DOC 1.1 documentation file ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note - this is a plain ASCII text file containing multiple documents. You may find it most convenient to view or print this file using the DOC.EXE program supplied. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Title1:PC Magazine Utilities Title2:Volume 3 Copyright:(C)1992 Ziff-Davis Publishing @@Introduction Introduction PC Magazine Utilities Disk Volume 3: DOS programs ------------------------------------------------------- Volume 3 of the PC Magazine Utilities contains 28 utilities and, in this updated release, 13 utilities for Windows, along with comprehensive on-disk documentation and an install program. This document describes the DOS utilities included in the package. See the document MAN3WIN.TXT for details of the Windows programs. Installing the programs ----------------------- The DOS utilities are supplied compressed in the ZIP file DOSPROGS.ZIP. The install program (started by typing GO) will unpack the files to your hard disk. You can then change to the new directory containing the programs and try them out. After installing the software, you can view the documentation by changing to the relevant drive and directory and entering the command DOC. If you have a twin floppy-only PC or you don't want to put all of the programs straight onto your hard disk, you can unpack them from your A drive to your B drive. The install program will not unpack the programs on a single drive PC due to the excessive disk swapping involved. If you wish to do this, you can do so using the PKUNZIP decompression program supplied directly from the DOS prompt as follows: * Format a new disk for the unpacked programs * At the A> prompt, insert your original disk * Enter PKUNZIP DOSPROGS.ZIP B: * When prompted to swap disks, insert your new disk. Continue to swap disks as prompted. * You can run the programs or view their documentation from the new disk. For more information about setting up and starting the programs, see the "Tech Notes" document. Program summary --------------- The DOS utilities on this disk cover a wide variety of tasks... you may not need them all but you're sure to find some useful ones. This summary lists the programs in general categories so that you can quickly see what facilities are available and which programs are of most interest to you. Remember even if you don't need a particular program now, you may find it's just what need in future so it's worth getting familiar with the programs. --- General utilities --- CALC Pop-up programmer's calculator CAPTURE Capture screens for use with HELP CARDFILE Pop-up address book and phone dialler HELP Make your own pop-up help screens JOURNAL Track your expenses MEMMAP Display detailed PC memory map PAINT Text and help screen designer RECORDER Track file usage SNIPPER Cut-and-paste data between programs --- Disk & File utilities --- CO Convenient file copy, move or delete COMPARE Compare contents of two files DIRNOTES Directory listings with your own comments DR Popular file manager, works with RN RN Popular directory manager, works with DR TOUCH Update file time and date stamps --- DOS command and batch file utilities --- CHKPATH Check PATH command & list available programs DOSKEY DOS command line editing and recall INSTALL & REMOVE Load and unload TSR programs SETMODE Pop-up control of video mode and serial ports --- Keyboard utilities --- ALLKEYS Control TSR hotkeys KBX Easy access to hard to find characters MOUSEKEY Emulate cursor keys with mouse STAYDOWN 'Sticky' shift keys for one finger typing STICK Lock cursor shape and/or screen colors TOGGLE Control lock keys from a batch file --- Video utilities --- CTYPE Set cursor size and shape --- Printer utilities --- ASPRN Substitute printer characters PRN2FILE Capture printer output in a file @@Tech notes Tech Notes PC Magazine Utilities Disk Volume 3: DOS programs ------------------------------------------------------- This document provides general advice for using and setting up the PC Magazine utilities in this package. It is divided into these sections... 1. Contents 2. Installing the programs Saving hard disk space Putting the programs in your DOS command PATH Loading programs from AUTOEXEC.BAT Using TSR (memory-resident) programs 3. Viewing and printing the documentation 4. Customizing the utilities Tables of scan codes (SS) shift masks (MM) color values sound values 1. Contents =========== This DOS utilities on Volume 3 comprise the following files. Files marked * are part of the on-disk documentation programs rather than the utilities themselves. ALLKEYS COM ALLKEYS program ASPRN COM ASPRN program CALC COM CALC program CAPTURE COM CAPTURE program CARDFILE COM CARDFILE program CHKPATH EXE CHKPATH program CO COM CO program COMPARE COM COMPARE program CTYPE COM CTYPE program DIRNOTES COM DIRNOTES program *DOC EXE Documentation viewer DOSKEY COM DOSKEY program DR COM DR programs HELP COM HELP program INSTALL COM INSTALL program JOURNAL COM JOURNAL program KBX COM KBX program *MANUALS3 TXT Documentation for this disk MEMMAP EXE MEMMAP program MOUSEKEY COM MOUSEKEY program PAINT COM PAINT program PRN2FILE COM PRN2FILE program RECORDER COM RECORDER program REMOVE COM REMOVE program RN COM RN program SETMODE COM SETMODE program SNIPPER COM SNIPPER program STAYDOWN COM STAYDOWN program STICK COM STICK program TOGGLE COM TOGGLE program TOUCH COM TOUCH program 2. Installing the programs ========================== To install these programs to a hard disk, use the install program provided (started by typing GO). Around 240K of free space is required for all of the programs and documentation... this will be checked for you automatically. The install program initially offers to install the programs to a new directory on drive C called PCVOL3. (C:\PCVOL3). If you wish to use a different directory or a different hard disk, simply type in a new name. For example, enter D:\PCMAG to put the programs into a PCMAG directory on your D drive. You can name an existing directory if you prefer in which case the install program will add the new programs to any files already there. Once you've entered the directory name, disk space is checked and then the files are copied across. After installation is complete, you can return to the opening menu (for example, to view the documentation) or go straight to the new directory. Saving hard disk space ---------------------- If you are short of hard disk space, you can remove those utilities you are not using from your hard disk with the DOS DEL command in the normal way. You may also want to delete the documentation files (DOC.EXE and MANUALS3.TXT); you can always print out those parts you need. Putting the programs in your DOS command PATH --------------------------------------------- You can start the utility programs by either: Changing to the drive and directory they are in and then entering the relevant command. For example: C: CD \PCVOL3 RN or Giving the relevant drive and directory before the command name (DOS 3.xx and later only). For example: C:\PCVOL3\RN However, it's easier if you make the programs available from any disk and directory by ensuring that they are in your DOS command search path, set with the PATH command. You can do this by either: Adding the directory the utilities are in to your normal PATH command in AUTOEXEC.BAT. For example, if the PATH command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file reads C:\DOS;C:\UTILS;C:\WINDOWS you might change it to read C:\DOS;C:\UTILS;C:\WINDOWS;C:\PCVOL3 You should be careful when making changes to AUTOEXEC.BAT not to disturb other commands already in it. See your DOS manual for full instructions. or Copying those programs you use often to a directory already in your PATH command. Many PCs already have a directory called C:\BIN or C:\UTILS for small utility programs like these. For example, if you have a C:\BIN directory on drive C and use the DSCAN program often, copy it across with a command like this: COPY C:\PCVOL3\RN.COM C:\BIN Loading programs from AUTOEXEC.BAT ---------------------------------- Many of these utilities are designed to be loaded or run whenever your PC is working by placing the relevant command in the AUTOEXEC.BAT startup file. Before doing this, we recommend that you test the utilities out by loading them from the command line as normal to ensure that they operate correctly with your other software. Please bear in mind: * The program file must be available for AUTOEXEC.BAT to load it. If it is not in a directory already named in a PATH command earlier in AUTOEXEC.BAT, you must give the drive and directory where it is stored (e.g. C:\PCVOL3\STICK) or copy the file to the root directory of the hard disk. * The order in which resident programs are loaded can be significant. If there appears to be a conflict, try re-ordering the lines in AUTOEXEC.BAT. * If your AUTOEXEC.BAT file starts a particular program or menu system running, the command to do so will normally be the last in the file... add any commands to load TSR programs before it. * Always keep a startup floppy to hand and a back-up copy of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file so that if problems arise you can restore things to normal. Using TSR (memory-resident) programs ------------------------------------ Many of these utilities are 'TSRs' or memory-resident programs. These load into memory when first started and remain there, either operating invisibly or waiting to be called up. TSR programs are very popular and those on this disk are carefully written and fully tested. However, the design of DOS means that there is always a chance of conflict between different TSR programs or between a TSR and your main software. To avoid problems, please note: 1. You should carefully test any new TSR program on your system before using it while doing your normal work. 2. Each TSR uses up memory. If you load too many at once, your normal software may not be able to run or may perform poorly. 3. If you discover a conflict, loading the TSRs in a different order may resolve it. 4. You can change the 'hotkey' used to call up many of the TSRs on this disk to avoid a conflict with your other programs. See the manual for the program in question and the notes and tables below. 3. Viewing and printing the documentation ----------------------------------------- The documentation for these programs is supplied in a plain ASCII text file called MANUALS3.TXT. You can view or print this file using normal DOS facilities (such as TYPE, MORE and PRINT) or third-party products such as most word processor or text editor programs. However, since MANUALS3.TXT contains multiple documents you will probably find it most convenient to view or print it using the DOC.EXE program supplied. To start DOC after installation, change to the drive and directory where you installed the disk to (e.g. enter C: then CD \PCVOL3) and then enter DOC. For full information on using DOC, see the document entitled DOC. 4. Customizing the utilities ---------------------------- Most of these utilities are compact assembly language .COM programs to make them small, fast and efficient. This means that many of the programs do not include built-in configuration options. However, if you're experienced with DEBUG, you can 'patch' the programs to customize their operation. The manual for each program will describe the ways in which it can be customized but typically you can do so to: * Customize the screen colors the program uses (if the display is hard to read on your screen). * Change the 'hotkey' used by one of the TSR programs to avoid a conflict with your other software. * Change defaults such as sorting order, size of records and so on. To customize a utility, follow this general procedure in conjunction with the manual for the program. (You SHOULD NOT ATTEMPT this if you are not confident about using DEBUG as a mistake may stop the program from working or even crash your PC.) 1. Always MAKE A COPY of the .COM file for the program in question as a back-up. For example, enter COPY POP-CAL.COM ORIGCAL.COM 2. Start DEBUG with the name of the program to modify. You must have the DOS DEBUG program available for this to work. For example, enter DEBUG POP-CAL.COM DEBUG loads the file and presents a - prompt. 3. Use the DEBUG E command to modify the areas of the program as described in its documentation. For example, the hotkey for POP-CAL can be changed by entering a new keyboard scan code at location 174. If we wanted to use Alt-P rather than Alt-C we can see from the scan code (SS) table below that we need to change this to code 19. This can then be entered in DEBUG with: E174 19 4. After making all the necessary changes, save the file back onto disk with the W command. Enter W 5. Now leave DEBUG. Enter Q 6. Now load and test out the new program. If it no longer works, delete it, restore your back-up copy (e.g. COPY ORIGCAL.COM POP-CAL.COM) and then try again. The tables below list the values necessary for customizing colors and hotkeys. Keyboard scan codes for alternative hotkeys (Values for SS) ----------------------- Scan Scan Key Code (hex) Key Code (hex) -------- ---------- --------- ---------- Esc 01 Z 2C 1 ! 02 X 2D @ 2 03 C 2E # 3 04 V 2F $ 4 05 B 30 % 5 06 N 31 ^ 6 07 M 32 & 7 08 < , 33 * 8 09 > . 34 ( 9 0A ? / 35 ) 0 0B R Shift 36 _ - 0C PrtSc * 37 + = 0D Alt 38 Bkspace 0E Spacebar 39 Tab 0F CapsLk 3A Q 10 F1 3B W 11 F2 3C E 12 F3 3D R 13 F4 3E T 14 F5 3F Y 15 F6 40 U 16 F7 41 I 17 F8 42 O 18 F9 43 P 19 F10 44 { [ 1A NumLock 45 } ] 1B ScrlLk 46 Enter 1C 7 Home 47 Ctrl 1D 8 UpArr 48 A 1E 9 PgUp 49 S 1F - 4A D 20 4 LArrow 4B F 21 5 4C G 22 6 RArrow 4D H 23 + 4E J 24 1 End 4F K 25 2 DnArr 50 L 26 3 PgDn 51 : ; 27 0 Ins 52 " ' 28 . Del 53 ` 29 SysReq 54 L Shift 2A F11 57 | \ 2B F12 58 Shift Mask codes for alternative hotkeys (Values for MM) ----------------------- Value Alt Ctrl L-Shift R-Shift ----- --- ---- ------- ------- 0 1 X 2 X 3 X X 4 X 5 X X 6 X X 7 X X X 8 X 9 X X A X X B X X X C X X D X X X E X X X F X X X X X signifies that this key must pressed. For example, to use Left Shift and Right Shift for the hotkey, the value to use for MM would be 3. Color values ------------ Black 0 Blue 1 Green 2 Cyan 3 Red 4 Magenta 5 Brown 6 Lt Gray 7 Dark Gray 8 Lt Blue 9 Lt Green A Lt Cyan B Orange C Violet D Yellow E White F A full color value is two hex digits, the first for the background color and the second for the foreground. For example, bright white on a dark blue background is 1F. Do not choose light colors (values larger than 7) for the background as it will produce a blinking display in most of the programs. @@PC MagNet About PC MagNet PC Magazine's On-Line Reader Service ------------------------------------------------------- PC Magazine operates PC MagNet, a 24-hour-a-day interactive on-line service where you can download the latest versions and source code to these, and other, PC Magazine utilities. PC MagNet is just a part of ZiffNet, hosted on CompuServe, offering a vast range of resources, including weekly news from PC Week, product reviews index, Buyers' Market and the chance to share opinions and get help from, or give help to, other readers. How to access PC MagNet ----------------------- 1. Set your communications software and modem to 300, 1200, 2400 or 9600 bits-per-second (BPS or baud), 7 data bits, even parity, 1 stop bit and full duplex. 2. To find the number nearest you, call 800-346-3247. When the modem connects, press Enter. At the Host Name prompt, enter PHONES. Follow the menus, note the number closest to you then hang up and dial the number you've just found. (In Canada, dial 800-635 6225 voice only for your closest number.) 3. To obtain the latest PC Magazine utility without ZiffNet connect charges, at the HOST NAME prompt, enter CIS. At the USER ID prompt, enter 60116,1. At the PASSWORD prompt, enter PCMAGUTIL. 4. To join ZiffNet, at the HOST NAME prompt, enter CIS. At the USER ID prompt, enter 177000,5000. At the PASSWORD prompt, enter PC*MAGNET. Finally, at the ENTER AGREEMENT NUMBER prompt, enter Z11D9200. Now follow the instructions displayed for opening your own account. 5. Existing CompuServe members may join by typing GO PCMAG at any CIS prompt. 6. ZiffNet membership costs $2.50 per month. PC MagNet per hour costs $6.30 for 300bps, $12.80 for 1200 or 2400bps or $22.80 for 9600bps based on 1-minute increments. @@ALLKEYS ALLKEYS Robert L. Morton TSR hot-key controller ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Alternately disables and enables the hotkeys used by pop-up utilities so these key combinations can still be used by applications programs. Format ------ ALLKEYS POP-UP #1 POP-UP #2 POP-UP #3 ... ALLKEYS or ALLKEYS [/U] Remarks ------- ALLKEYS must be loaded twice, once immediately before and once immediately after loading the series of memory-resident (TSR) utilities whose hotkeys are to be controlled. Normally, this is done by making the appropriate entries in an AUTOEXEC.BAT file. After the second loading of ALLKEYS, the operation of the TSR programs in the controlled group is initially unaffected. Pressing Ctrl-Alt-Z, however, disables these pop-up programs by passing their trigger keys to an applications program instead. Pressing Ctrl-Alt-Z a second time re-enables operation of the controlled memory-resident pop-ups. ALLKEYS may be completely uninstalled by entering the command with the /U parameter. This might be used from the DOS prompt to change the set of pop-ups controlled by ALLKEYS. If TSRs, e.g. SideKick, have been loaded after ALLKEYS, complete deinstallation is not possible, but the /U parameter will still disable ALLKEYS' operation. When ALLKEYS is activated with Ctrl-Alt-Z, a series of beeps with a rising pitch is heard. A descending sequence of tones sounds when ALLKEYS is toggled off. Using the values for SS and MM shown in the Scan Code and Shift Mask charts at the end of this manual, the default hotkey for ALLKEYS can be changed with DEBUG, as shown below: DEBUG ALLKEYS.COM E 243 SS ;Scan code E 244 MM ;Shift mask W Q @@ASPRN ASPRN Robert L. Hummel Printer character substitution ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Defines up to 26 2-character text macros that will be replaced in the output to the printer by user-designated control strings. Format ------ ASPRN [ /U | [/S] [/Mx | /Cnnn] ] Remarks ------- ASPRN is a memory-resident (TSR) macro processor and editor that intercepts characters on their way to the printer. When it detects a user-designated macro key combination--the default is a tilde (~) followed by a letter--it substitutes the user-designated printer control codes. Example ------- The HP LaserJet series II uses the Escape sequence Esc&l0O to cause it to print in portrait mode. Many word processors cannot send the actual ASCII ESC character (027d, or 1Bh), or could not send a needed Escape sequence in the middle of a line of text. They could, however, send ~A, to which the user could assign the sequence, and ASPRN would make the substitution. To make or change macro assignments, enter ASPRN /S. Both an optional descriptive name and the codes that constitute the macro itself can be entered and edited on screen, in any video mode with a screen width greater than ten characters. The bottom line of the screen indicates the use of the various editing keys. The ASCII ESC character is entered by hitting the Esc key; it appears on screen as a left-pointing arrow. Pressing F7 saves all macros and descriptive names entered under the name ASPRNNEW.COM, which may either be loaded as such or renamed. The default macro identifier (the tilde) may be changed by invoking ASPRN with either the /Mx or the /Cnnn switch. The x is any printable ASCII character, e.g. the # or & symbol. The /Cnnn switch is used if a non- printing character is to be used for the macro identifier. To use the backspace character (ASCII 008) instead of the tilde, for example, you would enter ASPRN /C008. To make the macro identifier change permanent, use both the /S and the /M (or /C) options. Subject to the usual TSR deinstallation limitations, ASPRN may be uninstalled from memory by invoking it with the /U switch on the command line. It should be loaded after any print spoolers or any redirection made using the MODE command. @@CALC CALC Douglas Boling Pop-up programmer's calculator ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- A pop-up programmer's calculator with base conversion, bit-shifting, logical operator, and mod functions, and 32-bit number representation that also supports a 2-decimal fixed-place arithmetic calculations. Format ------ CALC Remarks ------- CALC is a terminate-stay-resident (TSR) program that can be loaded either at the DOS command line or as a part of an AUTOEXEC.BAT file. The Alt-S key combination (default) pops up a 6-line window for calculations; the Esc key restores the screen to its previous condition. The program automatically adapts itself to Monochrome, CGA, EGA or VGA displays. Any number on CALC's entry line can be successively converted to hexadecimal, binary, octal, or decimal (default) notation by pressing F1. Mixed-base calculations are supported, and the +, -, *, and / function conventionally so long as it is realized that CALC operates in integer, not floating point mode. (Fixed 2-decimal place calculations can be made by pressing F2 before entering the numbers.) In integer mode the mod function (e.g. 25 mod 8 = 1) is also supported, using either the % or the \ sign as the operator. CALC uses full 32-bit number representation, and so can be used for address calculations. The function keys F3, F4, and F5, perform logical and, or, xor operations between two numbers. F6 performs a not (invert) function on the number entered. F7 shifts bits left and F8 shifts right. F9 is a change-sign key, and F10 clears the entry line. To clear the calculator field, press Shift-F10. Using the values for SS and MM shown in the Scan Code and Shift Mask charts given in the Tech Notes document, the default hotkey for CALC can be changed with DEBUG, as shown below: DEBUG CALC.COM E 157 "Ctl-A" ;The new letter E 26B SS ;Scan code E 275 MM ;Shift mask W Q @@CAPTURE CAPTURE Tom Kihlken Captures text screen for use with HELP ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Saves the text and attribute bytes on the screen to a 4,000-byte file that the HELP.COM program (elsewhere on this disk) can pop up either from within an application or at the DOS prompt. Format ------ CAPTURE Remarks ------- CAPTURE is a memory-resident screen-saving program. Its default actuating key is Alt-C, though this can be changed, as described below. The program takes no parameters and saves to filenames SCREEN.000, SCREEN.001, etc. It will not overwrite existing filenames, but increments the number in the extension instead. Filenames stored by CAPTURE can then be renamed for use by HELP.COM. CAPTURE files may also be combined into multiple-page help screens (up to the 14-screen limit of HELP.COM), by using the DOS COPY /B option for copying binary files. Example ------- COPY /B SCREEN.000+SCREEN.001 HELP.HEP would combine the first two CAPTUREd help screens into the file, HELP.HEP, which might be one of the files in a \HELP subdirectory. Using the values for SS and MM shown in the Scan Code and Shift Mask charts at the end of this manual, the default hotkey for CAPTURE can be changed with DEBUG, as shown below: DEBUG CAPTURE.COM E 268 SS ;Scan code E 27D MM ;Shift mask W Q @@CARDFILE CARDFILE Jeff Prosise Pop-up contacts cardfile with autodialler ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Combines a database of names, addresses, phone numbers, and memo-IDs with a Hayes compatible autodialler. Format ------ CARDFILE [d:][filespec] Remarks ------- CARDFILE is normally loaded with a specific database (filespec) by being listed as a line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. You can switch to another database by repeating the command with a different filespec at the DOS prompt. The Alt-Right Shift key combination pops up the CARDFILE window, and Esc returns you to your application. Within the window, the Function keys are assigned thus: F1 - Begin/save a new or edited card F2 - Edit the card currently displayed F3 - Delete the card currently displayed F4 - Search all cards for a text string F5 - Save datafile to disk F6 - Dial the phone number currently displayed All card data entry and editing is done in overstrike mode. The backspace key deletes the previous character and the four cursor keys can position the cursor anywhere in the record area. Enter moves the cursor to the start of the next line. You can page through all of the cards with the PgUp, PgDn, and Enter keys. The HOME and END keys let you jump quickly to the first or last card, respectively. To search the database, press F4 and enter a text string. Pressing Enter resumes the search (which is not case-sensitive) after a match; Esc cancels the search. An alternate way to find a name quickly is to press Alt and a letter key. To find "Smith," for example, hit Alt-S, then use PgDn or Enter to skip past "Sagamore" and "Siddhartha." When used with a Hayes-compatible modem, F6 dials the number currently displayed. At the prompt, pick up the phone and press the Spacebar to break the modem connection. The CARDFILE autodialler ignores all non-numeric characters except the comma, which inserts the pause sometimes needed to access an outside line. Because CARDFILE is a memory-resident program, it must assume rather than change the modem parameters. By default, CARDFILE is initially configured for a 1200-baud modem connected to the COM1. Using DEBUG you can change the value at :0182 from 0 to 1 to change from COM1 to COM2, to 2 for COM3, etc. Similarly, to change to a different baud (bps) rate, change the value at :0184h from the default 83h, as follows: 300 baud 43h 1200 baud 83h 2400 baud A3h 4800 baud C3h 9600 baud E3h The "ATDT" (dial) and "ATH0" (hangup) strings are at addresses :0185h and :018Ah, respectively. While they can be changed (especially substituting a "P", ASCII 80 for the "T" in the dialling command), note that each sequence must be 4 bytes long. The dial string must be delimited by a zero byte, and the hangup string must end with 0Dh and 00. To save memory, the card capacity may be lowered from the default 255 (FFh) at :0169. Each record takes 192 bytes. And if the Alt-Right Shift 'hotkey' conflicts with other software, change the default value 09 at address :036A to a combination of the following: Right-Shift 1 Left-Shift 2 Ctrl 4 Alt 8 Note ---- While CARDFILE will operate under DOS 2.x, its critical error handler is only fully effective with DOS 3.x. @@CHKPATH CHKPATH John Deurbrouck Lists available programs and checks PATH command ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Displays either all or same-named .COM, .EXE, and .BAT files on the user's path or in specified drive(s) or directories, showing which program will actually be executed; also warns of common problems in PATH syntax and usage. Format ------ CHKPATH [/a] [/d=drive(s)] [/s=dir1 ... dirn] [/e=var] [/n] [/p] Remarks ------- Entered without any of the optional / switches, CHKPATH presents a syntax help screen. The /a switch causes display of all rather than conflicting-name programs. The /n eliminates file size, date, and time information from the list. The /p/ switch pauses at each screenful. Using the /d= switch causes a search of all directories in the drive(s) named. No spaces between the drive letter colon and the next drive are allowed in this case, but sequential drives may be specified with a dash, as in /d=C:-F:H:. The /s= switch restricts the search to the directories specified, as in /s=C:\DOS D:\UTIL. Most frequently, CHKPATH will be used with the /e= switch, with PATH as the specified var. By specifying /e=var more than once on the same CHKPATH run, however, conflicts among different directory-specifying environment variables may be checked at once. Environment variables should be formatted as in the DOS PATH statement. CHKPATH will also alert the existence of empty, repeated, or relatively-specified (backslash omitted) directories on the DOS path. More than one specifying switch can be used at once to make multiple-selection comparisons. When both specified and non-specified directories are shown in the listing the latter will be prefixed by a minus sign. All CHKPATH output can be redirected to a printer or a file. @@CO CO Michael J. Mefford Convenient selective file copy, move or delete ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Copies, moves, or deletes files individually or in tagged groups from directory listings sorted by name, extension, size, or date. Format ------ CO [d:][\directory][/E][/S][/D][/T][/O] Remarks ------- Entered without any of its optional parameters and switches, CO presents an sorted listing of the current directory with a menu of Function Key commands on the right. The file attributes (Archive, Hidden, Read-Only, and System) are shown by the appropriate letters to the right of each listed file. The Up- and Down-Arrow keys move the file-selection highlight bar one line at a time. Ctrl-PgUp (^PgUp) and ^PgDn move to the top and bottom of the current display page (21 files), while PgUp and PgDn allow you to scroll through the entire directory listing. The Home and End keys go to the beginning and end of the listing, respectively. Pressing a letter moves the highlight bar to the first (then subsequent) filename(s) beginning with that letter. Multiple files are tagged for group copying, moving, or deleting by pressing the gray plus (+) key; the gray minus (-) key unmarks a mistagged file. The optional /E, /S, /D, /T, and /O command-line switches sort the initial directory listing by Extension, Size, DaTe (/D and /T operate identically), or by Original DOS order. Once on screen, function keys F7 (Name), F8 (Extension), F9 (Size), and F10 (Date) can be used for subsequent sorts. F1 initiates the Copy process for the highlighted (or marked) file(s). F6 toggles the Copy Verify option (comparable to DOS /V). F2 and F3 are used for Move and Delete. You are prompted for the appropriate destination for Copy and Move: different drives and paths are supported, as is the use of the DOS ? and * wildcards. Renaming while copying is permitted. When a marked (tagged) file is successfully copied, its marker arrow is replaced by an asterisk. If a floppy disk becomes filled, CO automatically attempts to find other marked files that will fit. Back-up will then halt with some file(s) remaining to be copied. Replace the full diskette with another, hit F1 again, re-enter the correct destination drive, and the remaining marked files will be copied. To divide the contents of a directory into two parts, mark and copy the first set of files, as above, so that all have the "copied" asterisk. Then press F5 to mark the previously-untagged files and repeat the copying process for the second group. Note ---- CO functions can alternately be performed by Ctrl-letter commands: ^C (Copy), ^D (Delete), ^M (Move), ^V (Verify), ^N (Name), ^E (Extension), ^S (Size), and ^T (Date). @@COMPARE COMPARE Michael J. Mefford Compare contents of two files ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Displays the differences between two text or two binary files. Files need not be the same length, and paragraph reformatting changes introduced by wordwrap are ignored. Format ------ COMPARE filespec filespec[/B][/W] Remarks ------- COMPARE's default assumption is that the filenames designated in filespec are to be compared as ASCII text files. Formatting commands embedded by word processing programs are reproduced on screen but are not acted upon. Files in which the "high bit" is set (such as those produced by WordStar's document mode) can be made displayable in ASCII by entering the optional /W on the command line. Files are displayed in two on-screen windows. Differences are shown in inverse video, and are preceded by several lines of matching text to provide a context. When the windows are filled, pressing any key continues to search for differences; pressing Esc returns the user to DOS. All character modes, but no graphics modes, are supported. Files with .COM or .EXE extensions are automatically displayed in COMPARE's binary mode, which is similar to that produced by DEBUG.COM. Unlike DEBUG, however, COMPARE uses the IBM/ASCII symbol set rather than periods to show non-alphanumeric characters, and its segment offset begins at zero rather than at 100h. Any file can be compared in binary mode by adding the optional /B switch on the command line. Note ---- When COMPARE finds a difference between files it searches ahead up to 400 bytes (the reach value) for a string of 10 (excluding spaces) successive matching characters (the sequence value). DEBUG.COM can be used to change the reach and search values on a copy of COMPARE.COM thus: DEBUG COMPARE.COM E 6ED cd ab E 6F5 cd ab E 6F9 gh ef W Q where abcd is the reach value, in hex (default 0190h) and efgh is the sequence value (default 000Ah). @@CTYPE CTYPE Jeff Prosise Cursor set program ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Recovers the cursor when it disappears upon leaving an application and permits setting cursor shape. Format ------ CTYPE [/xy] Remarks ------- The optional /xy command line parameter consists of two letters ranging from A to the letter that represents the maximum number of scan lines in the current video mode character box. This is N for a Hercules or an EGA in 25-line mode (14 scan lines), and H for an EGA in 43-line mode or a CGA in text mode (8 scan lines). Entered without the /xy parameter, CTYPE brings up a selection frame in which, as the cursor is moved by the arrow keys, the cursor size/shape changes. Pressing the Spacebar at this point alternately shows the cursor against a sample line of text and returns to the selector frame. Pressing Enter selects the cursor shape shown and returns to the command line prompt. When the cursor is temporarily lost, as when exiting from SideKick (or other TSR utility) while in a 43-line EGA mode, entering CTYPE will restore the cursor. Note ---- Many applications programs reset the cursor internally for their own purposes. These settings will supersede those of CTYPE. One way to restore the CTYPE cursor on exit is to run such programs from a batch file whose last line resets the desired CTYPE parameters. A handier alternative is to use the STICK.COM utility contained on this disk. @@DIRNOTES DIRNOTES Michael J. Mefford Lets you add notes to describe file contents ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Produces a dual-column directory listing with DOS-format, alphabetically-sorted filenames on the left and a coordinated, 38-character field on the right in which to enter descriptive comments about file comments, hotkey information, etc. Format ------ DIRNOTES [d:][path][directory] Remarks ------- The cursor Up- and Down-Arrow keys, are used to scroll the coordinated directory listings/notes line by line. PgUp and PgDn scroll by screenful, and Home and End go to the beginning and end of the listings. The DIRNOTES editor operates in overstrike mode and incorporates a backspace delete. The Left- and Right-Arrow keys can be used to move the cursor without deleting characters beneath it. Pressing the Esc key automatically saves user-entered notes in a file called DIRN-abc.DAT, where abc represent the first three letters of the directory name. The .DAT file created by DIRNOTES is in standard ASCII, and so may be TYPEd. A "U" immediately after the filename in the DIRNOTES directory listing indicates that that file has been changed since the last time the data file was updated. That file's descriptive comments may need to be changed. Note ---- The .DAT files created by DIRNOTES should not be edited with a word processor. The record field lengths are fixed, and any changes made other than by DIRNOTES itself may render the file unrecoverable. @@DOC DOC Documentation viewer and printer version 1.1 ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- DOC is a simple on-disk documentation viewer to present the manuals for the programs on this disk. It displays a list of available documents down the left side of the screen and shows the text of the currently selected document on the right. DOC has a simple printing ability which will produce a neat printout of a document so that you can have a manual to hand while working with a program. Running DOC ----------- To start DOC, enter the command DOC. If you're looking for a particular manual, you may also give it at the command line. For example: DOC CDX starts DOC and asks it to look for the manual for the CDX program. To select documents, use the up and down arrow keys to move through the list on the left. Typing the initial letter of a document name will jump directly to the next matching document. Once you've found the document you want, press TAB or the right arrow key to move to the text of the document on the right. The cursor keys (Home, End, Up, Down, PgUp, PgDn) will now move through the text. Press the left arrow or TAB key again to go back to select other documents. The DOC menu ------------ To call up DOC's menu, press the ESC key. DOC presents various options which you can select with the cursor and Return keys or by pressing one of the highlighted letters. The options will vary depending on your PC's configuration and the document files available. Pressing ESC a second time cancels the menu. Quitting DOC ------------ Choose the Quit option from the menu to leave the DOC program and return to DOS. Color Display Off ----------------- Choose Color display off from the menu to ask DOC to work in black-and-white. You may wish to do this if you're using a laptop with an LCD screen that doesn't show colors well or with some greyscale or CGA composite video monitors. If you need to do this, you might also enter the DOS command MODE BW80 before running DOC. This makes DOC and many other programs start up in black-and- white. Adding /M to the DOC command at the DOS prompt also forces monochrome operation. This menu option does not appear on PCs that do not have a color capability. Extended screen on ------------------ Choosing this menu option switches the display to 43 or 50 lines so that you can see more text without scrolling. You can go back to the normal display by choosing Extended screen off subsequently. If you have a Super VGA display card and a program to set extended text modes, such as 60 lines deep, you might like to try setting an appropriate mode before starting DOC. DOC will usually operate with the non-standard format. This menu option is only available on EGA or VGA equipped PCs. Fast screen on -------------- This menu option only appears on PCs fitted with CGA standard or equivalent displays. Normally the DOC program deliberately slows down on this type of display to prevent the screen flicker or 'snow' that genuine IBM CGA displays (and some compatible makes) can suffer from. If your system does not suffer from snow, choose 'Fast screen on' for a faster screen display. There's no harm in trying this option either way on your PC... snow does no harm and you might prefer to have a fast display that flickers to a slow one that doesn't. Print Document -------------- Choose this menu option to print the currently selected document. A menu appears from where you can make four print settings, choose Go to start printing or Cancel to return to viewing documents. You may need to alter the settings to suit your system before choosing Go as follows: 1. Output port This is the printer interface that DOC should print the document to. By pressing O you can step through the ports fitted to your computer. The default LPT1, the first parallel printer port, is correct for most PCs. DOC can work with a serial printer (COM1 or COM2) if you have one but you must make sure that the port is correctly set up (e.g. with a command such as MODE COM1:9600,n,8,1,p) BEFORE running DOC. X-On/X-Off handshaking is automatically provided for serial printers. You can set the output port to "FILE". In this case, DOC will ask for the name of a disk file when you start printing and will then print to disk rather than to a printer. If the file you name already exists, DOC will append pages to it. Note that DOC will not print on PostScript printers. If you have one of these, you might like to use the print to FILE option and then use a PostScript conversion program or word processor to print the resulting file. 2. Lines per page This is the number of printable lines on each page on your printer. DOC will print with this set incorrectly but will not be able to put page breaks and headers in the right place. The default is 66 lines for standard fan-fold paper. Other common values are 60, 62, 64 and 70. If you have difficulty with this setting, a workaround is to set the form-length correctly on your printer, enter a small number of lines per page (e.g. 60) and then select the "Use form-feeds" option. 3. Use form-feeds Set this option to Yes if you're using a LaserJet- style printer or any printer with the form-length set correctly. DOC will work with this option set to No by counting output lines but this is slower. 4. Pause between pages Set this option to Yes if you're feeding single- sheets to the printer... DOC will pause for you to get the next sheet ready between each page. Working with document files --------------------------- Document files should be kept in the same directory as the DOC.EXE program. Under DOS 3.0 or later, DOC will find the files when it starts no matter which drive or directory is current (with older versions of DOS, you should change to the relevant drive and directory before starting DOC). Multiple document files ----------------------- You can, if you like, place more than one document file in the DOC.EXE directory. DOC will display a menu of available files when first started and offer a 'Select document file' option on its menu to let you switch between documents. You can start DOC with a particular document file from the command line by entering its name. For example: DOC MANUALS3 You can also search for a particular program. If you enter a command such as: DOC SNIPPER DOC will search each document file in turn looking for a SNIPPER document. If you know which document file the document you want is in, you can reduce the search time by telling DOC on the command line. For example: DOC MANUALS3 SNIPPER @@DOSKEY DOSKEY Jeff Prosise DOS command line editing and function key macros _______________________________________________________ Purpose ------- Extends the functions available at the DOS prompt to include foreground/background color selection, a command-line stack with up to 15 immediately recallable commands and command macros keyed to function keys F3 through F12. Also provides editing functions for the DOS command line and modifies the CLS (Clear Screen) command to operate with color (CGA EGA or VGA) and with displays of more than 25 lines. Format ------ DOSKEY (loads resident program) Remarks ------- DOSKEY is a memory-resident utility and is normally loaded through a line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. After loading, pressing the F1 key successively cycles through the 16 foreground (text) colors, while F2 acts similarly for the 8 available background colors. Pressing the Shift key with either F1 or F2 reverses the direction of the cycling. CLS remembers the last-set color scheme. If a space is typed after CLS and before hitting Enter, the colors revert to the DOS defaults (black and white). Function keys F3 through F12 are assigned by default to the following command macros: Key Command Address for DEBUG --- ---------- ----------------- F3 dir 0148h F4 type 0168h F5 copy 0188h F6 delete 01A8h F7 chdir 01C8h F8 path 01E8h F9 BROWSE 0208h F10 cls 0228h F11 backup 0248h F12 restore 0268h Notes ----- 1. The commands executed by F3-F12 can be changed using DEBUG.COM. The starting address for each command string is shown above. The first byte in the string is the length of the string, which may be up to 20h characters (32 decimal, but DEBUG thinks in hex). 2. The command name is placed within double quotes, as in the example below. Including an FF after the command string causes the command to execute immediately; omitting it means you must hit Enter yourself. The quotes and the FF do not count toward the length byte. 3. An "enhanced" (101-key) keyboard and appropriate BIOS support is required in order to use F11 and F12. Example of reprogramming DOSKEY ------------------------------- To substitute the DOS CHKDSK command for BROWSE (F9) you would overwrite its string by entering: DEBUG DOSKEY.COM E 0228 06 "CHKDSK" FF W Q Inspect the strings to be changed by using the DEBUG D (display) command before invoking E (enter) is suggested. Make all changes to a copy, not to the master of DOSKEY. The DOSKEY command stack uses the Up and Down Arrow cursor keys to bring previously-issued commands to the command line for reissue. The command line editor supports Left and Right Arrow cursor motion without character deletion. The Home and End keys move to the ends of the line, and both Del and Backspace delete characters. Pressing Esc clears the command line, and pressing Ins toggles between insert and overwrite modes. @@DR DR Michael J. Mefford File management utility ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- DR.COM provides an integrated set of file management facilities for sorting, viewing, renaming, deleting, and moving files to another directory. The command is entered at the DOS prompt, with the following syntax: Format ------ DR [d:][directory] The default filename display (21 per page, to a maximum of 721) is sorted alphabetically. Various switches, added to the command, may be added to sort by other criteria: /E (sort by Extension) /S (sort by Size) /D or /T (sort by DaTe) /O (sort by DOS DIR order) Thus, for example, DR \PROG /S sorts the initial display of the PROG directory of the default drive by size. When a DR listing is on screen, a menu is displayed showing further options. A highlight bar illuminates a single filename, and the Up and Down Arrow keys move the highlight bar a line at a time. The PgUp and PgDn keys move the bar a page at a time, and Ctrl-PgUp and Ctrl-PgDn move it to the top and bottom of the current page. Home and End move to the beginning and end of the directory listing. Pressing (and repressing) a letter moves the bar to the first (and successive) filename(s) beginning with that letter. The highlighted file may be brought on screen for viewing by pressing F1 (or Enter or Ctrl-V). The Up and Down Arrows, PgUp and PgDn, and Home and End work within the file, as well. Esc, Enter, or F1 return you to the menu and directory listing. When pressed at the menu level, Esc terminates the program. Within DR, the following function keys (and alternatively, the indicated Ctrl-letter) combinations are used: F1 Ctrl-V or Enter View file F2 Ctrl-D Delete file F3 Ctrl-R Rename file F4 Ctrl-M Move file F5 (none) Confirm Delete On/Off F6 Ctrl-W WordStar hi-bit ON/Off F7 Ctrl-N Sort files by Name F8 Ctrl-E Sort files by Extension F9 Ctrl-S Sort files by Size F10 Ctrl-T Sort files by Date Successive sorts can be used to arrange files, e.g. in order of size and then, additionally, by extension. Files can be renamed and may be moved from one directory to another within DR, but they cannot be renamed and moved in a single step. Files cannot be copied from within DR... use CO on this disk instead. @@HELP HELP Michael J. Mefford Pop-up your own help screens ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Pops up help or reference screens of the user's choice and design either in the middle of an application or at the DOS prompt. Screens suitable for use with HELP.COM are saved in the required file format by CAPTURE.COM and by PAINT.COM, which are also contained on this disk. Format ------ HELP filespec [...filespec][/Nn][/Hn][/P] or HELP [/U] Remarks ------- Filespec is the filename, preceded if necessary by a drive name and path, of a user-customized help/reference file that has been saved using CAPTURE. Multiple help screens may be loaded for successive display by entering more than one filespec on the command line, separating each with a space, tab, comma, or semicolon. By default, HELP will accept four screen pages, each of which is 4,000 bytes in length. The optional /Nn parameter may be used to change the default n (4) to values from 1 through 14 pages. The PgUp, PgDn, Home, and End keys are used to display the various help screens. HELP remembers the last help screen accessed and will return to it immediately the next time the program is called up. HELP is a memory-resident program and is normally loaded by being listed as a line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Its default pop-up key ("hotkey") is Alt-H. Other Alt-key combinations may be substituted for the default hotkey by entering the optional /Hn parameter. Any alphanumeric key, the minus, or the equals keys may be used for n, and the substitution may be made either when the program is loaded or by entering HELP /Hn at a subsequent DOS prompt. Pressing Esc or pressing the hotkey a second time returns you to your application or to DOS. The optional /P parameter causes the program to pop-up immediately. Entering HELP with the /U parameter unloads it from memory if no other resident program has been loaded since. Note ---- To change the number of screen pages reserved for pop-up it is necessary to uninstall HELP or to reboot. Up to the limit of the reserved pages, however, you can change the help screen(s) to be accessed simply by entering the command, together with a new filespec, at the DOS prompt. @@INSTALL & REMOVE INSTALL & REMOVE Jeff Prosise TSR memory management utilities ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Permits deinstallation of memory-resident utilities, either singly or in groups, in such a way that the PC's interrupt vectors and memory allocation are restored to their state before INSTALL was run. Format ------ INSTALL [namelist] and, subsequently, REMOVE Remarks ------- The optional namelist parameter may the actual name of a TSR utility (or several such names, up to 119 characters) or it may be any convenient name for a group of such programs. All memory-resident programs actually loaded after invoking INSTALL will treated by REMOVE as a group until INSTALL is run a second time. To be able to REMOVE such utilities individually, run INSTALL just before each separate utility is loaded. Example -------- An AUTOEXEC.BAT file might contain the following lines: INSTALL TIMEKEY TIMEKEY INSTALL FREEZE FREEZE INSTALL SUPERKEY SIDEKICK KEY SK After booting up, entering REMOVE at the DOS prompt would then produce the following display: Number of installations: 3 TIMEKEY FREEZE SUPERKEY SIDEKICK Press ENTER to remove, ESC to abort Pressing Enter would remove the Superkey-SideKick group. Subsequent calls to REMOVE would be needed to eliminate first FREEZE and then TIMEKEY. Note that TSRs must always be removed in inverse order of loading. INSTALL uses 1600 bytes of memory each time it is invoked. A maximum of 32 TSR groups can be INSTALLed. In the unlikely event that a "Deinstallation failed" warning appears, safety dictates rebooting, as a memory allocation error may have occurred. @@JOURNAL JOURNAL Michael J. Mefford Expense account manager ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- A standalone or TSR (23KB RAM) utility that maintains and prints expense account information and includes the appointment schedule features of SCHEDULE (also on this disk). Format ------ JOURNAL [/I] [/U] [/Hn] [/Pn...n] [/G] [/A] [/C] [/M] [/B] Remarks ------- The optional /I switch is used when it is desired to run JOURNAL as a pop-up. The /U switch uninstalls the program if no other TSR has been loaded subsequently. Note, however, that 'SideKick', if used, must be loaded after JOURNAL. The default hotkey is Alt-J, but this can be changed with the /H switch, using any Ctrl- or Alt- alphanumeric key for n. To install with Ctrl-K as the pop-up key, enter . The /Pn...n switch allows entering printer control codes, with up to 10 decimal values for n. For printers that support the IBM extended-ASCII character set, using the /G switch produces a neater printout by utilizing the line-drawing characters. With LCD screens the /B (black-and-white) switch is recommended. By default, JOURNAL chimes and pops up at the time of a scheduled appointment; it also pops up at midnight to turn to the next day's events. The /C switch eliminates the chime; /A prevents the appointment pop-up, and should be used if a communications program is running; and /M prevents the midnight pop-up (to avoid stopping a program that is running overnight). JOURNAL comes up initially with a Calendar screen and can be switched to its Journal and then to its Appointment screens with F7. Pressing the hotkey exits from any screen; Esc goes back to the Calendar screen, where a second Esc exits. JOURNAL should be run from its own directory, which must be current (not just on the path) when it is installed or executed. The program will create and store SCHEDULE.DAT and JOURNAL.DAT in this directory when the Save command (F2) is given from the Appointment or from the Journal screen. The purge command (F4) can be executed from either screen to keep the .DAT files timely. The material removed can be archived, by being automatically appended to the files SCHEDULE.ASC and JOURNAL.ASC. The .ASC files can be edited with a word processor; the .DAT files can only be edited in the program's screens and then resaved. (F2) The PgUp and PgDn keys change the day displayed in the Journal, Appointment, and Purge screens (the month in the Calendar screen). Ctrl-PgUp and Ctrl-PgDn similarly change the months (years). The current date can be restored immediately by pressing F3. Tab and Shift-Tab move among the three sections of the Appointment screen (the two time columns and the mini notepad), and from field to field of the expense Journal screen. Pressing Home moves to the start of an expense field, an appointment section row, or the start of the week in the Journal, Appointment, and Calendar Screens, respectively. Hitting Home a second time moves to the first field, the top of the section, or the first of the month for the three screens, in order. Pressing the End key once and twice moves to the corresponding end points of the three screens. The cursor keys, Del and Backspace keys work as usual. F6, Shift-F6, and Ctrl-F6 clear lines and fields in the Journal screen, and lines, sections, and all sections in the Appointment screen. The Calendar screen displays blocks that correspond to entries in the Appointment Screen. Pressing F5 from the Appointment screen prints a list of appointments when the printer port number (1 or 2) is entered. When F5 is pressed from the Journal screen the program tallies all entered expenses for days up to, but not including the current date. (Use PgDn to advance the day to include the current date). To get an overall total, suitable for deciding whether to file a report yet, press F7. Pressing F8 after F5 will send a full, day-by-day report to the printer (F7) or to an ASCII-editable file (F8). The printed report puts two days on a standard-size page. Remember to purge expense account information when a report has been made or it will reappear on the next report. JOURNAL is a text-based program and will not pop up over graphics screens (e.g. Microsoft Windows) or during DOS or disk activity. The largest number the program can handle is 65,535.99. @@KBX KBX Jeff Prosise Provides access to PC extended characters ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Allows entering extended-ASCII line-drawing, foreign language, math, and science symbols in word processing programs and editors that would not otherwise support them. Format ------ KBX Remarks ------- KBX is a memory-resident utility that is normally loaded as one of the command lines in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Once loaded, pressing Alt-Space pops up a window that displays the normal PC keyboard layout. While this window is on-screen, pressing NumLock shows the key locations for one of the two extended-ASCII sets; pressing ScrollLock displays the other extended-ASCII set. Esc closes the display and returns to any active applications program. To enter the extended-ASCII characters, hold down the NumLock (or ScrollLock) key and press the key at the appropriate position. Note that the single-line (NumLock) and double-line (ScrollLock) box-drawing characters are arranged around the outside of the numeric keypad. Using the NumLock and ScrollLock keys as additional "shift" keys avoids conflicts with applications programs that normally use Alt- key and Ctrl-key combinations. The normal Ctrl-NumLock (pause) and Ctrl-ScrollLock (break) combinations continue to work without change. When KBX is loaded, however, Shift- NumLock and Shift-ScrollLock are used to toggle the NumLock and ScrollLock states. KBX is not compatible with word processors that normally make use of the 8th ("high") bit for their own purposes (e.g., WordStar) or that utilize their own keyboard handlers (e.g., XyWrite). Only experimentation will show whether the program will work with a given editor. Notes ----- Since different printers vary in the characters they output when presented with extended-ASCII codes, you must determine either from your manual or by experiment whether your printer's character set is compatible with that of the PC. @@MEMMAP MEMMAP Earl F. Glynn Display DOS memory map Version 2 ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- To display all allocated memory blocks, including memory-resident (TSR) programs and their associated environment memory blocks. Optionally, also displays the variables in each environment block. Format ------ MEMMAP [/V] Remarks ------- Entered at the DOS prompt without its optional /V parameter, MEMMAP produces a display similar to that shown below: Memory MemMap (Version 2, May 89) Control Block Size Block [Bytes] Owner Segment Hex Decimal Segment Type Name ------ ----- ------- ------- ------------ ------------- 09CF 14A30 84528 0008 System 1E73 00D30 3376 1E74 Program 1F47 00030 48 0000 Free Space 1F4B 000A0 160 1E74 Environment 1F56 00030 48 D001 Environment C:\CHSTACK.COM 1F5A 000B0 176 1F67 Environment C:\EDITOR.EXE 1F66 354C0 218304 1F67 Program C:\EDITOR.EXE 54B3 000B0 176 54C0 Data 54BF 00D30 3376 54C0 Program 5593 000A0 160 54C0 Environment 559E 000B0 176 55AB Environment D:\911\MEMMAP.EXE 55AA 02920 10528 55AB Program D:\911\MEMMAP.EXE 583D 47C20 293920 0000 Free Space Note that under DOS 2.10, 3.3, and the DOS Command subset of OS/2 Extended Edition 1.1 some program names will be designated that are reported fully under DOS 4.0. When used under OS/2 EE, DOS identifies itself as DOS 10.10 . Entered with the /V switch, MEMMAP also reports the environmental variables that are loaded with each TSR. These variables initially loaded by DOS are contained in the first environment block with the name , as shown above. The default size of this block is 160 bytes. @@MOUSEKEY MOUSEKEY Jeff Prosise Allows a mouse to be used with non-mouse programs ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Programs a mouse to emulate the cursor keys, PgUp key, and PgDn key within applications that do not normally support a mouse. Format ------ MOUSEKEY Remarks ------- MOUSEKEY requires that a mouse driver program (MOUSE.SYS in a CONFIG.SYS file or MOUSE.COM in an AUTOEXEC.BAT file) be loaded first. The driver and mouse must be Microsoft-compatible. After running MOUSEKEY, the left mouse button emulates the PgUp key and the right button mimics PgDn. Moving the mouse in any direction simulates repeatedly pressing the corresponding cursor keys. MOUSEKEY works in conjunction with the BIOS keyboard driver and does not impede normal keyboard operation of the keys it emulates. MOUSEKEY is compatible with either the bus or serial version of the Microsoft mouse and with any mouse that emulates them. @@PAINT PAINT Jeff Prosise Text/help screen designer ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Edits or creates custom help or reference screens that can be popped up over an application program or at the DOS prompt with the HELP.COM utility contained on this disk. Also provides full control of character and video attribute bytes and permits insertion of single-line, double-line, or pattern characters from the extended-ASCII PC text-graphics set. Format ------ PAINT [filespec] Remarks ------- The optional filespec is the filename (plus drive and path, if needed) of a help or reference screen that has been previously saved for HELP.COM with the related CAPTURE program contained on this disk. If filespec is omitted, PAINT permits creating and saving a new screen in the appropriate format. HELP files are 4,000-byte screen buffer images, and as many as 14 may be chained together for successive display. The PgUp and PgDn keys in PAINT move through multiple-screen files. The Ins key toggles the PAINT editor between the default overstrike and insert modes. The Del key deletes the character under the cursor and closes up the text. In overstrike mode, the Backspace key moves the cursor left without moving any text characters to its right. In insert mode, the Backspace drags characters with it. The cursor can be moved anywhere within the viewing area by using the cursor keys. Home and End move the cursor to the ends of the text line, and Enter performs the usual carriage return/line feed. Function key F1 lists the menus presented by each function key, and Esc de-selects any active menu. F3 toggles between text-only and text-plus-attribute modes, which are also reflected in the operation of the Backspace and Del keys. Attributes are selected by number(s) after pressing F2, which presents 16 foreground and 8 background color choices (color systems) or normal, reverse, boldface, or underline (monochrome systems). By positioning the cursor on any displayed character and pressing F2 twice, that video attribute can be selected without using the menu numbers. Pressing Enter defaults to the current selection. Selected attributes remain in effect until changed. Small or irregular screen areas can be "painted" with the current attribute by holding down the Ctrl key and pressing the desired cursor Arrow keys. Large screen areas may be defined by locating the cursor at one corner and pressing F5, then moving to the diagonal corner and pressing F5 again. A menu choice is then presented, either to clear the defined block of text characters or to paint them all with the current video attribute. Pressing F5 twice without moving the cursor defines the entire screen and presents the same choice. Function key F4 permits selection of single-line, double-line, patterns, or asterisks that are then written to the screen by holding down the Alt key and pressing the cursor arrows. Where lines cross, appropriate junction symbols are substituted. F6 asks for a filename under which the file is to be saved (it supplies the original filename as a default) and saves the file. Compensation is automatically applied to adjust for differences in display size. Pressing F7 returns to DOS. Note ---- 1. While PAINT is intended primarily for use with screens that use the HELP program, it can be used to advantage in prototyping screens for application programs and in the design layout of other pop-up windows. @@PRN2FILE PRN2FILE Tom Kihlken Capture printer output to a disk file ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Captures any output nominally directed to a printer to a file that can then be edited by a word processor or printed later. Format ------ PRN2FILE [d:][path]filename [/Pn] [/Bn] [/U] Remarks ------- PRN2FILE is a memory resident program that is normally loaded as part of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. It should be installed before other print utilities, such as a print spooler or the DOS MODE command. Once installed, the program may be run multiple times to change the filename (the drive and path default to the current directory unless specified) designated to receive the printer output. Unless the filename is changed, successive print operations are appended to (rather than overwrite) the created file. To disable the printer output redirection, simply omit to specify a filename. The optional /Pn parameter designates the printer number (the default is LPT1) to be redirected. Note that output to a non-existent printer (/P2 in a one-printer system) is supported. This is another way to permit normal printing while PRN2FILE remains resident. Legal values for Pn range from 1 through 3. The optional /Bn parameter sets the buffer size. The default value is 4096 bytes, and values up to 64K may be specified. The buffer repeatedly empties when partially full in order to minimize the chance of buffer overflow even when DOS may be called on for other activities than writing the buffer to disk. Should buffer overflow occur an error message is produced, but some data will be lost, so the file should be re-written using a larger buffer. The optional /U parameter is used to unload PRN2FILE from memory. If other memory-resident utilities have been loaded after PRN2FILE and have chained onto the same interrupts, it will not be possible to unload the program, and a message to this effect will be displayed. All optional parameters may be entered in any order, but must each be separated by a single space character that acts as a delimiter. @@RECORDER RECORDER Tom Kihlken File usage tracking for Ram disk users ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Keeps a log of the number of times each file is accessed over a period of time to show which files would benefit from being stored on a RAM disk. Format ------ RECORDER [n] [/R] Remarks ------- RECORDER is a memory-resident utility that should normally be loaded by being included as a line in an AUTOEXEC.BAT file. By default it keeps track of disk I/O activity (reads, writes, EXECs) for 200 filenames. The optional n parameter can be entered when the utility is loaded to increase the number of filenames to 2,000. Each additional filename requires 20 bytes of RAM. The current log can be seen by entering RECORDER at the DOS prompt. Entering RECORDER with the /R switch resets the table. This may be done at any time, and certainly should be done if the error message "Table is saturated" is displayed. Redirection is supported, so the results can be stored to a file. Example ------- To store the results and reset the table simultaneously at the end of a morning's use, for example, enter RECORDER /R > FILES.LOG By default, RECORDER sorts by the numbers in the totals column. The DOS SORT program can be used to sort by the values in other columns. The read column begins with character 20, the write column with 27, and the EXEC column with 34. Example ------- To sort the table by the number of entries in the EXEC category, enter RECORDER | SORT /+34 @@RN RN Michael J. Mefford Directory manager (links to DR) Version 3.0 ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Simplifies creating, removing, renaming, hiding, unhiding, and changing to directories. Also sets/resets the read-only and archive bits of all files within a directory, and reports filecount and space allocated. Allows immediate call-up of DR.COM for handling individual files. Format ------ RN [d:][/I] Remarks ------- RN can be entered either as an immediate command at the DOS prompt, or it can be installed on a hard drive (using the /I option) with a memory-resident database of directory information that speeds up its subsequent operations. If no drive (d:) is specified, the current drive is assumed. If installed, RN should be loaded before SideKick and any other uninstallable memory-resident programs. (RN cannot be deinstalled without rebooting.) The program requires 128K RAM operating room; the database, if used, occupies approximately 14K. RN cannot be called up from within an application with a 'hotkey'; it can be accessed only from the DOS prompt. Pressing Esc terminates RN's operations. When issued, RN.COM brings up an sorted directory tree with the current listing highlighted and a menu listing the function keys used for its various directory services. The directory highlight bar is moved one entry at a time by the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys, and in larger increments by the Ctrl-PgUp and Ctrl-PgDn, PgUp and PgDn, and Home and End keys. The highlight bar should be placed on the directory to be affected by the subsequent function key. When renaming (F2) and creating (F3) directories, do not enter the backslash (\) character but include it in figuring the maximum path length (63 characters). RmDir (F4), if you confirm at its warning prompt, deletes all files within the directory (unless they are marked read-only) before removing it. Hide/Unhide (F5) affects the directory name only, not the individual files. F6 and F7 (mark/unmark as read-only and set/reset the archive bit) toggle these bits on all files within the directory. F8 updates the directory database if changes are made outside RN, and F9 gives a file count together with the space allocated to a directory's files. F10 calls DR.COM. Note ---- 1. The F2 key (Rename Directory) requires DOS 3.x. @@SETMODE SETMODE Tom Kihlken Pop-up control of video mode & serial settings ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Provides menu-driven setup and change of video modes and communications parameters. SETMODE is similar to the functions provided by the DOS MODE command but is a memory-resident program that can be called up at any time. Format ------ SETMODE then -M Remarks ------- SETMODE is a memory-resident utility that may be loaded either at the DOS prompt or by being included as a line in an AUTOEXEC.BAT file. It takes no parameters. Its default hotkey is Alt-M, and it will pop-up either in text or graphics modes. The SETMODE window displays the current settings (bps, parity, data bits, stop bits), for up to four serial ports. Settings can be changed by moving the bar-menu highlight to the desired parameter with the cursor arrow keys and using the plus or minus keys. Pressing either Esc or Enter removes the SETMODE screen and implements any communications parameter changes. The Data Set Ready (DSR) status should indicate Yes when a printer or modem is attached and on, though it cannot be changed through SETMODE. The current video mode is also displayed in the SETMODE pop-up window and can be changed by moving the menu bar to the desired mode and pressing Enter. Modes not supported by the display adaptor(s) in the user's system cannot be selected. When a video mode change is made, the screen is initially left blank; pressing Enter a second time restores the normal prompt. Notes ----- Although SETMODE will pop up over most existing applications, video mode changes should normally be made only from the DOS prompt. Similarly, changes in communications protocols should not be made during a file transfer. Text characters beneath the SETMODE window are preserved if the mode is left unchanged, but graphics images are not. Using the values for SS and MM shown in the Scan Code and Shift Mask charts at the end of this manual, the default hotkey for SETMODE can be changed with DEBUG, as shown below: DEBUG SETMODE.COM E 14C "Hotkey is Ctrl-X" E 807 SS ;Scan code E 818 MM ;Shift mask W Q @@SNIPPER SNIPPER Tom Kihlken Cut-and-paste between programs and print screens ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Copies any portion of a text screen to a printer or file, or inserts it as keyboard input into an applications program. Format ------ SNIPPER [rows,columns] Remarks ------- SNIPPER is a memory-resident program that is normally loaded as part of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. The rows,columns parameter is required for EGA displays with more than the normal 25 rows and 80 columns. The default 'hotkey' is Alt-W. Pressing Esc returns you to your application. When SNIPPER is popped up, it creates its own cursor, which is moved by the normal arrow keys. To create the window of interest, press Enter to anchor the upper-left corner. The cursor keys then open and size the window, which appears in reverse video. It is not necessary to press Enter again to anchor the lower right corner. Doing so, indeed, will pop up a help menu showing the options described below. When the desired area is shown, pressing P dumps its contents to your printer, adding carriage return/line feed characters at the end of each line. SNIPPER then automatically terminates. Pressing F with the window open prompts for a filename, which may include drive and path. If no filename is entered, SCREEN.CUT is used as a default. Pressing Enter writes the marked screen contents to the file. SNIPPER then terminates, but remembers the filename. Successive saves to the same filename are appended, and so do not overwrite that file. Pressing S while a portion of the screen is marked saves the window contents to an internal buffer. Another applications program can then be called up and its cursor positioned at the point where the saved window contents should be inserted. Alt-W then activates SNIPPER, and G gets its stored contents and dumps them into the keyboard buffer as if they had been typed in by hand. Note that G must be the first SNIPPER command used in this case (any other erases its internal, stored buffer). Note, too, that G can be used without S to reenter marked material (e.g. a complex DOS command sequence) on the same screen page. Using the values for SS and MM shown in the Scan Code and Shift Mask charts in the Tech Notes document, the default hotkey for SNIPPER can be changed with DEBUG, as shown below: DEBUG SNIPPER.COM E 56B SS ;Scan code E 57B MM ;Shift mask W Q @@STAYDOWN STAYDOWN Jeff Prosise 'Sticky' shift keys ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Permits entering two-key Ctrl-, Alt-, and Shift-key combinations as separate keystrokes. Format ------ STAYDOWN [/D] [/U] Remarks ------- The relocation of the function keys on IBM's "enhanced" 101-key keyboard makes it impossible to hold down a shifting key (Ctrl, Alt, Shift) and press a key simultaneously with one hand. Even with the 83-key (PC and XT) and 84-key (original AT) keyboards, many shifting key combinations have been awkward for many users and sometimes impossible for the physically handicapped. STAYDOWN is a terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) utility that permits (but does not require) the shifting key to be physically released while remaining logically depressed until the key it is to affect is struck. If a shifting key is mistakenly hit (and so held down by STAYDOWN), just hit the key again to disengage it. The optional /D switch deactivates STAYDOWN until the command is entered again without the switch. The optional /U switch uninstalls the program and frees the memory it previously occupied. If another TSR program that uses the same interrupt vector has been loaded after STAYDOWN, a "Cannot Uninstall" message will be displayed. If the message "Uninstall Error" appears, users should immediately save their work and reboot. STAYDOWN should be loaded before SideKick. SideKick users can then choose to pop up the SideKick utility either by holding down the Ctrl key and pressing/releasing the Alt key (as before) or by pressing/releasing the Ctrl key and then pressing/releasing the Alt key. Note, however, that as STAYDOWN's action is confined to the next keystroke, three-key combinations such as Ctrl-Alt-Del must be entered conventionally. STAYDOWN can be entered either at the DOS command line or, preferably, as a line in an AUTOEXEC.BAT file. While compatible with most applications, full compatibility with all applications cannot be guaranteed by any TSR program. @@STICK STICK Jeff Prosise Locks cursor size and shape ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Locks/unlocks a cursor size and shape set with CTYPE.COM (also contained on this disk); similarly locks/unlocks a choice of VGA/EGA foreground and background colors and permits selective replacement of the EGA/VGA BIOS code for CGA emulation. Format ------ STICK [/L+|/L-] [/E+|/E-] [/B+|/B-][/C-|/C fg bg] Remarks ------- STICK is a memory-resident (560 bytes) program that eliminates several recurring problems connected with the Enhanced Graphics Adaptor (EGA) and display. A non-resident utility such as CTYPE.COM can set a cursor size and shape in DOS, and it can also prevent the cursor loss frequently encountered when exiting from utilities such as SideKick while using a 43-line EGA display. CTYPE alone can do nothing to preserve its customized cursor when applications reset the cursor, however, as they normally do. The STICK /L+ option locks in the cursor shape for all but applications (such as 1-2- 3) that bypass the PC BIOS cursor routines altogether. To permit some applications (such as word processors) to manipulate the cursor shape themselves, the STICK /L- option disables cursor locking. The STICK /C fg bg option sets EGA foreground and background colors respectively, using the hex digits shown below: 0 Black 8 Gray 1 Blue 9 Bright Blue 2 Green A Bright Green 3 Cyan B Bright Cyan 4 Red C Bright Red 5 Magenta D Bright Magenta 6 Brown E Yellow 7 White F Bright White The foreground color (fg) may range from 0 through F; background (bg) values are limited to 0 through 7. A single space must separate each parameter. The /C- option disables the color selection locking. @@TOGGLE TOGGLE Jeff Prosise Software control of lock keys ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Provides a software toggle and an on-screen report of the states of the CapsLock, NumLock, and ScrollLock keys. Format ------ TOGGLE [+c|-c] [+n|-n] [+s|-s] Remarks ------- Entered without any parameters, TOGGLE simply reports the current status of the three toggle keys. The c (CapsLock), n (NumLock), and s (ScrollLock) parameters may be added on the TOGGLE command line to change the state of the specified key(s). A + (plus) sign preceding a parameter toggles that key on; a - (minus) sign forces that key off. The optional parameters may be entered singly or in any combination and order, and in upper or lower case. Requested parameter changes are processed before TOGGLE issues its on-screen report. Entering TOGGLE with any unrecognized parameter (/H or ?, for example) produces an error message that displays the correct syntax. With 83-key PC and XT keyboards, which lack status LEDs, TOGGLE eliminates the need to determine the states of the CapsLock, NumLock, and ScrollLock keys by trial and error. Owners of "compatible" 84-key keyboards often find that their status LEDs get out-of-sync with the true states of the toggle keys. This condition arises when an LED-equipped keyboard is matched with an XT BIOS design, which lacks provisions for updating the indicators when a program rather than a keystroke changes the toggle-key state. TOGGLE can be used to restore the synchronization, which will be retained as long as only keystrokes are used to change the toggle keys' status. The BIOS interface for the current 101-key (Enhanced) keyboard causes the machine to boot up with the NumLock state on. All previous keyboards have provided the opposite default condition. Including the line TOGGLE -n in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file will cause the NumLock key to boot up in the off state when using the Enhanced keyboard. @@TOUCH TOUCH Michael J. Mefford Set time and date stamp on files ------------------------------------------------------- Purpose ------- Changes the DOS date and/or time designation of a file or group of files either to the current system values or to user-designated values. Format ------ TOUCH filespec [/D date] [/T time] Remarks ------- Entered without any arguments, TOUCH displays a help screen showing its syntax. If given a filespec but neither of the optional switches (/D or /T), TOUCH updates the designated file to the current system date and time. Note that the standard DOS filename wild cards (* and ?) are supported, so TOUCH can operate on groups of files. The optional /D date switch permits entry a user-selected date in the customary DOS mm-dd-yy format. If desired, the hyphen delimiters may be replaced by forward slashes (/), and the year may be entered either in full form (e.g. 1988) or in abbreviated (88) form. TOUCH checks that each of the three fields is filled with a non-zero value, but does not check the validity of a date (e.g. 2/31/88). Legal DOS years are from 1980 to 2099. The optional /T time switch permits the user to specify times in hours:minutes:seconds. If the minutes and/or seconds parameters are omitted, TOUCH will set them to 0. Hours should be entered in military (24-hour) format.