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EZDOS The purpose of EZDOS is to make PCDOS easier to use. If you have ever been frustrated with the need to use uppercase characters such as the colon ":" and asterisk "*" in DOS commands, EZDOS will help. If you think it would be easier to type DB to get a directory listing for drive B: instead of typing DIR B:, then EZDOS may be what you are looking for. If you think you should be able to use the function keys to enter data of your choice, you will want to try EZDOS. When you get a directory listing, do you ever want to know how much space the files use on the disk? EZDOS does all this and more. I have spent a lot of time trying to make PCDOS easier to use. EZDOS is the result. It gives you shorter commands with no uppercase characters required. This makes typing easier. I have added commands to do the things DOS forgot, like moving files between directories, checking file dates before doing a copy, etc. I hope you find EZDOS as helpful as I have. EZDOS requires an IBM PC or compatible computer with at least 128K RAM and one diskdrive. EZDOS is a user supported program. I am asking for a donation of $20.00 for its use. Those that donate will receive published announcements of future updates, as well as patches to correct bugs that I or other users discover. EZDOS may be shared with other people under one condition: there be no charge to those you share it with. For more information about this program please write to: Skip Chambers 3822 Westminster Drive Carrollton, Texas, 75007. PURPOSE The purpose of this program is make DOS easier to use. EZDOS enhances existing DOS commands and adds new commands. There is a HELP command if a summary of available commands is needed. If you enter a command that is not a part of this program, it will be passed to DOS for execution. REQUIREMENTS EZDOS requires a Z-100-PC, an IBM PC, or equivalent computer. This must have MS/PC-DOS at version 2 level or later. EZDOS uses interrupt 10 to display scrolling messages etc. This means that the older Z-100 computers will not run this version of EZDOS. EXECUTION To execute EZDOS, enter EZ, followed by a command, data, and switches, as required. If you use a RAM disk, you should copy COMMAND.COM onto it and issue the command "SET COMSPEC=d:\COMMAND.COM" where d: is the RAM drive identifier. This allows EZDOS to link to external commands without requiring physical disk IO, increasing execution speed. If you do not do this, you must leave a diskette containing COMMAND.COM in the boot drive or links to external commands will fail. If this happens, an error message will be issued. COMMAND LINE EDITOR EZDOS contains a very convenient editor for the command line. If you make a typing error, you can move the cursor along the command line with the left and right arrow keys to make the correction. The delete key will remove the character at the cursor location from the command line, while the insert key will allow you to enter new characters at the cursor location. You will see a block cursor while in INSERT mode. The HOME key moves the cursor to the start of the line, while the END key moves it to the end. You can delete the characters from the cursor position to the end of the line with the CTRL-END combination. There is a buffer for the last 8 commands. By using the up arrow key, you can move backwards through this buffer, while the down arrow key moves you forward through the buffer. As the commands are displayed, you can use the other keys to edit the command. The PGUP key displays the current command in the command buffer. FUNCTION KEYS Function keys can be used to make command typing easier. Keys F1-F10 are defined with the Fn command (n is the key number). These strings are stored in the program itself and are limited to 10 characters in length. The display on line 25, which is set with the L25 command, is designed to show the current key settings. If ANSI.SYS is being used, you can use the KEYS (K) command to send the key sequences to ANSI.SYS, allowing you to use the function keys even after exiting EZDOS. To prevent a conflict with programs that use the function keys, they are turned off when EZDOS links to an external program. The keys can be turned off to ANSI.SYS with the no keys (NK) command. Keys F11-F20 (shifted F1-F10) are set with the SF command. This eliminates the need to retype repetitive commands. If the SFn commands are used to associate a command string with a function key, the string is limited to the length of a screen line if ANSI.SYS is being used, otherwise, they are limited to 20 bytes. Longer strings can be stored by using multiple keys and segmenting the string, within the limits imposed by ANSI.SYS. NOTE: if ANSI.SYS is used, only the normal function keys (F1-F10) are cleared before an external command is executed and reactivated upon its completion. The shifted functions keys are always active. The Status command displays the first 20 characters of these keys. NEW COMMANDS The new commands require only one or two letters to be entered. For example, if you want to list the directory of default drive A: with DOS, you enter "DIR". With the EZDOS program active, just enter "C" for a compressed alphabetical listing or "D" for an alphabetical listing that is not compressed. With DOS, to list the directory of drive B: you enter"DIR B:". When using EZDOS program, it is only necessary to enter either "CB" or "DB" depending on the format of the display you prefer. In other words, for drives A: through H:, it is only necessary to enter the command followed by the drive letter. The directory commands give either a compressed (C) or normal (D) directory listing, but file names are always sorted alphabetically. The amount of disk space used by the files is displayed, as well as the disk free space. The space used display makes it much easier to tell if files you want to copy will fit into the free space on another diskette. If you use the NAME command to add additional identifying text to the diskette, it is included in the directory listing also. The SETCODE command is very useful for making BAT files that contain menus. You can display a menu with numbered item and then call EZDOS. EZDOS will prompt for the selection, and exit setting the ERRORLEVEL to the binary value of the number entered. This allows you to make a single BAT file that will show the menu, accept the input, and then execute the selected function. ENHANCED COMMANDS While a few of the commands are similar to the normal DOS external commands, locating them in a single program eliminates the need to carry copies of several different programs on all of your diskettes. There are many enhancements to the DOS commands of COPY, RENAME, and DELETE. If you delete or rename files, the name of each file is displayed as the file is changed. This helps you to see the effect of the command while you can still recover from a mistake. There are several enhancements to DOS command processing. Many commands will prompt for action if you use the /Q flag. In addition the /Date switch causes the COPY command to replace a file on the target disk only if the source file has a more recent creation date. By combining the /Date switch with the /Backup switch for example, it is easy to copy a file to a diskette only if it will be updating an older copy of the same file. If a file is copied that has the default 1980 date showing that the clock had not been set when the file was created, it is given the current data and time. ONE FINGER TYPING To avoid having to type the uppercase colon ":" and asterisk "*", the command line is scanned for the ";" and "-" which are changed to the ":" and "*" respectively before command execution begins. This generally makes one finger typing possible. If you do not want this alteration of the command to occur, for example if executing a program the looks for the ";" in the command line, append the /A flag to the command and the alteration will be cancelled. The alteration process stops if a comma is encountered while scanning the command line. This is because the comma generally means that the scan has reached the data portion of the command, which often should not be changed. Hopefully, this will reduce the need to use the /A switch. ***************************************************************** NOTE: you must exit from EZDOS before executing any programs that become permanently resident. EZDOS uses memory above its code for buffers which will overlay any programs resident there. ***************************************************************** CHANGING EZDOS To make permanent changes in the system prompt, key status, use of ANSI.SYS, etc., you should set them way you want to keep them and then enter WRITEZ or one of the other commands that rewrites EZDOS on the disk. For example, entering the F1 command, followed by the current data associated with function key 1 will rewrite EZDOS, but the setting for the prompt, etc. will also be saved. EZDOS can read redirected input if the file name is specified on the command line that starts EZDOS. This allows you to change all the settings of the F keys at one time for example. COMMAND SUMMARY A summary of available commands follows. The uppercase letters are required. It is permissible to enter the complete word, but is unnecessary. The switches used by each command are also listed. Normal DOS documentation conventions are used for other optional parameters. This section includes both the syntax and a description of the logic behind how each command works. [NO]ANSI /C/E Tells EZDOS whether or not you are using ANSI.SYS to handle the screen and keyboard. If you are not using ANSI.SYS, the internally stored function key strings are used. They must only contain a single carriage return (^). The shifted function keys (F11-F20) are limited to 20 characters. If the ANSI.SYS device driver is in use, then the shifted function keys strings are limited only by its buffer size and may contain several carriage returns (^) since ANSI.SYS will feed the keystrokes to the currently running program as it requests them. C [d:][fname][.ext] /A/C/D/E/F/H/P/R/S/T This command gives an alphabetically sorted directory list. The drive identifier can be combined with the command to speed typing. CA gives the directory listing for drive A:, CB for drive B:, CC for drive C:, through drive H:. The directory list produced with this command is a compressed list containing the diskette name and label if any, the path, and the file list sorted alphabetically in four columns, including the file size. The space used by the selected files is shown, along with the free space on the disk. If /S is specified, the list is sorted by file size. /D causes the list to be sorted by date. CO40 no parameters /C/E Sets the color monitor to 40 column mode. CO80 no parameters /C/E Sets the color monitor to 80 column color mode. COLORS: BLUE,RED,GREEN,BLACK /C/E Sets the color monitor to have a background and border in the selected color with white letters. Because this part of EZDOS becomes a DOS extension the first time it is executed, EZDOS automatically ends after its execution. If the colors are changed later, the code that had been made resident is changed and EZDOS is not exited. Note that selecting black only changes the screen color, it does not remove the DOS extension. COPY [d:]source_filename[.ext] [d:]target_filename[.ext] /A/B/C/D/E/H/N/Q/S/T/W/X Copy source file to target file. This command was included to get the ability to use the switches as aids to file backup, and to get the list of file names as files are copied. The COPY command first builds a list of source files based on the specified name, including wildcards. As this list is built, only files with an alteration date matching the system date are included if /T was specified. The output file is then opened. At this time the /B, and /N flags are tested. Finally, if /Q was specified, the user is prompted. This means that only eligible files will generate a prompt. If /S was specified and the target diskette does not have sufficient free space to hold the complete file, the portion of the file that will fit is copied. The user is then prompted to insert a new diskette and the next segment of the file is copied. This continues until the entire file is copied. This allows files to span multiple diskettes. The user must remember to put the file back together by concatenating the segments before it can be used. It /W is specified, all files will be deleted from the target diskette. If /H is also used, the hidden files will be removed as well as the regular files. This can be used to remove DOS from a disk you are using to hold just data. D [d:][fname][.ext] /A/C/D/E/F/H/P/R/S/T This command gives an alphabetically sorted directory list. The drive identifier can be combined with the command to speed typing. DA gives the directory listing for drive A:, DB for drive B:, DC for drive C:, through drive H:. The directory list produced with this command contains the the diskette name and label if any, the path, and the file list sorted alphabetically in two columns, including the file name, file size, and the file creation date/time. The space used by the selected files is shown, along with the free space on the disk. If /S is specified, the list is sorted by file size. /D causes the list to be sorted by date. DELete [d:]filename[.ext] /A/C/E/Q/T Delete the specified file. This command is included to get the function of the switches and the list of files that are being deleted. The names of the files are displayed as they are deleted. If /T was specified, the date of each file is checked to see if it matches the system date, if is does not match, it is not deleted. If /Q was specified, the user is prompted before each file is deleted. DPARM no parameters /C/E Adjusts the timing parameters for the diskette drives to allow faster and quieter operation. This should only be used on standard IBM PC or XT, not on a JR or AT. DRIVE/NODRIVE no parameters /C/E Include/exclude the default drive id in the system prompt. DTEST no parameters /C/E This installs a resident extension to DOS that handles disk I/O. If any disk errors occur, you will see a message in the upper right corner of the screen. After running DTEST, the status display will show a detailed summary of the disk activity, including the track and sector of the last disk error. For this data to be included in the status display, DTEST must be the first code on the interrupt 13H chain. DUMP [d:][path]filename[.ext] /A/C/E/F/P Displays the contents of the selected file in both hex and ASCII format in blocks of 128 bytes. The last block is padded with zeros to make it easier to find the end of the file. End no parameters /C End the EZDOS and return to normal DOS. NOTE: You MUST exit from EZDOS before any programs that stay resident are run. Fn 'data' /A/C/E The "n" is a number between 1 and 10, representing the function key being defined. The data in single quotes is what will be automatically typed when function key Fn is pressed. This data is stored in the program which is then rewritten on the default disk with the name EZ.COM. Note: a carriage return can be included in the key definition by including the "^" character. It is translated to a carriage return when the string is executed. This makes it possible to execute a command by simply hitting key Fn. Because the data is stored in the program, the string is limited to ten characters in length. Help /C/E/P/X Displays the help screens. If the default diskette has a file named EZHELP.DOC, it is shown also. This allows you to include data for other programs in one display. K /C/E This turns on the default function key settings for the keys F1-F10 and displays the line 25 that you have defined with the L25 command. If ANSI.SYS is in use, the stored key string are passed to it also. If you then exit from EZDOS, the function keys will continue to recall the stored strings when pressed. The function keys are returned to normal when you execute an external command from within EZDOS. This keeps them from not acting properly when running some other program. L25 new line 25 data /A/C/E This command allows you to change the message displayed on line 25 when the keys F1-F10 are active. You just type the text as you want it to appear. If you want a space to appear in normal video, enter a "~". This data is stored in the program which is then rewritten on the default disk with the name EZ.COM. The easiest way to define a new line 25 message is to type a number representing the function key and then hit the key itself to include its data. This will work for any key that does not include a carriage return as part of its data. Label d:[new label] /A/C/E The LABEL command will display the current label for the selected drive if it is already labeled. If you have specified a new label, the diskette is relabeled using this data. LOG [d:] /C/E This command copies all files created or changed today to the specified drive. This command is equivalent to the command "COPY *.* [d:] /D/T". If no drive is specified, the drive used in the previous LOG command is used, or the A: drive is used if no drive has ever been specified. By using the WRITEZ command, this allows the default drive to be permanently selected. MOVE [d:][source_path]source_file_name[.ext] [d:][target_path] /A/C/E/Q/T/X MOVE moves the source file from the specified directory and puts it into the target directory. If the source directory is not specified, the file is assumed to be in the current directory. If the target directory is not specified, the file is moved to the current directory. If the /T switch is specified, only files with alteration dates matching the current system date are moved. If /Q was specified, files are not moved until after the user responds to a prompt. Name d:[new name] /A/C/E The eleven character DOS labels are insufficient for diskette identification. The name command allows you to add a longer string of identification text to a diskette. It is displayed in the directory listings. This command only supports double sided diskettes. NK /C/E This turns the keys F1-F10 off and stops the line 25 display. P [d:]fname[.ext] /C/E/F/X This command prints the specified files on the printer device (PRN). If the /F switch is used, a form feed is sent to the printer after each file is printed. The file name can include wildcards. PATH/NOPATH no parameters /C/E Include/exclude the current directory name in the system prompt. PDS no parameters /C/E Sets the IBM graphics printer to double strike mode. P6 no parameters /C/E Sets the IBM graphics printer to 6 lines/inch, 60 lines/page. P8 no parameters /C/E Sets the IBM graphics printer to 8 lines/inch, 80 lines/page. P132 no parameters /C/E Sets the IBM graphics printer to compressed print mode, 8 lines/inch, 80 lines/page. PP132 no parameters /C/E Sets the IBM graphics printer to compressed print mode, 8 lines/inch. The page length is not changed. This is necessary when printing listing made by version 2 of the macro assembler, for example. REBOOT no parameters /C/X If your system has a non-maskable interrupt (NMI) switch installed, this command will set INT 2 to reboot the system when you activate the switch. This command adds the NMI interrupt handler to DOS as an extension, causing an exit from EZDOS when it is executed. REName [d:]present_name[.ext [d:]new_name[.ext] /A/C/E/T/Q/X Change the name of a file to a new name. This command is included to get the convenience of the switches and the display of file names as they are changed. SCROLL no parameters The SCROLL command installs a DOS extension that honors the Scroll Lock key. If you are listing data on the screen and press the Scroll Lock key, the display will stop after showing 22 lines. Pressing the right shift key causes the screen to display 22 more lines. Pressing the left shift key causes the display to advance one line. When the display stops due to the action of the Scroll Lock command, you see a message in the top right corner of the display. SEARCH [d:] [d:] [d:] [d:] /C/E This causes EZDOS to search the current directories on the specified drives for external commands. SEARCH is similar to the DOS PATH command except that strings are not supported. With DOS 3.1, you can use the SUBST command to relate a drive id to a path, allowing you to get the same effect. The drives that are searched for external commands are displayed with the STATUS command. SETCODE /C This command is causes EZDOS to set a user selected error code before exiting. This is useful as a way to put menus into batch files. The menus can contain a list of numbered items. EZDOS is then called with this command. The user is prompted for a selection which can be one or two numeric digits. When exiting, EZDOS sets the return code to the selected value. The selection can then be tested using the ERRORLEVEL parameter in the batch file. SETLINES /C/E This allows the user to specify how many lines the display contains. This is needed with some of the new displays that can use more than 24 lines. The minimum value that can be entered is 8. This command changes an internal field, therefore, the WRITEZ command must be used to make the change permanent. SFn 'data' /A/C/E The "n" is a number between 1 and 10, representing the function key being defined. The data in single quotes is what will be automatically typed when SHIFT and function key n is pressed. The first twenty bytes of this data is displayed with the STATUS command. If ANSI.SYS is being used, this data is also stored in it. Note: a carriage return can be included in the key definition by including the "^" character. This makes it possible to execute a command by simply hitting SHIFT and key Fn. This differs from the Fn command in that long strings can be stored if ANSI.SYS is being used. The ANSI driver has a limit of around 200 characters. You must use the WRITEZ command if you with to make these assignments permanent. Status no parameters /C/E/F/P Displays how much memory is available to the user after programs that stay resident, such as RAM disks, etc. are loaded and how much of the available memory beginning with EZDOS is still unused. The number of configured disk drives is also displayed, along with the addresses of the serial and parallel ports. If the system has a game adapter, that is indicated. If the DTEST command has been executed, the status counters for disk activity are also displayed. The first 20 characters of the shifted function keys are also displayed. T [d:]fname[.ext] /C/E This command is similar to the DOS TYPE command, except that is allows the use of wildcards in the file specification. All of the files specified are typed on the console (CON) device. TIMEON/NOTIME no parameters /C/E Include/exclude the current time in the system prompt. UNDEL [d:]fname[.ext] /A/C/E/Q/X Undelete the specified file. For ASCII files, the /Q switch will allow you to look at each segment of the file to see if it really is a part of the file. This command only works on double sided diskettes due to the DOS disk file structure. WRITEZ no parameters /C/E This tells EZDOS to write a new copy of itself to the default disk drive. This is useful when you you have changed some of the internal defaults, such as the prompt, or when copying EZDOS to a new diskette since it saves the time to read the old copy. Xeq command /A/C/E Forces this command to be passed to DOS for execution. Alternate drives are not searched since it is assumed that the user knows where the program is located or this option would not have been selected. This is a way to use the DOS COPY command to copy files between subdirectories for example. If you want to force external execution, but still want drive searching to occur, use the command XX in stead of X or XEQ, and the alternate drives will be searched for the program. SWITCHES There are several switches that enhance the program's operation. They are as follows. /A Suppress the translation of ';' to ':' and '-' to '*'. This is necessary when running programs like the assembler that require the ';' character in their command line. /B When copying files, /B puts the copy command in BACKUP mode, copying only files that already have versions on the target diskette. /C CLEAR the screen before displaying any output. /D D stands for DATE. COPY: file creation dates are compared and if there is a file on the target diskette with the same name, it is only replaced if it has an older date than the input file. C or D: the list of files is sorted by creation/alteration date. /E END the program after this command. This allows you to use EZDOS functions from a .BAT file. Setting several function keys by repeatedly invoking EZDOS in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file is an example of this. /F Send FORM FEED to printer after this command. /H C or D: Include HIDDEN files in sorted directory listing. COPY: if the /W switch is specified, the hidden files will be erased also. /N This is the reverse of the /Backup switch. The input file is copied only if there is NOT a version of the source already on the target diskette. /P Route output to PRINTER (LPT1) instead of display. This is useful for making hard copies of directory listings. /Q QUERY operator for action when copying files. If you have many files with the .BAS extension on a diskette you can type COPY *.BAS B:*.* /Q and you will get a display of each file name and "COPY Y/N" as a prompt, allowing you to selectively copy the files without remembering and entering each file name. The /Q switch also works with the RENAME and DELETE commands. /R Prompt the user for a REMARK line to be included in the directory listing. This is useful if you are printing the directory listings. /S When using diskettes as backup for larger storage devices, such as hard disks or high density diskettes, the /S switch will allow the copy command to segment a file across multiple diskettes if the file will not fit on one diskette. This has two benefits. First, with files that will fit on a diskette, it allows the target diskette to be filled completely. Second, you can have a file span multiple diskettes if it is a copy of a very large hard disk file, for example. The user must remember to reconstruct the original file by concatenating the file segments before the file is used. /T Use files altered or created TODAY only. To COPY, RENAME, or DELETE files that were made or changed today, add the /T option to the command. For example, to copy all .BAS files that were altered today from drive C: to drive A:, enter the command "COPY C:*.BAS A: /T". This makes it easy to keep current backup copies of your data files without needing to copy them individually. /W Erase (wipe out) all files on the target diskette during a copy operation before copying the files to the target disk. This is useful when backing up a hard disk subdirectory to diskettes when the files will not all fit on a single diskette. Without the /W option, you would first have to erase all files from all of the diskettes before beginning the copy operation. If /H is also specified, all hidden files will be erased, including DOS. /X Exclude the file count message after a COPY, RENAME, or DELETE. This makes BAT files run with no visible messages if you turn ECHO OFF.