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4DOS README.DOC
Version 3.01, 5/22/90
Copyright 1989, 1990, J.P. Software. All Rights Reserved. Published by
J.P. Software, P.O. Box 1470, E. Arlington, MA 02174 USA, (617)
646-3975.
Greetings, and thanks for trying 4DOS!
This file contains recent changes and other useful information. It also
lists the files distributed with version 3.01; describes a new product,
the 4DOS Utility Disk; and explains how to upgrade from 4DOS version 2.x
or 3.0 to version 3.01.
If you are upgrading from an earlier version of 4DOS, be sure to read
UPDATE30.DOC for information on changes between versions!
This file is formatted at 58 lines per page, and contains form feeds and
page footers. It can be printed properly on most PC printers using the
command:
copy readme.doc prn
Printing it with a program that formats the pages is not likely to work
due to the formatting included in the file.
We are now supporting 4DOS in our own CompuServe area, section 10 of the
PC Vendor B forum (GO PCVENB). If you are not currently a CompuServe
subscriber, consider a special offer CompuServe has made to 4DOS users:
call 1-800-848-8199 (outside the US and Canada call 614-457-0802) and
ask for operator 178 to receive a free CompuServe introductory
membership, including user ID, password, and a $15 connect time credit.
Official 4DOS Product Support is always available on our support BBS:
Future Technology Multi-Node EMDS (617) 720-3600 / 720-4095
120+ Conferences - 140+ Directories - 1.5 Gigabytes - 9600b below
(617) 227-6260 AX9624c*(617) 227-4170 HST*(617) 720-1330 HAYES V9600
Home of 4DOS Product Support & QModem National Distribution Site
For more information on technical support please see page iv of the
manual. Note that the correct number for the Future Technology BBS is
NOT 617-646-3975 as shown in some versions of the manual!
If you live outside the US and Canada you may want to check the list of
international dealers in the ORDER.FRM file. Purchasing through these
dealers can save you the delay and inconvenience which may be involved
in dealing with currency conversions and international shipping.
4DOS 3.01 [5-22-90] README.DOC page 1
New Features in Version 3.01
----------------------------
Most of the changes in version 3.01 are compatibility improvements and
bug fixes, but a few are new features. Here's a quick description of
each; there are also many other smaller additions and bug fixes. For
details on using new features, corrections to the manual, and a complete
list of changes including all bug fixes, see the items marked "3.01" in
UPDATE30.DOC.
* LOADBTM switches any batch file between high-speed BTM mode and
COMMAND.COM-compatible BAT mode.
* %@EVAL variable function evaluates arithmetic expressions,
allowing integer arithmetic in batch files.
* %@INDEX variable function returns the position of one character
or string within another.
* Swap files for secondary shells now default to the root
directory of the COMSPEC drive, to avoid swap file clutter on
your hard disk.
* 4DOS now has better support for non-English characters in
filenames, environment variables, and aliases.
* Batch files can be nested 6 levels deep (the previous limit was
4).
* New environment variables return the day of the week, screen
rows, and screen columns.
* IF can now be used to do numeric comparisons.
* Several other commands have minor changes, including ALIAS, CD,
CDD, COPY, DIR, GLOBAL, GOTO, KEYSTACK, LIST, SET, and SETDOS.
* HELP has several enhancements, including a complete ASCII
table, better pagination on screens with over 25 lines
displayed, and the ability to specify where 4DOS should look
for HELP.EXE and the help text file DOS.HLP.
4DOS 3.01 [5-22-90] README.DOC page 2
Files Included with 4DOS
------------------------
The following files are included with 4DOS version 3.01:
4DOS.DOC The 4DOS manual
4DOS.COM 4DOS loader for EMS or disk swapping
4DOS88.EXE 4DOS program file for any PC-compatible
system
4DOS286.EXE 4DOS program file for 186/286/386/486 systems
ALIASES Sample aliases
COMPAT.DOC Compatibility information
DOS.HLP 4DOS help text
HELP.EXE 4DOS help program
HELPCFG.EXE Color configuration program for HELP.EXE
INSTALL.BAT * Startup installation batch file
INSTALL.BTM * Additional installation batch file
KEYSTACK.SYS 4DOS KEYSTACK driver
ORDER.FRM The 4DOS license agreement, order form, and
upgrade order form
PKUNZIP.EXE * Unzip (decompression) program for 4DOS
README.1ST * Diskette README file
README.DOC This file
SYSOP.DOC ** Documentation for BBS sysops
UPDATE30.DOC Information on changes from version 2.2 to
3.01; manual corrections
VENDOR.DOC Information for shareware disk vendors
* Included only with diskette copies of 4DOS. The INSTALL files are
not included with electronically distributed copies because they will
only work properly when 4DOS is stored on diskette in its usual
distribution format.
** Included only with electronically-distributed copies of 4DOS, not
on diskette.
PKUNZIP is part of the shareware PKZIP file compression package
distributed by PKWare, 7545 North Port Washington Road, Suite 205,
Glendale, WI 53217. It is Copyright 1989 PKWare Inc., and is
distributed under license to J.P. Software. PKUNZIP is a trademark
of PKWare Inc. Shareware copies of the full PKZIP package are
available on many bulletin boards and on-line services.
The copy of PKUNZIP distributed with 4DOS has been reduced in size
with an EXE file compression program in order to save space on the
distribution disks, but is fully functional.
4DOS 3.01 [5-22-90] README.DOC page 3
The 4DOS Utility Disk
---------------------
J.P. Software is offering a new add-on product for registered 4DOS
users only, the 4DOS Utility Disk, priced at $10 plus shipping. The
utility disk includes:
* J.P. Software's help file compiler 4MAKE, and a copy of the
ASCII 4DOS help text. With 4MAKE and the help text you can
customize 4DOS's HELP by adding, deleting, or modifying commands
or command descriptions in the help file.
* TSRCOM, TurboPower Software's powerful package of TSR and
memory management utilities. The TSRCOM package allows you to
remove unruly TSRs from memory in several ways, and also includes
a memory map program and several other useful utilities.
* Shareware copies of Iram Weinstein's 4EDIT, a 4DOS full-screen
file description editor; and 4ZIP, a shell for PKZIP / PKUNZIP
allowing 4DOS file descriptions to be stored in and retrieved
from .ZIP files.
* Shareware copies of Innovative Data Concepts' SWAPDOS, a
utility to swap applications out of memory when you shell to DOS;
and SWAPSH, a swapper for the PC Tools Deluxe PCSHELL program
which allows it to run applications from the 4DOS prompt.
(4EDIT, 4ZIP, SWAPDOS, and SWAPSH are not products of J.P. Software.
The copies of these products on the utility disk are shareware, and
like all shareware you must register with the author if you continue
to use the product after a trial period.)
To order the 4DOS Utility Disk, see the upgrade order form in the
ORDER.FRM file.
4DOS 3.01 [5-22-90] README.DOC page 4
Upgrading 4DOS to Version 3.01
------------------------------
If you already have an earlier version of 4DOS, use the procedure
below to upgrade to version 3.01.
If you need to order an upgrade, a copy of the printed and bound 4DOS
version 3 manual, or a utility disk, see the upgrade order form in
the ORDER.FRM file.
Version 3.01 of 4DOS is a maintenance release. If you are a
registered owner of version 3.0, version 3.01 does not count as your
"one free upgrade", and the BRAND program you used to brand version
3.0 will also brand version 3.01.
All users can use the following upgrade procedure:
1) Be sure you have a bootable DOS floppy handy in case you have
a boot problem.
2) Install 4DOS version 3.01 using either the manual or automatic
procedure described in the documentation. Install it in a
directory which is NOT the same as the directory containing your
old 4DOS files, and do not modify your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT
files (yet).
3) If you are a registered user be sure to brand your new version
of 4DOS to convert it to a registered copy. Branding is included
in the automatic installation procedure, and described in the
manual (page 12, step 3) if you are installing 4DOS manually. If
the branding operation fails with a "brand installation error",
check that you entered the serial number correctly. If so and
you are upgrading from an older version, you probably are not
entitled to the current upgrade; see the last page of ORDER.FRM
to order an upgrade, or contact J.P. Software.
4) To test 4DOS version 3.01, run the EXE file (4DOS88.EXE for
8086/88 systems, 4DOS286.EXE for other systems; use 4DOS88.EXE if
you aren't sure). Do NOT run 4DOS.COM (i.e. do not use the
"4DOS" command) as described in the "Test Driving 4DOS" section
of the manual, as it is not compatible with the earlier version
of 4DOS already installed on your system. When testing 4DOS in
this way from a system running 4DOS version 2 your aliases will
appear as normal variables in the environment (with the first
character modified), but will not be available as aliases.
However if you reload them after starting 4DOS 3.01 you will be
able to use them.
5) Read through UPDATE30.DOC, and figure out any changes you need
to make in your normal use of 4DOS, and in CONFIG.SYS,
AUTOEXEC.BAT, 4START, your aliases file, and any other 4DOS-
related files. Pay particular attention to the items marked
4DOS 3.01 [5-22-90] README.DOC page 5
"-->". If you are upgrading from version 3.0 to 3.01, you only
need to examine the items marked "3.01".
For upgrades from version 2, the primary changes you need to
consider are:
* Modifying the 4DOS options in CONFIG.SYS and 4DSHELL to
adjust for the amount of space used for aliases and
environment. Set the alias list size with the new /A: option,
and the environment size with /E:. The /M: option is obsolete;
it now means the same thing as /E:. The minimum and default
values for history and environment have changed slightly, so if
you were using the defaults you may now need to specify your
own values.
* Using the new "@filename" option described in the manual for
your startup options in the SHELL= command in CONFIG.SYS, if
there is any possibility that the length of your option
specifications will exceed 33 characters. See pages 19 and 21
of the manual for more information.
* Adjusting any batch files which use the 4DOS internal
environment variables (%CWD, %DATE, etc.) to use the new names
which begin with an underscore (%_CWD, %_DATE, etc.).
6) Once you are familiar with the changes, modify CONFIG.SYS and
any other files accordingly, copy the 4DOS system files
(4DOS.COM, 4DOS88.EXE or 4DOS286.EXE, and KEYSTACK.SYS) to your
boot directory, and reboot your system.
7) Start modifying your aliases, batch files, and command usage
to take advantage of the powerful new features of 4DOS 3.01!
4DOS 3.01 [5-22-90] README.DOC page 6