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- :
- : ALIASES -- 4DOS Sample Alias File
- :
- :
- : The aliases in this file are designed to give you some examples of
- : how 4DOS aliases can be used and the power they have. It is not
- : intended to be an exhaustive list, and many of these may not be
- : appropriate for your needs. But they should give you a feel for how
- : to use aliases to help get your work done.
- :
- : CAUTION: These aliases are EXAMPLES. We do NOT promise that they
- : will work properly when run on your system. They are simply intended
- : to show what's possible and give you a feel for how to write your
- : own set of aliases. You may find some of them useful, but others
- : may fail or have unintended effects when they are run on a system
- : other than the one they were designed for.
- :
- : This file is designed to be loaded with an ALIAS /R command, for
- : example:
- :
- : alias /r aliases
- :
- : You can also load aliases from a batch file, but ALIAS /R is much
- : faster. See the manual for more details on loading aliases.
- :
- : We suggest you put your standard aliases are in a self-contained
- : file like this one which can be invoked from AUTOEXEC. That
- : way the file can also be re-invoked after it is edited, to re-
- : install the aliases.
- :
- :
- :
- : The next few aliases set up some directory commands that provide
- : shorthand ways to view the directory in several different formats
- : (see the DIR command in the manual for more details).
- :
- : Note that none of these aliases has any arguments specified (%1,
- : %2, etc.). This means that all arguments on the actual command line
- : will be appended to the alias text. For example:
- :
- : d2 x*
- :
- : is equivalent to:
- :
- : dir /2pv x*
- :
- : and:
- :
- : d2 x* y* z*
- :
- : is equivalent to:
- :
- : dir /2pv x* y* z*
- :
- d2 dir /2pv
- de dir /oe
- dir *dir /p
- wh*ereis dir /dp
- :
- : The last two commands above demonstrate the use of an asterisk to
- : terminate alias expansion and to shorten the name of an alias.
- :
- : In the first case, if the command were defined as:
- :
- : alias dir dir/p
- :
- : it would generate an alias loop error. The inclusion of the "*"
- : makes 4DOS terminate alias expansion for that command, which
- : allows the redefinition of a command with specific switch settings.
- : In this case "dir" is redefined as "dir/p", which will cause
- : directories to be displayed with a pause at the end of each page.
- :
- : The "whereis" command demonstrates truncation of an alias name.
- : The * is placed after the last required character in the name, so
- : the "whereis" command can be entered as "wh", "whe", "wher",
- : "where", "wherei", or "whereis".
- :
- :
- : The following aliases are more shorthand: DD and DU (directory
- : down and directory up) for pushd and popd, DX (shows only the
- : subdirectorie, L for list, etc.
- :
- dd pushd
- du popd
- dx *dir /mwad
- l list
- clr mode mono
- :
- : Aliases can also be used to modify the behavior of some internal
- : commands. The two examples below show how you can force DELETE and
- : MOVE to prompt before execution. If you need to use the unprompted
- : command, use the leading asterisk ("*DEL").
- del*ete *del /p
- move *move /r
- :
- :
- : The next aliases show how some commands can be enhanced. Instead of
- : always prompting you for new values, TIME and DATE can simply report
- : the current information.
- :
- date echo Today is %_dow %_date
- time echo The time is %_time
- : Here's what the next few aliases do:
- :
- : more: Uses 4DOS's LIST /S as a substitute for the DOS MORE
- : command. Note the use of the * to allow the command
- : to be entered as MO, MOR, or MORE
- : sdel: Allows you to select files for deletion from a subset
- : of files as specified in the command argument. For
- : example:
- :
- : sdel *.obj
- :
- : will allow you to select files to delete from a list
- : of all .obj files. (See the SELECT command in the
- : manual for more details).
- :
- : up: Moves "up" in the directory tree, i.e. to the parent
- : directory.
- :
- : ov: Moves "over" in the directory tree, to another subdi-
- : rectory which has the same parent as the current
- : directory.
- :
- mo*re list /s
- sdel select del (%1)
- up cd ..
- ov cd ..\%1
- :
- : The next two aliases show how arguments can be passed to commands.
- : In both cases the argument given when the alias is invoked is passed
- : to the program at the appropriate place in its command string.
- :
- :
- lp lpr -u %1 >lpt1
- ps d:\peri\ps /t:%1 /e:4
- :
- : The next few aliases demonstrate several things. Some use the
- : command separator character ^ to include multiple commands in
- : the alias. ND2 uses the "&&" (AND) operator so that the second
- : command is only executed if the first was succcessful. The last
- : two (PC and BACK) use the alias called IN to do their job. In
- : fact IN was designed for "internal" use by other aliases in this
- : file, though it could be used elsewhere as well. Note that, while
- : PX is set up before it is referenced in other aliases, this is not
- : really necessary, because any command in one alias which refers to
- : another is handled when the alias is invoked, not when it is set
- : up with the alias command.
- :
- : Here's what each alias does:
- :
- : nd: Creates a new directory below the current directory,
- : then changes to it.
- :
- : nd2: Attempts to creates the specified directory on any
- : drive, then changes to it if the creation was
- : successful.
- :
- : w: Saves the current directory, changes to the ws
- : directory on drive c:, runs the ws program using
- : the first argument on the command line, and
- : restores the original directory when done.
- :
- : zap: Deletes all the .bak files in the current directory,
- : then does a wide directory listing.
- :
- : in: "Pushes" a different directory, executes a command,
- : including all of the arguments on the command line,
- : and then goes back to the original directory. See
- : PUSHD, POPD, and Alias Parameters in the manual for
- : more details.
- :
- : pc: Changes to the \comm directory on drive c:, runs
- : the program called pcomm, then returns to the
- : drive and directory in use when the command was
- : executed.
- :
- : back: Changes to the \backup directory on drive d:, runs
- : the program called tape, then returns to the previous
- : drive and directory.
- :
- nd md %1^cd %1
- nd2 md %1 && *cdd %1
- w pushd c:\wp^ws %1^popd
- zap del *.bak^dir /w
- in pushd %1^%2&^popd
- pc in c:\comm pcomm
- back in d:\backup tape
- :
- : The following aliases make use of the %& argument. This argument
- : means "all of the arguments on the command line". For example:
- :
- : zap2 *.bak *.lst *.bk!
- :
- : expands to:
- :
- : erase *.bak *.lst *.bk!^chkdsk^dir /w
- :
- : The last of the three aliases below uses the %@eval function to
- : create a command-line calculator, by simply passing all arguments
- : on the command line to the function.
- :
- zap2 erase %&^chkdsk^dir /w
- ed edit %&^del *.bak
- cal*c echo The answer is: %@eval[%&]
- :
- : The following two aliases, taken from the manual, show how to
- : combine alias with keystack to invoke a program and pass parameters
- : to it. See the manual for details on what they do. Note that the
- : 0s in the keystack strings simulate an empty keyboard buffer; the
- : 13s are carriage returns.
- :
- 321 keystack 0 13 0 13 0 13 0 13 0 13 "/fr" 0 "%1" 13^123
- drpt pushd c:\data^keystack "use times index times" 13 "report form timerep to print" 13 "quit" 13^dbase^popd
- :
- :
- : The following aliases show the use of IFF in aliases. The first
- : redefines SET so that it displays the environment variables with a
- : /P if no parameters are given, or processes the SET if parameters
- : are specified. The second checks whether the argument is a directory;
- : if so it deletes the files in the directory and then removes the
- : directory. If not, it gives an error message.
- :
- set iff "%1"=="" then ^ *set /p ^ else *set %& ^ endiff
- zap iff isdir %1 then ^ *del %1 ^ *rd %1 ^ else ^ beep ^ echo Not a directory! ^ endiff
- :
- : You can also assign any alias to a keystroke to save a lot of typing.
- : Check your manual for the proper way to express keynames.
- :
- : The following examples reassign the following keys:
- :
- : F5: wide directory
- : Ctrl-F1 clear screen
- : Shift-F10: "EXIT" + ENTER (useful then "shelling out")
- : Alt-F1: invokes another HELP program
- :
- @f5 dir /w
- @Ctrl-F1 cls
- @shift-f10 exit r
- @alt-f1 c:\dos\help
-