          
          Introduction                                      Page 1
          
          
          Introduction
          PC Magazine Utilities Disk Volume 1
          -------------------------------------------------------
          
          Volume 1 of the PC Magazine Utilities contains 35
          utilities ready-to-run plus comprehensive on-disk 
          documentation and an install program. 
          
          Installing the programs
          -----------------------
          If your PC has a hard disk, you can use the install 
          program (started by typing GO) to copy the programs 
          onto it. You can then change to the new directory 
          containing the programs and try them out. After 
          installing the software, you can come back to this
          documentation by changing to the relevant drive
          and directory and entering the command DOC.
          
          If you have a floppy-only PC or you don't want to 
          put all of the programs straight onto your hard disk,
          you can run them directly from this floppy. In this
          case, we suggest that you make a working copy of
          your original disk with the DOS DISKCOPY command and
          keep your original somewhere safe as a back-up.
          
          For more information about setting up and starting
          the programs, see the "Tech Notes" document.
          
          Program summary
          ---------------
          The utilities on this disk cover a wide variety of 
          tasks... you may not need them all but you're sure 
          to find some useful ones. This summary lists the 
          programs in general categories so that you can quickly 
          see what facilities are available and which programs 
          are of most interest to you. Remember even if you 
          don't need a particular program now, you may find 
          it's just what need in future so it's worth getting 
          familiar with the programs.
          
          --- General utilities ---
          COMPUTE             Command-line calculator
          CONCEAL             Blank screen & hide files
          HUGECALC (HC)       254-digit calculator
          LOCK & UNLOCK       Encrypt sensitive files
          LOG                 Track computer usage
          PCSORT              Fast, versatile SORT utility
          SNAPSHOT            Capture and recall screens
          TED                 Compact full-screen text editor
          
          --- Disk & File utilities ---
          ATTR               Set file attributes
          BAC                Handy back-up program
          DDIR               2 column DIR listing
          DSCAN              Check for bad sectors
          
          Introduction                                      Page 2
          
          
          FFF                Fast file finder
          FREE               Report disk free space
          FSIZE              Report actual disk space used
          LOCATE             Search for word or phrase
          PRUNE              Rearrange and tidy directories
          RED                Quickly move a file
          RENDIR             Rename a directory
          WIPE               Permanently delete a file
          XDEL               Delete selected files
          
          --- DOS command and batch file utilities ---
          ALIAS              Command line editing and recall
          BAT2EXEC           Compile batch files to .COM programs
          CDX                Enhanced change directory command
          NO                 Run command on all files except...
          PUSHDIR & POPDIR   Save and restore current directory
          SWEEP              Run command in all sub-directories
          WAITASEC           Scroll back DOS screen
          
          --- Keyboard utilities ---
          KEY-FAKE           Simulate user keystrokes
          ONEKEY             Simple keyboard macros
          TYPEFAST & TPFST-AT Keyboard repeat speed-up
          
          --- Printer utilities ---
          LPTPORT             Swap LPT1 and LPT2 over
          PCBOOK              Print booklets on LaserJet printers
          PP                  Print text files neatly
          PRSWAP              ASCII-only printer filter
          
          Tech notes                                        Page 1
          
          
          Tech Notes
          PC Magazine Utilities Disk Volume 1
          -------------------------------------------------------
          
          This document provides general advice for using and
          setting up the PC Magazine utilities on this disk. 
          It is divided into these sections...
          
            1. Disk contents
          
            2. Installing the programs
          
                   Installing the programs from DOS
          
                   Saving hard disk space
          
                   Working on a floppy-only PC
          
                   Putting the programs in your DOS command PATH
          
                   Loading programs from AUTOEXEC.BAT
          
                   Using TSR (memory-resident) programs
          
            3. Viewing and printing the documentation
          
            4. Customizing the utilities
          
                   Tables of scan codes  (SS)
                             shift masks (MM)
                             color values
                             sound values
          
          1. Disk contents
          ================
          This disk contains the following files. These are
          stored in the root directory as normal and are 
          ready to use. Files marked * are part of the 
          installation and documentation programs rather
          than the utilities themselves. 
          
           ALIAS    COM  ALIAS program
           ATTR     COM  ATTR program
           BAC      COM  BAC program
           BAT2EXEC COM  BAT2EXEC program
           CDX      COM  CDX program
           COMPUTE  COM  COMPUTE program
           CONCEAL  COM  CONCEAL program
           DDIR     COM  DDIR program
          *DOC      EXE  Documentation viewer
           DSCAN    EXE  DSCAN program
           FFF      EXE  FFF program
           FREE     COM  FREE program
           FSIZE    COM  FSIZE program
          *GO       EXE  Install program
           HC       EXE  HC program
           KEY-FAKE COM  KEY-FAKE program
           LOCATE   COM  LOCATE program
           LOCK     COM  LOCK program
           LOG      COM  LOG program
          
          Tech notes                                        Page 2
          
          
           LPTPORT  COM  LPTPORT program
          *MANUALS1 TXT  Documentation file
           NO       COM  No program
           ONEKEY   BAS  ONEKEY program
           PCBOOK   EXE  PCBOOK program
          *PCLOGO   EXE  PC Magazine logo display
           PCSORT   COM  PCSORT program
           POPDIR   COM  POPDIR program
           PP       COM  PP program
           PRSWAP   COM  PRSWAP program
           PRUNE    COM  PRUNE program
           PUSHDIR  COM  PUSHDIR program
           RED      COM  RED program
           RENDIR   COM  RENDIR program
           SNAPSHOT BAS  SNAPSHOT program
           SWEEP    COM  SWEEP program
           TED      COM  TED program
           TPFST-AT COM  TPFST-AT program
           TYPEFAST COM  TYPEFAST program
           UNLOCK   COM  UNLOCK program
           WAITASEC COM  WAITASEC program
           WIPE     COM  WIPE program
           XDEL     COM  XDEL program
          
          2. Installing the programs
          ==========================
          To install these programs to a hard disk, use the
          install program provided (started by typing GO).
          Around 350K of free space is required for all of
          the programs and documentation... this will be
          checked for you automatically. 
          
          The install program initially offers to install the
          programs to a new directory on drive C called PCVOL1.
          (C:\PCVOL1). 
          
          If you wish to use a different directory or a
          different hard disk, simply type in a new name. For
          example, enter D:\PCMAG to put the programs into a
          PCMAG directory on your D drive.
          
          You can name an existing directory if you prefer in
          which case the install program will add the new 
          programs to any files already there.
          
          Once you've entered the directory name, disk space is 
          checked and then the files are copied across. 
          
          After installation is complete, you can return to the
          opening menu (for example, to view the documentation)
          or go straight to the new directory.
          
          Installing the programs from DOS
          --------------------------------
          You can install all of the programs or just selected
          ones using the DOS COPY command in the normal way.
          For example, to add the file PP.COM to your 
          normal C:\UTILS directory, enter a command such as
          
          
          Tech notes                                        Page 3
          
          
             COPY A:\PP.COM C:\UTILS
          
          If you do this, you might also want to copy the
          files DOC.EXE and MANUALS1.TXT to a suitable 
          directory so that you have the documentation to hand.
          
          Saving hard disk space
          ----------------------
          If you are short of hard disk space, you can remove
          those utilities you are not using from your hard
          disk with the DOS DEL command in the normal way.
          You may also want to delete the documentation files
          (DOC.EXE and MANUALS1.TXT) as you can always print
          out those parts you need or use the original floppy
          when you need to refer to it.
          
          Working on a floppy-only PC
          ---------------------------
          If you do not have a hard disk, we suggest that you
          make a working copy of this disk using the DOS
          DISKCOPY command. You can work directly from this 
          copy or use the COPY command to copy those programs 
          you require onto your startup disk or other working
          disks as necessary. For example:
          
            COPY B:PP.COM A:
          
            ...copies PP.COM from this disk to a disk in drive A
          
            A:TED
          
            ...runs the TED program from this disk in drive A
          
            B:
            LPTPORT
          
            ... starts the LPTPORT program from this disk in drive
            B by first changing to drive B.
          
          Putting the programs in your DOS command PATH
          ---------------------------------------------
          You can start the utility programs by either:
          
             Changing to the drive and directory they are
             in and then entering the relevant command.
             For example:
          
             C:
             CD \PCVOL1
             TED
          
          or 
          
             Giving the relevant drive and directory 
             before the command name (DOS 3.xx and
             later only). For example:
          
             C:\PCVOL1\TED
          
          
          Tech notes                                        Page 4
          
          
          However, it's easier if you make the programs
          available from any disk and directory by 
          ensuring that they are in your DOS command
          search path, set with the PATH command. 
          
          You can do this by either:
          
             Adding the directory the utilities are 
             in to your normal PATH command in AUTOEXEC.BAT.
             For example, if the PATH command in your 
             AUTOEXEC.BAT file reads
          
             C:\DOS;C:\UTILS;C:\WINDOWS
          
             you might change it to read
          
             C:\DOS;C:\UTILS;C:\WINDOWS;C:\PCVOL1
          
             You should be careful when making changes to
             AUTOEXEC.BAT not to disturb other commands
             already in it. See your DOS manual for full
             instructions.
          
          or
          
             Copying those programs you use often to a
             directory already in your PATH command. Many
             PCs already have a directory called C:\BIN or 
             C:\UTILS for small utility programs like these.
             For example, if you have a C:\BIN directory on 
             drive C and use the DSCAN program often, 
             copy it across with a command like this:
          
             COPY C:\PCVOL1\DSCAN.EXE C:\BIN
          
          Loading programs from AUTOEXEC.BAT
          ----------------------------------
          Many of these utilities are designed to be loaded or
          run whenever your PC is working by placing the
          relevant command in the AUTOEXEC.BAT startup file.
          Before doing this, we recommend that you test the
          utilities out by loading them from the command line
          as normal to ensure that they operate correctly
          with your other software.
          
          Please bear in mind:
          
          * The program file must be available for
            AUTOEXEC.BAT to load it. If it is not
            in a directory already named in a PATH
            command earlier in AUTOEXEC.BAT, you 
            must give the drive and directory where
            it is stored (e.g. C:\PCVOL1\PRSWAP) 
            or copy the file to the root directory
            of the hard disk.
          
          
          Tech notes                                        Page 5
          
          
          * The order in which resident programs are
            loaded can be significant. If there appears
            to be a conflict, try re-ordering the lines
            in AUTOEXEC.BAT.
          
          * If your AUTOEXEC.BAT file starts a particular
            program or menu system running, the command
            to do so will normally be the last in the
            file... add any commands to load TSR programs
            before it.
          
          * Always keep a startup floppy to hand and
            a back-up copy of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file
            so that if problems arise you can restore
            things to normal.
          
          Using TSR (memory-resident) programs
          ------------------------------------
          Many of these utilities are 'TSRs' or memory-resident
          programs. These load into memory when first started
          and remain there, either operating invisibly or 
          waiting to be called up.
          
          TSR programs are very popular and those on this disk
          are carefully written and fully tested. However, the
          design of DOS means that there is always a chance of
          conflict between different TSR programs or between a
          TSR and your main software. 
          
          To avoid problems, please note:
          
          1. You should carefully test any new TSR program
             on your system before using it while doing 
             your normal work.
          
          2. Each TSR uses up memory. If you load too many
             at once, your normal software may not be 
             able to run or may perform poorly.
          
          3. If you discover a conflict, loading the TSRs
             in a different order may resolve it.
          
          4. You can change the 'hotkey' used to call up 
             many of the TSRs on this disk to avoid a conflict
             with your other programs. See the manual
             for the program in question and the notes and 
             tables below. 
          
          3. Viewing and printing the documentation
          -----------------------------------------
          The documentation for these programs is supplied in a
          plain ASCII text file called MANUALS1.TXT. You can
          view or print this file using normal DOS facilities
          (such as TYPE, MORE and PRINT) or third-party
          products such as most word processor or text editor 
          programs.
          
          
          Tech notes                                        Page 6
          
          
          However, since MANUALS1.TXT contains multiple documents
          you will probably find it most convenient to view or
          print it using the DOC.EXE program supplied. 
          
          To start DOC after installation, change to the 
          drive and directory where you installed the disk to
          (e.g. enter C: then CD \PCVOL1) and then enter DOC.
          
          For full information on using DOC, see the document
          entitled DOC.
          
          4. Customizing the utilities
          ----------------------------
          Most of these utilities are compact assembly language
          .COM programs to make them small, fast and efficient.
          This means that many of the programs do not include
          built-in configuration options.
          
          However, if you're experienced with DEBUG, you can
          'patch' the programs to customize their operation.
          The manual for each program will describe the ways
          in which it can be customized but typically you 
          can do so to:
          
          *  Customize the screen colors the program uses
             (if the display is hard to read on your screen).
          
          *  Change the 'hotkey' used by one of the TSR 
             programs to avoid a conflict with your other
             software.
          
          *  Change defaults such as sorting order, size of
             records and so on.
          
          To customize a utility, follow this general procedure
          in conjunction with the manual for the program. (You 
          SHOULD NOT ATTEMPT this if you are not confident about
          using DEBUG as a mistake may stop the program from
          working or even crash your PC.)
          
          1. Always MAKE A COPY of the .COM file for the program
             in question as a back-up. For example, enter 
          
             COPY POP-CAL.COM ORIGCAL.COM
          
          2. Start DEBUG with the name of the program to modify. 
             You must have the DOS DEBUG program available for 
             this to work. For example, enter
          
             DEBUG POP-CAL.COM
          
             DEBUG loads the file and presents a - prompt.
          
          3. Use the DEBUG E command to modify the areas of
             the program as described in its documentation.
          
          
          Tech notes                                        Page 7
          
          
             For example, the hotkey for POP-CAL can be
             changed by entering a new keyboard scan code at
             location 174. If we wanted to use Alt-P rather
             than Alt-C we can see from the scan code (SS) table 
             below that we need to change this to code 19. 
          
             This can then be entered in DEBUG with:
          
             E174 19
          
          4. After making all the necessary changes, save the
             file back onto disk with the W command. Enter
          
             W
          
          5. Now leave DEBUG. Enter
          
             Q
          
          6. Now load and test out the new program. If it no
             longer works, delete it, restore your back-up
             copy (e.g. COPY ORIGCAL.COM POP-CAL.COM) 
             and then try again.
          
          The tables below list the values necessary for
          customizing colors and hotkeys.
          
                       Keyboard scan codes 
                       for alternative hotkeys
                       (Values for SS)
                       -----------------------
          
                   Scan                    Scan
          Key      Code (hex)    Key       Code (hex)
          -------- ----------    --------- ----------    
          Esc       01           Z          2C
          1 !       02           X          2D
          @ 2       03           C          2E
          # 3       04           V          2F
          $ 4       05           B          30
          % 5       06           N          31
          ^ 6       07           M          32
          & 7       08           < ,        33
          * 8       09           > .        34
          ( 9       0A           ? /        35
          ) 0       0B           R Shift    36
          _ -       0C           PrtSc *    37
          + =       0D           Alt        38
          Bkspace   0E           Spacebar   39
          Tab       0F           CapsLk     3A
          Q         10           F1         3B
          W         11           F2         3C
          E         12           F3         3D
          R         13           F4         3E
          T         14           F5         3F
          Y         15           F6         40
          U         16           F7         41
          I         17           F8         42
          O         18           F9         43
          P         19           F10        44
          
          Tech notes                                        Page 8
          
          
          { [       1A           NumLock    45
          } ]       1B           ScrlLk     46
          Enter     1C           7 Home     47
          Ctrl      1D           8 UpArr    48
          A         1E           9 PgUp     49
          S         1F           -          4A
          D         20           4 LArrow   4B
          F         21           5          4C
          G         22           6 RArrow   4D
          H         23           +          4E
          J         24           1 End      4F
          K         25           2 DnArr    50
          L         26           3 PgDn     51
          : ;       27           0 Ins      52
          " '       28           . Del      53
          `         29           SysReq     54
          L Shift   2A           F11        57
          | \       2B           F12        58
          
                       Shift Mask codes
                       for alternative hotkeys
                       (Values for MM)
                       -----------------------
          
              Value  Alt  Ctrl  L-Shift  R-Shift
              -----  ---  ----  -------  -------
                0
                1                           X
                2                  X
                3                  X        X
                4           X
                5           X               X
                6           X      X
                7           X      X        X
                8     X
                9     X                     X
                A     X            X
                B     X            X        X
                C     X     X
                D     X     X               X
                E     X     X      X
                F     X     X      X        X 
          
          X signifies that this key must pressed. For example,
          to use Left Shift and Right Shift for the hotkey, 
          the value to use for MM would be 3.
          
                       Color values
                       ------------
                       Black     0     
                       Blue      1     
                       Green     2     
                       Cyan      3     
                       Red       4     
                       Magenta   5     
                       Brown     6     
          
          Tech notes                                        Page 9
          
          
                       Lt Gray   7     
                       Dark Gray 8
                       Lt Blue   9
                       Lt Green  A
                       Lt Cyan   B
                       Orange    C
                       Violet    D
                       Yellow    E
                       White     F
          
          A full color value is two hex digits, the first
          for the background color and the second for the 
          foreground. For example, bright white on a dark
          blue background is 1F. Do not choose light colors
          (values larger than 7) for the background as it 
          will produce a blinking display in most of the
          programs.

