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JP Software
4DOS Update Documentation
Version 5.0 -- November 23, 1993
Copyright 1988 - 1993, JP Software Inc., All Rights Reserved. Published
by JP Software Inc., P.O. Box 1470, E. Arlington, MA 02174 USA, (617)
646-3975.
There are dozens of new features in this latest release of 4DOS! Check
through this file for a comprehensive list of what's changed since
version 4.
This file does not explain how to use the new features. Be sure to
check the Reference Manual or online help for complete details on each
feature.
Some of the descriptions below may be more detailed than you need; if
you aren't using a feature, feel free to skip to the next item. If you
are new to 4DOS with version 5.0, you can skip this file entirely, and
begin with the 4DOS Introduction and Installation Guide.
This file is divided into the following sections:
General Features and Enhancements
Startup, Initialization, and 4DOS.INI
Command Line Editing and History
Aliases
Command Changes and Enhancements
Variables and Variable Functions
Bug Fixes
Major new features and those which affect most users are marked with
"**" in the lists below. Other items discuss smaller or more technical
changes.
This file is formatted at 58 lines per page, and contains form feeds and
page footers. It can be viewed with a file viewer such as the 4DOS LIST
command, or printed on most PC printers using the command:
copy updat50.doc prn
Printing it with a program that formats the pages is not likely to work
due to the formatting included in the file.
(12/93-5.0C)
4DOS 5.0 [11-23-93] UPDAT50.DOC page 1
4DOS 5.0 Change List
General Features and Enhancements
---------------------------------
=> ** Date, time, and size ranges are now available for all file
processing commands: ATTRIB, COPY, DEL, DESCRIBE, DIR, FOR,
LIST, MOVE, RD, REN, SELECT, and TYPE. Ranges allow you to
select files for processing based the date or date and time a
file was last modified (a date range); the modification time only
(a time range); the file size (a size range); or a combination of
these. This is a powerful feature which substantially expands
your file selection capabilities.
=> ** 4DOS now supports global alias and history lists, so that you can
share aliases and / or the command history between multiple
shells. To enable this feature use LocalAliases = No and / or
LocalHistory = No in 4DOS.INI. Storage for the lists will be
reserved in low memory; to put it in a UMB instead use UMBAlias
or UMBHistory in 4DOS.INI.
You can set up a global list in any shell and a local list in any
shell. 4DOS should properly handle inheritance between shells
regardless of the local / global settings. In OS/2 DOS sessions
global lists are for one session only, you can NOT share them
across multiple sessions!
=> ** .BTM files can now be compressed (and thereby "encrypted") with
the new BATCOMP utility. 4DOS reads and processes compressed
.BTM files just as it they were normal (uncompressed) files.
This makes it easy for PC and network managers to distribute
batch files whose contents cannot readily be altered by the end
user. (The compression algorithm used is designed for fast,
simple decompression, not extraordinarily efficient compression
ratios. Therefore its primary value is for batch file
distribution, not reduced disk usage.)
=> ** The maximum file description length has been increased to 200
characters, and the entire description is now displayed in the
DIR output.
=> ** The prompt options for COPY, DEL, GLOBAL, MOVE, and REN have a
third option now: 'R' (Remainder) turns off the Y/N/R prompt and
performs the operation on the remainder of the matching files.
=> Commands that take a /P to pause output at the end of each page
(ALIAS, DIR, SET, etc.) now accept an Esc as a "quit" character.
4DOS 5.0 [11-23-93] UPDAT50.DOC page 2
=> Popup windows for the history lists, @SELECT, and filename
completion now support horizontal scrolling. A left or right
arrow will move the window 4 columns.
=> 4DOS now supports nested pipes (in command groups and batch
files), and simultaneous pipes (in different 4DOS sessions).
=> Executable extensions can now call aliases as well as internal
and external commands.
=> The 4DOS "prefix" commands (EXCEPT, FOR, GLOBAL, IF, and SELECT)
parse their arguments slightly differently. This should help
simplify batch files, and improve compatibility with COMMAND.COM.
As a general rule, the need for multiple % signs and escape
characters on the line after such commands has been dramatically
reduced. If you have complex prefix commands with multiple %
signs, back-quotes, or escape characters in the command to be
executed you may have to edit them slightly to accommodate this
change.
=> The way 4DOS detects ANSI.SYS and compatible drivers has been
changed. The new method is more reliable and is much less likely
to detect an ANSI driver that isn't there. However as a result
4DOS will no longer automatically detect ANSI drivers which do
not use the "standard" (interrupt 2F) detection method provided
with the DOS ANSI.SYS driver. Therefore some drivers which were
previously detected automatically will now be missed. If you
find that 4DOS does not detect your ANSI driver properly (for
example, if the CLS and COLOR commands do not appear to work as
you expect), use an ANSI=Yes directive in 4DOS.INI to tell 4DOS
explicitly that you are using an ANSI driver (or an ANSI=No
directive if you are not). See the Reference Manual or online
help for more information on the ANSI directive in 4DOS.INI.
Startup, Initialization, and 4DOS.INI
-------------------------------------
=> There are several changes to the startup switches:
/P: Can be followed by a filename to be executed in place of
AUTOEXEC (for example, /P:C:\STARTUP\STARTUP.BAT). If you
want to pass parameters to AUTOEXEC, you can do so with
quotes: /P:"C:\STARTUP\STARTUP.BAT JOB1 37".
/Y: Forces 4START and AUTOEXEC into single-step mode.
=> AUTOEXEC.BAT now supports batch arguments. You can pass
arguments in the AutoExecPath directive in 4DOS.INI (below), in
the AutoExecParms directive (below), or via the /P: switch
(above).
4DOS 5.0 [11-23-93] UPDAT50.DOC page 3
=> 4START is now passed the startup command line as batch file
arguments. This allows you to determine what parameters an
application is passing to a secondary shell.
=> There are many new or changed 4DOS.INI directives:
AutoExecPath = path: Sets the path and (optionally) filename
for AUTOEXEC.BAT.
AutoExecParms = string: Parameters to be passed to
AUTOEXEC.BAT.
** BrightBG = Yes | NO: (Introduced in 4DOS 4.02.) Set to Yes
to enable bright background displays rather than blinking
text on EGA and VGA systems. See the section on Colors and
Color Names in the manual or online help before using
BrightBG.
Descriptions = YES | No: Enables or disables processing of
file descriptions in COPY, DEL, MOVE, and REN.
HistCopy = Yes | NO: If set to YES, 4DOS will copy a command
recalled from the history back to the end of the history
list.
HistLogName = filename: Specifies the default name for the
history log file.
INIQuery = Yes | NO: If set to Yes, 4DOS will display a
prompt after each subsequent line in the current INI file.
** InputColors = Color: 4DOS will display your command line
input in the specified color.
** LocalAliases = YES | No: If set to No, 4DOS will create a
common alias list for all copies of the command processor.
** LocalHistory = YES | No: If set to No, 4DOS will create a
common history list for all copies of the command processor.
ListStatBarColors = Color: Sets the LIST status bar colors.
OutputBIOS = Yes | NO: If YES, 4DOS will use the BIOS
routines for screen I/O in those commands which normally
write directly to the screen. Required only for DOS/V
(Japan) and some very unusual video cards.
ScreenColumns = nnnn: This is primarily for use with
OutputBIOS. It specifies the number of columns to use rather
than using the value in the ROM BIOS data area.
SelectColors = Color: Sets the SELECT screen colors.
4DOS 5.0 [11-23-93] UPDAT50.DOC page 4
SelectStatBarColors = Color: Sets the SELECT status bar
colors.
** UMBAlias = Yes | NO | 1 ... 8: Load global aliases into a
UMB or a specific UMB region, rather than into low memory.
** UMBHistory = Yes | NO | 1 ... 8: Load global history into a
UMB or a specific UMB region, rather than into low memory.
** UMBLoad = Yes | NO | 1 ... 8: Now allows loading 4DOS into a
single, specific UMB region.
** UMBEnvironment = Yes | NO | 1 ... 8: Now allows loading the
environment into a single, specific UMB region.
=> 4DOS now allows non-4DOS section names (names other than
[Primary] or [Secondary] in 4DOS.INI. Directives in such
sections are ignored.
Command Line Editing and History
--------------------------------
=> ** There is a new popup directory history window which shows recent
directories you've used. To pop up the window, press Ctrl-PgUp.
Select a line and press Enter to return to the highlighted
directory.
=> ** There is a new filename completion window. F7 or Ctrl-Tab will
pop up a pick-list window of all the matching files, and Enter
will insert the selected filename into the command line.
=> ** You can set the colors for input you type at the prompt with the
new InputColors directive in 4DOS.INI.
=> You can control whether recalled history lines are copied to the
end of the history with the new HistCopy directive in 4DOS.INI.
=> History saves are now case-sensitive.
Aliases
-------
=> ** There is a new kind of keystroke alias. If you preface the key
name with two @ symbols, 4DOS will execute the command
immediately, without echoing the alias.
=> ** If you enter an unknown command, 4DOS will now look for an alias
"UNKNOWN_CMD", and will execute that alias after appending the
command line. WARNING: If the UNKNOWN_CMD alias contains an
unknown command, your system will loop forever!
4DOS 5.0 [11-23-93] UPDAT50.DOC page 5
=> ALIAS /R files can have lines continued if the line ends in an
escape character.
Command Changes and Enhancements
--------------------------------
=> ATTRIB will now append a "\*.*" to a directory name, unless you
specified the /D option.
=> COPY, DEL, MOVE, and REN have a new switch: /T(otal) to display
file counts only. This disables the display of file names (like
/Q), but still displays the totals.
=> DEL now supports the /F(orce delete) option in OS/2 2.1 DOS
sessions. A /F will delete the file without saving it to the
"undelete" directory.
=> DEL displays the disk space freed in the summary line.
=> ** DIR has several changes:
* Colorization is fully supported without ANSI.SYS.
* Descriptions can be up to 200 characters long. Those which
are too long to fit on the screen will be word-wrapped at the
right edge of the screen.
* New switches and switch changes:
/C: (Compression) You can now use /CP or /CHP to return
the compression value as a percentage instead of a ratio.
If you use /CHP, the P must follow the H -- /CPH will NOT
work. Also, SuperStor drives are now supported (see
APPNOTES.DOC for details on compression support).
/H: (New) Do not display "." and "..".
/I: (New) Display only those files whose descriptions
match the specified text. The text can include any of
the 4DOS extended wildcards; the search is case
insensitive.
/R: (New) Disable long description wrapping. If /R is
used for on-screen display the description is truncated
with a right arrow. In redirected output the entire
description is sent to the output device as one long
line.
=> ** DO is a new loop control command for batch files. You can use
several methods to control the loop:
4DOS 5.0 [11-23-93] UPDAT50.DOC page 6
DO n: Repeat the loop n times.
DO FOREVER: Repeat the loop until you exit with LEAVE or
GOTO.
DO var = start TO end [BY n]: Repeat the loop until the
variable passes the end value.
DO WHILE condition: Repeat the loop while the condition is
true (the condition can be any of those available in the IF
and IFF commands).
DO UNTIL condition: Repeat the loop until the condition
becomes true.
A loop terminates with an ENDDO. You can use ITERATE to return
to the start of a loop, and LEAVE to exit a loop.
=> DRAWBOX has a new ZOOM option.
=> IF and IFF now support decimals in numeric tests.
=> INKEY has two new switches:
/C: Clears the keyboard buffer before accepting input.
/P: Does not echo your input (for passwords).
=> INPUT has four new switches:
/C: Clears the keyboard buffer before accepting input.
/E: Displays and allows you to edit an existing value.
/L: Sets the maximum input length.
/P: Displays asterisks for your input (for passwords).
=> ** KEYBD is a new command to toggle the state of the Caps Lock, Num
Lock, and Scroll Lock keys.
=> ** LIST has been completely rewritten and offers many new features:
* Line and column numbers are displayed, and you can go to a
specific line.
* Hexadecimal display, print, and search are now supported.
* You can pop up a window with the current fully expanded
filename, size, date and time.
* LIST is significantly faster.
=> LOG now supports a "history" log, which is independent from the
regular command log. The history log saves the original commands
entered into the history list, without the date and time
4DOS 5.0 [11-23-93] UPDAT50.DOC page 7
information stored in the normal log file, and before alias and
variable expansion. You can use it as an aid in writing batch
files or creating a history file which can be reloaded later.
=> ** MD has a new switch: /S builds all necessary intermediate
directories. For example, MD /S \DIR1\DIR2\DIR3 will create all
three directories if necessary.
=> MOVE will now display the space freed (if any), like DEL, and
supports the /F(orce delete) option in OS/2 2.1 DOS sessions. A
/F will delete the file without saving it to the "undelete"
directory.
=> ** ON is a new error-handling command for batch files:
ON BREAK command: Execute the command when a ^C or ^Break is
detected.
ON ERROR command: Execute the command after a DOS or 4DOS
error.
=> SCREEN, SCRPUT, and VSCRPUT now accept row and column offsets
relative to the current cursor position. To specify a relative
offset, rather than an absolute row or column, use a + or -
before the argument.
=> SELECT now supports the /CP and /CHP compression switches, and
the /I switch to select files by description (see DIR for
details).
=> ** SETDOS has four new options:
/B: Sets your EGA or VGA board for blinking text (/B0, the
default) or bright background colors (/B1). See the section
on colors and color names in the manual for details before
using this option. Also see the BrightBG directive in
4DOS.INI.
/D: Enables (/D1, the default) or disables (/D0) description
processing for COPY, DEL, MOVE, and REN. Also see the
Descriptions directive in 4DOS.INI.
/X: Controls command parsing. You can enable or disable
alias and variable expansion, multiple and conditional
commands, redirection and pipes, command grouping, quoting,
and the escape character. For use in batch files to avoid
problems with special characters in text strings.
/Y: Enables (/Y1) or disables (/Y0) single-step operation in
batch files. Use this option for batch file debugging.
4DOS 5.0 [11-23-93] UPDAT50.DOC page 8
=> ** START is a new command for OS/2 2.1 users only. It starts a DOS,
Windows, or OS/2 application from an OS/2 DOS session. Most of
the switches supported by the 4OS2 START command are available
under 4DOS as well.
Variables and Variable Functions
--------------------------------
(When using variables and variable functions remember that the name must
be preceded by a "%" sign: %+, %_DAY, %@FILEOPEN, etc.):
=> The _CPU variable now returns "586" for Pentium processors.
=> ** The new internal variables are:
Variable Returns
-------- -----------------------------------------------
= the current escape character (can be embedded in
commands, but cannot be ECHOed)
+ the current command separator (can be embedded in
commands, but cannot be ECHOed)
?? the reason an external program terminated
_APMAC AC status
_APMBATT battery status
_APMLIFE remaining battery life
_BG now includes bright background colors when
appropriate
_COUNTRY the country code
_DAY the day of the month (1 - 31)
_DOY the day of the year (1 - 366)
_HOUR the hour (0 - 23)
_KSTACK 1 if KSTACK.COM is loaded, 0 if not
_HLOGFILE the name of the current history log file
_LOGFILE the name of the current log file
_MINUTE the minute (0 - 59)
_MONTH the month of the year (1-12)
_SECOND the second (0 - 59)
_SWAPPING the swapping type (XMS, EMS, DISK, or OFF)
_SYSERR the error code for the most recent DOS error
_WINTITLE the title of the current OS/2 2.x DOS session
_YEAR the year (1980-2099)
=> You can now include commas in the result of @EMS, @XMS,
@FILESIZE, and other similar functions by following the units
character (b|B|k|K|m|M) with a 'c'. For example,
"@filesize[4dos.com,bc]" will display the size of 4DOS.COM in
bytes, with a comma every three digits.
=> @FILESIZE will now return the total size of all matching files if
you specify wildcards in the filename.
4DOS 5.0 [11-23-93] UPDAT50.DOC page 9
=> ** The new variable functions are:
(Be sure to read the manual or online help before using
the @FILECLOSE, @FILEOPEN, @FILEREAD, @FILESEEK, or
@FILEWRITE functions.)
@CDROM[d:]: Returns 1 if the drive is a CD-ROM, 0 if not.
@DEC[var]: Returns the decremented value of a variable (the
same as %@EVAL[var-1]).
@FILEAGE[fname]: Returns the date and time as a single
numeric value (useful for comparing file dates and times).
@FILECLOSE[n]: Close the file whose handle is "n".
@FILENAME[fname]: returns the name + extension (no path)
@FILEOPEN[filename,read | write | append]: Opens the file in
the specified mode and returns the file handle.
@FILEREAD[n]: Reads a line from the file whose handle is
"n".
@FILES[filename]: Returns the number of files matching the
filename specification.
@FILESEEK[handle,offset,start]: Seeks to the specified
offset in the file whose handle is "n".
@FILEWRITE[n]: Writes a line to the file whose handle is
"n".
@FINDFIRST[fname,[nrhsa]]: Find the first matching file and
return its name.
@FINDNEXT[fname,[nrhsa]]: Find the next matching file.
@INC[var]: Returns the incremented value of a variable (the
same as %@EVAL[var+1]).
@INSTR[start,length,string]: The same as SUBSTR, but puts
the start and length at the beginning to avoid problems with
commas in the string.
@MASTER[varname]: Return a value from the master
environment.
@NUMERIC[n]: Returns 1 if the variable is composed entirely
of numeric digits (0-9), or the thousands or decimal
separators.
4DOS 5.0 [11-23-93] UPDAT50.DOC page 10
@RANDOM[min,max]: Returns a random integer value between min
and max, inclusive.
@REPEAT[c,n]: returns the character repeated 'n' times.
@TRIM[string]: Strips leading and trailing whitespace
(blanks and tabs) from the string.
Bug Fixes
---------
=> Fixed a bug that prevented /D from disabling AUTOEXEC when using
the F8 key under DOS 6 and AutoExecPath was set to an explicit
file name.
=> Fixed NetwareNames so it works properly even if UMBLoad fails.
Also NetwareNames is now ignored except in the true primary
shell.
=> In a primary shell, 4DOS.INI is now located on the boot drive,
not the current drive at startup time. This should affect OS/2
users only -- boot drive and current drive are the same under
DOS.
4DOS 5.0 [11-23-93] UPDAT50.DOC page 11