Win 3.1 |
 |
by M. L. Giggleman |
Positioning A Window Using The Keyboard
Q. By accident, I moved the open Control Panel to the top of the screen. Now the Title Bar is completely inaccessible, which means I cannot drag the window down or move it at all. I can expand the corner downward, but still cannot get to the menu. Any keyboard command to open the Control Panel menu results in an obnoxious beep. All that is visible is the bottom row of icons. Help me.
A. First, open the Control menu using keyboard commands: Alt-Spacebar (hold down the "Alt" key and then press the Spacebar). Then press the letter "m" and press <Enter>. This Moves the window. Now use the cursor arrows - not the mouse - to move the window down, down, down until the Title Bar is visible. Press <Enter> again when the window is positioned correctly.
Windows Write: Using The Underline To Create Forms
Q. I use Windows Write for a word processor. I needed to create a form for clients. I tried to make a series of lines consisting of the underline character, so people could fill them in. To do this, I selected Underline from the Character menu (or press Ctrl+U) and then pressed the spacebar repeatedly. The line was created, but then it disappeared when I pressed <Enter> at the end of the line. What am I doing wrong?
A. The problem is that the lines will not stay on screen until some type of text is added to the end of the line. What you need is to add a "hard space" at the end of the line. To do this, after entering the underline characters, at the end of the line, hold down the Alt key (found near the spacebar) and type 0160 on the numeric keypad. Then release the Alt key. Important Note: You must use the numeric keypad to the right of the keyboard and insure the Num Lock is on. This will not work using the numeric keys along the top of the keyboard.
Windows Write: Quick Text Selection
Q. I use Windows Write. Is there a fast way to highlight a line?
A. Move the mouse pointer to the left of the line. The mouse pointer is positioned correctly when it appears as an arrow rather than an I-beam.
To highlight the entire line, click once.
To include lines below, hold down the Shift key while clicking.
To highlight an entire paragraph, double-click in the left margin next to the desired paragraph.
To include paragraphs below, hold down the Shift key while continuing to double-click.
To highlight the entire document, press the Ctrl key while clicking in the left margin.
DOS: A Faster Way To Format A Diskette (Requires DOS 5.0 or later)
Q. Is there a fast way to format a diskette using DOS Format?
A. Since DOS 5.0, you have a choice between several types of formatting options: an "unconditional" format, a "safe" format, and a "quick" format. The "quick" format is probably what you want. Following is information on each format option available:
The UNCONDITIONAL format destroys every byte of data on a disk by overwriting it with hex F6. You cannot "unformat" a disk formatted using this option. The syntax for the "unconditional" format is: FORMATA: /U.
The SAFE format first writes information necessary to reconstruct the disk contents before performing the format. First the File Allocation Table (FAT) is cleared and the first character is deleted from all root directory file entry names. Next the diskette is scanned for bad sectors. Finally the information is written to a safe location on disk where the UNFORMAT program can find it if needed. The "safe" format is the default format since DOS 5.0. The syntax for the "safe" format is: C:>FORMAT A:
The QUICK format is much like the "safe" format with one exception. It doesn't perform a scan for bad sectors. Therefore this option cannot be used on new diskettes and it should not be used on a diskette with known bad sectors. The syntax for the "quick" format is: C:>FORMAT A: /Q
DOS: formatting multiple diskettes (Requires DOS 5.0 or later)
Q. I want to format a stack of floppies from a batch file. The FORMAT program requires frequent key presses to complete the format. Is there a way around this? Can you help me write a batch file?
A. The answer to both questions is yes.
Normally FORMAT prompts you several times during the process. When first run, it asks that you insert a new diskette in the drive and press ENTER when ready. When finished with the format, it may, according to how it was run, ask you to enter a volume label for the disk. It may then show disk-space statistics on the diskette. Once the format is complete, it will ask if you want to format another disk. If you wish to format another disk, it reminds you to insert a new diskette and press a key when ready. However, if you use DOS 6 (or even 5.0), you can use the undocumented /AUTOTEST switch. The syntax is: FORMAT A: /AUTOTEST for this operation. FORMAT will proceed to format the disk in Drive A: with absolutely no user intervention.
If you want a volume label on the disk, use the other undocumented FORMAT switch, /BACKUP. This works exactly like /AUTOTEST except that it prompts for a volume label and displays a disk-space listing. The syntax is: FORMAT A: /BACKUP for this operation.
To answer your second question, a simple batch file could look like this:
@ECHO OFF
:START
FORMAT A: /AUTOTEST
ECHO Press Ctrl-C to quit or
PAUSE
GOTO START
This batch file creates a simple program loop. It runs once, stops and gives you a chance to exit or format another disk.
We can look at it line-by-line:
Line 1: @ECHO OFF
Turn screen echo off
Line 2: :START
A label (used with Line 6 to create the loop)
Line 3: FORMAT A: /AUTOTEST
The actual format command. Just remember to replace the A: with the correct drive letter if needed.
Line 4: ECHO Press Ctrl-C to exit or
First line of message. The "ECHO" allows whatever follows it to be displayed on screen. If you press Ctrl-C (hold down the key labeled "Ctrl" and press the "c" key) to exit, you will be prompted with a message that says "Terminate batch job? (Y/N)". Type "y" and then press <Enter> to stop the batch file.
Line 5: PAUSE
The PAUSE command suspends the batch file until a key is pressed. This gives you a way out of the loop. When run, it displays its own message: "Press any key to continue. . .".
Line 6: GOTO START
If you didn't break out of the program in Line 5, the program continues to this line. It loops back to repeat the commands again. GOTO directs the program to look for a line labeled START. If it is found, the program continues execution on the line following that label. To designate a label for GOTO, a colon is required (as in :START).
This batch file could be used for any command that you wish to run repeatedly. Just replace Line 3 with the program name and any switches.
Remember in all examples above to substitute your drive letter for my drive A:, if needed.
DOS, Windows and Novell: Renaming Directories
Q. How can I rename a subdirectory?
A. The answer to that depends on where you are working.
Windows File Manager: Highlight the directory. Click on File/Rename. A dialog box appears with the name of the directory in the From box. The cursor should be in the To box. Type a new name for the subdirectory and click on OK. The directory should be renamed.
NOVELL NETWORK: The RENDIR program (usually located in the PUBLIC directory) will rename directories. Of course, you must have sufficient rights to the network directories to be renamed. RENDIR also works on local drives. The syntax is: RENDIR OLDDIR NEWDIR where OLDDIR is an existing directory name and NEWDIR is a new name.
DOS 6.0 and above: While the primary purpose of the Move command is to move files between directories (like a destructive Copy), a lesser-known use is to rename directories. The syntax to rename a directory is: MOVE OLDDIR NEWDIR where OLDDIR is an existing directory name and NEWDIR is a new name.
For example: C:>Move LOTUS 123 would rename the existing directory LOTUS to 123.
DOS: Preventing Printer Timeouts
Q. I have to print a series of lengthy reports to a dot-matrix printer attached to my computer. The printer keeps stopping and I have to run the reports again. Sometimes my entire system freezes up. Is there anything I can do?
A. Your system is probably experiencing system time-out problems. DOS is attempting to access the printer port and it is not available. In your case the printer port is already in use. The problem is the printer is too slow to keep up with the computer. The printer buffer is full and DOS is attempting to keep pushing more bytes into the buffer. The system simply times out. It quits attempting to send information through the port and generates an error message.
If you are at the DOS prompt and there is a printer timeout error, you will get an error message. You can probably select "Retry" in response to the error. It may work. However, different application programs have different ways of handling the timeout problem.
To avoid this problem, use the Mode command to tell DOS to keep trying to send information to the printer forever. This way, it doesn't give up and time out. The syntax is: MODE LPT1: ,,P for this operation.
This enables what is called "infinite retry". The syntax is very important. The two commas are required. If your printer is on another printer port (like LPT2), just substitute that for LPT1 in the above statement. Note: This is only for use on a local printer. It will not work on a network printer.
Tips for Novell System Administrators
Novell: Help With Novell Groupwise (for System Administrators)
For Novell system administrators supporting GroupWise, Novell has a listing of resources for technical support and troubleshooting documents. To obtain this listing, send an e-mail to public@novell.com. The message body should contain only the two words "get 1" (no quotation marks). You will receive help on using the system and a listing of all available documents. To access via CompuServe: GO NGWFILES.
Netware, WordPerfect and GroupWise: Three Recommended Downloads
NGWFILES.CAT is the listing of Novell files and help instructions for CServe GO NGWFILES.
For those of us plagued by shared code violations, download the file GSC41.EXE. It is a utility from Novell to diagnose and resolve shared code configuration problems on networks running WordPerfect and GroupWise.
The file SHCODE.EXE contains detailed information on configuring Novell Shared Code. It is an excellent aid to understanding shared code configurations.
The third file recommended is OFCHECK.EXE (compressed file name is OFCK41.EXE). It is a utility to diagnose and repair corrupted GroupWise databases. It also provides statistics on the GroupWise system.
NOTE: These three files are on the HAL-PC BBS.
M. L. Giggleman is a HAL-PC member and a network administrator for Madix Store Fixtures in Terrell, Texas. She authored a series of technical tutorials on exploring the computer via DEBUG and is currently working on a "cookbook" of programs to test and troubleshoot computer systems and peripherals.
E-mail me at webmaster@hal-pc.org with any comments you have and tell me what you want to see here.
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