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STEENBURGH'S STUFF Mildly Useful Utilities For Batch Files Version 2.51 Copyright 1991-1993 by Chuck Steenburgh and Tay-Jee Software _______ ____|__ | (TM) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| MEMBER Page 1 INPUT.EXE v2.2 | Copyright 1991-1993 by Chuck Steenburgh & Tay-Jee Software If you use batch files very often, you've probably acquired a program called ASK.COM or QUERY.COM or something similar that allows you to ask questions and receive simple responses. Usually, this involves typing an ECHO command with your question, followed by ASK.COM or whatever. If you do this a lot, you will probably appreciate the fact the INPUT.EXE will accomplish the jobs of both the ECHO and ASK commands. Add to this the greater flexibility that INPUT.EXE offers in presenting your prompt to the user and in receiving input, and you'll be sold. Usage: INPUT ["prompt"] [nnn] [Options] "prompt" Enter the text you would like to appear to prompt the user for input. This can be up to 59 char- acters and must be enclosed in quotation marks. nnn Enter a number representing the color in which you want your mes- sage to appear. You must, of course, have a color monitor and card. See Appendix 3. Options: /C Include this switch if you want your prompt message centered on the current line. If you include this switch, you MUST include a color value. /D Display list of available disk drives on current system and restrict input to one of these letters. /Exxxxxx Instead of returning errorlevel, ac- cept text input which is supplied to command "xxxxxx." /H or /? Display brief help screen. /I Use this for a case-insensitive error level return. If this switch is included on the command line, pressing a letter a-z (lower case) will return the same value as if the corresponding key A-Z (upper case) were pressed. Page 2 /Ln Leftmost column in which prompt should appear. /Mxxxxxx Receive text input and set environment variable xxxxxx with data received. Defaults to variable name of INPUT if | no name is provided. | /Pd Pause 10 seconds for user input, then default to "d" (where "d" is any char- acter. INPUT will wait up 10 seconds for user input. If no key is pressed within 10 seconds, INPUT will act as if the key specified by the key rep- resented by the single character "d" was pressed. Note that all other switches (case insensitivity, yes/no answer, etc.) remain active if time expires and the default key is used. INPUT adds a warning that it will de- fault to the specified value after 10 seconds, and will display a succession of ten dots to indicate elapsed time. /Q Quiet mode. Suppresses the audible alarm prompt. /R Row in which prompt should appear. /S Show keypress. Adding this switch will cause INPUT to display the errorlevel value returned. Use this for quick "debugging" of your use of INPUT.EXE /V Instead of a single keypress, causes INPUT to read a numeric value (con- cluded with a carriage return) between 0 and 255 from the keyboard. Values less than 0 will return 0 and values greater than 255 will return 255. /Wn When used in conjunction with the /P switch, changes the default wait time to n seconds, where n is no greater than 999 seconds. /X When used in conjunction with the /W and/or /P switches will suppress dis- play of the default value and timer "ticks." /Y Use this for a yes-no only response. If the "n" key is pressed, errorlevel Page 3 of "0" is returned; pressing any other key returns an errorlevel of 1. The prompt "(Y/n)" is appended to the nor- mal prompt specified by the user. /N Use this for a yes-no only response. If the "y" key is pressed, errorlevel of "1" is returned; pressing any other key returns an errorlevel of 0. The prompt "(y/N)" is appended to the nor- mal prompt specified by the user. This switch takes precedence over the /y switch. The command line parameters may be entered in any order, may be in any case, and may be preceded by either the "/" or "-" character. Examples: INPUT "Select a number from one to 10" This prints the text "Select on number from one to 10" on the current line and waits for a keypress. INPUT "Press any key to continue" 79 This prints the text "Press any key to continue" on the current line in bright white on a red background and waits for a keypress. INPUT "Press the space bar to exit" 143 /c This prints the text "Press the space bar to exit" cen- tered on the current line in flashing bright white on a black background. INPUT /s /i "Press any key..." /c 14 Prompts user with "Press any key..." in yellow on black. Returns a case-insensitive errorlevel and displays it on the screen before terminating. INPUT "Do you wish to continue?" /s 79 /y Prompts user with "Do you wish to continue? (Y/n)" in white on red. Returns errorlevel of 1 unless the "n" key is pressed. Displays errorlevel on screen. INPUT "Press any key..." /pf Prompts user with "Press any key... (defaults to f after 10 seconds)" in black on white. Returns errorlevel of 102 if no key is pressed within 10 seconds, otherwise returns value of Page 4 key pressed. INPUT "Press any key..." /c /pf Prompts user with "Press any key... (defaults to f after 10 seconds)" in black on white. Returns errorlevel of 70 if no key is pressed within 10 seconds, otherwise returns the upper case ASCII value of the key pressed. INPUT "Enter data:" /p1 /w15 /q 30 Prompts user with "Enter data: (defaults to 1 after 15 seconds)" in yellow on blue. Returns errorlevel of 49 if no key is pressed after 15 seconds, otherwise returns the error- level of the key pressed. The alarm does NOT sound. INPUT "How many copies should be printed? " /v /c Prompts user with "How many copies should be printed?" centered on the current line. A number can be entered by the user and INPUT will return an errorlevel equal to the number entered (between 0 and 255). If the /V switch is used, the data entered by the user will appear on screen, and can be changed using backspace before pressing <Return>. INPUT "Press any key to continue..." /p /x Displays the familiar DOS PAUSE message, but exits after a 10 second delay if no key is pressed. An errorlevel of 0 is returned. INPUT "Switch to which drive?" /D Displays prompt "Switch to which drive?" followed by a list of all valid drives on the system. Will not exit until one of these drive letters is pressed. INPUT "Enter a directory mask " /Edir /C Centers prompt "Enter a directory mask " on screen. Exe- cutes DOS "dir" command, using any text entered in response to prompt as arguments. For example, if user typed "*.exe /p" the command "dir *.exe /p" will be executed by INPUT. This allows INPUT to be used to enter limited string data. INPUT "Enter a file name: " /Wfilename Accepts text data from keyboard and places value entered in the master environment in a variable named "filename." This value can later be accessed within a batch file or via other programs. INPUT will also sound an alarm to let the user know that a response is expected (unless /Q switch specified). Page 5 When a key is pressed, INPUT will set the errorlevel equal to the ASCII value of the key pressed. This is slightly dif- ferent from BATBOX in that in normal operation INPUT is case sensitive and will allow you to distinguish between upper and lower case letters. If you want a case-insensitive return, use the /i switch. See Appendix 2 for a complete list of the ASCII characters theoretically supported by INPUT. If the /H or /? parameter was specified, the errorlevel returned will be 255. If you want greater control over the placement of your prompt message on the screen, use WRITE in conjunction with INPUT. Use WRITE to display your prompt then use INPUT without the "prompt," color, or /c parameters. When using the /E parameter to execute a batch file, be sure to include the extension ".BAT" as part of the switch. When using the /M switch to set an environment variable, the variable name you supply will be converted to upper case. DOS will only recognize upper case variables within batch files. When using the /M switch in conjunction with /Y or /N, the | variable will be assigned a value of YES or NO as appropriate. | SPECIAL NOTE TO 4DOS* USERS INPUT.EXE conflicts with 4DOS' INPUT internal command. To remedy this situation, create a batch file containing the two lines below (or add them to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file) and execute once each time your computer is turned on: alias input d:\path\input.exe alias inp4 *input The first line creates an alias of "input" for the program INPUT.EXE. The second line creates an alias of "inp4" for the internal 4DOS INPUT command. Make sure the "d:\path\" part of the first line is replaced with the actual drive/path in which INPUT.EXE is located on your system. Since INPUT v2.11 performs many more functions than the 4DOS command, it is desirable to avoid any confusion and simply replace 4DOS' INPUT command. * 4DOS is a registered trademark of JP Software Inc. OMBUDSMAN This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with Page 6 an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman, 70007,3536. DISCLAIMER The programs described in this documentation are guaran- teed to do absolutely nothing! They have, however, in my exper- ience performed essentially as described herein. The author will not be responsible for any loss or damages caused through the use of these programs. No warranty, express or implied, is provided for this software's performance, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose. All trademarks are property of their respective owners. The programs and documentation are Copyright 1991,1992 by Chuck Steenburgh. You are encouraged to distribute these pro- grams provided the following conditions are met: - all files contained in the archive or distribution disk must be distributed together in UNMODIFIED form - you charge no more than a reasonable fee for copying or subscription, and clearly indicate that payment of such a fee does NOT grant ownership of the programs. This program is part of set of utilities known as STEEN- BURGH'S STUFF (Mildly Useful Utilities). The full set of utilities includes the following programs: BATBOX: Simple menu creation/input system CHKDRV: Checks disk drive status CHKPRN: Checks parallel printer status CLK: Displays time on screen CURSOR: Change cursor shape DOSVER: Checks for DOS version currently running INPUT: Simple prompt/input system KLS: Colorful screen-clearing utility LAUNCHER: File selection/execution system MUSIC: Plays transcribed sheet music on the PC RAND: Random number generator SKIP: Prints blank lines from batch files SOUNDER: Wide range of noise making options SPACE: File/disk space reporting utility WAITFOR: Timed pauses WHENISIT: Date/time telling utility WRITE: Colorful output anywhere on screen XD: Create/switch directories at the same time You may evaluate these programs for up to 30 days on a free trial basis. After 30 days, you should register your use of Page 7 these programs. The registration fee is $20, payable to the author at the address given below. For those registering directly with Tay-Jee Software, we offer a $5 cash discount. Let's be real: I don't plan to make a lot of money this way. Registration does have its advantages: - I am improving these programs all the time. Registration will get you IMMEDIATELY a disk with the latest version. You will also get the next major release of the program set sent to you free of charge. - While I can't promise to include everyone's suggestions in program updates, you can bet I'll listen to registered users before any of you scrounges out there. - You will make me feel all warm and fuzzy and appreciated, and all that good stuff. - You will also get an evaluation copy of my text file for- matting program (used to produce the margins in this doc- ument), and any other electronic creations I have decided to unleash on a foolish, unsuspecting world. Send comments/registrations to: Tay-Jee Software Post Office Box 835 Lexington, VA 24450 (703)464-5290 !!!VIRGINIA RESIDENTS ADD 4.5SALES TAX!!! CIS 72330,1776 (I haunt the IBMSYS and IBMPRO forums) Page 8