======================= P C - M E N U =======================
(c) Copyright 1985 by Paragon Software
INTRODUCTION
============
Do you wish you could just "press a button" to start up a
program on your PC? Do you have others use your PC who are not
familiar with DOS commands? Do you need password protection for
your PC programs? Do you wish you could enter the time using AM
and PM instead of military time? If you answered yes to any of
the above, then PC-MENU is for you.
You do not have to read a technical description of dynamic
batch files in order to set up PC-MENU for your use ... PC-MENUS
does all the work for you. Just follow the steps in the next
section and PC-MENU will then be tailored for your use. For those
who are technically minded, a technical reference section is also
provided.
SETTING UP PC-MENU
==================
Note: If you downloaded the files using the shortened file names,
you should rename them before performing the set-up steps.
Example --> rename P-MENU.EXE PC-MENU.EXE
rename P-MENU.DOC PC-MENU.DOC
rename P-MNUS.EXE PC-MENUS.EXE
1. Copy PC-MENU.EXE and PC-MENUS.EXE to your start-up diskette or
the root directory of your fixed disk.
Fixed disk example --> copy a:PC-MENU.EXE c:\
copy a:PC-MENUS.EXE c:\
2. Now run PC-MENUS on your start-up diskette or fixed disk.
Example --> PC-MENUS
Press a key when the copyright screen is displayed (press
the % key to change to black and white if you have trouble
reading this screen, otherwise press any other key to continue).
3. Press the number 2 to set up your menu descriptions. A sample
menu will be displayed the first time you do this. From then
on, the menu you build will be displayed. Enter the title,
menu selections, and selection prompt. Menu selections should
begin with a number or capital letter. If you wish to change the
colors, perform selection number 3. Selection number 1 can be
used to see the effects of different colors. Normally the menu
screen will be blanked after 10 minutes of inactivity. If you
wish to change this, perform selection number 4.
4. If you need password protection for some menu selections,
perform selection number 5. Enter the password in the space
provided to the left of the menu selection. Leave the password
blank if password protection is not needed.
5. Now press selection number 6 to tell PC-MENU what you want it
to do when someone selects your menu entries. A set of sample
DOS commands will be displayed the first time you do this.
Afterwards the commands you have entered will be displayed.
--1--
PC-MENU User's guide Paragon Software
6. Press C to change the DOS commands from what is shown to what is
needed to perform the first selection. You should enter the DOS
commands that you normally use when starting the application you
want run. Then enter MENU as the last command if you want to
return to the menu when the application finishes. (See the
section on SAMPLE DOS COMMANDS FOR SELECTIONS). After you
complete the commands for the first menu entry, the commands for
the next menu entry are displayed and so on until all menu
entries have been set up.
7. Selection number 7 shows the control batch file (MENU.BAT) that
is going to be set up for you to run PC-MENU. Normally you will
have no need to change this so press the enter key. Then it
shows the control batch file (AUTOEXEC.BAT) that is
automatically run when your PC is turned on. If you already
have an AUTOEXEC.BAT file, it will be displayed and you should
add the command MENU at the end. If you do not have one,
PC-MENUS will have set one up for you and you need to just press
the enter key.
8. Now press selection number 8 to save your changes and then
press 4 to save everything.
9. Finally, perform selection number 9 to end, and PC-MENU is
ready to use. Enter the command MENU to try it out. If you are
satisfied with your menu, you may return to DOS and erase
PC-MENUS from your start-up diskette or your hard disk since it
was only needed to set up the menu.
Running PC-MENU --> MENU
Erasing PC-MENUS --> erase PC-MENUS.EXE
If you need to make changes to the menu later on, simply copy
PC-MENUS back onto your disk and run it again. NOTE: IF YOU RE-
ARRANGE THE MENU SELECTIONS, THE PASSWORDS AND DOS COMMANDS MAY NO
LONGER MATCH THE SELECTIONS PROPERLY. YOU MAY NEED TO PERFORM STEPS
4 TO 6 AGAIN AS DESCRIBED ABOVE TO MAKE CHANGES AS NECESSARY.
PC-MENU OPERATION
==================
The first time PC-MENU is run when your PC is turned on, you
will be asked for the date and time (unless you have a battery
clock on your PC). It will display the date you entered the last
time you turned on your PC. You only need to type in what has
changed and press enter.
Once the menu is displayed, simply press the number or letter
of the selection desired and PC-MENU will go to work for you. If
you press an invalid key, a help screen will be displayed. If a
selection has a password, you must enter the correct password
before the selection will be performed. Note that F1 and F2 can be
used to change the date and time. F3 will turn the time and date
display on/off (if you don't want to see the time "ticking"). Use
F4 to blank the screen. If the screen is blanked using F4 or due
to inactivity, press any key to re-display the menu.
--2--
PC-MEN 4. If you need password protection for some menu selections, perform selection number 5. Enter the password in the space provided to the left of the menu selection. Leave the password blank if password protection is not needed. 5. Now press selection number 6 to tell PC-MENU what you want it to do when someone selects your menu entries. A set of sample DOS commands will be di^C C>erase a C>dir Volume in drive C has no label Directory of C:\ PC-MENU DOC 16640 1-01-80 10:03p PC-MENU EXE 33664 1-01-80 10:10p PC-MENUS EXE 49536 1-01-80 10:43p 3 File(s) 155648 bytes free C>copy *.* a: PC-MENU.DOC t does not find a match it displays the help screen. If a match
is found, the DOS commands associated with that selection are
written to a file called PROCESSI.BAT, and then PC-MENU stops
running.
This causes the second command in MENU.BAT to now be executed.
The word "Processing" is actually truncated by DOS to "Processi"
and thus PROCESSI.BAT begins running, which contains the DOS
commands for the selection that was chosen. The last command for a
selection is normally MENU, which will start the process all over
again.
By placing a batch file called AUTOEXEC.BAT on your start-up
diskette or hard disk root directory, your PC will begin executing
it anytime you turn it on. If this file contains the command MENU,
then PC-MENU will display your menu whenever your PC is turned on.
The following diagram illustrates the batch file processing:
