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D V C O M M A N D E R _________________________________________________________________ DV Commander version 1.6 A command-line utility for DESQview by: William E. Allen Copyright, 1989,90,91 by William E. Allen P.O. Box 834, Howell, Michigan 48843 DV Commander version 1.6 by William E. Allen [75300,272] Copyr 1989,90,91 by William E. Allen PO Box 834, Howell, MI 48843 SHAREWARE DV Commander version 1.6, is Shareware. If you find this program valuable and useful, please consider registering it by sending $15.00 to William E. Allen P.O. Box 834 Howell, Michigan 48843. Registered users will receive a companion program, DVP Editor. See the last page of this guide for more information about DVP Editor. DISTRIBUTION The DV Commander program and auxiliary files are copyrighted, but you are hereby granted permission to make and distribute copies for personal, non-commercial use. Use them yourself, give copies to friends and co-workers, or distribute them for a cost-based fee (of $10.00 or less) as part of a user's group or bulletin board service. If you wish to distribute these programs in connection with any other product, or for use in commercial applications, please contact me for a license agreement. All of the files that make up this product must be distribute together, in an UNMODIFIED form. The files you should have on the diskette, or in the archive are: DVC.EXE The executable program file DVC.DOC This documentation DVC.REG A registration form: COPY DVC.REG PRN $$-PIF.DVP Example autostart DVP file DV-PIF.DVP Example DVP: executes DVC Menu DVUTIL DVUTIL.MNU Example menu file started by DV-PIF.DVP ST-PIF.DVP Example DVP: executes DVC Start TPC TPC.DVP Example DVP started by ST-PIF.DVP TPC.BAT Example batch invoked by TPC.DVP WHATSNEW.TXT What's new and changed in version 1.6 TRADEMARKS DESQview, DESQ, and DESQview API are trademarks of Quarterdeck Office Systems. INTRODUCTION DV Commander is like a command-line version of your DESQview {DESQ} key (usually your Alt key). From the DOS command line it can do many of the things you would normally do by tapping the {DESQ} key. Among DV Commander's features are: * DESQview Submenu facility * Spawn a new task * Execute commands directly from the DESQview menus * Open a list of windows automatically * Start a window with prompting for parameters and directory * Beep for a specified frequency and duration (useful in a background batch file to signal success or failure) * Hide or unhide (Show) a window * Set the window Frame on or off * Set Justify mode on or off * Wait for a specified amount of time * Resize and position a window * Make a window background or foreground * Name mail boxes and check for a named mail box (useful for making sure a program is started only once) and more. GETTING STARTED To use DV Commander, just copy the file DVC.EXE to your hard disk. DV Commander is easiest to use when it is in a subdirectory that is included in your PATH, but you can specify the full path when you invoke DV Commander if its directory is not in your PATH. Once installed, type DVC HELP to see a one-screen overview of its commands. DV Commander COMMANDS The format of the DV Commander command line is: DVC COMMAND <required> [optional] /switches The first word following DVC is the COMMAND. Some commands have required parameters, some have optional parameters, and some have both. Required parameters are represented in <angle brackets> and optional parameters are represented in [square brackets]. There are also a couple of switches that can be used with any command. Here are the DV Commander commands. The format of each command is shown, followed by a detailed description. Commands can be entered in upper or lower case, but upper case letters, at the beginning of the command names, are used here to show the shortest abbreviation allowed for each command. An ellipsis is used to show when parameters can be repeated. Open <dvp file name> [,nn] [,H] ... Use the Open command to automatically open one or more windows. You can optionally specify an amount of time to wait before opening the next window, and you can specify that the window be hidden after it is opened. This command is useful to open a default set of windows every time you start DESQview. To do this, set up a DVP using Change a Program so that the program name starts with some characters that will cause it to be placed at the beginning of your Open menu. Then simply press your Enter Key twice after DESQview starts and the DESQview menu is displayed. I use "$$AutoStart Apps" as the program name. Set the program to "DVC.EXE" and put "OPEN ..." on the parameters line. See the example $$-PIF.DVP file on the DV Commander release disk (or archive). Of course you can use the DESQview LEARN facility to establish your default windows too, but the LEARN facility takes some global memory, and doesn't give you the option NOT to start your default windows. Required Parameters: <dvp file name> is the name of the DESQview Program Information File. Specify the full path for the file if it is not in the current directory. If the DVP file name follows the standard DESQview convention of xx-PIF.DVP, where xx is the unique 2 letter code used on the Open Program menu, you need specify only the first two letters. Optional Parameters: [,nn] is a number of 1/10th seconds to wait after opening the window before continuing to process the command line. nn can be a number in the range 1 through 3276. A value of 1 will delay for one tenth of a second, while 3276 will delay for nearly 55 minutes. [,H] indicates that the window should be hidden after it is opened. Examples: DVC Open BR,50,H DA,H DO This example will first open BR-PIF.DVP (Brief Text editor), allow it to run in the foreground for 5 seconds, then hide it. Next, DA, the DESQview companions date book, will be opened and hidden, and finally DO, a full screen DOS shell, will be opened and left as the foreground task. Spawn <dvpfile> [d:\path] [params] [title] [exec] [memory] The Spawn command will open a single DESQview window allowing you to optionally override certain DVP file parameters. Required Parameters: <dvpfile> is the name of the DESQview Program Information File. Specify the full path for the file if it is not in the current directory. If the DVP file name follows the standard DESQview convention of xx-PIF.DVP, where xx is the unique 2 letter code used on the Open Program menu, you need specify only the first two letters. NOTE: The DVP file you start with this command need not be one that you keep on your Open Window menu, and need not follow the DESQview DVP file name conventions. Optional Parameters: [d:\path] is the drive and path to be the default when your program is started. It will override the drive and path specified in the DVP file. [params] are any program parameters you want to pass to your program when it runs. If you wish to pass any of the following: Space, Tab, Equals sign, Comma, or Semicolon in your parameters, enclose the entire string in double quotes "Like This". [title] if given will override the default program name specified in the DVP. It may be a string of up to 30 characters and must be enclosed in double quotes if it contains any of the special characters mentioned above. [exec] will override the program/execute parameter in the DVP file. [memory] overrides the minimum and maximum memory requirements specified in the DVP file. NOTE: The optional parameters, [d:\path] [params] [title] [exec] and [memory], are positional and they can not be omitted except on the right. You can use an asterisk (*) to hold the place of any parameter you do not want to specify. For example say you wanted to modify only the amount of memory allocated to a program to 256k and leave all the other parameters alone you would use a DVC command line something like: DVC SPAWN XX * * * * 256 where the four asterisks hold the places of the: DIRECTORY, PROGRAM PARAMETERS, TITLE, and EXECUTE parameters. Desq <letters and meta commands> The Desq command stacks keystrokes that open the DESQview main menu and execute commands from it. You can use this command, for example, to set the DESQview video options, or to use the DESQview menus to change colors. You can also use this command to cause DESQview to switch to another window. Required Parameters: <letters and meta commands> are the letters and special characters you use to select various options from the DESQview menus. The meta commands let you enter the keys you need to use with the DESQview menus that you would not ordinarily be able to type on the command line. The 7 meta commands are: $U Up arrow key $D Down arrow key $L Left arrow key $R Right arrow key $T Tab key $B Backtab key $E Enter Key Blank spaces are removed from the command line so you can enter them freely for clarity. Examples: DVC Desq R C $D$D $E This example uses the Rearrange Change colors menu to change the background color to blue. It would be the same as opening the DESQview main menu {DESQ}, then pressing R to display the Rearrange menu, then pressing C to display the Change colors menu, and then pressing the down arrow twice ($D$D), and finally pressing the enter key ($E). DVC Desq 4 This example will switch to window number 4. You could also use: DVC Desq S4 DVC Desq R V 2 $E This example uses the Rearrange Video options menu to switch your VGA monitor into 30 line text mode. DVC Desq Q Y Be careful! This example will shut DESQview down completely! Note: The DVC Desq command uses the BIOS Keyboard Services function 5 to stack the keystrokes that DESQview will read. This function is not supported by IBM BIOS's dated prior to 11/15/85 and may not be supported by all clones. STart <dvpfile> The STart command will open a single DVP after prompting you for, the path and parameters to be used. A window like this will prompt you to supply the path and parameters. +------------------------------------------------------------+ | Directory C:\TP\WORK | | | | Parameters WIZBANG | | | | F2 Save & Run F3 Run Esc Quit | +------------------------------------------------------------+ Change the Directory and Parameters fields and press F3 to start the DVP with the new values, or press F2 to save the new values into the DVP and then start it. You can press ESCape to quit without saving the new information, or starting the DVP. The DVP file you start with this command would not usually be one that you keep on your Open Window menu, and need not follow the DESQview DVP file name conventions. Use Change A Program to create the DVP and give it some dummy value, such as XX for the Keys to Use on Open Menu question. Test it, using the normal DESQview Open Window menu using any values you like for the Directory and Parameters questions. When you are satisfied that it is correct, rename it to another name (or copy it to another directory), and use Delete a Program to remove it from the DESQview Open Window menu. NOTE: Registered users can use the DVP Editor to create and modify the DVP which is much easier than using Change A Program. Required Parameters: <dvpfile> is the name of the DESQview Program Information File. Specify the full path for the file if it is not in the current directory. If the DVP file name follows the standard DESQview convention of xx-PIF.DVP, where xx is the unique 2 letter code used on the Open Program menu, you need specify only the first two letters. Examples: DVC STart TPC This example will start TPC.DVP after prompting for the drive and directory and the program parameters. The TPC.DVP, in this example, is setup as follows: ============================================================ Change a Program Program Name......: TP Command-Line compiler Keys to Use on Open Menu: XX Memory Size (in K): 512 ------------------------------------------------------------ Program...: C:\DV\TPC.BAT Parameters: WIZBANG Directory.: C:\TP\WORK ------------------------------------------------------------ Options: Writes text directly to screen.......: [N] Displays graphics information........: [N] Virtualize text/graphics (Y,N,T).....: [N] Uses serial ports (Y,N,1,2)..........: [N] Requires floppy diskette.............: [N] Press F1 for advanced options Press <- when you are DONE ============================================================ This DVP invokes a batch file, TPC.BAT, to do a Turbo Pascal compile in the background. TPC.BAT looks like this: @echo off cls DVC Hide C:\TP\TPC %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9 if errorlevel 1 goto Error DVC Beep 990,2 0,1 990,3 exit :Error DVC Beep 330,4 180,12 DVC Resize 1 1 23 78 pause exit Menu <mnu file name> The Menu command is DV Commander's most useful feature. It lets you extend the DESQview Open Window menu with unlimited sub menu capabilities. Required Parameters: <mnu file name> is the only parameter. It is the name of your menu file and may contain a path. The file extension of .MNU will be assumed if omitted. Each line in the file represents one item on your sub menu. Use any pure ASCII text editor to create your menu. Each line in your menu file has the following format. <description> <dvp> [d:\path] [params] [title] [exec] [mem] <description> is the text that will be displayed on the menu. It should be enclosed in double quotes if it contains any of the following characters: Space, Tab, Equals sign, Comma, or Semicolon. The first upper case letter or digit found in the string will be highlighted and used as the selector character. Optionally there is a special form of the description you can use to make the selector character appear on the far right of the description like DESQview's own menus. For example the menu line: "D=DESQview Datebook" DA would display in the menu as: DESQview Datebook D The selector character is the first character followed by the equals sign (=) in the second position of the description string. <dvp> is the name of the DESQview Program Information File. Specify the full path for the file if it is not in the current directory. If the DVP file name follows the standard DESQview convention of xx-PIF.DVP, where xx is the unique 2 letter code used on the Open Program menu, you need specify only the first two letters. [d:\path] is the drive and path you want to be the default when your program is started. [params] are any program parameters you want to pass to your program when it runs. If you wish to pass any of the following: Space, Tab, Equals sign, Comma, or Semicolon in your parameters, enclose the entire string in double quotes "Like This". [title] will override the default program name specified in the DVP. It may be a string of up to 30 characters and must be enclosed in double quotes if it contains any of the special characters mentioned above. [exec] will override the program/execute parameter in the DVP file. [memory] overrides the minimum and maximum memory require- ments specified in the DVP file. NOTE: The optional parameters, [d:\path] [params] [title] [exec] and [memory], are positional and they can not be omitted except on the right. You can use an asterisk (*) to hold the place of any parameter you do not want to specify. For example say you wanted to modify only the amount of memory allocated to the program to 128k and leave all the other parameters alone you would use a line in your menu file something like: "D=DESQview Datebook" DA * * * * 128 where the four asterisks hold the places of the: DIRECTORY, PROGRAM PARAMETERS, TITLE, and EXECUTE parameters. NOTE: A new special line of the form: %menu "Applications Menu" allows you to give a name to the menu. If omitted, the title from the DVP used to execute the DVC MENU command is used as the menu title. Examples: DVC Menu DVUTIL This command will display a sub menu defined in the file DVUTIL.MNU. DVUTIL.MNU is an ASCII text file as follows: %menu "DV Utilities" "C=DESQview Calculator" CA "D=DESQview Datebook" DA "E=Memory Status" MS "F=DV Shift Install" DVSINS "L=DESQview Link" DL "M=Manifest" MFT "N=DESQview Note Pad" DN "O=Window Position" WinPos "P=DESQview Palette" PL "G=Panel Design Tool" PD "Q=Q Menu" QMenu "S=DESQview Setup" SE "W=QD White Papers" QWhite The first item on each line is the description to display in the menu. The items are enclosed in double quotes because they contain spaces and/or other special characters. There is room on the menu to display up to 22 characters. Since the description is of the special form, with the selector letter in the first position followed by an equals sign, the menu will be displayed in the DESQview-style with the selector characters on the far right: +--------------------------+ | DV Utilities | | | | DESQview Calculator C | | DESQview Datebook D | | Memory Status E | | DV Shift Install F | | DESQview Link L | | Manifest M | | DESQview Note Pad N | | Window Position O | | DESQview Palette P | | Panel Design Tool G | | Q Menu Q | | DESQview Setup S | | QD White Papers W | +--------------------------+ You can create the DVP files you invoke with your sub menus using Change a Program as you usually would. Test them using your DESQview Open Window Menu. When you are sure the DVP's work properly, move them to another directory and use Delete a Program to remove them from your DESQview Open Window Menu. NOTE: Registered users can use the DVP Editor to create and modify the DVP which is much easier than using Change A Program. To invoke your sub menu using the DV Commander program, setup a DESQview Program Information File as follows: ============================================================ Change a Program Program Name......: Menu DVUTIL Keys to Use on Open Menu: DV Memory Size (in K): 128 ------------------------------------------------------------ Program...: DVC.EXE Parameters: Menu DVMENU Directory.: C:\DV ------------------------------------------------------------ Options: Writes text directly to screen.......: [N] Displays graphics information........: [N] Virtualize text/graphics (Y,N,T).....: [N] Uses serial ports (Y,N,1,2)..........: [N] Requires floppy diskette.............: [N] Press F1 for advanced options Press <- when you are DONE ============================================================ Change a Program Advanced Options System Memory (in K)..: 1 Max Program Memory Size....: ___ Script Buffer Size....: 0 Max Expanded Memory Size...: ___ Text Pages: 1 Graph Pages: 0 Init Mode: ___ Ints: 00 to FF ------------------------------------------------------------ Window Position: Max Height: 25 Starting Height: 1 Starting Row...: 0 Max Width.: 80 Starting Width.: 1 Starting Column: 79 ------------------------------------------------------------ Shared Program Pathname..: Data......: ------------------------------------------------------------ Close on exit.........: [Y] Uses its own colors.......: [N] Allow Close Window....: [Y] Runs in background .......: [ ] Uses math coproc......: [N] Keyboard conflict (0-4)...: [0] Share CPU when FG.....: [Y] Share EGA.................: [Y] Can be swapped out....: [ ] Protection level (0-3)....: [0] Press F1 for standard options Press <- when you are DONE ============================================================ Beep [freq] , [duration] ... /R=n Use the Beep command to generate a tone of the specified fre- quency and duration. The frequency is given in Hertz and the duration is in clock ticks (approximately 18 per second). This command is useful in a batch file that is running in the background to signal success or failure. The advantage to using this DESQview specific program rather than another utility, like Nortons BE, is that DV Commander uses the DESQview API to create the sounds and is not dependent upon the timing of the machine. Optional Parameters: [freq] is the frequency in Hertz. The default is 900hz. [duration] is the number of clock ticks to generate the sound. There are 18.2 clock ticks per second. The default is 7. Switches: /R=n n specifies the number of times to repeat all of the tones given on the command line. Examples: DVC Beep 900,1 600,1 /R=10 This example produces a 900 Hertz tone for one clock tick (1/18th of a second) and then a 600 Hertz tone for one clock tick. The entire sequence is repeated 10 times. The result sounds like a telephone ringing. Hide (no parameters) The Hide command will cause the window where it is executed to be hidden. The task will continue to execute if it is allow to to run in the background. Examples: DVC Hide SHow (no parameters) SHow is the opposite of the Hide command. It will unhide the window in which it is executed. This will not make the window suddenly pop up on top of the foreground window, but it will make it visible in the background if there are no other windows covering it. Examples: DVC SHow Frame ON | OFF The Frame command lets you turn the frame on and off for a window. Examples: DVC Frame OFF This example will remove the frame from the window where it is executed. To restore the frame type: DVC Frame ON Justify ON | OFF [row, col] The Justify command lets you set automatic justification mode on or off for a window. Normally, with justify mode on, DESQview will automatically scroll your window to keep the hardware cursor visible. If you set justify mode off, DESQview will not scroll your window. Optional Parameters: [row, col] The row and column of the upper left corner of the window. Examples: DVC Justify OFF 2,2 Turn justify mode off and position the window so row 2 column 2 are visible in the upper left corner of the DESQview window. FOreonly ON | OFF The FOreonly command lets you select whether the window will run only when it is in the foreground, or if it will continue to run when it is switched into the background. The default for a given window is specified in its DVP. Examples: DVC FOreonly ON This example will set the window so it runs only when it is in the foreground. To allow it to run in the background type: DVC FOreonly OFF Name <mail box name> The Name command assigns a name to the default mailbox associa- ted with the window where it is executed. This is handy when used in conjunction with the /ONLYIF and /NOTIF command line switches (defined later) to keep from opening a particular window more than once. Required Parameters: <mail box name> is a name to assign to the default mail box. Examples: DVC Name Fred In this example DV Commander will attempt to name the default mailbox "Fred". If there is already a mailbox with the same name, DV Commander will display an error message and terminate with an error code of 1. The error code can be tested in a batch file: DVC Name Fred if errorlevel 1 exit rem continue with batch file... SUspend (no parameters) Use the SUspend command to hide a window and suspend it so that it does not continue to execute in the background. Examples: DVC SUspend Resize <row>, <col>, <length>, <width> The Resize command is used to change the location and size of a window. Required Parameters: <row> The top row where the window will start. The number can be in the range 0 through 25 which will allow you to position part or all of the window off of the physical screen! <col> The left-most column where the window will start. It can be in the range 0 through 80 and can also result in part of the window being positioned off of the physical screen. <length> is the new length of the window. <width> is the new width of the window. Examples: DVC Resize 4,17,20,60 Wait [10th secs] The Wait command will suspend the window where it is executed for the specified amount of time. Optional Parameters: [10th secs] The amount of time to wait. The default is 10 which is one second. Goback (no parameters) The Goback command will make the window where it is executed the bottommost in the system. If the window is the foreground window, the next window in the list becomes the foreground window. Examples: DVC Goback GOFore (no parameters) The GOFore command will make the window where it is executed the foreground window. Use this command with caution as it may disrupt the window currently running in the foreground. Examples: DVC GOFore Top (no parameters) This command will make a window the top most window within an application. This is of little value since any task that has multiple windows associated with it would have to be DESQview specific anyway. Examples: DVC Top TOPSys (no parameters) The TOPSys command makes the window where it is executed the topmost window in the system. This should only be used when a background application has to report something to the user but does not want to become the foreground window. Examples: DVC TOPSys COMMAND LINE SWITCHES /C=hh This command line switch lets you specify the color that DV Commander will use. hh is the hex attribute for the color you want DVC to use. It defaults to /C=07. You must set USES ITS OWN COLORS to Yes if you specify this switch. /Q Use the "Quiet" switch to supress and error message windows. Most errors will still generate messages when this switch is in effect, but they will simply be displayed on the console rather than pop up in a DESQview error window. /ONLYIF=<mail box name> With this switch in effect the DV Commander command will only be execute if <mail box name> exists. /NOTIF=<mail box name> This switch will prevent the DV Commander command from being executed if <mail box name> exists. You can use this in conjunction with the Name command to prevent a window from being opened more than once. /R=n This switch is used only with the Beep command. The number, n, specifies the number of times the tones on the command line are to be repeated. See the Beep command for more information. OTHER INFORMATION * DV Commander has a companion program called DVP Editor. Like Change a Program, DVP Editor is an editor for your DESQview Program Information Files. But, unlike CP, DVPEDIT can edit DVPs with any filename and in any directory. (The extension must still be DVP.) And, DVPEDIT does not alter your DESQview Open Window menu in any way. This makes it an ideal associate to DV Commander. DVPEDIT is also nice because it comfortably combines both the standard and advanced options screens of Change a Program into a single easy to edit screen, complete with context-sensitive help for every question. If you choose to register DV Commander, you will receive a diskette containing the latest versions of DVC and DVPEDIT and you will receive printed documentation for both programs. Among DVP Editor's features are: * All questions are on one screen * True context-sensitive help * More logical screen layout * Edit options that are not on CP screen * More logical keyboard usage * Edit several DVPs in one invocation * File names not restricted to ??-PIF.DVP * Edit DVPs on any drive and/or directory * Edit DVPs that are not on the DESQview Open menu * No ambiguities (i.e. no blank questions) * Runs outside of DESQview if desired. * Ideal companion to DV Commander * Free to registered DV Commander users * DV Commander will use a Microsoft compatible mouse if the following two conditions are met. 1. You have your mouse driver loaded (you already knew that!) 2. You have the DVP file that starts DVC.EXE set to either virtualize text when using DESQview/386 or you have Writes Directly to screen set to yes, or both. (The supplied example DVP's have Virtualize Text=Yes). The reason: Even though DV Commander does NOT write directly to the screen, and DOES NOT need to be virtualized, the mouse does. DV Commander checks to see if it is getting direct access to the screen buffer and only initializes the mouse driver if so. I found that I got "mouse droppings" when I did not do this. * If you wish to use the DV Commander Open command to open a DVP name in the current directory that begins with a digit, (e.g. 4D for 4DOS) you will need to preface it with ".\" This is because the command parser for the Open command will treat the digit as a delay parameter rather than a DVP file name. Using the form ".\4D" (without the quotes) references the DVP in the current directory and works around the problem. Please send comments to: Bill Allen, CompuServe ID [75300,272], or at P.O. Box 834, Howell, Michigan 48843. Thank You.