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EASY DOS MENU Version 2.5 SERIAL SOLUTIONS, INC. P.O. Box 2392 Littleton, CO 80161-2392 (303) 347-8547 Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitations of Liabilities: This manual and the enclosed software were prepared by Serial Solutions, Inc. While the authors and program developers have taken reasonable care in preparing this manual and the files on the enclosed diskettes to assure their accuracy, Serial Solutions, Inc. and the authors assume no liability resulting from any inaccuracy or omissions contained in them of from the use of the information or programs contained here. The authors and Serial Solutions, Inc. have no expressed or implied warranty of any kind with regard to these programs or to the supplemental documentation in this manual. In no event, shall the authors, the program developers, or Serial Solutions, Inc. be liable for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of the furnishing, performance, or use of any of these programs or documentation. This disclaimer includes but is not limited to any loss of service, loss of business or anticipatory profits, or consequential damages resulting from the use or operation of the enclosed software. Serial Solutions, Inc. encourages your comments, questions and any suggestions for improvement that you wish to provide. Please feel free to contact us at: Serial Solutions, Inc. P.O. Box 2392 Littleton, CO 80161 (303) 347-8547 CompuServe ID - 73544,3444 INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS The following will help you install the Easy DOS Menu(EDM) to your PC. You may not install EDM from a hard drive or to another floppy disk. Insert the Menu disk and type "INSTALL" at the prompt. All the needed information will be displayed on the screen, so follow all of them as they instruct. However, the following will further explain the screen prompts. At any time before the copying of files begins, the user may hit <ESC> to exit from the INSTALL program. For destination path, you may accept the default by simply hitting <ENTER>, or you may enter your own drive and path. For this, the standard is: [DRIVE:\PATH] followed by an <ENTER>. After entering the correct drive and path, the program will ask if you wish to include the "DEMO Menu." If this is the first time you are installing the menu, you must say "YES". since the program needs a menu file. To change the option from "NO" to "YES" and vice versa, you may use the space bar, the arrow keys, or by moving your mouse. NOTE: <ESC> will always equate to "NO" in these situations. Once the desired option is chosen, the necessary files will be copied to your designated drive and path. WARNING MESSAGES: There are two warning messages that need to be explained. DIRECTORY WARNING: This means that your chosen path already exists. This is a warning to alert you to the fact that if you do not change the path, some existing files may be copied over. FILE WARNING: This tells you that a file already exists with that particular name in that particular path. You may choose to copy over it, or leave the old file intact by not copying the file from the disk. ERROR MESSAGES: 1. "Cannot Create Named Directory" - System could not create the specified directory. 2. "<filename> Does Not Exist On The Source Drive" - This particular file does not exist on the source drive. User should contact IST to find out how to address this problem. 3. "Cannot Get Current Working Directory" - The system is having trouble locating this directory. The directory may not exist or is corrupted. 4. "Drive Timed Out, Assumed Not Ready - Drive <letter>" - The program could not locate specified drive in allotted time. User should check drive and retry. 5. "Drive Not Ready - Drive <letter>" - Door may be open or there may be no disk in the drive. User should check the drive and disk. 6. "Error Creating Directory <Directory Name>" - System had trouble creating this particular directory. 7. "Invalid Drive <letter>" - This particular drive does not exist on the PC. You should check the drive you inputted. 8. "Cannot Install To a Floppy Drive" - the user can only install from a floppy drive to a hard drive. 9. "Not Enough Memory On Destination Drive" - This error occurs if there is not enough memory on the destination drive to hold the necessary files to be copied. The user should check the drive to get rid of unnecessary files so that enough memory will be freed up. 10. "Unable To Locate Internal File" - There are necessary internal file(s) missing. You should contact Serial Solutions to find out how to address this problem. 11. "Possible Corruption Of Internal File" - The necessary internal file(s) have been corrupted. Contact Serial Solutions to determine how to address this problem. 12. "Unable To Open Internal File" - The necessary internal file(s) are either missing or are corrupted. Contact Serial Solutions to determine how to address this problem. 13. "Not Enough Memory To Allocate" - There is an internal lack of memory. The user should remove any TSR's (Terminate and Stay Resident programs) that may be in memory. 14. "<Directory Name> Directory Does Not Exist In Destination" - The specified directory does not exist, or it does not exist in the user defined path. 15. "Cannot Install From A Hard Drive" - This program cannot be installed from a hard drive, only a floppy drive. EASY DOS MENU (EDM) The "Easy DOS Menu (EDM)" is a menuing system that allows the user to run virtually any program residing in their computer from a friendly interface. By customizing each module represented in the menu, all your applications can be invoked with a stroke of a key. Include Lotus 1-2-3, WordPerfect, Harvard Graphics, Turbo C, a Daily Calendar, even a call to Windows, or for that matter any program that you currently use. Any program can be run by moving to the desired module and selecting it with either your keyboard or another pointing device. When you are finished with the application program, you will be immediately returned to the menu. No more effort is expended in locating a desired program, installing needed drivers or recalling crucial command line arguments, its all been recorded and ready to run. Switching from one process to another is as simple as locating it in the menu and selecting it. Moreover, programs can be assigned to function keys, so that all you need to do is hit the specified key assigned to the desired application. Program Operation and Description Command Line Arguments: Command line arguments are options that can be passed to the menu. Invoking command line arguments will cause the menu to take on certain attributes when the menu initializes. Command line arguments are not case sensitive. This means that any options used on the command line can be in either lower case or upper case. The order in which options are placed on the command line is not important, any order will suffice equally well. You are not limited to any specific number of options so any or all options may be used when invoking the menu. Specific menu command line arguments: /S - The "S" option adds a shadow behind each box in the menu. The shadow will highlight each option on the menu seemingly elevating it from the screen. The shadow option will allow up to four items to be displayed on the screen at one time. If the shadow option is not invoked the screen has the ability to display up to five items on the screen at one time. /V - The "V" option represents the echo mode or "verbose mode. This means that all commands within the module to be executed, will be printed, or echoed to the screen as they are processed. This option is very effective in troubleshooting commands that don't appear to be working as they should. Inserting the MS-DOS command "PAUSE" at the end of a command list will give you a list of each command followed by its result if one is supplied. /T - A "T" invokes the display time option. If this option is invoked a continuously running representation of the current time is displayed in the lower right corner of the screen along the copyright bar. An AM or PM is inserted after the time to denote whether the current time is reflecting morning or evening. The format of the time is displayed as - HOUR:MINUTE:SECOND [AM | PM] /D - A "D" invokes the display date option. If this option is invoked a representation of the current date is displayed in the lower left corner of the screen along the copyright bar. The format of the date is displayed as MONTH/DAY/YEAR. -XXX.MCF - This option allows the user to pass a specific menu file to the program. If this option is used the current directory is searched first for the named file. If the file is not found, each directory included in the "PATH" command is then searched. This gives the user the ability to save several different menus each containing different applications. The .MCF file extension is optional for this argument, if it is not included, the extension will automatically be appended to the file that is placed on the command line. MENU SYNTAX: [DRIVE:][\PATH]EDMENU [/S | /V | /T | /D | -XXX.MCF] Adding Menu to the Path Command: To run the program from any location in the machine, you must add the menu directory to the PATH command which is usually declared inside autoexec.bat file. This can be done, on any text editor. To implement this feature the menu path ( [DRIVE:][\PATH] ) needs to be appended to the end of the "PATH" command. EXAMPLE: PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\MENU MOVEMENT WITHIN THE MENU: Movement from within the menu can be accomplished through the use of a pointing device. The currently supported pointing devices include the keyboard, a mouse, or the On-Command remote unit (hand-held keyboard). Keyboard If you choose to use your keyboard as the pointing device, there are several keys which take on special meaning in the menu program, they are as follows: Space Bar - In some modes the space bar will be used as a device to toggle between different options. Escape Key - The escape key is important since it will exit from any screen you are currently working in. This is helpful if you get into some menu option by mistake, escape will always get you out. The escape key is also used for exiting the menu. If you wish to exit the menu at any time, the escape key will bring you back to MS-DOS. Enter (Return key) - The enter key will select any option that is currently highlighted. Function Keys (F1 - F10) - The function key usage will vary depending upon how you get the menu package configured. The function keys are normally used to run external programs and utilities that have been installed with the program. Arrow Keys - The arrow keys on the keyboard are used to move from one menu selection to another. The current option is usually highlighted so that you know your current position in the menu. NOTE: In order to use the arrow keys on the keyboard number pad, be sure the number lock is not activated. Mouse If you wish to use a mouse as your primary pointing device your mouse driver must first be installed before entering the program. To install your mouse driver correctly consult your mouse users manual. Once this has been accomplished, the menu can be run almost entirely from the mouse, with the exception of entering text. The buttons on the mouse represent assignment keys within the menu to accomplish certain tasks. Mouse Key Assignment 3 Button Mouse: The left button is defined as the "ESCAPE" key. The right button is defined as the "ENTER" key. The middle button is defined as combination key "ALT-O" in the Menu and function key F1 in the Editor. If the user wishes to enter an escape they need only to hit the left button. To use the enter key you only need to hit the right button. To issue an F1 call you should hit the middle button. 2 Button Mouse: The left button is defined as the "ESCAPE" key. The right button is defined as the "ENTER" key. When both the left and the right key are pressed simultaneously a combination key "ALT-O" in the Menu or the function key F1 in the Editor is produced. If the user wishes to enter an escape they need only to hit the left button. To use the enter key you only need to hit the right button. To issue an F1 call you should hit both mouse buttons at the same time. Mouse Movement Movement with the mouse is accomplished in the same manner with both types of mouse. Moving the mouse in an upwards or downwards direction along a flat surface will act as the arrow keys and move the highlighted box up and down on the screen. ON-COMMAND Hand Held Remote If this option is used as the pointing device the on-command driver must be installed before entering the menu program. To accomplish this correctly you should consult your on-command users manual. A file has been included on the menu system disk which is the on-command menu file (MENU.MAC). This file should be included on the on-command command line to get the maximum usage out of the remote unit. On-command keys that have special meaning. ON-COMMAND MENU MOVEMENT Arrow Keys Menu Movement End, Exit Escape Key 1-10 The function keys F1 - F10 Enter, Run Enter Key or Return Key Space Space Bar Y This button will give a yes to questions asked N This button will give a no to questions asked Menu This will invoke the menu program from anywhere in DOS. Provided the On-Command Driver has been installed. THE OPTION BAR The Option Bar can be thought of as a small menu within a menu. Any programs that have fixed arguments or parameters each time you call them can be placed on the option bar. Once the option bar has appeared on your screen, you may then select any of your favorite programs with the press of a button. The option bar can be accessed through the menu system itself. The option bar is called directly from within the menu environment. This gives you the ability to define programs in which you never need to change the program configuration (the option bar) as well as programs whose configurations you can change easily (the menu environment). CALLING OPTION BAR: ALT-O When you hold down the alternate key on the keyboard and simultaneously press the "O" key (not zero), the option bar pops up on top of your menu. Once the option bar is on your screen the item on the top row, left corner becomes highlighted. You can now move around the option bar as you wish until the program you wish to run becomes highlighted. Option Bar Movement and Selection There are several ways to move around within the option bar. You may use the arrow keys on the keyboard, if you have a mouse installed you can simply slide the mouse along the desk in the direction you wish to move. If you have the On-Command hand held remote system, you can choose the arrow keys on the remote unit. If your option bar contains more than one row of program options, you can move up and down rows, as well as along rows, to make your selection. To select the desired option, once you have positioned the highlight bar over the desired option, you simply hit <ENTER> on the keyboard, mouse, or remote button. For specific keyboard key assignments, mouse button assignments, or On-Command key assignments, please refer to "Movement within the Menu" section in the MENU chapter of this manual. NOTE: In order to use the arrow keys on the keyboard number pad, make sure the NUMBER LOCK is not activated. Once the application program has been completed, you will return to the same place you called the option bar from. Permanent Modules There are six (6) permanent modules that exist in the option bar. They are: Settings, Editor, Help, Info, Filex, and Clock. Each of these will be discussed in the sections following this one. Adding Modules You may add any programs to the Option Bar, as long as you physically add them to the "SYSMOD.SS" file. They must be added in the correct format. The format is as follows: <filename>|<file description>|NULL The filename will be the program name. The file description will be used in the Help Menu to describe which key is assigned to this program. The NULL is necessary because the third field is used for calling the permanent modules. Each item is seperated by the pipe symbol ("|"); To add this information, you may use any editor (i.e. Edlin or Edit). Then simply add the information to the "SYSMOD.SS" file. Now, when you access the Option Bar, your files will be listed with the permanent modules. Moreover, if you access the Help Menu, you will notice that a key assignment has been assigned to your program. You may now call the program by simply hitting the assigned key combination. Note: Since you cannot include the path where the file exists, you should add the desired path to your "PATH= " statement in your autoexec.bat file. Otherwise, the program will most likely not be found. THE EDM SETTINGS OVERVIEW The EDM Settings option allows you to assign certain characteristics to your menu, which are then reflected in the way the menu is displayed on the screen. The EDM Settings are listed in a pop-up menu which has the option on the left side of the menu, and its current setting on the right side. Specifics The function key assignment for this option is F1. There are six attributes that can be added to the menu internally. They are shadow, echo, time, date, tension, and exit verification. These menu settings can either be turned off or on. This is done in one of three ways: (1) By using the space bar to change from "OFF" to "ON" and vice versa. (2) By using the <ENTER> key, either on the keyboard or on the mouse, to change from "OFF" to "ON", and vice versa. (3) By moving the mouse to change from "OFF" to "ON" and vice versa. Once the user has set all the menu settings that he/she desires, the user must hit <ESCAPE> on either the keyboard or the mouse. All the changes made will exist until the user changes them. Shadow - All boxes in the menu can be represented with or without a shadow. For the menu, this means that if the shadow is off, up to five boxes can be shown on the screen at any one time. If there is a shadow, only four boxes can be shown on the screen at any one time. The shadow does not affect anything, it just distinguishes the boxes more completely. Echo - If the echo is on, all commands of the chosen module will be printed to the screen as they are processed. If the echo is off, the user will not see the commands. The benefit of having the echo on, is that if a desired process does not execute properly, the user may see a DOS system error which will help explain the dilemma. Time - Time will be shown in the bottom, right corner of the screen if the time setting is on. If the user does not wish to have the time displayed, he/she may turn it off. Date - The date will be shown in the bottom, left corner of the screen if the date setting is on. Again, if the user does not wish to have the date on the screen, he/she may turn it off. Tension - This is the tension of the mouse. It ranges from 1 to 4. 1 is the least amount of tension, meaning the mouse moves very quickly on the screen. 4 is the most tension, meaning the mouse moves more slowly. Thus, as you increase the tension, the movement of the mouse will be easier to control. This tension setting does not affect the program in any way, it just enables the user to have more control over the movement of the mouse. Verify Exit - This determines whether the user is asked to verify that he/she wishes to return to DOS. If "YES" is selected, a question will pop-up asking you to verify that you wish to exit. If this option is "NO", you will simply exit to DOS. Saver Time - This determines how many minutes will pass before the screen saver activates. This value can range from 1 to 4 minutes. Once the screen saver is activated, hitting any key will bring you back to the menu. EDITOR The editor allows the user to customize the menu as he/she desires. The user may edit an existing module by highlighting it and then selecting the edit option. At this time, the commands needed to run this particular application are displayed to the screen. Generally, the form is: - drive - path - program name or batch file Once the user enters the editor, he/she has many specialized options. Options: Editing Commands - This concerns the actual editing of commands within the edit box. There are three specific keys for adding a line and deleting a command. (1) Control-B - This will insert a line above the currently highlighted bar. A new highlight bar will occur at this spot and the user will be expected to enter a new command. If the user does not wish to add a new command after hitting Control-B, he/she may hit <ESC> and the new line will disappear and the lines below will move up one. If the user wants to add a new command, he/she must type in the new command and hit <ENTER>. (2) Control-I and Enter - Either of these two keys will add a new line below the currently highlighted line. Again, if the user does not wish to enter a new command after hitting either of these key assignments, he/she must hit <ESC> and the new highlight bar will disappear and the highlight bar will highlight the previous command. If the user wishes to enter a new command, just type in the command and hit <ENTER>. (3) Control-D - This deletes the currently highlighted line. To edit a line, move the highlight bar to the desired line. Then, just type in the correct text. If you are typing on a line which had some text, it will disappear as soon as you type in the first character of your new text. However, if you hit <ESC> before hitting <ENTER>, the old line will be restored. When adding a new module, the first line in the edit box will be highlighted with nothing in it. This tells the user that the program is expecting some input. If the user does not wish to enter any commands, just hit <ESC>. The <ESC> key will get the user out of the edit box with all the changes intact, unless the user hits <ESC> at the end of newly inputted line. In this case, the new line will disappear, and the preceding line will be highlighted. If the user hits <ESC> now, he/she will exit the edit box with all changes intact. NOTE: If the user wishes to save the changes made to the modules, see Save and Save-as below. If the user wishes to undo these changes, see Undo below. EDITOR OPTION BAR F1 is the function key for the editor option bar. It can also be called by hitting the middle button of a three button mouse, or by hitting both buttons on a two button mouse. The editor option bar includes only those options that are relevant to the editor. It operates just as the menu option bar did. The desired option can be chosen in one of three ways. (1) By hitting the capitalized letter of the desired option. (2) By moving the highlight bar, with the mouse, the arrow keys, or the space bar, to the desired option and hit the <ENTER> key. (3) By hitting the specified function key assignment of the desired option. NOTE: This does not work while you are in the option bar. The editor option bar provides the user with eight (8) options. Add a Module The function key assignment is F2. This option allows the user to add a module after the module that is being highlighted. When this option is chosen, the user is asked to input the needed data. First, a box will appear asking for the title of the new module. If you wish to enter a title, just type it in and hit <ENTER>. If you do not wish to add a module once you enter this option, just hit <ESC>. If the user typed in a title and hit <ENTER>, a blank box will appear asking the user to input the commands needed to execute this new module. A blank line is their so that the user knows that the computer is waiting for some input. If the user hits <ESC> now, the module still exists and will be added to the menu. However, it will be empty since no commands were entered. If the user wishes to enter any commands, just follow the steps outlined in "Editing Commands." Delete a Module The function key assignment is F3. This option allows the user to delete the module that is presently being highlighted. Before the deletion occurs, a warning box will appear asking for verification. If you do not wish to delete the module, you must choose "NO." This can be done in four ways: (1) Hit "N" or "n" on the keyboard. (2) Hit the space bar until "No" appears. (3) Hit the arrow keys until "No" appears. (4) Move the mouse until "No" appears. Once "No" is highlighted, hit <ENTER>. The same options hold for yes, except that the user is looking for "Yes" and may hit "Y" or "y" instead. Rename an Item The function key for this is F4. This option allows the user to change the name of the highlighted module. A box will appear asking the user to input a new title. If the user does not wish to change the title of the module, he/she must hit <ESC>. Otherwise, the user needs to enter the new title name and hit <ENTER>. Change Title The function key assignment is F5. This allows you to change the title of the Menu. Once this selected, you will be instructed to enter the new title followed by an <ENTER>. Again, if you hit <ESC> before <ENTER>, the title will not change. Undo Changes The function key assignment is F6. This option will undo all changes made since the last save. Thus, all this option does is reload the .MCF file that the user is using. Therefore, if any previous changes had been saved, the undo will include those changes. Save Changes The function key assignment is F7. This option will save the menu as it exists. Thus, any changes made to the menu will be saved over the .MCF file that is being used. Save As The function key assignment is F8. A box will appear with the existing .MCF file, and will ask the user to input the new .MCF file name. If the user does not wish to save the menu, he/she may hit <ESC> and it will not be saved. Otherwise, the user may enter the new file name and hit <ENTER>. NOTE: The user need not add an extension. If one is added, it will be stripped off and the ".MCF" extension will be added automatically. Moreover, even though the entire path is shown in the Change File Name box, you may not add a path to your filename. You may only type in a new filename. Change Call-Type The function key for this is F9. This is an option that should only be used by the more experienced user. This option allows the user to define what call-type each command within the module should have. The default call for each command is a DOS system call. In almost all cases, the user will want to use the default case. However, if a program is too large to load into memory while the menu is loaded, the user may choose between two other calls. First, the user can execute a program and return to the menu. Or second, the user can execute a program and not return to the menu, but instead to DOS. When this option is called, two windows will appear. The first shows what the command is and what the existing call is. The second window contains the three choices: - CALL TO DOS - EXECUTE - RETURN - EXECUTE - NO RETURN If the existing call-type is correct, the user may hit <ESC> and nothing will change. If the user wants to change the call-type, he/she can move the highlight bar, with the arrow keys or the mouse, to the desired call-type and hit <ENTER>. HELP SCREEN The Help Screen can be selected within the menu from the option bar or by function key F3. It gives a listing of all the fixed modules, as well as user established modules, with their corresponding function key assignment. If there are over 10 modules, the help screen will show that for modules 11 through 20 will have an added shift to the function key. For modules 21 through 30, the help screen will show that a Control must be added. For example, F2 is a function key for the Editor, Shift-F2 could be an assignment to some user defined module, and Control-F2 could be a function key for some other user defined module. For the most part, a user will not encounter the need for using the Shift and Control buttons, but as more and more user defined modules are added, the need for these buttons will become evident. INFORMATION SCREEN The information screen can be selected within the menu from the option bar or by function key F4. This screen provides the user with data regarding the "EASY DOS MENU." It includes the version number, the revision number, the specific serial number of the disk, as well as the year of the copyrighted disk. Moreover, it provides the user with Serial Solution's address and phone number. FILE EXECUTION Version 1.21 OVERVIEW The File Execution module gives the user an environment in which they can run any MS-DOS program or batch file from the menu screen. The program to be run does not have to exist as a menu option. STAND ALONE FILEX The File Execution routine can be run as a stand alone program which can act as a program monitor executing the users applications. The command line syntax is as follows: FILEX [drive:][\complete DOS path] The user can specify a path name that file execution will change to on initialization of the program. If no argument is passed to the program on the command line the current subdirectory will be used. The command line options are both optional and either or both may be used. SCREEN LAYOUT The File Execution screen contains three boxes in the center of the screen and a program option box along the bottom of the screen. The title bar along the top of the screen displays the program name and version number. The current drive and path name are in the highlighted line along the bottom of the screen. The three boxes in the center of the screen contain the files that exist in the directory, the directories that are related to the current directory and the valid drives that your system possesses. These three boxes are labeled FILES, DIRECTORIES, and DRIVES. PROGRAM OPTION BOX The program option box has four choices available to the user. These options are Execute File - Change Directory - Change Drive - Exit. These options are selected by positioning the highlight bar over the option of choice using the control keys and pressing the ENTER key. FILEX MOVEMENT AND SELECTION SPACE BAR: The space bar will move the highlight bar to the right, wrapping around the screen when the end of the options are reached. RIGHT ARROW: The right arrow key will also move the highlight bar to the right as it proceeds through the options, wrapping around to the beginning when it reaches the far right side. LEFT ARROW: The left arrow key moves the highlight bar to the left side of the screen wrapping around at the beginning to the end of the options. ESC : The escape key serves the same purpose as the exit option on the program options. The program is exited and returned to the menu or the normal dos environment where it was called from. PROGRAM FEATURES Execute File: The execute file option places the highlight bar in the FILES window on the left side of the screen. The user is then able to select the file they would like to run. The user can use the up and down arrow keys to scroll through the window to the file they would like to execute. ESC: If the escape key is hit inside the files window the highlight bar returns to the program option box and no application is run. ENTER: If the enter key is depressed on a file from inside the execute file option, The program option box is cleared with the application that was chosen placed there. The program option box will now say RUNNING-><USER APPLICATION> with a flashing cursor following the application on the proceeding line. At this point the user /can enter command line arguments for the program or just hit the ENTER key again if there are no arguments. NOTE: If the application chosen is not a .EXE, .COM, or .BAT file, an error message will appear since these are the only types of DOS programs that can be run. Change Directory: This option will allow the user to change to a directory that is directly related to it. In other words the user can automatically change from a directory to its parent(e.g. .. ) or to one of its child subdirectories( e.g. one that is attached to it at a lower level in the directory hierarchy). When this option is selected the first item in the directory box becomes highlighted. The user can then scroll up and down until the directory of choice is selected. ESC: The escape key makes the highlight in the directory box disappear and the highlight returns to the program option box. The user is then free to make another selection. ENTER: The enter key will select the highlighted directory as the current directory. The file window will fill with the new files within that subdirectory. The directories which are related to the selected directory will become the active names in the subdirectory window. Change Drive Option: The change drive option allows the user to change the current logged drive in which the system is active. The letters that appear in the box are the possible drive configurations that the system detected on initialization. When the change drive option is selected from the program option box, the first drive specification in the drive box is highlighted. The user can then scroll up and down to select the drive of their choice. ESC: The escape key will make the highlight bar disappear from the drive selection box, and will reappear in the program option box. The user is then free to move about the program option box and make a new selection. ENTER: If a drive is selected and the enter key is depressed the system changes over to the new drive spec. chosen by the user. The system picks up the current default directory on that drive and fills out the directory window with all the child subdirectories of the current directory. All the files in this directory are then filled out in the file window. The highlight now appears in the program option box, ready for the user to make a new selection. The drive box remains constant through the execution of the program since valid drives are static with any given system. NOTE: There are a number of possible error messages at the drive selection option, the most common of which is a floppy drive has been selected and the drive is not ready. Exit: The exit option closes out the program and returns the user back to the menu program or to the DOS level if the program was being run as a stand alone.. On exit all memory used by the program is returned to the system. FUNCTION KEY OPTIONS F1: Function Key F1 will bring up a blank line in the program options box. A flashing Cursor will be present at the left side of the line. The user is able to enter any command at this point. Valid Commands include the full path name to any program that doesn't exist in the current subdirectory( e.g. c:\lotus\123, etc...) or any valid dos command ( DIR, TYPE, etc...) or any program that can be found by the PATH environmental variable. Once an application is run a message will appear at the bottom of the screen which says " HIT ANY KEY TO RETURN TO FILE EXECUTION ". Once the user depresses a key the file execution screen will return and be ready for the next command. F2: Directory Statistics. If the F2 key is selected the system will take a quick scan of the current subdirectory and report several vital statistics of the directory. Organization of the statistics box is as follows: 1). PATH 2). FILES 3). BYTES USED 4). BYTES FREE PATH: This line tells what subdirectory the scan is occurring for. ( otherwise known as the current directory). FILES: This is the number of files that reside in the current sub-directory. This file number includes all subdirectories and includes them as files. (This means that the entry on the number of files line is the actual number of items in the sub-directory files and directories) BYTES USED: This number is the sum of all the sizes of all the files in the directory. In essence the number given on this line is the total size of the subdirectory. The files in lower subdirectories are not included in this number. BYTES FREE: This number should be the same from all subdirectories, it is the total number of available bytes left in the system. NOTE: The user has an additional option from the directory statistics window, which is that of window statistics. The window statistics are going to be the same in most cases unless an F5 (LOAD ON) routine has been used. SEE FUNCTION KEY INDEX - F5 - LOAD ON - for more information on that function. The window statistics are laid out in an identical format as the directory statistics. To execute the window statistics the user would hit function key F1 from inside the directory statistics. PATH: FILES: BYTES USED: BYTES FREE: PATH: This entry in the window is the current path of the present subdirectory. FILES: This number is the number of files that are currently used in the window. The number is different from the directory statistics if the user has done a LOAD BY.. function before performing this operation. BYTES USED: This number is the total number of bytes used in the files that are presently located in the window. The number of bytes can be different from the regular directory statistics if the user has done a LOAD ON.. function (F5) before performing this function. BYTES FREE: This number is the total number of bytes free in the system and should always be the same as the directory statistics entry. F3: REVERSE FILE SORT - The reverse file sort resorts the files in the file window. The default order is ascending order and will always bring up the files in this sorted order. The reverse sort changes the order in which the are sorted and this order is maintained throughout the execution of the program. If the files are in ascending order and the reverse sort is executed the files will be sorted in descending order. If the files are in ascending order and the reverse sort is executed the files will be sorted in ascending order. F4: LOAD ON... - This function is performed by hitting the F4 key. A box with a LOAD ON.. Title will appear with a flashing cursor before the highlighted line. The User at this point will need to enter a string on which they would like the files in the file box entered. All DOS wildcards are valid in the LOAD ON... function. Some examples of LOAD ON.. strings are the following, *.*, *.exe, 123.* f??.* etc.. Once the user has entered the string they should hit enter. The file box at this point will contain only the files in the current subdirectory that match this file pattern. The highlight bar should now appear in the program option box so the user is now free to perform any normal operation. NOTE: The file statistics of the window are now available in the window statistics. See (F2 - DIRECTORY STATISTICS) F5: KEY ASSIGNMENTS - The key assignments box gives the user a quick reference to what each function key does. The key assignment box is layed out as follows: F1 - RUN FILE (PROGRAM ) F2 - DIR. STATISTICS F3 - REVERSE FILE SORT F4 - LIST ON... F5 - KEY ASSIGNMENTS ERROR MESSAGES 1. "Invalid Subdirectory Name" - This error occurs when the user tries to change to a subdirectory that does not exist. This error is commonly caused by a misspelling of the directory name. 2. "Invalid Drive Specification" - This error occurs when the user tries to change to a drive that does not exist on the system. The user should check which drives are valid on their particular system. 3. "Not Enough Memory to Allocate" - This error occurs when the program tries to create an internal structure and their is not enough memory in the system to allocate space for it. This error can only be fixed by increasing the size of the users system. 4. "Not Enough Memory To Execute" - This error occurs when the user is trying to execute a program and it is so large that it can not fit into the available memory with the file execution program. This can possibly be fixed by unloading all active programs from memory except the file execution program and retrying the execution of the program. The only other remedy is for the user to increase the size of their systems memory. 5. "Not An Executable File" - This error occurs when the user has chosen a file from the file box and tried to execute it. The cause is that the chosen file is not an executable file, in other words it is not able to be executed. The MS-DOS file configurations are that only files with the extensions of .EXE, .COM, and .BAT can be executed. The user should re-examine the file and only execute an executable file. 6. "Argument List Exceeds 128 Bytes" - This error occurs when the user has selected a file to execute and the command line argument was to long. The remedy for this error is to re-check the command line argument and try again. 7. "COMMAND.COM Can Not Be Found" - This error occurs if the user has tried to execute a file and the operating system can not be found. The user must check the system and most likely re-install the operating system in their machine. 8. "The COMMAND.COM File Is invalid" - This error occurs if the user tries to execute a file and the operating system is found but it is either installed incorrectly or it is corrupted. The user should at this point go back to the DOS level and re-install the operating system. CLOCK This module allows the user to change the time and date of the PC. It can be selected within the menu from the option bar or by function key F6, or it can be used as a stand alone program. Once selected, a box will appear with TIME and DATE. Select the desired choice and hit <ENTER>. For TIME: The current time will be displayed. Choose the hour, minute, or second option. Once chosen, you may change the value using the up arrow to decrement the value by 1. Or use the down arrow to increment the value by 1. Once the desired value is found, hit <ENTER>. Again, if you hit <ESC> before selecting <ENTER>, no change will occur. For DATE: the same holds true for date as it did with time, except that the user can change the year, month, and day. COLOR SCREEN The color screen allows you to customize the color scheme of the menu. The color screen option can be reached from within the option bar or by hitting the function key F5. When activated, the color screen will have three (3) independent windows on the screen. The top box shows which area of the menu to change. There are eleven (11) choices: 1) Menu Background 2) Title Background 3) Title Text 4) Non-active Border 5) Non-active Background 6) Non-active Text 7) Active Border 8) Active Background 9) Active Text 10) Footbar Background 11) Footbar Text The non-active boxes are those that cannot be chosen until they are highlighted. This is to ensure that the user can distinguish which box he/she is currently on. The active box is the currently highlighted box, which a user can select to run that application or to use the editor. The middle window is a sample look at the menu. It is displayed with the colors currently selected for the menu. As you change a color, the color change will be reflected here. The bottom window shows the key assignments used in the color screen. The Up and Down arrows are used to scroll through the eleven (11) areas to change. The Right and Left arrows are used to actually change the color of the chosen area. The <Esc> key will EXIT from the color screen with the previous colors still in place. The <ENTER> key will EXIT the color screen with the color changes saved. As you scroll through the options (using the Up and Down arrows), the areas of the menu will change in the top box. If you wish to change the color of the currently dsiplayed area, use the Right and Left arrows to change the color. You will notice that the change is reflected in the sample menu. Once you have made all the desired changes, hit the <ENTER> key if you wish to save your changes. If you do not wish to save your changes, or just wish to leave the color screen, hit the <ESC> key. EDM ERROR MESSAGES 1. "<Filename> Not Found in Current Directory" - This particular file could not be located. 2. "No Menu Definition File Found" - The program could not locate a .MCF file. User should copy the "DEMO.MCF" file from the INSTALL disk. 3. "Not Enough Memory To Allocate" - There is an internal lack of memory. The user should remove any TSR's (Terminate and Stay Resident programs) that may be in memory. 4. "No Menu File Found" - The program could not locate a .MCF file. User should copy the "DEMO.MCF" file from the INSTALL disk. 5. "<Filename> Not Found" - This particular file could not be located. 6. "Necessary internal files were not found" - There are necessary internal file(s) missing. User should contact IST to find out how to address this problem. 7. Necessary internal files could not be opened" - The necessary internal file(s) are either missing or are corrupted. The user should contact Serial Solutions to determine how to address this problem. 8. "<Filename> Was not found" - This particular file could not be found. It does not exist, at least in the path that the user felt it resided. 9. "<Filename> has no Description" - The description of an internal file(s) does not exist. 10. "Argument List Exceeds 128 Bytes" - The command line cannot exceed 128 bytes. The user must shorten the command line. 11. "Invalid Mode Flag" - An invalid mode flag was passed to the program. User should see the Command Line Arguments section. 12. "File or Path Not Found" - The specified file or path could not be located. User should verify the file and path. Most likely, the module will need to be edited. 13. "Invalid Executable File Format" - User tried to execute a file which is not executable, or corruption has occurred within the executable file itself. User should verify the file. 14. "Not Enough Memory Available" - There is an internal lack of memory. The user should remove any TSR's (Terminate and Stay Resident programs) that may be in memory. 15. "Invalid Menu Definition File" - The desired .MCF file has been corrupted. The user should reload the "DEMO.MCF" file from the Menu disk or the user can look at the Menu Definition section and correct the problem through the editor of your choice. 16. "Access denied to internal files" - The system has denied you access to some internal file(s). 17. "System Incorrectly installed" - The menu was not installed properly. You should try to re-install it. If it still fails, contact Serial Solutions. 18. "<Filename> could not be opened" - Specified file either does not exist or is corrupted. 19. "Could not write to file <filename>" - The system would not allow the program to write to the specified program. 20. "Could not run external program" - External file either does not exist, does not exist in specified path, or is corrupted. 21. "Duplicate Program: Menu is Already in Memory" - The user is not allowed to call the Menu within the Menu.