Zodiac Super OZ/MEDIADEPOT.ISO/FILES/16/FREEDOS.ZIP/FD_A4PRE.ZIP/HELP/MODE

Text File | 1995-06-28 | 14KB | 342 lines

    Program usage documentation for the Free-DOS MODE program

    (c) Copyright 1994-1995 by K. Heidenstrom.

    Modified:

    KH.941231.001  (MODE 1.0.0)  First version
    KH.950116.002  (MODE 1.0.2)  Added switchar documentation
    KH.950520.003  (MODE 1.0.3)  No changes to functionality

1.  LEGAL

    This program is Copyright 1994-1995 by K. Heidenstrom.    It was
    written specifically for the Free-DOS project.    The author may
    be reached at [e-mail] on the Internet or by snail
    mail: K. Heidenstrom c/- P.O. Box 27-103, Wellington, New Zealand.

    This program is free software.    You may redistribute the source and
    executable and/or modify the program under the terms of the GNU
    General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation;
    either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
    but is provided "as-is", without any warranty of any kind, including
    the implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular
    purpose.  In no event will the author be liable for any damages of
    any kind related to the use of this program.  See the GNU General
    Public License for more details.

    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
    along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
    Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

2.  FUNCTION AND USAGE SYNTAX

    The MODE program performs six separate functions, which are
    described separately below.

2.1.  SET VIDEO MODE AND NUMBER OF SCREEN LINES

    MODE allows the video mode to be set to one of five modes.  The
    syntax is:

    MODE Videomode[,Lines]

    The modes are:

    MONO    Monochrome mode, as used with the MDA and Hercules adapter
        cards, and also emulated on EGA and VGA cards.    This mode
        is the only mode which has the ability to underline
        characters on the screen by default.  This mode cannot be
        selected on the CGA video card.

    BW40    40-column color-suppressed mode.  This mode is specific to
        the CGA adapter, and gives a display of 40 columns by 25
        lines.    The color information of the composite video signal
        from the CGA card is turned off, so that the display is in
        black and white on a composite color monitor, with sixteen
        shades of grey.
        If this mode is selected on an EGA or VGA card, or a CGA card
        that is not connected to a television set or a composite color
        monitor, it will appear the same as the CO40 mode (i.e. the
        color will not be suppressed).    This mode cannot be selected
        on MDA and Hercules video cards.

    BW80    80-column color-suppressed mode.  This mode is also specific
        to the CGA adapter and is the same as BW40 except that there
        are 80 columns.
        If this mode is selected on an EGA or VGA card, or a CGA card
        that is not connected to a television set or a composite color
        monitor, it will appear the same as the CO40 mode (i.e. the
        color will not be suppressed).    This mode cannot be selected
        on MDA and Hercules video cards.

    CO40    40-column color mode.  This mode gives 40 columns by 25 lines
        color display.    It is supported by CGA, EGA, and VGA adapters
        but not by MDA and Hercules cards.

    CO80    80-column color mode.  This mode gives an 80 column by 25 line
        display and is the normal display mode for CGA, EGA and VGA
        cards.    It is not supported by MDA and Hercules cards.    On EGA
        cards, this mode also supports a 43-line variant, and on VGA
        cards, the 43-line variant and a 50-line variant are supported.

        The 43-line and 50-line modes can be selected by specifying
        ",43" or ",50" after the CO80 on the MODE command line.  If
        this parameter is not specified, the default of 25 lines will
        be used.

    Once set, the video mode will remain in effect until changed by
    a MODE command or by a program.  The video mode is not locked
    permanently - programs are free to change video modes as they
    require.

2.2.  CONFIGURE SERIAL PORT PARAMETERS

    MODE allows the communication parameters of a serial port to be
    configured.  The syntax is:

    MODE COMn:r,p,d,s

    n    Specifies which serial port is to be configured, in the range
        1 to 4.  If the serial port does not exist, MODE will report
        an error.

    r    Specifies the baud rate in bits per second.  Values are:
        50, 110, 150, 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 14400,
        19200, 28800, 38400, 57600, and 115200.

        1200, 2400, 4800, and 9600 may be abbreviated to 12, 24,
        48 and 96 respectively.  14400, 19200, 28800, 38400, and
        57600 may be abbreviated to their first two or three digits.
        115200 may be abbreviated to 115 or 1152.

    p    Specifies the type of parity generated and checked on
        the data bytes.  Values are:

        E = Even parity
        O = Odd parity
        N = No parity

    d    Specifies the number of data bits that will be transmitted
        and received.  The allowable values are 5, 6, 7, and 8.

    s    Specifies the number of stop bits that will be transmitted
        and expected.  This may be 1 or 2.  If 2 stop bits are
        used in conjunction with 5 data bits, the serial port will
        actually generate and check 1 1/2 stop bits.

    Once set, the serial port parameters will remain in effect until
    changed by a MODE command or by a program.  The serial port settings
    are not locked permanently - programs are free to change them as
    they require.

2.3.  PARALLEL PORT REDIRECTION AND INFINITE RETRIES

    MODE allows parallel (LPT) port output to be redirected to a serial
    (COM) port, to NUL (i.e. nothing), and also can retry indefinitely
    if the peripheral fails to respond.

    These functions are performed by the resident portion of MODE, which
    will be automatically installed if necessary when the function is
    requested.

    The syntax is:

    MODE LPTn:P        Infinite timeout on parallel port
    MODE LPTn:=COMx        Redirect printer output to COM port
    MODE LPTn:=NUL:        Redirect printer output to NUL
    MODE LPTn:        Remove redirection and infinite timeout

    The LPTn:P function specifies infinite retries on timeout.  If
    this is enabled, MODE will retry continuously if the printer
    fails to respond.  If this is not enabled, and the printer fails
    to respond within a certain length of time (typically about half
    a minute), a write fault error will be reported.

    The LPTn:=COMx and LPTn:=NUL: functions specify redirection of
    printer output.  Any parallel port (whether it exists or not) may
    be redirected to any existing serial port, or to NUL.  More than
    one parallel port may be redirected to the same serial port or
    to NUL.  These functions are useful if you have a serial printer,
    or if you have no printer and want to avoid locking up the computer
    if a program attempts to print to a nonexistent printer.

    The LPTn: function removes any redirection and infinite timeout
    that may be configured for the specified port, and returns it to
    normal operation.

2.4.  HARD DISK PARK FUNCTIONS

    MODE will park the hard disk or hard disks (only the first two
    physical hard disks in the system), either immediately, or after
    the disk has been idle for a period of time.

    The timed park function is performed by the resident portion of MODE,
    which will be automatically installed if necessary when the function
    is requested.

    The syntax is:

    MODE PARK            Park now
    MODE PARK,minutes[:seconds]    Park after hard disk has been idle

    The PARK function parks the hard disk(s) immediately and waits for
    you to switch off the computer.  You can also press Ctrl-C to quit
    and return to DOS.

    The PARK,minutes[:seconds] function causes the hard disk(s) to be
    parked after a certain period of inactivity, which may be up to
    50 minutes.  If you have two physical hard disks, they are both
    handled separately.

    Once set, you can change the time period by executing the command
    again with a different time value.  The timed park function cannot
    be turned off - you must reboot to remove it.

    These functions are generally only useful for older machines.
    Modern hard drives park themselves automatically when switched
    off.

2.5.  TYPEMATIC FUNCTIONS

    MODE allows the typematic (auto-repeat) initial repeat delay and
    repeat rate parameters to be set, and optionally locked.

    The typematic lock function is performed by the resident portion of
    MODE, which will be automatically installed if necessary when the
    function is requested.

    The syntax is:

    MODE DELAY=d RATE=r        Set typematic parameters
    MODE DELAY=d RATE=r LOCK    Set and lock typematic parameters

    d    Specifies the initial delay, the range is 1 to 4 and the
        delay is between 1/4 second (1) and one second (4).

    r    Specifies the auto-repeat rate.  The range is 1 to 32 and
        the rate is between two repeats per second (1) and 30 repeats
        per second (32).

    LOCK    Specifies that the typematic parameters should be locked.
        Once this is done, the typematic parameters may be changed
        by runing MODE again, but cannot be changed by most other
        programs.  This can be useful, as some programs will change
        the typematic parameters without your permission.  It is
        not completely foolproof, however, and there are several
        things that a program could do which will defeat the locking
        feature of MODE.

    Note that both DELAY and REPEAT must be specified for these functions.

    MODE does not attempt to confirm that typematic setting is available
    on the machine.  I tried to do this using int 15h function 0C0h and
    int 16h function 9 but it seems that these are not fully supported
    by enough machines to be a reliable indicator.    MODE will accept all
    typematic commands, whether or not the machine actually supports them.

2.6.  SWITCHAR FUNCTIONS

    MODE can display and set the DOS switch character (switchar).
    The default switchar is the forward slash, '/'.  The switchar is the
    character that is used to indicate the start of an option switch, e.g.
    the /P switch to the DIR command.  Typically, the switchar may be
    changed to '-'.  The switchar is an undocumented DOS feature that is
    properly supported by few programs.

    The syntax is:

    MODE SWITCHAR            Display current switchar
    MODE SWITCHAR=x            Set switchar to character
    MODE SWITCHAR=n            Set switchar to ASCII value n

    The SWITCHAR parameter by itself causes MODE to display the current
    switchar.  The SWITCHAR= usage sets the switchar.  The new switchar
    may be specified as a character (e.g. 'MODE SWITCHAR=/') or as a
    number (e.g. 'MODE SWITCHAR=45').

3.  GENERAL

    Parameters to MODE are not case sensitive.

    MODE can only process one command on each invocation.  If you
    want to redirect several LPT ports, you must use a separate
    MODE command for each.    Commands of different types cannot be
    combined on the command line.

    Error messages are always sent to StdErr, which is not redirected
    by the DOS output redirection facilities.  Informational messages
    are sent to standard output, and may be redirected to NUL: for
    'quiet' operation.

    Errorlevels returned by MODE are as follows:

    0    No error
    115    Serial port does not exist (either for COMn: or LPTn:=COMx)
    117    No hard disk(s) found to park
    118    Specified video mode is not supported on this machine
    162    Insufficient memory (MODE requires about 6K of memory)
    241    Parameter out of range (e.g. time value, LPT port number etc)
    242    Cannot have 43-line or 50-line modes with modes other than CO80
    243    Unknown baud rate
    244    Must specify both DELAY= and RATE= for typematic setting
    246    More than one command or command type was given
    255    Incorrect usage syntax (all usage syntax errors)

    MODE is a TSR program.    If required, MODE will install part of itself
    resident in the computer's memory.  This resident portion performs
    printer redirection and timeout handling, automatic parking of the
    hard drive, and locking of the typematic parameters, and cannot be
    removed without rebooting (unless the public domain MARK and RELEASE
    programs are used).  If additional resident functions are required
    and the resident portion is installed, MODE will enable those
    functions in the resident portion rather than installing another
    resident portion.

    Because MODE is a TSR, it may be incompatible with applications
    or other TSRs you may be using.  If problems occur, try to establish
    which programs are conflicting.  It may be possible to avoid the
    problem by installing the programs in a different order.

    If you find a bug in MODE, please inform the author.  The contact
    details are given in section 1 of this document and in the source
    code.

4.  USAGE EXAMPLES

    Here is a sample of MODE's usage in AUTOEXEC.BAT, demonstrating all
    features:

    mode co80,43            >nul:
    mode com1:96,n,8,1        >nul:
    mode com2:19,n,8,1        >nul:
    mode com3:24,n,8,1        >nul:
    mode lpt1:=com2            >nul:
    mode lpt1:p            >nul:
    mode lpt2:=nul:            >nul:
    mode lpt3:=nul:            >nul:
    mode park,0:30            >nul:
    mode delay=1 rate=32 lock    >nul:
    mode switchar=-            >nul:

    This sequence firsts selects 43-line color display mode, then
    configures the serial port parameters for COM1, COM2 and COM3
    (9600, 19200, and 2400 bps respectively, with no parity, eight
    data bits and one stop bit).  These serial port parameters are
    not locked permanently, and another MODE command or another
    program may change these at any time.
    Then, LPT1 output is redirected to COM2, so anything that is
    printed to LPT1 will be sent out COM2 instead, at 19200 bps
    (for example, to a serial laser printer), and LPT2 and LPT3
    are redirected to NUL so that anything that is sent to them
    will go nowhere.
    Then a timed hard disk park is installed, which will park the
    hard disk(s) after 30 seconds of no hard disk activity.
    Finally, the shortest delay and fastest rate for the keyboard
    typematic function is selected and locked, and the DOS switchar
    is set to a hyphen ('-').

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