Category : Alternate Operating Systems - Quarterdeck DesqView, CP/M, etc
Archive   : QWHITE13.ZIP
Filename : LOTUS3.TEC

ID:L3 Lotus 1-2-3 Release 3
Quarterdeck Technical Note #162 Filename: LOTUS3.TEC
by Stan Young CompuServe: LOTUS3.TEC
Last revised: 2/11/92 Category: SW3

Subject: Information on running Lotus 1-2-3 Release 3 in DESQview on 286 and
386 machines, with or without expanded memory.


Lotus 1-2-3 Release 3 is one of a new generation of DOS applications that use
what has become known as "DOS extender technology." DOS extenders allow DOS
applications to access extended memory on either 286 or 386 based machines.

Normally "Protected mode" programs, which make use of extended memory for both
data and program code could be a problem for DESQview. But since Lotus
Release 3 follows the Virtual Control Program Interface (VCPI) standard, it is
compatible with DESQview and can actually take advantage of the memory
management provided by our 386 expanded memory manager, QEMM-386, which also
supports the VCPI.

First here are a few notes on the specifics of setup on given hardware:

On 286 Machines

Extended Memory Requirement:

Lotus specifies 384K extended as the minimum. However, if you have a large
amount of DOS memory and perhaps some expanded memory available, the figure
may be much lower. We have loaded Lotus 3 on a machine with a 1 Meg expanded
memory board and 128K of extended memory where our QEXT.SYS driver was already
using 64K of the extended. If you have 384K or more of extended memory, there
are no special considerations except to load QEXT.SYS first in your CONFIG.SYS
file and to avoid using up the free extended memory with a cache or VDISK.

Expanded Memory Systems:

On 286 machines with expanded memory, Lotus recommends disabling the expanded
memory and converting it to extended memory. However, our tests show that 1-2-
3 Rel. 3 sees Conventional, Extended, and/or Expanded memory as memory that it
can use. As long as you have a 600K total of free conventional, plus extended
memory, it seems that 1-2-3 can use expanded for the rest. This may be of
considerable benefit to DESQview users who run a range of programs in addition
to 1-2-3.

Running Multiple Copies of "DOS Extended" programs:

Versions of DESQview prior to 2.26 limit you to running one program that uses
extended memory at a time on a 286. However, if you have DESQview 2.26 or
above and the program you are running allocates extended memory using XMS
(Extended Memory Specification) as 1-2-3 version 3.0 and above do, this
limitation does not apply. Assuming you have enough extended memory
available, it is possible to run multiple Lotus 3 programs, or Lotus 3 with
other DOS extended programs, as long as they allocate their memory using XMS
calls. Naturally, you can run Lotus 3 along side other programs that use
conventional or expanded memory.

Writes directly to screen:

1-2-3 Release 3 writes directly to screen, often in graphics mode, and the
DESQview loader for the previous version of 1-2-3 cannot be used. You must
have the window configured to "Writes directly to screen" = Y. 1-2-3 cannot
be run in a small window or in background on a 286 without bleeding through to
foreground screens.

On 386 Machines

Outside of DESQview:

Outside of DESQview on a 386, Release 3 can allocate ALL of its memory from
QEMM. There is no need to reserve ANY extended memory for Lotus Release 3.
In fact, Release 3 will use either reserved extended memory OR memory from the
QEMM memory pool, but not both. So if you are reserving any extended memory
using the "EXT" parameter to QEMM to support disk caches, or VDISKs, be sure
that all of the memory is used by these utilities. Otherwise, it will be
wasted.

At this point, it is worth noting that all the memory that Lotus Release 3
allocates from the QEMM memory pool is used as extended memory, not expanded
memory. This is because both Lotus 1-2-3 Release 3 and QEMM support the VCPI.
The use of the memory, once allocated, does not demand any of the normal
overhead to support expanded memory paging. It becomes linear memory to
1-2-3.

Inside DESQview:

Windowing 1-2-3 Release 3.0: On EGA and VGA displays, using the default Lotus
configuration, you cannot run Release 3 in a small window. The default
configuration sets Lotus up to run in graphics mode and it writes directly to
screen from protected mode. DESQview 386 cannot virtualize protected mode
graphics as it can standard DOS graphics. If you want Release 3 to run in a
small window, configure a video driver set that looks for both a CGA driver
and the EGA or VGA driver. The CGA driver will run the standard spreadsheet
display in text mode, which can be virtualized. Since Lotus allows you to
switch video drivers on the fly by typing "/", "W(orksheet)", "W(indow)",
"D(isplay)", and selecting a driver, it is possible to start with a default
graphics or text display and switch the display when you either want graphics,
or want windowing. 1-2-3 Release 3.1: If you give Lotus 1-2-3 Release 3.1
the parameter -c (on color monitors) or -m (on monochrome monitors), the
guidelines in the above paragraph on Release 3.0 also apply to Release 3.1.
The -c and -m parameter prevent 1-2-3 from putting up its graphics logo when
booting up; without one of these parameters, DESQview cannot virtualize
Release 3.1's text modes. All the "-c" or "-m" parameter does is disable the
posting of the graphics "1-2-3" logo: it does not disable any other video
function of 1-2-3.

It also appears that, if Release 3.1 is not given the -c parameter and one of
1-2-3's CGA video drivers is used, Release 3.1 accesses the B000-B7FF region
on systems with color monitors. This often results in a crash when exiting
Release 3.1 inside DESQview. The -c parameter prevents this undesired access.
You could exclude B000-B7FF as an alternative, but this would cost you 32K of

high RAM.

Special Notes for All Systems

Avoid using "Close Window": It is important when running Lotus 1-2-3 Release
3 in DESQview on a 286, or on a 386 with a version of QEMM-386 earlier than
5.12, to avoid closing the window with the DESQview "Close Window" command.
If you do, the memory it was using cannot be recovered. Therefore, you need
to exit Lotus Release 3 by its own commands so it can deallocate the memory it
is using. It is recommended when running in DESQview that the Lotus Release 3
window always have the "Allow Close Window command" option set to "N" unless
you are also using QEMM-386 version 5.12 or later. If you use DESQview's
Close Window command on 1-2-3 Release 3 and lose control of the memory that 1-
2-3 had allocated, you must close out your programs, quit DESQview and reboot
your machine to recover the memory.

Screen blank: Lotus Release 3 blanks the screen in protected mode after
displaying its registration screen. This will cause the entire screen to go
blank for several seconds, even on a 386, while 1-2-3 loads. This is normal.
Don't assume your machine has hung up and reboot. It will eventually load and
the screen will be restored.

Refreshing the screen: Some earlier versions of DESQview may not be able to
restore the 1-2-3 screen fully when you switch away and return to 1-2-3. If
this happens, you can restore the Lotus screen by reselecting the current
video driver as described above.

Release 3.1: Release 3.1 handles the keyboard in a more unorthodox manner
than version 3.0, and requires special provisions to run properly inside
DESQview. Ideally, you should use the DESQview loader L4-LOAD.COM (available
on the Quarterdeck Bulletin Board, or on the disk of DESQview releases after
version 2.32) to run Release 3.1 inside DESQview. Without the L4-LOAD.COM
loader, it is necessary to run the DESQview Change a Program and set the
"Keyboard Conflict" field to 8. This option is less desirable than the first,
because setting Keyboard Conflict to 8 slows the processing of keyboard
interrupts, and on some systems results in keyboard problems. (The most
common symptom associated with Keyboard Conflict = 8 is the production of
numbers instead of cursor or light bar movements when you use the keys on the
cursor keypad.) If you do not take either of these provisions, your system is
likely to hang when you return to Release 3.1 after switching windows.
Release 3.0 can be run successfully in DESQview without the L4-LOAD.COM loader
and with Keyboard Conflict set to the default setting of 0.

Limiting memory: Lotus 1-2-3 Release 3.0 does not allocate all memory on the
system at startup time. With this release it is not usually necessary to
limit 1-2-3's use of extended memory in DESQview with the "Maximum Expanded
Memory Size" field in Change a Program. (In fact, too small a number in this
field can sometimes confuse the Rational Systems DOS Extender that 1-2-3
Release 3 uses to go into protected mode.) However, Release 3.1 allocates all
memory on the system when it loads, and you should probably place some figure
in the "Maximum Expanded Memory Size" field to leave room for other programs.
If Release 3.1 uses all your memory, you will likely experience a long delay
when you bring up the DESQview menu over Release 3.1, followed by a grey
"graphics curtain" covering the screen beneath the DESQview menu; or, you may
experience frequent "Swapping..." messages in the upper right-hand corner of
the screen when you try to open other programs. The figure that you use to
limit Release 3.1 will vary with your available memory and your spreadsheet
needs; you might start with the number 1024 and make adjustments from that
point.

Configuring the DESQview Setup

The following is a captured Change a Program screen with settings that seem to
work well for Lotus 1-2-3 Release 3.0 in most configurations.

Change a Program

Program Name............: 1-2-3 Rel. 3.0

Keys to Use on Open Menu: L3 Memory Size (in K): 360
----------------------------------------------------------------
Program...: 123.EXE

Parameters:

Directory.: {location of 123 files}
----------------------------------------------------------------
Options:
Writes text directly to screen.......: [Y]
Displays graphics information........: [Y]
Virtualize text/graphics (Y,N,T).....: [T]
Uses serial ports (Y,N,1,2)..........: [N]
Requires floppy diskette.............: [N]

Change a Program Advanced Options

System Memory (in K)...: 0 Maximum Program Memory Size (in K)..:640

Script Buffer Size.....:1000 Maximum Expanded Memory Size (in K): 1312
Text Pages: 1 Graphics Pages: 1 Initial Mode: Interrupts: 00 to FF
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Window Position:
Maximum Height: 25 Starting Height: Starting Row...:
Maximum Width.: 80 Starting Width.: Starting Column:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Shared Program
Pathname..:
Data......:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Close on exit (Y,N,blank)...: [Y] Uses its own colors...............: [Y]
Allow Close Window command..: [N] Runs in background (Y,N,blank)....: [ ]
Uses math coprocessor.......: [Y] Keyboard conflict (0-F)...........: [0]
Share CPU when foreground...: [Y] Share EGA when foreground/zoomed:.: [Y]
Can be swapped out (Y,N,blank).: [ ] Protection level (0-3).........: [0]


Here is a slightly amended version of the above Change a Program menu for use
with Release 3.1 on a color system with the L4-LOAD.COM loader.


Change a Program

Program Name............: 1-2-3 Rel. 3.1

Keys to Use on Open Menu: L3 Memory Size (in K): 360
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Program...: C:\DV\L4-LOAD.COM

Parameters: 123.EXE -C

Directory.: {location of 123 files}
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Options:
Writes text directly to screen.......: [Y]
Displays graphics information........: [Y]
Virtualize text/graphics (Y,N,T).....: [T]
Uses serial ports (Y,N,1,2)..........: [N]
Requires floppy diskette.............: [N]

Change a Program Advanced Options

System Memory (in K).......: 0 Maximum Program Memory Size (in K)..: 640

Script Buffer Size.......: 1000 Maximum Expanded Memory Size (in K): 1312
Text Pages: 1 Graphics Pages: 1 Initial Mode: Interrupts: 00 to FF
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Window Position:
Maximum Height: 25 Starting Height: Starting Row...:
Maximum Width.: 80 Starting Width.: Starting Column:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shared Program
Pathname..:
Data......:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Close on exit (Y,N,blank)......: [Y] Uses its own colors..............: [Y]
Allow Close Window command.....: [N] Runs in background (Y,N,blank)...: [ ]
Uses math coprocessor..........: [Y] Keyboard conflict (0-F)..........: [0]
Share CPU when foreground......: [Y] Share EGA when foreground/zoomed.: [Y]
Can be swapped out (Y,N,blank).: [ ] Protection level (0-3)...........: [0]


Remember that, if you do not have the L4-LOAD.COM loader with Release 3.1, you
must set Keyboard Conflict to 8 instead of 0. Also remember that, if you have
a monochrome system instead of a color system, you should use the -m parameter
instead of the -c parameter.

************************************************************************
*This technical note may be copied and distributed freely as long as it*
*is distributed in its entirety and it is not distributed for profit. *
* Copyright (C) 1991-2 by Quarterdeck Office Systems *
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