CENTRAL COMMAND MENU SYSTEM VERSION 4.0 HELP FILE Evaluation version Copyright 1995 Naillonworks Programming DO NOT ALTER THIS FILE. ABOUT NAILLONWORKS PROGRAMMING NAILLONWORKS PROGRAMMING specializes in data encryption systems for MS-DOS base machines. We believe that data security is a fundamental right of every PC user. CONTACT NAILLONWORKS PROGRAMMING at: Naillonworks Programming RT.1 Box F19 Oroville, Washington, 98844 509-476-2872 AOL user identification NAILPROG. Compuserve id. 75240,1746. MSDOS, DOS, DOS SHELL, Paintbrush, and Windows refer to products of the MICROSOFT CORPORATION. REGISTERING THE CENTRAL COMMAND SYSTEM I haven't crippled this menu system in any way before releasing it as a shareware package. I strive to provide a good product at a fair price. I hope that is incentive enough. There is an order form screen that will no longer appear in the registered version. Registration will entitle you to user support and upgrade notification\price reduction. If you do wish to help support my programming efforts, send a brief description of your system, along with your NAME, MAILING ADDRESS, ZIP CODE, and a check for $39.95 to: NAILLONWORKS PROGRAMMING, RT 1 Box F19 Oroville Washington, 98844 It will help me justify the many hours I spend developing software. Please mention that you are registering to Central Command, so that I can send you the right product. If you would like to provide me with any E-Mail address you may have it will help me contact you about product upgrades, bug fixes, etc. Feel free to give copies of CENTRAL COMMAND 4.0 evaluation version to your friends. Don't forget to include CCSETUP.EXE, CCMNDHLP.TXT, NVENDOR.TXT CCMNDOBJ.EXE, and READFRST.TXT in any distribution. Thanks, Edward Naillon. INSTALLING THE CENTRAL COMMAND MENU SYSTEM The installation of CENTRAL COMMAND is accomplished by running the installation program CCSETUP.EXE that is included in the distribution. The menu system will not function properly if it is not initialized with this setup program. Before running CCSETUP.EXE, make sure that all of the distribution files, CCSETUP.EXE, NVENDOR.TXT, CCMNDOBJ.EXE, and CCMNDHLP.TXT are all present in the same directory of any drive, hard or floppy, that you are installing FROM. Also make sure that you run the installation from the directory that contains the setup files. For example, if the distribution files are contained in the directory of a:\download, at the dos prompt type cd a:\download, hit enter, and then type CCSETUP. CCSETUP.EXE will prompt you for the destination drive, and will create the directory of CENTCMND on that drive. It will create the necessary data and configuration files and copy the program files to that path. It will also create the CENCOM.BAT file and place it in the root directory of your selected destination drive. You must use the CENCOM.BAT file to start the CENTRAL COMMAND menu system. If the CENCOM.BAT file is accidentally deleted from your system, change to the centcmnd subdirectory, and type ccmndobj. The familiar CENTRAL COMMAND interface will appear. Use the exit button to terminate the program, and the CENCOM.BAT file will be recreated in your root directory. No alteration to your system's path statement is required. Do not attempt to alter any of the program files, as this will degrade the performance of CENTRAL COMMAND, and may require that you reset the menu system. See the help topic (RESETTING THE CONFIGURATION). When upgrading from previous versions, you should delete the old version completely from your system, due to changes in the configuration file structure. You will have to re-program the command buttons once reinstallation is complete. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS CENTRAL COMMAND requires an IBM compatible 286 or greater processor, 1 mb ram, MS-DOS 4.0 and above operating system. Color monitor and mouse are recommended. USES AND CAPABILITIES CENTRAL COMMAND is a very simple yet powerful menu system. It can easily be configured to run any program on your system, as well as any DOS command line function such as formatting disks, copying, etc. It will handle any combination of parameters automatically, or can be programmed to prompt you for parameters when you run a program from CENTRAL COMMAND. CENTRAL COMMAND includes a command shell that allows you to run Dos commands in the same manner as you would at the dos prompt, without exiting CENTRAL COMMAND. CENTRAL COMMAND now includes a multiple file operations interface, where you may perform dos operations on files and directories with point and click ease. The most impressive feature of this menu is that it doesn't penalize you with any memory requirements when you run an application from its' push button interface. In fact, it requires 0 bytes of memory while it waits for you to close an application, then it will reappear, ready to assist you with your next selection. CENTRAL COMMAND will handle up to 1200 programs and commands, divided into 80 pages. Each menu page may be password protected for your peace of mind, and an administrator password override will guard your setup against forgotton passwords. Arrow buttons effortlessly guide you through the 80 pages of programmable command buttons, and a Page Index buttons will jump you to any one of the pages instantly. The in-program screen saver, superb menu page navigation, integrated calculator w\memory and recorder, fully programmable foreground and background colors add to CENTRAL COMMANDS' list of features. THE CENTRAL COMMAND MENU INTERFACES The Main Menu Interface consists of two sections. The upper frame contains the EDIT COMMAND BUTTON, to be used when programming menu buttons, the EXIT BUTTON, the PAGE NAVIGATION BUTTONS that access different pages of programmed menu buttons, The PAGE INDEX BUTTON, that allows you to view the titles and jump to any of the pages, and the Date/Time display. The lower frame contains the 15 command buttons that will start your programs once they have been configured, a color bar that will change the color of the menu for you, the OPTIONS button, when activated will display the HELP BUTTON, the COMMAND SHELL BUTTON, THE EDIT TITLE BUTTON, the SCREEN SAVER TOGGLE BUTTON, the PASSWORD PROTECT BUTTON, and the DISABLE PROTECT BUTTON. It also contains the FILE OPERATIONS BUTTON, which will activate the file operation interface. The Edit Command Interface consists of three edit fields, marked TITLE, DIRECTORY, and EXECUTABLE. It also contains command buttons captioned O.K., CANCEL, and VIEW DIRECTORIES. To the right of these buttons is an option box entitled PARAMETER PROMPT. For the function of these controls see the help topic (PROGRAMMING COMMAND BUTTONS). The Directory View Interface consists of a Drive List, Directory List, a File List, an EXIT command button, as well as file pattern option buttons. For the use of these controls, see the help topic (USING THE DIRECTORY VIEW INTERFACE). You can shift the focus to any of the controls on these three interfaces by using the tab key, and then activate a command button with the enter key. Keys that have a highlighted letter can be activated by pressing ALT in combination with the highlighted letter. Any command button can also be activated with a simple mouse click. The Edit Title interface consists of two input boxes, one to contain the page number you wish to alter, and one to contain the title you wish to assign to the page. When the edit title interface appears, these controls will contain the page number and the title, if any, of the currently displayed page. For more information regarding the editing of page titles, see the help topic (ASSIGNING PAGE TITLES). PROGRAMMING COMMAND BUTTONS To program or edit a command button, the procedure is as follows. First press or activate the EDIT COMMAND BUTTON by pressing alt-E, or by tabbing to it and pressing enter. A blue instruction bar will appear when you are in edit mode. Now you can select a button to edit, by just clicking on it. Or tab to it and press enter. You may access different menu pages with the PAGE NAVIGATION BUTTONS at this time also. Just go to the desired page, then select a button. When you select a command button to edit, a new form will appear to accept the input. This is the Edit Command Interface. See the help topic (THE CENTRAL COMMAND MENU INTERFACES). In the text box marked TITLE, type the title that you wish to have displayed on the command button. If you choose, you can add a highlighted letter to this title. For example, if the desired title is DOS SHELL, and you want the D to be highlighted, Type &DOS SHELL in the title field. If you wanted the S to be highlighted, type DOS &SHELL in the field. If you use this procedure, you can then activate the program that the command button handles by pressing ALT in combination with the highlighted letter. Try not to highlight any letter that is already highlighted on another command button on the same page. In the field marked Directory, type the name of the directory that holds the program you wish to run. For example, if the program is in the DOS directory of the drive of C, you would type C:\DOS in this edit field. In the edit field marked EXECUTABLE, type the name of the run file or command, followed by any parameter that you wish to include every time that the program is executed. For help with parameters see the help topic (USING COMMAND PARAMETERS). When you have finished with the editing of these three fields, you may activate the O.K. button, and the procedure will be complete. You can use the VIEW DIRECTORIES button to automatically fill the DIRECTORY and the EXECUTABLE edit fields if you wish. See the help topic (USING THE DIRECTORY VIEW INTERFACE). You can program CENTRAL COMMAND to start Windows programs by typing the path that holds your copy of Windows in the DIRECTORY field, and in the EXECUTABLE field type WIN.COM followed by the path\filename of the application that you wish to run. For example, if you have Windows installed in the drive of C, and you wish to configure CENTRAL COMMAND to start the Paintbrush program, type c:\windows in the DIRECTORY field then type win.com c:\windows\pbrush.exe in the EXECUTABLE field. When you hit the command button you just configured, Windows will immediately load Paintbrush. Control will return to CENTRAL COMMAND when you exit Windows. CENTRAL COMMAND is not intended to be started from within WINDOWS. Because WINDOWS is itself a sophisticated menu, the chance of layering more than one copy of CENTRAL COMMAND exists. The batch file will be unable to properly manage multiple incidences of the menu and may generate a bad command or filename error when you exit WINDOWS. Satisfactory results have been obtained running CENTRAL COMMAND from within WINDOWS, as long as you didn't use CENTRAL COMMAND to start WINDOWS during the same WINDOWS session. ASSIGNING PAGE TITLES Page titles may be assigned to any of the 80 pages provided in CENTRAL COMMAND 4.0 These titles will help you in the organization of your pages. Any title is allowed as long as it is under 19 characters in length. To assign or alter a title, press the OPTIONS button on the left center of your screen. Now select the The EDIT TITLE button. The Title Interface will appear, allowing you to select any page by scrolling the bar to the right of the page number edit box or by typing any number 1-80 into it. Then type the desired title into the title box and press O.K. A message box will then appear, notifying you that the change has been recorded. You may then program other page titles, or click EXIT to return to the main CENTRAL COMMAND interface. USING THE DIRECTORY VIEW INTERFACE This interface was included to help you indicate the paths and filenames of the programs that you wish to run with CENTRAL COMMAND. The operation of this form is quite basic. First choose the drive that the program you wish to assign to a command button is on from the displayed drive list. Open this list with a mouse click, and then click on the desired drive. You may also tab the focus to the drive list, and then type the drive letter to select the drive. The directory list will be automatically updated to reflect any change in the drive selection. Use the directory list to select the directory that contains the program. You can double click with the mouse to choose the a directory, or use the arrow keys to shift the focus and then select the highlighted directory with the enter key. Repeat this step to navigate down through sub directories as necessary. The file list will be updated with each directory change. Now select the desired file in the file list box, using the same method as with the directory list. When you find the desired filename you can double click it, or or hit the enter key while the filename is highlighted. The contents of the Directory and Executable edit fields will be updated. Activate the EXIT button and the Directory View Interface will close. Add any desired parameters to the end of filename displayed in the Executable field. See the help topic (USING COMMAND PARAMETERS). USING COMMAND PARAMETERS If you wish to start a program with parameters every time it's command button is activated, type the parameters after the filename or command in the EXECUTABLE edit field of the Edit Command Interface. For example, If you are wanting to start the DOS SHELL program with no parameters, you would type DOSSHELL.EXE here. As an example using parameters, let's assume that you are configuring a key to perform a memory check on your system. If DOS is in the c:\dos directory, type c:\dos in the DIRECTORY field of the Edit Command interface. A good command line to type into the executable field would be mem /c |more. The parameters /c and |more will always be executed with the mem command. The same technique could be applied to a format command such as format a: /u /f:1.2. If you would rather be prompted for parameters when you press a command button, don't add any parameters after the command. If you are programming a button for a text editor that accepts a filename command line argument, in the EXECUTABLE field type the name of the editor, such as EDITOR.EXE. Then check the box labeled Parameter Prompt at the bottom of the Edit Command Interface. Central command will then ask you for the filename parameter when you click the button that starts the editor. FILE OPERATIONS INTERFACE By pressing the FILE OPERATIONS button, you will activate the file operations interface. This interface allows you to perform basic MS-DOS file operations on single or multiple file selections. It also allows you to work with directories (removing, renaming,creating etc). The basic operation of this interface is simple, with the procedure as follows. When setting up to perform file operations on single or multiple files, the first step is to use the mouse or keyboard to select the file or files from the drive, directory, and file list boxes on this interface. Each time you double click on a filename in the file box, the file will appear in the SELECTED FILES LIST on the bottom of the interface. Clicking on additional filenames will add them to the list as well. If you click on the same filename twice, the operation will be ignored. If you are setting up for an operation that requires a destination path, such as a copy or move procedure, and have completed the file selection, then your next step is to select the destination path. To do this, select the drive first, then the directory from the directory list box. The selected path will appear in the TARGET PATH text box at the top left of your screen. When this reflects the desired path, select the desired operation from the File Operations menu at the very top of the interface. Some operations, such as DELETE , DATA WIPE and RENAME require no destination path. Therefore you may choose the desired procedure directly after selecting the files. In the RENAME FILES operation, you cannot indicate a new name that is on a diferent drive from the origional file. This will result in the rename across drives error message, and the operation will abort. You can accomplish this task by using the MOVE function. Operations performed on directories alone require no file selection. Choose the directory first, making sure it appears in the TARGET PATH text box, Then choose the operation. from the Direrctory Operation menu. The program will then prompt you for any additional information it needs. If you are creating a new directory, first select the directory that you wish to be the parent of the new directory. Then press MAKE DIR. The program will prompt you for the new directory name, then create it under the previously selected directory. When deleting directories, you must make sure that the directory that you intend to delete does not contain any subdirectories. Attempting to delete a directory that does have subdirectories will result in a path/file access error, and the operation will abort. You must delete all subdirectories of any given directory prior to deleting it. The File Operations Interface is password protectable by utilizing the options in the Security menu at the top of the screen. INTEGRATED CALCULATOR A utility calculator has been added to the program to give you instant access to mathamatical functions from CENTRAL COMMAND. The calcuator is unique in two ways. It provides a 7 place rotating memory, most only have one, and an integrated recorder screen that functions either like a paper tape desktop calculator, or as a full featured notepad. The calculator provides the four basic mathematical functions + - * ö, as well as square root, exponent, and percent functions. The last three are described in more detail below. SQUARE ROOT (û) To find the square root of any number, type the number so that it appears in the calculator screen, then press the square root button or press Alt-S. The square root will be displayed. EXPONENT (^) The exponent function is keyed just like one of the four basic functions. To find 10 to the fifth power, type 10 ^ 5, then =. PERCENT (%) The percent function is used in conjunction with the other operators. Several uses of this key follow. We will use the base number of 600 for example. To add 10% of 600 to itself type: 600 + 10 % Since 10% of 600 is 60, the answer will be 660. To subtract 10% of 600 from itself type: 600 - 10 % Since 10% of 600 is 60, the answer will be 540. To multiply 600 by 10% of itself type: 600 * 10 % Since 10% of 600 is 60, the answer will be 36000. To divide 600 by 10% of itself type: 600 ö 10 % Since 10% of 600 is 60, the answer will be 10. Two methods to find any percentage of any given number follow: Method 1 To find 10% of 600 type: 600 - 90 % Since 90% = 540, the answer is 60. To find 20 % of 600 type: 600 - 80 % Since 80% of 600 = 480, the answer = 120. Method 2 Multiply the percentage by 1 first, then multiply the answer by the number you wish to find the percentage of. Type: 1 * 10 % * 600 = Since 1 * 10 % = .10, .10 * 600 = 60, 10% = of 600 = 60. 7 PLACE ROTATING MEMORY This calculator is equipped with 7 memory modules. The values in the memory modules shift as new values are inserted, eventually rotating out the first number placed in memory with the addition of the eighth. To view and try out the rotating memory, select Show Rotating Memory in the Options Menu. The memory screen will appear below the calculator. You will notice that is has seven spaces for values with corresponding buttons labeled M1 - M7. To practice using the memory, try this excercise. Make a calculation and obtain the answer, then press the MEM button. The answer will be placed in the first space (M1). Perform another calculation and when you obtain that answer press MEM. It will be placed in the first slot, displacing the current value to M2. To add both of these values together, clear the calculator, then press M1 on memory screen, then +, then M2 on the memory screen, then the = key. This should give you the idea. RECORDER SCREEN This text recorder is tightly integrated with the calculator. You can use it to keep a record of your calculations as you compute a lengthy solution, and even add descriptions to any calculation for clarity. This recording can be saved to a file, and recalled back into the calculator at any time to resume computation. It can also used independently as a notepad. You can open and edit text files, and then save to any path. It has full cut/copy/paste functionality, printing support, and allows you to select any value in the text file and insert it into the calculator. To activate the recorder, select Show Recorder Screen in the Options menu of the calculator. The recorder screen will appear to the right of your calculator. A new menu labeled Recorder Options will appear to the right of the Help menu, containing the various options of the recorder. To use the recorder to record your calculations as you compute, just press the record button or ALT-R at the end of each computation. A full calculation record will be appended to the end of the recorder text. You can type in a description at this time also. Immediately after pressing Record, press the spacebar and type in your description. It will appear after the calculation record. This allows you to quickly type a description without shifting the focus from the calculator. You can not type numeric characters or those that signify operators when you employ this method because the calculator will attempt to process that type of input. For more control over what you can place in your description, shift the focus to the recorder screen by clicking it with the mouse, or by using the TAB key. This will allow you to type in any character, and place it anywhere you want on the recorder screen. You can maximize the recorder screen if you wish by selecting Maximize Recorder Screen in the Recorder Options menu. This will turn it into a full screen editor. You minimize it by selecting Minimize Recorder Screen in the same menu. When the recorder screen is maximized, you can perform calculations without minimizing the screen. Do this by pressing the TAB key. You will notice that the word CALC will appear in the upper left hand corner of the recorder screen. This indicates that the recorder is ready to accept valid numeric or operator characters as part of a computation. As you enter the numbers, they will not be visible on the recorder screen. When the computation is complete, press ALT-R, and the full description will be written. To insert a value that is contained in the recorder text into the calculator, just select it with the mouse, and then choose Insert Value in the Recorder Options Menu. The highlighted text will appear in the calculator. You can print recorder text as well, by selecting Print Recorder Text in the Recorder Options menu. The recorder will attempt to print to the DEFAULT system printer. If you have selected text, it will print that. If not, it will print the entire recorder contents. As you use the calculator, you will become familiar with the operation and flexibility of it. What you can do with it is limited only by the imagination. USING THE COMMAND SHELL CENTRAL COMMAND gives you access to DOS command line functions that you do not wish to program a command button for. To access the command shell, activate the OPTIONS button and then from the list of the command buttons that appears, select the COMMAND SHELL BUTTON. An input box will appear, with instructions, an O.K button, and a CANCEL button. Type any DOS command you wish in the edit box, then click O.K, or press ENTER when the O.K button has the focus. The program will run your command, then leave you at the command shell prompt, waiting for additional commands. You can run as many commands as is necessary for your task, then type exit to return to CENTRAL COMMAND. The command shell prompt.appears similar to the dos prompt, but it is not. CENTRAL COMMAND is still active in memory when you are using the command prompt, so don't attempt to run very large programs that may need the 230,000 bytes of ram that CENTRAL COMMAND will be residing in. Also, I have found that if you are in the CENTRAL COMMAND command shell, it is possible to activate another running copy of CENTRAL COMMAND from the prompt. The problem is that the first copy remains in memory, using up your valuable ram. Try to avoid this. The CENTRAL COMMAND shell prompt will appear as follows. TYPE EXIT TO RETURN TO CENTRAL COMMAND PATH = C:\ COMMAND ÄÄ> WORKING WITH PASSWORD SECURITY CENTRAL COMMAND allows you to assign a password to protect any of the 80 menu pages from unauthorized use. The password assignment is as easy as clicking the PASSWORD PROTECT BUTTON that appears when you open the OPTIONS frame, and then entering the password into the PASSWORD ENTRY FORM that appears. If the page has already been protected, you will be prompted for the current password. If you can enter it correctly, you will be allowed to change it at this time. Disabling the password protection of a page is accomplished with the DISABLE PROTECT BUTTON. It will prompt you for the current password, if any, and disable protection of that page if you provide the current password. When CENTRAL COMMAND is run for the first time, you will be asked to provide an administrator password. It is to be used to regain access to pages in case passwords are forgotton. You have only one chance to enter this administration password, so choose it carefully. Write it down and keep it in a safe place. You will have to reset CENTRAL COMMAND if you have forgotten the administrator password. USING THE PAGE INDEX BUTTON To aid you in page selection, CENTRAL COMMAND has been given a PAGE INDEX BUTTON. It is nested between the two PAGE NAVIGATION BUTTONS, and will show you a list of all 80 pages and their titles, and take you instantly to any one of them with a simple mouse click. To use this feature, simply click once on the PAGE INDEX BUTTON, and a list will appear directly beneath it containing the page numbers and their titles. Use the scroll bar on the right of this list to see all 80 pages. When you see the desired page, doouble click on it with the mouse, or tab to it with the tab key and press enter. The list will close, and the selected page will appear. You may close the index list without making a selection by clicking on the PAGE INDEX BUTTON again, now displaying the caption CLOSE INDEX. RESETTING THE CONFIGURATION If you need to totally reset the programming of all the command buttons, in the case of data file corruption, or CENTRAL COMMAND fails to perform properly, delete the contents of the CENTCMND directory, delete the directory, and run ccsetup again. The program will be reinstalled, with data files initialized and ready to receive new programming. CHANGING THE MENU COLORS To change the color of the main menu interface, either click on the color bar in the right center of the main interface, or tab the focus to the desired color of the bar and hit enter. The interface's color will then change and the new color will become the default. The color bar consists of two bands of colored squares, with the first used to assign foreground colors, and the second dedicated to background. If you attempt to assign the same color to the background and the foreground, you will hear a beep, and the operation will self cancel. CHANGING THE DISPLAYED TIME If the date and time is not correct on the interface, it indicates that your system time is not correct. To correct this problem at the DOS prompt, execute the time and the date commands. See your DOS manual. THE SCREEN SAVER FUNCTION For your convenience I have included a small screen saver in this application. It toggles on and off with the use of the command button in the middle of the Main Menu Interface. You can click this button with the mouse, or use ALT-S. Any change in the on/off status of this switch will be recorded along with the interface color in the configuration file as the default. This means that if you turn it off during one session, it will be off the next time that you run CENTRAL COMMAND. You must then turn it on if you want this function. Once the screen saver activates, any key press will stop it and return you to the Main Menu Interface. DISCLAIMER NAILLONWORKS PROGRAMMING will not be liable for any loss including but not limited to lost data, time, profits, or wages resulting from the use or improper use, or inability to use any NAILLONWORKS product including CENTRAL COMMAND 4.0 Evaluation Version. VENDOR NOTE You have the right to distribute the CENTRAL COMMAND MENU SYSTEM version 4.0 evaluation copy, royalty free and in unlimited quantity providing that the distribution files CCMNDOBJ.EXE, CCMNDHLP.TXT, NVENDOR.TXT, CCSETUP.EXE and READFRST.TXT are all included, unaltered and in their entirety, on any distribution diskette, in any compressed distribution archive, or any other method.