Chapter 3 TECHNICAL REFERENCE ON RUNNING THE DOS VERSION OF JAWS IN A DOS WINDOW (Also contained in the disk file "W3DOSWIN.TXT".) CONTENTS OF CHAPTER 3 1. CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 23 2. SYSTEM RESOURCES 24 3. MEMORY MANAGEMENT 24 4. MODIFYING CONFIG.SYS AND AUTOEXEC.BAT 25 5. MODIFYING SYSTEM.INI 25 6. MANAGING DEVICE CONTENTION 26 7. INSTALLING A PROGRAM INFORMATION FILE (PIF) 27 8. FINE TUNING A PIF 29 8.1 Editing a PIF 30 8.2 Basic PIF Settings 30 8.3 Advanced PIF Options 33 1. CHAPTER INTRODUCTION This chapter describes the process that can be used to run the DOS version of JAWS in a DOS window with other non-Windows applications. It specifically applies to JAWS version 2.3X and Windows 3.1. When you use the DOS version of JAWS with Windows, you can only use it in a DOS application window. A DOS Application Window is designed for using software that was created for DOS. In order to have full access to both Windows applications and DOS applications, you need to use both the Windows version of JAWS and the DOS version of JAWS. Please follow the standard installation process for both software programs. It should be understood by anyone who wishes to run the DOS version of JAWS in a DOS window, that DOS windows are not 100% stable. DOS windows occasionally crash for no apparent reason and uninterrupted service cannot always be expected. Many people wish to run the DOS version of JAWS in a DOS window so that they can continue to use their favorite DOS applications along with Windows applications. As long as you understand that DOS windows have the potential of failing, regardless of whether JAWS is being used, then you can follow the suggestions in this chapter. If you want the most stable environment possible for your DOS applications, then we recommend that you continue to use JAWS and your other DOS applications in the standard DOS operating system, and use the Windows version of JAWS when a Windows application is needed. Because there are considerable differences between personal computers with respect to memory, hard disk capacity, and processor speed, it should be understood that the information in this chapter only serves as a guide to using DOS application windows. Our suggestions may need to be modified to fit your specific situation. Henter-Joyce, Inc., can provide very limited free technical support for your effort to implement these suggestions. Additionally, risks associated with the implementation of these suggestions are your responsibility. Henter- Joyce, Inc., is not responsible for lost data or for other damage that might result from the use of the suggestions which follow. 2. SYSTEM RESOURCES In general, persons who successfully run the DOS version of JAWS in a DOS window will have greater success when using faster PC's with larger memory capacity. A 386 machine with a minimum of 4 MB of memory is required. A 486 machine with 4 MB of memory or more is recommended. The steps described in this chapter are based on tests using a 486 DX66 computer with 8 MB of memory, and at least 20 MB of free hard disk space. Windows 3.1 was running in 386 enhanced mode, JAWS version 2.31 was being loaded into high memory, and DOS version 6.2 was being used. 3. MEMORY MANAGEMENT In order to run Windows in 386 enhanced mode and to load JAWS into high memory, you will need to use a memory manager. The memory manager provided with MSDOS 6.2 or Quarterdeck's Extended Memory Manager 7.5 (QEMM) can be used for this purpose. It may not be necessary to load the DOS version of JAWS into high memory in order to run JAWS in a DOS window, however, doing so will free up additional conventional memory. When using DOS windows, you need to maximize the availability of conventional memory, and loading JAWS into high memory supports this goal. For tips about loading JAWS into high memory, please review the file "JAWSHIGH.TXT" which was installed by the JFW installation program in your \JFW\TECNOTES subdirectory. 4. MODIFYING CONFIG.SYS AND AUTOEXEC.BAT In addition to adding lines for loading a memory manager in your CONFIG.SYS file, you may wish to check several of the values that are being used on other lines of CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. modifying a few lines in these files can greatly enhance system performance. Please refer to the information in Chapter 2 for suggestions for modifying these files. Among the topics that are discussed are: buffers, file handles, environment size, and SMARTDrive cache size. 5. MODIFYING SYSTEM.INI Your next step is to add information to your Windows SYSTEM.INI file that allows JAWS to exist as an active DOS TSR. The SYSTEM.INI file is located in your Windows subdirectory. Retrieve the SYSTEM.INI file into a text editor and look for the section of commands called "NonWindowsApp". Find the line that is shown below. LOCALTSRS=DOSEDIT,CED, This line identifies DOS TSR programs that Windows will allow to operate within DOS windows. You need to add your JAWS command line to the end of this line as shown below. LOCALTSRS=DOSEDIT,CED,J_ACNTPC.EXE When adding the JAWS command line, you need to use the specific name of the executable JAWS program that supports your speech synthesizer. The above command line is for the Accent PC. If you do not know the name of the file that executes JAWS for your synthesizer, then you can look at the "JAWS.BAT" file in your \JAWS subdirectory. The last line in the file should be similar to the line that follows. J_ACNTPC %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9 /B8 /E The information you need is at the very beginning of the line. The name of the JAWS program begins with "J_". None of the information that follows the first part of this line is needed in your SYSTEM.INI file. If you plan to frequently execute commands from the DOS prompt in a DOS window, then you may wish to make the following optional change to your SYSTEM.INI file. Windows normally displays a reminder message each time DOS finishes responding to a command issued from the DOS command line. It reminds you that you are in a DOS window and that you can type "exit" to return to the Windows environment. Users of speech systems may find this constant reminder to be annoying. If the following line is in the "386Enh" section of your SYSTEM.INI, then Windows will not display the reminder message. DOSPromptExitInstruc=no After finishing modifications to your SYSTEM.INI file, save the file. If you are using a word processing program to modify the file, then be sure to save the file as an ASCII text file or in non-document format. 6. MANAGING DEVICE CONTENTION If you are using an external speech synthesizer connected to a serial port, or if your internal synthesizer takes the place of a serial port, then you may encounter a Windows error dialog that informs you of a device contention. Windows attempts to control the flow of information going to your serial ports and it may display a warning dialog every time it believes that there might be a conflict. The solution to this situation is to disable monitoring of potential device contentions on the specific serial port you are using. To do this: a. Activate Program Manager. b. Open the Main Group c. Choose Control Panel d. Activate the 386 Enhanced dialog. e. Use your DOWN ARROW and UP ARROW to find the port you are using for your synthesizer, and use TAB to find the "device contention" radio button. Use your UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW to choose the button called "never warn". f. Choose the OK button and then quit the Control Panel. 7. INSTALLING A PROGRAM INFORMATION FILE (PIF) Each non-Windows application that you plan to use in a DOS window needs a Program Information File (PIF). PIFs define a large number of variables that determine how the DOS window for the application should be setup. We have provided two PIF files for your use. These PIFs are set up for Windows 386 enhanced mode. The files are located in your "\JFW" subdirectory and are listed below. J_WP386.PIF This PIF launches WordPerfect 5.1 when Windows is running in 386 enhanced mode. J_DOS386.PIF This PIF opens a DOS window and displays a DOS prompt when Windows is running in 386 enhanced mode. This PIF can be used to run small DOS programs and to execute commands from the DOS prompt. The steps for installing one of the PIFs from the preceding list are shown below. a. Copy the PIF that you want to use from the \JFW subdirectory to the \WINDOWS subdirectory. b. Add a program icon to one of your Program Manager groups for the PIF. You can do this by opening the Program Manager group from which you want the DOS program to be activated, then activate the Program Manager menu bar and choose the Files menu. Next, choose the "new" dialog, and choose the "program item" option. Lastly, provide the following information as requested by the various text boxes of the dialog. Program Description = name of application This is the text label that Program Manager displays along with the icon that identifies the program. Type a name such as "WP AND JAWS" or "DOS JAWS". Command Line = name of the PIF you are installing Type the actual name of the PIF. For example, "J_386DOS.PIF" Working Directory = optional Many PIFs also provide this information and it need not be stated here. If you specify a subdirectory, then it becomes the current directory while the application is running, and the program will use this subdirectory as its default subdirectory for saving files. Many applications use other methods for determining default subdirectory and you do not need to specify anything here. Shortcut Key = optional The short cut key that is indicated here can be used to start the application or to switch to it when it is running. Press a combination of keys or TAB to move on to the OK button. Valid shortcut-key sequences are CONTROL+ALT+character, CONTROL+SHIFT+character, ALT+SHIFT+character, and CONTROL+ALT+SHIFT+character. The character can be any letter, number, or special character. If you just press a character key in the Shortcut Key box, then Program Manager adds CONTROL+ALT in front of it. You can also reserve shortcut keys by using the PIF Editor. Shortcut key settings made in Program Manager override those defined in the PIF Editor. Run Minimized = [not checked] If you want this application to run as an icon as soon as it is loaded, then check this box. The last step is to choose the OK Button to save your changes. The new program item is then displayed in the open program group. To start the application, choose the new program item. If the DOS application does not start, JAWS for DOS does not speak, or the DOS window or your PC crashes, then please follow the suggestions presented in the next section. 8. FINE TUNING A PIF The DOS version of JAWS should be fully functional when running in a DOS Window. You should be able to use the JAWS menu system, and configuration files should be loaded automatically as soon as the DOS application loads. If JAWS is not functioning properly, or the window frequently crashes, then you may need to make adjustments in the PIF that we provided. You also might need to make adjustments in your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT files as discussed in Chapter 2. Essentially, you are beginning a process of problem solving where you are trying to find the combination of PIF settings that will make your application run with the greatest stability. 8.1 Editing a PIF To edit a PIF, choose PIF editor from the Main group of the Program Manager. Then, use the PIF editor's menu to open the PIF you wish to edit. PIF files are stored in the Windows subdirectory and have the file extension of "PIF". Make changes and then save the revised PIF. 8.2 Basic PIF Settings Each PIF setting that is used with 386 enhanced mode is discussed below. If you wish to run the application in Windows standard mode, then you can use the PIF editor to convert the PIFs we have provided into standard mode. Use the menu bar of the PIF editor to choose standard mode and then open the PIF file. The following settings are for the PIF file "J_386WP.PIF". PIF settings for standard mode are similar to these, but the "advanced options" are not available. Program File Name = WP.EXE If you were setting up a DOS window to display a DOS prompt, then the filename would be "COMMAND.COM". It is also possible to use the name of a batch file which then can load several DOS applications that can run together in the same DOS window. You might need to provide PATH information if the application is not in the PATH statement of your AUTOEXEC.BAT. Window Title = optional This window title is only used if a title is not stated in the program properties dialog box in the Program Manager. Optional Parameters = /ND This parameter and any others you might wish to include for WordPerfect are added to the program command line when the program starts. You have a maximum of 62 characters in the text box. Tip: It might be necessary to also use the /W parameter to restrict WordPerfect's use of conventional and expanded memory, i.e. /W=120,1024. Please check your WordPerfect reference manuals for the syntax of this command, because it is not the same for all WP versions. Start-Up Directory = optional You might include a start up directory in situations where you did not include path information in the program command line, or a path for the program is not included in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. For some applications, this information points to the default subdirectory that will be used for data files. Display Type = [Text] This setting determines the amount of memory that is reserved for the video display when the DOS application is used. If you will not be displaying graphics, then set this to "text". In text mode, 16K of memory is used; in high resolution graphics, 128K is used. If you choose high resolution graphics and the memory is not needed because you do not use high resolution graphics, then Windows can reclaim some of the unused memory. (See "Lock Video Display" in the advanced dialog for an exception to this rule.) Conventional Memory Required = 405 or -1 This is the minimum conventional memory that an application needs in order to start. 405K is recommended for WordPerfect 5.1. 128K can be used with a DOS prompt. If the required amount of memory is not available, then the application will not start. Conventional Memory Desired = 640 or -1 This is an upper limit for conventional memory. It can be used to prevent windows from allocating all conventional memory to the DOS application. The value can be no larger than 640K. A value of -1 lets the application have as much memory as it requests up to the maximum amount available. EMS Required = 0 Most applications do not use expanded memory. Set this to zero unless your application requires expanded memory in order to start. The application will not start when you specify a value that is larger than the memory that Windows can provide. EMS Limit = 2048 If your application can make use of expanded memory, then the value specified here is the maximum amount that Windows can make available to it. For applications that automatically take all expanded memory whether or not they need it, this value can be used to limit the application's memory usage. A setting of "-1" makes all expanded memory available. XMS Required = 0 This refers to programs that use memory that meets the Lotus/Intel/Microsoft/AST extended memory specification. Few applications require extended memory and you can usually set this value to zero. XMS Limit: KB = 1024 the notes for EMS Limit (above) apply to this setting as well. Screen Display = Full Screen You should always use the "full screen" option. If you use "windowed", then the application is placed in a window, and this interferes with the ability of JAWS to read the screen. Exclusive = [checked] This indicates that the application is to have exclusive use of computer processing time. When exclusive is checked, then all other applications are stopped while this application is in use. Other applications will be stopped even when they have been setup to run in the background and share processing time. If you wish to use a telecommunications program in another window, while using this application, then you might want to experiment with leaving this box unchecked. You might, however, encounter problems when using slower 386 computers. Background = [not checked] If you check this box, then this window could be used to run a telecommunications program while you are using another application. If it is not checked, then the application's activity will be suspended when you switch to another application. If the application does not need to run while you use other applications, then do not check this box. By not checking the box, you will free system memory for other uses. Close Window on Exit check box = [checked] This tells windows to automatically close the window when you exit the application with the application's standard exit command. If this is not checked, then you will need to close the DOS window in a separate step. 8.3 Advanced PIF Options Most of the advanced options in the PIF editor can be left in their default state unless you have a specific need to change them. There are, however, a couple of options that will prevent you from accidentally crashing your system. To display the advanced dialog options, choose "advanced" in the PIF editor. Multitasking Options background priority = 50 This percentage of processing time does not apply when the Background option described above is not checked. If it is checked, then Windows can adjust this setting as needed to give your system maximum performance. Multitasking Options foreground priority =100 This will always be 100 percent when the exclusive check box is checked and the full screen radio button is chosen. If exclusive is not checked, then Windows will adjust the background and foreground percentages as needed to obtain maximum efficiency. Multitasking Options Detect Idle Time = [not checked] When this is checked, it allows other programs to use higher percentages of processor time when the foreground application is idle. If the DOS application has exclusive use of processing time, then this setting is not used. The next three options affect how the application's memory is handled. Its use of conventional, expanded, and extended memory are controlled separately. Lock Application Memory = [not checked] If you check this box, then you might speed up some applications. If this option is selected, the application stays in memory and is not swapped to the hard disk. Although selecting this option can speed up the application, it slows down the rest of your system and reduces the amount of available memory. EMS Memory Locked = [not checked] This does not need to be checked. Checking the box prevents the application's expanded memory from being swapped to the hard disk when switching to other applications. Locking an application's expanded memory can improve that application's performance, but it may slow down other applications and prevent other applications from using the locked memory. XMS Memory Locked = [not checked] This does not need to be checked. Usage rules are the same for the preceding check box. The display options are used to determine how the application appears on the screen, and how Windows handles memory when it displays the application. Uses High Memory Area = [checked] This memory area is the first 64K of high memory. If it has been claimed and used by a memory manager before you start windows, then Windows does not have access to the area and this setting does not have an effect on the system. This memory area is usually not available when you use a memory manager and are loading JAWS, DOS, and other device drivers into high memory. If you check the box, then you ensure that the memory will be used if it is available. Text = [not checked] This tells Windows to monitor all video operations when the application is running in text mode. Few applications require this option. Low Graphics = [not checked] This monitors all video operations when the application is running in low-resolution graphics mode. This option is rarely required. High Graphics = [not checked] This monitors all video operations when the application is running in high-resolution graphics mode. It is rarely needed. Emulate Text Mode = not checked This can increase the rate at which text is displayed, and sometimes it can cause a conflict with JAWS. This might cause your application to jumble text, to place the cursor in the wrong place, or to simply prevent your application from running. Retain Video Memory = [not checked] Checking this box prevents unused video memory from being released for other applications. Leaving it unchecked enables windows to allocate additional memory when an application switches into graphics mode. Checking this check box and the check box for Video Memory text in the basic PIF options, prevents Windows from disturbing the video memory that JAWS monitors. If your display is not stable as you move in and out of DOS windows, then you may want to check this box and set the Video Display in the Basic PIF options to "high resolution graphics". This ensures that there will always be enough video memory and prevents it from being written to disk. Allow Fast Paste = [checked] This determines the method that Windows uses to paste text into an application. Allow Closed When Active =[checked] Checking this option allows you to close an application from the Task List dialog without having to exit the application. This is checked as a precaution against those situations when the DOS window crashes, and you cannot close it with an exit command. This makes it possible to switch to the Task List, close the application, and then return to Program Manager where you can open the window again. If this is not checked, then the only way you can close the corrupted window is to quit Windows. Even though this option is enabled, you should always exit the application normally whenever possible. A variety of Windows short cut keys will be available in the DOS window unless they are checked here. A few of these keyboard commands can cause your system to crash, and they should be checked (turned off) as indicated. ALT+TAB = [not checked] ALT+ESCAPE = [checked] For some reason, the use of this command key sometimes leads to the disruption of video memory so far as JAWS is concerned. CONTROL+ESCAPE = [not checked] Using the Task List works well. PRINT SCREEN = [not checked] ALT+PRINT SCREEN = [not checked] ALT+SPACEBAR = [checked] If this standard Windows command is used in a DOS window, it could lock up the window when it switches into graphics mode. ALT+ENTER = [checked] This command will lock up the PC when it is used to shift the DOS window from a full screen display to windowed mode. Short Cut Key = optional Valid key sequences were discussed earlier in the section that discusses adding an icon to a Program Manager group. PIF Editor short cut keys cannot be used to start an application. They can only be used to switch to a running application.