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=================================================================== <*> Computer Tyme MarxMenu <*> Reference Manual Copyright 1989 - 1991 by Marc Perkel All Rights Reserved * Version 2.23 * Release Date: 01-22-91 Computer Tyme * 411 North Sherman Suite 300 * Springfield Mo. 65802 (417) 866-1222 voice * (417) 866-1665 bbs Fax: (417) 866-0135 CompuServe 76505,1120 =================================================================== Computer Tyme MarxMenu * Table of Contents Page 1 _______________________________________________________________ Copyright ......................................... 1 License ........................................... 1 Warranty .......................................... 1 Acknowledgments ................................... 2 Trademarks ........................................ 2 The MarxMenu Name ................................. 2 Technical Support ................................. 3 Overview of the MarxMenu System ................... 3 -- What MarxMenu Does ............................. 5 -- For the POWER User ............................. 6 Installation ...................................... 7 The MARX.BAT File ................................. 8 -- DROPTO.BAT ..................................... 10 -- Support for early DOS versions ................. 11 -- About Environment Variables .................... 12 -- Dealing with Multiple DOS Shells ............... 13 -- MarxMenu and TSR Control ....................... 14 Network Users ..................................... 14 -- Novell Users ................................... 15 ---- The Novell Menu Translator ................... 16 ---- Logging out under Menu Control ............... 16 ---- Logging in with MarxMenu ..................... 17 ------ The CONFIG.SYS File ........................ 17 ------ The AUTOEXEC.BAT File ...................... 18 ------ Using a Menu File to Log In ................ 19 ---- Novell Semaphores ............................ 20 Running a MarxMenu ................................ 21 Customizing MarxMenu Sample Files ................. 21 Menu Analysis ..................................... 22 Onkey Statements .................................. 23 Popup Menus ....................................... 23 The Console ....................................... 24 Repositioning the Top Window ...................... 25 Mouse Support ..................................... 25 Starting off the Easy Way ......................... 26 About Variables ................................... 26 -- Real Numbers ................................... 27 -- Local Variables ................................ 28 -- Passing Parameters to Procedures ............... 28 About Constants ................................... 30 About Arrays ...................................... 30 About Qualifiers .................................. 31 Comments in Menu Files ............................ 32 The MarxMenu Compiler ............................. 33 Compiler Compatibility ............................ 33 A word about DOS versions ......................... 34 A word about BUGS ................................. 34 Tips From the Master .............................. 35 -- Computers do Simple Tasks ...................... 35 -- Complex Tasks are made of Simple Tasks ......... 35 -- Learning Good Programming Habits ............... 36 Computer Tyme MarxMenu * Table of Contents Page 2 _______________________________________________________________ -- Use Long Names ................................. 36 -- Use Comments Liberally ......................... 38 -- Indent Your code ............................... 39 -- For Duplicate Tasks, Use Procedures ............ 39 -- Don't Program Yourself into a Corner ........... 40 A word to Writers and Reviewers ................... 40 Using MarxHelp .................................... 41 Printing the Example Files ........................ 42 MarxMenu Commands ................................. 42 -- | .............................................. 42 -- ( .............................................. 43 -- ) .............................................. 43 -- * .............................................. 43 -- + .............................................. 43 -- - .............................................. 43 -- / .............................................. 43 -- < .............................................. 43 -- <= ............................................. 44 -- <> ............................................. 44 -- = .............................................. 44 -- > .............................................. 44 -- >= ............................................. 44 -- %MenuFileName .................................. 44 -- Abs ............................................ 44 -- Alias .......................................... 45 -- And ............................................ 45 -- Apr ............................................ 45 -- ArcTan ......................................... 45 -- Aug ............................................ 45 -- Bat ............................................ 46 -- BatFileName .................................... 46 -- BigShadow ...................................... 46 -- Black .......................................... 46 -- BlankMessage ................................... 46 -- BlankTime ...................................... 46 -- BlockBox ....................................... 47 -- Blue ........................................... 47 -- BoxBorderColor ................................. 47 -- BoxHeader ...................................... 47 -- BoxHeaderLeft .................................. 47 -- BoxHeaderRight ................................. 48 -- BoxHeaderColor ................................. 48 -- BoxFooter ...................................... 48 -- BoxFooterLeft .................................. 48 -- BoxFooterRight ................................. 49 -- BoxInsideColor ................................. 49 -- Brown .......................................... 49 -- BW40 ........................................... 49 -- BW80 ........................................... 49 -- CapsColor ...................................... 49 -- CapsLock ....................................... 49 -- Chain .......................................... 50 Computer Tyme MarxMenu * Table of Contents Page 3 _______________________________________________________________ -- Char ........................................... 50 -- ChDir .......................................... 50 -- CleanFileName .................................. 50 -- ClearLine ...................................... 50 -- ClearScreen .................................... 51 -- ClearScreenFirst ............................... 51 -- ClearScreenOnExit .............................. 51 -- ClockColor ..................................... 51 -- ClockMode ...................................... 51 -- ClockPos ....................................... 52 -- ClosePrinter ................................... 52 -- ClusterSize .................................... 53 -- CmdLine ........................................ 53 -- CO40 ........................................... 53 -- CO80 ........................................... 53 -- ColorScreen .................................... 53 -- Comment ........................................ 54 -- Console ........................................ 54 -- ConsoleBorderColor ............................. 54 -- ConsoleHeaderColor ............................. 54 -- ConsoleInsideColor ............................. 54 -- ConsolePos ..................................... 55 -- Const .......................................... 55 -- Cos ............................................ 55 -- CurrentEnvironment ............................. 55 -- CurrentWindow .................................. 55 -- Cursor ......................................... 55 -- CustomBox ...................................... 56 -- Cyan ........................................... 56 -- DateString ..................................... 56 -- Day ............................................ 56 -- DayOfWeek ...................................... 56 -- Dec ............................................ 56 -- Delete ......................................... 57 -- DelFile ........................................ 57 -- Dispose ........................................ 58 -- DosVersion ..................................... 58 -- DosVersionString ............................... 58 -- DosWindow ...................................... 58 -- DoubleLineBox .................................. 58 -- DrawBox ........................................ 59 -- Drives ......................................... 59 -- DvAppNumber .................................... 59 -- DvFrame ........................................ 59 -- DvFreeze ....................................... 59 -- DvHide ......................................... 60 -- DvKillTask ..................................... 60 -- DvLastHandle ................................... 60 -- DvLoaded ....................................... 60 -- DvMoveWindow ................................... 60 -- DvMyHandle ..................................... 60 -- DvPifExecute ................................... 61 Computer Tyme MarxMenu * Table of Contents Page 4 _______________________________________________________________ -- DvResizeWindow ................................. 61 -- DvSetBottom .................................... 61 -- DvSetTop ....................................... 61 -- DvUnFreeze ..................................... 62 -- DvUnHide ....................................... 62 -- Else ........................................... 62 -- EndComment ..................................... 62 -- Endif .......................................... 62 -- EndLoop ........................................ 62 -- EndOfFile ...................................... 63 -- EndProc ........................................ 63 -- EndWhile ....................................... 63 -- EnvFree ........................................ 63 -- EnvSize ........................................ 63 -- EraseTopWindow ................................. 63 -- Execute ........................................ 64 -- ExistDir ....................................... 64 -- ExistFile ...................................... 65 -- ExistOnPath .................................... 65 -- ExitCode ....................................... 65 -- ExitMenu ....................................... 65 -- Exp ............................................ 65 -- Explode ........................................ 65 -- ExplodeDelay ................................... 65 -- False .......................................... 66 -- Feb ............................................ 66 -- FileAppend ..................................... 66 -- FileAssign ..................................... 66 -- FileAttr ....................................... 66 -- FileClose ...................................... 66 -- FileCreate ..................................... 66 -- FileDate ....................................... 67 -- FileFlush ...................................... 67 -- FileLog ........................................ 67 -- FileOpen ....................................... 67 -- FilePos ........................................ 67 -- FileReadln ..................................... 67 -- FileRename ..................................... 68 -- FileResult ..................................... 68 -- FileSeek ....................................... 68 -- FileSize ....................................... 68 -- FileWrite ...................................... 68 -- FileWriteln .................................... 68 -- FixPath ........................................ 68 -- Floppies ....................................... 68 -- ForceExplosion ................................. 69 -- ForceExtension ................................. 69 -- Fraction ....................................... 69 -- FreeDiskSpace .................................. 69 -- FreeEms ........................................ 69 -- FreeMemory ..................................... 69 -- Fri ............................................ 69 Computer Tyme MarxMenu * Table of Contents Page 5 _______________________________________________________________ -- GotoXY ......................................... 70 -- Green .......................................... 70 -- Grey ........................................... 70 -- Hour ........................................... 70 -- Hundredth ...................................... 70 -- If ............................................. 70 -- InactiveBox .................................... 71 -- InactiveBoxColor ............................... 71 -- Include ........................................ 71 -- InputString .................................... 72 -- Insert ......................................... 72 -- InsertMode ..................................... 72 -- Int ............................................ 72 -- Integer ........................................ 72 -- InverseColor ................................... 72 -- Jan ............................................ 73 -- Jul ............................................ 73 -- Jun ............................................ 73 -- Jump ........................................... 73 -- KbdReady ....................................... 73 -- KeySave ........................................ 73 -- KillMusic ...................................... 73 -- LastKey ........................................ 74 -- LBlue .......................................... 74 -- LCyan .......................................... 74 -- Left ........................................... 74 -- Length ......................................... 74 -- LGreen ......................................... 74 -- LGrey .......................................... 74 -- LMag ........................................... 74 -- LMagenta ....................................... 75 -- Ln ............................................. 75 -- Loc ............................................ 75 -- LockWord ....................................... 75 -- Loop ........................................... 75 -- LoopIndex ...................................... 76 -- LoopLimit ...................................... 76 -- LRed ........................................... 76 -- Mag ............................................ 76 -- Magenta ........................................ 76 -- Mar ............................................ 76 -- MarxVersion .................................... 76 -- MasterEnvironment .............................. 77 -- Max ............................................ 77 -- May ............................................ 77 -- Mem ............................................ 77 -- MemSize ........................................ 77 -- MemW ........................................... 77 -- MenuKeyBuffer .................................. 77 -- Mid ............................................ 78 -- Min ............................................ 78 -- MinorDosVersion ................................ 78 Computer Tyme MarxMenu * Table of Contents Page 6 _______________________________________________________________ -- Minute ......................................... 78 -- Mod ............................................ 78 -- ModifyPath ..................................... 78 -- Mon ............................................ 78 -- Mono ........................................... 79 -- Month .......................................... 79 -- Mouse .......................................... 79 -- MouseHorizontal ................................ 79 -- MouseVertical .................................. 79 -- MoveWindow ..................................... 80 -- MxCmd .......................................... 80 -- NetworkVersion ................................. 80 -- NextWord ....................................... 80 -- No ............................................. 80 -- NoBoxBorder .................................... 81 -- NoExit ......................................... 81 -- Not ............................................ 81 -- NotesLeft ...................................... 81 -- NotesPlayed .................................... 81 -- Nov ............................................ 81 -- NovCloseSemaphore .............................. 81 -- NovConnection .................................. 81 -- NovConsoleOperator ............................. 82 -- NovDefaultServer ............................... 82 -- NovGroupMembers ................................ 82 -- NovInGroup ..................................... 82 -- NovLogin ....................................... 82 -- NovLoginName ................................... 82 -- NovLogout ...................................... 83 -- NovMapDrive .................................... 83 -- NovMyLoginName ................................. 83 -- NovMyPassword .................................. 83 -- NovOpenSemaphore ............................... 83 -- NovPreferredServer ............................. 83 -- NovPrimaryServer ............................... 83 -- NovReadGroups .................................. 84 -- NovReadSecurityEquals .......................... 84 -- NovResult ...................................... 84 -- NovSemaphoreTimeOut ............................ 84 -- NovSemaphoreUsers .............................. 84 -- NovSemaphoreValue .............................. 84 -- NovServers ..................................... 84 -- NovSetPreferredServer .......................... 84 -- NovSignalSemaphore ............................. 85 -- NovStationAddress .............................. 85 -- NovUserInGroup ................................. 85 -- NovWaitOnSemaphore ............................. 85 -- NumberOfElements ............................... 85 -- NumLock ........................................ 85 -- Oct ............................................ 85 -- Off ............................................ 85 -- On ............................................. 86 Computer Tyme MarxMenu * Table of Contents Page 7 _______________________________________________________________ -- OnKey .......................................... 86 -- OnScreenOnly ................................... 86 -- OpenPrinter .................................... 87 -- OptionSwitch ................................... 87 -- Or ............................................. 87 -- Ord ............................................ 87 -- Overlay ........................................ 88 -- ParallelPorts .................................. 88 -- ParamStr ....................................... 88 -- ParentEnvironment .............................. 88 -- Password ....................................... 88 -- Path ........................................... 89 -- PauseAfterExecute .............................. 89 -- Pi ............................................. 89 -- PickFile ....................................... 89 -- PickMany ....................................... 90 -- PickOne ........................................ 90 -- PickPosition ................................... 90 -- Port ........................................... 90 -- Pos ............................................ 90 -- Power .......................................... 90 -- Pred ........................................... 91 -- Print .......................................... 91 -- PrinterName .................................... 91 -- Println ........................................ 91 -- Procedure ...................................... 91 -- PullMenu ....................................... 92 -- Qualifier ...................................... 92 -- Random ......................................... 92 -- ReadEnv ........................................ 92 -- ReadEnvironment ................................ 92 -- ReadKey ........................................ 93 -- Readln ......................................... 93 -- ReadTextFile ................................... 93 -- Real ........................................... 94 -- Reboot ......................................... 94 -- Red ............................................ 94 -- ReleaseDate .................................... 94 -- Repeat ......................................... 94 -- ResizeWindow ................................... 95 -- Return ......................................... 95 -- ReturnCode ..................................... 95 -- Right .......................................... 95 -- RollWindow ..................................... 96 -- Run ............................................ 96 -- Sat ............................................ 97 -- SavePosition ................................... 97 -- ScreenHeight ................................... 97 -- ScreenWidth .................................... 97 -- ScrollLock ..................................... 97 -- ScrollMove ..................................... 97 -- Second ......................................... 97 Computer Tyme MarxMenu * Table of Contents Page 8 _______________________________________________________________ -- Security ....................................... 98 -- SelectPath ..................................... 98 -- Sep ............................................ 98 -- SerialPorts .................................... 98 -- SetArraySize ................................... 98 -- SetEnv ......................................... 99 -- SetTopWindow ................................... 99 -- Shadow ......................................... 99 -- ShadowColor .................................... 99 -- ShadowPosition ................................. 100 -- Shared ......................................... 100 -- ShellEnvironment ............................... 100 -- Shl ............................................ 100 -- Shr ............................................ 100 -- Sin ............................................ 101 -- SingleLineBox .................................. 101 -- SmallShadow .................................... 101 -- Sound .......................................... 101 -- Sqr ............................................ 101 -- StandardIO ..................................... 101 -- Str ............................................ 101 -- StuffAKey ...................................... 102 -- StuffKBD ....................................... 102 -- StuffKeyboardNow ............................... 102 -- Succ ........................................... 102 -- Suggest ........................................ 102 -- Sun ............................................ 102 -- TextBackground ................................. 103 -- TextColor ...................................... 103 -- TextMode ....................................... 103 -- TextPos ........................................ 103 -- TextSeek ....................................... 103 -- Then ........................................... 103 -- Thu ............................................ 104 -- Timer .......................................... 104 -- TimeString ..................................... 104 -- Tone ........................................... 104 -- TotalDiskSpace ................................. 104 -- TotalEms ....................................... 104 -- Trim ........................................... 105 -- True ........................................... 105 -- Tue ............................................ 105 -- UniqueFileName ................................. 105 -- Until .......................................... 105 -- UpperCase ...................................... 105 -- UpperCaseOnly .................................. 105 -- UseArrows ...................................... 106 -- UseCommand ..................................... 106 -- UsedDiskSpace .................................. 106 -- Value .......................................... 107 -- Var ............................................ 107 -- VideoMode ...................................... 107 Computer Tyme MarxMenu * Table of Contents Page 9 _______________________________________________________________ -- VideoPage ...................................... 107 -- ViewTextFile ................................... 107 -- Volume ......................................... 107 -- Wait ........................................... 107 -- WaitOrKbdReady ................................. 107 -- Wed ............................................ 107 -- WhereX ......................................... 108 -- WhereXAbs ...................................... 108 -- WhereY ......................................... 108 -- WhereYAbs ...................................... 108 -- While .......................................... 108 -- White .......................................... 108 -- WindowHeight ................................... 108 -- WindowWidth .................................... 108 -- Write .......................................... 109 -- WriteCenter .................................... 109 -- Writeln ........................................ 109 -- WritePort ...................................... 109 -- WriteTextFile .................................. 109 -- WriteVertical .................................. 109 -- Xor ............................................ 109 -- Year ........................................... 110 -- Yellow ......................................... 110 -- Yes ............................................ 110 Command Categories ................................ 110 -- Misc Commands .................................. 110 -- Math Commands .................................. 111 -- Float Commands ................................. 112 -- String Commands ................................ 112 -- Boolean Commands ............................... 113 -- MonthName Commands ............................. 114 -- Execution Commands ............................. 114 -- Display Commands ............................... 114 -- Color Commands ................................. 116 -- Video Commands ................................. 116 -- System Commands ................................ 116 -- File Commands .................................. 117 -- Printer Commands ............................... 117 -- Environment Commands ........................... 118 -- Time Commands .................................. 118 -- Array Commands ................................. 118 -- Memory Commands ................................ 119 -- DesqView Commands .............................. 119 -- Conditional Commands ........................... 119 -- WeekDay Commands ............................... 120 -- Keyboard Commands .............................. 120 -- Music Commands ................................. 120 -- MouseControl Commands .......................... 120 -- Novell Commands ................................ 121 -- Variable Commands .............................. 121 -- String and Character Constants ................. 121 Conditional Statements ............................ 123 Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 1 _______________________________________________________________ COPYRIGHT COPYRIGHT COPYRIGHT This manual is copyrighted material and all rights are reserved. MarxMenu is a programming language which describes to the computer what it is supposed to do. Even though some of the individual words in MarxMenu are used in other programming languages, I claim a copyright on the collection of words which make up the MarxMenu language. I therefore consider it an infringement of my CopyRight to create a software product which uses the MarxMenu language, or translates MarxMenu source code, without purchasing a license to do so. The combinations of definitions of commands in this manual constitute a copyrighted work. Any publication which describes a computer language for which the MarxMenu command set is a subset is a violation of the copyright of this software and this written manual. In other words, don't try to clone MarxMenu. LICENSE AGREEMENT: LICENSE AGREEMENT: LICENSE AGREEMENT: You are licensed to use this program on a single CPU or workstation. If you are running on a network, you are required to license a separate copy for each workstation or a file server license for each file server. If you are running on a multiuser operating system such as Concurrent DOS, you are required to license a copy for each workstation. Everyone who uses this menu, must license a copy unless several people share the same workstation. This software is licensed and not sold. You may not transfer, sell, sublease or rent this software without the written consent of Computer Tyme. You are not allowed to distribute MarxMenu in runtime form with software you developed unless it is in combination with a paid for copy of MarxMenu, or you have made special arrangements with Computer Tyme to do so. Use of this product constitutes your acceptance of the terms and conditions of this license and of my copyright and your agreement to abide by them. WARRANTY: WARRANTY: WARRANTY: The warranty is limited to the diskettes to be machine readable for a period of 30 days after purchase. Although we try hard to write perfect software that has no bugs, we do not guarantee that. We also do not guarantee that this product is fit for every purpose and we are not liable for any damages that might occur from use of this product. This agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Missouri. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 2 _______________________________________________________________ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: I would like to thank the following people for making this product possible: Joe Smith and Kevin Moore for helping write this manual. My wife Vicki Perkel for being good to me and helping with revisions and editing. The Computer Tyme staff for being the best employees in the world. Borland International for writing Turbo Pascal and keeping it bug free and well supported. TurboPower Software for their very powerful extensions to Turbo Pascal and their well written, well supported product. Semware for TEdit and QEdit, their full screen editors. All users who actually paid for this product so that we may continue to eat. Those of you who have pointed out bugs and made suggestions to improve our product. TRADEMARKS TRADEMARKS TRADEMARKS MarxMenu, DOS ToolBox, Directory Master, and The Network Survival Kit are trademarks of Computer Tyme. QEdit and TEdit are trademarks of SemWare. Lotus is a registered trademark of Lotus Development. Wordstar is a registered trademark of MicroPro International. Smart Software is a trademark of Informix. MS-DOS is a trademark of Microsoft. Concurrent DOS and DR-DOS are trademarks of Digital Research. Turbo Pascal is a trademark of Borland International. OPRO and TPRO are trademarks of TurboPower Software Netware and Novell are trademarks of Novell DesqView and QEMM are trademarks of QuaterDeck Created using Turbo Pascal Copyright 1983-90 by Borland International THE MARXMENU NAME THE MARXMENU NAME THE MARXMENU NAME When I first wrote this program my friends referred to it as Marc's Menu. That's where the name MarxMenu came from. It has nothing to do with either Carl or Groucho Marx. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 3 _______________________________________________________________ TECHNICAL SUPPORT TECHNICAL SUPPORT TECHNICAL SUPPORT Technical support for MarxMenu is provided several ways. The first is by calling our voice line 1-417-866-1222. We would ask that you not call the 800 number as that is for orders and ordering information only. We have several support staff and will try to answer your questions as quickly and efficiently as possible. We at Computer Tyme look at technical support as an opportunity to improve our product. We also have a 24 hour BBS system. This allows users with modems to leave messages about support issues. There are several user uploaded menus here and it serves as a forum for MarxMenu users to share ideas and techniques. Our BBS number is 1-417-866-1665. Supports 2400 baud but is 1200 baud compatible. Use 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit (8N1). You will also need to set your terminal emulation mode to ANSI or VT100. On our BBS are additional sample menu files that other MarxMenu users like yourself have uploaded. We encourage you to share your work with others so that yet more MarxMenu users can benefit. We are also available on Compuserve ID 76505,1120. We also offer a Priority Support Service which includes regular upgrades sent to you automatically as we come out with them. This doesn't mean every version of MarxMenu, but every so often after making several improvements and the product is at a stable point. The Priority Support Service includes special access to our support BBS. This service is for the very fierce MarxMenu user who has to have the "Latest and Greatest" all the time. OVERVIEW OF THE MARXMENU SYSTEM OVERVIEW OF THE MARXMENU SYSTEM OVERVIEW OF THE MARXMENU SYSTEM MarxMenu is not just another fill-in-the-blank menu system. It is a menu programming language and job control language. It gives you total freedom to do whatever you want, but total freedom has a price. You will need to know and understand how to use a text editor. This isn't difficult if you are familiar with using a word processor. And you will need to have a basic understanding of DOS and how batch files work. With a text editor you can create a menu file which is a text file with an MNU extension. Or, you can copy and then modify the text file SAMPLE2.MNU which displays the menus you see when MarxMenu is executed. This text file contains a set of instructions for MarxMenu to follow. MarxMenu will then read your menu file and run the instructions. A menu file might look as follows: Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 4 _______________________________________________________________ DrawBox 31 5 18 4 UseArrows Writeln ' W - WordStar' Write ' L - Lotus' OnKey 'W' CD\WORDSTAR WS OnKey 'L' CD\LOTUS LOTUS The above example is a fully working MarxMenu program. Just because MarxMenu has 500 commands doesn't mean you have to use them all. The reason there are so many commands is that people keep calling me up and asking if I can add such and such. Most of the time I do. That's why the manual gets behind sometimes. The instructions must be from the vocabulary of words that MarxMenu understands. These words make up the command list included in this manual. They must be used precisely as the instructions in this manual tell you to use them. This process is called programming. I know that for many of you the word programming is a scary word. Put your fears at ease, MarxMenu is one of the easiest programming languages there is. It is a little harder than writing batch files and a lot easier than Basic. It requires a working knowledge of DOS and an understanding of writing batch files as explained in your DOS manual. The point that I want to make is, do not let the fear of learning and the fear of programming prevent you from learning to write your own menus. If you have never touched a computer before and are sitting down with your first PC, read the manuals first. Become familiar with the MS-DOS operating system. Learn how to write batch files, make subdirectories, copy files, format floppies, etc. If you don't understand something, ask a friend. All of us had to learn sometime, and there is no such thing as a stupid question. After you have mastered some of the basic concepts of the operating system, then learn either TEDIT or MarxEdit. These are text editors included with your MarxMenu program. Use it to write your own batch files. Then attempt to write your own menus by modifying the sample menus (files with a MNU extension) which come with MarxMenu. Print these menus and study them, referring to this manual for help on command definitions. You do not have to completely understand them to start making changes. Programming is a trial and error process. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 5 _______________________________________________________________ A computer, like a musical instrument, is only as good as the player. The more you learn about it the more you'll find it can do. In fact, a computer can help raise your effective IQ as you learn the disciplines of logic and reason. As a hammer is a tool of the hand, enhancing your physical strength, a computer is a tool of the mind, enhancing your mental strength. You will learn that as you develop a relationship with your computer, that you will be able to process information in ways you never dreamed. MarxMenu is an excellent learning tool. By the time you become proficient with the menu language, you will have learned the fundamental concepts behind the MS-DOS operating system. You will find yourself going back and forth between this manual and the DOS manual that came with your computer. When you master the language, you will have enough computing skills to be a real resource in your office environment. In this day and age, knowing how to "make the damn things work" is a key in moving up the corporate ladder. If you have sufficient excess income to afford a personal computer, or are in a job that provides you with a workstation, you are smart enough to learn this program. All it requires is that you take the time. You can do it. It is worth your time, and you will make up the time spent in the results you'll get. Good luck and enjoy. WHAT MARXMENU DOES WHAT MARXMENU DOES WHAT MARXMENU DOES So with hundreds of menus on the market, what makes this one so great. Well, let me tell you about it. MarxMenu is a menu language rather than a fill in the blank kind of menu. MarxMenu gives you total control of your computer system. It is also a job control language allowing you to program processes too difficult to do with batch files. MarxMenu can be used to do anything from overnight batch job processing to generating control scripts for mainframes. Because of it's simple syntax, MarxMenu makes an excellent teaching language putting more programming power in the hands of the student programmer than any other programming language. As a menu, MarxMenu can be as simple or as complex as you want. If you want simple, nothing is easier. If you want POWER, nothing is more powerful. If you want to get really weird, MarxMenu can do really wierd. So if you want the menu to remind you to go vote, MarxMenu knows when the first Teusday after the first Monday in November on even years is. If you are into Astrology, and you want certain menu items to appear only if Mars is in the right place in the sky, MarxMenu can calculate the orbit of Mars for you. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 6 _______________________________________________________________ MarxMenu can be used to program games, write running software demos and online tutorial programs. It can be used to write testing programs. It can be used to write custom software installation programs. It can be used to assist other applications to make other software more network friendly. MarxMenu has a compiler for high speed execution. Even very large menus come up in under 4 seconds on a 4.77mhz IBM XT on an ArcNet lan. The compiler also provides security in that you can keep your source files separate so no one can alter the menu files. FOR THE POWER USER: FOR THE POWER USER: FOR THE POWER USER: I originally wrote MarxMenu on a dare. I said that in one afternoon I could write a better menu system than one of the most popular menu systems. I met the challenge and then found that there is a lot of demand for power in a menu system. Friends started asking for this and that feature and this program has gone far beyond what I ever intended. The demand for more features has outpaced my ability to keep up with the documentation standards that I expect from other software packages that I buy. Please bear with me. If you find any errors in the manual, or bugs in the program, please let me know and I'll try to correct any problems. I also appreciate your suggestions for improvements. Many of the features included are a result of requests you have made. Many of you are using this program in ways I never dreamed. The main design philosophy behind this product is POWER and Flexibility. I am also committed to keeping the source code as readable as possible. I am loyal to the concept of using NO RAM. None of MarxMenu stays resident. Because of this I can claim that if you are having some kind of problem, it's not the fault of MarxMenu being resident, because MarxMenu is not resident. Also, using NO RAM allows loading of TSR's (memory resident programs) from the menu. For computer consultants, MarxMenu is an excellent way to make money. You can provide your clients with professional looking menu systems customized (by you) to fit their needs. You can provide complex menu structures not possible with any other menu system. And, because MarxMenu uses NO RAM, you don't have to worry about conflicts between MarxMenu and any other software product. Although MarxMenu is copyrighted, the program is not copy protected. There is nothing to prevent you from making hot copies and giving them away to all your clients. I would like to point out that when you give away something you should be selling you lose respect from your clients and attract those who expect you to work for free. You will make more money if you play by the rules. My best and most profitable clients use no hot software whatsoever. Think about it. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 7 _______________________________________________________________ INSTALLATION INSTALLATION INSTALLATION You may wish to copy the MarxMenu system into it's own subdirectory called MARX to keep the files better organized. However, this is not necessary. Copy all the disks that come with MarxMenu into a directory on your hard disk or network. If you do put the menu system in a subdirectory, it must be path accessible. That is, you must have a path statement in your autoexec.bat file that includes the directory where the menu system resides. A typical path statement might look like this: PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\MARX; Copy all your Computer Tyme disks to the hard disk or network and type MARXINST. When it gets done, you can run some of the sample menus by typing MARX <menu>. -------------------- V E R Y * I M P O R T A N T ---------------------- MarxMenu requires up to 100 bytes of free environment space. It won't run properly without it. The way you get more environment space is to add a SHELL command to your CONFIG.SYS file. SHELL=COMMAND.COM /P /E:nnn Where NNN is the number of bytes for the environment to reserve. Note that if you are running DOS that is earlier than 3.3 then NNN is the number of 16 byte blocks to allocate for the environment. For DOS 3.3 or later: SHELL=COMMAND.COM /P /E:400 For DOS earlier than 3.3: SHELL=COMMAND.COM /P /E:25 If MarxMenu gives you an environment space error, this is where you go to fix it. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 8 _______________________________________________________________ THE MARX.BAT FILE THE MARX.BAT FILE THE MARX.BAT FILE In order for MarxMenu to work, a MARX.BAT file must be created. This is done by typing MARXINST. The first thing that MARXINST does is unpack the compressed menu files and documentation files. Then it will bring up the installation menu. The MARX.BAT file looks like this: @ECHO OFF C:\MARX\MARXMENU.EXE %1 C:\MARX %MXCMD% %0 %1 The first line of MARX.BAT turns the echo off. This may be changed to ECHO ON for debugging purposes. PAUSE commands can be inserted to debug a menu. This allows you to see what's going on. The second line of MARX.BAT runs MARXMENU.EXE. The second parameter %1 is the name of the menu file to run. The third parameter C:\MARX tells MarxMenu to use the C:\MARX directory for creating temporary batch files. This can be changed to any other directory you prefer. When the user selects a program to run, MarxMenu writes a temporary batch file which contains within it the commands to run the program. Then MarxMenu writes a command to the environment variable MXCMD to execute the temporary batch file and exits. What it writes depends on the version of DOS you are running. If you are running DOS 3.3 or later, MXCMD is set to CALL <batch>. If you are running an earlier version of DOS then MXCMD is set to COMMAND /C <batch>. Whatever command is written to MXCMD is executed in line 3. This usually calls the temporary batch file that MarxMenu created. This executes your program and returns to MARX.BAT. Line four jumps back to the beginning of the batch file and starts all over. %0 is MARX.BAT and %1 is the name of the menu you are running. MARX.BAT -------- +-------MarxMenu Creates--+ +----> @ECHO OFF | | | C:\MARX\MARXMENU.EXE %1 C:\MARX | | %MXCMD% ->---+ +-> $MX00000.BAT | +--> %0 %1 --+ | ------------ | | | +---------------------------> CD\WORDSTAR +-|------<-----+ WS --+ | | +--------------------------------------------------<-+ Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 9 _______________________________________________________________ Note: MarxMenu sets MXCMD = CALL $MX00000.BAT When you exit the menu system. MarxMenu sets MXCMD to MXSTOP. This jumps to a batch file called MXSTOP which gets you out of MARX.BAT. MXSTOP.BAT can be modified to control what happens when MarxMenu is exited. The default MXSTOP.BAT file is as follows. SET MXCMD= SET KSV= REM You can control menu exiting with this file! Note that by adding your own commands to MXSTOP that you can control what happens when you exit. You could loop right back to the menu if you want. Or, you could force a controlled network logoff. I strongly recommend upgrading to DOS 3.3 or later whenever it is possible to do so. The name of the temporary batch file is as follows: $MX00000.BAT |||| Shells--------+|++--------Network Station (Hex) Task Number The 5 zeros are used for single user versions of MarxMenu. On a network they change as follows: The last 2 zeros is the station number on the network. This is either read directly from the shell, if you are using Novell, or from the environment variable STATION if you are on another network. The third zero is the task number if you are running DesqView, or from an environment variable TASK if you are running some other multitasker. The second zero is replaced by one less than the number of COMMAND.COM shells you are running. This way if you run COMMAND.COM under MarxMenu and then run MarxMenu again under that, it doesn't get lost when you exit. The first zero is for future expansion. In case something comes along that I haven't thought of. If you want to do custom tricks, MarxMenu has an internal variable called MxCmd. Setting this to your own command overrides the way MarxMenu would normally use it. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 10 _______________________________________________________________ But now you ask, does MarxMenu leave a trail of batch files that will clutter up my drive or network? Not at all. MarxMenu keeps using the same names over and over again. If a user crashed his system, it might leave a batch file but it would be overwritten the next time he used the menu. Not only that, all batch files can be kept in the same directory so cleaning up is as simple as typing DEL $MX*.BAT! By writing to the MxCmd variable you can run an EXE or COM file directly without having to create another batch file. Example: OnKey 'M' |MxCmd = 'RAMMAP' This runs RamMap directly from the MARX.BAT file. Another trick is to run another batch file without the CALL statement. This creates a one way jump to another batch file. Another debugging feature. You can change the first line of the MARX.BAT file as follows: @ECHO %MXECHO% This allows you to turn the echo on for debugging purposes by typing: SET MXECHO=ON This way you don't have to change the MARX.BAT file to debug. If you use this, make sure that MXECHO is set to either ON or OFF. DROPTO.BAT DROPTO.BAT DROPTO.BAT If you are going to run a shell like COMMAND.COM under MarxMenu it is sometimes better to use DROPTO.BAT which is created during the install process. DropTo allows you to jump from the temporary batch file that MarxMenu creates to DropTo, which deletes the temporary batch file and executes the rest of the command line. Usage: DROPTO %0 COMMAND.COM If you are using DropTo inside a MarxMenu, the %0 is automatically added for you. Example: OnKey 'C' DropTo COMMAND.COM Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 11 _______________________________________________________________ DROPTO.BAT ---------- DEL %1 SET KSV= SET MXCMD= %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9 Here's how it works: $MX00000.BAT <------deletes this file--------+ ------------ | DROPTO %0 COMMAND.COM ------------> DEL %1 >-+ SET KSV= SET MXCMD= %2 executes COMMAND.COM--> %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9 The advantages are that the temporary batch file is eliminated so if the user never returns to the menu, it leaves no temporary file to clutter up the drive. Also, DROPTO.BAT becomes the pending batch file that is running rather than the temporary file. SUPPORT FOR EARLY DOS VERSIONS SUPPORT FOR EARLY DOS VERSIONS SUPPORT FOR EARLY DOS VERSIONS There are two main differences between DOS versions earlier than 3.3 and versions 3.3 and above. One is the CALL command for batch files and the other is the way you specify environment space when using COMMAND.COM. I have enhanced the support for early DOS versions (3.0, 3.1, 3.2). MarxMenu executes COMMAND /C /E:nn (batchfile) >NUL to have one batch file call another. The first two lines of the batch files created are as follows: ECHO OFF CTTY CON .... This eliminates the ECHO OFF from being seen. Also whenever possible, when MarxMenu loads up a copy of COMMAND.COM, it adds the /E:nnn command to set the environment space to the same as that of the Master Environment. In versions earlier then 3.3 it is translated to paragraphs instead of bytes. One thing to note in early versions of DOS. If you run a batch file under COMMAND /C and your batch file has SET commands to set environment variables, the changes you make will disappear as soon as you get back to MARX.BAT. Why? Because you loaded another COMMAND.COM and the SET commands set its environment. When this COMMAND.COM ends, it takes its environment with it. Under DOS 3.3 or later, which uses CALL instead of another shell, the SET commands live. (Yet another reason to upgrade). Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 12 _______________________________________________________________ ABOUT ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES ABOUT ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES ABOUT ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES I've been talking a lot about environment variables. Some of you out there in novice land don't know what an environment variable is. Many others don't know the intricate secrets handed down from the Great DOS Masters who know all the intricate undocumented features of DOS. Your DOS shell, COMMAND.COM owns an area of memory called the Master Environment. It contains strings in the form Name=Value. Included among those strings are your COMSPEC and your PATH. Your COMSPEC tells DOS and other programs where to find COMMAND.COM. Your PATH tells DOS and other programs what directories to search when loading programs. Another common environment variable is your PROMPT. This controls what your DOS prompt will look like. Environment variables are commonly set using the SET command. This is done by typing SET NAME=VALUE. Example: SET COLOR=BLUE So what does this actually do? Actually nothing, unless you have a program that reads the environment variables that is looking for one called COLOR. This way, environment variables can be used to leave messages to other programs and control how they behave. Besides leaving messages, environment variables can be accessed by batch files. If you use %NAME% in a batch file, DOS will substitute the VALUE of the variable for the %NAME% expression. And this feature is important to MarxMenu's operation. MarxMenu uses an environment variable called MXCMD. In the MARX.BAT file the third line is %MXCMD%. So MarxMenu controls MARX.BAT by writing values to MXCMD. In order to do this, there must be enough room in the environment for the command to fit. That is why you need to make sure that you have a SHELL command in your CONFIG.SYS to set space for MarxMenu to use. Now so far I've only talked about the Master Environment. That's the one that the first COMMAND.COM owns. Each program that is loaded, including TSRs, gets a copy of the Master Environment in its own environment. This is called the CURRENT Environment. One interesting feature of the Current Environment is that it is smaller than the Master Environment. DOS only creates enough space to hold a copy of the space used in the Master Environment and a little more to store the name of the program that is running. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 13 _______________________________________________________________ If one program executes another program, the environment of the parent program is called the Parent Environment. You will probable never need to deal with the Parent Environment but MarxMenu can access it in case you do. Another environment is the SHELL ENVIRONMENT. This is the one that THEY never talk about. The one you'll never read about in any books. The one you'll never learn about in any DOS classes. This is the one your parents never mentioned. The Shell Environment is normally the same as the Master Environment. But, if you are running more that one level of COMMAND.COM, the Shell Environment is the environment of the last COMMAND.COM in memory. This environment is the most important environment to MarxMenu. So why load up two or more COMMAND.COMs? There are several cases where this could occur. One case is when you want to run COMMAND.COM as a program under MarxMenu. This way you can type EXIT to get back to the menu. If you do this and then run MarxMenu again, you have two levels of COMMAND.COM. In this case, the first COMMAND.COM is the Master Environment and the second COMMAND.COM is the Shell Environment. Another place where more than one COMMAND.COM is used is if you are running Microsoft Windows 3 or DesqView. Both of these programs are able to run a DOS shell. When you do, this is a second level of COMMAND.COM. What is important is that SET commands and %NAME% commands in batch files deal only with the Shell Environment and not the Master Environment. DEALING WITH MULTIPLE DOS SHELLS DEALING WITH MULTIPLE DOS SHELLS DEALING WITH MULTIPLE DOS SHELLS If you are running more than one level of COMMAND.COM (Shelling from Windows, DesqView, Word Perfect Office) and having environment space problems here's a trick. Before you load up your fancy shells, put this in a batch file like your AUTOEXEC.BAT. SET MXCMD=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX This variable will be trashed by MarxMenu thus freeing up the environment space it occupied. This will not only allow MarxMenu to run but may solve problems with other programs you are running that need environment space as well. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 14 _______________________________________________________________ MARXMENU AND TSR CONTROL MARXMENU AND TSR CONTROL MARXMENU AND TSR CONTROL MarxMenu along with the TSR utilities that come with MarxMenu, can load and unload TSRs under menu control. This is handy when you want to run a big application and need to free up some memory to do it. Since MarxMenu is a 0k menu system, unloading TSRs is possible but it has it's tricks. The problem you run into is that when one batch file calls another batch file, the way MarxMenu normally runs, DOS creates a small batch file control block in memory. This control block stays in memory after the TSR is released creating a region of trapped memory. Although this memory is freed, it isn't usable. The way around it is to jump to the batch file that releases memory instead of calling it. This is done by setting MXCMD to the name of the batch file you want to run. The only problem is that when you jump to the other batch file, it won't automatically return to MARX.BAT. You must therefore end your batch file with a command bringing you back to MARX.BAT. MEMHOG.BAT ----------- Rem UnLoad SideKick RELEASE SK CD\MEMHOG MEMHOG MARK SK SK MARX MAIN In your MAIN menu: OnKey 'H' |MxCmd = MEMHOG See the documentation file on the TSR utilities disk for more information on how to use MARK and RELEASE. NETWORK USERS: NETWORK USERS: NETWORK USERS: The main thing you have to worry about on a network is to make sure that when MarxMenu creates a temporary batch file, that it is a different one for each user on the network. This is handled several ways. If you are on a Novell network, MarxMenu uses your station number as part of the name for the temporary batch file. If you are not using Novell, then you will need to set an environment variable STATION for each workstation on your net. Each one has to be a different number. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 15 _______________________________________________________________ Example: SET STATION=5 You must ensure that the user has enough access rights to create temporary batch files in the directory selected for temporary batch files. One solution is to create a batch file directory and give all the users full access rights to it. MarxMenu has been run on about every DOS based network that exists. If the network runs at all it will generally run MarxMenu. Among the networks that come to mind are Novell, Lantastic, Banyan, 3COM, Lan Manager, IBM, DECNET, ConCurrent DOS, and SCO VPIX. MarxMenu is running on networks as small as two users to as large as 20,000 users. In fact, the bigger your network, the more you need MarxMenu. NOVELL USERS: NOVELL USERS: NOVELL USERS: Novell is the most popular network on the market. We have added many enhancements for Novell networks to support things like logging in and logging out, drive mapping, group support, software metering, and status information. Although Novell is a high quality solid product it has its own "Personality" and many undocumented features otherwise known as bugs. Most people who are having trouble with MarxMenu under Novell are really having trouble with Novell. Quite frankly, we do more Novell support than we do MarxMenu support. Having said that, I own two Novell networks. One at the lab and one at home and I love my networks. But, I have spent hundreds of hours learning all the tricks. And to save you a phone call, and me a lot of time, I've decided to share these tricks here in my manual. Some of these tricks are from the Great Network Gurus themselves who are so advanced that they no longer exist in physical form. These people live in another dimension of total mental existence and can only be reached my modem. Some of them hang out on Compuserve. I therefore strongly recommend that if you are a serious Novell user that you join Compuserve and hang out in the Novell section. And just because not everyone on Compuserve is a real person doesn't mean that you should feel uncomfortable asking them any question about your network that you need to ask. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 16 _______________________________________________________________ THE NOVELL MENU TRANSLATOR THE NOVELL MENU TRANSLATOR THE NOVELL MENU TRANSLATOR One nice bonus with Novell networks is that MarxMenu can translate your Novell menus to MarxMenu. This saves you the time of having to recode your system. What you do is type: MARXMENU NOVTRANS <menu> This translates your Novell MNU file to a MarxMenu MRX file. Your MNU file is unchanged. MarxMenu creates a TMP file containing the source code for the MRX file. Once you are satisfied with the MarxMenu file, you just delete the MNU file and rename the TMP file to MNU and forget that you ever had a Novell menu. Once the menu is translated you run it by typing MARX <menu> instead of MENU <menu>. MarxMenu can run Novell's menu better than Novell runs their own. LOGGING OUT UNDER MENU CONTROL LOGGING OUT UNDER MENU CONTROL LOGGING OUT UNDER MENU CONTROL Logging out under menu control is one of the trickiest things to do. The problem is that as soon as LOGOUT executes, you no longer have access to the network. This means that if you are in a batch file, you are going to get a "Missing Batch File" error, unless the batch file is in the \LOGIN directory. Another problem with logging out is making sure that your COMSPEC is pointing to a COMMAND.COM that is either on the local drive or in the \LOGIN directory. Otherwise you will get a "Cannot load COMMAND.COM" error. Another problem that you need to deal with is that your PATH command needs to be changed so that it doesn't refer to mapped drives that are no longer accessable. What you need to do is create a batch file in the \LOGIN directory called OFF.BAT. Example: F:\LOGIN\OFF.BAT CD\LOGIN SET COMSPEC=C:\COMMAND.COM LOGOUT C: PATH=C:\DOS Another way to logout under MarxMenu is to stuff the LOGOUT command into the keyboard buffer and exit MarxMenu. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 17 _______________________________________________________________ Example: OnKey ESC |StuffKBD 'LOGOUT' + CR |ExitMenu This is the cleanest way when possible. Another logout trick is to use the LOGOFF utility from the Computer Tyme Network Survival Kit. This program automatically fixes your PATH and COMSPEC after the logoff occurs. LOGGING IN WITH MARXMENU LOGGING IN WITH MARXMENU LOGGING IN WITH MARXMENU If there is any one thing that's trickier than logging out of a Novell network, is logging in. I have spent MANY hours struggling with Novell trying to get it right and I have finally figured it out. Much of this comes from the Novell gurus who hang out on Compuserve and know everything there is to know about Novell. The first thing you need to do is make up your mind that you are going to do it right. The technique here might seem somewhat cumbersome, but it works well and will keep you out of trouble. MarxMenu has the ability to log you into a network, map your drives, and set your environment strings without having to touch a Novell utility to do so. MarxMenu can completely eliminate the need for Novell login scripts. The advantage to using MarxMenu in the login is that you have the power of 500 commands to work with instead of just 25 or so. THE CONFIG.SYS FILE THE CONFIG.SYS FILE THE CONFIG.SYS FILE The place to start is the place where DOS start when DOS boots. You MUST create a CONFIG.SYS file on your boot disk. The CONFIG.SYS tells DOS how many files and buffers to create, what device drivers to load, and the size of the Master Environment. Unless you are using special drivers, BUFFERS=40 and FILES=40 is a good place to start. STACKS 0,0 will gain you an extra 3k of ram. But the most important command is the shell statement. A CONFIG.SYS file might look like this: SHELL=COMMAND.COM /P /E:400 BUFFERS=40 FILES=40 DEVICE=ANSI.SYS This sets up enough environment space to allow MarxMenu and DOS SET commands to work properly. You will also want to load any other device drivers like QEMM386.SYS or 386MAX.SYS to take advantage of other features of your computer. If you don't know about CONFIG.SYS files, read the DOS manual. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 18 _______________________________________________________________ THE AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE THE AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE THE AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE After the CONFIG.SYS is loaded the AUTOEXEC.BAT runs next. Here you load up your TSRs and network drivers. There are some important tricks to be used here as well. First of all, never load your network shell from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Always have it branch to another batch file called LOADNET to load the network shell. Use the autoexec.bat only to load special TSRs and the IPX. An autoexec.bat might look like this: @Echo Off Cls IPX SET NET=NET4.COM SET COMSPEC=X:COMMAND.COM LOADNET The two SET commands are very important. The first sets a variable called NET to NET4.COM. This will be used later in LOADNET.BAT. By using this variable, you can have users running many different versions of DOS and still use the same LOADNET.BAT file. You could also use a command SET NET=LOADHI EMSNET4.EXE to take advantage of advanced memory manager software. Another trick is to run BESTNET from the Network Survival Kit. BestNet will automatically pick the best network shell and set the NET environment variable for you. You would use the command BESTNET instead of SET NET=NET4.COM in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. The SET COMSPEC=X:COMMAND.COM is important if you are booting off of either a floppy drive or a diskless workstation. This assumes that X: will eventually be mapped to a directory on the network that has a valid COMMAND.COM in it. It is important to set the comspec BEFORE loading your NET shell. This prevents a problem where Netware wants to go back to the boot disk even after you change the comspec. I don't know why this works but it does. Trust Me. If you are going to use COMMAND.COM on drive C:, ignore this paragraph. Now we go to the LOADNET.BAT file. @Echo Off %NET% SET NET= F: STARTUP Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 19 _______________________________________________________________ The big concept behind LOADNET is that this file is NEVER CHANGED. You put in on all your workstations and in the LOGIN directory and it is EXACTLY THE SAME for every computer in your network. Any changes to individual computers are made in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. So why is this important. Because if you are running diskless workstations what happens is that while you are booting you have a mythical drive A:. As soon as your NET shell loads this drive dissappears out from under you and you end up in F:\LOGIN. If you are running LOADNET.BAT when this happens you drop out of A:LOADNET.BAT and land in the middle of F:\LOADNET.BAT. And if your LOADNET.BAT is exactly the same file as the LOADNET.BAT in the \LOGIN directory, you take off running like the transition never occured. Even if you are not running on diskless workstations now, you might go to it someday. It also creates good programming habits and helps you boot up cleanly. Lets see what LOADNET does. The first line is @ECHO OFF, that's easy. The second line %NET% executes the network shell that you specified with the SET NET=NET4 command. This actually loads the network shell. The third line clears the NET variable freeing up space for other environment variables. F: switches you to drive F if you aren't there already. And finally STARTUP is the name of yet another batch file you jump to. The STARTUP.BAT file controls what happens AFTER LOADNET runs. This file can be freely changed so that LOADNET.BAT can stay the same. This lets you modify what happens AFTER the network shell is loaded. If you are using Novell's login program STARTUP.BAT might look like this: @Echo Off LOGIN USING A MENU FILE TO LOG IN USING A MENU FILE TO LOG IN USING A MENU FILE TO LOG IN If you are going to use MarxMenu to log in instead of Novell's utilities, you will want to print out the sample file LOGIN.MNU on your MarxMenu disk and study it. Your STARTUP.BAT file might look like this: @Echo Off SET BOOTUP=LOGIN MarxMenu Login %BOOTUP% If MarxMenu works correctly, it will change the environment variable %BOOTUP% to point to a file that it creates. If for some reason it fails (you make a mistake in the login), it will execute Novell's login and let you get in and fix it. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 20 _______________________________________________________________ One word of caution. After modifing this menu, always run MARXCOMP LOGIN to compile it. Otherwise, if you boot up into it you won't have enough access rights to recompile automatically. NOVELL SEMAPHORES NOVELL SEMAPHORES NOVELL SEMAPHORES For a detailed explanation of Novell Semaphores, read the Novell manuals. What I've done is to export these functions to MarxMenu. I have implemented them slightly different than Novell did and have hidden all the nasties from you such as semaphore handles. All semaphores are accessed by name only. Here's a brief overview of semaphores. Semaphores are names of shared resources that the server keeps track of. Semaphores have three properties. They have a name, value and number of users. The name can be anything up to 48 characters long. The value is a number from -128 to 127. If the value is less than 0, the resource the semaphore represents is considered used up. By opening a semaphore, you increase the number of users by one. By closing it, you decrease the number by one. If a single user opens a semaphore many times, it is only counted as one. When you log out, your semaphores are closed. This is also true if you turn your computer off, but it takes 15 minutes for the server to give up on you. The first user to open a semaphore creates it. The last user to close a semaphore deletes it. When a semaphore is created, a value can be assigned. If a semaphore is opened that already exists, the initial value is ignored. When NovWaitOnSemaphore is called by any user, the value is decremented. If the value is not below zero, NovWaitOnSemaphore returns true. Otherwise it returns false and the value is unchanged. The amount of time that NovWaitOnSemaphore will wait is controlled by the variable NovSemaphoreTimeOut. When NovSignalSemaphore is called by any user, the value is incremented. This allows other users to call NovWaitOnSemaphore and get a True value. NovSemaphoreUsers and NovSemaphoreValue are used to read the status of a semaphore without changing it's value. One of the major differences between how MarxMenu uses semaphores and the way Novell uses them is that normally a semaphore dies when the application finishes. This would normally prevent a 0k menu system from being able to use them. MarxMenu uses an interesting trick where it fools Netware into thinking that the semaphore belongs to another task. This allows the semaphore to live. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 21 _______________________________________________________________ Semaphores can be tracked using FCONSOLE. Some versions of Netware have a bug in FCONSOLE that reports an open count that is 256 times the real count. Just divide by 256 for the right number. Semaphores can be used for software metering. This allows MarxMenu to be aware of what other users on the network are doing. Here are the basic tools, what you do with them is only limited by your imagination. RUNNING A MARXMENU RUNNING A MARXMENU RUNNING A MARXMENU MarxMenus are run by typing MARX and the name of a menu file such as SAMPLE.MNU. As discussed earlier, the menu file is a text file created with a text editor such as TEDIT. Usage: MARX <Menu Filename> Example: MARX SAMPLE In the above example, if SAMPLE.MRX doesn't exist, or is older than SAMPLE.MNU then MarxMenu will automatically load the complier, MARXCOMP.EXE to create a new SAMPLE.MRX file. In the never ending quest for more speed, MarxMenu is somewhat faster to load if you include the MRX extension. Example: MARX SAMPLE2.MRX By specifying the MRX extension, no test is made to compare the file date with the source file. Thus if you have changed the MNU file, you will still be running the old version. In order to force a recompile, type MARXCOMP SAMPLE. CUSTOMIZING MARXMENU SAMPLE FILES CUSTOMIZING MARXMENU SAMPLE FILES CUSTOMIZING MARXMENU SAMPLE FILES Included in the MarxMenu package are menu files which you can easily modify to execute your programs and perform other functions you desire. Using TEdit, the text editor included in this package, you can modify and customize these menu files. Also included to demonstrate the power and versatility of the menu system is a menu labeled NIM.MNU. This is a game written in the menu system that demonstrates some of the logic functions and programmability of the system. Use it for reference. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 22 _______________________________________________________________ Here's a simple example of a menu file: =================================== ClearScreen DrawBox 30 9 25 8 Writeln ' 1) Lotus' Writeln ' 2) dBase' Writeln ' 3) Wordstar' Writeln Write 'Select: ' OnKey '1' cd\lotus 123 OnKey '2' cd\db3 db3 OnKey '3' cd\wordstar ws ==================================== Notice in looking at the "OnKey" statements that all I have to do is tell MarxMenu how to get to the program. Although, MarxMenu takes care of reloading itself after exiting a selected program, its does not return to its own subdirectory as many other menu programs do. That means that if you execute a program in another subdirectory, when you come back to the menu, you remain in that subdirectory. If you normally run your applications with a batch file, consider having MarxMenu change directories and execute the program for you. This will eliminate debugging problems caused by the actions of your batch files. MENU ANALYSIS MENU ANALYSIS MENU ANALYSIS Let's start a simple analysis of the example menu file shown above. The ClearScreen statement simply clears the screen to give us a fresh workspace for the menu. DrawBox is the command to draw a box on the screen to contain some menu text. The Writeln command writes a line of text to the screen within the box, then positions the cursor on the next line. The menu text shows the available selection keys that the user has access to. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 23 _______________________________________________________________ ONKEY STATEMENTS ONKEY STATEMENTS ONKEY STATEMENTS The OnKey statements control what is actually executed. OnKey statements also allow you to execute hidden commands when you do not want them to appear on the menu screen. One trick I use is to have an OnKey statement define a key that runs TEDIT on my personal menu file. I don't show this key on the menu to keep others from poking around in the file. For additional security a password can also be set up on this key. Normally you enter a line of text as if you were creating a BAT file to run your application. Like batch files, if one of your commands is a batch file, all the statements after it will not execute. To prevent this you can use the CALL command to call a batch file in DOS 3.3 or later, or COMMAND /C in DOS 3.0, 3.1 and 3.2. Normally, text displayed under an OnKey statement is the same text as the batch file created by MarxMenu. There are some exceptions. If a line starts with a "|" (vertical bar), the line will be interpreted by MarxMenu instead of being written to a batch file. This allows commands such as "PASSWORD" to be used. String variables can be passed as part of a batch command if the name of the string variable starts with a "%" symbol. The spaces preceding the commands under the OnKey statement are for clarity only. They are not necessary for MarxMenu to function properly. POPUP MENUS POPUP MENUS POPUP MENUS If you want to create a popup menu within a menu you can do so by using a "label". A label is a keyword preceded by a colon. To call the popup menu, place the keyword on a line by itself preceded by a carat (Shift 6). The label will precede the popup menu definition. For example if you have a popup menu to load Smart Software, you could name the PopUpMenu Smart. To bring up the Smart PopUpMenu, define a key in your main menu for Smart like this: OnKey 'S' ^Smart The Smart menu itself might look something like this: Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 24 _______________________________________________________________ :Smart BoxHeaderColor ForeColor BackColor BoxBorderColor Yellow Green BoxInsideColor LCyan Green InverseColor Yellow Red BoxHeader = ' Smart Menu ' DrawBox 45 16 20 6 UseArrows 2 2 16 3 ClearLine 205 Writeln Writeln ' Data Base' Writeln ' Spread Sheet' Write ' Word Processor' OnKey 'D' SM D OnKey 'S' |BoxHeaderColor ForeColor BackColor |BoxBorderColor Yellow Green |BoxInsideColor White Green |%1 = PickFile('C:\SMART\SPREAD\*.WS',4,5,17) SM S -ALOAD %1 OnKey 'W' |BoxHeaderColor ForeColor BackColor |BoxBorderColor Yellow Green |BoxInsideColor White Green |%1 = PickFile('C:\SMART\WORD\*.DOC',4,5,17) SM W -ALOAD %1 While developing the menu, program one of the keys to run your favorite editor on the menu file that you are creating. This way, as soon as the change is made, the results will show when you exit your editor. Since MarxMenu allows versatility in creating the look of your menus, a little trial and error will be required to make things look right. THE CONSOLE THE CONSOLE THE CONSOLE +---| Console Functions |---+ | 1 - Blank Screen | | 2 - Set Blank Message | | 3 - Lock Keyboard | | 4 - Set Blank Time | +---------------------------+ The Console is a popup menu of built-in functions. To activate the console, press the TAB key. A menu will pop-up in the upper left hand corner of the screen. You can change the position of this popup menu with the ConsolePos function. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 25 _______________________________________________________________ The first command on the Console screen is Blank Screen. Enter 1 and the screen will blank immediately. It will remain blanked until a key is pressed. Enter 2 on the Console menu and you can change the message displayed on the Blank Screen display. Enter 3 and you will be prompted for a word to lock the keyboard. After you enter the lock word the screen will blank and the keyboard will be locked until the exact lock word is typed. Enter 4 to set the number of minutes to wait before blanking the screen. The lock word feature is handy for times when you must leave the keyboard but don't want menu commands displayed for all to see. It also effectively locks the keyboard so someone can't escape to DOS and test the format command on your hard disk. We run this menu on a Novell Network and don't want to let everyone have access to the Supervisors' power at the touch of the escape key should we leave the keyboard. REPOSITIONING THE TOP WINDOW REPOSITIONING THE TOP WINDOW REPOSITIONING THE TOP WINDOW One nice feature you can use to get the windows right is to turn on the scroll lock. This lets you move the top window around the screen using the arrow keys so you can see how it looks. Then you can go into your menu code and set it permanently. Set Scroll Lock to "on". On most keyboards, a scroll lock LED will light up. Now use the arrow keys to move the top window to any position on the screen. Neat Huh? MOUSE SUPPORT MOUSE SUPPORT MOUSE SUPPORT If you have a standard mouse driver, MarxMenu will detect it and use it automatically. The left button on the mouse is the same as pressing return. The right button on the mouse is the same as pressing escape. Pressing both buttons on the mouse is the same as pressing the tab key. As of now, I'm not yet using the center button on the mouse for anything. The sensitivity of the mouse can be controlled using the MouseHorizontal and MouseVertical commands. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 26 _______________________________________________________________ STARTING OFF THE EASY WAY STARTING OFF THE EASY WAY STARTING OFF THE EASY WAY For those of you who want to just get a menu going and don't want anything complicated we have included a menu called the LEVEL1 menu. This menu is a fill in the blank type of menu that will get you going quickly and easilly. This menu requires no programming and explains itself. You run it by typing the command: MARX LEVEL1 The first thing it does is scan your drive to find the directories. Then you just answer the questions and fill in the menu. This isn't as powerful as programming your own menu, but if you want something quick and dirty, this may be the answer for you. ABOUT VARIABLES ABOUT VARIABLES ABOUT VARIABLES One of the most unusual things about MarxMenu is its variables. MarxMenu handles variables differently than any other programming language. For the experienced programmer, this may require some adjustment since it's like getting used to driving a Cadillac after driving a VW Beetle. All variables in MarxMenu are like an empty box that can contain anything. A variable can be a number, boolean, string, file, array, etc. The type of variable is controlled internally and the user need not declare variable types. Variables are created with the VAR command: Var X Y Z If the word VAR is on a line by itself, the following lines, up to a blank line, are considered variable names. Var MyAge YourAge HisAge HerAge Variables are initialized to null values; 0 for Numbers, False for Booleans, and '' for strings. Initial values can be set when the variable is created. Var X = 6 MyName = 'Marc' Programmer = True Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 27 _______________________________________________________________ Variables can change variable types. If you write a number to a string variable, the variable changes to a number. X = '234' X = Value(X) This is valid in MarxMenu. X now is a number and contains the value 234. Number variables are 32-bit integers ranging between plus or minus 2,147,483,647. Boolean variables are True or False. String variables are limited to 255 characters. In MarxMenu, string literals are delimited by either single or double quotes. "This can't be yogurt!" 'Lincoln said "Four score and seven years ago ..." ' Numbers beginning with a '$' indicate base 16 or hex numbers. When choosing variable names, it is good programming practice to choose long meaningful names. This allows yourself and others to be able to read menus and follow the logic more easily. REAL NUMBERS REAL NUMBERS REAL NUMBERS So what's the difference between ordinary numbers and real numbers? Ordinary numbers in MarxMenu are 32 bit integers. These are numbers whose range is about plus or minus two billion. Integers are whole numbers and do not include any fractions. This is why MarxMenu has included REAL numbers (also known as Floating Point numbers). Real numbers in MarxMenu use BCD (Binary Coded Decimal) with 18 digits of accuracy. They have a range of 10 to the plus or minus 63rd power, which means up to 63 zeros either side of the decimal point. This lets you work with very big and very small numbers. MarxMenu has smart rounding algorithms so that 1.0 / 3 * 3 = 1.0 and not 0.999999999999999999 like in most languages. Real numbers are specified by using a decimal point. Thus 5.0 specifies a real number. Most normal MarxMenu functions still require the standard 32 bit integers. If you get the error: 'REAL found where INTEGER expected.' You need to use an integer. If an integer is passed where a real is expected, the integer is automatically converted to a real. Thus: 6.0 * 3 = 18.0 Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 28 _______________________________________________________________ The Value function returns real numbers if a decimal point is used in the string. All the relevant math functions will work with reals as well as comparison operators. MarxMenu supports a variety of functions for real numbers. It has trig functions, log functions, and exponential functions. So why do you need real numbers in a menu program? I don't know. I had a library and threw them in. I figure someone will need them someday. With real numbers you can do trigonometry calculations like those discovered by the ancient Indian chief Pythagoras who discovered what is now know as Pythagoras's triangle. Now I know that a lot of you were taught in Math class that Pythagoras was Greek. Well, it's just not so. Let me tell you the real story: Pythagoras was an Indian chief that had three wives. Two of the wives were twins and weighed 120 pounds each. And they sat next to Pythagoras on a pair of twin deer hides. But Pythagoras also had a third wife who was a large fat woman who sat across from Pythagoras on a hypopotamus hide. This wife weighed 240 pounds. What Pythagoras discovered was that the squaw on the hypopotamus was equal to the sum of the squaws on the other two hides! LOCAL VARIABLES LOCAL VARIABLES LOCAL VARIABLES MarxMenu also supports local variables. Variables declared within procedures become local variables. Local variables are just like global variables in that you can use them as multidimensional arrays. When the procedure finishes, all local variables are disposed. If a local variable has the same name as a global variable, the local variable will be used. PASSING PARAMETERS TO PROCEDURES PASSING PARAMETERS TO PROCEDURES PASSING PARAMETERS TO PROCEDURES Procedures can accept parameters by declaring variable names on the same line as the name of the procedure. Procedures can return variables by using the Return command. Return exits the procedure returning the parameters on the same line as the Return statement. Example: Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 29 _______________________________________________________________ Procedure Factorial (X) var Y Z Y = 1 Z = 1 while Y <= X Z = Y * Z Y = Y + 1 endwhile Writeln X ' factorial is ' Z endproc In this example, if you were to use Factorial (5) you would get: 5 factorial is 120 Another Example: Procedure AskYesNo (Question) var YesNo DrawBox (34 - (Length(Question) / 2)) 21 Length(Question) + 14 3 TextColor LCyan Blue UseArrows Off Write ' ',Question,' (Y/N) ' YesNo = UpperCase(ReadKey) YesNo = YesNo = 'Y' if YesNo Write 'Yes' else Write 'No' endif Wait 50 EraseTopWindow Return (YesNo) EndProc if AskYesNo 'Do you want to continue? ' then Continue In this example, MarxMenu draws a box and asks a question and waits for a Yes or No answer. Arrays can be passed as parameters. Parameters are passed by value not by reference. This means that any changes to the passed parameter do not affect the original value. You can copy an array by assigning it equal to another array. Example: Array1 = Array2 Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 30 _______________________________________________________________ This creates Array1 with a copy of all the elements of Array2. The previous contents of Array1 are overwritten. ABOUT CONSTANTS ABOUT CONSTANTS ABOUT CONSTANTS Constants are used to give values meaningful names. By using constants a value can be assigned once and the constant name used throughout the menu program. This way, if you change the value of the constant, all the places where that constant is used automatically change. This is good programming practice. Examples: Const States = 50 CPU = '80386 SX' WeekEnd = True or Const States = 50 CPU = '80386 SX' WeekEnd = True Using the word STATES is just like using 50. Using CPU is just like using '80386 SX'. But if throughout my menu I use CPU, and then I get a new computer with a 80486, I can just change one line: Const CPU = '80486' And all the places I used CPU changes to '80486'. This is the correct way to program. ABOUT ARRAYS ABOUT ARRAYS ABOUT ARRAYS MarxMenu supports multidimensional arrays up to 31 dimensions. Unlike other programming languages, arrays need not be declared. MarxMenu creates arrays "on the fly" and automatically takes care of the array size and number of dimensions. Another unusual feature of MarxMenu arrays is that they are an array of MarxMenu variables. This means that elements of MarxMenu arrays need not be of the same type. Element 1 can be a number, element 2 can be a string and element 3 can be another array. This type of variable management leads to the easy creation of very powerful data structures as you will see. Var X Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 31 _______________________________________________________________ X[1] = 'Element 1' X[2] = 3 X[3] = True X[4,6] = 9 X[4,7] = 'Ten' These are all valid statements. MarxMenu creates a two dimensional array here. If we now execute the following statement: X[4] = X[4,6] + X[2] X[4] becomes equal to 12 but variables X[4,6] and X[4,7] are lost. This is because we have changed an array into a number. MarxMenu automatically handles the deallocation of memory used by this array and its elements and returns the space the used to the memory pool. ABOUT QUALIFIERS ABOUT QUALIFIERS ABOUT QUALIFIERS Qualifiers are named indexes into arrays. They are used to make the source menu file more readable and more organized. Suppose we are creating a data structure to deal with places in the United States. First we will need an array for States. Var States We want to store some facts about the states. Qualifier Population Bird Motto County State[3].Population = 10000000 State[3].Bird = 'Chicken' State[3].Motto = 'Best politicians money can buy!' Now states have counties and counties have county seats, sheriffs, and cities. Qualifer Sheriff Seat City State[3].County[7].Sheriff = 'Buck InBred' State[3].County[7].Seat = 'Possum Trot' Now counties have cities and cities have schools, mayors, churches, and taxes. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 32 _______________________________________________________________ Qualifier Schools Mayor Churches Taxes State[3].County[7].City[9].Schools = 8 State[3].County[7].City[9].Mayor = 'Virgil Collins' State[3].County[7].City[9].Churches = 120 State[3].County[7].City[9].Taxes = '$100,000,000' The above line is the same as: State[3,4,7,3,9,4] = '$100,000,000' As you can see with qualifiers, it is easy to create multidimensional arrays in a way that is organized and readable. In this example, the qualifier Population became equal to 1. Bird became equal to 2. The variable references, State[3].Bird and State[3,2] are the same. It's just that one is more readable than the other. Qualifiers normally begin by assigning 1 to the first name and 2 to the second etc. This can be modified. Qualifier Color = 7 Size Shape In this case Color becomes the number 7; Size becomes the number 8; and Shape becomes the number 9. COMMENTS IN MENU FILES COMMENTS IN MENU FILES COMMENTS IN MENU FILES MarxMenu has three ways to add comments to a menu file. The first way is with the Comment command. Comment ======================== This is a comment block. ======================== EndComment All lines up to EndComment are ignored. The second way is with a ';'. All text to the right of the ';' (semicolon) is ignored. BlankTime = 20 ;this is where we set the blank time. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 33 _______________________________________________________________ The third way is using {} or curly braces. Anything inside the curly braces is ignored. Curly braces can be nested. {All of {this} is a comment.} Comments are ignored by the compiler and cost you nothing in execution speed. Comments can save you a lot of time if you have to come back later and work on your menu, or if someone else has to work on it. Therefore, I encourage you to use comments as much as possible. THE MARXMENU COMPILER THE MARXMENU COMPILER THE MARXMENU COMPILER MarxMenu reads your MNU files and creates MRX files. These MRX files are a highly digested form of the MNU file that you created. MRX files are the compiled files. When you run MarxMenu, the interpreter MARXMENU.EXE looks for the menu file with the MRX extension. If it doesn't find it, MARXMENU.EXE will automatically load MARXCOMP.EXE and compile the menu. MARXMENU.EXE also compares the file dates of the MNU and the MRX files. If the MNU file is newer than the MRX file, the complier will be loaded. MarxMenu will also force a compile if the MRX file was not complied by the same version and release date of the MarxMenu you are using. MRX files are not compatible from one version of MarxMenu to the next. You can also force a compile from the command line by typing MARXCOMP <menu>. COMPILER COMPATIBILITY COMPILER COMPATIBILITY COMPILER COMPATIBILITY The MarxMenu compiler is fully compatible with earlier versions of MarxMenu with a few exceptions. The new compiler does a lot more error checking than earlier versions of MarxMenu and will catch errors that you used to get away with. Other than that, the only difference you should notice will be a speed increase. Earlier versions of MarxMenu had separate names for variable types. The names $VAR, BVAR, #VAR, and FILEVAR act the same as typing VAR. Very early versions of MarxMenu had a different form of the USEARROWS command that required 4 to 5 numbers after it. If you run into this error, just get rid of the numbers after USEARROWS and it will work fine. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 34 _______________________________________________________________ A WORD ABOUT DOS VERSIONS ..... A WORD ABOUT DOS VERSIONS ..... A WORD ABOUT DOS VERSIONS ..... Versions of DOS below 3.3 will cause MarxMenu to use 3.5k of ram where 3.3 DOS and above use no memory. 3.2 DOS is very buggy and should be replaced. 3.1 DOS isn't too bad for bugs but if you're using the BACKUP and RESTORE programs that came with it, you're in trouble. They don't work on large files. You'll find that out if you try to restore one of them. MS-DOS 4.01 seems to be pretty clean provided you have the April-89 release or later. To determine if you do, check the file date on COMMAND.COM. Earlier versions of DOS 4.01 have SERIOUS BUGS. If you are running any DOS 4 earlier than April-89 you should upgrade immediately. DR-DOS or EZ-DOS are pretty good also. It is very compatible as long as you don't get too strange with it. I recommend version 3.4 or later. 4DOS is also pretty good but sometimes some of the advanced features in this product can cause it to behave differently than DOS. This requires extra care when writing your menus. MarxMenu should work correctly on 386 type multiuser operating systems such as Digital Research's Concurrent DOS 386 or SCO VPIX DOS emulators. Although MarxMenu should run under PC-MOS I do not recommend it. My experience with PC-MOS has been nothing but grief. MarxMenu will not run correctly under DesqView 2.26. It will run under 2.25 or 3.21. So if you are running 2.26, it needs to be upgraded. MarxMenu contains several support functions for DesqView. If you are running under some weird DOS and are having problems, try it under "regular" DOS and see if it goes away. If it does, try to find out what it is about your weird DOS that makes it not work right. I am interested in being compatible with as many systems as I can. Let me know if you are having problems. But also, try to get your wierd DOS vendors to clean up their act. A WORD ABOUT BUGS ..... A WORD ABOUT BUGS ..... A WORD ABOUT BUGS ..... Although I try to create perfect bug free software, every now and then even I make a mistak. If you find one, let me know and I'll fix it. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 35 _______________________________________________________________ TIPS FROM THE MASTER TIPS FROM THE MASTER TIPS FROM THE MASTER Since MarxMenu is a programing language, I want to talk about what programing is and how it is accomplished. I want to dispel some myths and fears relating to it and introduce you to techniques that will help you write code neatly, quickly, and efficiently. From the outside, programming looks like magic; but once you know a few of the tricks, its really not too hard. Many of us who were raised on 50s and 60s science fiction television learned that it is the brainy types who deal with computers. It almost gives you the impression that the computer is smart and you are dumb. As you use the computer, it is evaluating you, and if it figures out that its smarter than you, it can get your job and replace you. COMPUTERS DO SIMPLE TASKS COMPUTERS DO SIMPLE TASKS COMPUTERS DO SIMPLE TASKS A computer is a simple device. It does simple tasks. It just does them very fast and accurately. Computers don't even know basic things like how to write letters on the screen or how to read the keyboard. These are programs that the computer runs. Someone had to program your computer to do even the simplest of tasks. As you learn to use MarxMenu start with the simple menus. The SAMPLE.MNU is a very easy program. Study it and understand how it works. Make a copy of it and change one selection to run one of your programs. Once you have changed one selection, change several more. Now MarxMenu is running your programs, and you have made it work. Then try something new. Add more selections. Change the size and position of the box to fit your needs. Take the time to play with it. Try new commands. Build up your menu. Be artistic. The more you work with it, the more you will learn. COMPLEX TASKS ARE MADE OF SIMPLE TASKS COMPLEX TASKS ARE MADE OF SIMPLE TASKS COMPLEX TASKS ARE MADE OF SIMPLE TASKS As you learn more about MarxMenu, move on to SAMPLE2.MNU. Here we use more of the power of the MarxMenu language. As you study this menu, you will notice something. Even though it looks complex, it is really a collection of simple tasks. Understand how the moving windows work. Understand that the pop-up menus are just like the main menu. You will see that it is really not a complex menu at all. It is a lot of simple processes hooked together. That is one of the main concepts behind programming. Complex tasks are built out of simple tasks. As you learn the simple tasks, you will quickly understand how to connect them to accomplish complex tasks. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 36 _______________________________________________________________ When one sees a castle, one can't help but to be impressed. But castles are made of stones. And you can't build castles until you understand how stones work. Then you realize that a castle is just a bunch of stones hooked together. Programming is just like that. To successfully understand MarxMenu, start at the bottom and work your way up. Each little trick you learn becomes another building block for the next trick. What you start with becomes the foundation for the work that you will eventually produce. LEARNING GOOD PROGRAMMING HABITS LEARNING GOOD PROGRAMMING HABITS LEARNING GOOD PROGRAMMING HABITS Programming has its pitfalls, here I hope to give you some tips that will help you avoid common mistakes. This, I hope will give you a head start on the road to MarxMenu being done right. The first concept is patience. Rome wasn't built in a day. You may not be able to write grand and glorious menus the first try. In fact, you may have trouble getting the damn thing to work at all. As you have probably already noticed, no program is perfect. Sometimes there are errorrs in the manual. Sometimes it just doesn't work like you expected, or does not work the same way as other programs that are familiar to you. But, once you complete the installation, give it some time and realize that there is a lot of potential here. Approach all challenges with a good attitude. USE LONG NAMES USE LONG NAMES USE LONG NAMES I learned computers the hard way. Out on the streets. Hanging around with other computer nerds in the late 70s who never went to college either. I was known as a Bit Wit. My first real computer was an IMSAI kit. Actually, it wasn't all IMSAI, it was a combination of several kits where no two boards came from the same supplier. It was in an IMSAI box, so I call it an IMSAI. It was all supposed to work together the salesman told me the day before they went out of business. And it all did after some redesigning. I was tired of fixing CB radios for a living and decided that computers were here to stay and that I was going to learn about them. With that in mind, everything that went wrong became an opportunity for growth. Not that I looked forward to things not working. I programmed the thing from scratch, loading binary codes into memory from an array of switches on the front panel. The first program I wrote ran the EPROM burner, which was the only storage device I had. After I saved this program on a chip, I used it to load the second program onto the chip. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 37 _______________________________________________________________ Eventually I wrote enough software to talk to the screen and keyboard. Now I could type hex codes on the screen and save them to a chip. Eventually I wrote a tape driver and could save stuff on tape. Later, I traded for a North Star disk drive and had a disk system. One 90k floppy. I thought I was in heaven. I was intimately familiar with my computer. All my programs were in object code with no documentation whatsoever. At that point, a friend of mine, Rufus, turned me on to a language called FORTH. Being an interesting language and very powerful, I typed in the whole compiler in hex and adapted it to work on my system. Once I got Forth up, I wrote a line editor in it. I then used the line editor to write a screen editor. With the screen editor, I rewrote Forth in Forth. The language compiled itself. From working with Forth (which is as much a religion as a programming language) I learned both good and bad habits. Forth is a write only language and is almost impossible to read even with the best of documentation. On the other hand, it is as close to the machine as you can get in a high level language. After opening up a computer store in 1984, it became time to make the jump from CP/M to the DOS world. Turbo Pascal offered an interesting solution. They had both a CP/M and DOS compiler. This meant that programs I wrote would run on both machines. The thing that struck me about Pascal was that I could read it better than Forth, and I didn't even know the language. Not only that, but I could follow the programs that other people wrote and incorporate their code into my programs. The more programs I wrote, the more I came to appreciate a language that was reader friendly. I could manage my programs much easier without having to remember so much. Other people could follow what I was doing easier. The important thing I learned was that readability is very important in a program. The more complex the program, the more important readability becomes. One of the main design factors in the MarxMenu language is readability. I could have used short names for my commands and it's not like I like to type. I'm still on just two fingers here. Its just that descriptive names are so much more meaningful when putting simple processes together to create complex processes. The point (finally) is, when creating variable names, or procedure names, use long meaningful names. It may take more typing, but it takes a lot less thinking and remembering later on. Consider the following example in choosing variable names. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 38 _______________________________________________________________ Var KlingonsDestroyedInBattle Var K In the above example, it is obvious which one tells you more about what information is stored in the variable. USE COMMENTS LIBERALLY USE COMMENTS LIBERALLY USE COMMENTS LIBERALLY Even though MarxMenu is easy to read, it still should be commented. The examples that come with this disk do not have as many comments as they should. Don't do as I do, do as I say. I'm lazy and a bad example. Comments are not compiled in your MRX files and cost you nothing at execution time. In order to make commenting easy, I have provided three separate comment commands. Learn these commands first. Every menu should include a title comment. This should include the name and phone number of the person who wrote it. If you have a problem with a menu and you send it to me, I expect a title comment. That way I can call you about it. Comment ==================================================================== This comment was created by Marc Perkel 1-417-866-1222 Last Updated: 01-28-90 This form of comment block is better than using ';' because not using ; allows you to turn your word wrap feature on and do some professional looking editing in the comment block. This kind of comment block should be at the beginning of each and every menu you create. The top and bottom bars are for looks only and are not necessary to the comment. I strongly encourage you to use bars and do things for looks in source code. Looks are very important and you should put as much care into your comments as you do in writing a business letter. If you learn MarxMenu well, your source code may be part of your next job interview as you move up the corporate ladder. So you want it to look good. By the way, if you upload your menus to my bulleten board, I expect a comment block at the top of your menu with your phone number so I can get back to you. ==================================================================== EndComment Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 39 _______________________________________________________________ INDENT YOUR CODE INDENT YOUR CODE INDENT YOUR CODE As programs get more complex, it gets harder to match the IFs with the ELSEs and the ENDIFs. This is where indenting comes in. It creates a logical grouping of statements and you can easily see what goes with what. Procedure IfDemo IF <condition> <statement> <statement> ELSE <statement> <statement> WHILE <condition> <statement> <statement> ENDWHILE <statement> ENDIF <statement> EndProc You can easily see how this helps you follow what you are writing. Now here's a new trick. If you are using an IF, and plan to use an ELSE and an ENDIF, on the line under the IF statement, type in your ELSE and ENDIF lines. Then go back and insert your statements in between these lines. This will help you avoid forgetting the ENDIF or getting mixed up as to which IF matches which ELSE. A similar trick can be done with parens and brackets. When typing a left paren, type the matching right paren with it. Then fill in the code you want to put inside the parens or brackets. FOR DUPLICATE TASKS, USE PROCEDURES FOR DUPLICATE TASKS, USE PROCEDURES FOR DUPLICATE TASKS, USE PROCEDURES As menus become longer and more complex, many times you are duplicating a process that you already have written. Although it is easy to copy a block of code, it is better to create a procedure. With procedures, the process is put in one place and is given a name. Preferably a long meaningful name. Once this procedure is defined and named, it can be used as if it were part of the MarxMenu language. This makes menus smaller and easier to read. It is also a way for you to combine small processes into large processes. Procedures can be built using other procedures. Once you have a process figured out and working in a procedure, the whole process becomes a black box with a name that you can use elsewhere. The whole process is reduced down to a name that just works! Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 40 _______________________________________________________________ Another advantage of procedures is that if circumstances change and the procedure needs to be modified, you only make a change one place in your menus, and everything that uses that procedure is automatically changed. This makes menu maintenance easier. DON'T PROGRAM YOURSELF INTO A CORNER DON'T PROGRAM YOURSELF INTO A CORNER DON'T PROGRAM YOURSELF INTO A CORNER Using the above techniques will allow you to write very complex menu systems. Failing to use these techniques can limit what you can accomplish. There is a term called "programming yourself into a corner" which refers to a program that is so poorly written, that it can't be modified to accommodate changes and improvements. The height of your programming abilities depends on the foundation on which they are built. You must avoid rushing to the top without first creating a firm foundation on which to build. Good technique is the foundation for good programming. You will have to learn it eventually, it is more efficient to do it right than it is to do it over. Adopting good programming habits reminds me of my favorite light bulb joke: Q. How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb? A. Only one, but the light bulb has to want to change. A WORD TO WRITERS AND REVIEWERS A WORD TO WRITERS AND REVIEWERS A WORD TO WRITERS AND REVIEWERS MarxMenu is a multi-level product fulfilling the needs of a large variety of computer users. It is difficult to compare this product on a feature to feature basis. This is because MarxMenu has about 10 times as many features as any other menu system. These features allow this product to target a very broad variety of computer users, from the novice user, who will only use the LEVEL1 menu, to large companies with hundreds of file servers controlled through the MarxMenu language. One common mistake that writers make when evaluating MarxMenu, is in the area of ease of use. If you are looking for ease of use, stick with the simple menus and the self-configuring menus such as the LEVEL1 example. By looking at it this way, MarxMenu will be as easy to use as any other menus system out there and can be compared for similar features. Even though MarxMenu supports complex commands, it is not necessary to use them in simple menus. If you are doing a comparative review, please let me know on what basis you are making comparisons. This way I can assist you by providing you accurate information in the area of your interest. If you are looking for simple, I can show you simple; if you are looking for power, I can show you power. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 41 _______________________________________________________________ On the other hand, if you are reviewing power tools and network utilities, you might want to look at the Network Survival Kit and not just MarxMenu. So if you have a copy of only this program, give me a call and I'll get you the latest and greatest. In addition to our software, we also have color prints and color slides available as well as product literature and sample reviews. These are available to make your job easier and help you make those deadlines. MarxMenu tends to be best reviewed as a long article rather than a short one. It is very good if you have a lot of space to fill. With a long article, you can get really in depth with what MarxMenu is able to do. Any publication which reviews any of my products gets a site license to that product whether I like the review or not. Our position is that if you are using MarxMenu yourself, you will get to know it better. So far, as of the date I write this, no writer has written an article about MarxMenu that I feel covered what this product is really capable of doing. Consider this a challenge. Any questions you have about any of my products, feel free to call. The main thing I ask is that you get the product name, price, our address, and our phone number right. USING MARXHELP USING MARXHELP USING MARXHELP MarxHelp is a TSR pop-up help program for MarxMenu. It acts as an online reference guide to all of the MarxMenu commands. MarxHelp only takes 8k of ram and is very useful while writing your MarxMenu applications. To load MarxHelp type MARXHELP at the command line. Then if you want to pop-up an index press Shift-F3. The Shift-F2 key will repeat your last help topic and Shift-F1 will look up the word your cursor is on. To get more help on MarxMenu type MarxHelp /?. If you need to unload MarxHelp from memory, type MarxHelp /U. MarxHelp comes with the Computer Tyme Network Survival Kit. It can also be downloaded from our support BBS. It does not come bundled with the single user version. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 42 _______________________________________________________________ PRINTING THE EXAMPLE FILES PRINTING THE EXAMPLE FILES PRINTING THE EXAMPLE FILES MarxMenu comes with several example programs from simple to complex. The first thing to do is print the sample menus and study them. Start with the easy ones. You may never need to use any of the more complex ones, but if you do, a large variety of advanced techniques are demonstrated. By studying the sample menus, and comparing them to this manual, it should be fairly easy to become productive writing your own menus. MARXMENU COMMANDS MARXMENU COMMANDS MARXMENU COMMANDS MarxMenu contains a rich set of commands. They are listed here alphabetically and by command category. You don't have to learn them all so don't let the size of the list scare you. In the following command list, words contained within ( ) are command parameters that must be included after the menu command. If the parameter is not required, it will be contained in [ ]. The numeric range for the <column> parameter is 1 - 80 decimal, and for the <row> parameter the range is 1 - 25, 43, or 50 decimal depending on how many lines your monitor displays. | (Vertical Bar) | (Vertical Bar) | (Vertical Bar) Forces MarxMenu interpretation under an OnKey Command. If not for the | (Vertical Bar), the command under an OnKey would be written to a batch file. The | is only used under OnKey commands. Example: OnKey 'S' |password 'hello' 3 4 ECHO Type EXIT to return to menu COMMAND.COM OnKey 'X' |If UpperCase( ReadEnv( 'USERNAME' ) ) = 'SUPERVISOR' SYSCON |Else | SecurityBreach( 'You do not have access to this function!' ) |EndIf Category: Misc Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 43 _______________________________________________________________ ( : Operator ( : Operator ( : Operator Starts logical interpreter grouping. Used to force evalution of an expression. Example: 2 * 3 + 2 evaluates to 8 2 * ( 3 + 2 ) evaluates to 10 Category: Misc ) : Operator ) : Operator ) : Operator Ends logical interpreter grouping. See Also: ( Category: Misc * : Operator * : Operator * : Operator Multiplies two numbers. Category: Math, Float + : Operator + : Operator + : Operator Adds two numbers or two strings. Example: "Hello" + " " + "World" = "Hello World" 2 + 2 = 4 Category: Math, String, Float - : Operator - : Operator - : Operator Subtracts two numbers. Category: Math, Float / : Operator / : Operator / : Operator Divides two numbers. Category: Math, Float < : Operator < : Operator < : Operator Less Than - Compares two numbers or strings. Category: Math, String, Float Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 44 _______________________________________________________________ <= : Operator <= : Operator <= : Operator Less Than or Equal - Compares two numbers or strings. Category: Math, String, Float <> : Operator <> : Operator <> : Operator Not Equal - Compares two numbers or strings. Category: Math, String, Float = : Operator = : Operator = : Operator Equal - Compares two numbers or strings. Category: Math, String, Float > : Operator > : Operator > : Operator Greater Than - Compares two numbers or strings. Category: Math, String, Float >= : Operator >= : Operator >= : Operator Greater Than or Equal - Compares two numbers or strings. Category: Math, String, Float %MenuFileName : String %MenuFileName : String %MenuFileName : String This returns the name of the current menu file including the complete path. It can be used under an OnKey statement to edit the current menu as follows: Example: OnKey 'E' EDIT %MenuFileName Category: String Abs : Number Abs : Number Abs : Number Returns the absolute value of a number. The absolute value is the value of the number without the sign. Example: Abs(-6) returns 6 Category: Math, Float Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 45 _______________________________________________________________ Alias Alias Alias Alias <name> = <string> This is a compiler level text substitution command. When <name> is defined as <string> whenever you use <name> its the same to the compiler as if <string> were typed there. Example: Alias TwoPlusThree = "(2 + 3)" . . . 2 * TwoPlusThree = 10 . Writeln TwoPlusThree Writeln TwoPlusThree is the same as Writeln (2 + 3) Category: Misc And : Operator And : Operator And : Operator Returns logical And if operators are boolean; or bitwise And if operators are numeric. Category: Math, Boolean Apr : Number Apr : Number Apr : Number April, returns the number 4. Category: MonthName ArcTan (Radians) : Real ArcTan (Radians) : Real ArcTan (Radians) : Real Returns the ArcTangent of a real. Category: Math, Float Aug : Number Aug : Number Aug : Number August, returns the number 8. Category: MonthName Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 46 _______________________________________________________________ Bat (string) Bat (string) Bat (string) Used to write a line to the batch file the same way OnKey does. All the same rules apply. The batch file is created when the menu exits. MarxMenu exits with ErrorLevel 0 unless some other value has been specified using the ExitCode command. Example: BAT "command /c dir a:" ExitMenu See Also: OnKey Category: Execution BatFileName : String BatFileName : String BatFileName : String Returns the name of the batch file that MarxMenu would create if MarxMenu were to create a batch file automatically. Category: String BigShadow BigShadow BigShadow Selects big shadow type. This is the default shadow. See Also: SmallShadow, ShadowPosition, ShadowColor Category: Display Black : Number Black : Number Black : Number Returns the number 0. Category: Color BlankMessage (string) BlankMessage (string) BlankMessage (string) When the screen blanks out, this one line message is displayed. If BlankMessage is not set, the date and time will be displayed. See Also: ConsolePos Category: String BlankTime (minutes) BlankTime (minutes) BlankTime (minutes) Sets the number of minutes before the screen blanks out to prevent screen burn. Since this is not a resident program, screen blanking is only active while the menu system is active. Setting BlankTime to 0 prevents screen blanking. Example: Set ConsolePos Category: Display Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 47 _______________________________________________________________ BlockBox BlockBox BlockBox Selects block type box for menu borders. See Also: SingleLineBox, DoubleLineBox, CustomBox, NoBoxBorder Category: Display Blue : Number Blue : Number Blue : Number Returns the number 1. Category: Color BoxBorderColor (forecolor,backcolor) BoxBorderColor (forecolor,backcolor) BoxBorderColor (forecolor,backcolor) Sets colors for box border. Category: Display BoxHeader (string) BoxHeader (string) BoxHeader (string) Sets the center header message for the next box displayed. This command is used before the DrawBox command. Example: BoxHeader ' Main Choices ' DrawBox (25,6,30,9) See Also: BoxHeaderLeft, BoxHeaderRight See Also: BoxFooter, BoxFooterLeft, BoxFooterRight Category: Display BoxHeaderLeft (string) BoxHeaderLeft (string) BoxHeaderLeft (string) Sets the left header message for the next box displayed. This command is used before the DrawBox command. Example: BoxHeaderLeft ' Main Choices ' DrawBox (25,6,30,9) See Also: BoxHeader, BoxHeaderRight See Also: BoxFooter, BoxFooterLeft, BoxFooterRight Category: Display Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 48 _______________________________________________________________ BoxHeaderRight (string) BoxHeaderRight (string) BoxHeaderRight (string) Sets the right header message for the next box displayed. This command is used before the DrawBox command. Example: BoxHeaderRight ' Main Choices ' DrawBox (25,6,30,9) See Also: BoxHeader, BoxHeaderLeft See Also: BoxFooter, BoxFooterLeft, BoxFooterRight Category: Display BoxHeaderColor (forecolor,backcolor) BoxHeaderColor (forecolor,backcolor) BoxHeaderColor (forecolor,backcolor) Sets colors for the box headers and box footers. Category: Display BoxFooter (string) BoxFooter (string) BoxFooter (string) Sets the center footer message for the next box displayed. This command is used before the DrawBox command. Example: BoxFooter ' Main Choices ' DrawBox (25,6,30,9) See Also: BoxHeader, BoxHeaderLeft, BoxHeaderRight See Also: BoxFooterLeft, BoxFooterRight Category: Display BoxFooterLeft (string) BoxFooterLeft (string) BoxFooterLeft (string) Sets the left footer message for the next box displayed. This command is used before the DrawBox command. Example: BoxFooterLeft ' Main Choices ' DrawBox (25,6,30,9) See Also: BoxHeader, BoxHeaderLeft, BoxHeaderRight See Also: BoxFooter, BoxFooterRight Category: Display Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 49 _______________________________________________________________ BoxFooterRight (string) BoxFooterRight (string) BoxFooterRight (string) Sets the right footer message for the next box displayed. This command is used before the DrawBox command. Example: BoxFooterRight ' Main Choices ' DrawBox (25,6,30,9) See Also: BoxHeader, BoxHeaderLeft, BoxHeaderRight See Also: BoxFooter, BoxFooterLeft Category: Display BoxInsideColor (forecolor,backcolor) BoxInsideColor (forecolor,backcolor) BoxInsideColor (forecolor,backcolor) Sets colors for box interior. Category: Display Brown : Number Brown : Number Brown : Number Returns the number 7. Category: Color BW40 : Number BW40 : Number BW40 : Number Returns the number 0. Relates to the DOS Mode BW40 command. Category: Video BW80 : Number BW80 : Number BW80 : Number Returns the number 2. Relates to the DOS Mode BW80 command. Category: Video CapsColor (forecolor,backcolor) CapsColor (forecolor,backcolor) CapsColor (forecolor,backcolor) Setting CapsColor allows capital letters and numbers to be a different color than the rest of the text. This is used with the UseArrows command to show which character is the one that selects the options in the window. CapsColor is reset after any TextColor command, so be sure to use CapsColor AFTER TextColor commands. For this option the numbers 0 - 9 and some punctuation characters are considered capitals. See Also: DrawBox Category: Display CapsLock : Boolean CapsLock : Boolean CapsLock : Boolean Returns true if caps lock is on. Category: System Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 50 _______________________________________________________________ Chain (MenuName) Chain (MenuName) Chain (MenuName) This command will load a new menu. Unlike Jump, MarxMenu stays in memory. The screen is not cleared. If the new menu has exactly the same global variables, the contents of all global variables is retained. Chain allows for a very quick transfer from one menu to another. Example: Chain ('USER') ;Chains to USER.MNU Category: Execution Char (number) : String Char (number) : String Char (number) : String Converts a number into a one character string. Example: Write (Char(65)) ;This will display 'A' Category: String ChDir (string) ChDir (string) ChDir (string) Changes directories. The variable FileResult can be tested to see if it was successful. ChDir can also be used to change drives. Example: ChDir( 'C:\HOME\MARXMENU' ) ChDir( 'B:' ) ; Will make drive B: the current drive Category: File CleanFileName (string) : String CleanFileName (string) : String CleanFileName (string) : String Returns the full path name or directory name of a string. It also removes occurrences of a '\\' in the string. Thus the command: String = CleanFileName('a:\' + '\main.mnu') sets String to 'A:\MAIN.MNU'. CleanFileName also removes extra ending '\' and capitalizes the path. Category: String ClearLine [char] ClearLine [char] ClearLine [char] Clears the current line in the current window. The optional parameter is for the decimal number of the IBM graphics character. If [char] is present, the line will be filled with the character. Examples: ClearLine ;Clears screen with blanks ClearLine 205 ;Clears screen with char 205 Category: Display Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 51 _______________________________________________________________ ClearScreen [char] ClearScreen [char] ClearScreen [char] Clears the screen. The optional parameter is the decimal number equivalent for an IBM graphics character. If [char] is present, the screen will be filled with [char]. Examples: ClearScreen ;Clears screen with blanks ClearScreen 177 ;Clears screen with char 177 Category: Display ClearScreenFirst (on/off) ClearScreenFirst (on/off) ClearScreenFirst (on/off) Used in conjunction with Execute. If on, will clear the screen before running the program. Example: OnKey 'D' |ClearScreenFirst On |Execute 'C:\DM.COM' The default is ON. Category: Execution ClearScreenOnExit (on/off) ClearScreenOnExit (on/off) ClearScreenOnExit (on/off) Controls whether or not the screen is cleared on menu exit. Default on. Category: Display ClockColor (forecolor,backcolor) ClockColor (forecolor,backcolor) ClockColor (forecolor,backcolor) Sets colors for the on screen clock. Category: Display ClockMode ClockMode ClockMode ClockMode is a variable whose bits control the format of the on screen clock when it is used. ClockMode Bits: --------------- 0 24 hour mode 1 AmPm On 2 Show Seconds 3 UpperCase 4 3 char month 5 3 char Day of Week 6 Show Day of Week 7 Dash = 0 Slash = 1 MM-DD-YY or MM/DD/YY 8 Long Date Bit 0 on sets hours display to 24 hour mode. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 52 _______________________________________________________________ Bit 1 turns on the Am/Pm display. Bit 2 on controls if time is shown as HH:MM:SS or just HH:MM. Bit 3 shows date in only upper case. Bit 4 on shows month in 3 characters. Bit 5 shows Day of week as 3 characters. Bit 6 controls if Day of week is displayed. Bit 7 controls if date is shown as MM-DD-YY or MM/DD/YY. Bit 8 shows date in text. (October 3, 1990). Default ClockMode is 326. Category: Display ClockPos (column,row) ClockPos (column,row) ClockPos (column,row) Puts a clock on the screen at location (column,row). The command ClockPos 0 0 turns the clock off. Category: Display ClosePrinter ClosePrinter ClosePrinter In MarxMenu the printer is just another text file. Closing the printer is not required for ordinary printing. If you are changing printers you need to run ClosePrinter before changing the printer name. The printer is automatically opened by MarxMenu any time you print anything. If you are running Windows or DesqView, closing the printer allows other programs to access the printer. So if you are running under any multitasking shell, be sure to close the printer when you are done with it. If you are using a network like Novell, ClosePrinter will end the print job and send it to the print queue. This avoids the need to wait for print capture timouts to take effect. Closing the printer is good programming practice and will help you stay out of trouble. It's like what your mother taught you. "When you're done with something, put it away." See Also: OpenPrinter, PrinterName Category: Printer Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 53 _______________________________________________________________ ClusterSize <drive> : Number ClusterSize <drive> : Number ClusterSize <drive> : Number Returns cluster size in bytes. Example: Writeln (ClusterSize 'C') ClusterSize only looks at the first character of the string for the drive letter. Category: System CmdLine : String CmdLine : String CmdLine : String System string variable that returns the rest of the command line after the menu name. Category: String CO40 : Number CO40 : Number CO40 : Number Returns the number 1. Relates to the DOS Mode CO40 command. Category: Video CO80 : Number CO80 : Number CO80 : Number Returns the number 3. Relates to the DOS Mode CO80 command. Category: Video ColorScreen : Boolean ColorScreen : Boolean ColorScreen : Boolean Returns true if screen is a color screen. Note: Running MODE BW80 will cause ColorScreen to return false. Example: If ColorScreen ;Color TextColor( White, Blue ) Else ;Monochrome TextColor( White, Black ) EndIf Category: Video Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 54 _______________________________________________________________ Comment Comment Comment Starts a Comment Block. All text is ignored until EndComment is encountered. Example: Comment ======================================= Everything between Comment and EndComment is ignored. ======================================= EndComment See Also: EndComment Category: Misc Console (On/Off) Console (On/Off) Console (On/Off) The command Console Off will disable access to the console. Category: Display ConsoleBorderColor (Color,Color) ConsoleBorderColor (Color,Color) ConsoleBorderColor (Color,Color) Sets the color of the console border. Example: See Also: ConsolePos Category: Display ConsoleHeaderColor (Color,Color) ConsoleHeaderColor (Color,Color) ConsoleHeaderColor (Color,Color) Sets the color of the console header. See Also: ConsolePos Category: Display ConsoleInsideColor (Color,Color) ConsoleInsideColor (Color,Color) ConsoleInsideColor (Color,Color) Sets the color of the console inside. See Also: ConsolePos Category: Display Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 55 _______________________________________________________________ ConsolePos (column,row) ConsolePos (column,row) ConsolePos (column,row) Sets the coordinates of the pop-up console menu. Example: ConsoleBorderColor( White,Blue ) ConsoleHeaderColor( Yellow,Blue ) ConsoleInsideColor( Yellow,Blue ) ConsolePos( 5,5 ) ; Column 5, Row 5 Category: Display Const Const Const Creates a constant. See Also: Var, Shared, Qualifier Category Variable Cos (Radians) : Real Cos (Radians) : Real Cos (Radians) : Real Returns the CoSine of a real. Category: Math, Float CurrentEnvironment CurrentEnvironment CurrentEnvironment CurrentEnvironment selects the current environment for use with environment access commands. See Also: ReadEnv SetEnv ReadEnvironment ShellEnvironment See Also: ParentEnvironment MasterEnvironment Category: Environment CurrentWindow : Number CurrentWindow : Number CurrentWindow : Number Returns the number of the current window. All windows are given a unique number. See Also: SetTopWindow Category: Display Cursor (On/Off) Cursor (On/Off) Cursor (On/Off) MarxMenu automatically turns the cursor on for certain kinds of input. Using Cursor Off prevents MarxMenu from turning the cursor on. Cursor On reverses this and allows MarxMenu to turn the cursor on when needed. Category: Display Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 56 _______________________________________________________________ CustomBox (String) CustomBox (String) CustomBox (String) Selects a Box border using an 8 character string to define the sides and the corners. Example: CustomBox ('12345678') ;This will help you figure out what ;position matches which side. See Also: SingleLineBox, DoubleLineBox, BlockBox, NoBoxBorder Category: Display Cyan : Number Cyan : Number Cyan : Number Returns the number 3. Category: Color DateString : String DateString : String DateString : String Returns the current date in MM-DD-YY format. Category: Time, String Day : Number Day : Number Day : Number Returns the day of the month. Category: Time DayOfWeek : Number DayOfWeek : Number DayOfWeek : Number Returns the day of the week. 0=SUNDAY 1=MONDAY 2=TUESDAY 3=WEDNESDAY 4=THURSDAY 5=FRIDAY 6=SATURDAY Category: Time Dec : Number Dec : Number Dec : Number December, Returns the number 12. Category: MonthName Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 57 _______________________________________________________________ Delete (string,pos,count) Delete (string,pos,count) Delete (string,pos,count) Deletes characters from string starting at pos for count. Example: String = 'ABCDEFGH' Delete(String,2,3) This leaves a String containing 'ABFGH' If count exceeds the length of the string, the string is truncated at pos. Another use of Delete is to delete elements of an array. Delete (Array,Position,Count) This works exactly like the delete command for strings. It delete elements of an array beginning at Position for Count elements. The NumberOfElements is adjusted accordingly. Example: MyArray[1] = "ONE" MyArray[2] = "TWO" MyArray[3] = "THREE" MyArray[4] = "FOUR" Delete( MyArray,2,2 ) ;MyArray now contains.. MyArray[1] = "ONE" MyArray[2] = "FOUR" Category: String, Array DelFile (Name) DelFile (Name) DelFile (Name) Deletes a file by name. FileResult returns a 0 if the file existed and the delete was successful. Example: DelFile( 'C:\NOTES\READ.ME' ) If FileResult = 0 Writeln( 'C:\NOTES\READ.ME was succesfully deleted!' ) Else Writeln( 'C:\NOTES\READ.ME was un-succesfully deleted!' ) EndIf Category: File Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 58 _______________________________________________________________ Dispose (Variable) Dispose (Variable) Dispose (Variable) This command reclaims memory used by a string variable, file variable, or an array. If you are doing a lot of data manipulation, you might want to reclaim memory space used by arrays you are done with. The disposed variable becomes an untyped variable. Example: Loop( 20 ) MyArray[LoopIndex] = LoopIndex If (MyArray[LoopIndex] Mod 2) = 0 ;Check to See Also: if number is odd or even Writeln( 'MyArray[' + Str( LoopIndex ) + '] is an EVEN number.' ); Else Writeln( 'MyArray[' + Str( LoopIndex ) + '] is an EVEN number.' ); EndIf EndLoop Dispose( MyArray ) ;We're finished with the array so reclaim its memory space. Category: Memory, Array DosVersion : Number DosVersion : Number DosVersion : Number Returns the major DOS version number. Category: System DosVersionString : String DosVersionString : String DosVersionString : String Returns the DOS version number as a 4 character string. This function always returns 2 places past the decimal point. The form of the string is: #.## Example Writeln DosVersionString ;prints 4.01 Category: System, String DosWindow (on/off) DosWindow (on/off) DosWindow (on/off) When you set DosWindow on, MarxMenu will not drop out of the menu system when you use the Execute command. It will give you a display of the DOS screen within the current window. The program you execute must be a well-behaved program like DIR or COPY or some of the other DOS commands that talk to the screen through standard file handles. Category: Execution DoubleLineBox DoubleLineBox DoubleLineBox Selects double line box. See Also: SingleLineBox, BlockBox, CustomBox, NoBoxBorder Category: Display Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 59 _______________________________________________________________ DrawBox (column,row,width,height) DrawBox (column,row,width,height) DrawBox (column,row,width,height) Draws a box on the screen. The (column) and (row) are the upper left corner, (width) and (height) is the box size. Example: Explode On Shadow On DoubleLineBox BoxHeaderColor( Yellow,Red ) BoxBorderColor( White, Red ) BoxInsideColor( Yellow,Red ) InverseColor( Black, Gray ) CapsColor( Black, Red ) BoxHeader = ' << Main Menu >> ' DrawBox( 30,10,40,8 ) DrawBox also creates a logical layer for several display variables. These variable include TextColor, InverseColor, CapsColor. It is important to use these color control commands AFTER the DrawBox command in order to properly restore the colors of the previous DrawBox. If you call up a box and when it finishes it messes up the colors of the previous box, you probably used color control commands BEFORE the DrawBox instead of AFTER. Category: Display Drives : Number Drives : Number Drives : Number Returns the number of drives. This includes drive names that can be substituted. Most of the time the answer is 5. This relates to your LastDrive = command in your CONFIG.SYS file. Category: System DvAppNumber : Number DvAppNumber : Number DvAppNumber : Number Returns the DesqView application number or window number. Category: DesqView DvFrame (Handle,On/Off) DvFrame (Handle,On/Off) DvFrame (Handle,On/Off) Turns the DesqView border frame on or off. Category: DesqView DvFreeze (Handle) DvFreeze (Handle) DvFreeze (Handle) Freezes a program. The program stops executing. See Also: DvUnFreeze, DvPifExecute, DvLastHandle Category: DesqView Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 60 _______________________________________________________________ DvHide (Handle) DvHide (Handle) DvHide (Handle) Hides all output from program making it invisible. The program still continues to run. See Also: DvUnHide Category: DesqView DvKillTask (Handle) DvKillTask (Handle) DvKillTask (Handle) Kills a program running under DesqView. The handle is the one returned be DvPifExecute in DvLastHandle. See Also: DvPifExecute Category: DesqView DvLastHandle : Number DvLastHandle : Number DvLastHandle : Number Returns a number that is associated with a program running under DesqView. This number is used to control other programs running under DesqView. It is set by DvPifExecute. See Also: DvPifExecute Category: DesqView DvLoaded : Boolean DvLoaded : Boolean DvLoaded : Boolean Returns true if DesqView is loaded. Category: DesqView DvMoveWindow (Handle,X,Y) DvMoveWindow (Handle,X,Y) DvMoveWindow (Handle,X,Y) Moves DesqView window upper left corner to position X,Y. Category: DesqView DvMyHandle : Number DvMyHandle : Number DvMyHandle : Number Returns the DesqView handle of the current process. See Also: DvLastHandle Category: DesqView Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 61 _______________________________________________________________ DvPifExecute (Pif File) DvPifExecute (Pif File) DvPifExecute (Pif File) Executes another program under DesqView in another window. MarxMenu stays resident in its original window. The window executes according to the contents of the DesqView PIF file. The PIF file can be specified by using the full name. If you leave of the extension, MarxMenu assumes the extension DVP. If you pass a two character name, like the two characters in the DesqView menus, then MarxMenu will add -PIF.DVP to the name. If the PIF file is on the path, MarxMenu will find it. Warning! DesqView must be loaded to run this command. Example: DvPifExecute 'BD' DvPifExecute 'BD-PIF' ;These all execute Big DOS DVPifExecute 'BD-PIF.DVP' The task handle is loaded into a variable named DvLastHandle. When the program starts, it becomes the current top program. See Also: DvLoaded, DvLastHandle Category: DesqView DvResizeWindow (Handle,Width,Height) DvResizeWindow (Handle,Width,Height) DvResizeWindow (Handle,Width,Height) Changes the size of a DesqView window. Category: DesqView DvSetBottom (Handle) DvSetBottom (Handle) DvSetBottom (Handle) Sets the program associated with the handle to the bottom of the task stack. See Also: DvSetTop Category: DesqView DvSetTop (Handle) DvSetTop (Handle) DvSetTop (Handle) Sets the program associated with the handle to be the top running task. Using DvMyHandle allows MarxMenu to regain control after starting another task. Example: DvSetTop (DvMyHandle) See Also: DvSetBottom, DvLastHandle Category: DesqView Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 62 _______________________________________________________________ DvUnFreeze (Handle) DvUnFreeze (Handle) DvUnFreeze (Handle) UnFreezes a program. The program starts executing again. See Also: DvFreeze, DvPifExecute, DvLastHandle Category: DesqView DvUnHide (Handle) DvUnHide (Handle) DvUnHide (Handle) Reverses the effect of DvHide making program output visable again. See Also: DvHide Category: DesqView Else Else Else Starts lines executed if a condition is not true. See Also: If Then Endif Category: Conditional EndComment EndComment EndComment Ends a comment block. See Also: Comment Category: Misc EndIf EndIf EndIf Ends an if statement. See Also: If Else Then Category: Conditional EndLoop EndLoop EndLoop Ends a loop statement. See Also: Loop LoopIndex LoopLimit Category: Conditional Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 63 _______________________________________________________________ EndOfFile (FileVar) : Boolean EndOfFile (FileVar) : Boolean EndOfFile (FileVar) : Boolean Returns True if you are at the end of the file. Example: Var In FileAssign (In, 'C:\NOTES\READ.ME') FileOpen (In) While Not EndOfFile (In) Writeln (FileReadLn (In)) EndWhile FileClose (In) Category: File EndProc EndProc EndProc Ends a Procedure. See Also: Procedure Return Category: Misc EndWhile EndWhile EndWhile Ends a While statement. See Also: While Category: Conditional EnvFree : Number EnvFree : Number EnvFree : Number Returns the free space in the selected environment. Category: Environment EnvSize : Number EnvSize : Number EnvSize : Number Returns the size of the selected environment. Example: If EnvSize < 50 Warning( 'Your envrionment size is less than 20 bytes!!' ) Endif Category: Environment EraseTopWindow EraseTopWindow EraseTopWindow Erases the last window created with DrawBox. Category: Display Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 64 _______________________________________________________________ Execute (command string) Execute (command string) Execute (command string) This allows you to execute a program without dropping out of MarxMenu. MarxMenu remains resident in memory and takes up approximately 100k. No batch file will be created by MarxMenu. This is handy if you have a small program you want to run from the menu but don't want to allow for the time required by MarxMenu to create and run a batch file. You can also execute some programs in a MarxMenu window (See Also: DosWindow). You can also execute a program and examine the return code. This command can be placed in a progression of menu commands without any special handling. Under an OnKey statement, you will need to enclose the command between a begin and end statement. Example: OnKey 'D' |Execute 'C:\DM.COM' Note: If UseCommand is True or On, MarxMenu will load COMMAND.COM to execute your command. If UseCommand is False, MarxMenu will execute your file directly without COMMAND.COM. Using COMMAND.COM will execute slightly slower, use 3.5k more ram, and allow you to use command lines just like you would from the DOS prompt. COMMAND.COM is required when running internal DOS commands like COPY or DIR. It is also required to run batch files. When UseCommand is off, MarxMenu will search the PATH for the executable file. Not using COMMAND.COM allows you to use the ReturnCode variable to get the ERRORLEVEL from the subprogram. The ClearScreenFirst (On/Off) controls whether MarxMenu will clear the screen before you execute. The PauseAfterExecute (On/Off) allows you to have a pause like the Pause command in batch files. That way you can read the screen before it restores the MarxMenu screen. Category: Execution ExistDir (directory) : Boolean ExistDir (directory) : Boolean ExistDir (directory) : Boolean Used to test whether or not a DIRECTORY exists. Category: File Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 65 _______________________________________________________________ ExistFile : Boolean ExistFile : Boolean ExistFile : Boolean Used to test whether or not a FILE exists. Category: File ExistOnPath (string) : String ExistOnPath (string) : String ExistOnPath (string) : String Used to search the existing paths for the command to be executed by Execute or other function. The program variable must include the full filename. Example: OnKey 'D' |Execute(ExistOnPath('DM.COM')) If the file is not found, a null string is returned. Category: File ExitCode ExitCode ExitCode This can be set so MarxMenu will return an ErrorLevel that can be used in a batch file. Example: ExitCode = 100 When MarxMenu exits it will use ErrorLevel 100. Category: Execution ExitMenu ExitMenu ExitMenu Causes MarxMenu to exit. Category: Execution Exp (Real) : Real Exp (Real) : Real Exp (Real) : Real Returns the Exponential of a real. Inverse of Ln. Category: Math, Float Explode (on/off) Explode (on/off) Explode (on/off) Turn exploding windows on/off. Category: Display ExplodeDelay (number) ExplodeDelay (number) ExplodeDelay (number) Sets the speed of exploding windows. Use this command to adjust the speed of the exploding windows. Default is 15. Category: Display Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 66 _______________________________________________________________ False : Boolean False : Boolean False : Boolean Returns boolean False. Category: Boolean Feb : Number Feb : Number Feb : Number February, Returns the number 2. Category: MonthName FileAppend (FileVar) FileAppend (FileVar) FileAppend (FileVar) Opens a file for access and moves the file pointer to the end of the file. File writes will start at the end of the file. Category: File FileAssign (FileVar,String) FileAssign (FileVar,String) FileAssign (FileVar,String) Assigns a file variable to a file name. Files must be given a name before they can be accessed. Example: FileAssign(BatFile,'MARX.BAT') BatFile is a variable and after the FileAssign, it becomes a file variable. All access to the file is done using the file variable. If an empty string is passed as the file name, MarxMenu will use the standard console file handles. Category: File FileAttr (string) : Number FileAttr (string) : Number FileAttr (string) : Number Returns file attribute. Can be used on directories also. Category: File FileClose (FileVar) FileClose (FileVar) FileClose (FileVar) Closes a file and deallocates the memory space used by the file variable. Category: File FileCreate (FileVar) FileCreate (FileVar) FileCreate (FileVar) Creates a new file. If the file exists, it overwrites the old one. Category: File Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 67 _______________________________________________________________ FileDate (string) : Number FileDate (string) : Number FileDate (string) : Number Returns file date as 32 bit integer. See Also: DOS manual for date structure. Category: File FileFlush (FileVar) FileFlush (FileVar) FileFlush (FileVar) Writes any information that is in the file buffers to disk. Category: File FileLog (FileVar,String) FileLog (FileVar,String) FileLog (FileVar,String) This is like FileWriteln except that it always seeks the end of the file and flushes its buffers after each write. Used for usage tracking. Category: File FileOpen (FileVar) FileOpen (FileVar) FileOpen (FileVar) Opens a file for access. FileOpen is not needed if you are using the ReadTextFile command. The following example copies a text file. var Inp Out St FileAssign(Inp,'INPUT.TXT') FileOpen(Inp) FileAssign(Out,'OUTPUT.TXT') FileCreate(Out) while not EndOfFile(Inp) FileReadln(Inp,St) FileWriteln(Out,St) endwhile FileClose(Inp) FileClose(Out) Category: File FilePos (FileVar) : Number FilePos (FileVar) : Number FilePos (FileVar) : Number Returns the current file position in bytes. Category: File FileReadln (FileVar) : String FileReadln (FileVar) : String FileReadln (FileVar) : String Reads one line of an open file returning that line as a string. Example: Line3 = FileReadln(BatFile) Category: File Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 68 _______________________________________________________________ FileRename (Old,New) FileRename (Old,New) FileRename (Old,New) Renames a file from old name to new. A file may be moved to a new directory with this command. Category: File FileResult : Number FileResult : Number FileResult : Number Returns result code from last file IO. Result codes are the same as Turbo Pascal IOResult codes. These codes usually match the errors returned in the AX register of DOS commands. 0 indicates no problem. Category: File FileSeek (FileVar,Number) FileSeek (FileVar,Number) FileSeek (FileVar,Number) Moves the file pointer to a specified place in the file. Category: File FileSize (string) : Number FileSize (string) : Number FileSize (string) : Number Returns size of file in bytes. Category: File FileWrite (FileVar,String) FileWrite (FileVar,String) FileWrite (FileVar,String) Writes text to a file. Category: File FileWriteln (FileVar,String) FileWriteln (FileVar,String) FileWriteln (FileVar,String) Writes text to a file with a carriage return and a line feed. Category: File FixPath FixPath FixPath This command reads your path command and verifies that all the paths are accessable. Any path that isn't accessable is removed from the master environment. This can be used on network drives to eliminate searching paths on fileservers that are no longer accessable. Category: Environment Floppies : Number Floppies : Number Floppies : Number Returns number of floppy drives. Category: System Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 69 _______________________________________________________________ ForceExplosion (On/Off) ForceExplosion (On/Off) ForceExplosion (On/Off) This changes the explosion status of a window that already exists. This allows windows to implode that didn't explode. Category: Display ForceExtension (String,Ext) : String ForceExtension (String,Ext) : String ForceExtension (String,Ext) : String This command forces a file extension on a string. Example: St = ForceExtension('MAIN.MNU','MRX') This sets St equal to MAIN.MRX Category: String Fraction (Real) : Real Fraction (Real) : Real Fraction (Real) : Real Returns the fractional part of a real. Category: Math, Float FreeDiskSpace <drive> : Number FreeDiskSpace <drive> : Number FreeDiskSpace <drive> : Number Returns free disk space in bytes. Example: Writeln (FreeDiskSpace 'C') FreeDiskSpace only looks at the first character of the string for the drive letter. Category: System FreeEMS : Number FreeEMS : Number FreeEMS : Number Returns free EMS memory in bytes. Category: Memory FreeMemory : Number FreeMemory : Number FreeMemory : Number Returns the amount of free memory still available. Category: Memory Fri : Number Fri : Number Fri : Number Friday, Returns the number 5. Category: WeekDay Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 70 _______________________________________________________________ GotoXY (column,row) GotoXY (column,row) GotoXY (column,row) Move cursor to location column,row in current box. Category: Display Green : Number Green : Number Green : Number Returns the number 2. Category: Color Grey : Number Grey : Number Grey : Number Returns the number 7. Category: Color Hour : Number Hour : Number Hour : Number Return the current hour. 24 hour format. Category: Time Hundredth : Number Hundredth : Number Hundredth : Number Returns the 1/100 of a second from the system clock. Note that the system clock timer tick is 1/18 second so don't expect a lot of accuracy here. Category: Time If If If Used for program control. Usage: IF (condition) THEN (statement) IF (condition) (statement) (statement) ELSE (statement) (statement) ENDIF Category: Conditional Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 71 _______________________________________________________________ InactiveBox (BoxType) InactiveBox (BoxType) InactiveBox (BoxType) This is used to select the type of box border to use when a window is not the current window. If any inactive box type is specified, then when you execute another DrawBox, the old window's border changes to the inactive box type. The inactive window also loses its headers and shadows. Note that InActiveBox must be used BEFORE the DrawBox command. Example: InActiveBox (SingleLineBox) ;switches to single line box if inactive. InactiveBox (NoBoxBorder) ;disables InActive effect. See Also: InactiveBoxColor Category: Display InactiveBoxColor (foreground,background) InactiveBoxColor (foreground,background) InactiveBoxColor (foreground,background) Selects the color of the inactive box window. If Black on Black is selected, (default), the inactive box color is the same as the active box color. Example: BoxBorderColor Yellow Blue InActiveBoxColor Brown Blue See Also: InactiveBox BoxBorderColor Category: Display Include (MenuName) Include (MenuName) Include (MenuName) This is used to insert the menu code from another file into the menu that you are compiling. Example: Include 'DOS.MNU' This will compile DOS.MNU into your present menu as if that whole file were part of the menu you are working on. This is useful if you have several menus that share common code. By moving this common code to a separate file, and using an Include statement, you can change the common code and update several menus at once. Changing an include file does not cause MarxMenu to recompile automatically like changing the MNU does. You will have to force it to compile your menus. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 72 _______________________________________________________________ This can be done several ways. You can type MARXCOMP (menu) or you can just type DEL *.MRX which will cause all the menus to recompile the next time they are run. Category: Misc InputString (String) InputString (String) InputString (String) Preloads a string for the Readln command. The next Readln will have the InputString on the screen for you to edit or accept. Once Readln executes, InputString is cleared to a blank string. Example: InputString = ReadEnv('USERNAME') YourName = Readln Category: Keyboard, String Insert (InsString,OrigString,Pos) Insert (InsString,OrigString,Pos) Insert (InsString,OrigString,Pos) Inserts a string into a string. Example: St = 'ABCDEF' Insert('123',St,3) St will become 'ABC123DEF' Category: String InsertMode (On/Off) InsertMode (On/Off) InsertMode (On/Off) Turns insert mode on and off for Readln commands. Category: Keyboard Int (Real) : Real Int (Real) : Real Int (Real) : Real Returns the integer part of a real as a real. Category: Math, Float Integer (Real) : Number Integer (Real) : Number Integer (Real) : Number Returns the integer part of a real as an integer. The fractional part is truncated. Category: Math, Float InverseColor (forecolor,backcolor) InverseColor (forecolor,backcolor) InverseColor (forecolor,backcolor) Sets colors for inverse bar used with UseArrows command. Category: Display Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 73 _______________________________________________________________ Jan : Number Jan : Number Jan : Number January, Returns the number 1. Category: MonthName Jul : Number Jul : Number Jul : Number July, Returns the number 7. Category: MonthName Jun : Number Jun : Number Jun : Number June, Returns the number 6. Category: MonthName Jump (menu) Jump (menu) Jump (menu) Jumps to another menu and does not return to original menu. Category: Execution KbdReady : Boolean KbdReady : Boolean KbdReady : Boolean Returns true if Key is pressed. Category: Keyboard KeySave : String KeySave : String KeySave : String Stores your keystrokes that you pressed to get to the menu level where you are at. KeySave is passed to DOS using the SET KSV= command to store your position in the menu system. To make this work, you must execute SavePosition On. This variable can be set by you to force MarxMenu to return to a place in the menu other than where you are. This allows MarxMenu to suggest a next step. See Also: SavePosition Category: String, Environment, Execution KillMusic KillMusic KillMusic This command stops the music and de-allocates the memory used by the music buffer. Category: Music Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 74 _______________________________________________________________ LastKey : String LastKey : String LastKey : String LastKey returns the last key that was typed at the keyboard. This can be used after a Readln to determine if the ESC key was pressed or perhaps the up or down arrow keys. Sometimes after the press of an ESC key, MarxMenu wants to exit more levels than you want it to. This can be controlled by setting LastKey = ' ' to stop the abort process. See Also: Readln Category: String LBlue : Number LBlue : Number LBlue : Number Light Blue, Returns the number 9. Category: Color LCyan : Number LCyan : Number LCyan : Number Light Cyan, Returns the number 11. Category: Color Left (string,count) : String Left (string,count) : String Left (string,count) : String Returns string starting at the beginning for count characters. Example: Left('ABCDEF',3) returns 'ABC' Category: String Length (string) : Number Length (string) : Number Length (string) : Number Returns the length of the string. Category: String LGreen : Number LGreen : Number LGreen : Number Light Green, Returns the number 10. Category: Color LGrey : Number LGrey : Number LGrey : Number Light Grey, Returns the number 8. Category: Color LMag : Number LMag : Number LMag : Number Light Magenta, Returns the number 13. Category: Color Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 75 _______________________________________________________________ LMagenta : Number LMagenta : Number LMagenta : Number Light Magenta, Returns the number 13. Category: Color Ln (Real) : Real Ln (Real) : Real Ln (Real) : Real Returns the Natural Logarithm of a real. Category: Math, Float Loc (Procedure) Loc (Procedure) Loc (Procedure) This returns the location of a procedure for storing in a variable. The variable is later executed using the Run command. See Also: Run Category: Misc LockWord (word) LockWord (word) LockWord (word) Sets a default word for the console activated keyboard lock. Category: Display Loop Loop Loop MarxMenu has a looping structure that lets you execute a piece of code a specific number of times. It is used as follows: Example: Loop 8 Writeln 'Pass Number ' LoopIndex EndLoop You start with LOOP (Number) which specifies the number of times to execute the code between LOOP and ENDLOOP. There are 2 variables available here for loop control. LoopIndex starts at 1 and is incremented at each EndLoop. When LoopIndex becomes greater than LoopLimit, the loop exits. LoopIndex and LoopLimit refer to the innermost loop. As loops are nested LoopIndexes and LoopLimits are kept in two arrays; LoopIndexStack and LoopLimitStack. There is also a variable called LoopLevel which points to the current loop parameters. Thus: LoopIndex is the same as LoopIndexStack[LoopLevel] LoopLimit is the same as LoopLimitStack[LoopLevel] You may therefore access outer loop parameters through the loop stacks. For instance LoopIndexStack[LoopLevel - 1] would refer to the second innermost loop index. LoopIndexStack[1] refers to the outermost loop. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 76 _______________________________________________________________ The loop variables can be read and written to so you can adjust the looping parameters while inside the loop. You can even adjust the parameters of outer loops. See Also: EndLoop LoopIndex LoopLimit Category: Conditional LoopIndex LoopIndex LoopIndex Returns the loop you are in. See Also: Loop EndLoop LoopLimit Category: Conditional LoopLimit LoopLimit LoopLimit Returns the upper limit of the loop you are in. See Also: Loop EndLoop LoopIndex Category: Conditional LRed : Number LRed : Number LRed : Number Light Red returns the number 12. Category: Color Mag : Number Mag : Number Mag : Number Magenta, Returns the number 5. Category: Color Magenta : Number Magenta : Number Magenta : Number Magenta, Returns the number 5. Category: Color Mar : Number Mar : Number Mar : Number March, Returns the number 3. Category: MonthName MarxVersion : String MarxVersion : String MarxVersion : String Returns the version number of the MarxMenu you are running. Category: String Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 77 _______________________________________________________________ MasterEnvironment MasterEnvironment MasterEnvironment MasterEnvironment selects the Master Environment for use with environment access commands. See Also: ReadEnv SetEnv ReadEnvironment ShellEnvironment See Also: CurrentEnvironment ParentEnvironment Category: Environment Max (Num,Num) : Num Max (Num,Num) : Num Max (Num,Num) : Num Returns the largest of two numbers or strings. Category: Math, String, Float May : Number May : Number May : Number May, Returns the number 5. Category: MonthName Mem (seg,ofs) : Number Mem (seg,ofs) : Number Mem (seg,ofs) : Number Returns byte at memory location seg:ofs. Category: Memory MemSize : Number MemSize : Number MemSize : Number Returns total memory size in K. (640 = 640k) Category: Memory MemW (seg,ofs) : Number MemW (seg,ofs) : Number MemW (seg,ofs) : Number Returns word at memory location seg:ofs. Category: Memory MenuKeyBuffer MenuKeyBuffer MenuKeyBuffer This is an internal MarxMenu variable. It is where the environment variable KSV= is read. Characters in this string variable are treated as if someone had typed them from the keyboard. This variable can be set to blank in order to override the effects of SET KSV= or can be set to a different value in order to automatically make selections as if they were typed in. See Also: SavePosition, KeySave Category: Keyboard Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 78 _______________________________________________________________ Mid (string,pos,count) : String Mid (string,pos,count) : String Mid (string,pos,count) : String Returns a string starting at pos for count. Example: Mid('ABCDEFG',2,3) returns 'CDE' Category: String Min (Num,Num) : Num Min (Num,Num) : Num Min (Num,Num) : Num Returns the smallest of two numbers or strings. Category: Math, String, Float MinorDosVersion : Number MinorDosVersion : Number MinorDosVersion : Number Returns the minor DOS version number. Category: System Minute : Number Minute : Number Minute : Number Returns the current minute. Category: Time Mod : Operator Mod : Operator Mod : Operator Returns the remainder of the division of two numbers. Category: Math ModifyPath ModifyPath ModifyPath The MarxMenu directory should be in the search path. This is because if you change directories, MarxMenu may not be able to find the menu files. MarxMenu will now test the PATH= environment variable before it writes the batch file to execute a program. If the MarxMenu path is not included, MarxMenu will add the path to the Master Environment if it can. If for some reason you don't want to allow MarxMenu to modify the master environment, use the command: ModifyPath Off Category: Environment Mon : Number Mon : Number Mon : Number Monday, Returns the number 1. Category: WeekDay Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 79 _______________________________________________________________ Mono : Number Mono : Number Mono : Number Returns the number 7. Relates to the DOS Mode MONO command. Category: Video Month : Number Month : Number Month : Number Returns current month. Category: Time Mouse Mouse Mouse MarxMenu normally uses the mouse if present. If you don't want to use the mouse you can use the command: Mouse Off To turn the mouse back on type: Mouse On The mouse is actually switched on and off at the point when MarxMenu waits at the keyboard for a keypress. Category: MouseControl MouseHorizontal (Number) MouseHorizontal (Number) MouseHorizontal (Number) Controls the horizontal sensitivity of the mouse. The larger the number, the less sensitive the mouse. Default is 25. See Also: MouseVertical, Mouse Category: MouseControl MouseVertical (Number) MouseVertical (Number) MouseVertical (Number) Controls the vertical sensitivity of the mouse. The larger the number, the less sensitive the mouse. Default is 15. If you are on a network and want to control the mouse sensitivity individually, you can set some environment strings as follows: Set MouseX=15 Set MouseY=25 Then in your menu you would include: If ReadEnv('MouseX') > '' MouseHorizontal = Value(ReadEnv('MouseX') Endif Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 80 _______________________________________________________________ If ReadEnv('MouseY') > '' MouseVertical = Value(ReadEnv('MouseY') Endif See Also: MouseHorizontal, Mouse Category: MouseControl MoveWindow (Horizontal,Vertical) MoveWindow (Horizontal,Vertical) MoveWindow (Horizontal,Vertical) Moves top window. If (Horizontal) is negative motion is left. If <Vertical> is negative, motion is up. Category: Display MxCmd : String MxCmd : String MxCmd : String This is an internal string variable that it written to the environment variable MXCMD. This variable can be written to control what MarxMenu will write to the Shell Environment. If this variable is written to, it overrides anything that MarxMenu automatically writes. Category: Environment, String, Execution NetworkVersion : Boolean NetworkVersion : Boolean NetworkVersion : Boolean Returns true if you are running the network version of MarxMenu. Category: Misc NextWord (String) : String NextWord (String) : String NextWord (String) : String This command returns the next logical word of a string variable and removes the string from the original string. Example: StringA = 'one two three' StringB = NextWord(StringA) StringB contains 'one' StringA contains 'two three' Category: String No : Boolean No : Boolean No : Boolean Returns the boolean false. Category: Boolean Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 81 _______________________________________________________________ NoBoxBorder NoBoxBorder NoBoxBorder Use this command if you don't want a border around the menus. See Also: SingleLineBox, DoubleLineBox, BlockBox, CustomBox Category: Display NoExit NoExit NoExit Prevents ESC key from allowing you to exit menu. To exit, you must execute the ExitMenu command. This could be password protected. See Also: ExitMenu Category: Execution Not : Operator Not : Operator Not : Operator Returns logical Not if operators are boolean; or bitwise Not if operators are numeric. Category: Math, Boolean NotesLeft : Num NotesLeft : Num NotesLeft : Num NotesLeft returns the number of notes left in the music buffer to play. The music buffer is self adjusting and can store days worth of music. Category: Music NotesPlayed : Num NotesPlayed : Num NotesPlayed : Num Returns the number of notes played. If NotesLeft ever reaches 0, NotesPlayed also is set to 0. Category: Music Nov : Number Nov : Number Nov : Number November, Returns the number 11. Category: MonthName NovCloseSemaphore (Name) NovCloseSemaphore (Name) NovCloseSemaphore (Name) This closes semaphore Name. If there are no other users using this semaphore, it is deleted. Category: Novell NovConnection : Number NovConnection : Number NovConnection : Number This returns the logical connection number to the network. A zero indicates that you are not connected. Category: Novell Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 82 _______________________________________________________________ NovConsoleOperator : Boolean NovConsoleOperator : Boolean NovConsoleOperator : Boolean This returns true if the user has Console Operator priviledges. This can come in handy when you are trying to determine who gets access to the command line. Category: Novell NovDefaultServer : String NovDefaultServer : String NovDefaultServer : String Returns the name of the default file server. Category: Novell NovGroupsMembers (Group,Array) NovGroupsMembers (Group,Array) NovGroupsMembers (Group,Array) This reads all the members of Group and puts them into an array. Category: Novell, Array NovInGroup (Group) : Boolean NovInGroup (Group) : Boolean NovInGroup (Group) : Boolean Return true if you are in the group. Category: Novell NovLogin (Name,Password) NovLogin (Name,Password) NovLogin (Name,Password) This logs you into a file server. It is different than the Novell's login program in that it doesn't execute any login scripts. It merely gets you in. You can include the preferred server with the name. Example: NovLogin ('TYME/MARC','PASSWORD') The variable NovResult is set to 0 if sucessful. Note: If you are using Netware 3.0 or 3.1 you will have to go to the server console and type: SET ALLOW UNENCRYPTED PASSWORDS = ON Category: Novell NovLoginName (Connection) : String NovLoginName (Connection) : String NovLoginName (Connection) : String This returns the login name of the user at any specified connection. This can also be used to see who else is on the network. Category: Novell Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 83 _______________________________________________________________ NovLogout NovLogout NovLogout This logs you off the server. Warning! Make sure that you are running MarxMenu from a local drive and not the server you are logging out of. MarxMenu needs access to overlays within MARXMENU.EXE and a Logout can cut off access. Category: Novell NovMapDrive (Drive,Directory) NovMapDrive (Drive,Directory) NovMapDrive (Drive,Directory) This will map a drive letter to a directory like the Novell MAP command does. You may specify volume names and server names. Example: NovMapDrive ('J','TYME2/SYS:PUBLIC\DOS') Mapping a drive to a nul string ('') deletes the drive map. Category: Novell NovMyLoginName : String NovMyLoginName : String NovMyLoginName : String This returns the login name of the user. Category: Novell NovMyPassword (Password) : Boolean NovMyPassword (Password) : Boolean NovMyPassword (Password) : Boolean Novell won't let you read the password, but it will let you guess and tell you if you're right. This routine returns true if the password passed is the correct password. Category: Novell NovOpenSemaphore (Name,Value) NovOpenSemaphore (Name,Value) NovOpenSemaphore (Name,Value) This opens semaphore Name and assigns it an initial value. If the semaphore already exists, it does nothing. Category: Novell NovPreferredServer : String NovPreferredServer : String NovPreferredServer : String Returns the name of the preferred file server. This is set with the NovSetPreferredServer command. Category: Novell NovPrimaryServer : String NovPrimaryServer : String NovPrimaryServer : String Returns the name of the primary file server. This is the one you first logged into. Category: Novell Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 84 _______________________________________________________________ NovReadGroups (Name,Array) NovReadGroups (Name,Array) NovReadGroups (Name,Array) This reads all the groups that Name belongs to and puts them into an array. Category: Novell, Array NovReadSecurityEquals (Name,Array) NovReadSecurityEquals (Name,Array) NovReadSecurityEquals (Name,Array) This reads all the security equivalences that Name belongs to and puts them into an array. (This includes groups). Category: Novell, Array NovResult : Number NovResult : Number NovResult : Number NovResult is a variable like FileResult that returns the success status of the previous Novell system call. A zero generally indicates success. Category: Novell NovSemaphoreTimeOut NovSemaphoreTimeOut NovSemaphoreTimeOut This variable controls the amount of time (in 1/18 seconds) that MarxMenu will wait for the value of a semaphore to become not negative. The initial value is 50. Category: Novell NovSemaphoreUsers (Name) : Number NovSemaphoreUsers (Name) : Number NovSemaphoreUsers (Name) : Number This returns the number of users that have the semaphore open. Category: Novell NovSemaphoreValue (Name) : Number NovSemaphoreValue (Name) : Number NovSemaphoreValue (Name) : Number This returns the value of a semaphore. Category: Novell NovServers (Array) NovServers (Array) NovServers (Array) This command returns a string array of the file servers you are connected to. Category: Novell, Array NovSetPreferredServer (Server) NovSetPreferredServer (Server) NovSetPreferredServer (Server) Sets the preferred file server. Passing a '' will switch you back to the default file server. Category: Novell Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 85 _______________________________________________________________ NovSignalSemaphore (Name) NovSignalSemaphore (Name) NovSignalSemaphore (Name) This increments the value of a semaphore. It is used to indicate that you are done with a resource and makes it available for the next user. Category: Novell NovStationAddress : String NovStationAddress : String NovStationAddress : String This returns the stations internetwork address. Example: 254:41 where 254 is the network number and 41 is the node number. Category: Novell NovUserInGroup (Name,Group) : Boolean NovUserInGroup (Name,Group) : Boolean NovUserInGroup (Name,Group) : Boolean This is used to test if other users are in a group. Returns true is the specified user is in the specified group. Category: Novell NovWaitOnSemaphore (Name) : Boolean NovWaitOnSemaphore (Name) : Boolean NovWaitOnSemaphore (Name) : Boolean This decrements the value of a semaphore and if the value is zero or more, returns true. If the value of the semaphore is negative, it returns false. This is used to indicate that you are out of whatever you are testing for. Category: Novell NumberOfElememts (array) : Number NumberOfElememts (array) : Number NumberOfElememts (array) : Number This function returns the number of elements in the array. Category: Array NumLock : Boolean NumLock : Boolean NumLock : Boolean Returns true if Num Lock is on. Category: System Oct : Number Oct : Number Oct : Number October, Returns the number 10. Category: MonthName Off : Boolean Off : Boolean Off : Boolean Returns False. Category: Boolean Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 86 _______________________________________________________________ On : Boolean On : Boolean On : Boolean Returns True. Category: Boolean OnKey (char) OnKey (char) OnKey (char) When char is selected, the line(s) following are executed up to the next OnKey or end of file. This means that they are written to a BATCH file. Example: Onkey 'W' cd\wordstar ws cd\menu In the above example if 'W' is selected, MarxMenu will create a temporary batch file containing all the lines under the OnKey command. All the lines under an OnKey are written literally to the batch file with few exceptions. All leading and trailing blanks are stripped. String variables are evaluated and their value passed if the name of the string variable starts with a '%'. If a line begins with a '|' (vertical bar), the line is interpreted rather than written to a batch file. If a '^Label' is used under an OnKey, a jump is made to the 'Label' and interpretation is resumed. This is commonly used to jump to a submenu. Any OnKey statement that causes a batch file to be written to will cause the menu to exit. MarxMenu normally will exit with ErrorLevel 0 unless an ExitCode is set. The first blank line under an OnKey ends what that OnKey command does. Category: Conditional OnScreenOnly (On/Off) OnScreenOnly (On/Off) OnScreenOnly (On/Off) This allows you to restrict selections to only what is actually on the screen. Hidden OnKey commands will not execute if this is set on. This allows you to limit user selection to the choices on the screen. Category: Conditional Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 87 _______________________________________________________________ OpenPrinter OpenPrinter OpenPrinter This command opens the printer device. It is not necessary to use this command in that it is done automatically whenever you print. But, if you are running under a multitasking shell like Windows, it will reserve the printer for your task. If the printer is locked, or if you have specified a file name that can't be created, the variable FileResult will contain the DOS error code (usually 5 for access denied). A FileResult of 0 indicates success. See Also: ClosePrinter, FileResult Category: Printer OptionSwitch (String1,String2) : Boolean OptionSwitch (String1,String2) : Boolean OptionSwitch (String1,String2) : Boolean This command tests if String1 contains the option switch String2. If it does, it will remove the switch from String1. Example: String1 = 'Test /A/B/C' HasB = OptionSwitch(String1,'B') HasB will be true. String1 will contain 'Test /A/C' Category: String Or : Operator Or : Operator Or : Operator Returns logical Or if operators are boolean; or bitwise Or if operators are numeric. Category: Math, Boolean Ord (Char) : Number Ord (Char) : Number Ord (Char) : Number Returns the numeric value of an ascii character. Category: String Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 88 _______________________________________________________________ OverLay (MenuName) OverLay (MenuName) OverLay (MenuName) Overlay loads another menu as if that menu were a procedure of the current menu. After the overlaid menu exits, control is returned to the calling menu at the next line after the overlay command. Like the Chain command, Overlay is very fast and doesn't require MarxMenu to be reloaded. Example: Overlay 'SUBMENU' I have also added some crude music to MarxMenu. This allows you to play simple tunes while your menu is running. The tunes become a background task and are interrupt driven. This allows you to play music while doing other things. Category: Execution ParallelPorts : Number ParallelPorts : Number ParallelPorts : Number Returns number of parallel ports. Category: System ParamStr (Num) : String ParamStr (Num) : String ParamStr (Num) : String Returns the DOS parameter string from the command line. The 0 parameter is MARXMENU.EXE. The 1 parameter is the name of the menu file you are using. This is like the %1 %2 %3 ... in batch file parameters. Category: String ParentEnvironment ParentEnvironment ParentEnvironment ParentEnvironment selects the parent environment for use with environment access commands. See Also: ReadEnv SetEnv ReadEnvironment ShellEnvironment See Also: CurrentEnvironment MasterEnvironment Category: Environment Password (Pswd,column,row) Password (Pswd,column,row) Password (Pswd,column,row) This command opens up a password box at row and column. The user must type the password correctly before the command will execute. The password is case sensitive. Example: OnKey 'X' |PassWord('shell',4,3) COMMAND.COM Category: Conditional Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 89 _______________________________________________________________ Path : String Path : String Path : String Returns the current path. Category: String PauseAfterExecute (On/Off) PauseAfterExecute (On/Off) PauseAfterExecute (On/Off) If on, this command causes the message "Press any key to return to MarxMenu..." to appear after an execute command is executed. See Also: Execute: Category: Execution Pi : Real Pi : Real Pi : Real Returns the value of Pi to 18 digits. Category: Math, Float PickFile (FileSpec,column,row,height) : String PickFile (FileSpec,column,row,height) : String PickFile (FileSpec,column,row,height) : String Allows you to display a directory of files on the screen from a menu. Normally used to display a list of files for the user to choose from. Could be used in a command to load a word processor or database. Allows selection of the file to be loaded by the word processor or database program. The filename can be passed to a percent variable placed in the batch file executing the application. See example files on MarxMenu distribution disk. Example: %FileName = PickFile('C:\WORDSTAR\*.DOC',3,4,17) Notice: The use of a variable with a name that starts with a '%' allows the choice to be passed to a batch file for execution. The three numbers represent the column and row of the upper left corner of the box and the height of the box. All DrawBox commands can be used here to control the looks of the PickFile window. This includes the BoxHeader command. Category: String Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 90 _______________________________________________________________ PickMany(SourceArray,DestinationArray) PickMany(SourceArray,DestinationArray) PickMany(SourceArray,DestinationArray) PickMany displays a string array in the current window and allows you to choose as many lines as you want. The chosen lines go into DestinationArray. When the window appears, the space bar toggles the marked status of the line. The right arrow sets the marked status and the left arrow resets the marked status. Ctrl-Right-Arrow marks all lines, Ctrl-Left-Arrow unmarks all lines. The return key accepts the selection and exits. The ESC key aborts. If using a mouse, the left button toggles the mark on the current line. The right button accepts and exits. If no selections are made, the DestinationArray is empty. If ESC is pressed, the DestinationArray is left unchanged. You can test LastKey to see what was pressed. Category: String, Array PickOne (Array) : String PickOne (Array) : String PickOne (Array) : String This command displays an array in the current window and lets you pick a line and returns the chosen line. Category: String, Array PickPosition : Number PickPosition : Number PickPosition : Number The variable PickPosition works with the PickOne command. PickPosition returns the number of which element in the array was picked. Category: String, Array Port (number) : Number Port (number) : Number Port (number) : Number Returns the value at the port. Category: Memory Pos (substring,string) : Number Pos (substring,string) : Number Pos (substring,string) : Number Finds position of substring in string. If substring isn't found, Pos returns 0. Example: pos('CD','ABCDE') returns 2 Category: String Power (Real,Real) : Real Power (Real,Real) : Real Power (Real,Real) : Real Raises a real to a given power. Category: Math, Float Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 91 _______________________________________________________________ Pred (number) : Number Pred (number) : Number Pred (number) : Number Returns number minus 1. Category: Math Print (string) Print (string) Print (string) Prints string to the printer with no CR or LF. If there is an error printing, the error is returned in FileResult. Category: Printer PrinterName (string) PrinterName (string) PrinterName (string) Sets the file name for the printer to use. The default name is PRN. Other common printer names include: LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, and AUX. You can also use filenames to direct printer output to a file. See Also: ClosePrinter Category: Printer Println (String) Println (String) Println (String) Prints string to the printer with CR and LF. See Also: Print Category: Printer Procedure (name) Procedure (name) Procedure (name) This word begins the definition of a newly named procedure. A procedure is like a subroutine. Once the procedure is defined, all you have to do to call the procedure is use its name. The procedure definition is terminated by the command EndProc. Example: Procedure SelectFile BoxHeaderColor ForeColor BackColor BoxBorderColor Cyan Mag BoxInsideColor Yellow Mag InverseColor Yellow Red %ExecSt = PickFile FileType 4 5 17 EndProc Whenever we use the word SelectFile in the menu, all the lines of the procedure SelectFile will execute. See Also: EndProc, Return Category: Misc Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 92 _______________________________________________________________ PullMenu (on/off) PullMenu (on/off) PullMenu (on/off) Controls the behavior of pull down menus. Set to on if using them. Default is Off. Category: Display Qualifier Qualifier Qualifier Used to create qualifiers. See Also: Var, Constant, Shared Category: Variable Random : Number Random : Number Random : Number The Random command returns random numbers between 0 and +2,000,000,000. (2^31). The algorithm has been checked for good uniformity and takes advantage of re-seeding itself from random events like the timer interrupt and keyboard input. Category: Math ReadEnv (string) : String ReadEnv (string) : String ReadEnv (string) : String Returns the environment string specified. Example: PathString = ReadEnv('PATH') See Also: SetEnv ReadEnvironment ShellEnvironment See Also: CurrentEnvironment ParentEnvironment MasterEnvironment Category: Environment ReadEnvironment (array) ReadEnvironment (array) ReadEnvironment (array) Reads all environment variables into an array. Example: Var Env ReadEnvironment( Env ) ; Env[1] will be the first environment string and ; Env[NumberOfElememts(Env)] will be the last. A variable that is ; set is LongestLine. LongestLine contains the length of the ; longest string variable read. Writeln( 'Your current environment variables are:' ) Loop( NumberOfElements( Env ) ) Writeln( Env[LoopIndex] ) EndLoop Writeln Writeln( 'Your Environment Size is :', Str( EnvSize ) ) Writeln( 'You are using :', Str( EnvSize - EnvFree ), ' bytes.' ) Writeln( 'You have :,' Str( EnvFree ), ' bytes free.' ) Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 93 _______________________________________________________________ See Also: SetEnv ReadEnv ShellEnvironment See Also: CurrentEnvironment ParentEnvironment MasterEnvironment Category: Environment, Array ReadKey : String ReadKey : String ReadKey : String Returns the character that is input from the keyboard. Example: Var Key Repeat Writeln( 'Press the <ESC> key to exit this program.' ) Key = ReadKey Until Key = Esc Category: Keyboard Readln : String Readln : String Readln : String Reads a string from the keyboard. Example: Customer.Name = Readln Customer.Number = Value (Readln) ;Converts to an numerical value Customer.State = UpperCase (ReadLn) Category: Keyboard, String ReadTextFile (FileName,Array) ReadTextFile (FileName,Array) ReadTextFile (FileName,Array) This command reads a text file into a string array. It also sets the variable LongestLine to the length of the longest line in the file. Example: Var Docs ReadTextFile('MARXMENU.DOC',Docs) ;After the read, Docs[1] becomes the first line of the file. ;Docs[NumberOfElements(Docs)] becomes the last line. Loop( NumberOfElements( Docs ) ) ; Convert each line to its uppercase equivalent Docs[LoopIndex] = UpperCase( Docs[LoopIndex] ) EndLoop ;Save the newly formatted array WriteTextFile( 'NEWMM.DOC', Docs ) Do not use FileOpen with ReadTextFile. Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 94 _______________________________________________________________ The power of the ReadTextFile and WriteTextFile have expanded. You can now load and save arrays of any variable types, multidimensional arrays, and mixed array types. This includes strings, numbers, and booleans. File variables are also stored. When a file variable is stored and reloaded the FileAssign command is not necessary. Category: File, Array Real (Integer) : Real Real (Integer) : Real Real (Integer) : Real Returns the real equivalent of an integer. Category: Math, Float Reboot Reboot Reboot Causes the computer to do a warm reboot. Category: Execution Red : Number Red : Number Red : Number Returns the number 4. Category: Color ReleaseDate : String ReleaseDate : String ReleaseDate : String Returns the MarxMenu Release Date. Category: String Repeat Repeat Repeat Used for program control. Usage: REPEAT (statement) (statement) UNTIL (condition) Example: Var Key Repeat Key = ReadKey If Key = 'A' Bat( 'DOLIST.EXE' ) ExitMenu EndIf If Key = F1 Then Help Until Key = Esc Category: Conditional Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 95 _______________________________________________________________ ResizeWindow (Horizontal Vertical) ResizeWindow (Horizontal Vertical) ResizeWindow (Horizontal Vertical) Changes the size of the top window. The horizontal and vertical numbers are added to the current size. Use negative numbers to shrink the window. The top left corner stays in the same place. Example: DrawBox 15 5 30 15 ResizeWindow 15 5 See Also: MoveWindow Category: Display Return (param,param,...) Return (param,param,...) Return (param,param,...) Exits a procedure and optionally returns parameters to the calling procedure. It can return as many parameters as you want as long as the calling program uses the same number of parameters. Otherwise, you will get an "Invalid number of parameters" error. Example: Procedure SmallRandomNumber {Returns a random number between 1 and 100} var SmallRand SmallRand = Random mod 100 Return (SmallRand + 1) EndProc See Also: Procedure, EndProc Category: Misc ReturnCode : Number ReturnCode : Number ReturnCode : Number When you use the Execute function, a ReturnCode value is fed into this variable when you return to the menu. The code returned is the same as what the DOS ErrorLevel would be. This will not work if you use the UseCommand On function because COMMAND.COM would have been loaded and the returncode would be lost. Category: Execution Right (string,count) : String Right (string,count) : String Right (string,count) : String Returns right characters of string for length count. Example: Right('ABCDEF',3) returns 'DEF' Category: String Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 96 _______________________________________________________________ RollWindow (number) RollWindow (number) RollWindow (number) Windows can be looked at as a stack. RollWindow will roll a previous window to the top of the stack making the previous window the current window. Example: ;Make the Third window on the stack the active window RollWindow( 3 ) ;Write out message Writeln( 'You have mail waiting!' ) ;Now put the windows back PushBackWindow( 3 ) Procedure PushBackWindow( N ) ;-- ;-- Will roll a window back to its original position on the stack ;-- The parameter should be the same as the parameter for the call ;-- to RollWindow ( If you use RollWindow( 3 ) then use PushBackWindow( 3 )) ;-- Loop( N ) RollWindow( N ) EndLoop EndProc ;PushBackWindow Category: Display Run variable (parameters) Run variable (parameters) Run variable (parameters) This runs a procedure that was stored in a variable. var Y Procedure WriteSquared (X) Writeln (X * X) EndProc Example: Y = Loc(WriteSquared) Run Y(3) ; This will write a 9 on the screen Warning! Don't put the variable you are running in parentheses. Run (Y,3) ; this won't work See Also: Loc Category: Misc Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 97 _______________________________________________________________ Sat : Number Sat : Number Sat : Number Saturday, Returns the number 6. Category: WeekDay SavePosition (On/Off) SavePosition (On/Off) SavePosition (On/Off) If SavePosition is On, MarxMenu will return to the last menu selection you made when MarxMenu is re-entered. As you select menu layers your keystrokes are stored in an internal string variable called KeySave. On exit, MarxMenu writes KeySave to an environment variable KSV. On return to MarxMenu, this variable is retrieved. The return point may be altered by using the command KeySave = (string). Another thing this points out is that environment variables can be used to store information and allow MarxMenu to remember things from one selection to another. Since MarxMenu doesn't stay memory resident, this is the only way I have found to store information. Category: Keyboard, Environment ScreenHeight : Number ScreenHeight : Number ScreenHeight : Number Returns number of rows of character on your screen. Category: Display ScreenWidth : Number ScreenWidth : Number ScreenWidth : Number Returns number of columns of character on your screen. Category: Display ScrollLock : Boolean ScrollLock : Boolean ScrollLock : Boolean Returns true if Scroll Lock is on. Category: System ScrollMove (On/Off) ScrollMove (On/Off) ScrollMove (On/Off) This allows you to control whether or not the ScrollLock will allow you to move the top window. Default is On. Category: Display Second : Number Second : Number Second : Number Returns the current second. Category: Time Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 98 _______________________________________________________________ Security (on/off) Security (on/off) Security (on/off) When security is on, Readln echos '*' instead of the letters that are being typed. This is used for such things as entering passwords other than using the password command. Category: String SelectPath : String SelectPath : String SelectPath : String This command uses another program in the Computer Tyme DOS TOOLBOX called Pick Directory to read a text into a variable. You must have Computer Tyme Pick Directory for this feature to work. Example: OnKey 'B' |%BackPath = SelectPath cd %BackPath backup c: a: Category: String Sep : Number Sep : Number Sep : Number September, Returns the number 9. Category: MonthName SerialPorts : Number SerialPorts : Number SerialPorts : Number Returns number of serial ports. Category: System SetArraySize (Array,Size) SetArraySize (Array,Size) SetArraySize (Array,Size) If the array is larger than Size the array is truncated. If it is smaller, memory is allocated for the array. Category: Array Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 99 _______________________________________________________________ SetEnv (String) SetEnv (String) SetEnv (String) This is used to set environment strings. It can be used on the Current, Parent, Master or Shell environment. Example: SetEnv ('PATH=C:\') SetEnv ('COMSPEC=X:COMMAND.COM') MarxMenu also allows you to select which environment you are working with. This is done with the following commands. CurrentEnvironment ParentEnvironment MasterEnvironment ShellEnvironment See Also: ReadEnv ReadEnvironment ShellEnvironment See Also: CurrentEnvironment ParentEnvironment MasterEnvironment Category: Environment SetTopWindow (Number) SetTopWindow (Number) SetTopWindow (Number) Selects a window by number making it the current window and moves it to the top. Example: DrawBox .... ThisWindow = CurrentWindow DrawBox .... DrawBox .... SetTopWindow (ThisWindow) See Also: CurrentWindow Category: Display Shadow (on/off) Shadow (on/off) Shadow (on/off) Turn window shadows on/off. Category: Display ShadowColor (ForeColor,BackColor) ShadowColor (ForeColor,BackColor) ShadowColor (ForeColor,BackColor) Sets the color of the shadow. There are actually two shadow colors. MarxMenu stores different values for big shadows and small shadows. See Also: BigShadow, SmallShadow, ShadowPosition, Shadow Category: Display Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 100 _______________________________________________________________ ShadowPosition (number) ShadowPosition (number) ShadowPosition (number) Selects the shadow position around the window. A zero (default) sets the shadow position to the bottom right sind. A one sets the shadow position to the bottom left. Using ShadowPosition turns shadowing on so a Shadow On command is not required. See Also: Shadow, ShadowColor, BigShadow, SmallShadow Category: Display Shared Shared Shared The key word SHARED can be used to define variables just like VAR. Any variable defined with SHARED is passed globally to and from overlays. The important thing is that the Shared variables must be defined exactly the same way between the overlays. There is also a pre-defined variable called COMMON. Technically, Shared variables are qualifiers off of COMMON. See Also: Var, Constant, Qualifier Category: Variable ShellEnvironment ShellEnvironment ShellEnvironment ShellEnvironment selects the environment of the last COMMAND.COM in memory for use with environment access commands. This is usually the same as the Master Environment. More than one COMMAND.COM is loaded when you are running a shell under WINDOWS or DESQVIEW. When using these programs, you will want to access the Shell Envoronment instead of the Master Environment. The Shell Environment is the one that will run batch files. See Also: ReadEnv SetEnv ReadEnvironment MasterEnvironment See Also: CurrentEnvironment ParentEnvironment Category: Environment Shl : Operator Shl : Operator Shl : Operator Shift left, does a binary 32 bit shift left. Category: Math Shr : Operator Shr : Operator Shr : Operator Shift right, does a binary 32 bit shift right. Category: Math Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 101 _______________________________________________________________ Sin (Radians) : Real Sin (Radians) : Real Sin (Radians) : Real Returns the Sine of a real. Category: Math, Float SingleLineBox SingleLineBox SingleLineBox Selects single line box for menu borders. See Also: DoubleLineBox, BlockBox, CustomBox, NoBoxBorder Category: Display SmallShadow SmallShadow SmallShadow Selects small shadow type. See Also: BigShadow, ShadowPosition, ShadowColor Category: Display Sound (on/off) Sound (on/off) Sound (on/off) Turn sound effects on/off. Category: Display Sqr (Real) : Real Sqr (Real) : Real Sqr (Real) : Real Returns the Square Root of a real. Category: Math, Float StandardIO StandardIO StandardIO This tells MarxMenu to use standard Input and Output file handles for reading the keyboard and writing to the screen. Category: Display Str (number) : String Str (number) : String Str (number) : String Turns a number into a string. Category: String Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 102 _______________________________________________________________ StuffAKey (String or Number) StuffAKey (String or Number) StuffAKey (String or Number) Stuffs a single key into the DOS keyboard buffer when MarxMenu exits. The limit is 16 characters. Example: StuffAKey($3F00) ;stuff the F5 key StuffAKey F5 ;same thing Do not mix StuffAKey with StuffKBD. Use one or the other. Category: Execution, Keyboard, String StuffKBD (String) StuffKBD (String) StuffKBD (String) Stuffs the string into the DOS keyboard buffer when MarxMenu exits. The limit is 16 characters. Example: StuffKBD 'LOGOUT' + CR Category: Execution, Keyboard, String StuffKeyboardNow StuffKeyboardNow StuffKeyboardNow Normally the keyboard stuffing is done as MarxMenu quits. This forces the keyboard to be stuffed immediately. Category: Keyboard Succ (number) : Number Succ (number) : Number Succ (number) : Number Returns number plus 1. Category: Math Suggest (Char) Suggest (Char) Suggest (Char) Normally the UseArrows command will start in the upper left hand corner. By using the Suggest command, you can set it to start on any menu selection. Example: Suggest 'E' Category: Display Sun : Number Sun : Number Sun : Number Sunday, Returns the number 0. Category: WeekDay Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 103 _______________________________________________________________ TextBackground (color) TextBackground (color) TextBackground (color) Sets text background color. Category: Display TextColor (forecolor,backcolor) TextColor (forecolor,backcolor) TextColor (forecolor,backcolor) Sets the color of text to be displayed on the screen. TextColor resets the value of CapsColor. Category: Display TextMode (num) TextMode (num) TextMode (num) Sets the video text mode. 0 = 40 column BW 1 = 40 column COLOR 2 = 80 column BW 3 = 80 column COLOR 258 = 43/50 line EGA BW 259 = 43/50 line EGA COLOR Example: TextMode BW80 Category: Video TextPos : Number TextPos : Number TextPos : Number TextPos returns the current position in a text file. This can be saved so that you can go to the same place using TextSeek. See Also: TextSeek Category: File TextSeek (Number) TextSeek (Number) TextSeek (Number) TextSeek moves to a specific byte in a text file. See Also: TextPos Category: File Then Then Then Conditional control. See Also: If Category: Conditional Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 104 _______________________________________________________________ Thu : Number Thu : Number Thu : Number Thursday, Returns the number 4. Category: WeekDay Timer : Number Timer : Number Timer : Number Returns the system timer. Category: Time TimeString : String TimeString : String TimeString : String Returns the time in HH:MM:SS format. 24 hour. Category: String, Time Tone (Frequency,Duration) Tone (Frequency,Duration) Tone (Frequency,Duration) This command plays a note at Frequency cycles per second for a period of Duration 1/18 of a second. The reason it is in 1/18 seconds is because there is a standard interrupt that gives me that time period. The IBM series computers are not music oriented machines so don't throw away your Compact Disk player. The maximum duration is 255 1/18 of a second. Normally, MarxMenu will create a break in between notes equal to 1/8 of the duration of the note. If you want to eliminate the break and create a 'slur' (music term), add 256 to the duration. This tells MarxMenu to connect the notes without a break. Category: Music TotalDiskSpace <drive> : Number TotalDiskSpace <drive> : Number TotalDiskSpace <drive> : Number Returns total disk space in bytes. Example: Writeln (TotalDiskSpace 'C') TotalDiskSpace only looks at the first character of the string for the drive letter. Category: System TotalEMS : Number TotalEMS : Number TotalEMS : Number Returns total EMS memory in bytes. Category: Memory Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 105 _______________________________________________________________ Trim (string) Trim (string) Trim (string) Trims white space from both ends of a string. White space is blank characters and lower. Category: String True : Boolean True : Boolean True : Boolean Returns boolean true. Category: Boolean Tue : Number Tue : Number Tue : Number Tuesday, Returns the number 2. Category: WeekDay UniqueFileName : String UniqueFileName : String UniqueFileName : String Uses the create new file call to get a filename that is different than any other file name. It is tied to the DOS call that is used to create a unique file name according to the rules of your operating system. Category: File, String Until Until Until Conditional control. See Also: Repeat. Category: Conditional UpperCase (String) : String UpperCase (String) : String UpperCase (String) : String Return UpperCase of String Category: String UpperCaseOnly : Boolean UpperCaseOnly : Boolean UpperCaseOnly : Boolean Setting UpperCaseOnly to on forces text entered with Readln or ReadKey to upper case. Category: String Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 106 _______________________________________________________________ UseArrows UseArrows UseArrows UseArrows tells MarxMenu that the selection will be made by moving an inverse video bar over the selections. No parameters are required for this command to work. It will pick the first line with a capital letter as the first menu selection. All text in the window must be indented at least one space and there must be one space between the end of the line and the right wall of the window. Multiple items on the same line must be separated by two or more spaces. The OnKey selection is triggered by either the first capital letter in the selection or by a number from 0 - 9 or some punctuation characters. This number or letter will be a different color if you use the CapsColor command. (See Also: PULL.MNU for an example). UseArrows Off will disable this feature. See Also: ReadKey Category: Display UseCommand (on/off) UseCommand (on/off) UseCommand (on/off) Used with Execute. Will load COMMAND.COM before running the specified program. Not as fast, because the system has to find and load COMMAND.COM, then the specified program. The advantage is if COMMAND.COM is loaded, it will automatically search the DOS path for the file to be executed by the Execute command. Example: OnKey 'D' |UseCommand On |Execute 'DM' The default is OFF. See Also: Execute Category: Execution UsedDiskSpace <drive> : Number UsedDiskSpace <drive> : Number UsedDiskSpace <drive> : Number Returns used disk space in bytes. Example: Writeln (UsedDiskSpace 'C') UsedDiskSpace only looks at the first character of the string for the dirve letter. Category: System Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 107 _______________________________________________________________ Value (string) : Number Value (string) : Number Value (string) : Number Converts String to Number. Leading $ indicates Hex. Category: String, Math Var Var Var Used to create variables. See Also: Constant, Shared, Qualifier Category: Variable VideoMode : Number VideoMode : Number VideoMode : Number Returns Current Video Mode. Category: Video VideoPage : Number VideoPage : Number VideoPage : Number Returns Current Video Page. Category: Video ViewTextFile (Name) ViewTextFile (Name) ViewTextFile (Name) This command lets you view a text file in the current window. Category: Display, File Volume (drive) Volume (drive) Volume (drive) Returns the volume label of the specified drive. Category: System Wait (number) Wait (number) Wait (number) Delay for a number of 1/100 seconds. Wait 250 delays 2 1/2 seconds. Category: Misc WaitOrKbdReady (Number) WaitOrKbdReady (Number) WaitOrKbdReady (Number) This command is just like the WAIT command except the wait is aborted by pressing any key. Time to wait is in hundredths of a second. This command is useful when using MarxMenu to write a running demo. Category: Keyboard Wed : Number Wed : Number Wed : Number Wednesday, Returns the number 3. Category: WeekDay Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 108 _______________________________________________________________ WhereX : Number WhereX : Number WhereX : Number Returns the horizontal position of the cursor within the current window. Category: Display WhereXAbs : Number WhereXAbs : Number WhereXAbs : Number Returns the horizontal screen position of the cursor. Category: Display WhereY : Number WhereY : Number WhereY : Number Returns the vertical position of the cursor within the current window. WhereYAbs : Number WhereYAbs : Number WhereYAbs : Number Returns the vertical screen position of the cursor. Category: Display While While While Used for program control. Usage: WHILE (condition) (statement) (statement) ENDWHILE Execution stays in the while loop as long as the condition is true. See Also: EndWhile Category: Conditional White : Number White : Number White : Number Returns the number 15. Category: Color WindowHeight : Number WindowHeight : Number WindowHeight : Number Returns number of rows in current window. Category: Display WindowWidth : Number WindowWidth : Number WindowWidth : Number Returns number of columns in current window. Category: Display Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 109 _______________________________________________________________ Write (string) Write (string) Write (string) Writes (string) on the screen at the current cursor position. Category: Display WriteCenter (string) WriteCenter (string) WriteCenter (string) Writes (string) centered in current window. Category: Display Writeln (string) Writeln (string) Writeln (string) Writes (string) on the screen followed by a CR-LF (carriage return-line feed). Category: Display WritePort (port,number) WritePort (port,number) WritePort (port,number) Writes number to port. Category: Memory WriteTextFile (FileName,Array) WriteTextFile (FileName,Array) WriteTextFile (FileName,Array) This command writes a string array to a text file. Do not use FileCreate of any other file commands with this. This command does it all. See Also: ReadTextFile Category: File, Array WriteVertical (string) WriteVertical (string) WriteVertical (string) Writes (string) vertically on the screen from the current cursor position. Example: WriteVertical( 'Hello' ) ;This would display H e l l o Category: Display Xor : Operator Xor : Operator Xor : Operator Returns logical Xor if operators are boolean; or bitwise Xor if operators are numeric. Category: Math, Boolean Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 110 _______________________________________________________________ Year : Number Year : Number Year : Number Returns current Year. Category: Time Yellow : Number Yellow : Number Yellow : Number Returns the number 14. Category: Color Yes : Boolean Yes : Boolean Yes : Boolean Returns True. COMMAND CATEGORIES COMMAND CATEGORIES COMMAND CATEGORIES Here is a breakdown of MarxMenu commands by command category. Many MarxMenu commands are in several categories. These are the same categories as in the MarxHelp utility. MISC COMMANDS MISC COMMANDS MISC COMMANDS | | (Vertical Bar) ( ( : Operator ) ) : Operator Alias Alias Comment Comment EndComment EndComment EndProc EndProc Include Include (MenuName) Loc Loc (Procedure) NetworkVersion NetworkVersion : Boolean Procedure Procedure (name) Return Return (param,param,...) Run Run variable (parameters) Wait Wait (number) Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 111 _______________________________________________________________ MATH COMMANDS MATH COMMANDS MATH COMMANDS * * : Operator + + : Operator - - : Operator / / : Operator < < : Operator <= <= : Operator <> <> : Operator = = : Operator > > : Operator >= >= : Operator Abs Abs : Number And And : Operator ArcTan ArcTan (Radians) : Real Cos Cos (Radians) : Real Exp Exp (Real) : Real Fraction Fraction (Real) : Real Int Int (Real) : Real Integer Integer (Real) : Number Ln Ln (Real) : Real Max Max (Num,Num) : Num Min Min (Num,Num) : Num Mod Mod : Operator Not Not : Operator Or Or : Operator Pi Pi : Real Power Power (Real,Real) : Real Pred Pred (number) : Number Random Random : Number Real Real (Integer) : Real Shl Shl : Operator Shr Shr : Operator Sin Sin (Radians) : Real Sqr Sqr (Real) : Real Succ Succ (number) : Number Value Value (string) : Number Xor Xor : Operator Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 112 _______________________________________________________________ FLOAT COMMANDS FLOAT COMMANDS FLOAT COMMANDS * * : Operator + + : Operator - - : Operator / / : Operator < < : Operator <= <= : Operator <> <> : Operator = = : Operator > > : Operator >= >= : Operator Abs Abs : Number ArcTan ArcTan (Radians) : Real Cos Cos (Radians) : Real Exp Exp (Real) : Real Fraction Fraction (Real) : Real Int Int (Real) : Real Integer Integer (Real) : Number Ln Ln (Real) : Real Max Max (Num,Num) : Num Min Min (Num,Num) : Num Pi Pi : Real Power Power (Real,Real) : Real Real Real (Integer) : Real Sin Sin (Radians) : Real Sqr Sqr (Real) : Real STRING COMMANDS STRING COMMANDS STRING COMMANDS + + : Operator < < : Operator <= <= : Operator <> <> : Operator = = : Operator > > : Operator >= >= : Operator %MenuFileName %MenuFileName : String BatFileName BatFileName : String BlankMessage BlankMessage (string) Char Char (number) : String CleanFileName CleanFileName (string) : String CmdLine CmdLine : String DateString DateString : String Delete Delete (string,pos,count) DosVersionString DosVersionString : String ForceExtension ForceExtension (String,Ext) : String InputString InputString (String) Insert Insert (InsString,OrigString,Pos) KeySave KeySave : String LastKey LastKey : String Left Left (string,count) : String Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 113 _______________________________________________________________ Length Length (string) : Number MarxVersion MarxVersion : String Max Max (Num,Num) : Num Mid Mid (string,pos,count) : String Min Min (Num,Num) : Num MxCmd MxCmd : String NextWord NextWord (String) : String OptionSwitch OptionSwitch (String1,String2) : Boolean Ord Ord (Char) : Number ParamStr ParamStr (Num) : String Path Path : String PickFile PickFile (FileSpec,column,row,height) : String PickMany PickMany(SourceArray,DestinationArray) PickOne PickOne (Array) : String PickPosition PickPosition : Number Pos Pos (substring,string) : Number Readln Readln : String ReleaseDate ReleaseDate : String Right Right (string,count) : String Security Security (on/off) SelectPath SelectPath : String Str Str (number) : String StuffAKey StuffAKey (String or Number) StuffKBD StuffKBD (String) TimeString TimeString : String Trim Trim (string) UniqueFileName UniqueFileName : String UpperCase UpperCase (String) : String UpperCaseOnly UpperCaseOnly : Boolean Value Value (string) : Number BOOLEAN COMMANDS BOOLEAN COMMANDS BOOLEAN COMMANDS And And : Operator False False : Boolean No No : Boolean Not Not : Operator Off Off : Boolean On On : Boolean Or Or : Operator True True : Boolean Xor Xor : Operator Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 114 _______________________________________________________________ MONTHNAME COMMANDS MONTHNAME COMMANDS MONTHNAME COMMANDS Apr Apr : Number Aug Aug : Number Dec Dec : Number Feb Feb : Number Jan Jan : Number Jul Jul : Number Jun Jun : Number Mar Mar : Number May May : Number Nov Nov : Number Oct Oct : Number Sep Sep : Number EXECUTION COMMANDS EXECUTION COMMANDS EXECUTION COMMANDS Bat Bat (string) Chain Chain (MenuName) ClearScreenFirst ClearScreenFirst (on/off) DosWindow DosWindow (on/off) Execute Execute (command string) ExitCode ExitCode ExitMenu ExitMenu Jump Jump (menu) KeySave KeySave : String MxCmd MxCmd : String NoExit NoExit Overlay OverLay (MenuName) PauseAfterExecute PauseAfterExecute (On/Off) Reboot Reboot ReturnCode ReturnCode : Number StuffAKey StuffAKey (String or Number) StuffKBD StuffKBD (String) UseCommand UseCommand (on/off) DISPLAY COMMANDS DISPLAY COMMANDS DISPLAY COMMANDS BigShadow BigShadow BlankTime BlankTime (minutes) BlockBox BlockBox BoxBorderColor BoxBorderColor (forecolor,backcolor) BoxHeader BoxHeader (string) BoxHeaderLeft BoxHeaderLeft (string) BoxHeaderRight BoxHeaderRight (string) BoxHeaderColor BoxHeaderColor (forecolor,backcolor) BoxFooter BoxFooter (string) BoxFooterLeft BoxFooterLeft (string) BoxFooterRight BoxFooterRight (string) BoxInsideColor BoxInsideColor (forecolor,backcolor) CapsColor CapsColor (forecolor,backcolor) ClearLine ClearLine [char] Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 115 _______________________________________________________________ ClearScreen ClearScreen [char] ClearScreenOnExit ClearScreenOnExit (on/off) ClockColor ClockColor (forecolor,backcolor) ClockMode ClockMode ClockPos ClockPos (column,row) Console Console (On/Off) ConsoleBorderColor ConsoleBorderColor (Color,Color) ConsoleHeaderColor ConsoleHeaderColor (Color,Color) ConsoleInsideColor ConsoleInsideColor (Color,Color) ConsolePos ConsolePos (column,row) CurrentWindow CurrentWindow : Number Cursor Cursor (On/Off) CustomBox CustomBox (String) DoubleLineBox DoubleLineBox DrawBox DrawBox (column,row,width,height) EraseTopWindow EraseTopWindow Explode Explode (on/off) ExplodeDelay ExplodeDelay (number) ForceExplosion ForceExplosion (On/Off) GotoXY GotoXY (column,row) InactiveBox InactiveBox (BoxType) InactiveBoxColor InactiveBoxColor (foreground,background) InverseColor InverseColor (forecolor,backcolor) LockWord LockWord (word) MoveWindow MoveWindow (Horizontal,Vertical) NoBoxBorder NoBoxBorder PullMenu PullMenu (on/off) ResizeWindow ResizeWindow (Horizontal Vertical) RollWindow RollWindow (number) ScreenHeight ScreenHeight : Number ScreenWidth ScreenWidth : Number ScrollMove ScrollMove (On/Off) SetTopWindow SetTopWindow (Number) Shadow Shadow (on/off) ShadowColor ShadowColor (ForeColor,BackColor) ShadowPosition ShadowPosition (number) SingleLineBox SingleLineBox SmallShadow SmallShadow Sound Sound (on/off) StandardIO StandardIO Suggest Suggest (Char) TextBackground TextBackground (color) TextColor TextColor (forecolor,backcolor) UseArrows UseArrows ViewTextFile ViewTextFile (Name) WhereX WhereX : Number WhereXAbs WhereXAbs : Number WhereYAbs WhereYAbs : Number WindowHeight WindowHeight : Number WindowWidth WindowWidth : Number Write Write (string) WriteCenter WriteCenter (string) Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 116 _______________________________________________________________ Writeln Writeln (string) WriteVertical WriteVertical (string) COLOR COMMANDS COLOR COMMANDS COLOR COMMANDS Black Black : Number Blue Blue : Number Brown Brown : Number Cyan Cyan : Number Green Green : Number Grey Grey : Number LBlue LBlue : Number LCyan LCyan : Number LGreen LGreen : Number LGrey LGrey : Number LMag LMag : Number LMagenta LMagenta : Number LRed LRed : Number Mag Mag : Number Magenta Magenta : Number Red Red : Number White White : Number Yellow Yellow : Number VIDEO COMMANDS VIDEO COMMANDS VIDEO COMMANDS BW40 BW40 : Number BW80 BW80 : Number CO40 CO40 : Number CO80 CO80 : Number Mono Mono : Number TextMode TextMode (num) VideoMode VideoMode : Number VideoPage VideoPage : Number SYSTEM COMMANDS SYSTEM COMMANDS SYSTEM COMMANDS CapsLock CapsLock : Boolean ClusterSize ClusterSize <drive> : Number DosVersion DosVersion : Number DosVersionString DosVersionString : String Drives Drives : Number Floppies Floppies : Number FreeDiskSpace FreeDiskSpace <drive> : Number MinorDosVersion MinorDosVersion : Number NumLock NumLock : Boolean ParallelPorts ParallelPorts : Number ScrollLock ScrollLock : Boolean SerialPorts SerialPorts : Number TotalDiskSpace TotalDiskSpace <drive> : Number UsedDiskSpace UsedDiskSpace <drive> : Number Volume Volume (drive) Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 117 _______________________________________________________________ FILE COMMANDS FILE COMMANDS FILE COMMANDS ChDir ChDir (string) DelFile DelFile (Name) EndOfFile EndOfFile (FileVar) : Boolean ExistDir ExistDir (directory) : Boolean ExistFile ExistFile : Boolean ExistOnPath ExistOnPath (string) : String FileAppend FileAppend (FileVar) FileAssign FileAssign (FileVar,String) FileAttr FileAttr (string) : Number FileClose FileClose (FileVar) FileCreate FileCreate (FileVar) FileDate FileDate (string) : Number FileFlush FileFlush (FileVar) FileLog FileLog (FileVar,String) FileOpen FileOpen (FileVar) FilePos FilePos (FileVar) : Number FileReadln FileReadln (FileVar) : String FileRename FileRename (Old,New) FileResult FileResult : Number FileSeek FileSeek (FileVar,Number) FileSize FileSize (string) : Number FileWrite FileWrite (FileVar,String) FileWriteln FileWriteln (FileVar,String) ReadTextFile ReadTextFile (FileName,Array) TextPos TextPos : Number TextSeek TextSeek (Number) UniqueFileName UniqueFileName : String ViewTextFile ViewTextFile (Name) WriteTextFile WriteTextFile (FileName,Array) PRINTER COMMANDS PRINTER COMMANDS PRINTER COMMANDS ClosePrinter ClosePrinter OpenPrinter OpenPrinter Print Print (string) PrinterName PrinterName (string) Println Println (String) Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 118 _______________________________________________________________ ENVIRONMENT COMMANDS ENVIRONMENT COMMANDS ENVIRONMENT COMMANDS CurrentEnvironment CurrentEnvironment EnvFree EnvFree : Number EnvSize EnvSize : Number FixPath FixPath KeySave KeySave : String MasterEnvironment MasterEnvironment ModifyPath ModifyPath MxCmd MxCmd : String ParentEnvironment ParentEnvironment ReadEnv ReadEnv (string) : String ReadEnvironment ReadEnvironment (array) SavePosition SavePosition (On/Off) SetEnv SetEnv (String) ShellEnvironment ShellEnvironment TIME COMMANDS TIME COMMANDS TIME COMMANDS DateString DateString : String Day Day : Number DayOfWeek DayOfWeek : Number Hour Hour : Number Hundredth Hundredth : Number Minute Minute : Number Month Month : Number Second Second : Number Timer Timer : Number TimeString TimeString : String Year Year : Number ARRAY COMMANDS ARRAY COMMANDS ARRAY COMMANDS Delete Delete (string,pos,count) Dispose Dispose (Variable) NovGroupMembers NovGroupsMembers (Group,Array) NovReadGroups NovReadGroups (Name,Array) NovReadSecurityEquals NovReadSecurityEquals (Name,Array) NovServers NovServers (Array) NumberOfElements NumberOfElememts (array) : Number PickMany PickMany(SourceArray,DestinationArray) PickOne PickOne (Array) : String PickPosition PickPosition : Number ReadEnvironment ReadEnvironment (array) ReadTextFile ReadTextFile (FileName,Array) SetArraySize SetArraySize (Array,Size) WriteTextFile WriteTextFile (FileName,Array) Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 119 _______________________________________________________________ MEMORY COMMANDS MEMORY COMMANDS MEMORY COMMANDS Dispose Dispose (Variable) FreeEms FreeEMS : Number FreeMemory FreeMemory : Number Mem Mem (seg,ofs) : Number MemSize MemSize : Number MemW MemW (seg,ofs) : Number Port Port (number) : Number TotalEms TotalEMS : Number WritePort WritePort (port,number) DESQVIEW COMMANDS DESQVIEW COMMANDS DESQVIEW COMMANDS DvAppNumber DvAppNumber : Number DvFrame DvFrame (Handle,On/Off) DvFreeze DvFreeze (Handle) DvHide DvHide (Handle) DvKillTask DvKillTask (Handle) DvLastHandle DvLastHandle : Number DvLoaded DvLoaded : Boolean DvMoveWindow DvMoveWindow (Handle,X,Y) DvMyHandle DvMyHandle : Number DvPifExecute DvPifExecute (Pif File) DvResizeWindow DvResizeWindow (Handle,Width,Height) DvSetBottom DvSetBottom (Handle) DvSetTop DvSetTop (Handle) DvUnFreeze DvUnFreeze (Handle) DvUnHide DvUnHide (Handle) CONDITIONAL COMMANDS CONDITIONAL COMMANDS CONDITIONAL COMMANDS Else Else Endif EndIf EndLoop EndLoop EndWhile EndWhile If If Loop Loop LoopIndex LoopIndex LoopLimit LoopLimit OnKey OnKey (char) OnScreenOnly OnScreenOnly (On/Off) Password Password (Pswd,column,row) Repeat Repeat Then Then Until Until While While Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 120 _______________________________________________________________ WEEKDAY COMMANDS WEEKDAY COMMANDS WEEKDAY COMMANDS Fri Fri : Number Mon Mon : Number Sat Sat : Number Sun Sun : Number Thu Thu : Number Tue Tue : Number Wed Wed : Number KEYBOARD COMMANDS KEYBOARD COMMANDS KEYBOARD COMMANDS InputString InputString (String) InsertMode InsertMode (On/Off) KbdReady KbdReady : Boolean MenuKeyBuffer MenuKeyBuffer ReadKey ReadKey : String Readln Readln : String SavePosition SavePosition (On/Off) StuffAKey StuffAKey (String or Number) StuffKBD StuffKBD (String) StuffKeyboardNow StuffKeyboardNow WaitOrKbdReady WaitOrKbdReady (Number) MUSIC COMMANDS MUSIC COMMANDS MUSIC COMMANDS KillMusic KillMusic NotesLeft NotesLeft : Num NotesPlayed NotesPlayed : Num Tone Tone (Frequency,Duration) MOUSECONTROL COMMANDS MOUSECONTROL COMMANDS MOUSECONTROL COMMANDS Mouse Mouse MouseHorizontal MouseHorizontal (Number) MouseVertical MouseVertical (Number) Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 121 _______________________________________________________________ NOVELL COMMANDS NOVELL COMMANDS NOVELL COMMANDS NovCloseSemaphore NovCloseSemaphore (Name) NovConnection NovConnection : Number NovConsoleOperator NovConsoleOperator : Boolean NovDefaultServer NovDefaultServer : String NovGroupMembers NovGroupsMembers (Group,Array) NovInGroup NovInGroup (Group) : Boolean NovLogin NovLogin (Name,Password) NovLoginName NovLoginName (Connection) : String NovLogout NovLogout NovMapDrive NovMapDrive (Drive,Directory) NovMyLoginName NovMyLoginName : String NovMyPassword NovMyPassword (Password) : Boolean NovOpenSemaphore NovOpenSemaphore (Name,Value) NovPreferredServer NovPreferredServer : String NovPrimaryServer NovPrimaryServer : String NovReadGroups NovReadGroups (Name,Array) NovReadSecurityEquals NovReadSecurityEquals (Name,Array) NovResult NovResult : Number NovSemaphoreTimeOut NovSemaphoreTimeOut NovSemaphoreUsers NovSemaphoreUsers (Name) : Number NovSemaphoreValue NovSemaphoreValue (Name) : Number NovServers NovServers (Array) NovSetPreferredServer NovSetPreferredServer (Server) NovSignalSemaphore NovSignalSemaphore (Name) NovStationAddress NovStationAddress : String NovUserInGroup NovUserInGroup (Name,Group) : Boolean NovWaitOnSemaphore NovWaitOnSemaphore (Name) : Boolean VARIABLE COMMANDS VARIABLE COMMANDS VARIABLE COMMANDS Qualifier Qualifier Shared Shared Var Var STRING AND CHARACTER CONSTANTS STRING AND CHARACTER CONSTANTS STRING AND CHARACTER CONSTANTS BKSP = #8 CR = #13 CRLF = #13#10 ESC = #27 FF = #12 LF = #10 Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 122 _______________________________________________________________ F1 = #0#59 F2 = #0#60 F3 = #0#61 F4 = #0#62 F5 = #0#63 F6 = #0#64 F7 = #0#65 F8 = #0#66 F9 = #0#67 F10 = #0#68 F11 = #0#133 F12 = #0#134 SF1 = #0#84 SF2 = #0#85 SF3 = #0#86 SF4 = #0#87 SF5 = #0#88 SF6 = #0#89 SF7 = #0#90 SF8 = #0#91 SF9 = #0#92 SF10 = #0#93 SF11 = #0#135 SF12 = #0#136 CF1 = #0#94 CF2 = #0#95 CF3 = #0#96 CF4 = #0#97 CF5 = #0#98 CF6 = #0#99 CF7 = #0#100 CF8 = #0#101 CF9 = #0#102 CF10 = #0#103 CF11 = #0#137 CF12 = #0#138 AF1 = #0#104 AF2 = #0#105 AF3 = #0#106 AF4 = #0#107 AF5 = #0#108 AF6 = #0#109 AF7 = #0#110 AF8 = #0#111 AF9 = #0#112 AF10 = #0#113 AF11 = #0#139 AF12 = #0#140 Computer Tyme MarxMenu Users Manual Page 123 _______________________________________________________________ ALT1 = #0#120 ALT2 = #0#121 ALT3 = #0#122 ALT4 = #0#123 ALT5 = #0#124 ALT6 = #0#125 ALT7 = #0#126 ALT8 = #0#127 ALT9 = #0#128 ALT0 = #0#129 CONDITIONAL STATEMENTS CONDITIONAL STATEMENTS CONDITIONAL STATEMENTS MarxMenu has a full complement of conditional statements. They are as follows: IF->ELSE->ENDIF Where, IF [condition] statement statement ELSE statement statement ENDIF IF->THEN Where, IF [condition] THEN statement REPEAT->UNTIL Where, REPEAT statement statement UNTIL [condition] WHILE->ENDWHILE Where, WHILE [conditon] statement statement ENDWHILE PROCEDURE->ENDPROC PROCEDURE (name) statement statement ENDPROC LOOP->ENDLOOP LOOP (number) statement statement ENDLOOP Other Computer Tyme Software: ====================================================== The Computer Tyme Dos ToolBox... Makes DOS easier for the novice, more powerful for the professional. DIRECTORY MASTER is a powerful hard disk managment utility. It brings up your hard disk files and allows you to mark selected files so you can copy them, delete them, or move them. It also allows you to rename files, change dates, and change attributes. You can also run programs or set up your function keys to run programs on selected files. DOLIST makes being at DOS easier. It gives you full line editing, like a word processor, for your commands. It also stores commands so that you can re-execute them. It remembers subdirectories and allows you to go back to them by pressing the TAB key. It offers programmable function keys, DOS extensions, multiple execution, and many more features you have got to have. PICK DIRECTORY allows you to move through the directory system by displaying a graphic tree and letting you use your arrow keys to move around. It also lets you create, delete, rename, and hide directories. TEDIT (from SemWare) is a powerful, easy to use full screen editor. MARXTSR is a set of memory and TSR management utilities that let you load and unload TSRs (Terminate and stay resident programs) from memory. Utilities to list menory allocation and turn TSR's on and off. And many more ... Also includes is D, a fancy directory listing program; WHEREIS, for finding stuff on you hard disk, SORT, MOVE, FIND, FREE, PIPEDIR, VERSION, and many more. The Dos Toolbox sells for $59.95. ====================================================== We are also selling QEdit from Semware. QEdit is a professional editor from Semware. TEdit is a mini version of QEdit. If you like TEdit, You'll love QEdit. 1-800-548-5353 Order Line 1-417-866-1222 Voice Line 1-417-866-1665 BBS Data line * 1200/2400 * 8N1 * ANSI or VT100 MarxMenu comes with MarxEdit and MARXTSR manager and a few goodies out of the DOS ToolBox. The Network Survival Kit is a network version of almost every utility I've ever written. It's sold on a per fileserver basis. _______ ____|__ | (tm) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| APPROVED VENDOR ========================================== Make Check Computer Tyme Order Form LO Payable To: 411 North Sherman Suite 300 Springfield Mo. 65802 (417) 866-1222 (800) 548-5353 Please send me Computer Tyme Software. ============================================================= Name: ________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________________ City/St/Zip: ________________________________________________ Phone: ________________________________________________ Computer: ________________________________________________ Got From: ________________________________________________ Comments: ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Single User Version: ___ Enclosed is $59.95 for MarxMenu. ___ Enclosed is $59.95 for the DOS ToolBox. ___ Enclosed is $99.95 for MarxMenu, the Dos ToolBox and DM3. Network Version (1 per file server): ___ Enclosed is $495 for Network Survival Kit. ___ Add $3.00 for Shipping and Handling. ___ I need 3 1/2 Inch Media. =============================================================