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HDM IV - Version 2.6 Hard Disk Menu MicroFox Company P.O. Box 447 Richfield, OH 44286-447 U.S.A. Written by Jim Hass Member of the ASP Association of Shareware Professionals Electronic Mail CompuServe 73057,3113 TABLE OF CONTENTS REFERENCE MANUAL ............................................. 1 REGISTRATION FORM ............................................ 2 INTRODUCTION ................................................. 3 INSTALLATION ................................................. 4 STARTING HDM ................................................. 6 HDM KEYBOARD Main Menu Control Keys .................................. 8 Top Menu Control Keys ................................... 9 Pull Down Menu Control Keys ............................. 10 Keys Active in the Main, Top, and Pull Down Menus ....... 11 Keys Active in any Screen ............................... 12 Mouse ................................................... 12 Input Fields ............................................ 13 Input Field Editing Keys ................................ 13 MENU ACTION Menu Action Components .................................. 15 Auto-Build .............................................. 15 Menu Action Functions ................................... 16 Menu Action Macros ...................................... 18 Using Menu Action Functions and Macros .................. 20 FUNCTION REFERENCE {?} and {?Prompt} ....................................... 21 &#, {&#}, and {&# parm1 parm2 ... parm9} ................ 22 ! (Exclamation Point) ................................... 23 %# and {%#} ............................................. 24 @@Batch-File ............................................ 25 ~ (Tilde) ............................................... 26 {BEEP} or {BEEP!} ....................................... 26 {CK Drive-Letter} ....................................... 27 {COLOR Foreground Background} ........................... 27 {CURSOR Start-Line End-Line} ............................ 28 {DEFAULT Reply-to-Prompt} ............................... 29 {DIAL Phone-Number} ..................................... 30 {EXIT} or {QUIT} ........................................ 31 {KEY k1 k2 k3 ... k15} .................................. 31 {MENU ###} .............................................. 33 {REBOOT} ................................................ 33 {RETURN} ................................................ 33 {RUN/RUN! Program/Command/Batch-File} ................... 34 {SELECT/VSELECT Title~Choice1~Choice2~...~Choice16} ..... 34 {USER} .................................................. 35 TABLE OF CONTENTS COMMAND REFERENCE Pull Down Menu Entries .................................. 36 Menu Maintenance Menu Add Entry .......................................... 37 Change Entry ....................................... 38 Duplicate Entry .................................... 39 Erase Entry ........................................ 40 Move Entry ......................................... 41 Save Entry ......................................... 42 Page Menu Compress Page ...................................... 43 Erase Page ......................................... 44 Import Page ........................................ 45 Name Page .......................................... 46 Switch Pages ....................................... 47 Security Menu Pull Down Menu Passwords ........................... 48 All Menu Entries ................................... 48 File Change Password ............................... 49 Hide Top Menu ...................................... 50 Logoff Automatically ............................... 51 Master Password .................................... 52 Page Password ...................................... 53 Set Password ....................................... 54 Top Menu Entries ................................... 55 User ID Maintenance ................................ 56 Local Menu Actions ............................................ 57 Borders ............................................ 57 Colors ............................................. 58 Date/Menu .......................................... 59 Lines .............................................. 60 Macros ............................................. 61 Switch ............................................. 62 Titles ............................................. 63 Global Menu Blinking Cursor .................................... 64 Date/Time Format ................................... 64 Inactive Execute ................................... 65 Mouse Speed ........................................ 65 Phone Parameters ................................... 66 Screen Save ........................................ 67 Timed Execution .................................... 68 Exit Menu DOS Window ......................................... 69 Logoff User ........................................ 69 Resume HDM ......................................... 70 Exit HDM ........................................... 70 USING HDM ON A NETWORK ....................................... 71 ERROR MESSAGES ............................................... 72 QUESTION AND ANSWERS ......................................... 74 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu HDM IV, the Hard Disk Menu is the copyrighted property of Jim Hass. You are granted a limited license to use, copy, and distribute HDM IV provided the following conditions are met: Copying and distribution fee may not exceed $10.00. HDM IV may only be distributed in its original unmodified state. This software is distributed under the user supported software concept. Though HDM IV is copyrighted, you are encouraged to copy and distribute this program to others. If you like this product and find it useful, a registration fee of $50.00 is required for continued use. For your registration fee you will receive the current version of the Hard Disk Menu on disk, the printed HDM Users Guide, technical support, and upgrade notices. Network, Site, and Corporate licenses are available. See the registration and order form elsewhere in this manual. Call for educational discounts and distributor terms. The author makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents hereof and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. Further, the author reserves the right to revise this publication and to make changes from time to time in the content hereof without obligation of the author to notify any person or organization of such revision or changes. HDM IV is user supported. This means that you may copy it freely and give the copies away to anyone you wish. They are in turn requested to send in a contribution if they decide to use it. The user supported software concept (also known as "Shareware") is an attempt to provide quality software at low cost. Both the user and author benefit from this plan. The user will benefit by being able to "test drive" software thoroughly before purchasing it. The author benefits by being able to enter the commercial software market while avoiding the high cost of commercial distribution. This concept helps many independent authors and small companies that otherwise would be discouraged from developing and promoting their ideas. It can only work with your support. If you obtain a user supported program from a friend and are still using it after a few weeks, then it is obviously worth something to you, and a contribution should be sent. For further information and registration, please send all correspondence to: Jim Hass MicroFox Co. P.O. Box 447 Richfield, OH 44286-0447 U.S.A. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 1 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu Send to: Jim Hass HDM IV.2 P.O. Box 447 Richfield, Ohio REGISTRATION FORM 44286-0447 U.S.A. QUANTITY $ AMOUNT Registration of Hard Disk Menu ..... $50 each ________ ________ Single Computer Version Includes: 1. Latest HDM Program disk 2. Printed HDM User Manual 3. Tech Support (Mail, Phone, CompuServe) 4. Notice of Upgrades 5. Additional Programs HDM Network License ........ $200 per Network ________ ________ Includes all of the above, plus a License for unlimited usage on one network. HDM Site License .............. $600 per Site ________ ________ Includes all of the above, plus a License for unlimited usage at one site. HDM Corporate License ................. $1200 ________ ________ Includes all of the above, plus a License for unlimited usage for one company. Extra HDM printed user manuals ..... $10 each ________ ________ for any of the above licenses. Extra HDM program disks ............. $5 each ________ ________ for any of the above licenses. SHIPPING CHARGES: U.S. ............ $3 each Canada .......... $4 each Other countries ........ $7 each ________ ________ Please include shipping charges ......... SUBTOTAL _____________ Ohio residents add 5.5% sales tax ............ TAX _____________ DISK SIZE: 5 1/4" _____ 3 1/2" _____ TOTAL ============= Contact ________________________________________________________ Company ________________________________________________________ Address ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Phone ________________________________________________________ Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 2 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu INTRODUCTION This program is a DOS shell that hides the underlying operating system from the uninitiated user, yet does not get in the way of the expert user. The basic system consist of up to one thousand menu files with ten menu pages each, and each page has ten entries for a total of 100,000 entries to choose from. You can start an entry by pointing to it with the cursor or the mouse, then press the <Enter> key or the left mouse button, or you can simply press the number key associated with that entry. Each entry can start a program, run a batch file, or execute any DOS command. An entry can also have multiple steps which can include any or all of the possibilities above plus special HDM functions and macros. You can change menu pages by pressing the <A> through <J> keys or the <Alt-1> through <Alt-0> keys to go directly to page "A" through "J" or use the <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys. Each page and each entry on each page has a user definable description. You can go to another Menu File by using the action function {MENU ###}. The Menu Files are numbered from zero to 999. The <F10> key displays a horizontal menu at the top of the screen. The choices from the menu include: Menu, Page, Security, Local, Global, or Exit. Help can be selected any time and presents you with another menu and screens that explain how to use the Hard Disk Menu System. MENU allows you to add, change, delete, move, or copy the menu entry descriptions and their associated menu action. PAGE lets you change the description of a Page Index entry, import pages, switch pages, or delete pages. SECURITY allows you to set up user logons and password protect menu entries. LOCAL lets you set up variables in the current menu file and GLOBAL lets you set up variables that affect all menu files. EXIT leaves HDM and returns you to the DOS prompt or opens a DOS window where you can run any DOS command, program, or batch file. Other commands in the Top Menu allow you to set up macros, menu titles, change colors and window borders, set mouse sensitivity, set communications parameters, set time for automatic blanking of the menu screen, and set up hands off timed execution of any menu entry any time of the day, week, or month. The user defined menu entries consist of two parts. The first one is a 48 character description that is displayed on the screen and can be anything you want. This is what you choose to start a menu entry from the main menu. The second part of this menu entry is the menu action. This tells HDM what to do when this menu entry is started. The menu action can contain anything that you would normally put in a DOS batch file, plus functions and macros that give you additional flexibility, ease of use, and capabilities beyond DOS and other menu systems. Help is always available. Press <F1> from anywhere in the Hard Disk Menu to get the help menu and help screens. Help topics are displayed at the left side of the screen and a description of each topic is displayed on the right side of the screen. You can move up and down through the help topics or press the letter associated with it and the information on that topic will Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 3 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu immediately be displayed in the help text window at the right. You can also get help on the keys available when you are in the main menu. Just press <?> from the main menu and a help window will open with information specific to that menu. It is also possible to set up custom help for any menu entries that you want. See the sample file A1.000 on your distribution disk. The Hard Disk Menu is not memory resident. When you run a program, HDM gets out of memory completely so that all system ram is available for your use. HDM is then automatically called back into memory when your program is finished. HDM also has the ability to log user activity by writing information to a file every time a user logs on or off, and every time a menu entry is run. To use the log file you must set up at least one user logon ID in the Security pull down menu and you must start HDM with the -L startup switch. The log file is an ASCII text file with the following format: YYYYMMDDHR:MND[xxx]=Msg YYYY = Year; MM = Month; DD = Day; HR = Hour (0-23); MN = Minute; D = Day of week; [xxx] = LOG, OFF, RUN, or END; Msg = User ID or Menu description of what was run. HDM allows you to put passwords on any entries in the main menu and on the commands in the pull down windows. This can be done either at the group level via the Security pull down window or by putting the cursor on any main menu entry or pull down menu command and pressing the Alt-F1 key. You can customize the opening logo screen by using the -H startup switch and putting your own company logo in the file HDM.HDR. You can also create custom help screens for each main menu entry by creating a text file with a name that uses a combination of the menu entry page letter and number and the menu file number. For example custom help for menu entry B5 in menu file HDM.333 would be named B5.333. When F1 is pressed while the cursor is on that entry, your custom help is displayed before the normal HDM help screens. You can also create a general help screen for each menu file named HELP and an extension equal to the file number. The screen in this file is displayed if an individual help file does not exist for the current menu entry. There are many features built into the Hard Disk Menu for use on local area networks. One that must be used is the -W startup switch. This tells HDM where to keep the work file that it uses to keep track of information for each user. The -T and -0 through -9 startup switches also can help with network environments as can some of the security features. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 4 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu INSTALLATION To install the program for the first time on your hard disk you need to make two changes to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file or you need to create one if you don't have one. If you are running a version of DOS prior to 3.30 then HDM uses COMMAND.COM to run batch files, so a path must be set up to it. If COMMAND.COM is in your root directory, then put the following command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT before starting HDM: PATH C:\ If you use DOS 3.30 or later, the above path command is not necessary to run HDM IV. The program must be started from the directory that contains the HDM files so that HDM can find them. The last two lines in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file should be: CD \HDM HDM The directory can be any name, so you can change the CD statement to any name you like. Now put the program diskette in drive A: and key in the following: A: INSTALL C:\HDM then press the ENTER key. Again, the directory name can be what you like, but it must match the one in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If you are already using an older version of the program, then the only thing you need to do is put the program diskette in drive A: and key in the following: A: UPDATE C:\HDM Make sure you use the directory name of your currently installed Hard Disk Menu system. Update will retain all your current menu entries. Sample AUTOEXEC.BAT: ECHO OFF PROMPT $P $G $A PATH C:\;C:\HDM CD\HDM HDM Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 5 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu STARTING HDM This is the full syntax for HDM in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file: HDM [-A] [-Bp#] [-Cpath] [-Ddrive] [-Epath] [-H] [-I] [-K] [-Lpath] [-M###] [-N] [-P] [-Tpath] [-V] [-Wpath] [-0path] [-1path] [-2path] [-3path] [-4path] [-5path] [-6path] [-7path] [-8path] [-9path] -A Automatically run the selection specified by [-Bp#]. -Bp# Beginning entry to highlight in the main menu. (p# is A1 through J0) -Cpath Copy path where a second copy of the menu file is kept. -Ddrive Disk free space is displayed for the specified drive letter. (-DC is free space on C:) -Epath Exit path where you'll be when you press F3 or select Exit from the menu. -H Header box on logo screen read in from HDM.HDR at program startup. -I Intensify the background colors and display a color border on color monitors. The last eight background colors become bright versions of the first eight (except CGA). The border gets the same color as the Status Bar. This doesn't work with some hardware. -K Key lock status not displayed and Date & Time not updated on the screen. -Lpath Log usage to the HDM.LOG file in the HDM directory or in <path>. <path> is optional. -M### Menu file that you will be in when HDM is started. (### is 0 through 999) -N No logo screen displayed when HDM is started, unless user logon required. -P Page hold, will not wrap cursor to the next page when using up & down arrow keys. -Tpath Text path where the menu entries and variables are stored. (see -0 to -9 also) -V Video mode set to monochrome for unreadable screens. (Laptops, portables, etc.) Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 6 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu STARTING HDM -Wpath Work path where the temporary work file is stored. This must be in the DOS path. -0 to -9path Same as -T except it's the path to each group of 100 menu files. (-7 is for HDM.700-799) NOTE: "path" must contain both the drive and directory: C:\DIR\SUBDIR All parameters are optional, you don't need any to run HDM. All the command line parameters on the previous page can also be used in the HDM environment variable. You can use command line parameters, HDM environment variable parameters, or both to start the Hard Disk Menu. The following is the syntax for the HDM environment variable: SET HDM=[-A] [-Bp#] [-Cpath] [-Ddrive] [-Epath] [-H] [-I] [-K] [-Lpath] [-M###] [-N] [-P] [-Tpath] [-V] [-Wpath] [-0path] [-1path] [-2path] [-3path] [-4path] [-5path] [-6path] [-7path] [-8path] [-9path] There are no spaces on either side of the equal sign, but there is a space between each parameter. EXAMPLE: PATH C:\;D:\RAMDISK SET HDM=-A -BF5 -Cc:\bkup -Ec:\dir -H -M01 -Wd:\ramdisk CD\HDM HDM -Lc:\dir -M500 -5h:\netdir -7c:\utils -N -P -DC -V Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 7 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu HDM KEYBOARD Main Menu Control Keys DOWN ARROW KEY, SPACE BAR, or TAB KEY: Moves the cursor to the next main menu entry. UP ARROW KEY, BACK SPACE KEY, or BACK TAB KEY: Moves the cursor to the previous main menu entry. HOME KEY or MINUS (-) KEY: Moves the cursor to the first main menu entry. END KEY or PLUS (+) KEY: Moves the cursor to the last main menu entry. PGDN KEY or RIGHT ARROW KEY: Moves the cursor to the first main menu entry on the next page. PGUP KEY or LEFT ARROW KEY: Moves the cursor to the last main menu entry on the previous page. LETTER KEYS (A-J) or ALT-1 through ALT-0 KEYS: Moves the cursor to the first main menu entry on the corresponding page (if any). NUMBER KEYS (0-9): Starts the main menu entry on the current page with that number (if it exist). ENTER KEY: Starts the main menu entry that the cursor is on. ESCAPE KEY or CTRL-BREAK: Logoff the main menu and display the logo screen. QUESTION MARK (?) KEY: Displays help for the main menu. SLASH (/) KEY: Displays and activates the top menu. BACK SLASH (\) KEY: Displays and activates the last used pull down menu. /UNHIDE: To see a hidden Top Menu, key in /UNHIDE and then enter the password. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 8 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu HDM KEYBOARD Top Menu Control Keys RIGHT ARROW KEY, TAB KEY, SPACE BAR, or PGDN KEY: Moves the cursor to the next top menu entry. LEFT ARROW KEY, BACK TAB KEY, BACK SPACE KEY, or PGUP KEY: Moves the cursor to the previous top menu entry. HOME KEY or MINUS (-) KEY: Moves the cursor to the first top menu entry. END KEY or PLUS (+) KEY: Moves the cursor to the last top menu entry. ENTER KEY, DOWN ARROW KEY, or UP ARROW KEY: Pulls down a menu from the top menu entry that the cursor is on. LETTER KEYS (M, P, S, L, G, or X): Pulls down a menu from the top menu entry with that highlighted letter. ESCAPE KEY, CTRL-BREAK, F10 KEY, or ALT-F10: Returns to the main menu. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 9 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu HDM KEYBOARD Pull Down Menu Control Keys DOWN ARROW KEY, TAB KEY, SPACE BAR, or PGDN KEY: Moves the cursor to the next pull down menu entry. UP ARROW KEY, BACK TAB KEY, BACK SPACE KEY, or PGUP KEY: Moves the cursor to the previous pull down menu entry. HOME KEY or MINUS (-) KEY: Moves the cursor to the first pull down menu entry. END KEY or PLUS (+) KEY: Moves the cursor to the last pull down menu entry. RIGHT ARROW KEY: Removes the current pull down menu and pulls down the next one. LEFT ARROW KEY: Removes the current pull down menu and pulls down the previous one. ENTER KEY: Starts the pull down menu entry that the cursor is on. HIGHLIGHTED LETTER KEY: Starts the pull down menu entry that has that letter highlighted. ESCAPE KEY or CTRL-BREAK: Returns to the top menu. F10 KEY or ALT-F10: Returns to the main menu. Alt-F1: Add, change, or delete a password for the entry that the cursor is on. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 10 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu HDM KEYBOARD Keys Active in the Main Menu, Top Menu, and Pull Down Menus INS: Insert a new main menu entry description and action. DEL: Delete an existing main menu entry description and menu action. F2: Edit a main menu entry description and action. F4: Copy a main menu entry to another one. F5: Display main menu action in the title window. F6: Display variations of date/time line and top menu. F7: Display variations of the lines inside the main menu. F8: Switch the main menu and page index window locations on the screen. F9: Open a DOS window to run any DOS command, program, or batch file. ALT-F1: Add or remove a password on a main menu or pull down menu entry. ALT-F2: Edit a page index description entry. (Page Name) ALT-F3: Logoff a user if one was logged on and display the logo screen. ALT-F4: Move a main menu entry to another one. ALT-F5: Save all changes made in the menu to the hard disk. This is automatically done when an entry is run. ALT-G: Pull down the Global variables menu. ALT-L: Pull down the Local variables menu. ALT-M: Pull down the Menu maintenance menu. ALT-P: Pull down the Page index maintenance menu. ALT-S: Pull down the Security password menu. ALT-X: Pull down the Exit menu. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 11 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu HDM KEYBOARD Keys Active in any Screen F1: Display help menu and screens. F3: Exit from HDM at any time. Key in X from DOS to return. F10: Display and activate the top menu. ALT-F10: Display and activate the last used pull down menu. CTRL-C: Cancels current procedure and returns to previous one. CTRL-F: Freeze screen, don't update time & date, and suspend timed and inactive execution. MOUSE Up motion: works the same as the up arrow key. Down motion: works the same as the down arrow key. Left motion: works the same as the left arrow key. Right motion: works the same as the right arrow key. Left button: works like the Enter key. Right button: works like the Escape key. Middle button (3 button mouse) or both buttons together (2 button mouse): Displays and activates the top menu. Adjust the vertical and horizontal motion sensitivity from the Global pull down menu. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 12 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu HDM KEYBOARD Input Fields If the first key pressed is a letter, number, or special character, the field is erased and is replaced by that character. If you erase the field accidently, press <Ctrl-U> to restore it. If the first key pressed is a cursor movement key or other non-character key, the field remains and can be edited. The keyboard starts out in insert mode, press <Ins> to go to overwrite mode. In insert mode, a short beep says a character was pushed off the end of a field. In a non-scrollable field, keying in the last character in the field moves you to the next field. When entering characters in a menu action field, the curly braces {} and the tilde ~ have special meanings in the field. If you need to pass any of these characters to a program, use the following substitutes: <Ctrl-Q> for { (left curly brace) <Ctrl-P> for } (right curly brace) <Ctrl-Z> for ~ (tilde) They will be converted to the correct character for your program. Input Field Editing Keys RIGHT ARROW KEY: Moves the cursor right one character in the field. LEFT ARROW KEY: Moves the cursor left one character in the field. TAB KEY: Moves the cursor right eight characters in the field. BACK TAB KEY: Moves the cursor left eight characters in the field. HOME KEY: Moves the cursor to the first character in the field. END KEY: Moves the cursor to the last character on the field. CTRL-U KEY: (UNDO) Restores the current field to its original contents. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 13 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu HDM KEYBOARD CTRL-HOME KEY: Deletes all characters from the cursor to the beginning of the field. CTRL-END KEY: Deletes all characters from the cursor to the end of the field. DELETE KEY: Deletes the character at the cursor. BACK SPACE KEY: Deletes the character left of the cursor. INSERT KEY: Switches between Insert mode and Overwrite mode. (default is Insert mode) ENTER KEY: Goes to next field or ends editing and saves the changes if there is only one field. F2 KEY: Saves changes to all fields and returns to previous screen. ESCAPE KEY or CTRL-BREAK: Cancels any changes made and returns to previous screen. UP ARROW KEY: Moves the cursor to the previous field on the screen. DOWN ARROW KEY: Moves the cursor to the next field on the screen. PGUP KEY: Moves the cursor to the first field on the screen. PGDN KEY: Moves the cursor to the last field on the screen. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 14 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu MENU ACTION Menu Action Components The menu action contains the instructions that are executed when a main menu entry is started, when the DOS window is used, or when a macro is called. A menu action contains anything that can be used in a batch file plus additional functions, macros, and parameters that are described in this manual. The menu action can be up to 255 characters long and can contain multiple steps (DOS commands, programs, batch files, etc.) and these steps are separated by the tilde (~) character. For example, if you were using a batch file that contained this: C: CD\BASIC GWBASIC SAMPLES then the equivalent menu action would look like this: C:~CD\BASIC~GWBASIC SAMPLES~ AUTO-BUILD When you add or change a menu action, you have the option of letting HDM build the menu action for you. Just press <F4> at the time you would normally key in the menu action and a window will open asking for the drive, directory, program name, and any command line parameters the program may need to run. Fill in the blanks and the menu action is built automatically for you. HDM even checks the drive and directory to make sure the program really exists there. To build the above example with the Auto-Build procedure, press the <Ins> key to add a new entry to the main menu, then select the menu entry where you want it to be. When the add entry window opens, enter a description and press the Enter key. Next press <F4> and key in the information: Drive -----------> C: Directory -------> \BASIC Program ---------> GWBASIC Parameters ------> SAMPLES Then press <F2> to save the menu action and the entry is complete. The next thing to do is to test it to see if it works. To start the menu entry you just added, press the number key associated with it or move the cursor to it and press <Enter>. If you have a mouse you can highlight the entry by moving to it with the mouse, then press the left mouse button. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 15 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu MENU ACTION Menu Action Functions {?} or {?prompt} Displays prompt message, then waits for and is replaced by user input. User input also kept in %0. &# or {&#} (# is a number 0 thru 9) Replaced by contents of a macro. {&# parameter1 parameter2 ... parameter9} Same as &#, but with user supplied parameters that are held in %1 thru %9. %# or {%#} (# is a number 0 thru 9) %1 through %9 is replaced by a macro parameter. %0 is replaced by the reply to a {?prompt} function. This will run the menu action inside of HDM instead of letting DOS run it. @@batch-file (run a batch file and have it return to HDM) @@ is replaced by COMMAND /C for DOS prior to ver. 3.0) @@ is replaced by the COMSPEC variable for DOS 3.0-3.2) @@ is replaced by the CALL command for DOS 3.3 & above) ~ (tilde key is used to represent the ENTER key) Tilde (~) is replace by CR/LF characters, it's used to separate programs and DOS commands. {BEEP} (sounds the computer's speaker) Replaced by a Ctrl-G so DOS will beep the speaker. {BEEP!} Immediate alert sounded in HDM before going to DOS. {CK a} ("a" is any legal drive letter) Checks if the drive is ready, if not, a message is displayed and action is cancelled. {COLOR foreground background} (DOS color for current menu action) Sets foreground (0-15) and background (0-7) colors for current menu entry's DOS screen. {CURSOR start-line end-line} (set DOS cursor) Sets the shape of the cursor when you exit or for the program that will be run. {DEFAULT reply-to-prompt} User changeable default reply to {?} or {?prompt}. {DIAL [modem-commands] phone-number} Dials a phone number using a Hayes compatible modem and optionally sends an initialization string to the modem. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 16 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu MENU ACTION {EXIT} or {QUIT} Exits to the DOS prompt like <F3>, but you can change directories first. {KEY k1 k2 ... k15} Passes up to 15 keys to a program that uses the standard DOS keyboard buffer. {MENU ###} (## is a number 0 thru 999) Use another menu text file. {REBOOT} (same as pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del) Allows you to changed AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS, then reboot system. {RETURN} Go back to the previous menu text file. {RUN program/command/batch-file} Immediately run a program, DOS command, or a batch file from within HDM. {RUN! program/command/batch-file} Same as {RUN}, but pause before returning to the Hard Disk Menu's screen. {SELECT/VSELECT menu-title~choice1~choice2~...choice16~} Displays a horizontal/vertical menu of choices, user choice will replace the Select function in menu action. Also selected menu entry put into %0 for later use. {USER} Replace by user logon name if any. NOTE: Because the curly braces {} are used to identify HDM menu actions and the tilde ~ is used as a command separator, they cannot be entered in the menu action as normal characters. If you need to use any of these characters for other purposes, use the following substitutes: <Ctrl-Q> for the left curly brace, <Ctrl-P> for the right curly brace, and <Ctrl-Z> for the tilde. These special characters will be converted to the correct characters before the menu action is run. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 17 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu MENU ACTION Menu Action Macros Each menu file (HDM.000 - HDM.999) can have ten local macros that are set up through the Local variables pull down menu. These macros are numbered from 0 to 9 and are referenced in a menu action by putting an "&" in front of the number. Macros are really quite simple, any reference to the macro in the menu action is replaced by the complete contents of the macro. A macro can contain anything that is allowed in a menu action. EXAMPLE: If macro number one contains: {CK A}DIR A:*.BAS~PAUSE~A:~ and a menu action has: &{?Run basic, enter number for drive 1=A:, 2=B:, 3=C:}BASIC~ The {?prompt} is replaced by the number entered, so if the user enters 1, the menu action then looks like this: &1BASIC~ Then the &1 macro is replaced by the contents of macro number one so it now looks like this: {CK A}DIR A:*.BAS~PAUSE~A:~BASIC~ Next HDM will check if drive A: is ready, if it is then HDM removes the {CK A} and sends the following to DOS for execution: DIR A:*.BAS PAUSE A: BASIC During the time that the above commands and programs run, HDM is completely out of memory taking no ram away from your programs. When DOS is finished executing the above, HDM will be read back into memory. Macros can have up to nine replaceable parameters that are similar to DOS batch file replaceable parameters. You reference them by number with a % in front of them. The full syntax for a macro call looks like this: {&# %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9} %0 is a special purpose parameter that will hold the complete reply to the last {?} or {?prompt} menu action function. Any reference to a macro parameter in a menu action is replaced with the complete contents of that macro parameter. A macro parameter can contain anything a menu action can and anything a macro can, except parameters. Examples on next page. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 18 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu MENU ACTION EXAMPLE: macro number nine contains: C:~ and a menu action contains: {&9 \*.{?Enter extension}}dir \dir1%1~dir \dir2%1~ dir \dir3%1~dir \dir4%1~dir \dir5%1~ First the user is asked to enter a file extension. If EXE is entered, the menu action becomes: {&9 \*.EXE}dir \dir1%1~dir \dir2%1~dir \dir3%1~ dir \dir4%1~dir \dir5%1~ Next &9 is replace by C:~ and %1 is filled with the first macro parameter, \*.EXE C:~dir \dir1%1~dir \dir2%1~dir \dir3%1~dir \dir4%1~dir \dir5%1~ Finally all the %1's are replace with the contents of the first macro parameter, so it looks like this: C:~dir \dir1\*.EXE~dir \dir2\*.EXE~dir \dir3\*.EXE~ dir \dir4\*.EXE~dir \dir5\*.EXE HDM now replaces the tildes with CR/LF's and passes the lines to DOS for execution. Example of HDM's Parameters: {&0 {?Enter some text}} In the above menu action, &0 is an empty macro and is being used just to fill the % parameters. When this runs, nothing will happen because there is nothing to execute. The {?prompt} will be replaced by the contents of what is keyed in by the user, but since it is inside a macro, it will just be put into the % parameters and be erased. The &0 itself is replace by its contents, which are blank, so the whole menu action itself ends up being empty. If the menu action contained %0 %1 ... %9 then it would contain the contents of those parameters. If a user entered THIS IS A TEST in reply to the {?prompt} then %0 would also contain THIS IS A TEST, %1 would contain THIS, %2 would contain IS, %3 would contain A, %4 would contain TEST, and %5 through %9 would be empty. Remember that %0 always holds the reply to a {?} prompt function, it does not have to be part of a macro like %1 through %9. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 19 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu MENU ACTION Using menu action functions and macros Menu action functions are generally handled from left to right in the menu action, but functions can be nested. Functions in inner braces are evaluated before functions in outer braces. EXAMPLE: If &1 contains COPY and &2 contains DELETE then: {&1 {?Enter file name} c:\save} %1 %2~&2 %1~dir %2~ would evaluate to: COPY FILE.EXT C:\SAVE~DELETE FILE.EXT~DIR C:\SAVE~ if the user replied FILE.EXT to the "Enter file name" prompt. EXAMPLE: If &5 contains the dialing prefix 9,1(800) then: {dial &5{?Enter toll free phone number}} would dial the number 9,1(800)234-5678 if the user replied 234-5678 to the "Enter toll free phone number" prompt. EXAMPLE: {default C}{?Enter drive}:~CD\{default DOS} {?Enter directory}~{exit} {?Enter drive{default C}}:~CD\ {?Enter directory{default DOS}}~{exit} The above two menu actions are equivalent. The defaults in the inner braces are evaluated first. When the user is prompted for the drive, a C is in the input field. When the user is prompted for a directory, DOS is in the input field. The user can accept the defaults or key in something else. HDM then exits to that drive and directory and displays the DOS prompt. When finished at the DOS prompt, <X> and <Enter> returns to HDM. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 20 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu FUNCTION REFERENCE {?} and {?prompt} This menu action function will pause the execution of the action until the <Enter> key or the <Esc> key is pressed. During the pause the user can enter up to 64 characters that will replace the function, including the braces, the question mark, and the prompt (if any), in the menu action. Pressing <Enter> will continue the execution of the menu action starting with the newly entered information. Pressing <Esc> will cancel the execution of the menu action and control will return to the Main Menu. See the "input field editing keys" for an explanation of what other keys will do in the input field. The prompt in the pause function can be up to 64 characters long. If no prompt is supplied, the menu system uses "Pause for input ...". The prompt is displayed in a window in the main menu when the pause function is executed. The user input line is just below the prompt, also inside the window. Sample menu action: COPY C:\{?Enter the directory to copy to diskette:}\*.* A:~ The user is prompted in the window: "Enter the directory to copy to diskette:" The user keys in: LOTUS\FILES and then presses the <Enter> key The menu action that is executed is: COPY C:\LOTUS\FILES\*.* A: All files in the C:\LOTUS\FILES directory are copied to the diskette in the A: drive, then control returns to the Main Menu. NOTE: If you need to use the reply to the prompt in more than one place in the same menu action, use %0 any place else you need it. EXAMPLE: COPY C:\{?Enter the directory to move to A}\*.* A:~DEL C:\%0\*.*~ Both the {?prompt} and the %0 will be replaced by the name of the directory that is entered by the user. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 21 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu FUNCTION REFERENCE &#, {&#}, and {&# parameter1 parameter2 ... parameter9} This menu action function will use the contents of a macro that was set up through the Local variables pull down menu to replace the call for that macro (& and a number) in a menu action. If the macro has no parameters, then the braces around it are optional. If there are parameters, then the braces are required to delimit the macro and its parameters. The maximum number of parameters is nine and they are separated by spaces. When a macro call is executed in a menu action the contents of the macro replaces the function, including the braces, the & number combination, and the parameters (if any), in the menu action. If there were any parameters present, they are now contained in %1, %2, ..., %9 and can be used anywhere in the menu action. Since a space is used to delimit the parameters, any text that is used for parameters will have each word in a separate parameter. See %# for more information on parameters. EXAMPLE: Key in <Alt-L> <M>, then move the cursor to &8 and key in: COPY *.* A:~PAUSE~ then press the <F2> key to save the macro. Now to try out your new macro, create a menu action like this: C:~CD\123~&8CD\DBASE~&8CD\MMATE&8 The &8's would be replaced by the contents of macro &8. The menu action would evaluate to the following before it is executed: C:~CD\123~COPY *.* A:~PAUSE~ CD\DBASE~COPY *.* A:~PAUSE~ CD\MMATE~COPY *.* A:~PAUSE~ The menu action puts you on drive C:, then copies all files from the 123 directory to a diskette in A:, then pauses so the user can change diskettes. All files are then copied from the DBASE directory to A:, then a pause for another diskette change, then all files are copied from the MMATE directory to A:, and then a final pause. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 22 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu FUNCTION REFERENCE ! (exclamation point) The exclamation point (!) used in the first position of a menu action will cause HDM to run the menu action while staying in memory. This will execute faster than running the normal way because HDM will not terminate and it will not have to be called back into memory again when the menu entry is finished running. There are some limitations, first only smaller programs can run that will fit into memory at the same time as HDM. Second, you can not start a memory resident program this way. For these exceptions, run the menu action without the exclamation point and HDM will quit and free up memory completely. EXAMPLE: !C:~CD\NORTON~NI~ Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 23 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu FUNCTION REFERENCE %# and {%#} (%0 %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9) This menu action function will use the contents of a macro's parameter to replace the call for that parameter (% and a number) in a menu action. The contents of a parameter are created when a macro is called with parameters. Each parameter is placed sequentially in %1, %2, ... %9 and they, in turn, can be used in the rest of the menu action, in the called macro, or in another macro. %0 is a special purpose parameter, it will always contain the complete reply to a {?prompt} function. EXAMPLE: Key in <Alt-L> <M> and move down to the &5 macro, then key in: COPY C:\NEW\%1 C:\OLD\%1 then press the <Enter> key. Now use the following menu action: {&5 {?Enter file to move}}~DEL C:\NEW\%1~DIR C:\OLD\%1~PAUSE~ The user is prompted in a window in the main menu: "Enter file to move" The user keys in: BUDGET88.WKS and then presses the <Enter> key. The menu action that is executed is: COPY C:\NEW\BUDGET88.WKS C:\OLD\BUDGET88.WKS~ DEL C:\NEW\BUDGET88.WKS~DIR C:\OLD\BUDGET88.WKS~PAUSE~ The file BUDGET88.WKS is moved from C:\NEW to C:\OLD and is displayed in the C:\OLD directory. The prompt is executed first because it is in the inner braces. The prompt is replaced by the user entry BUDGET88.WKS which is then placed in %1 because it is the first and only parameter of the macro &5. The {&5} is then replaced by the contents of the &5 macro. Then all the %1's are replaced by BUDGET88.WKS including the two that came from the macro and the two that were already in the Action String. By putting braces around the macro parameter {%#}, the parameter can be evaluated sooner if needed. This is needed if the parameter is use in an immediate run function, like the following: {&5 {?Enter file to move}}~{RUN! DIR C:\NEW\{%1}}~DEL C:\NEW\%1~ If the {%1} in the {RUN!} function didn't have the braces around it, the {RUN!} function would be executed before the parameter {%1} was replaced and DOS would try to run the command: DIR C:\NEW\%1 and you would get an error. By putting the braces around the %1 it is evaluated before the {RUN!} is executed and DOS will run: DIR C:\NEW\BUDGET88.WKS Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 24 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu FUNCTION REFERENCE @@batch-file This menu action function will allow you to execute a batch file from a Menu Action. The @@ is replaced by COMMAND \C or by CALL in the menu action before actual execution. This causes the batch file to be executed by a second copy of DOS's command processor or by the DOS CALL command and then to return to the main menu when completed. The CALL command is more efficient and will be used automatically if you are running DOS 3.30 or above. Without the @@ the batch file will be run by the current command processor and control then will return to the DOS prompt instead of the main menu. This happens because menu actions are run as temporary batch files, when a second batch file is run from it, DOS does not return control to the first batch file. If this happens to you, just press the <X> key and then the <Enter> key to return to the Hard Disk Menu. EXAMPLE: DW4 is a batch-file (DW4.BAT) and we have the following menu action: C:~CD\DSPLYWR4~DW4~ When the program is finished you go to DOS and stay there: C> _ IF the menu action used the @@batch-file function like this: C:~CD\DSPLYWR4~@@DW4~ Then when the program finished you would returned to the Hard Disk Menu's main menu at the same selection you were on when you left. If you use a version of DOS before 3.30, the @@DW4 is changed to: COMMAND /C DW4. If you are using DOS version 3.30 or higher, HDM will automatically use the DOS CALL command instead of COMMAND /C. This saves the loading of a secondary command processor, which saves memory, and is quicker. The auto-build (F4) will automatically put @@ in front of batch files. HDM recognizes the version of DOS you are using and will replace @@ with CALL for version 3.30 and above, so that @@DW4 will become CALL DW4. NOTE: @@ is not needed for .COM or .EXE files, it is only needed for .BAT files. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 25 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu FUNCTION REFERENCE ~ (tilde) The tilde character is used in a menu action to represent the <Enter> key. It is used to end or separate commands in a menu action the same as the <Enter> key is used to end lines in a batch file. At execution time, the tilde (~) is replaced by a carriage return (CR) and a line feed (LF). Sample menu action: A:~COPY LIST.* B:~COPY EPSON.EXE B:~CHKDSK B:~PAUSE~ This menu action is equivalent to a batch file that contains: A: COPY LIST.* B: COPY EPSON.EXE B: CHKDSK B: PAUSE NOTE: If you need to pass the tilde ~ character to a program or command use <Ctrl-Z> it represent that character. It will display as a double tilde and be converted back to a tilde when it's sent to the program or command. {BEEP} This menu action function will cause the speaker to sound a short beep. It doesn't beep while your in the Hard Disk Menu, but it is converted to a <Ctrl-G> so DOS will beep when it comes to that character in the temporary batch file (X.BAT). This can be used to alert the user at the completion of a task. Sample menu action: C:~CD\CLIPPER~CLIPPER BIGPROG~TLINK BIGPROG~{BEEP}~ The speaker will beep when the long compile & link is completed. {BEEP!} This is the Beep Immediate function. It sounds an alert in HDM as soon as it is evaluated. This is useful to alert the user to a pending {?prompt} or {SELECT/VSELECT} function. Sample menu action: C:~CD\CLIPPER~{BEEP!}CLIPPER {?Enter Program Name}~TLINK %0~{BEEP} Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 26 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu FUNCTION REFERENCE {CK drive-letter} This menu action function will make sure that a disk drive is ready before continuing with the rest of the menu action. If the drive being checked is not ready, an error message is displayed, and the menu action is cancelled. This prevents the user from getting "drive not ready" errors from DOS. Sample menu action: {CK A}COPY C:\MM\*.DOC A:~ If there is a diskette in A: then all the files with a DOC extension in the C:\MM directory will be copied to the diskette in A:, if the drive is not ready then HDM will display a message telling you that it's not ready and the rest of the menu action will be ignored. {COLOR foreground background} This menu action function sets the foreground and background colors of the DOS screen for the menu action that contains the {COLOR} function. Foreground and background colors are numbered from 0 to 15. These are the available colors: 0 = Black 8 = Dark Gray 1 = Blue 9 = Light Blue 2 = Green 10 = Light Green 3 = Cyan 11 = Light Cyan 4 = Red 12 = Light Red 5 = Magenta 13 = Light Magenta 6 = Brown 14 = Yellow 7 = Light Gray 15 = White Example: {COLOR 15 1}DIR C:\SUBDIR/P~ This will display a directory of C:\SUBDIR in White on a Blue background. NOTE: The {COLOR} function will not work if the ANSI.SYS device driver is loaded in the CONFIG.SYS file because it over-rides any colors you set with its own colors. CGA monitors will only display the first eight background colors while EGA, VGA, and others will display all sixteen. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 27 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu FUNCTION REFERENCE {CURSOR start-line end-line} This menu action function sets what the shape of the cursor will be when you leave HDM to run any program, DOS command, batch file, or exit to the DOS prompt. The start and end lines are the top and bottom scan lines of the cursor. The range is different for each type of monitor that you use. The monochrome range is 0-13 while CGA and other color monitors in cursor emulation mode (normal) is 0-7. Check your display adapter's manual for the number of scan lines you can use. Example: {CURSOR 0 7}{EXIT} will set a block cursor when exiting HDM. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 28 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu FUNCTION REFERENCE {DEFAULT reply-to-prompt} This menu action function will allow you to have a suggested reply to a {?prompt} function that the user can accept by pressing the <Enter> key, modify the entry before accepting, or key in a completely different reply. The {DEFAULT} function must precede the {?} function or it can be contained inside the {?} function like this: {?Enter a file name{DEFAULT C:\DB4\CUSTOMER.DBF}} Sample menu action: {DEFAULT LOTUS\WK2}COPY C:\{?Enter the directory to copy:}\*.* A: The user is prompted in a window: "Enter the directory to copy to diskette:" The input field already contains LOTUS\WK2, and the user presses <Enter> because it's the directory he wants to copy. The menu action that is executed is: COPY C:\LOTUS\WK2\*.* A: Sample menu action: (the &0 macro is empty) C:~CD\ASM~{&0 {{DEFAULT MYPROG}?Enter program}}MASM %1~LINK %1~ The user is prompted in a window: "Enter program" The input field already contains MYPROG, but the user keys in DEMO31 and presses <Enter>. The menu action that is executed is: C:~CD\ASM~MASM DEMO31~LINK DEMO31~ The &0 macro is replaced by an empty string since it contains nothing and its parameter which was the prompt function and its default was replaced by the user entry DEMO31, which was then put into the %1 parameter holder. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 29 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu FUNCTION REFERENCE {DIAL [modem-cmd1~...modem-cmd15~] phone-number} This menu action function can be used to set up a telephone directory and automatic phone dialing menu if you have a Hayes compatible modem connected to your system. One complete Menu File could be dedicated to a phone directory, each page could represent a different company, and each selection on a given page could be a person in the company that you call. If Menu File number fifty was a phone directory, you would use the {MENU 50} menu action function to display the directory. If Page B was Software Companies, and entry 5 was Borland International and its menu action was {DIAL 1(800) 255-8008}, you would press to display Page B, then press 5 to call Borland. When the dialing sequence is sent to the modem, a message is displayed at the bottom of the screen telling you to first pick up the phone, then press a key. This disconnects the modem and you are free to talk on the phone. Press the <Esc> key or use the {RETURN} menu action function to go back to the Menu File that called your phone directory Menu File. The {DIAL} function can also send modem commands to a Hayes compatible modem. These can be used to initialize the modem, turn off Auto-Answer, turn on the speaker, etc. You can have up to 15 of these commands and they must end with a tilde (~). Do not end the phone number with a tilde because HDM will take it as a modem command and will not dial. You can send modem commands without a phone number if you only want to change a setting in the modem. Consult the manual that came with your modem for a list of commands that are available for it. Do not start the commands with an "AT" or end them with a carriage return, HDM will do that automatically. The modem commands are optional and are not needed to dial a phone number. To use this function you need a modem that can dial a phone number using the Hayes ATD command and you need a telephone connected to your modem or on the same phone line. The {DIAL} function allows a maximum of 36 characters in the phone number and a maximum of 64 characters in the entire {DIAL} function. You can use the Global variables pull down menu to change the communications port and the dial type. EXAMPLE: You need to dial 9 to get an outside line: Menu action: {DIAL 9,1 (123) 456-7890} EXAMPLE: Use fast tone dialing when dialing a phone number: Menu action: {DIAL S11=30~9,1 (123) 456-7890} EXAMPLE: Turn your modem's speaker off and auto answer off: Menu action: {DIAL M0~S0=0~} Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 30 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu FUNCTION REFERENCE {EXIT} or {QUIT} This menu action function works the same as the "Exit HDM" entry in the Exit pull down menu or the <F3> key with the added benefit that you can change the drive and directory before you exit to the DOS prompt. When your finished working at the DOS prompt, key in <X> and press <Enter> to return to the Hard Disk Menu. Sample menu action: C:~CD\MM~DIR *.DOC~{EXIT}~ The user sees a directory display of all the files that have a .DOC extension and is then presented with the standard DOS prompt. At this point the user can do whatever needs to be done from DOS. To return to the HDM, the user keys in <X> at the DOS prompt and presses the <Enter> key. {KEY k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6 k7 k8 k9 k10 k11 k12 k13 k14 k15} This menu action function allows you to pass up to fifteen keys to a program that uses the standard DOS keyboard buffer. This will allow you to automate some procedures in the programs that you start from HDM. This will not work with all programs because some of them will clear the buffer as soon as they start and some others will ignore the DOS buffer and use their own keyboard buffer. Another reason this might not work is if your are using a memory resident keyboard enhancement program that expands the size of the buffer. You will have to test it with your programs to see if it works for you. Fortunately it will work with most programs. You can pass any key on the IBM keyboard plus the list of key mnemonics on the next page. NOTE: Each key and key mnemonic must be separated by a space. Sample menu action: C:~CD\LOTUS~123~{KEY / F R B U D G E T ENTR} This will start Lotus 123 and put the above ten keys in the DOS keyboard buffer which would automatically retrieve the file named "BUDGET". Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 31 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu FUNCTION REFERENCE HDM REAL KEY HDM REAL KEY HDM REAL KEY --- -------- --- -------- --- -------- CA Ctrl-A CB Ctrl-B CC Ctrl-C CD Ctrl-D CE Ctrl-E CF Ctrl-F CG Ctrl-G CH Ctrl-H CI Ctrl-I CJ Ctrl-J CK Ctrl-K CL Ctrl-L CM Ctrl-M CN Ctrl-N CO Ctrl-O CP Ctrl-P CQ Ctrl-Q CR Ctrl-R CS Ctrl-S CT Ctrl-T CU Ctrl-U CV Ctrl-V CW Ctrl-W CX Ctrl-X CY Ctrl-Y CZ Ctrl-Z SP Space C[ Ctrl-[ C] Ctrl-] C\ Ctrl-\ C2 Ctrl-2 C6 Ctrl-6 C- Ctrl- - ENTR Enter ESC Escape CBRK Ctrl-Break BSP Back Space CBSP Ctrl-Back Space TAB Tab STAB Shift-Tab AA Alt-A AB Alt-B AC Alt-C AD Alt-D AE Alt-E AF Alt-F AG Alt-G AH Alt-H AI Alt-I AJ Alt-J AK Alt-K AL Alt-L AM Alt-M AN Alt-N AO Alt-O AP Alt-P AQ Alt-Q AR Alt-R AS Alt-S AT Alt-T AU Alt-U AV Alt-V AW Alt-W AX Alt-X AY Alt-Y AZ Alt-Z F1 F1 F2 F2 F3 F3 F4 F4 F5 F5 F6 F6 F7 F7 F8 F8 F9 F9 F10 F10 F11 F11 F12 F12 AF1 Alt-F1 AF2 Alt-F2 AF3 Alt-F3 AF4 Alt-F4 AF5 Alt-F5 AF6 Alt-F6 AF7 Alt-F7 AF8 Alt-F8 AF9 Alt-F9 AF10 Alt-F10 AF11 Alt-F11 AF12 Alt-F12 CF1 Ctrl-F1 CF2 Ctrl-F2 CF3 Ctrl-F3 CF4 Ctrl-F4 CF5 Ctrl-F5 CF6 Ctrl-F6 CF7 Ctrl-F7 CF8 Ctrl-F8 CF9 Ctrl-F9 CF10 Ctrl-F10 CF11 Ctrl-F11 CF12 Ctrl-F12 SF1 Shift-F1 SF2 Shift-F2 SF3 Shift-F3 SF4 Shift-F4 SF5 Shift-F5 SF6 Shift-F6 SF7 Shift-F7 SF8 Shift-F8 SF9 Shift-F9 SF10 Shift-F10 SF11 Shift-F11 SF12 Shift-F12 LAR Left Arrow RAR Right Arrow UAR Up Arrow CLAR Ctrl-Left Arrow CRAR Ctrl-Right Arrow DAR Down Arrow HOM Home END End INS Insert CHOM Ctrl-Home CEND Ctrl-End DEL Delete PGU PgUp PGD PgDn CPRT Ctrl-PrtSc CPGU Ctrl-PgUp CPGD Ctrl-PgDn A1 Alt-1 A2 Alt-2 A3 Alt-3 A4 Alt-4 A5 Alt-5 A6 Alt-6 A7 Alt-7 A8 Alt-8 A9 Alt-9 A0 Alt-0 A- Alt- - A= Alt-= Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 32 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu FUNCTION REFERENCE {MENU ###} This menu action function allows you to read in a different menu file to access the entries in it. The ### is any number from 0 to 999 which allows 1000 menu files with 10 pages in each file and 10 selections on each page for a total of 100,000 menu selections. Zero is the default menu file. The name of the current menu file is displayed below the page index. If you try to go to a menu file that does not exist, a new blank menu file is created for you that you can add new entries to. When you use the {MENU ###} function to display another menu file you can use the <Esc> key or the {RETURN} menu action function to go back to the calling menu file. There is no limit to the length of a menu chain. Menu 1 can call Menu 2, which can in turn call Menu 888, which can then call Menu 317, etc. <Esc> and {RETURN} will always back you up through the chain. Each menu file has its own unique set of local variables so when you go to another menu file, it can display different colors, have different macros, different borders, titles, etc. Sample menu action: {MENU 77} {REBOOT} This menu action function will allow you to reboot the computer system. It is the same as if you pressed the Ctrl-Alt-Del key combination. This allows you to make changes to the AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS files, then automatically reboot the system with a different configuration. Example: COPY C:\CONFIG.NEW C:\CONFIG.SYS~{REBOOT} {RETURN} This menu action function allows you to return to the previous menu file that called the one you are currently in. If you are already at the default menu file (zero) then a message will be displayed telling you that you are as far back as you can go in the menu file chain. Menu file zero is always the first one in the chain even if you did not start there. If you are in Menu 15 because a prior menu file used the {MENU 15} menu action function then the {RETURN} menu action function will take you back to that prior menu file. Using the <Esc> key from the main menu in menu files 1-999 does the same thing. Sample menu action: {RETURN} Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 33 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu FUNCTION REFERENCE {RUN/RUN! program/command/batch-file} This menu action function will allow you to run a program, DOS command, or a batch file without leaving HDM. Since the Hard Disk Menu remains in memory while running a program this way, some large program will not have enough memory to run. Also what you run must either be an internal DOS command or must be located through the DOS path. This function can make using small programs much quicker since HDM does not have to reload itself after running it. It can also be helpful if you want to see a directory listing before replying to a prompt that asks for a file name. For example, if you wanted to run your word processor, but you don't always remember the names of the files you want to edit, try this: {RUN! DIR C:\WPDIR\*.DOC}C:~CD\WPDIR~WP {?Enter document name}~ The ! after the RUN will cause a pause before returning to HDM so you can see the output of the DIR command on the screen. Press any key to return to HDM and it will then ask for the document name, then it will run your word processing program with the file you keyed in. Here's an example of listing a file to the screen after seeing a list of files: {RUN! DIR C:\BAT/W}{RUN LIST C:\DIR{?Enter file name to list}} First a wide directory listing of C:\BAT will be displayed and the system will pause, then HDM will ask for the file name, and finally the LIST program will run, also inside HDM, with the file you picked. Notice that LIST is RUN without the pause option since the program will wait for keys to be pressed before going on. {SELECT/VSELECT Menu-Title~Choice1~Choice2~Choice3~...~Choice16} This menu action function will display a horizontal/vertical pop up menu with your own title and up to 16 user defined choices. The title and each choice must be separated by a ~ (tilde). When a choice is made by the user, that choice completely replaces the {SELECT} function in the menu action. The first letter of each choice is highlighted, the user can make a choice by pressing the highlighted letter, moving the cursor and pressing <Enter>, or by using a mouse. If more than one choice starts with the same letter and the user presses that letter, the last one will be chosen. The menu entry picked is also put in %0 so you can use it in addtional places in the menu action. Example: {SELECT Pick a Drive~A:~B:~C:~D:~E:}~CD\{?Enter directory}~DIR /P Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 34 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu FUNCTION REFERENCE {USER} This menu action function will display the user logon name if one was used to logon on to the Hard Disk Menu. This is the only function that will also work in the title lines displayed above the main menu. Sample menu action: TYPE {?Dear {USER}, please enter the file you want to see.} If Jim was logged on to HDM, then the prompt window would show this: Dear Jim, please enter the file you want to see. And if one of the title lines said: {USER}'s IBM PC - Main Menu Then it would appear as: Jim's IBM PC - Main Menu Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 35 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE PULL DOWN MENU ENTRIES Normal Keystrokes Description Main Menu Short Cut Key ----------- ------------------------------------------ -------- <Alt-M> <A> Add an entry to the main menu <Ins> <Alt-M> <C> Change a main menu entry <F2> <Alt-M> <D> Duplicate a main menu entry <F4> <Alt-M> <E> Erase an entry in the main menu <Del> <Alt-M> <M> Move a main menu entry <Alt-F4> <Alt-M> <S> Save all changes made in menu to disk <Alt-F5> <Alt-P> <C> Compress a page of menu entries <Alt-P> <E> Erase all main menu entries in one page <Alt-P> Import a page from another menu file <Alt-P> <N> Change the name in the page index <Alt-F2> <Alt-P> <S> Switch two pages in the same menu file <Alt-S> <A> Password protect all main menu entries <Alt-S> <F> Password protect changes to a menu file <Alt-S> <H> Hide the top menu from the user <Alt-S> <L> Set inactive time to force user logoff <Alt-S> <M> Set a master password to over-ride all <Alt-S> Password protect a page of menu entries <Alt-S> <S> Set password for one main menu entry <Alt-F1> <Alt-S> <T> Password protect all top menu entries <Alt-S> Add/Chg/Del user ID's and passwords <Alt-L> <A> Display menu actions in title window <F5> <Alt-L> Change border line types on windows <Alt-L> <C> Change screen and window colors <Alt-L> <D> Alternate date/menu on the top line <F6> <Alt-L> <L> Alternate the lines in the main menu <F7> <Alt-L> <M> Modify the current menu file's macros <Alt-L> <S> Switch to alternate main menu screens <F8> <Alt-L> <T> Modify the current menu file's title lines <Alt-G> Change the blink speed of the cursor <Alt-G> <D> Set the date and time format <Alt-G> Set up execution based on inactive time <Alt-G> <M> Change the mouse motion sensitivity <Alt-G> Specify the communication port & dial type <Alt-G> <S> Set screen save blank time and message <Alt-G> <T> Set up timed execution of menu entries <Alt-X> <D> Open DOS window <F9> <Alt-X> <L> Logoff a user if one was logged on <Alt-F3> <Alt-X> <R> Return to the HDM main menu <Alt-X> <X> Exit to the DOS prompt <F3> Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 36 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Menu: Add entry This entry in the top menu: pull down menu allows you to add a new entry in the main menu. Press <Alt-M> then <A> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Menu" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Add entry" and press <Enter>. If "Add entry" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. Next, a window opens at the top of the main menu asking you to choose the location of the new main menu entry. An arrow also appears in the main menu at the next available empty location. Press the number key associated with the blank entry you want to use or move the arrow to the location and press the <Enter> key. A new window opens and asks for a description of the new main menu entry and for the action to take when this entry is selected. Enter the description that will be displayed in the main menu, then press the <Enter> key. You can use up to 48 characters. Enter the action to take, then press <F2> to save your entry. You can use up to 255 characters. If you need help in building the menu action, press <F4>. This will open the Auto-Build window where you can enter the drive, directory, program, and parameters and let HDM build the menu action for you. For more information on this feature, see MENU ACTION. After the entry is saved, you can press the <Enter> key to see if the entry functions as expected. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 37 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Menu: Change entry This entry in the top menu: pull down menu allows you to change an entry in the main menu. Press <Alt-M> then <C> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Menu" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Change entry" and press <Enter>. If "Change entry" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. Next, a window opens at the top of the main menu asking you to choose the main menu entry that you want to change. Press the number key associated with the entry you want to change or move the cursor to the entry and press the <Enter> key. If the main menu entry you want to change is password protected, then you must enter the correct password in the password window before you can go on. A new window opens and asks you to change the description of the main menu entry and the action to take when this entry is selected. The current field is displayed in reverse video until a key is pressed. If a cursor movement key is pressed, the entry stays and allows you to modify it. If you press a letter, number, or special character key first, HDM erases the field so you can continue keying in a new entry. Change the description that will be displayed in the main menu, then press the <Enter> key. You can use up to 48 characters. Change the action to take, then press <F2> to save your entry. You can use up to 255 characters. If you need help in building the Menu action, press <F4>. This will open the Auto-Build window where you can enter the drive, directory, program, and parameters and let HDM build the menu action for you. For more on this feature, see MENU ACTION. To test your changes, press <Enter> and see if the results are as expected. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 38 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Menu: Duplicate entry This entry in the top menu: pull down menu allows you to copy an entry in the main menu. Press <Alt-M> then <D> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Menu" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Duplicate entry" and press <Enter>. If "Duplicate entry" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. Next, a window opens at the top of the main menu asking you to choose the main menu entry that you want to copy. Press the number key associated with the entry you want to copy or move the cursor to the entry and press the <Enter> key. If the main menu entry you want to copy is password protected, then you must enter the correct password in the password window before you can go on. Another window opens at the top of the main menu that asks you to choose the blank main menu entry to copy to. An arrow also appears in the main menu to serve as a pointer to the blank entries. Press the number associated with the blank entry you want to copy to or move the arrow to an empty entry and press the <Enter> key. Press <F2> to make any necessary changes to the new entry then try it out to see if it works. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 39 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Menu: Erase entry This top menu: pull down menu entry will delete a main menu entry, including its description, menu action, and password. Press <Alt-M> then <E> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Menu" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Erase entry" and press <Enter>. If "Erase entry" is password protected, then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. Next, a window opens at the top of the main menu asking you to choose the main menu entry that you want to delete. Press the number key associated with the entry you want to delete or move the cursor to the entry you want to delete and press the <Enter> key. If the main menu entry is password protected, then you must enter the correct password in the password window before you can go on. A small window then opens to confirm the main menu entry you want to delete. Press <Y> to delete the selection or <N> to cancel the deletion. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 40 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Menu: Move entry This entry in the top menu: pull down menu allows you to move an entry in the main menu. Press <Alt-M> then <M> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Menu" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Move entry" and press <Enter>. If "Move entry" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. Next, a window opens at the top of the main menu asking you to choose the main menu entry that you want to move. Press the number key associated with the entry you want to move or move the cursor to the entry and press the <Enter> key. If the main menu entry you want to move is password protected, then you must enter the correct password in the password window before you can go on. Another window opens at the top of the main menu that asks you to choose the blank main menu entry to move to. An arrow also appears in the main menu to serve as a pointer to the blank entries. Press the number associated with the blank entry you want to move to or move the arrow to an empty entry and press the <Enter> key. Press <F2> to make any necessary changes to the moved entry then try it out to see if it still works. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 41 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Menu: Save menu This entry in the top menu: pull down menu saves all changes made in the menu to disk. This entry is not normally used because all changes are automatically saved by HDM whenever you run a menu entry, return to the logo screen, press F1 for help, or after one minute of keyboard/mouse inactivity. A reason you may use this is if you make some changes to HDM, then you want to turn your system off or re-boot it immediately. An * displays in the lower right corner of the screen when there are some changes that have not been saved. Press <Alt-M> then <S> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Menu" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Save menu" and press <Enter>. If "Save menu" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. All changes made to the menu since the last save, are now saved to your disk. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 42 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Page: Compress page This entry in the top menu: pull down menu moves all the menu entries to the top of the page compressing out the empty ones and moving them to the bottom of the page. Press <Alt-P> then <C> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Page" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Compress page" and press <Enter>. If "Compress page" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. Next, a window opens at the top of the main menu asking you to choose the page that you want to compress. Use the <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys to display the page you want to change or move the cursor to the page, then press the <Enter> key. Press <Esc> to cancel the compress. If you press <Enter> all the menu entries move to the beginning of the page and the empty entries move to the end of the page. If there were no empty entries or all the empty ones were already at the bottom, then nothing changes on the page. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 43 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Page: Erase page This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to delete all the entries in a page that are not password protected. Press <Alt-P> then <E> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Page" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Erase page" and press <Enter>. If "Erase page" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. Next, a window opens at the top of the main menu asking you to choose the page where you want to delete all non-password protected entries. Use the <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys to display the page where you want to delete entries or move the cursor to the page, then press the <Enter> key. A new window opens to confirm that you want to erase the entries in the current page that do not have a password on them. Press <Y> to delete then or <N> to retain them. Pressing <Esc> will cancel the operation and return you to the main menu. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 44 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Page: Import page This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to import entries from a page in another menu file or from another page in the same menu file to empty entries in a page in the current menu. Press <Alt-P> then or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Page" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Import page" and press <Enter>. If "Import page" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. Next, a window opens at the bottom of the main menu asking for the menu file number and the page letter you want to copy entries from. Enter a number from zero to 999 that corresponds to the menu file (HDM.000-HDM.999) that you want to copy from. Next enter the page letter (A-J) to copy entries from. Then press <F2>. An error message will be displayed if the file doesn't exist. A new window opens at the top of the main menu asking you to select the page in the current file to copy to. Only the empty entries will be filled in. Entries with an existing description and action will not be over-written. Use the <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys to display the page where you want to copy entries to or move the cursor to the page, then press the <Enter> key. The empty entries are filled in from the imported page. This includes the descriptions, menu actions, and any passwords that were on the imported entries. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 45 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Page: Name page This entry in the top menu: pull down menu allows you to change the name of a page in the page index. Press <Alt-P> then <N> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Page" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Name page" and press <Enter>. If "Name page" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. Next, a window opens at the top of the main menu asking you to choose the page name in the page index that you want to change. Use the <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys to display the page you want to change or move the cursor to the page, then press the <Enter> key. A new window opens and asks you to change the name of the current page in the page index. The current page name is displayed in reverse video until a key is pressed. If a cursor movement key is pressed, the entry stays and you can modify it. If you press a letter, number, or special character key first, HDM erases the field so you can continue keying in a new entry. The cursor is initially positioned after the last character in the page name. Change the name that will be displayed in the page index, then press the <Enter> key. You can use up to 19 characters. Press <Enter> to save the new page name. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 46 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Page: Switch pages This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to switch the menu entries and the page name of two pages in the current menu file. Press <Alt-P> then <S> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Page" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Switch pages" and press <Enter>. If "Switch pages" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. Next, a window opens at the top of the main menu asking you to choose the page that you want to switch. Use the <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys to display the page you want to switch or press the page letter (A-J), then press the <Enter> key. Now the window at the top of the main menu asks you to choose the page that you want to switch the first page with. Use the <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys to display the page or press the page letter (A-J), then press the <Enter> key. The page entries and page names are now switched and you are returned to the main menu. You can press <Esc> at any time before the pages are switched to cancel the operation. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 47 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE SECURITY - Pull Down Menu Commands You can password protect any of the Pull Down Menu Commands individually. Just move the cursor to the command in the pull down menu that you want to protect and press the Alt-F1 key. If that command was already password protected you must enter the old password first. HDM will ask you to enter a password, or press <Esc> for no password. If you enter a password, HDM will ask you to verify it. As an example, if you wanted to password protect the "Exit HDM - F3" command in the Exit pull down window, move the cursor to it, then press Alt-F1 and enter a password. Now if anyone chooses "Exit HDM" from the Exit pull down menu or presses F3 to exit, HDM will ask for a password first. Security: All menu entries This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to add, change, or delete password protection for all main menu entries in the current menu file. This one password protects all one hundred entries in the main menu as a group. This can be overridden for one page by setting a page password with the "Page password" pull down entry or for one main menu entry by setting an individual password with the "Set password" pull down entry. Press <Alt-S> then <A> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Security" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "All menu entries" and press <Enter>. If "All menu entries" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. Next, a window opens at the top of the screen. If all main menu entries are already password protected as a group, then you must enter the old password for them first. The window then asks you to key in the new password. Press <Enter> or <Esc> with the password box empty to eliminate password protection of all main menu entries as a group. Key in up to ten characters and then press <Enter> to add a new password. HDM will ask you to re-enter the password to verify it. Remember the new password as there is no way to recover from a lost one unless a master password was set up. To remove this password, start the password procedure over and enter the old password when its asked for. The old password is now deleted. When HDM asks for a new password, just press <Esc> and the main menu entries will no longer be password protected. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 48 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Security: File change password The top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to protect the current menu file from changes, yet allows the main menu entries to be run without asking the user for a password. When this password is set, the user must know the password in order to use the Menu, Page, Security, and Local pull down menus while in the current menu file. Other menu files are not affected. Press <Alt-S> then <F> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Security" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "File change password" and press <Enter>. If "File change password" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. Next, a window opens at the top of the screen. If the current menu file is already password protected from changes, then you must enter the old password for it first. The window then asks you to key in the new password. Press <Enter> or <Esc> with the password box empty to eliminate password protection for the current menu file. Key in up to ten characters and then press <Enter> to add a new password. HDM will ask you to re-enter the password to verify it. Remember the new password as there is no way to recover from a lost one unless a master password was set up. To remove this password, start the password procedure over and enter the old password when its asked for. The old password is now deleted. When HDM asks for a new password, just press <Esc> and the current menu file will no longer be password protected. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 49 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Security: Hide top menu This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to add, change, or delete password protection for the <F10> key. This hides the top menu and pull down menus from the user. Also pressing <F1> for help will only show help for the main menu. To display a hidden top menu, you must key in "/UNHIDE" from the main menu, then key in the password you used to hide it. Press <Alt-S> then <H> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Security" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Hide top menu" and press <Enter>. If "Hide top menu" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. Next, a window opens at the top of the screen. If the top menu is already hidden with a password, then you must enter the old password for it first. The window then asks you to key in the new password. Press <Enter> or <Esc> with the password box empty to eliminate hiding the top menu with a password. Key in up to ten characters and press <Enter> to add a new password. HDM will ask you to re-enter the password to verify it. Remember the new password as there is no way to recover from a lost one unless a master password was set up. To remove this password, key in "/UNHIDE" and the password from the main menu, then start the password procedure over and enter the old password when its asked for. The old password is now deleted. When HDM asks for a new password, just press <Esc> and the top menu will no longer be hidden. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 50 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Security: Logoff Automatically This top menu: pull down menu entry will log off a user, if one was logged on, after a set amount of inactive time and display the logo screen. You can set the inactive time from one to 99 minutes. If you set it to zero, there will be no automatic logoff. Press <Alt-S> then <L> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Security" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Logoff automatically" and press <Enter>. If "Logoff automatically" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. A window will open asking for the number of minutes of inactivity before the user is logged off. Key in the number of minutes, then press the <Enter> key. Set up user logons and passwords (optional) in the "User ID maintenance" pull down menu entry. If the User ID table is empty, then no automatic logoff will take place. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 51 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Security: Master password This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to set up a master password that can override any other password. This should be one of your first steps when setting up the Hard Disk Menu. It will allow you get by forgotten passwords or passwords that others set up and don't tell you about. This is the one password you should never forget. Press <Alt-S> then <M> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Security" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Master password" and press <Enter>. If "Master password" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. Next, a window opens at the top of the screen. If a master password was already set up, then you must enter the old master password first. The window then asks you to key in the new master password. Press <Enter> or <Esc> with the password box empty to eliminate master password. Key in up to ten characters and press <Enter> to add a new master password. HDM will ask you to re-enter the password to verify it. Remember the new password as there is no way to recover from a lost master password. To remove the master password, start the password procedure over and enter the old password when its asked for. The old master password is now deleted. When HDM asks for a new password, just press <Esc> and there will be no master password and no way to override any other passwords. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 52 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Security: Page password This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to add, change, or delete password protection for one page of main menu entries in the current menu file. This password takes priority for the menu entries on this page over a password set for all main menu entries as a group. This password can be over-ridden by an individual password set up using the "Set password" pull down entry. Press <Alt-S> then or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Security" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Page password" and press <Enter>. If "Page password" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. Next, a window opens at the top of the screen asking you to choose the page of main menu entries that you want to secure. Press the letter key associated with the page you want or move the cursor to the page and press the <Enter> key. If the page is already password protected, then you must enter the old password for it first. The window then asks you to key in the new password. Press <Enter> or <Esc> with the password box empty to eliminate password protection for this page. Key in up to ten characters and press <Enter> to add a new password. HDM will ask you to re-enter the password to verify it. Remember the new password as there is no way to recover from a lost one unless a master password was set up. To remove this password, start the password procedure over and enter the old password when its asked for. The old password is now deleted. When HDM asks for a new password, just press <Esc> and the entry will no longer be password protected. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 53 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Security: Set password This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to add, change, or delete password protection for one main menu entry in the current menu file. This password takes priority for this main menu entry over a password set for a page or for all main menu entries as a group. Press <Alt-S> then <S> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Security" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Set password" and press <Enter>. If "Set password" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. Next, a window opens at the top of the screen asking you to choose the main menu entry that you want to secure. Press the number key associated with the entry you want or move the cursor to the entry and press the <Enter> key. If the main menu entry is already password protected, then you must enter the old password for it first. The window then asks you to key in the new password. Press <Enter> or <Esc> with the password box empty to eliminate password protection for this main menu entry. Key in up to ten characters and press <Enter> to add a new password. HDM will ask you to re-enter the password to verify it. Remember the new password as there is no way to recover from a lost one unless a master password was set up. To remove this password, start the password procedure over and enter the old password when its asked for. The old password is now deleted. When HDM asks for a new password, just press <Esc> and the entry will no longer be password protected. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 54 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Security: Top menu entries This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to add, change, or delete password protection for all top menu: pull down menu entries. This one password protects all entries in the pull down menus as a group. This can be overridden for one pull down menu entry by setting an individual password with the <Alt-F1> key. Press <Alt-S> then <T> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Security" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Top menu entries" and press <Enter>. If "Top menu entries" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. Next, a window opens at the top of the screen. If all top menu entries are already password protected as a group, then you must enter the old password for them first. The window then asks you to key in the new password. Press <Enter> or <Esc> with the password box empty to eliminate password protection of all top menu entries as a group. Key in up to ten characters and press <Enter> to add a new password. HDM will ask you to re-enter the password to verify it. Remember the new password as there is no way to recover from a lost one unless a master password was set up. To remove this password, start the password procedure over and enter the old password when its asked for. The old password is now deleted. When HDM asks for a new password, just press <Esc> and the top menu entries will no longer be password protected. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 55 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Security: User ID maintenance This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to add, change, and delete user identification, initial menu file to use, and optionally to password protect them. If any entries are made in the User ID table then users will be forced to logon to HDM with their user name and password (if set up) before they will be able to use the menu. Press <Alt-S> then or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Security" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "User ID maintenance" and press <Enter>. If "User ID maintenance" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. The User ID table is displayed in a window. It can hold up to 99 user names, menu file numbers, and passwords. The user name can be up to 25 characters long and the password can be up to ten characters long. To add a new user, press <Enter> on a blank line or press <Ins> on any line. Inserting a new user will put the user on the line just before the one your on, unless its blank, in which case it will use the blank one. Enter the user name, then press <Enter>. Enter the starting menu file number (0-999), then press <Enter>. The password window now displays. Press <Enter> or <Esc> with the password empty for no password protection. Key in a password if you want one, then HDM will ask you to re-enter it for verification. To change a user name, menu file number, and password, move the cursor to the one you want to change and press the <Enter> key. If the user is password protected, a password window will open and you must enter the user's password before you can make a change. The user name and menu file number is displayed in a window. Start keying in a new name or move the cursor in the window to change the name. Press <Enter> when the name is entered, then change the menu file number (0-999), or press <Enter> to keep it the same, then the password window will open. Press <Enter> or <Esc> with the password empty for no password protection or key in a password, and re-enter it to verify that you keyed it in correctly. To delete a user from the table, move the cursor to the user's name and press the <Del> key. If the user is password protected, you must enter the password before the user will be deleted. To save the User ID table with all your changes, you must press the <F2> key. If you press <Esc>, then all changes will be cancelled and the User ID table will revert to the way it was before you entered the "User ID" pull down menu entry. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 56 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Local: Actions This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to display the menu action in the title box at the top of the main menu for the highlighted menu description in the main menu. This in no way inhibits any other function of HDM, you can move the cursor through the main menu, start an entry, display the top menu, etc. This entry acts as a toggle, choosing it again will display the user's titles. Press <Alt-L> then <A> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Local" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Actions" and press <Enter>. If "Actions" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. The box at the top of the main menu will alternate between displaying the menu actions and the user defined title lines. Local: Borders This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to change the type of borders used in all windows in the Hard Disk Menu. The choices are single lines, double lines, thick bold lines, or no lines at all. This affects only the current menu file, other menu files can have different borders. Press <Alt-L> then or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Local" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Borders" and press <Enter>. If "Borders" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. A window is displayed with the four border choices. You can move the cursor through the choices to see what each one will look like. Press <Enter> when the cursor is on the one you want to use or you can simply press the first letter (S,D,B,N) of the border type you want. Press <Esc> to cancel the border window and keep the type of borders you currently have. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 57 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Local: Colors This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to change the colors of the main menu, the status bars at the top and bottom of the screen, the pull down menus, and the pop up windows. You can choose from predefined color palettes or you can specify the color of each component in a palette. The components are the foreground color, the background color, the emphasized color, the window title color, and the window border color. These colors are for the current menu file only, each menu file can have its own set of colors. Press <Alt-L> then <C> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Local" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Colors" and press <Enter>. If "Colors" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. A window is opened containing a list of what can be changed: the main menu panel, the status bars, and the three levels of pop up windows. Another window shows the current color palettes set up for each of the items in the list. As you scroll through the list the colors change in the sample box at the right. Choose an item in the list by moving the cursor to it and press the <Enter> key or press the first letter or number (M,1,2,3,S) of the item. If you choose the status bar, only two colors are used, so a window is opened where you can choose the foreground and background colors only. Move the cursor up or down to choose foreground or background, and move it right or left to choose the colors. When you have the colors you want, press <F2> to save them, the colors will change in the status bar, and you will return to the main menu. If you press <Esc> to cancel the changes, you will return to the previous window. If you didn't choose the status bar, a window is opened with the predefined color palettes and the user defined palette. As you scroll through the palettes the sample color box at the right now shows what colors make up each palette. Choose a color palette by moving the cursor to it and press the <Enter> key or press the first letter (S,B,G,C,R,M,Y,W,U) of the palette. If you didn't choose the user defined color palette, the item you picked from the list will immediately start using the predefined color palette that you chose, and you will return to the main menu. If you press <Esc> to cancel the palette window, you will return to the previous window. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 58 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE If you choose the user defined palette, a window will open with the five components of a palette and the colors for each component. Move the cursor up or down to go to the different components or you can press the first letter (E,F,W,T,B) of the one you want to change. Move the cursor left or right to choose the colors. The sample color box will show you what the current color combination will look like. The reverse video cursor will use the background color for text and the foreground color as its background. Press <F2> to save the new colors and return to the main menu. If you press <Esc> to cancel the user defined palette window, you will return to the previous window. Local: Date/Menu This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to display the top status bar with the date and time, the top menu bar, or both. The first time through these three choices the date format will be U.S. the next time it will be in European format. The entry acts as a switch, each time you choose it, you will display the next configuration of the six choices for the top of the screen. This affects the current menu file only, other menu files can have different configurations. Press <Alt-L> then <D> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Local" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Date/Menu" and press <Enter>. If "Date/Menu" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. The top two lines of the screen will switch between the three date/time and menu bar configurations. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 59 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Local: Lines This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to display different line configurations inside the main menu. The entry acts as a switch, each time you choose it, you will display the next configuration of the four choices for the lines in the main menu. This affects the current menu file only, other menu files can have different line configurations. Press <Alt-L> then <L> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Local" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Lines" and press <Enter>. If "Lines" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. The main menu and page index will switch between no inside lines, a line at the top, a line at the bottom, or lines at both the top and the bottom for the standard menu screen. There are only two configurations for the exploded menu screen, with or without an inside line. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 60 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Local: Macros This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to add, change, or delete any of the ten available macros for the current menu file. These macros can be used in any of the one hundred menu actions in this menu file. Other menu files can have a different set of macros. Press <Alt-L> then <M> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Local" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Macros" and press <Enter>. If "Macros" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. Next, a window opens in the main menu that displays the ten macros. Use the up and down arrow keys to move between macros. Each macro can contain up to 255 characters. This string of characters will be used in place of the macro (& and a number) whenever it is used in a menu action in a main menu entry, in the DOS window, or another macro. A macro can contain anything a menu action can. See the section on MENU ACTION for more information. If you move the cursor to a macro that contains characters, it will be displayed in reverse video. This indicates that the macro will be erased if you start keying in other characters without first moving the cursor. If you press a normal character key first the macro will be replaced by the new characters you key in. If you press a cursor movement key first, you will be able to make changes to the macro that already exist in that field. To delete a macro, press <Ctrl-End> while the cursor is at the beginning of the field or press <Ctrl-Home> while the cursor is at the end of the field. To restore a macro to its original contents, press <Ctrl-U> before you leave that field. When your done with the macro window, press <F2> to save all your additions, changes, and deletions or press <Esc> to cancel all the changes you made and revert back to the way the macros were before you opened the macro window. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 61 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Local: Switch This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to switch the positions of the main menu and the page index and to switch between the standard menu and the exploded menu interfaces. There are six different menu configurations to see before going back to the original screen. This affects the current menu file only, other menu files can have different screen configurations. Press <Alt-L> then <S> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Local" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Switch" and press <Enter>. If "Switch" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. The main menu and page index will alternate between the left and right sides of the screen for each of the three menu interfaces available, making a total of six different screen configurations. One type is the original version one screen with no color border, another type is the same screen with borders and the rest of the screen filled in for a full looking screen, the final type is exploded windows with shadows. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 62 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Local: Titles This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to add, change, or delete any of the four available title lines in the current menu file. These title lines are displayed above the main menu in the title box. One, two, three, or four of the lines will display depending on the Date/Menu bar configuration and the Switch menu screen type. This affects the current menu file only, other menu files can have different titles. Press <Alt-L> then <T> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Local" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Titles" and press <Enter>. If "Titles" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. Next, a window opens in the main menu that displays the four title lines. Use the up and down arrow keys to move between the fields. Each title line can contain up to 74 characters. You can use the menu action {USER} to display the user logon name, if any, in any of the title lines. If you move the cursor to a title line that contains characters, it will be displayed in reverse video. This indicates that the title line will be erased if you start keying in characters without first moving the cursor. If you press a normal character key first the title line will be replaced by the new characters you key in. If you press a cursor movement key first, you will be able to make changes to the title that already exist in that field. To delete a title line, press <Ctrl-End> while the cursor is at the beginning of the field or press <Ctrl-Home> while the cursor is at the end of the field. To restore a title line to its original contents, press <Ctrl-U> before you leave that field. When your done with the title window, press <F2> to save all your additions, changes, and deletions or press <Esc> to cancel all the changes you made and revert back to the way the titles were before you opened the title window. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 63 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Global: Blinking cursor This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to change the rate of the blinking of the cursor. This affects all the menu files. Press <Alt-G> then or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Global" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Blinking cursor" and press <Enter>. If "Blinking cursor" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. A window is opened that allows you to enter the blink speed. Enter a number from zero to 99. The lower numbers are a slow rate of blink, the higher number are a fast rate of blink. If you enter zero, the cursor will not blink at all. The cursor blink speed will not change until you save it. Press <F2> to save the new speed or press <Esc> to cancel the change to the rate of blink. Global: Date/time format This top menu: pull down menu allows you to set the date format to American (MM/DD/YY) or European (DD/MM/YY) and the time format to standard 12 hour or military 24 hour clock. Press <Alt-G> then <D> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Global" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Date/time format" and press <Enter>. If "Date/time format" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. A window is opened that allows you to pick the date and time format you want to use for all menu files. You can choose by entering the highlighted letter or by moving the cursor and pressing <Enter>. Press <F2> to save the new date and time formats. Press <Esc> to cancel the changes and revert back to the previous formats. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 64 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Global: Inactive Execute This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to set up a menu entry that will run automatically from any menu file in HDM based on the amount of time of keyboard inactivity. You will have 15 seconds to cancel the running of this entry once the automatic execution warning window is displayed, otherwise it will run as scheduled. This affects all menu files. Press <Alt-G> then or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Global" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Inactive execute" and press <Enter>. If "Inactive execute" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. A window is opened that allows you to enter the number of minutes of inactive time. Enter a number from zero to 99 minutes. Zero minutes means no automatic execution. Then enter the menu file number (0-999 for HDM.000-HDM.999) and the menu entry (A1-J0) page letter and entry number. Press <F2> to save the new inactivity minutes, menu file number, and menu entry. Press <Esc> to cancel the changes and revert back to the previous entries. Global: Mouse speed This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to change the horizontal and vertical motion sensitivity of the mouse. This affects all the menu files. Press <Alt-G> then <M> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Global" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Mouse speed" and press <Enter>. If "Mouse speed" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. A window is opened that allows you to enter the horizontal and vertical mouse speed. Enter a number from zero to 99 for each one. The lower numbers are a slower rate of speed while the higher numbers are a faster rate of speed. The mouse speed will not change until you save it. Press <F2> to save the new speed or press <Esc> to cancel the change to the mouse speed sensitivity. Mouse Buttons: Left = <Enter>, Right = <Esc>, Both/Middle = <F10> Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 65 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Global: Phone parameters This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to change the communication port and the dial type for the {DIAL} menu action function. This affects all the menu files. Press <Alt-G> then or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Global" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Phone parameters" and press <Enter>. If "Phone parameters" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. A window is opened that allows you to choose COM1, COM2, COM3, or COM4 (communication port) and TONE or PULSE (dial type). The current parameter settings are displayed in the window title. Move the cursor to your choice and press <Enter> or press the first number or letter (1,2,3,4,T,P) of your choice. Press <F2> to save the new communication port and dial type or press <Esc> to cancel the changes and revert to the previous communications parameters. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 66 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Global: Screen save This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to change the number of minutes of inactivity before the screen is blanked out. This saves your monitor from screen burn-in if you leave it on for long periods of time. You can also enter a message that will be displayed in various positions on the screen to remind you that HDM blanked out the screen. When the screen is blanked out, you can press any key to restore the screen that was previously displayed. This affects all the menu files. Press <Alt-G> then <S> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Global" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Save screen" and press <Enter>. If "Save screen" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. A window is opened that allows you to enter the amount of time (zero to 99 minutes) and a screen save message up to 80 characters long. Entering zero for the number of minutes disables the screen save feature so the screen will never be blanked out. Enter the number of minutes of inactivity time and optionally enter your own screen save message. Use the up and down arrow keys to move between the two fields. Press <F2> to save the new screen save information or press <Esc> to cancel the changes and revert to the previous screen save minutes and message. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 67 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Global: Timed execution This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to set up menu entries that will run automatically from any menu file in HDM based on the day of the week or month and the time of day. You must be in the Hard Disk Menu at the time an entry is to run in order for the execution to take place. You will have fifteen seconds to cancel the running of the entry once the timed execution warning window is displayed, otherwise it will run as scheduled. This affects all the menu files. Press <Alt-G> then <T> or press <F10> and move the cursor to "Global" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Timed execution" and press <Enter>. If "Timed execution" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. A window is opened that displays the timed execution table. Up to 99 timed entries can be set up to run automatically. The information in the table for each entry is the menu file number (zero to 999), the menu entry (A1 to J0), weekly or monthly (W or M), the days of the week or month (enter up to seven days), and finally the time to run the entry. For weekly entries, the days of the week are: 1=Sunday, 2=Monday, 3=Tuesday, 4=Wednesday, 5=Thursday, 6=Friday, and 7=Saturday. For monthly entries, the days of the month are the actual date (1-31). Press <F2> to save a new or change timed entry, or press <Esc> to cancel the changes to the entry. You can add, change, or delete as many of the 99 timed entries as you need. When your finished with the changes, press <F2> to save the new timed execution table, or press <Esc> to cancel the changes and revert to the way the table was before you open the timed execution window. Examples: File Entry Days of Week or Month Time ---------- --------------------- -------- 000 A1 W 2 3 4 5 6 10:00 pm 256 J0 M 12 24 6:00 am The first example will automatically run the first entry on page A from file HDM.000 at ten o'clock Monday through Friday nights. The second entry in the timed execution table will run main menu entry zero on page J from HDM.256 on the 12th and 24th of each month at six o'clock in the morning. The entries can run any normal HDM menu action, like a tape backup or a communications program. One thing to note is that you must leave your system with the Hard Disk Menu active on the screen, if your at the DOS prompt or anywhere else, HDM will not run your program automatically when the time comes. You can be anywhere in HDM, in any menu file, logged off at the logo screen, with the screen blanked out, etc., and the timed execution will work. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 68 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Exit: DOS window This top menu: pull down menu entry allows you to open a DOS window where you can key in any DOS command, batch file, or program and run it will in the Hard Disk Menu. Press <Alt-X> then <D> or press the <F10> key, then move the cursor to "Exit" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "DOS window" and press <Enter>. If "DOS window" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. The DOS window is opened. You can key in up to 64 characters that can contain anything you would normally include in a menu action, including macros and functions. Press the <Enter> key to execute the entry or press <Esc> to cancel the execution and return to the main menu. The DOS window remembers the last nine entries keyed into it. You can use the up and down arrow keys to scroll through them. Press the <Enter> key on a previous entry to run it again or you can make changes to it first, then run it. Exit: Logoff user This top menu: pull down menu entry will log off a user if one was logged on and display the logo screen where another user could log on to HDM. Press <Alt-X> then <L> or press the <F10> key and move the cursor to "Exit" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Logoff" and press <Enter>. If "Logoff" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. The HDM logo screen is now displayed. If a user logon is required to get back into HDM, then the user must enter their name and possibly, a password. Set up user logons and passwords (optional) in the "User ID maintenance" pull down menu entry. If the User ID table is empty, no logon is required, just press any key to return to HDM. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 69 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu COMMAND REFERENCE Exit: Resume HDM This top menu: pull down menu entry returns you to the main menu no matter what is currently on the screen. Press <Alt-X> then <R> or press the <F10> key, then move the cursor to "Exit" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Resume HDM" and press <Enter>. If "Resume HDM" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. Whatever is currently displayed on the HDM screen is erased and any open windows are closed and control is returned to the main menu. Exit: Exit HDM This top menu: pull down menu entry exits from the Hard Disk Menu to the DOS prompt. Press <Alt-X> then <X> or press the <F10> key and move the cursor to "Exit" and press <Enter>, then move the cursor to "Exit HDM" and press <Enter>. If "Exit HDM" is password protected then you must enter the correct password in the password window. Use <Alt-F1> to add, change, or delete passwords. The screen is cleared and the DOS prompt is displayed. You can do whatever you need to do from DOS, when you want to returned to HDM just press the <X> key, then the <Enter> key and you will return where you left off. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 70 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu USING HDM ON A NETWORK The Hard Disk Menu will work on Novell and other networks with a little planning. If everyone on the network will be using the same menu entries then make sure that all top menu entries are protected with a password or that the top menu is hidden so only the network administrator can change the pull down menu entries and the main menu entries. Also, for individual menu files, you can password protect changes to that menu file while user to run the menu entries without knowing a password. Everyone on the network must have their own work file assigned to their own read/write directory so that one user will not overwrite the other's temporary file. You do this by starting HDM with the -W switch for each person. Example: PATH C:\;D:\MYOWNDIR CD\HDM HDM -WD:\MYOWNDIR If each person on the network will have their own set of menu entries different from everyone else's then each must not only have their own temporary work file, but they must have their own menu text files in their own read/write directory. This is done by using the -T switch when starting up the Hard Disk Menu for each person on the network. Example: PATH C:\;D:\MYOWNDIR CD\HDM HDM -TD:\MYOWNDIR -WD:\MYOWNDIR HDM also has the ability to keep groups of menu files on different drives and directories. This allows everyone on a network to access some common menu files on the network server and local menu files on their own hard disk. The -0 through -9 startup switches point to the drive and directory that hold each group of 100 menu files (HDM.000-HDM.999). The following example shows the menu files HDM.500-599 are found on the network, while HDM.800-899 are on the user's own hard disk. Example: PATH C:\;D:\MYOWNDIR CD\HDM HDM -5H:\NETDIR -8D:\MYOWNDIR -WD:\MYOWNDIR The above examples use only one copy of HDM on the network server so everyone on the network shares the same copy of the program. The Hard Disk Menu could also be installed on each individual work station. The program would not be shared and each person would have there own copy of HDM. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 71 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu ERROR MESSAGES 007 CAN NOT CHANGE COLORS ON A MONOCHROME MONITOR! You have a monochrome monitor or you started HDM with the -V switch to force monochrome mode because of an unreadable screen. 010 ERROR OPENING "FILE" The menu program could not find the specified "file" in the expected directory or received an error from DOS while trying to open it. 020 ERROR READING "FILE" The menu program received an error from DOS while reading the specified "file" from the directory it was opened in. It may be a bad block on disk. 030 ERROR WRITING "FILE" The menu program received an error from DOS while writing the specified "file" to a directory. The disk could be full or the file could be set to read only. 040 ERROR CLOSING "FILE" The menu program received an error from DOS while attempting to close the specified "file" that it was reading or writing. 050 CAN'T FIND "Path" HDM could not find the path on the specified disk drive. 055 CAN'T ACCESS "Disk Drive" HDM could not access the drive specified in the {CK} function or the drive for a needed file. 310 WRONG PASSWORD! You entered the wrong password for a password protected menu entry or user ID. 322 UNKNOWN USER! You tried to log on with a user name that is not in the user ID table. 333 ALREADY AT MAXIMUM NUMBER OF RECORDS! The User ID table or the Timed Execution Facility table is full. There is a maximum of 99 Users and 99 Timed Executions in HDM. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 72 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu ERROR MESSAGES 590 NUMBER TO DIAL EXCEEDS 36 CHARACTERS! The {DIAL #} phone number function has a 36 character limit. 595 - Command # - "Modem Response Message" (Error #) The {DIAL} menu action function tried to send the modem a command and received an error. Could not open com port or modem error. 599 PICK UP PHONE, THEN PRESS A KEY! This message is display after the dialing sequence is sent to your modem from the {DIAL} function. You should pick up the telephone to talk to the person you called. When you press a key, the modem is disconnected from the phone line and you can continue with your phone conversation. 661 CAN'T FIND HDM.??? The menu program could not find the HDM.000 through HDM.999 file in the current directory, the -T specified directory, or the -0 through -9 specified directory. 834 PAGE LETTER NOT A - J! The imported page letter must be in the A through J range. 909 MENU ACTION EXCEEDS 255 CHARACTERS! The menu action length limit was exceeded because the expansion of the {?PROMPT} function, the @@Batch function, a macro, or a parameter caused to be greater than 255. 951 CANCELLED, UNBALANCED {BRACES} IN ACTION TEXT! The execution of the menu action was stopped when the number of left and right braces didn't match. 953 CANCELLED, &MACRO CALLS ITSELF! The execution of the menu action was stopped because the macro called itself and would have resulted in a loop. 954 CANCELLED, %PARAMETER CALLS ITSELF! The execution of the menu action was stopped because the macro parameter called itself and would have resulted in a loop. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 73 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Q: What language was the Hard Disk Menu written in? A: Turbo Pascal. Q: After I run a batch file from a menu selection I get a DOS prompt instead of returning to the Hard Disk Menu. What's wrong? A: When running a batch file (the one you put in the menu action), DOS does not automatically return from a calling batch file (X.BAT created by HDM). You can remedy this situation by using @@ in front of your batch file name. The @@ gets changed to "CALL" for DOS 3.30 and above or to "COMMAND /C" for earlier versions. If DW4 is a batch file and your entry was: CD\DSPWRITE~DW4~ change it to: CD\DSPWRITE~@@DW4~ Q: When I try to run a batch file, I get a "Bad command or file name" message from DOS, then I go right back to the menu. I checked the batch file name and it has the @@ in front of it and it's in the directory that I told it to go to. Why doesn't it work? A: You are running a version of DOS prior to 3.00 and HDM is trying to run your batch file with COMMAND.COM and DOS can not locate it. So the message is that it can't find COMMAND.COM, not your batch file. Make sure that the root directory, where COMMAND.COM is located, is in your DOS path so that it is always accessible. Here is an example of an AUTOEXEC.BAT: PROMPT $P $G $A PATH C:\;C:\HDM;C:\DOS CD\HDM HDM Q: When I exit from HDM by pressing <F3> and then key in <X> at the DOS prompt to return to HDM, I get a "Bad command or file name" message. Why does this happen? A: This happens because DOS can not find the file that Hard Disk Menu created called X.BAT. DOS must locate this file through the DOS path. Make sure you set up the proper path command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT before starting HDM. The path must include the HDM directory, or if you used the -W switch when starting HDM, the work directory. Here is an example using a work directory: PROMPT $P $G $A PATH C:\;D:\WORKDIR;C:\DOS CD\HDM HDM -WD:\WORKDIR Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 74 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Q: Some DOS commands work fine from the Hard Disk Menu while others give me a message that says "Bad command or file name". What should I do to fix the problem? A: The DOS commands that work are probably the internal commands. The system can't find the external DOS commands. See your DOS manual to see which are internal and which are external. The solution is a PATH command that points to the DOS files. Add the DOS directory to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file as shown in the previous two examples. Q: We run HDM on a 3COM network with the Hard Disk Menu program on the server. When a user returns to the menu from a program, strange things happen. Sometimes we get "Batch file missing" and remain at the DOS prompt, sometimes there will be a lot of "Bad command or file name" messages in a row before returning to HDM, other times a user will return, but will be in another user's menu. We use the -T switch to point to each user's unique menu file. What's going on? A: The temporary work file called X.BAT is being overwritten by every user each time they run a menu entry. The directory where HDM resides on the server is the default work directory that is being written to. Each user must write the work file to their own read/write directory because it can not be shared. Use the -W switch to point to a different work directory for each user. Here is a startup example: CD\HDM HDM -TH:\MENUTEXT -WC:\MYOWNDIR Q: If I start a program or batch file from the menu and it runs for a long time and I didn't really want to run it, can I abort it and get right back to HDM? A: DOS will let you cancel a batch file by pressing <Ctrl-Break>. When you do cancel it you will end up at the DOS prompt, just key in <X> and press <Enter> and you'll be back in the Hard Disk Menu where you left off. Q: HDM III let me put a password on just one of the top menu commands instead of all of them at once, I don't see anything in the Security menu that will let me do that in HDM IV. A: Your right, there is nothing in the security pull down menu to accomplish that, but it still can be done. Just put the cursor on the command in the pull down menu that you want to put a password on and press Alt-F1. You can then key in a password for just that one command. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 75 HDM IV REFERENCE MANUAL MicroFox Hard Disk Menu QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Q: How can I password protect the F3 key so you can't get to DOS? A: The answer is really the same as the previous answer because F3 is just a short cut to the "Exit HDM" entry in the EXIT pull down menu. Press Alt-X, move the cursor down to "Exit HDM F3", then press Alt-F1. Enter a password, press <Enter>, then re-enter the password to verify it. Now both F3 and the "Exit HDM" menu entry are protected. Q: We run 3270 emulation on our PC to connect to our company's mainframe. When we hot key over to the mainframe side the key lock status, date & time, and the cursor from HDM bleed through to our mainframe application. How can we stop this? A: This happens because HDM continuedly writes those items out to the screen as it's waiting for keyboard or mouse entry. Use the -K startup switch and the key locks will not be displayed and the date and time will only be updated when a key is pressed or the mouse is used. Also set the blinking cursor speed to zero, this will stop HDM from blinking the cursor, so it will not have to keep writing the changing cursor to the screen. (HDM -K) Q: I have a Hercules compatible video card and I'm having a problem with my cursor. When I go into Word Perfect the cursor shows right in the middle of a character instead of below it. This makes it very difficult to see the cursor. What can I do? A: This seems to be a problem with some Hercules clones and certain PC programs. HDM itself does not change the cursor, it saves the way the cursor looks and uses its own cursor. When it runs another program, HDM restores the cursor to its saved shape and size. You can fix the problem by using one of HDM's built in menu action functions. The cursor function will set the cursor the way you want it to look. Use this menu action: {CURSOR 12 13} C:~CD\WP60~WP~ Q: I need to pass a parameter to Word Perfect that includes the left curly brace character. When I include it in the menu action and try to run it, I get a message that says unbalanced braces and it aborts. What can I do to get this to work? A: The curly braces are used to identify HDM functions and it checks to make sure they're used in pairs. To pass a single one use these substitute characters: <Ctrl-Q> for the left curly brace and <Ctrl-P> for the right curly brace. The other problem character is the tilde ~ since it's used as a command separator, use <Ctrl-Z> if you need that character in a command or program. Copyright (c) 1986-1990 by Jim Hass Page 76