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- WINSTART.EXE and WINGO.COM (Version 1.0)
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Douglas Boling June 30, 1992 (Utilities)
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- WINSTART & WINGO:
- WINSTART and its companion program WINGO let you start Windows
- programs from the DOS command line. WINGO is a small DOS TSR that you
- install before Windows; WINSTART is a Windows application that gives
- WINGO access to the necessary Windows API (application programming
- interface) functions. The two programs communicate with each other to
- provide the WINSTART functionality. The two programs communicate with
- each other to provide the WINSTART functionality. Because the design
- of Windows, you can only use the WINSTART/WINGO combination if you run
- Windows in Enhanced mode.
-
- Using WINSTART/WINGO is simple, and once installed, the programs
- are transparent to the user. WINGO is best installed by a statement in
- the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Once installed, WINGO examines every program you
- execute from the DOS command line. If you attempt to launch a Windows
- program, it automatically starts Windows. Once Windows is running, WINGO
- needs a way to tell Windows that a program needs to be launched on the
- desktop. This is where WINSTART comes into play.
-
- WINSTART is best launched using the LOAD= line in WIN.INI or in
- Windows 3.1 by placing the WINSTART icon in the start-up Group in the
- Program Manager. Once launched, WINSTART sits quietly as an icon at the
- bottom of the Windows desktop.
-
- Once both programs are running, typing any Windows program name at
- a DOS prompt will cause Windows to switch to the desktop and start that
- program. Since Windows is started in parallel with the running of the
- DOS box, the DOS prompt will return and a second or two will elapse
- before the screen is switched to the desktop. This delay occurs because
- Windows is swapping the DOS session to the disk and restoring the desktop.
-
- You can disable and reenable WINGO and WINSTART when you want. To
- disable the combination at the DOS prompt (regardless of whether Windows
- is running), simply type
-
- WINGO /D
-
- Using the /E option reenables WINGO. If you are in Windows, you can
- disable the programs via the Disable option on the WINSTART icon's System
- menu and reenable WINSTART with the Enable option. Since WINSTART and
- WINGO work as a pair, disabling one disables the other and enabling one
- enables the other. Disabling WINGO/WINSTART is handy when you are running
- the Windows SETUP program from the DOS command line. If you do not disable
- the programs, the Windows part of SETUP will run instead of the desired
- DOS-based Windows SETUP.
-
- An About option on the WINSTART icon System menu displays the
- WINSTART About box containing the copyright notice. Double clicking the
- WINSTART icon also displays the About box. The WINSTART icon never
- restores to a full window. When you terminate Windows, you can unload
- WINGO using the /U command-line option.
-
- Douglas Boling is a contributing editor of PC Magazine.