5.10 Running VCDs using command line syntax

Using the command line syntax for VirtualDrive is a powerful way of automating repetitious inserting VCDs.

The basic syntax is described below:  

Each command starts with the term "VDrive." A VirtualDrive can be referenced by its drive letter, e.g. E:, F:, G: or a number corresponding to the position of the VirtualDrive. For example, if drives E, F and G are VirtualDrives, then drive F can be referred to as “2:”. Once a VirtualDrive is referenced, you can then issue a command to tell VirtualDrive what to do next.

Available commands are:

1. Vdrive <drive letter:> <VCDfilename> /I [@cmd] [/M] [/NA] => Insert VCD

2. Vdrive <drive letter:> /E [/M]  => Eject VCD

If successful, returns 0, otherwise 1.

3. VDrive /drive: Returns the number of VirtualDrives available

Note: Commands shown in square brackets[ ]are optional.

4. /I                                   Insert a VCD

5. /E                                  Eject a VCD

6. [/M]                               Show message

7. [@<path><filename>]        Run a program on the VCD. To use this, you must include the full path showing the location of the program to be run and the name of the executable file.

Using the command line for creating shortcuts to run VCDs  

Using command line instructions is an ideal method for implementing customized shortcuts to run your VCDs.

Step 1 - Write down what you want the shortcut to do, e.g. Vdrive ·E:· "C:\VCDCollection\Age of Kings"· /I ·@E:\Age.exe  

Note: · - The dot shows where a blank space must be inserted.  

The above example, read from left to right works as follows:

Vdrive                  -tells Windows that the following commands will be executed by Vdrive

E:                         -selects VirtualDrive E:

"C:\VCDCollection\Age of Kings"-adds the path and the name of the VCD file to load

Note: If there are any spaces in the character string, quotation marks must be used.

/I                         -tells the Vdrive program to insert the VCD

@                          -tells Vdrive to execute a program

E:\Age.exe - tells Vdrive where the program is by specifying the drive (E:) and the name of the file to run (Age.exe).   

Step 2 Create a shortcut by right clicking on an empty space on the Windows desktop and select "New" then "Shortcut."

Step 3 In the “Create Shortcut” dialog box, enter the command line from Step 1.

Example: Vdrive E: "C:\VCDCollection\Age of Kings" /I @E:\Age.exe