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A N S I - M A T E ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * The friendly way to learn more about ANSI.SYS! * +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | ANSI-MATE v1.0 and this documentation are | | Copyright (C) 1991 BOB-KIT Software Company. All rights reserved. | +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ Table of Contents ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ANSI-MATE ■ A Shareware Program .............................. 1 Disclaimer ................................................... 2 BOB-KIT Software Company ■ About Us .......................... 2 Introduction / System Requirements ........................... 3 Registration Benefits ........................................ 3 CONFIG.SYS - An Important Detail ............................. 4 CONFIG.SYS (cont.) / Getting Started ......................... 5 Running ANSI-MATE ............................................ 6 Running ANSI-MATE (cont.) .................................... 7 Limitations of ANSI.SYS & Overcoming These Limitations ....... 8 Trying Different Colors / In Conclusion / VENDOR INFO ........ 9 Registration Form ........................................... 10 -- Page 1 -- ANSI-MATE ■ A Shareware Program ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ANSI-MATE is currently released as a "shareware" program and is provided, at no cost, to the user for evaluation. You are encouraged to share copies of this program with friends and "upload" it to local & national Bulletin Board Systems. PLEASE BE SURE ALL FILES ARE INCLUDED and UNMODIFIED. Thank you! "Shareware" is a concept where computer users have an opportunity to try a software program before they buy it. Shareware is comparable to commercial software in quality (there are good ones and bad ones), but not usually in price. Shareware is normally much less expensive because the author has not spent the many thousands, even millions, of dollars on advertising that commercial software companies do. Thus, the overhead is much less and your cost reflects this. If you use a shareware program for a reasonable period of time and have found it useful, you are required to register it. Disclaimer ■ Agreement ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Users of ANSI-MATE must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "ANSI-MATE" is supplied "as is". The author disclaims all warranties, either expressed or implied, including without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of this program. If, for any reason, the user does not agree with this, then the software program referred to by the author as "ANSI-MATE" will not be used. BOB-KIT Software Company - about us ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My name is Bob Smith. My wife, Kitty, and I operate this business out of our home in Detroit. We have two children, but are expecting a third in late August [then one of us is getting the "snip" job =)]. I feel it's important to have as much personal contact with our customers as possible - I've been known to call someone "out of the blue" and ask their opinion on one of our programs. This gives him/her an opportunity to offer suggestions while I get some honest feedback. The most common suggestions are incorporated into upgrades as soon as possible. You'll find me to be very accessible. Call any weekday 10am-6pm and most likely you'll catch me at the computer banging out some source code. If I'm away (like to the Post Office mailing disks), Kitty is usually here to answer your call. Have a question or suggestion? CALL US: (313)372-2669. -- Page 2 -- Introduction ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ANSI.SYS is a "device driver" which sits idly on too many hard-drives. Some of us load it in our CONFIG.SYS file because we like the more colorful/graphic screens when calling our local Bulletin Board Systems. Others have never loaded it because they aren't sure what it does or how to use it. Well, it's my goal to teach you a few things about this "free" utility AND show you some effective ways of using it. ANSI-MATE is the first step. We'll create batch files that take advantage of ANSI.SYS's two most useful abilities: Changing DOS screen colors to something more pleasant than the drab grey-white on black and, more importantly, re-defining keys (& key combinations) to save us mega-keystrokes creating a virtual "menu" of commands at our fingertips! ANSI-MATE walks you thru the process of producing these batch files and writes REMarks in each one so you know what's going on. Examine and/or make changes to any batch file you create with this program - "hands on" is one of the best ways to learn. NOTES: These key-definitions / color attributes are only in effect while you're in DOS. They don't "get in the way" of running any programs. Avoid assigning key combinations which are used by any of your "terminate & stay resident" (TSR) programs - one or the other simply won't function while in DOS. System Requirements ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ANSI-MATE version 1.0 will operate on any IBM PC/XT/AT or true compatible running DOS 2.1 or higher with 135K free RAM. * IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines. Registration Benefits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ANSI.SYS can place the cursor anywhere on your screen, clear one or more rows, & produce "blinking" colors along with other useful capabilities. I've gathered all the information I could find about ANSI.SYS, then wrote an essay. Included in that essay is a chart showing all key "scan codes", color codes and the BEST way for you to write your own batch files that use all of ANSI.SYS's capabilities. Plus, I wrote a handy utility program that allows you to change attributes RIGHT FROM THE COMMAND LINE! The essay, key/color charts, utility, and your PERSONALIZED copy of ANSI-MATE are all included when you become a registered user. How much does all this cost, you ask? Registration is $10. Yep, only 10 bucks! For your convenience, a registration form is attached to the end of these instructions or can be printed right from the program. NOTE: The key "scan code" chart includes [F11], [F12], other ~~~~ extended key combinations & how to use them with ANSI.SYS. -- Page 3 -- CONFIG.SYS - An Important Detail ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ANSI-MATE helps you create batch files that use ANSI.SYS capabilities. Before executing any of these batch files, you must have "device=[drive]\[directory]\ansi.sys" in the file named "CONFIG.SYS". If ANSI.SYS resided in the directory named "C:\DOS", that line would read "device=c:\dos\config.sys". Upper- and/or lower-case letters are all okay. Upon "booting" your computer (turning it on), the first file DOS looks for is "CONFIG.SYS". When that file isn't present, DOS just continues - in other words, your computer works fine without it. However, this file is a great way to CONFIGure your SYStem. For our purposes, the only configuring we're concerned with is making sure that ANSI.SYS has been "loaded". If you don't currently have a file called "CONFIG.SYS", no stress! We'll create one using EDLIN, another "free" DOS utility. EDLIN.COM is normally located in your "DOS" directory on a hard-drive or on your "DOS Utilities" diskette. Change to the directory where it resides OR, assuming its location is part of your "path" statement in AUTOEXEC.BAT, simply type: EDLIN CONFIG.SYS [ENTER] <--- This always means to press your [ENTER], [CR], or [Return] key. (Please refer to your DOS manual if "path" or AUTOEXEC.BAT are unfamiliar to you.) You should see: New file * <--(cursor blinking next to asterisk) At the cursor, type the letter [i] (or [I]) and press [ENTER]. You'll see this: New file * 1.* <--(cursor next to asterisk) Type: 1.*device=ansi.sys [ENTER] 2.* <--(cursor now here) Press [Ctrl] + [Break] simultaneously to put the cursor back on the left side of your screen next to an asterisk again. Press [e]; [ENTER] and you should be back at your normal DOS prompt. At "1.*" you would type the drive letter and directory location of ANSI.SYS only IF it's not in your root directory. Continues... -- Page 4 -- CONFIG.SYS (cont.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now, let's make sure all went well. At the DOS prompt, type: TYPE CONFIG.SYS [ENTER] You should see the one line you had entered. If you have just created CONFIG.SYS, you'll need to "re-boot" your computer so DOS will recognize that we want ANSI.SYS loaded. DOS only looks for CONFIG.SYS upon booting. Be sure CONFIG.SYS is in your root directory. Assuming everthing's okay, let's move on.......... (If not, please re-read this section - if you don't find the answers here or in your DOS manual, call me.) Getting Started ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Okay. We've got ANSI.SYS capability and now we're ready to write a batch file that makes use of it. Log onto the directory that contains ANSI-MATE & type: AM [ENTER] ANSI-MATE will adjust its display for a monochrome, B&W, or color monitor accordingly. You may, however force ANSI-MATE to run in monochrome by adding a space, then the letter [M] before pressing [ENTER]. The same deal for color: Add a space, then the letter [C] before pressing [ENTER]. This "command line switch" is available so that folks who have a monochrome video adaptor & color monitor OR vice versa can achieve the best display. EXAMPLE: To force ANSI-MATE to run in color, type: AM C [ENTER] -- Page 5 -- Running ANSI-MATE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Once the program begins, you'll notice the bottom screen area contains a "Notes" window. These "Notes" change with each menu you select from. Their purpose is to offer little reminders about what's going on. Your first decision is naming this batch file. ANSI-MATE adds the .BAT extension for you and doesn't allow "illegal" DOS filename characters to be entered. Since the remainder of this section will serve as a tutor, let's name it "LEARN". If you select a name for your batch file that already exists in the current directory, ANSI- MATE will inform you and ask if you'd like to overwrite it or not. Selecting [N] allows you to enter a different name. [Y] overwrites and continues. Once the name is typed and you press [ENTER], ANSI-MATE will ask if you're using DOS 3.3 or higher. Almost any batch file's first line should be "echo off" - this prevents the remainder of the batch file's commands from being "echo"ed to the screen. DOS 3.3 and later allows you to add "@" to the "echo off" statement so that line isn't echoed either. ANSI-MATE will write the proper statement to LEARN.BAT after you type [Y] or [N]. You can also press [ESC] at this time if you want to exit the program. You'll be asked for confirmation and reminded that your batch file will be erased - there's nothing written to it yet, so no reason to save it. The next mini-menu offers you three (3) selections to choose from. Press [K] to re-define a particular key or combination of keys; Pressing [C] allows you to assign foreground/background colors; And [D] or [ESC] tells ANSI-MATE you want to exit the program. If no key and/or color assignments have yet been made to a batch file, you will first be asked if you wish to exit, then if you want to save this file. Since the only thing written so far would be "@echo off" or "echo off", there's no reason to keep it, but you're still given the opportunity. For our "tutoring" purposes, press [K]. You're now asked which key (or combination of keys) you want LEARN.BAT to define. Press [F10] and we'll assign this key to clear your screen each time you press it while in DOS. The "Notes" window reminds you to enter the "string" of characters to replace with the [F10] key and that you'll have a chance to add two (2) more after this one. Well, we just want it to clear the screen, so type: CLS [ENTER]. You don't want to add another "string" at this time, so press [N] when asked. Next, we go back to the previous mini-menu again. You always return to this menu after assigning a key or color until you indicate that you're "[D]one!". Let's define another key - press [K]. Now press [Home] to indicate we want to re-define that key. We'll add two strings this time. First, type: CD\ [ENTER], then [Y] (Yes, we want to add another). Continues... -- Page 6 -- Running ANSI-MATE (cont.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The "Notes" window shows what string was just entered as a helpful reminder. Now type: CLS [ENTER], then [N] (we're finished with [Home]). Back to our mini-menu again. If you don't have a color monitor, skip the next paragraph (unless, of course you'd like to change colors to, say, black on white which looks fine.) This time press [C] so we can make our DOS environment a little more pleasant to look at. =) ANSI-MATE asks if you want to change the [F]oreground or [B]ackground, so press [F] and we'll start here. The "Notes" window lets you know that you'll be able to specify a "Bold/Bright" attribute to foreground colors other than Brown / Yellow or Black. Black for obvious reasons, and Yellow is assumed for foreground color. Once you master ANSI.SYS, feel free to assign your foreground color to Brown, but I suspect you probably won't like it much. To make this interesting, move the highlight bar to Blue and press [ENTER]. We don't want to make it "Bold/Bright" so press [N] when asked. Now (we're back at the mini-menu), press [C] again and this time let's do the [B]ackground. Select White, then press [D] to indicate we're Done. ANSI-MATE confirms this decision, then asks if you'd like to create another batch file. At this time, we don't, so press [N] to exit the program. To demonstrate our "finished product", type: LEARN [ENTER] at the DOS prompt. Your DOS prompt will move down several lines without displaying anything (with the exception of "echo off" with DOS 3.2 or lower). What the batch file has done is echoed the ansi "escape sequence" and the proper characters. ANSI.SYS captures these codes, then executes them. Pressing [F10] at this time *should* clear your screen. If not, check to be sure "device=ansi.sys" is in your CONFIG.SYS file and read the previous section for further details. If the screen DID clear, then pressing [Home] will change to the "root" directory and clear the screen. By the way, if your monitor is color and you added those assignments in LEARN.BAT, your screen should be Blue text on a White background. Neat, huh? Now, you should be able to use ANSI-MATE effectively to utilize the key/color defining capabilities of ANSI.SYS. There are, however, some limitations - the next section provides details. -- Page 7 -- Limitations of ANSI.SYS & Overcoming these limitations ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ANSI.SYS can be both fun & productive to work with. It can also be frustrating. There are two major limitations with ANSI.SYS: 1) There's only a certain amount of allocated ANSI.SYS memory that you can utilize for key-defining. 2) Running several batch files concurrently that define, then re-define the same keys just continue to stack up - instead of being able to clear that memory out and start fresh. The only alternative is to re-boot your computer and just run the batch file(s) which you've decided assign(s) keys/colors the way you want. There are ways to overcome these limitations. First, it's important not to go "hog wild" by re-defining every possible key combination. Even if ANSI.SYS imposed NO restrictions as is, I wouldn't recommend making so many re-definitions that it got to be confusing. Which brings me to another important note: Write down all keys (or combination of keys) you've assigned and their corresponding definitions. I've got a strip of paper across the top of my keyboard with a list of each key definition I use. There's a super utility from PC Magazine called "ANSI.COM" which does everything ANSI.SYS does, but allows you to specify any size "key definition buffer" up to 60K! I highly recommend it. ANSI.COM is Copyright 1988, Ziff Communications and was written by Michael J. Mefford. You can download ANSI.COM *FREE* from the PCMAGNET forum on CompuServe. There are also copies available on local Bulletin Board Services. The copy I use came with their fantastic book/disk combo., "DOS Power Tools". Two paragraphs back I mentioned that ANSI.SYS doesn't allow you to "clear" it's allocated memory and start fresh without rebooting. Well, ANSI.COM overcomes that limitation, also! You can clear, define, clear, re-define, etc. in the same session. Cool. I presume my praise for ANSI.COM may have you thinking that ANSI.SYS is inferior - and you'd be right. However, you can still accomplish quite a bit with ANSI.SYS - just don't overdue it. Although, there's absolutely NO HARM DONE if you load too many key definitions, ANSI.SYS will simply ignore anything more than it can handle. In fact, before you even bother to locate a copy of ANSI.COM, consider this: ANSI.SYS allows app. 200 bytes for key definitions (depending on which version of DOS you use). You could define 9 or 10 keys, each with 20 characters assigned to it and you shouldn't have any problem. If your needs don't require more, no problem! I used ANSI.SYS myself until recently & only switched because I have so many sub-directories for various programs I'm working on. To make my directory-changing chores a bit less tedious, I now use ANSI.COM, but only allocate 400 bytes for key definitions - that's all I need. NOTE: ANSI.COM will NOT load itself if ANSI.SYS is already present. -- Page 8 -- Trying Different Colors ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When I finally got a color monitor, the first thing I wanted to do was experiment with different colors in DOS. If you're new to ANSI.SYS & haven't done much with your colors before, you may want to create several batch files with ANSI-MATE that will let you see what different color combinations look like. For example, create one called REDWHITE.BAT, then assign the foreground to RED and the background WHITE. When you execute this file, it'll let you see what that particular combination looks like. Another could be NORMAL.BAT which sets the foreground back to WHITE with a BLACK background again. My personal favorite would be WHITBLUE.BAT setting foreground to white and the background to BLUE. You can make another called YELBROWN.BAT to see what YELLOW on BROWN might look like (not too bad). I think you've got the picture. =) In Conclusion... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ANSI-MATE offers you a great way to learn more about utilizing ANSI.SYS effectively & I hope you find it useful. If you like and plan to use this program, I would appreciate you becoming a registered user. Remember, for just 10 bucks, you'll get a personalized copy of ANSI-MATE, the handy utility, and the essay including key/color charts. I think you'll find the essay alone to be worth more the cost for registration. THANK YOU FOR EVALUATING ANSI-MATE & SHARING IT WITH OTHERS! ************************************************************ VENDOR INFO ~~~~~~~~~~~ ANSI-MATE may be freely distributed under these conditions: - All files must be included & unmodified. They are: * AM.EXE * ANSIMATE.DOC * READ_ME!.BAT * SEE.COM - No fee may be charged, with the exception of a REASONABLE amount to cover your costs (NOT to exceed $5). - You must contact BOB-KIT Software Company and inform us that you are distributing the program. -- Page 9 -- +-------------------------------------------------------------+ | ANSI-MATE Registration Form | | | | ___ Yes! Send my personalized copy of ANSI-MATE for | | only $10 (U.S. funds). I understand the most | | recent version will be mailed 1st Class upon | | reciept of my order. Also, I'll recieve an essay | | about ANSI.SYS, color/key scan code charts, and | | the handy command-line utility, all FREE! | | | | ___ I have a 5 1/4" disk-drive. | | | | ___ I need this sent on a 3 1/2" diskette. | | (Only if you don't have a 5 1/4" drive. Thanx!) | | | | Here's where to send it: | | | | Name_________________________________________ | | | | Address______________________________________ | | | | City_____________________ St___ Zip _________ | | | | Please print your name as you would like it to | | appear at the top of the screen: | | | | _____________________________________________ | | | | Please send check or money order to: | | | | BOB-KIT Software Company | | P.O. Box 13717 | | Detroit, MI 48213 | | | | Cash is okay, too - however I don't recommend it. | +-------------------------------------------------------------+