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Text File | 1986-02-03 | 16.1 KB | 364 lines

======================= P C - M E N U ======================= (c) Copyright 1985 by Paragon Software INTRODUCTION ============ Do you wish you could just "press a button" to start up a program on your PC? Do you have others use your PC who are not familiar with DOS commands? Do you need password protection for your PC programs? Do you wish you could enter the time using AM and PM instead of military time? If you answered yes to any of the above, then PC-MENU is for you. You do not have to read a technical description of dynamic batch files in order to set up PC-MENU for your use ... PC-MENUS does all the work for you. Just follow the steps in the next section and PC-MENU will then be tailored for your use. For those who are technically minded, a technical reference section is also provided. SETTING UP PC-MENU ================== Note: If you downloaded the files using the shortened file names, you should rename them before performing the set-up steps. Example --> rename P-MENU.EXE PC-MENU.EXE rename P-MENU.DOC PC-MENU.DOC rename P-MNUS.EXE PC-MENUS.EXE 1. Copy PC-MENU.EXE and PC-MENUS.EXE to your start-up diskette or the root directory of your fixed disk. Fixed disk example --> copy a:PC-MENU.EXE c:\ copy a:PC-MENUS.EXE c:\ 2. Now run PC-MENUS on your start-up diskette or fixed disk. Example --> PC-MENUS Press a key when the copyright screen is displayed (press the % key to change to black and white if you have trouble reading this screen, otherwise press any other key to continue). 3. Press the number 2 to set up your menu descriptions. A sample menu will be displayed the first time you do this. From then on, the menu you build will be displayed. Enter the title, menu selections, and selection prompt. Menu selections should begin with a number or capital letter. If you wish to change the colors, perform selection number 3. Selection number 1 can be used to see the effects of different colors. Normally the menu screen will be blanked after 10 minutes of inactivity. If you wish to change this, perform selection number 4. 4. If you need password protection for some menu selections, perform selection number 5. Enter the password in the space provided to the left of the menu selection. Leave the password blank if password protection is not needed. 5. Now press selection number 6 to tell PC-MENU what you want it to do when someone selects your menu entries. A set of sample DOS commands will be displayed the first time you do this. Afterwards the commands you have entered will be displayed. --1-- PC-MENU User's guide Paragon Software 6. Press C to change the DOS commands from what is shown to what is needed to perform the first selection. You should enter the DOS commands that you normally use when starting the application you want run. Then enter MENU as the last command if you want to return to the menu when the application finishes. (See the section on SAMPLE DOS COMMANDS FOR SELECTIONS). After you complete the commands for the first menu entry, the commands for the next menu entry are displayed and so on until all menu entries have been set up. 7. Selection number 7 shows the control batch file (MENU.BAT) that is going to be set up for you to run PC-MENU. Normally you will have no need to change this so press the enter key. Then it shows the control batch file (AUTOEXEC.BAT) that is automatically run when your PC is turned on. If you already have an AUTOEXEC.BAT file, it will be displayed and you should add the command MENU at the end. If you do not have one, PC-MENUS will have set one up for you and you need to just press the enter key. 8. Now press selection number 8 to save your changes and then press 4 to save everything. 9. Finally, perform selection number 9 to end, and PC-MENU is ready to use. Enter the command MENU to try it out. If you are satisfied with your menu, you may return to DOS and erase PC-MENUS from your start-up diskette or your hard disk since it was only needed to set up the menu. Running PC-MENU --> MENU Erasing PC-MENUS --> erase PC-MENUS.EXE If you need to make changes to the menu later on, simply copy PC-MENUS back onto your disk and run it again. NOTE: IF YOU RE- ARRANGE THE MENU SELECTIONS, THE PASSWORDS AND DOS COMMANDS MAY NO LONGER MATCH THE SELECTIONS PROPERLY. YOU MAY NEED TO PERFORM STEPS 4 TO 6 AGAIN AS DESCRIBED ABOVE TO MAKE CHANGES AS NECESSARY. PC-MENU OPERATION ================== The first time PC-MENU is run when your PC is turned on, you will be asked for the date and time (unless you have a battery clock on your PC). It will display the date you entered the last time you turned on your PC. You only need to type in what has changed and press enter. Once the menu is displayed, simply press the number or letter of the selection desired and PC-MENU will go to work for you. If you press an invalid key, a help screen will be displayed. If a selection has a password, you must enter the correct password before the selection will be performed. Note that F1 and F2 can be used to change the date and time. F3 will turn the time and date display on/off (if you don't want to see the time "ticking"). Use F4 to blank the screen. If the screen is blanked using F4 or due to inactivity, press any key to re-display the menu. --2-- PC-MENU User's guide Paragon Software SAMPLE DOS COMMANDS FOR SELECTIONS ================================== 1. Running communications program located on same disk and directory as PC-MENU (comments in parenthesis should not be entered): BASICA PC-TALK (Start up the program) MENU (Return to the menu again) 2. Formatting a diskette in drive b: format b: (DOS command to format a diskette) MENU (Start up the menu again) 3. Seeing what is on a diskette in drive b (the pause command is used to give instructions and wait for a keypress): pause Insert diskette into drive b dir b: (Display diskette directory) MENU (Start up the menu again) 4. Switching to basic: basica (Start up basic) MENU (Start up the menu again) 5. Returning to DOS operation (use remarks to tell how to return to the menu): rem You are now operating under DOS. rem Enter MENU to return to the main menu. 6. Using a diskette based system with start-up diskette in drive a and a word processor in drive b: b: (First switch to drive b) WP (Start up the word processor) a: (Switch back to drive a) MENU (Start up the menu again) 7. Using a fixed disk system with a spreadsheet program in a sub-directory: chdir \LOTUS (first switch to the sub-directory) 123 (start up the spreadsheet) chdir \ (return to the root directory) MENU (start up the menu again) 8. Using another copy of PC-MENU located in a sub-directory to produce a second level menu screen: chdir \MENU2 (first switch to the sub-directory) MENU (start up the menu in that directory) --3-- PC-MENU User's guide Paragon Software TECHNICAL REFERENCE =================== The information that PC-MENU operates from is stored in a data file called PC-MENU.DAT. This file is built by PC-MENUS.EXE, but you can edit it using an editor such as EDLIN. The format of this file is shown below in case you wish to modify it using an editor instead of using PC-MENUS.EXE: -------Format of PC-MENU.DAT-------- -------Variables------- A B C D "Title" A = Foreground Color N "1 - Selection Description" B = Background Color 0 "DOS command for selection 1" C = Border Color 0 "DOS command for selection 1" D = Title Color 0 "MENU" E = Display Duration N "2 - Selection Description" F = Help Color 0 "DOS command for selection 2" G = Prompt Color 0 "MENU" 1 "PASSWD" (and so on for each selection) N = Screen row position 99 E F G "Prompt" of description PC-MENU is run from a batch file called MENU.BAT that normally contains the following: -------MENU.BAT------ first command --> PC-MENU second command --> Processing your selection ... When you type MENU and press enter, the first command in the above batch file starts up PC-MENU. PC-MENU then reads PC-MENU.DAT and displays the menu screen. When you press a key, PC-MENU scans for a match to the first character of a selection description. If it does not find a match it displays the help screen. If a match is found, the DOS commands associated with that selection are written to a file called PROCESSI.BAT, and then PC-MENU stops running. This causes the second command in MENU.BAT to now be executed. The word "Processing" is actually truncated by DOS to "Processi" and thus PROCESSI.BAT begins running, which contains the DOS commands for the selection that was chosen. The last command for a selection is normally MENU, which will start the process all over again. By placing a batch file called AUTOEXEC.BAT on your start-up diskette or hard disk root directory, your PC will begin executing it anytime you turn it on. If this file contains the command MENU, then PC-MENU will display your menu whenever your PC is turned on. The following diagram illustrates the batch file processing: +-----------------------------------------------+ | | AUTOEXEC.BAT V MENU.BAT PROCESSI.BAT | +----------+ +-----------------------------+ +------------------+ | MENU |->|PC-MENU |->|Selection commands| +----------+ |Processing your selection ...| |MENU | +-----------------------------+ +------------------+ --4-- PC-MENU User's guide Paragon Software There is one additional file read by PC-MENU called PC-MENU.DTE. When PC-MENU starts running, it looks to see if the date is 01-01-1980. If it is, it will read PC-MENU.DTE and display it for you to enter a new date. This new date is then written out to PC-MENU.DTE for the next time your PC is turned on. If the date is not 01-01-1980, then PC-MENU skips the date and time input processing and goes directly to waiting for a selection entry. Below is a list of all files associated with PC-MENU. Files 4 and 5 are created by PC-MENU and files 3, 6 and 7 by PC-MENUS. 1. PC-MENU.EXE (the PC-MENU program) 2. PC-MENUS.EXE (program to tailor PC-MENU to your use) 3. PC-MENU.DAT (data file of menu information) 4. PC-MENU.DTE (file containing previous turn-on date) 5. PROCESSI.BAT (dynamic batch file of selection commands) 6. MENU.BAT (batch file used to run PC-MENU) 7. AUTOEXEC.BAT (batch file run when your PC is turned on) 8. PC-MENU.DOC (the file containing this documentation) PERMISSION TO COPY ================== You are encouraged to copy PC-MENU & PC-MENUS and pass them on to others as long as: 1. You do not charge anyone for the software or documentation. 2. The programs or documentation are not modified in any way. This method of distributing computer programs is based on three principles: 1. That the value and utility of software is best assessed by the user on his/her own system. 2. That the creation of personal computer software can and should be supported by the computing community. 3. That copying of programs should be encouraged, rather than restricted. The ease with which software can be distributed outside traditional commercial channels reflects the strength, rather than the weakness, of electronic information. Free distribution of software and voluntary payment for its use eliminates advertising costs and copy protection schemes. Users obtain quality software at reduced cost. They can try it out before buying, and do so at their own pace and in the comfort of their own home or office. The best programs will survive, based purely on their quality and usefulness. If you believe in these ideals, your contribution is solicited ($16 suggested) to help make them work. The following invoice is provided for those of you who wish to have one for your tax records. (Corporate Purchase agreements are available upon request.) --5-- ------------------- INVOICE ------------------- Purchased from: Purchased by: Paragon Software ------------------------- P.O. Box 79069 ------------------------- Jackson, MS 39236 ------------------------- DATE: / / Invoice No. 850101 =================================================================== PRODUCT QTY EACH TOTAL ------------------------------- --- ---- ----- PC-MENU program 1 $16 $16 --------------------------------------- PLEASE PAY THIS AMOUNT $16 =================================================================== Make check payable to: Paragon Software Check number: ------------- You may retain this invoice for your records.