Shareware Overload Trio 2

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Text File | 1993-08-22 | 21KB | 386 lines

INTRODUCING "BATMOUSE" - A MOUSE FOR YOUR BATCH FILES Have you ever wondered what makes a batch file seem slow at times or have you tried to write a batch file and given up in frustration? Did you ever think you might like to have multiple batch file menus or to interface your batch file with keyboard responses? Better yet, interact with your mouse? Read on. If you use DOS programs exclusively or if you use Windows and occasionally need to go to DOS to use some other program. BATMOUSE and DIRECTOR.BAT provide a means to display a sophisticated menu from within a batch file and are completely compatible with all programs. You may invoke Windows from DIRECTOR.BAT and exit Windows temporarily to DIRECTOR.BAT, execute an otherwise Windows compatible program, return to the DIRECTOR and then return to Windows - no problem. DOS dos not have a good reputation for user friendliness, and the batch file interpreter is not much better. That's why there are many programs around that will help you interface with your batch files - programs like BATMOUSE and DIRECTOR.BAT. DIRECTOR.BAT is an accumulation of ideas for batch files that ultimately led to the development of the mouse interface program BATMOUSE. Simply put, BATMOUSE is a standalone program that may be called from any batch file or from DOS; it causes the mouse cursor to appear seamlessly and reacts to any keyboard input and to the movements/clicks of your mouse. Communications between any batch file and BATMOUSE are conducted via the environment variables HR & VC (for horizontal row & vertical column) for a mouse click and the testing of ERRORLEVEL for the last key pressed. BATMOUSE checks the environment for variables HR & VC in order to set the mouse position to that which was clicked on the during the last execution of the program, if there was one. This is performed at startup unless the environment variables have not been previously set or have been set to a "-", in which case the mouse appears in the center of the screen. BATMOUSE always sets HR & VC to a "-" when the user presses a key instead of a mouse button. This allows the batch file to discern which kind of interpretation to make - mouse coordinate or key press. If either HR or VC = "-", the user last pressed a key. Mouse screen coordinates are 1,1 for the upper left corner and 25,80 (HR,VC respectively) for the lower right corner. The DIRECTOR batch file may be used with or without a mouse. However, one of its greatest features is the integration of the mouse interface program BATMOUSE. Used without a mouse, DIRECTOR.BAT requires the use of a program available on most bulletin boards called REPLY.COM or KEYPRESS.COM. They have been described in numerous magazine articles and will not be discussed here. If you are currently using one of these programs with your batch files, your existing batch file should work seamlessly with BATMOUSE since the key values returned are identical. A complete listing of DIRECTOR.BAT with line reference numbers is found in file DIRECTOR.TXT. The line sequence numbers found in the left column of this listing are provided in order to understand the following references to the descriptions of its functions and should be removed if you plan to use this example to create your own batch file. DIRECTOR.BAT is sensitive to seven parameters (%1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7). If you do not pass parameters the defaults of black and white are used. This allows you to pass only as many parameters as you require - if you pass only parameter one, a particular background screen will be painted and all the text will be white on black. The program SHOW (line 211) will paint any of 17 predefined background screens - the screen names are DIRSCN (B&W or default use) and DIRSCN00-DIRSCN15 (various color combinations). Therefore, if parameter one (%1) contains 00 or 01 or 02 ∙∙∙∙ 15, the corresponding screen will be displayed; hence, SHOW DIRSCN%1. The remaining six parameters are used to paint certain text portions of the menu: - %2 & %3 (foreground/background) are used to paint your personal menu title. - %4 & %5 (foreground/background) are used to paint the function key information. - %6 & %7 (foreground/background) are used to paint the program names at each line of the menu and the menu page number. Each of the above color parameters may be created using the color combinations for foreground and background. The following information is derived from the documentation for ANSI.SYS: Foreground Colors: 30 - Black 31 - Red 32 - Green 33 - Yellow (which is brown unless BOLD is on) 34 - Blue 35 - Magenta 36 - Cyan 37 - White Background Colors (bold does not affect these colors): 40 - Black 41 - Red 42 - Green 43 - Brown 44 - Blue 45 - Magenta 46 - Cyan 47 - White Try some of the following calls to the DIRECTOR: %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 DIRECTOR 00 33 44 37 47 37 44 DIRECTOR 00 33 46 37 47 37 44 DIRECTOR 06 33 37 37 47 37 41 DIRECTOR 08 33 47 37 47 37 41 DIRECTOR 08 33 40 37 47 37 41 Also, be sure to type DEMO to see all the background screens and some of the possible color combinations. Let's begin our analysis of DIRECTOR.BAT with line 2; this line allows the DIRECTOR to be aware that the current state of the screen is unknown and should be repainted completely. Line 3 is required if you have more than one menu screen to display (we are dealing with 3). If the condition is true, it is implied that the environment variable %MENU% is equal to something other than 'x' and therefore has been previously used; ie, the batch file is returning from a DOS based call or from an exit to DOS and the subsequent call of DIRECTOR. It then branches to the MAINMENU label found on line 24 where the screen is then completely repainted (line 28) and the appropriate program menu is displayed based on %MENU% (in this case 1, 2 or 3). DIRECTOR always returns from DOS and presents the last menu or menu 1 if this is the first time in. Upon return from a calling program or calling DIRECTOR from the command line, note that line 2 sets the variable SCRN to 'on' (case sensitive). This causes line 28 to branch (GOTO) to the SCN label (line 207) which causes the screen to be painted with a predefined screen (line 211). The program SHOW on this line will paint any of 17 predefined screens as discussed above. The use of lines 209 through 225 require some understanding of the use of ANSI.SYS - the DOS 5.0 manual (pages 593-599) provide an in depth review which is not possible here. An overview of those lines follows: Line 209 - Sets the cursor position to the upper left corner or position (0,0) which is not the same as BATMOUSE (1,1). Testing of this feature suggests that both 0,0 and 1,1 paint from the upper left corner (contrary to the Microsoft documention) while it is implied that 1,1 is below and to the right 1 character. Line 210 - Clears the line to the right of the current cursor position. Line 211 - Shows a screen as described above. Line 212 - Sets up a bold color combination based on parameters 2 and 3; hence %2 and %3. The 1 on the left determines bold which only affects the foreground color. Line 213 - Paints text (with the color from line 212) at screen line 3, column 2 - don't hesitate to change the text to something more suitable. Line 214 - Sets up a bold color combination (used with lines 215-225) based on parameters 4 and 5; hence %4 and %5. The 1 on the left determines bold. Line 226 - Causes a branch (GOTO) to %menu% (either 1 (line 30), 2 (line 42) or 3 (line 54)) where the specific menu items for the current menu page are painted (lines 30-65) using parameters 6 and 7. The program references contained in these lines should be modified to support the needs of the user. Control is the passed to line 65 (ENDSCR) where the color is set to white on black (line 66), the cursor turned on (line 67) and BATMOUSE is called (line 69) and the user must click a mouse button or press an appropriated key. If you use a lot of remarks in your batch file you will find that your batch files will execute much faster if you place statements to branch (GOTO) around them as found on line 4. A first time call on DIRECTOR branches to MENU1 where MENU is set to 1 and control is passed to MAINMENU on line 24. The lines from 8 to 23 are Page UP & Page DOWN controls and cause the program to branch based on which menu page is currently being displayed. The mouse cursor may also be used to invoke this code if the user clicks the mouse button while the mouse cursor is on the upper or lower 3 lines of the screen - see lines 90-95. Lines 90 & 91 test for the top and bottom of the screen respectively and because they are the most likely lines to be clicked on, they are placed at the beginning of the tests for Page UP and Page DOWN - this speeds up the process. The keyboard keys Page UP & Page DOWN return codes in ERRORLEVEL that conflict with the codes for "I" & "Q" respectively, and therefore are not used in this example. There is no reason not to use them if you are not also using "I" & "Q"; remember these keys will be tested as equals to Page UP and Page DOWN. A more complete list of codes may be found in most technically oriented program documentation and in the various DOS manuals - see page 632 of the DOS 5.0 manual. At the MAINMENU label found on line 24, the drive and directory are immediately set (lines 25 & 26) just in case they were not reset by a called program or batch file. If you plan to use some other drive/directory as a base to work from, change line 25/26 appropriately. Program BATMOUSE (line 69) is called. BATMOUSE then waits for a mouse or keyboard response, all the while moving the mouse cursor appropriately. Line 70 determines whether the user has pressed a key or has clicked a mouse button. The environment variable VC is tested for not being a "-" which, if true, would indicate a mouse button was pressed. If true (ie, not a "-"), DIRECTOR.BAT branches to the MOUSE label on line 89 where the initial tests for Page UP & Page DOWN are conducted as described above. Conversely, if VC contains the value "-" control is passed to the next line (71 in this case) where the first tests are for the values 'H' or 'h' for HELP. A brief display of the help screen (lines 204-206) occurs, the user presses a key or mouse button and the complete screen is regenerated beginning at line 207. Immediately following the check for help is a check for the F10 key (line 73) which is a menu item for Page DOWN. Several tests for an exit to DOS are made (lines 74-77); they test for 'Q', ESC, F9 and 'q' respectively and cause a branch to F9 (line 227). The F9 label (EXIT TO DOS) sets up the echo command which causes a screen clear when line 230 is invoked. At this point it is likely the user wants to run a program and we need to prepare for repainting the screen - line 87 makes that preparation by setting the environment variable SCRN to 'on' (case sensitive). Lines 79-86 check which key (F8-F1 respectively) was pressed and branch accordingly. A discussion of how the 'program' branching works follows below. Any other key causes a branch to BADKEY on line 125. Line 126 causes a beep on your PC's speaker. The character that you see is the ASCII bell character # 7 - it can generally be produced with your word processor by pressing and holding the ALT key and then pressing the 7 key on the numeric key pad on the right side of your keyboard or a special menu found in some of the newer WINDOWS programs. It is sometimes a non-printable character. Control then bypasses MAINMENU and branches (line 128) to REENTER (line 68) where BATMOUSE is called and the process starts again. Lines 99-113 test for a valid range of VERTICAL COLUMNS (VC) which may be expanded or reduced to suit one's needs. The test in this case is for a vertical range because the menu is presented vertically. A resulting valid test on one of these lines forces a branch to the the CALLPROG label on line 115 where tests on HR are performed (lines 117-124). A true comparison on any one of these tests causes a branch to a label corresponding to the combination of the key pressed and the screen (page) being presented. Look more closely at lines 79-86 (keyboard) and lines 117-124 (mouse); the branch-to location is determined by the concatenation of two variables. One is a literal that is based on which key was pressed or which position of the screen was clicked on with the mouse (in this case F1-F7) and the other is the value of the environment variable MENU. MENU should only be set by DIRECTOR.BAT and must be 1, 2 or 3 unless you are adding more pages to the menu. Therefore, all program call labels in the menus are named "Fnn" (lines 129 to 203). Line 129 ("F11") represents key F1 pressed/selected from menu page 1 while line 197 ("F73") represents key F7 pressed/selected from menu page 3. There are three ways of setting up the call of a menu program selection; 1) use CALL to execute batch files (call is not required if a batch file call is the last line in the calling batch file) from within a batch file (line 189); 2) use the program name directly (line 187) or; 3) use SET PROGTODO=<program name or batch file name> and exit DIRECTOR via the GOTO END (lines 178-179). Note that the label END does not clear the screen which makes for a more seamless transition to your program. Be sure to set the appropriate directory when required; either in-line (line 156) or in your external batch files. External batch files called from the DIRECTOR should not call the DIRECTOR while those that are invoked using the PROGTODO mechanism should call DIRECTOR as the last statement (command) and should not use the CALL option. Use the statement DIRECTOR. Some discussion as to how the PROGTODO mechanism (line 230) functions is in order. Since the command is not one of the internal batch file commands it is interpreted to be an external file name and since it is enclosed in %∙∙∙∙%, the batch file intepreter will first determine the contents of %PROGTODO%. Therefore, upon exit from DIRECTOR, DOS will invoke the contents of PROGTODO. Suppose you want to install your first program in DIRECTOR.BAT and that you want to use the empty line F8 on menu page 1 for that purpose. It would be beneficial to have a copy of DIRECTOR.TXT (DIRECTOR.BAT with line reference numbers). From the DOS command line type the following: COPY DIRECTOR.TXT LPT1 That should print a copy of DIRECTOR.TXT on the printer connected to the default printer port of your PC. The following steps will assist you in converting DIRECTOR.BAT to meet your personal requirements (make sure overtype is on or insert is off on your word processor): ∙ Consider changing the text P E R S O N A L D I R E C T O R on line 213 to something like your company name or "J O H N'S D I R E C T O R". ∙ Review the text beginning at line 30 thru line 39. These are the lines that represent the specific program displays of menu page one. Line 32 represents F1 and line 39 represents F8. Be aware that there are trailing spaces beyond the program reference - some word processors do not display the line feed/carriage returns found at the end of the all lines in ASCII files. The idea here is to avoid affecting the alignment of the spaces which provide an on screen visual organization. ∙ Insert the text you want to display on screen beginning on line 39 just under the 'P' in 'PAINT BRUSH'. ∙ Note that the label (line 150) for this menu page and F-KEY is F81. As discussed above, F8 is for the key F8 and 1 is for menu page 1. Just after line 150 and before line 151 you must insert at least one if not more lines. This can be done with most word processors by turning on insert (overtype is off), placing the cursor at the beginning of line 151 and pressing <enter> once for each new line to be inserted. Note, this will forever change the line references in DIRECTOR.BAT, however, you may still use DIRECTOR.TXT as a reference. ∙ If you want your program to operate in some other directory you should enter the text 'CD \SOMEDIRNAME' on its on blank line. ∙ On another blank line add the name of the program to execute. If the program is a batch file, the name of the batch file must be preceded by the word 'CALL ' (note the trailing space). Therefore, 'CALL YOURBAT'. If your program is a COM or EXE file, simply type 'YOURPROG'. That's all there is to it - save the file and execute the DIRECTOR with your preferred parameters. As you can see, the options are quite diverse - you can change DIRECTOR.BAT to suit any situation or menu requirement. The best news of all is that the process is compatible with all programs, performs very quickly and requires no resident memory - unless of course you aren't already using ANSI.SYS which does require 4K of resident memory (see file README). BATMOUSE.COM and DIRECTOR.BAT are available through some BBS's and the larger shareware distributors. Nick Makris is a small business consultant and systems engineer on the North Coast of California. For a 'no-nonsense', fully registered version of BATMOUSE, the corresponding files and current version of this documentation, send a check for $10.00 (including $1.00 P/H) to: Startech Systems BATMOUSE PO BOX 1395 Gualala CA, 95445-1395 California residents add appropriate sales tax.