ID:AP Starting DESQview Under API
Quarterdeck Technical Note #135
by Stan Young

          Starting DESQview Under API Program Control

   Many API programs are designed to run in much the same as any
off-the-shelf program in the DESQview environment.  That is, the
user
simply selects the program from the Open Window menu, it opens and
once
running can begin to control and take advantage of DESQview.

   Creating an "auto-start" macro for DESQview can allow the
program to be
brought up automatically on the start of DESQview.  The
"auto-start" macro
is described in the DESQview users' manual (page 89 in the Version
2
manual).  The auto-start macro can be used to start either API or
standard
applications automatically when starting DESQview.

   An auto-start macro is generally a good starting method when you
want to
make sure your API program is run, but want to make most of the
features of
DESQview available to your users.  The default for starting using
this
method is that all of the standard menu items of DESQview are
enabled. Your
API program has to specifically disable menu selections after
starting up
if you do not want all of them available. However, sometimes API
developers
will want their programs to control the system more fully.  To
accomplish
this, you can start DESQview as follows:

DV {program information filename}

An example of a program started in this fashion is on every users
DESQview
disk in the SETUP.BAT file.  It reads as follows:

DV SETUP.DVP {additional parameters}

   The additional parameters listed in SETUP.BAT are specific to
DESQview
operation, and would not normally become a part of your API program
startup
(/OK assumes "non-enhanced keyboard," /NS means don't read the
setup file,
use defaults).
   Run the DESQview Setup and you will get an idea of the defaults
under
which API programs started from the command line are run:

     1.  After display of the DESQview copyright screen, the 
     application listed in the DVP file is automatically run.

     2.  All access to the DESQview menu is disabled.  DESQview 
     macros, including the auto-start macro for the window, are 
     enabled if present, but access to the Learn menu is not 
     available.

     3.  Terminating the application terminates DESQview and 
     drops you out to the DOS prompt.

   Obviously, the DESQview Setup program is a limited,
single-tasking
environment, but it demonstrates that an API program program
started from
the command line is firmly in control.  Once started, the API
program can
start additional tasks (NEW or NEWPROC in assembler, app_new or
app_start
in C or Pascal), and selectively enable the features of DESQview
(Manager
streams 00 to 3F in Assembler, or win_allow function in C or
Pascal).

   The only feature which cannot be enabled is the Open Window
item. When
an API program is started from the command line, the DESQVIEW.DVO
file,
which contains the Open Window menu information, is not read into
memory
and the Open Window option will not be available.  Your API program
could
of course produce its own "front end" menu of programs to open if
you like.
If you want to allow users to have access to the Open Window menu,
you
would want to start up using the auto-start macro.

        Copyright (C) 1991 by Quarterdeck Office Systems
             * * *   E N D   O F   F I L E    * * *