insert will insert an empty slot (alarm) at the current slot, bumping existing entries down until the next empty slot is encountered in that column (this means it will have no effect if you are on an empty slot). Hopefully this scheme will allow you to implement some form of organization using the two columns (which have no other significance other than that). When an alarm sounds, the text you enter for the description flashes on the screen (provided its in text mode) and the speaker beeps. Alarms are then cancelled by pressing the Esc key (which is discarded). The beeping will automatically time-out after it has sounded 30 times if not cancelled sooner, but the flashing description will continue to display until actually cancelled with the Esc key. Alarm times are maintained in, and must be entered in 24 hour format. For example, 1 pm is entered as 13:00. The alarms/events entered are also complimented with a look-ahead capability that displays a sorted list of events falling within the programmed range when dCOM is initially run, or by selecting the "L- Look-Ahead" option from the alarm menu. Configuring the look-ahead values desired (in days) for either the daily and/or calendar alarms is done by selecting the "C-Config" option from the alarm menu. The values entered include today as part of the calculation, thus, if you entered a daily look-ahead of 2, daily alarms scheduled for today and tomorrow would be shown in a look-ahead scan. Using a value of one would only show alarms scheduled for today. Enter a value of zero to disable checking for that particular type of alarm. After editing the look-ahead values, be sure to use the "S-Save" option if you want the changes to be permament. 7272 The Macro Keys ---------------------------------------------------------------------- THE MACRO KEYSTHE MACRO KEYS ====================================================================== Webster's definition of the word "macro" when used in a computer- related context is described as "a single computer instruction that stands for a sequence of operations". dCOM's macro keys are just that - you press one key and a whole series of operations can be programmed to occur. You can think of dCOM's macro keys as having 20 batch files on line and ready to execute. You can also program a macro key to load in a whole new set of macro definitions, making the possibilities of what you can implement endless. But the macro keys are much more than just having 20 different batch files on-line and "at the ready". They can be programmed to use the currently selected file, loop on tagged files, get keyboard input, test and jump conditionally on a variety of operands, etc.... To begin using them, all you have to know is how to write a simple batch file with any text editor. The macro keys can also be used to build extensive but very "straight arrow" menuing systems which are fully mouse supported with optional password protection. Refer to Menuing for more information. dCOM's internal macro compiler loads ASCII macro files with one read operation (no extra time spent on character or line-oriented disk I/O) and then compiles ("tokenizes") each macro command for optimum memory usage and runtime performance. Above all else, do not let the extensive capabilities and command set be intimidating. You can write a macro key file in its simplest form of just comprising of batch file like commands and then "grow" into using some of the more sophisticated commands as you become comfortable. We believe that the capabilities provided by dCOM's macro command set are unrivaled and unparalleled in the PC world as we know it today.... 7373 Macro Keys - General Use ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Macro Keys - General UseMacro Keys - General Use The operation discussed here concerns using the macro keys from the utility mode. For information on using the macro keys from the Macro Key Menu Mode, refer to Menuing. Executing a macro key can be done in a variety of different ways. If you know which macro key you want, you can simply press its function key. If you can't remember which function key activates the macro you want, you can press Backspace to get a pop-up menu of the macro key titles for the active macro file. When the menu of macro key titles is on the screen, you can execute one of its macros by pressing the appropriate function key, or you can use the cursor motion keys to select the macro key and press Return, or you can click the mouse left button on the macro title you want to execute. If you decide you don't want to execute a macro key, you can press Backspace again (or Esc) to cancel the menu. You can temporarily gosub (call) a different macro file from the one that is currently active by pressing the "/" (forward slash). When the "/" key is used to call up a different macro file, its macro key titles are displayed as described above when Backspace is pressed. The difference is that the original macro file is reloaded after you finish with the menu (either by running one of its macro keys or escaping it). This capability is also provided for mouse users by clicking the left button on the "M-File" selection in the sidebar menu. You can permanently goto (change) to a different macro file from the one that is currently active by pressing the "." (period). When the "." key is used to change macro files, a menu of its titles is displayed as described above when Backspace is pressed (to make sure you know you loaded the right macro file). However, when you finish with this menu, the new macro file remains as the active macro file. When a different macro file is active from that which was the original macro file when dCOM was first run, the bottom right corner of the utility mode's screen will constantly display the name of that macro file to help you remember that a different set of macro keys is active from that which you're probably used to. When you execute a macro key, dCOM will automatically manage whether it should clear the screen. If the macro key does not display anything or does not run a program (this limits things pretty much to changing drives, changing directories, setting environment variables, or sending printer strings), dCOM's screen will not be cleared. Whether there is a pause asserted by dCOM after the macro key finishes so that you can read whatever it might have posted on the screen before dCOM rebuilds it, is controlled by whether you include the "/W" switch on a macro's title line. Other title line switches let you tell dCOM to remove any TSR's loaded by the macro key, and whether to prompt for a password before allowing the macro key to execute. 7474 Macro Keys - General Use ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Esc key will abort an executing macro key, provided the Esc key is not processed by a program that the macro key might be running. Checking for the Esc key is performed every time a macro line is executed, but does not eat keystrokes. 7575 Macro Keys - Editing ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Editing the Macro KeysEditing the Macro Keys Macro files must be located in the same drive and subdirectory in which dCOM is located. The default macro file loaded is DCOM.MAC unless otherwise specified with the "/MF=macrofile" command line switch when dCOM is run. Macro files must end with a .MAC extension. All commands that deal with macro filenames will automatically append a .MAC extension if it is not given or if a different extension is specified. dCOM automatically recognizes when changes are made to the active macro file (when it is edited with dCOM's text editor) and immediately loads and recompiles it after exiting the text editor. The utility mode's Alt-K command facilitates editing of existing macro files by displaying a menu of their filenames. Selecting one invokes the text editor with that macro file. The Alt-K command is impervious to what drive or directory is current and to whether any of the existing macro files are hidden. Additional macro files can be created by selecting the "[NewFile]" option displayed along with the existing files when you press Alt-K. An alternate way to create a new macro file is to go into dCOM's Home Directory and copy a macro file that already exists to a new name (thus creating it). Since you're now already in the Home Directory, you could just select the new file and press "E" to edit it or, if you use Alt-K, the new file will now appear as a selection for editing. 7676 Macro Keys - Editing ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Using dCOM's Text EditorUsing dCOM's Text Editor If you are already familiar with dCOM's text editor, you may skip this section. Once inside the editor, its use is fairly straight-forward. Use the cursor (arrow) keys to move around and change the file. When finished making changes, use Alt-W to write (save) the file and use Alt-X to exit the editor. If you had started a new file using the "[NewFile]" selection of Alt-K, pressing Alt-W will stop and ask for a filename before proceeding (remember to give it a .MAC extension). Some more advanced features are: Use F8 to set the starting and ending lines of a block for subsequent copying or moving with Alt-C or Alt-M respectively. Press F7 or Alt-H to bring up the editor's help screen. To delete a line or insert a line, use Alt-D and Alt-I. (Notice how everything correlates...?) To delete characters, use the Del key. To change the insert/overtype mode, use the Ins key. You can open/switch windows by using the function keys F2, F3 and F4. Another existing file can be loaded into a different window using the Alt-E command. Blocks of text from the new window may be copied or moved from window to window by using F8 to mark the source lines, switch to the destination window (using F1 through F4), and then using the Alt-C or Alt-M commands, respectively. 7777 Macro Keys - File Format ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Macro File FormatMacro File Format Macro files are standard ASCII files which must end with a .MAC extension that can be edited with any text editor. An example of the basic format of a simple macro file is: ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, MAIN MACRO'S ;;MENU TITLE FOR MENU MODE | | | | [F1] MS-WORD ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES | | C: ;;CHANGE DRIVES (IF NEC) | | CD \MSWORD ;;CHANGE DIRECTORIES | | WORD ;;RUN MS-WORD | | CD C:\ ;;CHANGE C: BACK TO ROOT DIR | | CDDO ;;RETURN TO ORIG DRIVE & DIR | | | | [F2] dBASE ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES | | C: ;;CHANGE DRIVES (IF NEC) | | CD \DBASE ;;CHANGE DIRECTORIES | | DBASE ;;RUN dBASE | | CD C:\ ;;CHANGE C: BACK TO ROOT DIR | | CDDO ;;RETURN TO ORIG DRIVE & DIR | | | | ■ | | ■ | | ■ | | | | [sF10] WORDSTAR 5 ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES | | C: ;;CHANGE DRIVES (IF NEC) | | CD \WS5 ;;CHANGE DIRECTORIES | | WS ;;RUN WORDSTAR | | CD C:\ ;;CHANGE C: BACK TO ROOT DIR | | CDDO ;;RETURN TO ORIG DRIVE & DIR | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' The format of a macro file is very "loose". The one shown above is only an example and includes the use of some macro commands that are not absolutely necessary. The only hard and fast rule is that you must start each macro key definition with a title line that has the following format: [F#] title[/w][/r][/p:password] The bracket characters around "F#" are mandatory. The brackets surrounding the switches (/w, /r, and /p) are used to indicate the switches are optional and would not be typed in. "F#" has a range of F1 - F10 and sF1 - sF10 (the "s" designates shifted macro keys). The title has a maximum displayable length of 20 characters; exceeding this only causes it to be truncated. The first non-blank line encountered before the start of any macro key definition is considered the menu title. The menu title has a maximum 7878 Macro Keys - File Format ---------------------------------------------------------------------- displayable length of 40 characters and is only displayed when the menu mode is active (/M or /MP command line switches). Macro key definitions need not be defined in sequence, but defining them out of order can have a minor degradation on load time when compiled because inserting is required and could also become rather confusing. Blank lines have no functional significance and consume no memory. Use them as desired to aid in readability. The implied end of a macro key definition is the start of another (or the end of file). There is no command to mark the end of a macro key definition. Duplicate macro definitions are illegal and will produce an error when invoked. Comments are supported but not required. They begin when two semicolons are encountered in sequence and automatically end at the end of the line. Using comments (or tabs leading to a comment) are ignored when compiled and consume no additional memory. The use of lower or upper case is subjective. dCOM is always insensitive to the use of case, meaning it doesn't care whether you use lower or upper case characters. Leading and trailing spaces are ignored and consume no additional memory (indent to your hearts content for purposes of clarity). 7979 Macro Keys - Title Line Switches ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Title Line SwitchesTitle Line Switches The characteristics of each macro key can be somewhat configured by the use of some optional title line switches. These switches are specified on the same line that defines the macro, following its title text. /W/W Specifies that a pause (wait) is necessary when the macro terminates. This switch is normally used when a macro runs a program that displays something but doesn't ask you for permission before it exists. If you don't tell dCOM that the macro key needs a pause, it will just go ahead and build its utility mode screen or menu mode screen, none the wiser that you wanted to read it. An alternate way to achieve this effect, but on a conditional basis, is to not use the /W switch so that overall the macro won't pause, but when you do want it to pause, use the %W variable (which is more like a switch and used primarily with the Extension Execute feature) in combination with an ECHO command. /R/R This switch tells dCOM to remove any TSR's loaded by the macro key when the macro key terminates. This is useful if you need to load a TSR to support a program which is also run in the same macro key, but you don't need the TSR after the macro key is finished. /P:pword/P:pword Specifies that the macro key is password protected. The password specified following the colon is then required before a user can execute the macro key. The maximum recognized length of a password is 10 characters. If you use password's on your macro keys, it might be a good idea to hide the macro files (using the utility mode's Alt-H command) since the password can easily be seen by viewing the macro file. If you hide a macro file, it will have no ill-effect on the various commands that display a menu of macro files. 8080 Macro Keys - Commands Quick Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Macro Commands Quick ReferenceMacro Commands Quick Reference >>command ..................... Force line to be executed by DOS dd: ........................... Set a new default drive :labellabel ....................... Designate a label BEEPBEEP ......................... Beep the speaker CDCD path ...................... Change current directory CDDCDD [d:][path] ............... Change current drive and directory CDDOCDDO ......................... Change to original drive & dir CHDIRCHDIR path ................... Change current directory CLSCLS .......................... Clear the screen CPOSNCPOSN [line][,column] ........ Positions the cursor DODO mask ...................... Execute block for each file in mask ECHOECHO text .................... Display text ENDDOENDDO ........................ Designate end of DO block ENDIFENDIF ........................ Designate end of IF block EXITEXIT ......................... Exit the macro key GETGET tvar [prompt] ............ Get from keybrd to temp variable GOSUBMFGOSUBMF macrofile [key] ...... Gosub (load) a new macro file GOTOGOTO label ................... Unconditional jump to a label GOTOMFGOTOMF macrofile [key] ....... Goto (load) a new macro file IFIF op1 <=> op2 cmdcmd ........... Conditional cmd using two oprnds IFIF [NOT] EXIST file cmdcmd ...... Conditional cmd if file exists IFIF op1 <=> op2 THENTHEN .......... Conditional block using two oprnds IFIF [NOT] EXIST file THENTHEN ..... Conditional block if file exists LOOPLOOP label ................... Loop to label if more tagged files MACROMENUMACROMENU ON/OFF ............. Turn menu mode on or off PAUSEPAUSE [text] ................. Pause for keystroke PRINTSTRPRINTSTR text ................ Send text to the printer REMREM [text] ................... Remark (comment) line RETURNRETURN ....................... Return to macro after GOSUBMF RUNMACRORUNMACRO key[key] ............ Set macro key to run (i.e. /F1) SELECTSELECT mask [text][/d][/n] ... Display a menu of files to sel from SETSET var=text ................. Set environment or temp variable 8181 Macro Keys - Variables Quick Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Macro Key Variables Quick ReferenceMacro Key Variables Quick Reference %0 - %9 .. Temporary variables (set with SET or GET) %FN ...... Currently selected file (no extension) %FE ...... Currently selected file and extension %TN ...... Current tagged filename (no extension) %TE ...... Current tagged filename and extension %DN ...... Current DO filename (no extension) %DE ...... Current DO filename and extension %SN ...... Filename (no extension) selected with SELECT %SE ...... Filename and extension selected with SELECT %SC ...... Count of files found by SELECT %TC ...... Count of tagged files %EL ...... Last error level returned by a program %DD ...... Default drive %CD ...... Current subdirectory %OD ...... Original default drive macro was run from %OS ...... Original subdirectory macro was run from %TI ...... System time %DT ...... System date %KB ...... Keyboard character if avail, else = %(255) %W ....... Forces a pause when macro terminates %(###) ... Generate untypeable ASCII character %var% .... Access an environment variable 8282 Macro Keys - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Macro Key Command ReferenceMacro Key Command Reference The following section describes the macro commands in detail. All macro commands recognized by dCOM are executed directly by dCOM, not by building some temporary batch file and then calling COMMAND.COM to execute it like some other menu programs and shells.... When a ASCII macro file is compiled ("tokenized"), unrecognized commands are considered programs which, will be run directly by dCOM without calling a second copy of COMMAND.COM. Before considering a command unrecognized, it is scanned against a list of internal MS-DOS commands. If the command matches an internal MS-DOS command (i.e. TIME, COPY, etc...), a second copy of COMMAND.COM is used to run it. When a program is run directly, all forms of redirection are supported except piping. If you need piping, then you should start the macro line with a ">" to force dCOM to use a second copy of COMMAND.COM to run the program instead of dCOM running the program directly. Leading and trailing spaces are always ignored for memory conservation. Additionally, spaces imbedded between a command and its parameters are also ignored. The only time when this might prove to be a problem is if you use the ECHO command and want to indent some with spaces before the text is displayed. To work around this idiosyncrasy, use some tab characters to space with between the ECHO command and its text. Comments may be specified at any place in a macro line by using two semicolons in sequence ("; ;"). When a comment is encountered, the rest of the line is ignored and consumes no memory. If tabs are used before a comment to position it on a consistent column, they too are considered insignificant and consume no memory. In the unlikely event that one of the macro commands coincides with the name of a program you are trying to run, precede the program's name with a ">" to force dCOM to use a second copy of COMMAND.COM to run the program and keep it from mistakenly executing the macro command instead of the program. The macro command set is batch file compatible (meaning you should be able to directly import a batch file and then precede it with a title line), with the exception of the batch "IF ERRORLEVEL ## GOTO" command. The equivalent statement using the macro keys is "IF %EL=>## GOTO". ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, d:d: | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Sets a new default drive (i.e. "A:", or "C:"). 8383 Macro Keys - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, :label:label | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Designates a label or comment. Any line beginning with a colon is considered a label. Labels are used to specify the target of a GOTO or LOOP macro command. Label lines themselves are not executed. When you enter a label's text as part of a GOTO or LOOP command, do not include the colon - just the text following the colon. Labels may contain imbedded spaces with no ill effect and are case insensitive. This command behaves identically with its MS-DOS counterpart. ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, BEEPBEEP | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Beeps the speaker ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, CDCD path | | CHDIRCHDIR path | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Changes the current directory. If no drive is given, the default drive is assumed. This command behaves identically with its MS-DOS counterpart. ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, CDDCDD [d:][path] | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Changes both the default drive and its current directory. This command is provided as a shortcut to having to use two lines to change drives and subdirectories before running a program, etc.... ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, CDDOCDDO | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Changes back to what was the default drive and its current directory when the macro key was originally executed. Even though the logical use of this command would be on the end of a macro key, the use of this command is purely optional and can occur more than once as desired. 8484 Macro Keys - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, CLSCLS | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Clears the screen and homes the cursor. This command behaves identically with its MS-DOS counterpart. ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, CPOSNCPOSN [line][,column] | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Positions the cursor to the line and/or column specified. ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, DODO mask | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Repeatedly executes a block of macro lines following the DO command, up to the matching ENDDO, for each occurrence of a file found with mask. Within a DO block, the %DN and %DE variables are used to access the current iteration's filename, or filename and extension (respectively). If no files qualify with the mask specified, execution jumps immediately around the DO block. Loading TSR's within a DO block should be avoided. When the DO command is encountered, a memory block is allocated and filled in with a list of files that qualify with the mask given. If a TSR is loaded within the DO block, it will "sandwich" the DO memory block, making it useless after it is deallocated when the DO command terminates. DO commands ARE NOT nestable. Example: [F1] CONV .ARC TO .ZIP ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES MD C:\Z$ ;;MAKE A TEMPORARY DIRECTORY DODO *.ARC ;;START OF DO BLOCK PKUNPAK %DE%DE C:\Z$ ;; UNARCHIVE CURRENT DO FILE DEL %DE%DE ;; DELETE CURRENT DO FILE PKZIP -m %DN%DN C:\Z$\*.* ;; REZIP (MOVE) TO DO FILE ENDDOENDDO ;;END OF DO BLOCK RD C:\Z$ ;;REMOVE TEMPORARY DIRECTORY ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, ECHOECHO text | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Echo's (displays) text to the screen. The cursor is automatically advanced to the next line after the text is displayed unless the text ends with a semicolon (";"), which isn't displayed. The ECHO command supports redirection (using the 8585 Macro Keys - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ">", ">>", an "<" operators) but, as with other macro commands, piping is not internally supported. If you need piping, prefix the ECHO command with a ">" to force dCOM to use COMMAND.COM to execute the line (i.e. ">ECHO Y|DEL C:\TEMP\*.*"). ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, ENDDOENDDO | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Specifies the end of a DO block. ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, ENDIFENDIF | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Specifies the end of an IF block. ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, EXITEXIT | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Forces an early termination of the macro key. ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, GETGET tvar [prompt] | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Gets a response from the keyboard into a temporary variable, optionally displaying a prompt first. For more information on the temporary variables (%0 - %9), refer to Macro Variables Reference. If the Esc key is pressed, the macro key is terminated. Example: [F1] ARC TAG'D FILES ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES GETGET %1 Enter Zip File: ;;GET .ZIP FILENAME IN %1 :L1 ;;LABEL FOR LOOP JUMP ECHO Arcing %TE to %1 ;; DISPLAY CURRENT LOOP FILE PKZIP -ex %1 %TE >NUL ;; ADD IT TO .ZIP FILE LOOP L1 ;;LOOP THROUGH TAGGED FILES ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, GOTOMFGOTOMF macrofile [key] | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Specifies and loads a new active macro file but does not save any return information. If the optional key (e.g. F1 or SF10) is also specified, the specified macro key(s) are executed immediately after the new macro file loads. Multiple key's can be given by preceding their occurrence(s) with a "/". Multiple key's are executed in numerical order, not the order specified. 8686 Macro Keys - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, GOSUBMFGOSUBMF macrofile [key] | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Loads a new macro file, saving the current macro filename on a gosub stack. RETURN is used to change back to the macro file active when GOSUBMF was used. The gosub stack can hold 9+ nested macro filenames (depending on their length). If the optional key (e.g. F1 or sF10) is also specified, the specified macro key(s) are executed immediately after the new macro file loads. Multiple key's can be given by preceding their occurrence(s) with a "/". Multiple key's are executed in numerical order, not the order specified. Returning from a gosub'd macro file does not continue execution with the macro line following the GOSUBMF. The complexities to support this are beyond the scope for which this command was intended. This command performs an automatic MACROMENU ON. If you were in the utility mode and you executed a macro key that has this command, the new macro file would load and pop-up automatically. When you finish with the gosub'd menu, the utility mode automatically returns to the original macro file. Using the GOSUBMF command is the key to building layered menuing structures. Refer to Menuing for more information. Example: MAIN MENU ;;MENU TITLE [F1] FORMAT DISK MENU ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES GOSUBMFGOSUBMF FORMAT ;;CALL FORMAT MACRO FILE [F2] WORD PROC MENU ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES GOSUBMFGOSUBMF WORDPROC ;;CALL WORDPROC MACRO FILE ■ ■ [sF10] UTILITY MENU ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES GOSUBMFGOSUBMF UTILITYS ;;CALL UTILITYS MACRO FILE This example calls FORMAT.MAC, WORDPROC.MAC, and UTILITYS.MAC. Their macro keys would then perform the tasks desired, along with a key that performs a RETURN. 8787 Macro Keys - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, GOTOGOTO label | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Jumps unconditionally to the label specified. If the label used is "ENDM", the macro key will be terminated (serving the same purpose as using the EXIT command - but carried forward to maintain compatibility). 8888 Macro Keys - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, IFIF op1 <=> op2 command | | IFIF [NOT] EXISTEXIST pathname command | | IFIF op1 <=> op2 THENTHEN | | IFIF [NOT] EXISTEXIST pathname THENTHEN | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Executes a command or block of commands if the result of the expression is true. The command can be any valid macro command or program name, including another IF command. This means you can nest many IF commands on one line (subject only to the maximum line length of 255 characters), which would result in the command of the last IF to be executed only when all IF expressions are true (a gigantic AND condition). If the key word "THEN" is used instead of macro command or program name, the block of macro lines following the IF command (terminated with a matching ENDIF) are executed if the expression is true; otherwise, execution continues with the macro line following the matching ENDIF. Block IF commands are nestable to no limit. When you write an IF command, care must be taken to ensure that Operand2 DOES NOT contain any imbedded spaces between what is meant to be the start of Operand2 and what was meant to be its end, in its original form. Spaces are used internally to delimit Operand2 from the start of the command to execute. If Operand2 expands into some spaces because of a variable, this is not a problem. If you are using an IF command with relational operators ("<", "=", or ">"), at least one must be specified, but more than one can be used. If both operands are totally numeric, a numeric comparison will be used. When operands are not numeric, the comparison is case insensitive. If operand1 is shorter than operand2 but equal to it for as many characters as it has, it will be considered less than operand2. The NOT operator, though not shown, can also be used before operand1 to invert the result of a true/false comparison. If you are using the EXIST form of the IF command, the pathname given can include wildcards ("?" and "*"), and also a pathspec to a drive or directory other than the default. Examples: [F1] COMPILE FILE/w ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES MASM %FN,,%FN; ;;COMPILE SELECTED FILE IFIF %EL>0 GOTO ERROR ;;IF ERROR GOTO ERROR LINK %FN; ;;LINK THE PROGRAM IFIF %EL>0 GOTO ERROR ;;IF ERROR GOTO ERROR DEL %FN.OBJ ;;DELETE THE .OBJ FILE EXIT ;;EXIT THE MACRO KEY :ERROR ;;LABEL FOR GOTO ERROR BEEP ;;BEEP THE SPEAKER [F1] MOVE .BAK FILES ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES IF EXISTIF EXIST *.BAK THENTHEN ;;IF THERE ARE ANY .BAK FILES 8989 Macro Keys - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- COPY *.BAK D:\BACKUP ;; THEN COPY THEM TO D:\BACKUP DEL *.BAK ;; AND THEN DELETE THEM ENDIFENDIF ;;END OF IF BLOCK ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, LOOPLOOP label | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Loops back to the label specified for each occurrence of a tagged file. Within a LOOP block, the %TN and %TE variables are used to access the current iteration's filename, or filename and extension (respectively). If no files are tagged, encountering a %TN or %TE variable during a macro key's execution generates an error. This condition can be trapped using the %TC variable to test whether any files are tagged. Example: [F1] ARCHIVE TAGGED/W ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES IF %TC%TC < 1 THEN ;;IF THERE ARE NO TAGGED FILES BEEP ;; THEN BEEP THE SPEAKER ECHO Need Tagged Files ;; DISPLAY ERROR MESSAGE EXIT ;; AND EXIT THE MACRO KEY ENDIF ;;END OF IF BLOCK GET %1 Enter Arc File: ;;GET A FILENAME IN %1 :L1:L1 ;;START OF LOOP BLOCK ECHO Zipping %TE%TE to %1 ;; DISPLAY CURRENT LOOP FILE PKZIP %1 %TE%TE >NUL ;; ADD IT TO .ZIP FILE LOOP L1LOOP L1 ;;LOOP THROUGH TAGGED FILES 9090 Macro Keys - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, MACROMENUMACROMENU ON/OFF | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Turns the display of macro key titles (menu) on or off. Using "MACROMENU ON" might be used in conjunction with a GOTOMF in order to change macro files and then pop-up the new menu of macro keys. If you do so, use the MACROMENU command before the GOTOMF command because the GOTOMF command is executed immediately. The GOSUBMF macro command automatically turns the MACROMENU ON, making its use in conjunction with this command redundant. If the menu mode is active (/M or /MP command line switches), using "MACROMENU OFF" deactivates the menu mode, causing dCOM to drop down to its utility mode. (Pressing Esc does the same thing but requires the access password if /MP was used.) Using "MACROMENU OFF" in a password protected macro key allows you to provide another way to exit the menu mode without having to unnecessarily compromise the system's access password. Example: [F1] UTILITY MODE/P:pwd ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES MACROMENU OFFMACROMENU OFF ;;EXIT MENU MODE ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, PAUSEPAUSE [text] | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Displays the message "Press Return to Proceed or Escape to Cancel" and waits for a proper response. If text is also supplied, it is displayed on the line prior to the pause message. If the Esc key is pressed at the prompt, the macro key is terminated. ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, PRINTSTRPRINTSTR text | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Sends text to the default printer device. A carriage return/line-feed sequence is NOT automatically appended. If one is needed, append a "%(13)%(10)" to the text being printed. Example: [F1] SET COMPRESSED ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES PRINTSTRPRINTSTR %(15) ;;SEND COMPRESSED CODE 9191 Macro Keys - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, REMREM [text] | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Used to include a remark or comment text. Remark lines are ignored when compiled and consume no memory. ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, RETURNRETURN | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Returns to (loads) the previous macro file which had used a GOSUBMF command to call in the current macro file. If RETURN is encountered and no GOSUBMF is in effect, no action is taken and execution continues with the following macro line. ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, RUNMACRORUNMACRO key | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Specifies an additional macro key to be executed when the current macro key terminates. Multiple key's can be given by preceding their occurrence(s) with a "/". ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, SELECTSELECT mask [text][/d][/n] | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Displays a menu of files found in mask. A selected filename can then be accessed in following macro lines using the %SN and %SE variables. The count of files found with the mask can be accessed with the %SC variable. If no files qualify with the mask, no menu is displayed and execution continues with the following macro line. The %SN and %SE variables will then return a null string. If needed, this condition can be tested for using the %SC variable in an IF command, after the SELECT command. If the menu is aborted with the Esc key or mouse right button, the macro key is terminated. Any text following the mask will be displayed as header text above the menu of qualifying filenames. If the /D switch is specified, subdirectory names are displayed instead of filenames. If the /N switch is specified, a "[NewFile]" selection is also included. If "[NewFile]" is selected, the %SN and %SE variables will return a null (empty) string. If you then run a program only using one of these variables as its parameters, a lot of programs will then assume a new file since it just received nothing on its command line. If you wish to test whether "[NewFile]" has been 9292 Macro Keys - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- selected before running a program, you could use the IF command as follows: "IF [%SN]=[] THEN". The square brackets are necessary around both operands so that the IF command is assured of having a discernable 1st operand. (Any quoting character would serve for this test as long as its use is the same for both operands.) If the macro key has done nothing to force the screen to be cleared (no ECHO commands or programs run), the menu of filenames will overlay dCOM's utility screen in bold colors. If the screen had been cleared by a preceding command, the menu will display using the current CGA colors dCOM is configured for (if you are using the EGA palette, you will have to temporarily disable it to see what the CGA colors are). This command was mainly intended for use in the menuing mode (/M or /MP command line switches) since no opportunity would normally be given for the user to select a file before invoking a macro key. But this in no way implies that its use is limited to the menuing mode. Example: [F1] RUN MS-WORD ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES C: ;;SET DRIVE C AS DEFAULT CD \WORD ;;CHANGE DIR'S TO \WORD SELECTSELECT *.doc Pick File/N ;;PICK A FILE TO EDIT WORD %SE%SE ;;RUN MS-WORD WITH THE FILE CD \ ;;CHANGE DIR'S BACK TO ROOT CDDO ;;RETURN TO ORIG DRIVE & DIR ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, SETSET var=text | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Sets an environment or temporary variable. A temporary variable is set using the syntax: "SET %0=text". A temporary variable can be set to itself plus additional text by using: "SET %0=%0 text". An environment variable can be set to itself plus additional text by using: "SET PATH=%PATH%;c:\test". This command behaves identically with its MS-DOS counterpart except that it doesn't "puke" when the environment space is full. ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, >>command | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Forces the command to be passed to a second copy of COMMAND.COM. Precede macro lines with a ">" if you need piping or if a desired program's name happens to coincide with the same name as one of the macro commands. 9393 Macro Keys - Variable Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Macro Key Variable ReferenceMacro Key Variable Reference All macro commands that accept text as an argument (except labels) recognize the use of macro variables and expand them into a special meaning. Use of the variables is not case sensitive (meaning you can type them in either lower or upper case). Using these variables is the heart of building macros that react to what file is currently selected, tagged files, etc.... If you invoke a macro key and the currently selected file is named "MYLIFE.DOC", consider the following example of how the %FN and %FE variables would expand: Macro Line Becomes ,------------, ,-----------------, | word %fn %fn |----» | word MYLIFEMYLIFE | `------------' `-----------------' ,------------, ,-----------------, | wp %fe %fe |----» | wp MYLIFE.DOCMYLIFE.DOC | `------------' `-----------------' The following section describes each macro variable in detail. ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, %0%0 - %9%9 | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Are used to access a temporary variable. Temporary variables are automatically deleted after the last macro key terminates. They can be used to hold keyboard responses, working values or environment variables, pass parameters between macro keys, etc.... Temporary variables use the environment for storage. If you use them frequently or get a "Environment Space Full" error in a macro line that uses one, you should start dCOM with a bigger environment using the /E command line switch (i.e. /E300). Refer to Command Line Switches for more information. 9494 Macro Keys - Variable Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, %FN%FN | | %FE%FE | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Expands into the currently selected filename or the currently selected filename and its extension (respectively). These variables cannot be used in a macro key designed to be used in the menu mode (/M or /MP command line switches) without producing an error since there is no way to select a file. Using these variables in a macro command lets you build your own point-n-shoot macro commands. ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, %TN%TN | | %TE%TE | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Expands into the current iteration of a LOOP's filename or filename and extension (respectively). These variables cannot be used in a macro key designed to be used in the menu mode (/M or /MP command line switches) without producing an error since there is no way to tag files. Using these variables in a LOOP block lets you build macro keys to handle multiple tagged files. ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, %DN%DN | | %DE%DE | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Expands into the current iteration of a DO block's filename or filename and extension (respectively). Using these variables in a DO block lets you build macro keys to handle multiple files that have something in common (i.e. .BAK files). ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, %SN%SN | | %SE%SE | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Expands into the filename or filename and its extension (respectively) that was picked with the last SELECT command. ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, %SC%SC | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Returns the count of files found with the last SELECT command. 9595 Macro Keys - Variable Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, %TC%TC | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Returns the count of files currently tagged. ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, %EL%EL | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Returns the last error level returned by the last program executed. ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, %DD%DD | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Returns the current default drive (i.e. "C:"). ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, %CD%CD | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Returns the current directory (i.e. "\word\", or "\"). The text returned will always have a trailing backslash. ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, %OD%OD | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Returns the original drive which was the default when the macro key was first invoked. ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, %OS%OS | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Returns the original subdirectory which was the current directory when the macro key was first invoked. The text returned will always have a trailing backslash making it suitable for use in combinations with other variables (i.e. %OD%OS%FE would produce the full pathspec to the originally selected file). 9696 Macro Keys - Variable Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, %KB%KB | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Returns a keyboard character if one is waiting in the keyboard buffer. If no keyboard character is waiting, a value of %(255) is returned. If the keyboard character waiting is an ASCII 0 (used as a escape character when some extended keys like the function keys are pressed), it will be translated to a %(254). This variable must be used in connection with the SET command since it is impossible to call it again and get the same character. Example: [F1] WAIT FOR KEYPRESS ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES :L1 ;;JUMP POINT IF NO KEY SET %1=%KB%KB ;;%1=POSSIBLE KEYBOARD CHAR IF %1=%(255) GOTO L1 ;;NO KEYBOARD CHARACTER YET ECHO Key pressed was: %1 ;;DISPLAY THE KEY PRESSED ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, %TI%TI | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Returns the current system time in the format: HH:MM:SS. ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, %DT%DT | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Returns the current system date in the format: YY-MM-DD. ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, %(###)%(###) | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Generates an untypeable ASCII character. This could be handy for sending printer codes, etc... There is no requirement to provide three digits if only one or two are needed. Examples: [F1] WAIT FOR KEYPRESS ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES :L1 ;;JUMP POINT IF NO KEY SET %1=%KB ;;%1=POSSIBLE KEYBOARD CHAR IF %1=%(255)%(255) GOTO L1 ;;NO KEYBOARD CHARACTER YET ECHO Key pressed was: %1 ;;DISPLAY THE KEY PRESSED [F1] SET COMPRESSED ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES PRINTSTR %(15)%(15) ;;SEND COMPRESSED CODE 9797 Macro Keys - Variable Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, %var%%var% | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Returns the current contents of an environment variable. This could be handy if you want to temporarily change the contents of an environment variable, and then change it back, or expand the current contents of one without having to worry about what it is already set to. You can also use the IF command to test on the value of an environment variable. Example: [F1] REVISE PATH ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES SET %9=%PATH%%PATH% ;;SAVE CURRENT PATH IN %9 SET PATH=%PATH%%PATH%;C:\WORD ;;REVISE IT TO INCLUDE C:\WORD WORD ;;RUN MS-WORD FROM PATH SET PATH=%9 ;;RESTORE PATH TO ORIG CONTENTS 9898 Macro Keys - Examples ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Macro Key ExamplesMacro Key Examples The following examples are provided to help illustrate dCOM's macro key capabilities and not to in any way imply an endorsement or advocate the use of one brand of software over another. When considering these examples, a certain amount of interpretation, adjustment, and/or substitution may be required to suit your own situations. Each of the macro examples uses the F1 key for its title line definition. If you implement any of these examples, you will probably need to change F1 to a key that hasn't already been defined. Also, every macro line has been commented with an explanation of what the line does. If you use these examples as a basis to build some of your macro keys, typing in the comments is purely optional. Changing to a Frequently Used DirectoryChanging to a Frequently Used Directory ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, [F1] CD C:\DOCS ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES | | CDD C:\DOCS ;;CHANGE DRIVE & DIRS | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' This example changes drives and subdirectories to C:\DOCS. Even something as simple as this can prove to be quite a time saver if you have a reason to frequently visit particular subdirectories. Another variation along the same lines would be to use a macro key to just log a new drive. This would be done by replacing "CDD C:\DOCS" with something like "A:". Running a ProgramRunning a Program ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, [F1] WORDSTAR 5 ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES | | CDD C:\WS5 ;;CHANGE DRIVE & DIRS | | WS ;;RUN WORDSTAR | | CD C:\ ;;CHANGE C: BACK TO ROOT DIR | | CDDO ;;RETURN TO ORIG DRIVE & DIR | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' This example just runs Wordstar, but it typifies the basic "shell" of how a macro would look that runs programs. Note that we took the extra precaution of changing drives and directories with the "CDD" macro command. Where if all we did was a "CD \WS5", the macro wouldn't work properly if it wasn't executed from drive C: (or whatever drive Wordstar is located on). 9999 Macro Keys - Examples ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Running a Program That Uses TSR'sRunning a Program That Uses TSR's ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, [F1] WORDSTAR 5/r ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES | | CDD C:\WS5 ;;CHANGE DRIVE & DIRS | | WF ;;LOAD WORD FINDER (A TSR) | | WS ;;RUN WORDSTAR | | CD C:\ ;;CHANGE C: BACK TO ROOT DIR | | CDDO ;;RETURN TO ORIG DRIVE & DIR | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' This example is a spin-off of the one above that runs Wordstar. The differences are that the macro is configured to remove TSR's when it terminates (set using the /R switch on the title line) and also loads Word Finder before running Wordstar. Word Finder is a Thesaurus type TSR program which is useful when used in conjunction with Wordstar, but is normally of little use after you are done working in Wordstar. So why tie up your precious conventional memory with it? Running a Program Using Selected FileRunning a Program Using Selected File ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, [F1] MS-WORD ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES | | CDD C:\MSWORD ;;CHANGE DRIVE & DIRS | | WORD %OD%OS%FE ;;RUN WORD WITH SEL'D FILE | | CD C:\ ;;CHANGE C: BACK TO ROOT DIR | | CDDO ;;RETURN TO ORIG DRIVE & DIR | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' This example runs MS-Word, passing to it the full pathspec of what was currently selected when the macro key was invoked. %OD expands into the original drive that was active when the macro key was pressed (i.e. "C:"). %OS expands into the original subdirectory that was active when the macro key was pressed (i.e. "\DOCS\"). And %FE expands into the currently selected filename with its extension. An alternate way to approach this would be to not change drives or directories before running MS-WORD, but instead stay in the current drive and directory and have MS-WORD run having been found in the PATH. In this event, you would not have to pass the full path (%OD%OS), but could get by with just using "WORD %FE". However, running a program from the PATH may require that the program have the intelligence to know where to find the rest of its data or overlay files. In this case, MS-Word is. But others may not be. 100100 Macro Keys - Examples ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Run a Program, Selecting a File First (I)Run a Program, Selecting a File First (I) ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, [F1] MS-WORD ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES | | SELECT C:\DOCS\*.DOC PICK FILE/n ;;PROMPT FOR FILE TO USE | | CDD C:\MSWORD ;;CHANGE DRIVE & DIRS | | WORD C:\DOCS\%SE ;;RUN WORD WITH FILE PICKED | | CD C:\ ;;CHANGE C: BACK TO ROOT DIR | | CDDO ;;RETURN TO ORIG DRIVE & DIR | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' This example displays a window with a menu of all files in C:\DOCS that have a .DOC extension. After one is selected, MS-Word is then run and passed the full pathspec of the filename picked. %SE expands into the filename and extension of the file selected using the macro SELECT command. Run a Program, Selecting a File First (II)Run a Program, Selecting a File First (II) ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, [F1] HARVARD ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES | | SELECT C:\HARVARD\*.CHT SEL FIL/n ;;PROMPT FOR FILE TO USE | | CDD C:\HARVARD ;;CHANGE DRIVE & DIRS | | HG %SE ;;RUN HARVARD W/FILE PICKED | | CD C:\ ;;CHANGE C: BACK TO ROOT DIR | | CDDO ;;RETURN TO ORIG DRIVE & DIR | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' This example prompts for the user to select a Harvard Graphics chart file and then runs Harvard passing it the filename of the chart picked. We included this example even though its very similar to the previous example - because Harvard is particularly infamous for its awkward file retrieval technique. This example is a little different from the preceding one though in that it selects files from the same directory that it will run the program from. While it is true that we could have changed drives and directories into C:\HARVARD before using the SELECT commands, spelling out the entire path for the SELECT command without changing directories first lets you escape the macro key and not find yourself sitting in the C:\HARVARD directory. Also note that due to lack of room (on paper), the text that the SELECT command displays for the header "SEL FIL" is extremely abbreviated and should probably be expanded to something like "Select a Chart". 101101 Macro Keys - Examples ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Run a Program, Selecting a Dir & FileRun a Program, Selecting a Dir & File ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, [F1] MS-WORD ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES | | SELECT C:\DOC\*.* PICK A DIR/d ;;PROMPT FOR DIR TO USE | | SET %1=%SE ;;%1=SELECTED DIR | | SELECT C:\DOC\%1\*.DOC SEL FILE/n ;;PROMPT FOR FILE TO USE | | CDD C:\MSWORD ;;CHANGE DRIVE & DIRS | | WORD C:\DOC\%1\%SE ;;RUN WORD WITH THE FILE | | CD C:\ ;;CHANGE C: BACK TO ROOT DIR | | CDDO ;;RETURN TO ORIG DRIVE & DIR | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' This example displays a menu of existing directories (that you have categorized your document files by) and prompts for which directory to use. It then displays a menu of all files in that directory having a .DOC extension and prompts for which one to use. It then runs MS-Word asking it to edit the selected file. Dropping to DosDropping to Dos ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, [F1] DROP TO DOS ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES | | ECHO Type 'EXIT' to Return ;;ECHO HOW TO GET BACK | | C:\COMMAND ;;RUN A COPY OF COMMAND.COM | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' This example displays a message indicating how to return to dCOM and then runs another copy of COMMAND.COM. This would then produce the familiar Dos prompt (i.e. "C>"). Setting an Epson Printer to CompressedSetting an Epson Printer to Compressed ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, [F1] COMPRESSED PITCH ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES | | PRINTSTR %(15) ;;SEND COMPRESS CODE TO PRN | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' This example sets an Epson compatible printer into compressed (16 CPI) pitch. 102102 Macro Keys - Examples ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Setting an Epson Printer to Pica PitchSetting an Epson Printer to Pica Pitch ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, [F1] PICA PITCH ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES | | PRINTSTR %(18) ;;SEND 10 CPI CODE TO PRN | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' This example sets an Epson compatible printer to Pica (10 CPI) pitch. This example, along with the one above, suggests how an entire macro file could be used to set various printer pitches or modes. Submenuing a Macro KeySubmenuing a Macro Key ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, [F1] WORD PROCESSORS ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES | | :L1 ;;LABEL FOR JUMP IF BAD CMD | | CLS ;;CLEAR THE SCREEN | | ECHO Word Processing ;;ECHO MENU TEXT | | ECHO --------------- ;;ECHO MENU TEXT | | ECHO M - MS-Word ;;ECHO MENU TEXT | | ECHO W - Wordstar ;;ECHO MENU TEXT | | ECHO ;;ECHO BLANK LINE | | GET %1 Selection: ;;GET SELECTION IN %1 | | IF %1=M THEN ;;IF SEL = MS-WORD | | CDD C:\MSWORD ;; CHANGE DRIVE & DIRS | | WORD ;; RUN MS-WORD | | GOTO EXIT ;; AND EXIT THE MACRO | | ENDIF ;;END OF IF BLOCK | | IF %1=W THEN ;;IF SEL = WORDSTAR | | CDD C:\WS5 ;; CHANGE DRIVE & DIRS | | WS ;; RUN WORDSTAR | | GOTO EXIT ;; AND EXIT THE MACRO | | ENDIF ;;END OF IF BLOCK | | BEEP ;;BEEP FOR BAD SELECTION | | GOTO L1 ;;AND REDISPLAY MENU | | :EXIT ;;LABEL FOR EXIT JUMP | | CD C:\ ;;CHG C: BACK TO ROOT DIR | | CDDO ;;RETURN TO ORIG DRV & DIR | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' This example demonstrates a rudimentary technique of getting a macro key to perform the job of two macro keys. It displays a small menu and runs either MS-Word or Wordstar depending on the response entered. In general though, it is best not to have your primary macro file loaded with text because it could accumulate into having a minor effect on free memory (unless you have EMS). A better solution is to build another macro file having these options as separate keys. You could call the macro file from a macro key using a GOSUBMF command, or the utility mode's "/ - Gosub Macro File" keyboard command. 103103 Macro Keys - Examples ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Archiving Tagged FilesArchiving Tagged Files ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, [F1] ZIP TAGGED FILES/w ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES | | IF %TC=0 THEN ;;IF NO FILES TAGGED | | ECHO Macro Requires Tagged Files ;; ECHO FILES MUST BE TAGGED | | BEEP ;; BEEP | | EXIT ;; AND TERMINATE MACRO KEY | | ENDIF ;;END OF IF BLOCK | | GET %1 Enter Destination File: ;;GET DEST FILE IN %1 | | :L1 ;;LABEL FOR TAGGED LOOP | | ECHO Adding %TE to %1 ;; DISPLAY CURRENT TAG FILE | | PKZIP -EX %1 %TE >NUL ;; ADD TAG FILE TO ZIP FILE | | LOOP L1 ;;LOOP THROUGH TAGGED FILES | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' This example would add all tagged files to a Zip filename entered. It first tests on whether there are currently any files tagged. If not, it displays a message indicating that the macro needs tagged files and then exits. If there are tagged files, the IF block is skipped and the macro asks for a destination Zip filename. After that, it cycles through a simple loop that processes each tagged file, adding it to the Zip filename entered in %1. Converting All .ARC Files to .ZIPConverting All .ARC Files to .ZIP ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, [F1] ARC->ZIP (ALL)/w ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES | | MD C:\Z$ ;;MAKE A TEMP DIRECTORY | | DO *.ARC ;;DO BLOCK FOR .ARC FILES | | ECHO Extracting: %DE; ;; DISPLAY FILE BEING UNARCD | | PKUNPAK %DE C:\Z$ >NUL ;; UNARC THE FILE | | DEL %DE ;; DELETE THE .ARC FILE | | CPOSN ,27 ;; POSITION CURSOR TO COL 27 | | ECHO Zipping: %DN.ZIP; ;; DISPLAY FILE BEING ZIPPED | | PKZIP -m %DN.ZIP C:\Z$\*.* >NUL ;; ZIP UP THE UNARCED FILES | | ECHO ;; DROP A LINE | | ENDDO ;;END OF DO BLOCK | | RD C:\Z$ ;;REMOVE THE TEMP DIRECTORY | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' This example converts all files in the current directory from .ARC format to the more efficient .ZIP format. 104104 Macro Keys - Examples ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Converting Tagged .ARC Files to .ZIPConverting Tagged .ARC Files to .ZIP ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, [F1] ARC->ZIP (TAGGED)/w ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES | | IF %TC=0 THEN ;;IF NO FILES TAGGED | | ECHO Macro Requires Tagged Files ;; ECHO FILES MUST BE TAGGED | | BEEP ;; BEEP | | EXIT ;; AND TERMINATE MACRO KEY | | ENDIF ;;END OF IF BLOCK | | MD C:\Z$ ;;MAKE A TEMP DIRECTORY | | :L1 ;;LABEL FOR TAGGED LOOP | | IF NOT EXIST %TN.ARC THEN ;; IF FILE IS NOT .ARC | | ECHO %TE Not an ARC File ;; INDICATE SO | | BEEP ;; BEEP | | GOTO QUIT ;; AND JUMP TO QUIT | | ENDIF ;; END OF IF BLOCK | | ECHO Extracting: %TE; ;; DISPLAY FILE BEING UNARCD | | PKUNPAK %TE C:\Z$ >NUL ;; UNARC THE FILE | | DEL %TE ;; DELETE THE .ARC FILE | | CPOSN ,27 ;; POSITION CURSOR TO COL 27 | | ECHO Zipping: %TN.ZIP; ;; DISPLAY FILE BEING ZIPPED | | PKZIP -m %TN.ZIP C:\Z$\*.* >NUL ;; ZIP UP THE UNARCED FILES | | ECHO ;; DROP A LINE | | LOOP L1 ;;LOOP BACK IF ANOTHER TAG | | :QUIT ;;LABEL FOR EXIT JUMP | | RD C:\Z$ ;;REMOVE THE TEMP DIR | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' This example converts tagged .ARC files to the more efficient .ZIP format. This is probably as sophisticated a macro as the average user will get into. Most of its operation is self-explanatory if you look at it long enough. Compiling a Source FileCompiling a Source File ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, [F1] COMPILE SELECTED/w ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES | | SET %1=%FN ;;%1=SEL FILENAME | | :L1 ;;LABEL FOR TAGGED LOOP | | IF %TC>0 SET %1=%TN ;; IF TAGGED %1=TAG FILENAME | | CLS ;; CLEAR THE SCREEN | | ECHO Compiling: %1 ;; DISPLAY FILE COMPILING | | MASM %1; ;; COMPILE THE FILE | | IF %EL=>1 GOTO ERROR ;; IF AN ERROR GOTO ERROR | | LINK %1; ;; LINK THE FILE | | IF %EL=>1 GOTO ERROR ;; IF AN ERROR GOTO ERROR | | DEL %1.OBJ ;; DELETE THE .OBJ FILE | | IF %TC>0 LOOP L1 ;;IF TAGGED FILES LOOP BACK | | EXIT ;;TERMINATE THE MACRO KEY | | :ERROR ;;LABEL FOR ERROR HANDLING | | BEEP ;;BEEP FOR ERRORS | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' This example compiles and links either tagged files or the selected file. Logic would dictate though that if one was going to compile 105105 Macro Keys - Examples ---------------------------------------------------------------------- more than one file, he would probably not want to be linking every source file compiled but more likely just compiling the tagged files to object modules and then link them as another step following, or in another macro key. 106106 dCOM - Macro Keys - Technical Tricks ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Macro Key Technical TricksMacro Key Technical Tricks This section is provided to further augment the technically inclined. It discusses some tricks that may be well beyond average use. If while browsing through this section some of the material leaves you somewhat stymied, don't lose any sleep over it. Collect Tagged Filenames into a TvarCollect Tagged Filenames into a Tvar ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, [F1] ZIP TAGGED FILES/w ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES | | IF %TC=0 THEN ;;IF NO FILES ARE TAGGED | | ECHO Tag Files Desired First ;; INDICATE SO | | BEEP ;; BEEP | | EXIT ;; AND EXIT THE MACRO KEY | | ENDIF ;;END OF IF BLOCK | | GET %1 Enter Zip Filename: ;;GET DEST FILENAME IN %1 | | :L1 :L1 ;;LABEL FOR LOOP | | SET %2=%2 %TESET %2=%2 %TE ;; %2=ITSELF + NEXT TAG FILE | | LOOP L1 LOOP L1 ;;LOOP THROUGH TAGGED FILES | | ECHO Zipping %2 to %1 ;;RUN WORD WITH THE FILE | | PKZIP -EX %1%2 >NUL ;;ARCHIVE FILES TO %1 | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Occasionally, it is useful to collect the tagged filenames into one temporary variable (i.e. %0 - %9) so that they can be processed simultaneously rather than re-executing a command several times with a different filename in a loop. In the example above, %2 is added with itself plus the next tagged filename (%TE) until all tagged filenames have been added to %2 by the loop. There is a limitation though. MS- DOS only provides for a maximum command line length of 128 bytes (in the PSP). While the %2 variable can grow as big as your environment space allows, if the length of the command line produced by the combination of " -EX %1%2" (the "> nul" is redirection and is transparent to the command line) when attempting to run PKZIP exceeds 128 characters, the macro will produce a command line overflow error. Also, in the example above, a space is used as the delimiter between %2 and %TE, which would mean the resulting text for %2 would begin with a leading space; hence, no space is needed in the PKZIP line between %1 and %2. Executing Other than .EXE, .COM or .BATExecuting Other than .EXE, .COM or .BAT While it is not very frequent, it is possible to rename a program so that it can only be executed by a macro key. This is because macro lines containing commands not recognized as either macro commands or MS-DOS internal commands, are considered programs and are run directly by dCOM. An alternative extension from the normal .BAT, .COM, or .EXE may be specified and if a file of that extension is found (in the current directory or in the PATH), it will be run. For instance, if you wanted to restrict people from using the DOS format command unless they run it through a particular macro key, you could rename 107107 dCOM - Macro Keys - Technical Tricks ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FORMAT.EXE to something like FORMAT.PRG (which would not be considered executable by any other shell since it now does not end with a .COM, .EXE, or .BAT extension) and then run it from a macro key by spelling out its full name (e.g. FORMAT.PRG A:/4). Temporarily Changing COMSPECTemporarily Changing COMSPEC ,---------------------------------------------------------------------, [F1] TELIX ;;TITLE LINE AND SWITCHES | | CDD C:\TELIX ;;CHANGE DRIVE & DIRS | | SET %9=%COMSPEC% SET %9=%COMSPEC% ;;%9=ORIGINAL COMSPEC | | SET COMSPEC=C:\DCOM\DCOM.COM SET COMSPEC=C:\DCOM\DCOM.COM ;;COMSPEC=DCOM | | TELIX ;;RUN TELIX | | SET COMSPEC=%9 SET COMSPEC=%9 ;;COMSPEC=ORIGINAL VALUE | | CD C:\ ;;CHANGE C: BACK TO ROOT DIR | | CDDO ;;RETURN TO ORIG DRIVE & DIR | | `---------------------------------------------------------------------' Occasionally, it may be desirable to temporarily change the contents of an environment variable such as COMSPEC or PATH. This can be done by using one of the percent variables to hold the original contents before modifying the particular environment variable. A little known fact concerning the COMSPEC variable is that a lot of programs (besides MS-DOS) use it to load a second copy of COMMAND.COM to shell out and run another program. Sometimes you can temporarily change COMSPEC to point to your favorite shell rather than COMMAND.COM so that when the program thinks its shelling out to DOS, its actually running another copy of your favorite shell. In this example, we used %9 to temporarily hold the contents of the COMSPEC variable. Then, we changed COMSPEC to point to dCOM so that when the Alt-J (Jump to DOS) command of Telix is invoked, instead of running COMMAND.COM and giving you the DOS prompt, it runs a second copy of dCOM. After Telix is exited, the COMSPEC variable is restored to its original contents held in %9. Append to an Environment VariableAppend to an Environment Variable You can easily append to the current contents of an environment variable using the following technique: SET PATH=%PATH%;C:\UTILITYS In this example the PATH environment variable is set by accessing its existing contents (%PATH%) and adding it with ";C:\UTILITYS". 108108 Menuing ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MENUINGMENUING ====================================================================== dCOM can be configured to initially run in the macro key menu mode instead of the utility mode by giving it a /M or /MP command line switch when it is run (refer to Command Line Switches for more information). This menu mode takes a "straight-arrow" approach to menuing and just simply comprises of displaying a menu of the macro key titles and the title of the active macro file. While it is true that the presentation method used by the menu mode is as we said above "straight-arrow", and could be considered lacking if you like "bells and whistles" and flashing lights, you will find no other menuing program with the same degree of flexibility and sophistication when it actually comes time to cut the talk and get the job done. For instance, how many other menuers can, after the user selects a program to run, display a menu of files to select from and pass the selected file's name to the program being run? When the menu mode is displayed, selecting one of the macro keys to execute can be performed by pressing its appropriate function key, by selecting the macro key title desired and pressing Return, or by clicking the mouse left button on the title of the key desired. When using the cursor keys to select a macro key title, there initially is no clue that this capability exists so as to not clutter the screen. But as soon as a cursor key is pressed, a highlight bar will appear and can then be navigated to the appropriate macro title using more cursor keys. The beauty of using dCOM to do your menuing is that a system manager can install dCOM and set it up to do the menuing for a user, then when needed, the system manager can readily drop out of the menu mode to the utility mode (using the Esc key), perform necessary housekeeping or troubleshooting, and return to the menu mode (also using the Esc key). The user need not have to know anything about the utility mode. Basically, all there is to the menu mode is that you're telling dCOM to start up with just a menu of the macro key titles on the screen. When you select an option - you're running a macro key. Typically, these would be simple macro keys that primarily just run programs. But that doesn't have to stop you.... Building layered (multiple) menu's is performed by using the GOTOMF or GOSUBMF macro commands which force another macro file to load and become the active macro file (and its titles then displayed). The difference between GOTOMF and GOSUBMF is that GOSUBMF saves the current macro filename on a gosub stack, which can be returned to using the RETURN macro command, whereas GOTOMF simply designates a new active macro file. The gosub stack can hold approx. 9+ levels deep of gosub'd menus. 109109 Menuing ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Generally speaking, GOSUBMF would be the method of choice when building layered menu's. When GOSUBMF is used to call up a new macro file, you can either set up each macro key to automatically return to the previous menu by using a RETURN command on the end of each macro key, or build a separate macro key as the option to return to the previous menu (macro file). When a gosub'd menu is active and the Esc key is pressed, it serves to act as a RETURN command. If the root menu is active and the Esc key is pressed, the menu mode aborts and control drops to the utility mode (if /MP was specified, the access password must be entered first). When the menu mode is active, you cannot use macro keys that were written to use the %FN, %FE, %TN, %TE, and %TC macro variables. These variables expand into the currently selected file or tagged files and are only valid when the utility mode is active. 110110 Menuing - Security ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Menuing SecurityMenuing Security Full password protection can be implemented uniquely for each macro key by using the /P:password title line switch. Preventing the user from escaping the menu mode back to the utility mode can also be password protected by running dCOM with the /MP command line switch instead of /M. If you run dCOM with the /MP command line switch, the password required when the Esc key is pressed at the root menu is the one entered using dCOM's Alt-A - Access Password utility mode command. If no password has been entered using the utility mode's Alt-A command, the /MP command line switch can't prompt for a password and would act the same as just using /M. Complete security is achieved by a situation where only a very few select individuals know the password entered to the utility mode's Alt-A - Access Password, since knowing this system password allows you full access in and out of the menu mode and to any command or function in the utility mode. Divulging the passwords used on each particular macro key is of less significance and can issued to users on a "need- to-know" basis. Optimal security is provided by setting the hidden flags (the utility mode's Alt-H command) on the subdirectory holding dCOM and also setting the hidden flags on all macro files. And, by starting dCOM as the primary shell in CONFIG.SYS using its SHELL command (refer to Running dCOM as the Primary Shell for more information). Using the SHELL command in CONFIG.SYS eliminates any opportunity for the user to Ctrl-C abort the boot sequence (leaving the only way to get around it as booting off floppy disk). Setting the hidden flags on dCOM's subdirectory and the macro files in it makes it very hard for a user, should they manage to get out of the menu mode, to view the macro files and determine what passwords are being used. 111111 The Text Editor ---------------------------------------------------------------------- THE TEXT EDITORTHE TEXT EDITOR ====================================================================== Supplied with dCOM as an integral working part is a multi-window, multi-buffer, full-featured, high performance text editor. With the editor, you can have as many as four files, using four configurable windows, on the screen at the same time. You can keep files resident in a buffer, exit the editor, go to another directory, and load another file (you can load directly from within the editor, too, if you know the path of the file). You can easily copy or move text blocks between windows, and you can search and replace interactively. The editor can be configured to save files with or without a Ctrl-Z as the end-of-file (EOF). Also, the editor has an enhanced video mode which displays where your tabs, carriage returns, and EOF are without being obtrusive. Do not confuse a text editor with a word processor. They are two different beasties. A text editor is good for editing batch files, ASCII data files, and source files. It can also function in a simplistic form as a down-n-dirty word processor. A word processor does such neat things as underlining, italics, margins, word-wrap, etc.... Nothing is closer to a programmer's heart than his/her text editor. Additionally, in the author's opinion, no other category of software is more personally subjective than that of word processors or text editors. However, the one cliche this author doesn't buy is "the best one is the one you know". This attitude is closed-minded, inhibits advancement, propagates stagnation, naivete, and ignorant bliss. 112112 Editor - General Use ---------------------------------------------------------------------- General UseGeneral Use There are two ways to invoke the editor: LOADLOAD dCOM's "E" command. Forces the editor to load the currently selected file in the next available buffer and assign that buffer to window 1. NO LOADNO LOAD dCOM's Alt-E command. Invokes the editor without loading a file. Editing resumes as it was last used. This is useful if you want to edit a new file or if you want to return to the editor after exiting with the Alt-Q command. There are also two ways to exit the editor: Alt-QAlt-Q Quits, leaving the editor resident and its contents intact. Normally this is done with intentions of returning to the editor relatively soon, possibly with dCOM's Alt-E command. Since the file buffers are not closed and the editor is resident, dCOM's free memory will be impacted accordingly (unless you are using LIM EMS). Alt-XAlt-X Exits, closing all file buffers and releases the space used by the editor (frees all memory used by the editor). NOTE: When used on floppy disk based computers, using the Alt-Q command to exit, keeping buffers intact, and the editor overlay resident can save time if you know you will be coming back to continue editing. If this technique is adopted, you should become familiar with using the F5 key to close buffers selectively in the event that you have several buffers open but only wish to keep one or two, etc.... On a hard disk, the editor loads files so fast (a 250,000 byte file loads in approx. 3.5 seconds on slow computers) that the additional memory required to keep a file resident probably will outweigh any advantage of not having to reload the file upon return to the editor. 113113 Editor - General Use ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Read ErrorsRead Errors When reading a file, the editor may produce two messages (other than "Read OK" and file access errors) concerning the format of the file read: "Ctrl-Z found before EOF""Ctrl-Z found before EOF" - Indicates that an ASCII 26 was found before the end-of-file indicated in the directory. As long as the file edited is a text file, this is ok and is merely an advisory message which will be corrected when you have the editor write the file back out. A common cause is with files transmitted over a modem. If you accidentally edited the wrong file, use Alt-X to exit. "Invalid CR-LF Sequences""Invalid CR-LF Sequences" - Indicates that the file has sole or reversed carriage-return/line-feed sequences. Every line of an ASCII text file should terminate with a CR-LF. After dCOM reads a file, it performs an exhaustive check to ensure they do. If there is an error, you will be given this message and prompted if you want the editor to fixup the buffer. If you press Esc, the editor will be aborted. If this condition is not fixed, the editor will probably crash if editing continues. Note: files produced by some word processors may also produce this error if they set the 8th bit to indicate soft carriage returns (e.g. WS files). In this case, do not tell the editor to fixup but immediately perform an Alt-A. Other causes of this error are if the file is not a text file (exit immediately) or if the file is a "record" of keystrokes - it may just contain carriage returns and no line-feeds which, is fixable. It might be noted that most other editors don't even bother checking for this possibility and will usually foul-up if editing continues. 114114 Editor - General Use ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Windows and BuffersWindows and Buffers One of the first things to understand about the editor is its use of windows and buffers. A window refers to a portion of the screen used to display and edit a buffer. The editor supports up to four different windows (which are controlled with function keys F1 through F4 respectively) and four different buffers. Generally, when you first invoke the editor, window 1 occupies the whole screen and windows 2, 3, and 4 are disabled. When a need exists to edit more than one buffer on the screen simultaneously, windows 2, 3, and 4 can then be activated. It is important to understand that buffers are assigned to windows, notnot windows to buffers. This means that the windows are always fixed, their physical locations never change on the screen (though their sizes can be changed to different proportions using the configuration menu). But the buffer that a particular window is using can be switched with another buffer rather quickly. Buffers are what actually hold the contents of a file which you edit through a window. The following shows the six different window options possible: ,-----------------, ,-----------------, ,-----------------, | | | | | | | | 1 | | 1 | 2 | | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-----------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | | | | | | | | `-----------------' `-----------------' `-----------------' ,-----------------, ,-----------------, ,-----------------, | | | | | | | | | 1 | 2 | | 1 | | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | |-----------------| |-----------------| |--------+--------| | | | | | | | | | 3 | | 3 | 4 | | 3 | 4 | | | | | | | | | `-----------------' `-----------------' `-----------------' When you invoke the editor asking it to load a file, it first checks to see if the file is already loaded in an open buffer. If not, it finds the next available buffer and loads it with that file. Next, it assigns the buffer holding that file to window 1 and gives window 1 the entire screen (the buffer number assigned to a window is displayed at the bottom of the screen in the status line). Since it is possible to have several windows displayed on the screen at the same time, we will frequently make a reference to the active window. The active window is the window currently being edited. 115115 Editor - General Use ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Almost all of the editor's commands only affect the active window (actually they impact the buffer assigned to the active window). If you lose track of which buffer is assigned to which window, the configuration menu displays the current assignments. Marked BlocksMarked Blocks A lot of the editor's commands are oriented around a marked block. Marking a block is similar to tagging files in dCOM. It is a means with which to set off certain lines of text for a subsequent command to use as its source. Marking a block of lines is done by placing the cursor on the first line of text, press the F8 key, move the cursor to the last line of text, press the F8 key again. When marking lines, the first line need not be before the last line. You can mark blocks by first pressing the F8 key on the last line and then move up to the first line. Some commands recognize a marked block as an alternative. For instance, the Alt-P command, which normally prints the contents of the active window, prints the marked block instead if one exists. Learning how to use marked blocks can be very instrumental in your use of the editor. Commands associated with marked blocks are: F8, F6, F9, Alt-C, Alt-M, and Alt-P. 116116 Editor - General Use ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copying/MovingCopying/Moving Copying or moving marked lines of text can be done in the same window or between different windows. The buffer containing the marked lines need not be showing in one of the windows currently open on the screen. Sometimes, especially when working with source code, it may be desirable to copy sections of code from one file to another file. This can be done rather easily in several different ways. First, you can have the editor load the 1st file, exit the editor using the Alt-Q command (to keep the file resident in buffer 1), and ask the editor to load the 2nd file (it will be loaded in buffer 2). At this point, the 2nd file is loaded in buffer 2 and showing in window 1, the 1st file is loaded in buffer 1 but not showing. Pressing the F2 key will open window 2 with the destination file showing in buffer 1. You can then switch between the opened windows using the F1 and F2 keys, mark the lines you're after with the F8 key, switch to the other window, and copy them using Alt-C. Another method would be to have the editor load the 1st file involved (in window 1), use the F2 key to open and switch to window 2, and then use Alt-E to manually load window 2 (and buffer 2) by typing the name of the 2nd file. You can then switch between the two opened windows using the F1 and F2 keys, etc.... NOTE: Opening window 2 facilitates working with files vertically. If working with files horizontally is more desirable, use window 3 (the F3 key) instead. If you use window 3 and the first method above, you will have to assign buffer 1 to window 3 (because it will be automatically assigned to window 2 when the second file is loaded). This would be done using the Alt- B command after opening window 3 (it will be blank) and specifying buffer 1 (which will then show). 117117 Editor - Screen Layout ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Screen LayoutScreen Layout ,---------------------------------------------------------------, | | | *1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | `---------------------------------------------------------------' *2 *3 *4 *5 *6 *7 *8/*9 *1*1 Is the window editing area. *2*2 Displays the last warning or advisory message. *3*3 Shows the current time held by your computer. *4*4 Shows the current state of Caps Lock and Num Lock. *5*5 Shows the filename loaded in the buffer assigned to the active window (the window currently being edited). Even though just the filename is shown, the editor does keep the full path (which can be viewed using Alt-E or Alt-F). *6*6 Shows the buffer number assigned to the active window. *7*7 Shows the current column position of the active window. *8*8 Shows the current line being edited in the active window. *9*9 Shows the total number of lines currently in the active window's buffer. 118118 Editor - Quick Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Text Editor Quick ReferenceText Editor Quick Reference Alt-AAlt-A - ASCII Convert Alt-OAlt-O - One Window Alt-BAlt-B - Buffer Change Alt-PAlt-P - Print Window or Block Alt-CAlt-C - Copy Marked Block Alt-QAlt-Q - Quit and Keep Buffers Alt-DAlt-D - Delete Line Alt-R Alt-R - Replace, Search and Alt-EAlt-E - Edit New File Alt-S Alt-S - Search Alt-FAlt-F - Filename Change Alt-TAlt-T - ASCII Character Table Alt-GAlt-G - Goto Line or Mark Alt-U Alt-U - Undo Deleted Line Alt-HAlt-H - Help Menu Alt-V Alt-V - Global Rplc View Mode Alt-IAlt-I - Insert Line Alt-W Alt-W - Write (Save) File Alt-KAlt-K - Config/Status Menu Alt-X Alt-X - Exit and Close Alt-LAlt-L - PC Line Draw Mode Alt-Z Alt-Z - Zoom on Window Alt-MAlt-M - Move Marked Block F0F0 - Generate Alt command on Z100 computers F1F1 - Change Active Window to Window 1 F2F2 - Change Active Window to Window 2 F3F3 - Change Active Window to Window 3 F4F4 - Change Active Window to Window 4 F5F5 - Close Active Window and its Buffer F6F6 - Goto Line or Marked Block F7F7 - Help Menu (same as Alt-H) F8F8 - Mark Block: Begin > End > Clear F9F9 - Delete Marked Block F10F10 - Repeat Search IBM___ Z100____ HOME ^S HOME ^S Start of Line END ^N END ^N End of Line PgUp F11 PgUp F11 Window up one page PgDn F12 PgDn F12 Window down one page ^X ^X ^X ^X Delete to End of Line ^LEFT ^B ^LEFT ^B Back one Word ^RIGHT ^F ^RIGHT ^F Forward one Word ^HOME sF11 ^HOME sF11 Top of File ^END ^END End of File ^PgUp ^PgUp Window up one line ^PgDn ^PgDn Window down one line ^Esc ^Esc Generate Escape Character 119119 Editor - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Command ReferenceCommand Reference Alt-A - ASCII ConvertAlt-A - ASCII Convert Masks (strips) the eighth bit of each character in the buffer of the active window. This is useful to convert files produced under some word processors that use the eighth bit to indicate soft spaces, carriage returns, etc.... Files of this nature usually load with an Invalid CR-LF Sequences message. If you intend to use Alt-A, do notdo not tell the editor to fixup the Invalid CR-LF's. Alt-B - Buffer ChangeAlt-B - Buffer Change Changes the buffer assigned to the active window. A popular technique is to load several buffers with different files and then use this command to switch between them. Alt-C - Copy BlockAlt-C - Copy Block Copies the marked lines (block) to the current cursor position, inserting them before the line actually cursored. Lines are marked with the F8 key. Alt-D - Delete LineAlt-D - Delete Line Deletes the currently cursored line. Deleted lines go into a 2k LIFO (last in, first out) delete stack. You can retrieve deleted lines with the Alt-U command. Alt-E - Edit New FileAlt-E - Edit New File Loads a new file into the buffer assigned to the active window. If the buffer being loaded has changes not saved, you will be warned first. Alt-F - Filename ChangeAlt-F - Filename Change Changes the filename of the buffer assigned to the active window. A common use is to create a new file by having the editor load an existing file with similar contents to what you're after, edit it, then rename it with this command and save it with the new name. Alt-G - Goto LineAlt-G - Goto Line (F6) Jumps to a specified line number. If there is a marked block and only the return key is pressed (nothing entered), the editor will jump to the first line of the marked block. This is useful when you are working with a certain section of text but want to quickly check something somewhere else. You can simply pop the F8 (mark block) a couple times to mark the your current line, go check the other part of your file, and then press F6 (this command) and the return key to come back. Alt-H - Help ScreenAlt-H - Help Screen (F7) Displays a condensed help screen. Alt-I - Insert LineAlt-I - Insert Line Inserts a new line at the current cursor position, bumping the current line down. Alt-K - Configuration/StatusAlt-K - Configuration/Status Displays the editor's current configuration, buffer assignments/usage, and memory status. Refer to Editor - Configuration Menu for more information. 120120 Editor - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Alt-L - PC Line DrawAlt-L - PC Line Draw Toggles the editor's line drawing mode. Pressing once uses single lines, pressing twice uses double lines, and pressing again disables. When engaged, any use of the cursor motion keys produces the appropriate line graphics character. To move without drawing, hold the shift key down while using a cursor key (this can be simulated on the Z100 by using the number keys on the keypad). It is not necessary to ensure that there are enough lines or that the lines contain enough spaces horizontally before drawing. When the line draw mode is active, the editor inserts spaces to extend a line if you move up or down to a line that isn't as long as where you were. Alt-M - Move BlockAlt-M - Move Block Moves the marked lines (block) to the current cursor position, inserting them before the line actually cursored. Lines are marked with the F8 key. Alt-O - One WindowAlt-O - One Window If you had split the screen into more than one window (using F2, F3, or F4), this command will close windows 2, 3, and 4 so that window 1 occupies the whole screen (the buffers assigned to windows 2, 3, and 4 remain intact). Alt-P - PrintAlt-P - Print If there is a marked block in any one of the four buffers, the marked lines will be printed. Otherwise, the entire contents of the buffer assigned to the active window are printed. If the print spooler is active, this command dumps straight to the spooler's buffer. Alt-Q - Quit and Keep BuffersAlt-Q - Quit and Keep Buffers Exits the editor, keeping the editor's buffers and the editor's overlay resident in memory. Alt-R - Search and ReplaceAlt-R - Search and Replace When invoked, this command will prompt you for the search text. The case of the search text is insignificant as the editor searches case-insensitive. Next you will be asked for the replace text. The case entered for the replace text is significant because what is entered will be used to replace with. When these prompts are issued, they will contain the previously used text. If the previous text is similar to what you are after, then just type over it to change it; otherwise, use Ctrl-X to clear it and start fresh. If the active window has a marked block, you will be prompted whether you want the confine the scope to the marked block. This could be handy if you want to use the global option (described next), but want to be sure it only acts on certain lines. After the prompts have been answered, the editor commences to search for the first occurrence. If found, it is displayed and highlighted and you will be given a prompt for "Local, Global, Skip". If you respond with Local, the editor will replace the occurrence and present the prompt again for another occurrence. If you respond with Global, 121121 Editor - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- the editor will replace that occurrence and any further occurrences, without any further prompting, until the original start point is encountered (the Esc key aborts). (Alt-V - Global Replace View Mode controls whether the screen is updated during global replaces.) If you respond with Skip, the editor will leave the occurrence intact and continue searching. Alt-S - SearchAlt-S - Search When invoked, this command prompts you for the search text. The case of the search text is insignificant as the editor searches case-insensitive. When the prompt is issued, it will contain the previously used text. If the previous text is similar to what you are after, then just type over it to change it; otherwise, use Ctrl-X to clear it and start fresh. After the search text is entered, the command will search for the next occurrence. If found, the active window is updated and the cursor points to the first character of the found text. To repeat the search for the same text, use the F10 key. Alt-T - ASCII Character TableAlt-T - ASCII Character Table When invoked, this command displays a window of the ASCII character set. Use the left and right cursor keys to scroll it from start to end, and the Esc key to exit. If you want to generate one of the characters that can't be typed, make a note of the character's decimal value, exit the table, hold down the Alt key, type the decimal value on the keypad, and then release the Alt key. Alt-U - Undo Deleted LineAlt-U - Undo Deleted Line Inserts the last deleted line of text from the delete stack at the current cursor position. The editor maintains a 2k delete stack which holds text lines deleted using Alt-D. When a line is deleted which will exceed the 2k size of the delete stack, the editor discards the oldest line to make room for the newly deleted line. This ensures that you will always be able to retrieve the last 2k of deleted lines. Alt-V - Global Replace View ModeAlt-V - Global Replace View Mode Toggles whether the Global mode of Alt-R - Search and Replace updates the screen while it is replacing text. Turning this mode off results in a 25% increase in speed. Having it on may provide some comfort in knowing what has been replaced. Changes to this mode are automatically saved in the configuration file. Alt-W - Write FileAlt-W - Write File Saves the contents of the buffer assigned to the active window. If the buffer doesn't have a filename (such as when using Alt-E to enter the editor), you will be prompted for a filename before the buffer is written. Successfully writing a file resets the buffer's Mod flag (the Mod flag indicates changes not saved in the Editor's Configuration Menu). Alt-X - Exit and CloseAlt-X - Exit and Close Exits the editor, closing all buffers and releasing the editor's overlay. If any buffers have changes not saved, you will be warned first before proceeding. 122122 Editor - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Alt-Z - Zoom on WindowAlt-Z - Zoom on Window This command, like Alt-O, restores the screen to just window 1, but where Alt-O leaves the buffer assignments intact, Alt-Z assigns the buffer of the active window to window 1. In effect, this zooms in on the window that was selected (provided you're not currently in window 1). F0 - Alt F0 - Alt (Z100 Only) When dCOM is used on a Zenith Z100 microcomputer (which has no alternate key), pressing the F0 key will prompt for the alternate command to execute. F1 - Window 1F1 - Window 1 If you had split the screen into several windows (using F2, F3, or F4), this key changes the active window to window 1. F2 - Window 2F2 - Window 2 Changes the active window to window 2 (and splits the screen if necessary). F3 - Window 3F3 - Window 3 Changes the active window to window 3 (and splits the screen if necessary). F4 - Window 4F4 - Window 4 Changes the active window to window 4 (and splits the screen if necessary). Note: Window 3 must be opened first. F5 - Close Window and BufferF5 - Close Window and Buffer This command closes the active window (if it is not window 1) and discards the contents of the buffer assigned to it. If the buffer has changes not saved, you will be warned first before proceeding. F6 - Goto LineF6 - Goto Line Same as Alt-G. F7 - HelpF7 - Help Same as Alt-H. F8 - Mark BlockF8 - Mark Block Is used to mark (highlight) a block of lines for a subsequent copy, move, etc.... Press this key once on the first line of the desired text (that line will highlight and the message area will say Second Mark...), move the cursor to the last line of the desired text, and press it again. The entire text marked will now be highlighted and ready for a block oriented command. If you press this key again, the mark will be cleared. Note: It makes no difference if you mark starting from the top or starting from the bottom. F9 - Delete Marked BlockF9 - Delete Marked Block Deletes the currently marked block. As a safeguard, it prompts for confirmation first before proceeding because the deleted lines cannot be retrieved. F10 - Repeat SearchF10 - Repeat Search Resumes searching for the text entered using the Alt-S command. ^Esc^Esc Generates an actual escape character in your text (IBM only, and is displayed as a left arrow). ReturnReturn When pressed with the Insert mode on, it breaks the current line, carrying any text following it down to the new line. Otherwise, with Insert mode off, the cursor 123123 Editor - Command Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- simply drops to the next line (unless you're on top of the diamond end of text marker). Note: There is no need to press Return for the sole reason of entering a line just typed; characters are stored in the window's buffer as they are typed. HelpHelp (Z100) Same as Alt-H, produces help. DellinDellin (Z100) Same as Alt-D, deletes a line. InslinInslin (Z100) Same as Alt-I, inserts a new line. 124124 Editor - Configuration Menu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Configuration MenuConfiguration Menu Upon entry to the editor's configuration menu, you will be shown the current buffer assignments and status, the editor's current configuration, and memory consumption. When you first invoke the configuration menu, you will have two options: Edit (the configurable part) or Exit. Though the screen indicates that "X" key is the only way to exit, the Space, Esc, and Return keys exit as well. If you had previously edited the configuration and not saved it, you will also have a Save option. Window BuffersWindow Buffers This section of the editor's configuration menu indicates the current buffer assignments and some status concerning them. If, while you are using the editor, you feel you have lost track of which buffer/window contains what, you will find the answers here. ,-------------------------------------------------------, | W - B FILENAME LINES SIZE MOD MARK | |-------------------------------------------------------| | *1 *2 *3 *4 *5 *6 *7 | | | | | | | `-------------------------------------------------------' *1*1 Indicates the window number (1-4). *2*2 Indicates the buffer assigned to the window. *3*3 Indicates the filename assigned to the buffer. *4*4 Indicates the number of lines of text in the buffer. *5*5 Indicates the total size of the buffer in bytes. *6*6 Indicates whether the buffer has been modified since it was last saved. *7*7 Indicates whether the buffer has a block marked in it. Remember that buffers are assigned to windows which means that items *3 - *7 belong to the buffer (*2) not the window (*1). ConfigurationConfiguration This section of the editor's configuration menu contains the changeable parameters concerning the operation of the editor. Write Ctrl-Z EOFWrite Ctrl-Z EOF Controls whether an ASCII 26 (Ctrl-Z) is appended onto the end of the file when the editor writes (saves) files. Normally this switch would be on (default); however, some compilers go into convulsions when they encounter a Ctrl-Z before the 125125 Editor - Configuration Menu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- directory end-of-file. In which case, turn this switch off. Enhanced VideoEnhanced Video Controls whether the editor will display special characters to show tabs, carriage returns, and the end-of-file. Having this switch on (default) allows you to see tab columns, whether there are extra spaces on the end of each line, and if there are extra lines after the last visible line before the end-of-file. Use Border LinesUse Border Lines Controls whether the editor displays top, left, and right borders. Having it on (default) may be considered aesthetic. Having it off will provide two more columns of editing room. Use Solid LinesUse Solid Lines Controls whether the editor uses the PC Line Drawing characters when displaying screen borders, or the heavier (solid) block characters. Foreground ColorForeground Color Determines the color used to display buffer text inside the windows. Graphics ColorGraphics Color Determines the color used for border lines. Statusline ColorStatusline Color Determines the color used to display the status information on the 25th screen line. Highlight ColorHighlight Color Determines the color used to display marked blocks of text. Background ColorBackground Color Determines the backplane color. Vertical SplitVertical Split Determines the screen column used when splitting the screen vertically (opening windows 2 or 4). Horizontal SplitHorizontal Split Determines the screen line used when splitting the screen horizontally (opening windows 3 or 4). Consumed MemoryConsumed Memory This section of the editor's configuration menu indicates the percentage of memory available to the editor that is currently in use. 126126 Technical ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TECHNICAL DISCUSSIONSTECHNICAL DISCUSSIONS ====================================================================== This section is provided for those having an affinity for technical mumbo-jumbo. Its contents, though, should in no way be considered required reading. Memory UsageMemory Usage dCOM is structured much like MS-DOS in its use of memory. It uses a very small loader program (DCOM.COM) which parses the command line and environment variable, establishes the environment, shifts itself up in memory, and loads the resident portion of dCOM (DCOM.000) below it at the same location the loader was. The resident portion then performs some more of its own initialization, deallocates this initialization code (located on the very end), and loads the transient portion of dCOM (DCOM.001) to the highest memory possible. The memory between the transient portion and the resident portion becomes a HEAP which dCOM manages with 14 dynamic buffers for such things as the print spooler, macro keys, overlay run space, editor overlay, editor buffers, etc.... When a program is run, the HEAP is reduced to exactly what is needed and if there is EMS present, the HEAP is moved into it; if EMS is not present, the HEAP is shifted up as high in memory as possible and the transient portion shifted right underneath it (with the memory marked as free). Upon return, if EMS is present, the HEAP is restored directly to the lowest memory possible; if EMS is not present, the HEAP is moved down to the lowest memory possible and what might still be the transient portion is moved to the highest memory possible. The memory which used to contain the transient portion is then checksummed and if intact is run; otherwise, the transient portion is reloaded from DCOM.001. What this all means is that dCOM is going to the greatest extents possible to ensure the most efficient use of memory. Under this scheme, TSR's can load and not interfere with or segment the main block of user memory. 127127 Author ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AUTHORAUTHOR ====================================================================== Dave Frailey is currently employed by the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB as a civilian computer systems analyst. During his tenure at Edwards AFB, he has performed a variety of other functions such as: Aircraft Integrated Electronic Systems Mechanic, Electronics Technician, Computer Programmer Analyst, and acting Chief of the Mass Properties Section. He is also the author of the Air Force and Army Standard Automated Aircraft Weight and Balance System (also in use by the Navy and National Guard). And, when time permits, he serves as president of DAC Micro Systems. He undertook computer programming in 1979 as a hobby while serving on active duty as an avionics technician in the United States Marine Corps. Dave gained his knowledge in computer science the old fashioned way: craniocerebral impact with many walls. As of this writing, he still has yet to complete a single formal course in computer science. The son of a country doctor raised in the sticks of northern Michigan, with a family tree loaded with doctorate degrees, Dave has been determined to prove that success and recognition in this field can also be realized without following society's prescribed route of first acquiring some pig-skin. While it would be accurate to say that Dave has accomplished this, he would now never advocate this rocky road to anyone else. Dave's lack of a formal education really has only proven to be detrimental when it happens to come up in employment discussions with major regimented corporations. But that's ok 'cause Dave is a maverick of sorts and doesn't really relish the idea of finding himself at age 55 buried in the anonymity of an organizational dungeon with 200 other programmers.... He currently resides in the high desert community of Lake Los Angeles, California, with his wife, son, and computer mistress. 128128 Access Password 11, 33, 48 Line Feed 23 Activity Log 9 Screen Blanking 23 Advance After Tag 55, 57 Spooler Clearing 23 Alarms Installation 5 Look-Ahead Scan 72 Introduction 1 Menu 42, 72 Keypad Plus Key 23, 51, 55, 57 Audit Trail 9 Line Feed 23 AUTOEXEC.BAT 6, 7 Log Drive 44 Border Type 55 Macro Keys 73 Cache Floppy I/O 43, 55 Autoexec 10 Command Line Switches 9 Command Reference 83 Command Reference Commands Quick Reference 81 Macro Keys 83 Default Macro File 11 Text Editor 120 Display Titles 51 Utility Mode 42 Editing 49, 76 Configuration Examples 99 Print Spooler 66 File Format 78 Text Editor 120, 125 General Use 74 Utility Mode 44, 53 Keyboard Gosub 51 Colors 59 Keyboard Goto 50 Drives 62 Menu Mode 11, 51 Mouse 61 Menuing 109 Copying Files 42 Password Protection 80, 111 Cache Floppy I/O 43 Switches 80 Overwrite Warnings 43 Technical Tricks 107 Using the Tree 42 Temporary Variables 10 Critical Errors 30 Variables 37, 82, 94 Default Macro File 11 Make Dir 49 Deleting Files 43 Menu Mode 4, 11, 14, 109 DesqView 8 Menuing 109 Disk Drives Security 111 Configuration 62 Mouse Distribution Files 5 Configuration 61 DOS Command Line 51 Using 25 Draggable Pop-up Menu's 33 Moveable Pop-up Menu's 33 Drive Select Box 4, 40, 42, 44 Moving Files 44 EGA Palette Mode 55 Overwrite Warnings 44 Encountering Trouble 31 Using the Tree 44 Environment 50 MS-DOS Version 2 16 Size 10, 14 Overwrite Warnings 43, 44, 47, Variable 7, 9 55, 57 Executing Programs 51 Password 48 Expanded Memory 3, 10, 66, 68 Plus Key, Keypad 23, 55, 57 Extension Execute 37 Point-n-Shoot 33 File Attribute Display 55 Primary Shell 14 Finding Files 43, 45, 49 Print Spooler 12, 66 Floppy Disk Use 11 Clearing 23 Form Feed 23 CPU Priority 12, 66 Guided Tour 17 Menu 49, 68 Help Print System 49, 66 Text Editor 120, 123 Printer Port 47, 55, 58 Utility Mode 43 Printer Redirection 68 Hiding Files/Directories 48 Printing Files 45 Home Directory 4, 5, 7, 14 Priority Tag 35, 48 Hot-Keys 23 Prompt Editing 27 Form Feed 23 Quick Reference Keypad Plus Mode 23 Macro Commands 81 Macro Variables 82 Filename Changing 120 Text Editor 119 Global Rplc View Mode 122 Utility Mode 41 Goto Line 120, 123 Read Only Attribute, Setting 49 Help 120, 123 Renaming Files 45 Inserting Lines 120, 123 Requirements 3 Introduction 112 Running dCOM 8 Invoking 43, 48, 113, 115 Running Programs 51 Load New File 120 Screen Blanking 23 Marking Blocks 116, 123 Screen Layout Moving Text 117, 121 Print Spooler 68 PC Line Drawing 121 Text Editor 118 Printing Text 121 Utility Mode 39 Quick Reference 119 Utility Mode Configuration 54 Read Errors 114 Screen Saver 56 Save File 122 Search Disk 49 Search 122 Shell, Primary 14 Search and Replace 121 Sidebar Menu 4 Search Repeating 123 Single Key Prompts 33, 47, 55, Undo Deleted Line 122 57 Window Splits 115, 121, 123, Sort Mode 46, 54, 56 126 Sound Suppression 55 Write File 122 Tagging Files 33, 35, 45, 48, 50 Zoom Window 123 Auto Advance 47 TopView 8 Technical 127 Tree 13, 63 Technical Tricks Changing Dirs 65 Macro Keys 107 Copying Files 42 Term Definitions 4 Hidden Dirs 65 Text Editor Invoking 50 ASCII Character Table 122 Moving Files 44 ASCII Convert 120 Sorting 65 Buffers 115, 120, 125 Using 65 Close Window & Buffer 123 TSR Programs 4, 28, 48 Command Reference 120 Untagging Files 45 Configuration Menu 125 Utility Mode 4, 33 Configuration/Status 120 Command Reference 42 Copying Text 117, 120 Quick Reference 41 Delete Line 120 View Mode 33, 45, 54, 57 Delete Marked Block 123 Visual Tree 13, 63 Edit New File 120 Using with Copy or Move 64 Esc Character 123 Wait Mode 45, 55, 57 Exiting 113, 121, 122 Z100 Use 19 Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Utility Mode Quick ReferenceUtility Mode Quick Reference AA - Alarm Menu P P - Print [CTD] CC - Copy [CTD] R R - Rename [C] DD - Delete [CTD] S S - Search Dir EE - Edit [C] TT - Tag [C] FF - Find File UU - Untag All HH - Help V V - View Mode KK - Configuration W W - Wait Mode LL - Log Drive X X - Exit MM - Move [CTD] Z Z - Sort Mode NN - Next Page ^A^A - Advance After Tag ^P^P - Printer Port ^K^K - Single Key Prompts ^T^T - Priority Tag [C] ^O^O - Overwrite Warnings ^V^V - View/Clear TSR's Alt-AAlt-A - Access Password Alt-PAlt-P - Print System Alt-EAlt-E - Edit, No Load Alt-RAlt-R - Read Only [CT] Alt-HAlt-H - Hidden Flag [CT] Alt-SAlt-S - Search Disk Alt-KAlt-K - Edit Macro File Alt-T Alt-T - Tag All Files Alt-MAlt-M - Make Directory Alt-V Alt-V - View/Set Env HomeHome - Select First Entry ^Home^Home - Root Dir EndEnd - Select Last Entry Ret Ret - Execute or ChDir SpaceSpace - Execute w/opt Tab Tab - MS-DOS Cmd "/""/" - Gosub a Macro File ".""." - Goto a Macro File "-""-" - Visual Tree Hot KeysHot Keys s^Bs^B - Blank Screen & Lock Kbd s^Cs^C - Clear Spooler s^Fs^F - Send Form-feed to Printer s^Ls^L - Send Line-feed s+s+ - Toggle Keypad Plus = Return Mode ____________________ CC - Operates on currently selected entry. TT - Operates on tagged files before recognizing the currently selected entry. DD - Operates on the entire contents of a subdirectory by selecting its name from the previous directory. Text Editor Quick ReferenceText Editor Quick Reference Alt-AAlt-A - ASCII Convert Alt-OAlt-O - One Window Alt-BAlt-B - Buffer Change Alt-PAlt-P - Print Window or Block Alt-CAlt-C - Copy Marked Block Alt-QAlt-Q - Quit and Keep Buffers Alt-DAlt-D - Delete Line Alt-R Alt-R - Replace, Search and Alt-EAlt-E - Edit New File Alt-S Alt-S - Search Alt-FAlt-F - Filename Change Alt-TAlt-T - ASCII Character Table Alt-GAlt-G - Goto Line or Mark Alt-U Alt-U - Undo Deleted Line Alt-HAlt-H - Help Menu Alt-V Alt-V - Global Rplc View Mode Alt-IAlt-I - Insert Line Alt-W Alt-W - Write (Save) File Alt-KAlt-K - Config/Status Menu Alt-X Alt-X - Exit and Close Alt-LAlt-L - PC Line Draw Mode Alt-Z Alt-Z - Zoom on Window Alt-MAlt-M - Move Marked Block F0F0 - Generate Alt command on Z100 computers F1F1 - Change Active Window to Window 1 F2F2 - Change Active Window to Window 2 F3F3 - Change Active Window to Window 3 F4F4 - Change Active Window to Window 4 F5F5 - Close Active Window and its Buffer F6F6 - Goto Line or Marked Block F7F7 - Help Menu (same as Alt-H) F8F8 - Mark Block: Begin > End > Clear F9F9 - Delete Marked Block F10F10 - Repeat Search IBM___ Z100____ HOME ^S HOME ^S Start of Line END ^N END ^N End of Line PgUp F11 PgUp F11 Window up one page PgDn F12 PgDn F12 Window down one page ^X ^X ^X ^X Delete to End of Line ^LEFT ^B ^LEFT ^B Back one Word ^RIGHT ^F ^RIGHT ^F Forward one Word ^HOME sF11 ^HOME sF11 Top of File ^END ^END End of File ^PgUp ^PgUp Window up one line ^PgDn ^PgDn Window down one line ^Esc ^Esc Generate Escape Character Macro Commands Quick ReferenceMacro Commands Quick Reference >>command ..................... Force line to be executed by DOS dd: ........................... Set a new default drive :labellabel ....................... Designate a label BEEPBEEP ......................... Beep the speaker CDCD path ...................... Change current directory CDDCDD [d:][path] ............... Change current drive and directory CDDOCDDO ......................... Change to original drive & dir CHDIRCHDIR path ................... Change current directory CLSCLS .......................... Clear the screen CPOSNCPOSN [line][,column] ........ Positions the cursor DODO mask ...................... Execute block for each file in mask ECHOECHO text .................... Display text ENDDOENDDO ........................ Designate end of DO block ENDIFENDIF ........................ Designate end of IF block EXITEXIT ......................... Exit the macro key GETGET tvar [prompt] ............ Get from keybrd to temp variable GOSUBMFGOSUBMF macrofile [key] ...... Gosub (load) a new macro file GOTOGOTO label ................... Unconditional jump to a label GOTOMFGOTOMF macrofile [key] ....... Goto (load) a new macro file IFIF op1 <=> op2 cmdcmd ........... Conditional cmd using two oprnds IFIF [NOT] EXIST file cmdcmd ...... Conditional cmd if file exists IFIF op1 <=> op2 THENTHEN .......... Conditional block using two oprnds IFIF [NOT] EXIST file THENTHEN ..... Conditional block if file exists LOOPLOOP label ................... Loop to label if more tagged files MACROMENUMACROMENU ON/OFF ............. Turn menu mode on or off PAUSEPAUSE [text] ................. Pause for keystroke PRINTSTRPRINTSTR text ................ Send text to the printer REMREM [text] ................... Remark (comment) line RETURNRETURN ....................... Return to macro after GOSUBMF RUNMACRORUNMACRO key[key] ............ Set macro key to run (i.e. /F1) SELECTSELECT mask [text][/d][/n] ... Display a menu of files to sel from SETSET var=text ................. Set environment or temp variable Macro Variables Quick ReferenceMacro Variables Quick Reference %0 - %9 .. Temporary variables (set with SET or GET) %FN ...... Currently selected file (no extension) %FE ...... Currently selected file and extension %TN ...... Current tagged filename (no extension) %TE ...... Current tagged filename and extension %DN ...... Current DO filename (no extension) %DE ...... Current DO filename and extension %SN ...... Filename (no extension) selected with SELECT %SE ...... Filename and extension selected with SELECT %SC ...... Count of files found by SELECT %TC ...... Count of tagged files %EL ...... Last error level returned by a program %DD ...... Default drive %CD ...... Current subdirectory %OD ...... Original default drive macro was run from %OS ...... Original subdirectory macro was run from %TI ...... System time %DT ...... System date %KB ...... Keyboard character if avail, else = %(255) %W ....... Forces a pause when macro terminates %(###) ... Generate untypeable ASCII character %var% .... Access an environment variable