MAIN-MENU Version 3.5 Copyright (C) 1990, Aardvark Software Co. Main-Menu is quickly becoming one of the most popular menu systems on the market today. With Main-Menu's ease of use, attractive screens, full mouse support, and powerful command language, its easy to see why. Today, a truly great menu system must be as easy to use as it is powerful. It must be flexible enough for the most demanding users, yet friendly enough for the rest of us. Main-Menu offers all of that and more... Exclusive to Main-Menu is the point and shoot method of selecting menu options. Simply move the mouse cursor to the desired menu option, double click the mouse, and your off ... Exclusive to Main-Menu are commands like the Directory Pick List, which allows you to point and shoot at a window of spreadsheet files which in turn are automatically loaded and displayed within your favorite spreadsheet program. Or, point and shoot at a window of word processing documents to be automatically loaded and displayed within in your favorite word processing program. Exclusive to Main-Menu are commands like the User Defined Pick List in which you can set up a Pick List of command parameters to be automatically passed to the program to be run. With all of these features, it is easy to see why Main-Menu is becoming one of America's premier menuing systems. Main-Menu truly is a great menu system! USING THE MENU - OVERVIEW Main-Menu provides a variety of methods for accessing and running programs. Through the use of Prompts, Directory Pick Lists, and User Defined Pick Lists, a each menu option may be configured to be versatile yet easy to use. Here are some to the features Main-Menu provides ... 1. Three methods of option selection. 2. A convenient Menu Functions Pick List. 3. Directory Pick Lists. 4. User Defined Pick Lists. 5. Multi-Level Password Protection. 6. Shell to DOS feature. 7. Complete programming command language. 8. Extensive On-Line Help System. .... and much more. SELECTING MENU OPTIONS There are three ways to select menu options: 1. Move from option to option using the arrow keys, and then press . 2. Type the first character of the desired option, and then press . 3. If a mouse is installed, locate the mouse cursor to the desired option, click the left mouse button once to highlight the option and again to execute the option. At any level, you may press the key to quickly move to the first menu option or the key to quickly move to the last menu option. Arrow Keys: The arrow keys may be used to move from one menu option to another. Each option is highlighted in its own color when selected. (See Title Foreground under Editing Menu Options). Once the option is highlighted, press to execute. First Character Option Selection: Another way to select a menu option is by typing the first letter of the desired option. For example, to choose the option titled "Lotus 1-2-3", press the letter "L" or "l". Again, the chosen option is highlighted in its own color. (see Title Foreground under Editing Menu Options) Once the option is highlighted, press to execute. Using the Mouse The mouse may also be used to select menu options. Simply move the mouse cursor to the desired option and press the left mouse button once to highlight the option and again to execute. MENU FUNCTIONS PICK LIST Main-Menu offers a host of functions to allow you to manipulate and configure the menu system to your liking. Features such as: 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � � � Help F1 � � Shell to Dos F9 � � Quit F10 � � Edit Current Menu Display ALT-N � � Edit Menu Options ALT-E � � Edit System Parameters ALT-S � � Copy Option To Buffer ALT-C � � Paste Buffer to Option ALT-P � � Delete Current Menu Option ALT-D � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� are available in a pick list by pressing F5. Or highlight "F5=Menu" at the lower left corner of the screen with the mouse cursor and click the left mouse button. To execute the options found in the menu, simply highlight the option and press . Notice to the right of each menu option there is an associated key or key combination. You may execute any of the options directly from the Main-Menu (without going through the Menu Functions Pick List) using those keys. For those people who use the computer everyday, the quick key combination will be most valuable, but for the rest of us, the Menu Functions Pick List is great! USING DIRECTORY PICK LISTS Directory Pick Lists are used to display all of the files in a sub-directory whose file name extension meets a specific criteria. Directory Pick Lists may also be configured to display only directories from which you can move from directory to directory. And, Directory Pick Lists may be configured to display all files in a directory along with all sub directories of the current directory. Once a file is selected from the Directory Pick List, the file can be passed in a number of different forms. Directory Pick Lists may be configured to pass the file name selected including its path or just the file name alone. Also, you may configure Directory Pick Lists to pass the file name with or without the file name extension. As you can see, the Directory Pick List is a powerful and versatile function of Main-Menu. A good understanding of how to use and configure Directory Pick Lists is well worth the effort! Example Directory Pick list ... 旼컴컴� C:\LOTUS\*.WK1 컴컴컴컴컴� � � � <..> <.> � � FORECAST.WK1 YEAREND.WK1 � � MONTHLY.WK1 � � � � � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� Let's look at how to use each of the features possible in Directory Pick Lists. PASSING FILES: ------------- To pass a file name from Directory Pick List, simply hightlight the file and press or click the mouse button on the file once to highlight and again to execute. Depending on how the Directory Pick List command was set up, you will either pass the file name only with out extension, the file name only with extension, or the entire directory path and file name together. (See Directory Pick List under Command Language for information on the specific configurations.) PASSING DIRECTORIES: ------------------- To pass a directory path from a Directory Pick List you highlight the directory and execute what is called a "Hard Return". You execute a Hard Return by pressing simultaneously. This is the only way to pass a directory path out of the Directory Pick List. Below is an outline of what will occur when you highlight each option and execute a hard Return. Highlight Path Passed On --------- -------------- <..> C: <.> C:\LOTUS C:\LOTUS\SHIPPING 旼컴컴� C:\LOTUS\*.WK1 컴컴컴컴컴� � � � <..> <.> � � YEAREND.WK1 � � MONTHLY.WK1 � � � � � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� TRANSVERSING DIRECTORIES: ------------------------ As mentioned above, in addition to file names, you may configure Directory Pick Lists so that along with the file names, the sub-directories of the current directory will be displayed. In this way you may transverse directories all the way back to the route directory. This feature proves to be very useful in managing structured directories. To move from directory to directory, simply highlight the desired directory and press . Directories will always be the first in the list and are enclosed in <> brackets. If the option <..> is present in the list it is that directories "parent" directory. If the option <..> is not present, you are at the root directory for that drive. All directories will display a <.>. This is the current directory and is useful for passing the current directory as previously outlined. 旼컴컴� C:\LOTUS\*.WK1 컴컴컴컴컴� � <..> <.> � � MONTHLY.WK1 � � YEAREND.WK1 � � � � � � � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� Notice at the top of the directory pick list window, the current directory and file attributes are displayed. --------------------------------------------- Another feature available while in Directory Pick Lists is the ability to "log drives". If the directory pick list is configured to display sub directories, you may log onto another drive by pressing and the drive letter simultaneously. For example, if you are in the directory C:\MENU you may quickly log onto the "A" drive by pressing simultaneously. If the A drive is present and a floppy diskette is loaded, the directory pick list will display all those files on the floppy drive that meet the same file criteria as in the original drive/directory. This feature is very handy for multiple drive systems such as computers with large hard disks or networks. In addition, Main-Menu will remember where you were on each drive when you come back from executing an application. --------------------------------------------- A special circumstance exists with Directory Pick Lists. There may be occasions when the user will not want to pass a file from the Directory Pick List to the program, but instead simply go directly to the program without passing a file name. To bypass a Directory Pick List, press the key or if a three button mouse is installed, press the middle button. Either method will stop the Directory Pick List from passing the value highlighted. The effect will be as if the Directory Pick List was never used. USER DEFINED PICK LISTS User Defined Pick Lists are used to display a menu of up to 16 choices under a menu option from which the user will select the desired choice or bypass the pick list entirely. User Defined Pick Lists allow you to further define a menu option. That is, it may be used to further define what is passed onto the program being executed. For example; Suppose one of the Main-Menu options is Lotus 1-2-3 and when selected, a you want a Pick List that would allow the user to choose their department. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � Accounting � ------> � Statistics � <------- � Shipping � � � � � � � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 When the user selects their department, Main-Menu would locate to the associated sub-directory (maybe c:\stat if Statistics was chosen). You could then set up a Directory Pick List of all of the worksheet files in the current directory from which the user would select the desired worksheet. As you can see, the process of executing Lotus 1-2-3 and automatically loading a worksheet can be very friendly. To select a User Defined Pick List choice highlight the desired option and press to select. Any of the three methods for executing a menu option may be used. (Arrows, Character, or Mouse) PASSWORDS Main-Menu offers 4 levels of password security. You may set Main-Menu to require the user to enter a password to be able to ... 1. Shell to DOS or Quit Main-Menu (System Password) 2. Edit Menu Options (Options Password) 3. Execute Menu Options (Menu Password) 4. Edit System Parameters (Parms Password) Passwords are used to prohibit un-authorized entry into areas of Main-Menu and menu options. When a password is set, the password prompt is displayed on the bottom line of the screen. The user must enter the correct password to move past the password protected area. When entering the password, the password being entered is not displayed, but rather an asterisk "*" is displayed for each character entered. If the password is incorrectly entered the user is not allowed access to the password restricted area. SHELL/QUIT PASSWORD: ------------------- If the System Password in System Parameters is set, the user will be password restricted from Shelling to DOS or Quitting Main-Menu. EDIT MENU OPTIONS PASSWORD: -------------------------- If the Edit Options Password in System Parameters is set, the user will be password restricted from .. 1. Editing Menu Options 2. Copying Menu Options 3. Deleting Menu Options 4. Pasting Menu Options 5. Editing Menu Columns 6. Editing Menu Title and Color In each of the above areas, the user will be required to enter the Edit Options Password to make any changes. EXECUTE MENU OPTIONS PASSWORD: ----------------------------- If the Password is set under any menu option, the user will be password restricted from executing the menu option. EDIT SYSTEM PARMS PASSWORD: -------------------------- If the Edit Parms Password under System Parameters is set, the user will be password restricted from editing any of the values in the System Parameters area. This will restrict the user from editing ... 1. System Logo and Logo Colors 2. System Logo Row 3. Screen Save Delay Time 4. Edit Parms Password 5. Edit Menu Options Password 6. System Password. Once the correct password is entered the user will be able to edit any of the above areas. *** NOTE *** With the proper setting of passwords in each of the outlined areas, it is possible to secure all areas of Main-Menu. In corporate environments, it is recommended that one person, the Menu Administrator, be authorized (through the Parms Password) to setup and administer Main-Menu passwords, thus providing a structured, secure menuing system. The Menu Administrator should be the only one who knows the System Parms Password and it should be changed at regular intervals. SHELL TO DOS There are times when you may want to temporarily work at the DOS level. Main-Menu provides a "Shell To DOS" feature which will allow you to temporarily work at the DOS level. Press the function key to Shell to DOS. When you want to re-enter the menu, type "Exit" and press . If the System password was set in System Parameters you will be prompted for the correct password before you will be able to Shell to DOS. QUIT MAIN-MENU You may Quit Main-Menu from any menu level by pressing the function key . To start Main-Menu back up, type the name of the startup batch file in the directory where Main-Menu is installed. The default startup batch file that came with Main-Menu is "MM". Simply type "MM" at the DOS prompt and Main-Menu will execute. If the System Password was set in System Parameters you will be prompted for the correct password before you will be able to Quit Main-Menu. EDIT CURRENT MENU DISPLAY - OVERVIEW Press or choose "Edit Menu" from the Menu Pick List (F5), to edit the menu screen. Move to the desired selection using the arrow keys or if a mouse is installed, simply move the mouse cursor to the desired line and press the left mouse button. A screen is displayed that allows the following changes to be made: 1. Title (1 - 25 Characters) 2. Title Color (Any valid color) 3. Number of Columns (2-4) Once changes are made, press to save or if a mouse is installed, move the mouse cursor to "F10=Save" in the lower right portion of the screen and press the left mouse button. Press to ignore changes made and return to Main-Menu. TITLE Move the cursor to the Menu Title line. Edit the Title as desired. To change the Title foreground color, while at the Title line, press the key to scroll all available colors. NUMBER OF COLUMNS Move the cursor to the Number of Columns line and type the desired number of columns or press the right or left arrow key to move the highlight box to the desired number of columns. The number chosen is highlighted with blinking arrows on either side of the number. If a mouse is installed, you may highlight the desired column number and press the left mouse button. COPY / PASTE OPTIONS While at the menu, any option may be copied to a Copy Buffer and Pasted to another menu option position. This is to allow easy repositioning menu options. To copy an option to the Copy Buffer, highlight the menu option to be copied and press . The original menu option is not lost and the entire option contents are copied to the buffer. That is, the Title, Title Message, Password and all Commands are copied to the Copy buffer. To paste the Copy Buffer to an option location, highlight the desired option location and press

. After pasting the contents of the Copy/Paste Buffer is not lost. DELETE OPTIONS To delete a menu option, highlight the option to be deleted and press . The entire menu option including the option Title, Title Message, Password and all Commands are cleared from the deleted option. If the file containing the menu options is flagged as Read Only a message will appear "Menu is Read Only" and deleting will not occur. SAVING While editing the menu Title, Title Color, or Number of Columns, press to save changes made or if a mouse is installed, move the mouse cursor to "F10=Save" in the lower right portion of the screen and press the left mouse button. If the file containing the menu options is flagged as Read Only a message will appear "Menu is Read Only" and saving will not occur. EDIT MENU OPTIONS - OVERVIEW Menu options are set up with a Title, Title Message, Password, and a series of up to 50 commands. When executed, the commands are the same commands that would have to be typed in at the DOS command line to execute a program. Today, with programs becoming more and more powerful, there is much typing to be done to execute a program from the DOS> prompt. Main-Menu allows you to enter up to 50 commands that replace all of that typing. In addition, Main-Menu offers a command language of its own that makes executing programs much easier. Through the use of Directory Pick Lists, User Defined Pick Lists, Goto Commands, and Labels, a menu option may be set up to offer simple windows and pick lists from which the user may select specific files or options to be automatically loaded into the program to be executed. This method of executing programs will dramatically increase efficiency while at the save time not restrain the user in any way. EDITING MENU OPTIONS: -------------------- To edit a menu option, highlight the option and press or if a three button mouse is installed, press the center button. The screen below will be displayed: 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � � � Title : 같같같같같같같같같같� (Yellow) � � Title Msg : � � Password : � � Command(s) : � � : � � : � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 Press the Insert key to toggle between the Insert and Replace modes. If a mouse is installed, the mouse cursor may be clicked anyplace on any command line and the cursor will be relocated to that location. You may scroll up and down the screen using the UP and DOWN arrow keys or, if a mouse is installed, you may hold down the left mouse button on either arrow at the right border of the screen, the screen will scroll in the corresponding direction. TITLE The Title may be up to 25 characters long. There is no restrictions placed on the type of characters that may be entered. But, it is important to note that the number of columns on a menu will restrict the width of the Title that will be diplayed. Once the Title is entered, press the key to scroll through the available colors. The Title Color may be set only while you are located at the Title. TITLE COLOR Once the Title is entered, press the key to scroll through the available colors. The Title Color may be set only while you are located at the Title. TITLE MESSAGE The Title Message is displayed at the center of the bottom line on the screen when each option is highlighted. The Title Message may be up to 55 characters long. There are no restrictions placed on the type of characters that may be entered. The color of the Title Message is controlled by the color of the Title. That is, the color of the Title Message will be the same as the color of the Title itself. PASSWORD The Password is used to protect from unwarranted usage of menu options. When a password is set, the user will be prompted for the password before the option may be edited or executed. The password may be any string of up to 10 alpha numeric characters. No graphic characters may be used. However, special characters (!@$%^&*() ... may be used. COMMANDS Commands are entered to replace the commands that would be needed to execute a program from the DOS command line. There may be up to 50 commands entered. Commands may be any valid Main-Menu programming command or any valid command that would ordinarily be entered at the DOS prompt. Main-Menu offers an extensive command language of its own. A complete discussion of each command, along with examples, are provided under Command Language of this help system. INSERT / DELETE LINES During the editing of command lines, press to insert a blank line where the cursor is located and move all remaining lines down. Also, press to delete the current line and move all remaining lines up. These functions are not available for the Title, Title Message, or Password fields. COPY / PASTE LINES During the editing of menu options, press to read the current line into the Copy Buffer. No more than one line may be copied into the Copy Buffer at one time. Move to another line and press

to paste the contents of the Copy Buffer onto the current line. The contents of the Copy/Paste buffer is not lost after pasting. SAVING Once all of the fields are entered as desired, press to save, or if a mouse is installed, move the mouse cursor to F10=Save at the lower right portion of the screen and press the left button. CREATING SUB-MENUS Sub Menus may be created to 3 levels deep. You create a sub-menu while "Editing Menu Options". They are created by adding a "&" to the front of a path/filename on the first Command(s) line. The following is an example of the command to create a new submenu in the "C:\MENU" directory and name the menu file "SUB1". 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � � � Title : Sub - Menu1같같같같같 (Yellow) � � Title Msg : Example Sub Menu � � Password : � � Command(s) : &C:\MENU\SUB1 � � : � � : ^ � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴|컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� | Notice that the menu creation command is on the first of the Command(s) lines. It is important that the command is prefixed with an "&" and a complete path is given. The "SUB1" at the end is the name of the menu files. Each menu option has two associated menu files. The ".VLS" file and the ".ACT" file. The ".VLS" file contains the option menu Title, Title Color, Title Message, and Password. The ".ACT" file contains the actions to be taken by each option. When the menu creation command is entered and saved for the first time, empty ".VLS" and ".ACT" files are created. The Title Msg becomes the Main Title at the top of the new menu. In the above example, "Example Sub Menu" would become the Main Title at the top of the new menu. After the sub menu is created, you will automatically be placed in the newly created sub-menu. If you try to create a sub-menu that is nested more that 3 deep, you will receive an error message and the menu option will be cleared. (Remember, you may only have menus three levels deep.) NAMING SUB-MENUS When creating a sub menu you must follow the DOS file naming convention to name menus. That is, the sub-menu name may be any combination of up to eight characters. (A-Z, 1-9) No special characters may be used. It is best to give each sub-menu a name that indicates the type of options to be contained in the sub-menu. For example, you may want to create a sub-menu that will contain all utility programs. You may want to name that sub-menu "UTIL". SUB-MENU LOCATIONS As explained above, sub-menus are ".VLS" and ".ACT" files that are created and saved on the drive and directory designated in the path of the sub-menu command. Looking at the example below, we defined the sub-menu "SUB1" to be placed on drive "C" and in the "C:\MENU" directory 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � � � Title : Sub - Menu1같같같같같 (Yellow) � � Title Msg : Example Sub Menu � � Password : � � Command(s) : &C:\MENU\SUB1 � � : � � : � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 It is this method of creating menu files that allows central menus to be created on networks. By entering a network path (DOS path description ... F:\NETMENU\SUB2) the menu files are created in the path included in the menu command, that is, on the network. PROHIBIT EDITING OF MENUS To prohibit editing of menu files, set the menu file attributes to Read Only. This must be done at the DOS level using the DOS command "ATTRIB.". For information of using DOS'S ATTRIB.COM command, refer to your DOS reference manual. If a user tries to alter the menu file when the file attributes are set to "Read Only" an error message is displayed. On networks, set up a menu directory on the fileserver. Create the menu files desired, set the file attributes to Read Only. COMMAND LANGUAGE - OVERVIEW Through the use of Directory Pick Lists, User Defined Pick Lists, Prompts, Goto Statements and Labels, each menu option may be configured to be very friendly to use, yet versatile. For example, suppose we wanted to create a menu option that would display "Lotus 1-2-3" on the screen. When selected, a User Defined Pick List would be displayed from which the user would select their department. The menu would then display another Directory Pick List of all of the files stored in that department's sub-directory. The user could then simply pick the worksheet to work on. The following sequence of commands would accomplish that .... c: <-- set initial drive cd c:\lotus <-- set initial directory [Accounting][Goto :Account] <-- set User Pick List [Statistics][Goto :Stats] and commands to be [Shipping][Goto :Ship] performed :Account <-- :Account label <-- Directory Pick List Goto :End <-- Goto :End label :Stats <-- :Stats Label <-- Directory Pick List Goto :End <-- Goto :End label :Ship <-- :Ship Label <-- Directory Pick List :End <-- :End Label 123 %1 <-- pass value to 123 This is just one example of what can be done using a few of the commands available. Each command is examined in detail along with examples provided. DIRECTORY PICK LISTS Directory Pick Lists are used to display all of the files in a sub-directory who's extensions meet a specific criteria. Directory Pick Lists may also be configured to display only directories. And, Directory Pick Lists may be configured to display all files in a directory and sub directories of the current directory allowing the user to transverse directories In addition, Directory Pick Lists may be configured to pass the file name selected including its path or just the file name without the path. Also, you may configure Directory Pick Lists to pass the file name with or without the file name extension. As you can see, the Directory Pick List is a powerful and versatile function of Main-Menu. A good understanding of how to use and configure Directory Pick Lists is well worth the effort! Let's begin by looking at how to configure the Directory Pick List command to display only directories. Later we will see how to transverse directories and "log" onto other drives. <+C:\(*.!)> The above command will display all sub directories of the root directory of the C drive. It might look like the following. 旼컴컴컴컴컴� C:\*.! 컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � <..> <.> � � � � � � � � � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� It is the inclusion of "*.!" that tells Main-Menu to display only directories. "*.!" is read as "display all (*) directories (!). As you may know, "*" is a standard DOS numonic meaning "All". Main-Menu introduces a numonic of its own. "!" is used to designate "directories only". Put them together as in the above example and you have "*.!", display all directories. --------------------------------------------- Let's look at an example of how to configure the Directory Pick List command to display all files in the C:\LOTUS directory that have WK1 as their file name extension: and it might display .... 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � WEEKLY.WK1 MONTHLY.WK1 � � BALANCE.WK1 YEAREND.WK1 � � � � � � � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� In the above example, once a file is chosen, the file name along with the path is passed out of the Directory Pick List. For example, suppose the user selected "MONTHLY.WK1". C:\LOTUS\MONTHLY.WK1 is the value passed out of the Directory Pick List. To select a file without the path, you would change the command ... to ... notice the ------------^ hyphen between the last backslash and the first parenthesis. This hyphen tells Main-Menu to NOT include the path with the passed file name chosen. ------------------------------------------ Now, let's look at adding the capability of viewing sub-directories allong with file names. This will allow you to transverse directories, yet still view only those files that have the correct extension. In the above example, we will put a "+" in front of the path in the Directory Pick List command as follows <+C:\LOTUS\(*.WK1)> and it might display .... 旼컴컴컴� C:\LOTUS\*.WK1 컴컴컴컴커 � <..> <.> � � � � MONTHLY.WK1 � � WEEKLY.WK1 YEAREND.WK1 � � BALANCE.WK1 � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� ... where ACCOUNT and SHIPPING are sub-directories under the C:\LOTUS directory. In this example you may select a file and the file will be passed on, or you may select a directory and the current directory display will be replaced with a new Directory Pick List of the chosen directory. As mentioned above, you may want to configure the Directory Pick List so that when a file is chosen, the file extension is not passed on. To get the same list of files shown above, except this time with no extensions, the following command would be typed in: <+C:\LOTUS\[*.WK1]> Notice that instead of using () parenthesis to enclose the extension criteria, [] brackets are used. The following might be displayed... 旼컴컴컴� C:\LOTUS\*.WK1 컴컴컴컴커 � <..> <.> � � � � MONTHLY � � WEEKLY YEAREND � � BALANCE � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� Putting everything together it can be seen that we can configure the Directory Pick List so that we can transverse directories, the file name passed is without the path, and the extension of the file name is omitted. The following command will do just that... <+C:\LOTUS\-[*.WK1]> This would give you a Directory Pick List of all files in the C:\LOTUS directory that have WK1 as their file extension. In addition, it would allow you to transverse drives and directories. The file names would not have extensions. When a file is selected the only thing that would be passed is the name portion of the file name without the extension. The path would not be passed as part of the file name. ---------------------------------------------- Now let's look at some typical examples of using Directory Pick List commands and examine what happens to the value passed. After selected, the file name is assigned to the next available %x of the five that are available. Let's look... c: <--- set initial drive cd c:\lotus <--- set initial directory <--- directory pick list 123 %1 <--- pass selected file to 123 Or the following is also possible ... <--- directory pick list c: <--- set initial drive cd c:\lotus <--- set initial directory 123 %1 <--- pass value of %1 to 123 Or if you want to be able to transverse directoryies you may want to change the above commands to ... <+c:\account\(*.wk1)> <--- pick list w/directories c: <--- set initial drive cd c:\lotus <--- set initial directory 123 %1 <--- pass value of %1 to 123 In each of the above examples the result of the Directory Pick List is assigned to %1 and later inserted in the command line by the designation of %1 on the line. (See Using %1,%2,%3 ... under Command Language.) The Directory Pick List command may even be embedded in a User Defined Pick List. (See User Defined Pick List under Command Language for examples). USER DEFINED PICK LISTS User Defined Pick Lists are used to create an IF then ELSE situation where a menu of choices will be displayed from which the user will select. You may define UP TO 20 user defined options to be displayed at any one time. Each choice selected will have an associated value or command. The value will be passed on to the command executed. Let's look ... Suppose one of the Main-Menu options is Lotus 1-2-3. And when selected, a User Defined Pick List would be displayed from which the user would select their department .... 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � Accounting � ------> � Statistics � <------- � Shipping � � � � � � � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 When the user selects a department, say Statistics, a Directory Pick List of all of the files stored in that department's sub-directory would be displayed. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � FORECAST.WK1 � � MONTHLY.WK1 � � YEAREND.WK1 � � � � � � � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 The user could then simply pick the worksheet to work on. The following sequence of commands would accomplish that .... c: <-- set initial drive cd c:\lotus <-- set initial directory [Accounting][Goto :Account] <-- set User Pick List [Statistics][Goto :Stats] and commands to be [Shipping][Goto :Ship] performed :Account <-- :Account label <-- Directory Pick List Goto :End <-- Goto :End label :Stats <-- :Stats Label <-- Directory Pick List Goto :End <-- Goto :End label :Ship <-- :Ship Label <-- Directory Pick List :End <-- :End Label 123 %1 <-- pass value to 123 Notice again, the use of %1 in the command sequence. The value of the User Defined Pick List is assigned to the first available % command which is %1. %1's value is then inserted in the last command line by the designation of %1 on the last line. Now let's simplify the above using a Directory Pick List command that we will bury in the User Defined Pick List. The above sequence of commands may be re-written as follows... c: cd c:\lotus [Accounting][] [Statistics][] [Shipping][] %1 123 %2 For a detailed explaination of using % commands, see "Using %1, %2, %3...". GOTOS and LABELS LABELS are place holders in the command list. They are place designators for use with the GOTO command. LABELS always start with a colon (:). They may be of any length and must consist of alphanumeric characters only. No special or graphic characters may be used. GOTOS are used in conjunction with labels to route command processing. A GOTO command will always be followed by a LABEL. For example: GOTO :End GOTO command--^ ^-- LABEL The statement above will send command processing directly to the LABEL :End. Also notice that the LABEL starts with a colon. A GOTO command may be used on a line by itself or within a User Defined Pick List. The following demonstrates the use of GOTO commands and LABELS. c: <-- set initial drive cd c:\lotus <-- set initial directory [Accounting][Goto :Account] <-- set User Pick List [Statistics][Goto :Stats] and commands to be [Shipping][Goto :Ship] performed :Account <-- :Account label <-- Directory Pick List Goto :End <-- Goto :End label :Stats <-- :Stats Label <-- Directory Pick List Goto :End <-- Goto :End label :Ship <-- :Ship Label <-- Directory Pick List :End <-- :End Label 123 %1 <-- pass value to 123 Both GOTO and LABELS may be mixed case. That is, GOTO may be written as "Goto", "GOTO", or "goto". A LABEL may be written as ":END", ":End", or ":end". The important thing to remember is that the GOTO command is case sensitive concerning the destination LABEL. The LABEL must be written the same in the GOTO statement as it is by itself. Also, there MUST be an associated LABEL for a GOTO statement. USING %1 %2 %3 ... Using % command variables is fundamental to passing values out of the Prompt, User Defined Pick List, and Directory Pick Lists. Each time any of the above occur in the command sequence, the resultant value is passed to the next available % command variable. There are 5 % command variables available; %1, %2, %3, %4, and %5. The value of the Prompt, Directory Pick, and User Pick is automatically assigned to the next available % command variable upon selection of the pick choice or upon pressing at the prompt command.. Let's look closer... c: <--- set initial drive cd c:\lotus <--- set initial directory <--- directory pick list 123 %1 <--- pass selected file to 123 In the example above, the value of directory pick list is assigned to %1. This is because the directory pick list is the first in the series of commands. (actually the only one in the series of commands) Remember, the value is assigned to the first available % command. Since no other pick lists or prompt commands are present in the series of commands, %1 is available. Let's look at another example ... c: cd c:\lotus [Lotus Version 1.0][*.WKS] [Lotus Version 2.0][*.WK1] 123 %2 Line one sets the drive. Line two sets the directory. Line three and four display a User defined pick list; the returned value is assigned to %1 command variable. Line five uses %1 for the attribute portion of the Directory Pick List; either "*.WKS" or "*.WK1". Line six uses the value passed from line five "%2". Since %1 was already automatically assigned a value as a result of the User Defined Pick List defined in line three and four, the next available % command variable is %2, which is assigned the result of the Directory Pick List in line five. PROMPTS Prompts are created to prompt the user for a value to be passed on to the next available % command variable. The prompt is displayed on the bottom line of the screen to the left. Prompts begin with "@" and are followed by the prompt string, and a colon. The following is an example of a prompt to get a file name to pass on... @File : WEEKTOT.WK1 The above prompt will display "File : WEEKTOT.WK1" on the bottom line and place the user in the edit mode. The user may edit the line and replace the default value "WEEKTOT.WK1" or press to accept the default value. If a mouse is installed, pressing the left button will have the same effect as pressing . Also, press to ignore the prompt and not pass any value onto the % command variable The following is an example to prompt the user for a filename to load into Lotus 1-2-3. c: cd c:\lotus @File to Pass : WEEKTOT.WK1 123 %1 DOS> DOS> is used to pass command lines onto Main-Menu batch file without trying to interpret the lines. This is very handy since DOS has a batch file command language of it's own. We must have a way to allow DOS to use it's GOTO commands and LABELS. Remember that if we enter "Goto :End" on a command line then Main-Menu will use that command to direct processing. DOS too directs processing with the GOTO command. By prefixing a line with "DOS>" that line will not be interpreted, instead it will passed on as is onto the DOS batch file. The following is an example commonly used in programming to compile and link programs. C: CD C:\QB\WORK DOS> CALL CMP %1 DOS> IF ERRORLEVEL 1 THEN GOTO :ERROR DOS> ECHO *** COMPILE SUCCESSFUL *** DOS> CALL LNK %1 DOS> IF ERRORLEVEL 1 THEN GOTO :ERROR2 DOS> ECHO *** LINK SUCCESSFUL *** DOS> GOTO :END DOS> :ERROR DOS> ECHO: *** ERROR COMPILING *** DOS> GOTO :END DOS> :ERROR2 DOS> ECHO: *** ERROR LINKING *** DOS> :END DOS> PAUSE All of the above lines prefixed with "DOS>" are passed onto the batch file without any interpretation. Notice though, the use of %1 in lines four and seven. The %1 is used to pass the value obtained in line three. This is the only alteration to "DOS>" lines that Main-Menu will perform. SETTING SYSTEM PARAMETERS - OVERVIEW System parameters include: Field Criteria --------------------------------------------------- 1. System Logo (1-30 character long) 2. Logo Foreground Color (any valid color) 3. Logo Background Color (any valid color) 4. System Logo Display Row (1 - 25) 5. Time Delay before Screen Save (30 - 9999 secs) 6. Edit System Parms Password (1 - 10 characters) 7. Edit Menu Options Password (1 - 10 characters) 8. System Password (1 - 10 characters) To set the System Parameters press simultaneously or select "Set System Parameters" from the Menu Pick List . If a Leave Lock Password is set you will be prompted for that password. Edit the parameters as desired. Once finished, press to save or if a mouse is installed, move the mouse cursor to "F10=Save" in the lower right portion of the screen and press the left mouse button. Press to ignore changes and return to the Main-Menu. SYSTEM LOGO / COLOR The System Logo used to display a user defined logo when the Screen Save or Leave Lock Protection features are activated. The Logo will be displayed at the center of the Logo Line. See "Logo Display Row". The System Logo may be any combination characters (1-30). Main-Menu comes with "Main - Menu" as the default System Logo. The System Logo foreground and background colors may also be set. While at the System Logo line, press to adjust the foreground color and press to adjust the background color. SYSTEM LOGO DISPLAY ROW The row on which the System Logo is displayed may be 1 to 25. If any other value is entered an error message will be displayed and you will be returned to the previous value. Main-Menu comes with System Logo Display Row set to 25 as the default value. TIME DELAY FOR SCREEN SAVE Main-Menu allows you to set the time delay before the Screen Save feature activates when there is no keyboard activity. The time is entered in seconds. The time in seconds may be set for 30 to 9999 seconds. If the time entered is outside of those parameters, an error message is displayed. EDIT SYSTEMS PARMS PASSWORD The Edit System Parms Password may be set to require the user to enter the correct password to edit any of the values in the System Parameters area. If the entry is left blank, the user will be able to edit any entry in the System Parms Area. The password may be a string of up to 10 alpha numeric characters. No graphic characters may be used. However, special characters (!@$%^&*() ... may be used. EDIT MENU OPTIONS PASSWORD The Edit Menu Options Password may be set to require the user to enter the correct password to be able to edit any of the menu options. If the password entry is left blank, the user will be free to view and edit menu options. The password may be a string of up to 10 alpha numeric characters. No graphic characters may be used. However, special characters (!@$%^&*() ... may be used. SYSTEM PASSWORD The System Password may be set to require the user to enter the correct password to SHELL TO DOS or to QUIT Main-Menu. If the entry is left blank, the user will be able to SHELL TO DOS and QUIT Main-Menu without entering any password. The password may be a string of up to 10 alpha numeric characters. No graphic characters may be used. However, special characters (!@$%^&*() ... may be used. SAVING Once finished, press to save or if a mouse is installed, move the mouse cursor to "F10=Save" in the lower right portion of the screen and press the left mouse button. Press to ignore changes and return to the Main-Menu. Aardvark Software Company This software is written and supported by Aardvark Software Company. If you have any questions or comments regarding Main-Menu or any other software produced by Aardvark Software we may be contacted at: Aardvark Software Company 3091-L Ordway Drive Roanoke VA 24017 (703) 366-7790 (Voice) 8am to 9pm - 7 Days a Week We want to thank you for selecting Main-Menu for your menu!!! Ordering Main-Menu Main-Menu single user may purchased from us directly for $19.95 plus $.90 tax for Virginia residents. An unlimited network version may be purchased for $99.95 plus $4.50 tax for Virginia residents. Please send a check or money order to: Aardvark Software Company 3091-L Ordway Drive Roanoke VA 24017 Please specify disk size when ordering. (5 1/4" or 3 1/2") Aardvark Support BBS Aardvark Software is pleased to announce the Aardvark Support BBS. (703) 366-7790 (Data) 9pm to 6am - 7 Days a Week The Aardvark Support BBS will give users of Main-Menu a way to communicate directly with the author of Main-Menu. Also, the most recent versions of Main-Menu, support programs, and program tips will always be readily available for download. So give it a try, you now have the capability of going directly to the source!