Dec 162017
Full Description of File
FASTMENU GOLD v7.0b Desktop/Graphics Menu
A complete desktop application that includes
a full featured hard drive menuing system,
a complete Disk/File/Zip File Utility, a full
featured Address/Phonebook/Dialer, a Calendar
Notepad, 11 Digit Tape Calculater, and a full
featured Text File Editor. Full point and
click mouse support. Totally drops out of
memory during application execution.
A complete desktop application that includes
a full featured hard drive menuing system,
a complete Disk/File/Zip File Utility, a full
featured Address/Phonebook/Dialer, a Calendar
Notepad, 11 Digit Tape Calculater, and a full
featured Text File Editor. Full point and
click mouse support. Totally drops out of
memory during application execution.
Fastmenu GOLD v7.0b Desktop/File Manager/Menu. | |||
---|---|---|---|
File Name | File Size | Zip Size | Zip Type |
BRUN45.EXE | 77440 | 53681 | deflated |
DISCLAIM.DOC | 1992 | 930 | deflated |
FASTFONT.IFO | 2055 | 748 | deflated |
FASTREAD.EXE | 13469 | 12886 | deflated |
FASTTREE.EXE | 5597 | 5249 | deflated |
FASTWORD.EXE | 89819 | 86057 | deflated |
FILE_ID.DIZ | 399 | 264 | deflated |
GOLD.KEY | 142 | 142 | stored |
GOLD001.EXE | 36382 | 35073 | deflated |
GOLD002.EXE | 18679 | 17398 | deflated |
INSTALL.EXE | 38731 | 37350 | deflated |
INVOICE.DOC | 2011 | 574 | deflated |
MANUAL.DOC | 103799 | 24141 | deflated |
README.1ST | 3614 | 1208 | deflated |
REGISTER.DOC | 640 | 352 | deflated |
SDN.ID | 3620 | 1520 | deflated |
SITE.DOC | 2566 | 885 | deflated |
SYSOP.DOC | 2685 | 1230 | deflated |
TPCREAD.ME | 199 | 165 | deflated |
UPDATES.DOC | 4075 | 1552 | deflated |
VGAFAST.EXE | 109546 | 48276 | deflated |
VGAFDIAL.EXE | 15435 | 14742 | deflated |
VGAFDISK.EXE | 160194 | 72629 | deflated |
VGAFEDIT.EXE | 61675 | 56866 | deflated |
VGAFNOTE.EXE | 69499 | 65250 | deflated |
VGAFPHON.EXE | 131116 | 57550 | deflated |
VGAFUTIL.EXE | 81880 | 36983 | deflated |
VGAPASS.EXE | 9755 | 9286 | deflated |
VGASETUP.EXE | 151614 | 66582 | deflated |
Download File GOLD70B.ZIP Here
Contents of the MANUAL.DOC file
FASTMENU GOLD v7.0b Desktop/Graphics Menu
A complete desktop application that includes
a full featured hard drive menuing system,
a complete Disk/File/Zip File Utility, a full
featured Address/Phonebook/Dialer, a Calendar
Notepad, 11 Digit Tape Calculater, and a full
featured Text File Editor. Full point and
click mouse support. Totally drops out of
memory during application execution.
fastmenu GOLD (tm)
Version 7.0b
Copyright (C) 1990-95 by:
jwh: SoftWare
6947 Haggerty Rd
Hillsboro, Ohio 45133
Phone: (513)393-2402
Distributed By:
Kathi J Hildenbrand
jwh:SoftWare
6947 Haggerty Rd
Hillsboro, Ohio 45133
Phone: (513)393-2402
-
Table of contents. Page
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
Why fastmenu GOLD?......................................... 2
Applications Main Menu..................................... 4
Edit Applications Module................................... 5
Setup/Configuration Module................................. 7
Editing the Logo File...................................... 10
Setting up timed application/batch execution............... 10
Installation Instructions.................................. 11
Re-Assigning the Function Key Icons........................ 12
11 Digit Calculator........................................ 12
DOS/Disk Utility........................................... 12
Disk Utility File List Screen.............................. 15
Working with ZIP files..................................... 19
Phone Book/Dialer.......................................... 20
Entering multiple commands at the Command field............ 23
Displaying PCX picture files during screen blanking........ 25
Executing batch files before & after screen blanking....... 25
Sorting Folder Titles or Applications Listed in a Folder... 25
Text/System File Editor.................................... 26
Calendar/Notepad module.................................... 30
The Tab Icon and how it works.............................. 33
Setting up the user ID and logging......................... 33
Executing applications from the Folder Titles page......... 34
Trouble Shooting........................................... 34
New Version and Update Policy.............................. 36
NOTE !!!!! IN ORDER FOR THIS PROGRAM TO OPERATE PROPERLY YOU
MUST HAVE A PATH STATEMENT TO THE ROOT DIRECTORY,
YOUR DOS DIRECTORY, AND THE FASTMENU GOLD
DIRECTORY. THIS PATH STATEMENT SHOULD BE IN YOUR
AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE.
EXAMPLE: PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\GOLD
Page 1
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Over the years that computers have been with us, they have
gone from very large and complicated units to small desktop
and very powerful pieces of equipment. Along with that growth,
computers have become an almost must in every business, school
and now are becoming a standard in most homes. Also the coming
of the ever popular Hard Drive has made computing even more
popular among every computer owner from business to home use.
Storage capacities of Hard Drives have risen from around one
megabyte to now well over 300 megabytes of storage, enabling
the user to store and use numerous applications without the
need of using floppies for every day applications and data
storage.
One problem that has arisen from these very large Hard Drive
units is that it has become very hard for the user to remember
the names of all the directories and the names of all the
executable files that start the different applications that
they have stored on their Hard Drives. Also, in an office or
home situation where there are numerous people that use the
same computer to do different tasks and with different ideas
about how to setup access to their application, a Hard Drive
can become very messy and hard to find your way around in.
Also in most business situations the need for fast access to
applications is becoming more and more important.
As most of us know, since the Hard Drive was born, there has
been numerous menu programs written to help deal with this
problem, from small applications menuing systems to very large
and memory consuming applications. However, there seems to be
a very large gap, the small ones being to small and not
adequate for most needs and the larger windowing systems
needing more computer than most office and home users have at
hand. For this reason fastmenu GOLD was created.
What fastmenu GOLD can do for you:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
o.. Fast one or two key strokes to your applications.
o.. Consumes no memory during applications execution.
o.. Allows up to 80 folders up to 20 applications per folder.
o.. Allows quick editing of the applications lists.
o.. Can be operated with a Mouse.
o.. Built in Auto Mouse Detection.
o.. PassWord protection on any or all outside applications
execution, Module operations and DOS exits.
What you need to run fastmenu GOLD:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
o.. IBM PC/XT/AT or Compatible with DOS 2.2+.
o.. 512Kb of memory.
o.. A Hard Drive and at least one floppy.
o.. VGA Color Card and Monitor.
Page 2
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QUICK INSTALLATION AND STARTUP.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Make a backup copy of your original disk.
2>- Insert your backup disk into any drive.
3>- Move to that drive and type: INSTALL
4>- Follow onscreen instructions to complete the installation.
5>- Make sure you have a PATH statement in your AUTOEXEC.BAT
to your ROOT,DOS, and GOLD directorys.
6>- After installation, type 'GOLD' to start fastmenu GOLD.
7>- Add 'GOLD' as the last line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file if
you want fastmenu GOLD to automatically start when you
turn your computer on.
ADDING A APPLICATION.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- After you have gotten fastmenu GOLD up and running, at the
main menu screen you will see a window with twenty lines
lettered A to T. The letters on these lines will be blue.
These lines represent the folder titles. Before adding any
applications you must first create a folder (some sample
folders may already have been created for you) and give it
a title. To create folder #1, simply press the 'A' key and
at this point you will be given a place to enter the
folder title and then press the enter key.
2>- After entering the title for folder A, you will be taken
to a blank folder A. At this time you will also see two
new prompts, Title and Edit Applications. At this point we
want to add a application to this folder, so choose option
Edit Applications or click your mouse on a blank line.
3>- After selecting the Edit Applications option, you will be
taken to the applications editor. To Add an application,
from the opening menu, select the Add/Edit option by
choosing option 'A'.
4>- After selecting the Add/Edit option, an Applications List
window will be displayed. We will Add an application to
line A, so move the highlight bar to line A, press enter.
5>- After selecting line A, you will be presented with a data
entry screen to fill out. At the first field, enter the
title or name of the application that you want to execute
with this line.
6>- At the Drive field, press the PgDn key and select the
drive that this application resides on. At the directory
field, press the PgDn key and select the directory that
this application resides in. At Run File field, press PgDn
and select the file that runs this application.
Page 3
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7>- If you want this application password protected, enter a
'Y' at the Password field. If you are running DOS Version
3.3 or later, answer the Fast Run field with a 'Y'. If you
want fastmenu GOLD to pause before execution and ask you
for command line parameters, answer the Command Line Parms
field with a 'Y'. NOTE ! If you answer this field with a
'Y' then you must also include a (+) plus sign directly
after the run filename at the Run File Field.
9>- At this time you will be presented with two more fields.
if you enter any information in these fields, it will be
displayed at application execution or exit. If you do not
want any prompt displayed, simply leave these fields
blank. When you are finished with these two fields, press
the Esc key to exit the edit mode.
10>- At this time you may save this entry by pressing the 'S'
key or abort and not save it by pressing the Esc key.
fastmenu GOLD Applications Main Menu.
====================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Exit.............. Selecting this option will exit you to DOS.
NOTE ! If you want, you may have fastmenu GOLD execute a
batch file or application upon exit by clicking
your right mouse button (or CTRL+X) on the Exit
button and filling out the path information.
Y=Setup........... This option should be used the very first
time you use fastmenu GOLD.
Here you will set the program parameters that will make
fastmenu GOLD work properly. This option may be accessed
by pressing the letter 'Y' or by pointing the mouse at
the prompt icon and then pressing the left mouse button.
1 through 6....... Used to access the built-in utilities.
F1 through F10.... Used as hot keys to Applications.
Up-Dn Arrow....... Pressing the up or down arrow keys will
page through the Folder Titles or Folders.
=................. Pressing this icon will access the Folder
or Applications listed on a folder and give
you the option of sorting them.
*................. Pressing this Icon will toggle between the
3D or flat fonts.
?................. Press this Icon to display registration
information.
Tab............... Pressing this Icon will force fastmenu GOLD
into screen blanking.
Page 4
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fastmenu GOLD Edit Applications Module.
======================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ESC=Exit.......... Using this option will return you back to
the fastmenu GOLD main menu.
Add/Edit.......... This option allows you to add or change
programs or applications on this folder.
Any application that can run in DOS can be started or executed
with fastmenu GOLD, either through the applications menu or
through the (S)tart option from the file list menu.
Adding a new application.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Choose option Add/Edit from the edit applications menu
prompt list then from the applications list select the
application or the line that you want to Add/edit. You
will be presented with seven questions to answer.
2>- The first question will be asking you for the title or
name of the program that you want to run. This title or
name can be anything you want it to be, and is only used
as a reference.
3>- The second question will be asking you for the name or
letter of the drive that this program will be running
from. Examples would be: A, B or C. Pressing the PgDn
key will list all available drives on your system.
4>- The third question will be asking you for the name of
the directory that this program is in. Always separate
multiple directory entries with a backslash (\).
Press the PgDn key to list all available directories on
your system.
NOTE ! If you are running this new program from a floppy
and/or the program is in the root directory, just
press at this prompt.
5>- The fourth question will be asking you for the name of
the file that you normally have to type in to run the
program (The executable file). You may also enter any
command line switches or parameters here. This is a
scrollable edit field that allows entering up to 255
characters.
NOTE ! Multiple commands may be entered at this field.
This is explained further later in this manual.
ALSO This file will normally have an extension name
of either .EXE, .COM, or .BAT.
Page 5
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6>- The fifth question will be asking if you want to
password protect this program. If you do not want
password protection, just answer this question with a
'N'. If you want password protection for this program,
answer this question with a 'Y'.
7>- The sixth question will be asking if you want to use the
Fast Load method of launching this application. This
method is recommended, but may cause some problems with
early versions of DOS.
8>- The seventh question will be asking if you want fastmenu
GOLD to pause before execution of this application so
you may enter a variable DOS command line parameter.
9>- At this time you will be presented with two more fields.
If you enter any information in either of these fields
it will be displayed with a pause during application
execution or exit. If you do not want any prompt
displayed, simply leave the field blank.
After completing these fields, and pressing Esc, you will be
asked either (Y)es or (N)o to saving the changes. Pressing
the 'S' key will save this entry to disk.
11>- At this time, if you chose to password protect this
program, you will be given a place to enter the
password that you want to use to access this program.
You are allowed up to six characters or numbers in this
password. After entering this password, you will be
prompted to verify it's validity.
CAUTION !!! Be sure to remember this password, it cannot
be removed from a program listing unless you
know the password. This password is totally
scrambled before it is written to file and
would be very hard to unscramble.
Delete App's...... This option is used to delete or remove an
existing application.
Deleting a listing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Choose option Delete application from the menu list.
2>- After choosing this option, all applications listed on
this page will be listed to screen. Select the one that
you want to delete with the highlight bar and then press
enter. You will be asked to verify your delete
List.............. This option will list to screen, all
applications or programs that are on this
page.
Edit Title........ This option will allow you to change the
Title or Name that is presently being used
used for this page.
Page 6
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Delete This Folder.. Choose this option if you want to delete
this page from the menu.
Update Directory Tree.. This option will update the directory
tree list that you see when you press
the PgDn key to list the directories.
Password Protection
for this Folder...... Selecting this option will give you the
option for entering or removing password
protection for this entire Folder.
fastmenu GOLD Setup Module.
==========================:>
This module offers several options for customizing fastmenu
GOLD.
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ESC=Quit.......... This option will return you to the fastmenu
applications menu.
A >-- Select System Fonts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will take you to a screen with all
available fonts listed for your selection. Select a font by
clicking your left mouse button on the desired font or press
the letter associated with the desired font.
B >-- Setup Default program parameters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SUB MENU
~~~~~~~~
A >- Default Path (Fax/Text File Editor)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will allow you to setup a default
drive and directory that the fax/text file editor will use
at startup.
B >- Default Filespec (Fax/Text File Editor)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will allow you to set a default file
spec that the fax/text file editor will use.
C >- Default Path (Phonebook/Dialer)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will allow you to set a default path
for the Phonebook/Dialer to use.
D >- Default Path (Calendar/Notepad)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will allow you to set a default path
for the Calendar/Notepad to use.
Page 7
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E >- Folder/Applications Sort Option (ON/OFF)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will give you the option of turning
on or off the ability to sort the folders or applications
listed in a folder from the main menu screen.
F >- Display Logo At Screen Blanking (ON/OFF)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will give you the option of turning
on or off the display of the logo during screen blanking.
G >- Setup Automatic Execution At Startup
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will provide you with a input screen
that you may type in the Title, Drive, Directory, and Run
File of the application you want executed at fastmenu GOLD
startup. If you setup an application at this screen, it
will be executed at startup and after exeting this
application you will be returned to fastmenu GOLD.
H >- Edit/Change The Default Command Line Parms Prompt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will display the default command
line parms prompt in a editing field. You may edit or
change this prompt to read any thing you want. This prompt
is the prompt that is displayed to the user if thay have
selected an application from the main menu that has been
setup to ask the user for command line parms.
I >- Display Prompt Before & After Execution (On/Off)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
During execution of an application, fastmenu GOLD displays
a user prompt message telling the user the name of the
application being executed, after exiting the application,
another prompt message is displayed telling the user,
Returning to fastmenu GOLD Please Wait !!. These prompts
can be turned off with this option.
C >-- Add/Edit/Delete System Passwords
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A >- Password Protect Exit To DOS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may exit
fastmenu GOLD and go to DOS with or without a password.
B >- Password Protect The Setup Module
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may enter
the Setup module with or without a password.
C >- Password Protect The Edit Applications or F keys
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may enter
the Edit Applications Module or edit any of the function
key applications with or without a password.
Page 8
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D >- Password Protect The Calendar NotePad Module.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may
access the calendar notepad.
E >- Password Protect The Address/PhoneBook Module.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may
access the address/phonebook.
F >- Password Protect The DOS/Disk/Zip Utility Module.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may
access the DOS/Disk/Zip utility.
G >- Password Protect The Text/System File Edit Module.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may
access the Text/System file edit.
H >- Password Protect The 11 Digit Tape Calculator Module.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may
access the 11 Digit Calculator Tape.
I >- Setup User ID And Activity Logging
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup ID and password protection at
startup of fastmenu GOLD. This option also provides user
activity logging options. More detail is given on these
options later in this manual.
D >--- Update Directory Tree Files at Startup
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you answer this option with a 'N', fastmenu GOLD will
startup much faster, skipping the opening screen and updating
the directory tree files. You will need to update the
directory tree files manually if any directory maintenance is
done outside the fastmenu GOLD environment.
E >- Toggle Screen Blanking On/Off
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to select whether you want screen blanking or
not. This option will present you with one question that can
be answered by either a 'Y' if you want screen blanking.
NOTE ! fastmenu GOLD can also be setup to display PCX picture
files during screen blanking. This option is explained
in more detail later in this manual.
ALSO ! This screen blanking only has an effect on fastmenu
GOLD's main menu screen and will not interrupt your
applications in any way. During screen blanking, a
logo will dance around on your screen, letting you
know that fastmenu GOLD is ready to go at any time by
pressing any key on your keyboard or moving the mouse.
Page 9
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If you have chosen to use the screen blanking option,
you will then be asked to enter the amount of time
(seconds) that fastmenu GOLD waits before going into
screen blanking. The time can be any number of seconds
between 1 and 999.
F >------- Set Opening Screen Mode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
fastmenu GOLD will run in either of two screen modes.
Mode 1 >- In this mode fastmenu GOLD will display the page
titles on the first screen, at startup.
Mode 2 >- In this mode fastmenu GOLD will display any of the
application folders on the first screen, at startup.
You may select the folder that is first displayed.
When you select option 'F' from this setup menu, you will be
asked if you want the folder titles displayed first. If you
answer this prompt with a 'N', then you will also be asked to
enter the folder title number that you want displayed at
startup. You may enter any folder number between 1 and 40.
G >----------- Edit User Logo File
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to edit or change the FASTLOGO.IFO file. This
file contains the information that you will see moving about
during screen blanking. Also the information in this file is
listed to screen on the main menu. After choosing this option
you will be presented with a screen that has this file listed
in a small editing window. You may make any changes you want
to this file and then press F1 to Save or Esc to exit.
H >-------- View User Activity/Password Log File
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to view the user ID and password log files. If
you have chosen to have any of the passwords logged, then they
will be listed in this file.
I >------ Delete User ID and Password Log Files
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to delete or completely remove all logged
user ID or password use. You will be presented with a list of
these log files to choose from. You will be prompted to verify
your choice.
J >--- Timed Application execution
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will take you to a menu where you may
select any timed event to create or edit from A to J (10). If
you want to setup a new timed event, just select a blank line
and you will be asked to give a description for this event.
After entering the description, you will see it listed as a
selection, just select it and you will be taken to the timed
event editor.
Page 10
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Selecting this option will open a window with data fields for
you to fill in. At the first field, enter the time in 12 hr
format (civilian time) that you want the application or batch
file executed.
NOTE ! From midnight to 12:59 afternoon is considered AM and
from 12:59 afternoon to 11:59 afternoon is considered
PM.
At the Date field enter the date that you want this
application or batch file to be executed.
NOTE ! If you want this execution to be on a daily basis,
leave this Date field completely blank. Then answer
the Yes/No weekday prompts to tell fastmenu on what
days you want this application/batch file to be run.
At the remaining three fields, enter the Drive, Path, and the
name of the executable file. After completing all fields,
press the Esc key to exit then press the 'S' key to save them.
At this field, you are allowed to enter multiple commands up
to 255 characters in length.
fastmenu GOLD installation instructions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE ! Before you install fastmenu GOLD I strongly recommend
that you make backup copies of your original disk.
Consult your DOS manual on making backup copies or
using DISKCOPY on your machine.
fastmenu GOLD is not a complicated program to setup and does
not require a lot of work to get running. The following three
steps is all that is needed to insure proper operation.
1>- Insert your fastmenu backup/distribution disk into any
drive, move to that drive and type: INSTALL.
Follow on-screen instructions to install fastmenu GOLD.
2>- Make sure your AUTOEXEC.BAT file contains a path statement
to the ROOT, DOS, and GOLD directories on your hard drive
An example of the path statement: PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\GOLD
3>- If you want fastmenu GOLD to startup automatically, add to
the end of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file the following line: GOLD
NOTE ! This line must be the last line in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
This should complete the setup procedure for fastmenu GOLD.
Page 11
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Assigning applications to the function key prompts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To assign a application to one of the function key prompts,
simply press the Ctrl key plus the corresponding function key
down or click the right mouse button on the function key
prompt. If the Function Key button is currently blank, you
may simply click your left mouse button on it.
fastmenu GOLD 11 Digit Calculator.
=================================:>
This calculator works somewhat different than most people are
used to, in that you first need to enter a number and then
enter the operator. To start a calculation you first need to
type in the first number and then press the enter key then
enter the second number followed by the operand. Continue a
chain calculation by entering the number and then the operand.
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BackSp............ This option will delete the number at the
cursor location and move the cursor left
one position.
1 to 0............ This option will enter the chosen number to
the calculator.
/................. This option is used to divide numbers.
*................. This option is used to multiply numbers.
-................. This option is used to subtract numbers.
+................. This option is used to add numbers.
Enter............. This option is used to end a calculation.
P................. This option toggles printer on/off.
Up Arrow.......... Use this key to enter numbers to memory.
Down Arrow........ Use this key to pull numbers from memory.
C................. Press this key to clear the tap.
M................. Press this key to clear memory.
DOS/Disk/Zip File Utility Module.
===============================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Format Diskettes.. Use this option to format new diskettes or
floppies.
Page 12
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NOTE ! For reasons of compatibility between computers, this
program uses the standard DOS format program found
in your DOS directory. For proper operation, your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file must contain the path to your DOS
files.
Formatting diskettes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- After choosing the Format Diskettes option, you will
be asked to choose whether you want to format a Non
Systems Disk or DOS Systems Disk (Boot Disk). If you
choose to format a systems disk, after the format
process, the necessary DOS files will be copied to it,
creating a bootable DOS diskette.
2>- After choosing the format type you will be asked to
choose the drive that you want to format from.
3>- After choosing the drive you will be presented with
four more options.
A>- The first option in this list will be used if you
want to format a disk to the same capacity that
is standard for your disk drive unit.
B>- The second option in this list will be used if you
have a high density 1.2 Meg 5 1/4in. drive and you
want to format a low density 360Kb disk.
C>- The third option in this list will be used if you
have a high density 1.5 Meg 3 1/2in. drive and you
want to format a low density 720Kb disk.
D>- The fourth option will be used if you want to type
in a format switch. You will be presented with a
user input field for editing the format command
and command switches.
4>- After choosing the format density you will be asked
to insert a disk in the chosen drive and press any
key to begin formatting.
Single Pass DiskCopy. Use this option to copy a floppy disk in
one pass without the need of switching
disks back and forth during the copy of
high density disks.
File Maintenance..... Use this option if you want to perform
any of the following: Copy, Delete,
Rename, View, Edit, or Start files. You
may also do directory maintenance from
this option.
1>- After choosing this option, you will be asked to choose
the drive that you want to perform file maintenance on.
Page 13
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2>- After choosing the drive, fastmenu GOLD will check the
drive to see if it has any directories. Select the
directory you want and then press enter. At this time
you will be presented with the file list that was found
on this drive. If no files are found you will be
returned to the directory menu. Choosing a directory is
done by moving the highlight bar to the directory you
want with the Up and Down arrow keys and then pressing
the enter key.
3>- After choosing the directory, you will be taken to the
file list menu. Help with the file list options can be
found later in this manual.
Creating a new Directory from the Directory Tree screen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After choosing the File Maintenance option, you will be asked
asked to choose the drive that you want to work with. After
choosing the drive you will be taken to the directory tree
screen. From the directory tree screen, you will move the
highlight bar to the location that you want this new directory
placed. You can do this by moving the highlight bar up or down
the directory tree and then pressing enter.
NOTE ! To place a new directory from the root directory, you
will want to highlight the ROOT option on the
directory tree list. If you want to place a new
subdirectory off from an existing directory, just
highlight that directory.
After choosing the directory location, press the 'C' key,
enter the name of the new directory and then press enter.
Deleting Existing Directories from the Directory Tree Screen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option can be reached from the Directory Tree Screen,
after choosing the File Maintenance option from the DOS/Disk
Utility Menu and the drive from the Drive Menu.
NOTE ! A directory cannot be deleted without first deleting
any files it may contain.
Choose the directory that you want to delete by moving the
highlight bar to that directory then press the 'D' key. You
will be asked to verify your choice.
Renaming Existing Directories from the Directory Tree Screen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Select the directory that you want to rename by moving the
highlight bar to that directory and then press the 'R' key.
You will be presented with the directory name in an editor
field, simply edit the existing name and then press enter.
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Printing the Directory list to your printer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the directory tree screen, you may choose to send a copy
of this directory tree information to your printer by pressing
the 'P' key.
NOTE ! You must have your printer connected to port LPT1.
Sorting the directory tree screen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting the Sort option from the directory tree screen will
present you with a scrolling menu that allows selecting
whether you want the directory list sorted or not.
NOTE ! Sorting this directory tree list does not change how
your directories are actually list on disk.
Update Directory File. Using this option will manually update
the directory tree mirror files.
NOTE ! fastmenu GOLD automatically updates the directory
tree files if any directory maintenance is done with
the utility module.
If you select not to have fastmenu GOLD update the
the directory tree files at startup from the Setup
module and you perform any directory maintenance
outside of the fastmenu GOLD environment, you may
need to use this option to update the directory tree
files manually.
Set System Date/Time
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option gives you a way to reset the system Date & Time.
Set Mouse Sensitivity
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will allow you to adjust the sensitivity or
movement ratio of your mouse.
Keyboard cursor speed and delay rate
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option provides a way to adjust the speed of cursor
movement and the amount of time before continious movement
from holding a cursor keys down.
fastmenu GOLD Disk Utilities File List.
======================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(ESC)............. Using this option will return you to the
previous menu.
Page 15
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(F)ile Sort....... Selecting this option will present you with
a scrolling menu with options to select how
you want the file list sorted. You may sort
by filename, file extension, file size, or
file date. After selecting the sort field,
you will then be asked how to sort, either
by ascending or descending order.
(Up/Dn)........... Use these options to move the highlight bar
up and down the file list.
One key press will move the highlight bar up or down one file.
Holding the key down will fast advance the highlight bar
until you release the key or the end of the file list is
reached.
(Home/End)........ Pressing the End key will advance the
highlight bar to the end of the file list.
Pressing the Home key will move the
highlight bar to the beginning of the list.
(-/+/enter)....... Use these options to mark all files for
later maintenance. An asterisk will appear
to the left of the file name of every file
that has been marked.
Marking and Un-Marking Files.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Move the highlight bar to the file you want to mark and
then press the enter key. If this file has already been
marked it will be un-marked. After using the enter key to
mark or un-mark a file, the highlight bar will advance to
the next file in the file list.
2>- Pressing the plus key will mark all files in the file
list.
3>- Pressing the minus key will un-mark all marked files in
the file list.
(Q)uery........... Use this option to query the file list. DOS
wild cards are valid here.
NOTE ! The main purpose for including this option was to
give you a convenient way of copying or deleting
certain groups of files. For example if you wanted
to copy all the files with the .DAT extension, you
would first query the file list by entering [*.DAT]
at the File Spec. prompt. Then mark all these files
by pressing the plus key, then choose the (C)opy
option to copy all marked files.
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-
Querying the file list with (Q)uery option.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- After choosing this option, you will be given a place to
enter your query instructions and then press enter. After
which the file list will again be presented with only the
files that meet your query instructions listed.
Query Examples:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[*.*]....... This query would list all files.
[*.EXE]..... This query would list files with the EXE
extension.
(U)pdate.......... Use this option to update or re-list the
files from the present drive or directory.
NOTE ! You may change a disk while you are at the file list
screen. After changing to the new disk, just use the
(U)pdate option to list the files from the newly
inserted disk.
(S)tart........... Use this option to run applications outside
fastmenu GOLD.
This option was added to give you a way to test run an
application or to run applications or games from floppy
drives. Any program, game or application that can be run from
the DOS prompt can also be run through this option.
NOTE ! This option will only accept files with the extension
of .EXE, .COM or .BAT. Before you can use this option
option, you must first mark the file that you want to
run. After marking this file, just choose the (S)tart
option to run it.
(V)iew............ Use this option to read or view text files.
Before you can use this option, you must first mark the file
that you want to read or view. After marking this file just
choose option (V)iew to view it.
(E)dit............ Use this option to edit or create any ASCII
text file.
To edit an existing file you must first mark it from the file
list menu. After marking it, just choose option (E)dit from
the file list menu.
To create a new file, just choose option (E)dit without
marking any files. After entering the editor you will be asked
to enter the name for the new file. You may use any DOS legal
name except names that have extensions of .EXE or .COM.
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NOTE ! This editor has the ability to edit files with lines
up to 255 characters long. When you first enter the
editor, the right margin will be set to 255. If you
are editing a 80 column document you may want to
reset the right margin before you begin.
(C)opy............ Use this option to copy a file or group of
files from this directory or disk to
another directory or disk.
Before using this option, you must first mark the file or
group of files you want to copy, using the (Up/Dn) and (-/+/
enter) keys.
1>- After marking the files you want to copy just choose
option (C)opy to start the copy process.
2>- You will be asked to choose the Target Drive (the drive
that you want to copy these files to). After choosing the
Target Drive, fastmenu GOLD will check that drive for any
existing directories.
3>- If any directories are found, you will be asked to choose
which directory you want to copy these files to.
4>- If no directories exist or after choosing a directory, you
will be asked to verify the copying of these files.
NOTE ! If you have marked more files than will fit on the
Target Drive, fastmenu GOLD will copy as many
files to the Target Drive as will fit and then
prompt you to insert a new disk. After which will
continue to copy the remainder of the files marked
to this disk. fastmenu GOLD will continue this
process until all marked files have been copied.
This copy routine was added to give you a means of
backing up entire directories or groups of files
to floppies without the worry of running out of
disk space on the Target Drive.
(D)elete.......... Use this option to delete or remove a file
or groups of files.
Before using this option, you must first mark the file or
group of files you want to delete, using the (Up/Dn) and
(-/+/enter) keys.
1>- After marking the file or group of files you want to
delete, just choose option Delete to start the deletion
process.
2>- At this time you will be asked if you want to verify each
file before delete or continue without verifying.
(R)ename.......... Use this option to rename a file.
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After marking the file that you want to rename, just choose
the Rename option, you will be shown the old file name in a
edit field. Edit or change and then press the enter key.
(P)rint........... Use this option to send a copy of all
marked files to your printer. You must have
your printer connected to printer port LPT1
(A)ttribute....... Selecting this option will allow you to
reset the attributes for the selected file.
After selecting this option, you will be
presented with a screen that has the
selected file listed along with four icons
that can be used to toggle the different
file attributes on or off. An asterisk in
the box at the right of each icon means
that that attribute is turned on.
NOTICE !!! Unexperienced users should use extreme caution
using this option. Changing attributes on system
files could cause a complete system lockup.
(Z)IP Menu........ This option is explained on page 38.
This new option provides a complete front end menu for the
popular archiving utilities provided by PKWare.
NOTE !!! In order for this option to operate properly, you
must have a copy of PKWare's archiving utilities
(PKZIP, PKUNZIP, PKZIPFIX, and ZIP2EXE) located
in a directory included in your DOS path.
Zipping a list of files
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- From the files list menu, tag the files you want included
in the ZIP file.
2>- Select the 'Zip-Up' option.
3>- Enter the filename you want the ZIP file to be.
4>- Edit the ZIP command switches or press enter for defaults.
5>- Select the drive you want the ZIP file placed.
6>- Select the directory you want the ZIP file placed.
At this point, all files that were tagged will be archived
together and copied to the drive and directory you selected.
Un-Zipping an archived file (ZIP or EXE)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- From the files list menu, tag the archived files you want
to un-zip.
2>- Select the Un-Zip option.
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NOTE !! If you tag only one archived file, you will be
presented with a list of all files included in the
archived file. At this point you must tag all files
you want extracted from the archived file.
3>- Edit the UN-ZIP command switches or press enter.
4>- Select the drive you want the extracted files placed.
5>- Select the directory you want the extracted files placed.
At this point, if you have selected only one ZIP file, all
tagged files will be extracted to the drive and directory you
selected. If you selected more than one ZIP file, all zipped
files selected will be un-zipped to the drive and directory
that you selected.
ZIP to EXE
~~~~~~~~~~
This option will create a self extracting archived file from
a previously archived file. To use this option, simply tag
the ZIP file you want converted, select the ZIP to EXE option,
edit or except the ZIP command options.
View Zip
~~~~~~~~
This option will display all file data on any archived file
that you have tagged.
Test Zip
~~~~~~~~
This option will test for any corrupt files listed in a zipped
file.
Fix Zip
~~~~~~~
This option will attempt to fix any file found to be corrupt
in a ZIP file.
ZIP Options
~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will provide options to edit or change the default
ZIP file command switches used during all ZIP options.
fastmenu GOLD Phone Book/Dialer.
===============================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Esc............... Use this option to exit the phone book
module.
(N)ote............ This option works in two different ways,
depending of whether you have highlighted a
phonebook entry or not.
Page 20
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1>- If the highlight bar is at bottom of file when you
select this option, you will be taken to the
calendar note pad module where you may enter or
edit notes tagged to any calendar date.
2>- If the highlight bar is located on a phonebook
entry at the time you select this option, you will
be taken to a free form note editor that you may
use to enter a note that will be tagged only to
this phonebook entry.
NOTE !! If a note has been tagged to a phonebook entry,
when the highlight bar is located on that
entry, a icon located just to the right of the
Note icon will be highlighted a green color
and will display a less than (<) sign.
(I)nsert.......... Use this option to insert a new record to
the phone book.
The new record will be inserted just above the highlight bar.
If the highlight bar is at bottom of file, the new record
will be added to the end of the file. If you want, you can
insert a new record ahead of an existing record by moving the
highlight bar to that record, then choosing the insert option.
After choosing the insert option you will be given a new slot
to enter the information for this record. You can move between
fields with the Up/Down arrow keys. When finished press the
Esc key to save it.
(C)hange.......... Use this option to change or correct an
existing record.
To change a record, just move the highlight bar to the record
that you want to change, then choose the (C)hange option.
After selecting this option, you may move freely between
fields with the Up/Down arrow keys.
(D)elete.......... Use this option to remove an existing
record from the phone book.
To remove a record, just move the highlight bar to the record
that you want to remove, then choose the (D)elete option. You
will be prompted to verify this deletion.
(S)ort............ Use this option to sort all records on any
field.
After choosing the (S)ort option you will be asked to choose
the field that you want to sort on. Do this by moving the
highlight bar to that field and then press enter. After
selecting the field, you will be asked how you want to sort,
from Memory or from Disk. Sorting from memory is a much faster
sort method, with this method, all records are loaded into
memory then sorted. After the sort, all records are saved back
to disk. Sorting records from disk can be aborted at any time
with the Esc key but sorting takes much longer to complete.
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(Q)uery........... Use this option when you want to locate a
record or group of records from the phone
book database.
A menu will present options for either a
global search or search by field.
The global search provides a single text
entry field. Any text entered here will
be used for making a global search of all
fields in the database.
The search by fields will present a screen
with all fields listed. Text entered at
a field will only be search for that field.
NOTE !! Leaving the search fields blank
will cause all records to be
included in the queryied list.
Records found that match your search
instructions will be listed to screen in
a scrolling list. You may then select to
Print, Dial, or Sort.
(R)............... Selecting this option will re-dial the last
number that was dialed.
(D)ial............ To dial a listed number, simply highlight
the entry that you want to dial and then
press the 'D' key. At the same time pick up
the phone receiver and after the number has
been dialed just press any key to close the
modem port.
NOTE !! You may also dial a number simply by clicking your
right mouse button on the entry that you want to
be dialed.
ALSO !! If you select this option when the highlight bar
is at bottom of file, a input field will be
presented for you to manually enter a number for
dialing.
After a phone number is dialed, the dialer goes on
standby, if you need to enter further numbers or
information, you can do so at this time. Pressing
the space bar will close the comm port and return
you to the phone book list.
(P)arms........... Use this option to setup optional modem
parms. Consult your Modem Setup Manual
on available command options.
(F)iles........... This option will display a pick list menu
with the following options.
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Open....... Use this option to open an existing phone book
database file. Upon selecting this option, you
will be presented with a list of existing
database files that you may open.
Create..... Use this option to create or open a new phone
book database file. Upon selecting this option,
you will be presented with a field to enter the
name of the new file.
NOTE ! do not include a file extension, fastmenu will
automatically append a ".FON" file extension.
Delete..... Use this option if you want to delete an
existing phone book database file. Upon
selecting this option, you will be presented
with a list of existing files to select from.
NOTE ! You may not delete a currently open file.
Up-Dn............. These options represent the up and down
arrow keys.
Using them will move the highlight bar up or down one record
at a time. Continuing to hold one of these keys down will
cause the highlight bar to scan until you release the key.
PgUp-PgDn......... These options represent the Page Up and
Page Down keys.
Using them will move the highlight bar up or down a full page
at a time. Continuing to hold one of these keys down will
cause the highlight bar to rapid scan until you release the
key.
NOTE ! The phone book module uses a file oriented database
and is limited in the number of records only by your
disk size.
Entering more than one command at the Command field.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A new option has been added to fastmenu GOLD that allows
entering more than one command at the Command field when
adding applications to the menu. The following commands are
now allowed at the Run File field:
* Any legal DOS command line command.
* Any legal DOS batch file command.
* Any legal and existing executable file name.
* The keyboard character ^ (carat key) Shift+6
* The keyboard character + (plus key)
* The letters: DROP
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This option will allow doing away with those small batch files
you sometimes need to execute an application with. In other
words, if you have an application that you want to backup
after every time you run it you could enter the following
command:
Drive: C
Directory: CHOICE
Command: FIRST+^ECHO Insert backup disk.^PAUSE^COPY *.DAT A:
The above command list would first move to drive C, change to
the CHOICE directory, run the executable file FIRST, at exit
of the application it would prompt you to insert a backup
disk, pause for you, copy the DAT files to drive A, and then
return to fastmenu GOLD.
Notice the carat character (^) between each command. Also
notice that you can mix DOS command line commands and batch
file commands.
Also notice the plus character (+) after the 'FIRST' command
name. This plus character tells fastmenu GOLD to also ask the
user for a command line parameter at execution. You may have
more than one plus character. You will be asked for a command
line parm for each plus character you have entered.
NOTE ! Before this plus character will be active, you must
also switch the Parms: Y/N field to 'Y'.
If you want fastmenu GOLD to drop to DOS after executing a
command, then add the '^DROP' command at the point you want
to drop to DOS.
Any number of commands can be executed, just make sure you
separate each command with the carat character (^).
If you experience a problem of fastmenu dropping out after
executing a batch file, you might try adding the CALL
statement just before the batch file name or always include
the file extension with the executable filename.
Example:
Drive: C
Directory: PCTOOLS
Command: PCTOOLS^CD\BAT^CALL BATCH
The above example would switch to the PCTOOLS directory,
execute the PCTOOLS executable file, switch to the 'BAT'
directory, execute a batch file named BATCH, and then return
to fastmenu GOLD.
Page 24
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Example:
Drive: C
Directory: DOS
Command: CHKDSK+^PAUSE
The above example would first ask you for a command line
parameter, switch to the DOS directory, execute the CHKDSK
application with your command line parameter, pause for you to
press enter, and then return to fastmenu GOLD.
Displaying PCX picture files during screen blanking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
During screen blanking fastmenu GOLD now first looks for a
script file named PCX.DAT. If this file exists, fastmenu will
display the PCX files according to the way you have them
listed in this script file. You may also include a time
parameter with each PCX file that tells fastmenu how long to
display each PCX file. The format of this file is as follows:
PCX.DAT < FileName of the script file.
4 < The first line is a number representing
MOUNTANS.PCX 10 \ the number of PCX files listed in this
HOUSE.PCX 10 \ file
UNICORN.PCX 5 > < All remaining lines are used to list
RACECAR.PCX 15 / the PCX files along with the time
(seconds) to display the PCX file.
All PCX files and the PCX.DAT file must be located in the same
directory that you have fastmenu GOLD in.
NOTE ! If this PCX.DAT file does not exist, fastmenu GOLD will
still display all PCX files found in the directory.
ALSO ! If you want, you may also have fastmenu GOLD display
any PCX file you want during start up. Simply rename
the PCX file you want displayed to OPENING.SCR.
Executing batch files (*.BAT) during screen blanking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you like, fastmenu will execute a batch file either before
or after screen blanking. To use these options, simply create
the batch file and copy it to the drive and directory that the
fastmenu files are located in. If fastmenu finds a batch file
with the name 'BEFORE.BAT', it will be executed just before
going into screen blanking. If a 'AFTER.BAT' file is found, it
will be executed after screen blanking. If a 'INSTEAD.BAT'
file is found, it will be executed instead of screen blanking.
These batch files may be used to execute applications or do
any system maintenance you would like done at this time.
Sorting Folder Titles or The Applications listed in a Folder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Sort option has been added to fastmenu GOLD's main menu to
give you a means of sorting the Folder Titles or the
Applications listed in a folder simply by selecting Sort from
the main menu.
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If you select this Sort option while viewing the Folder
Titles, you will be asked if you want to sort the Folder
Titles. If you answer with a 'Y' (Yes), fastmenu will sort all
the Folder Titles in alphabetical order and place all blank
lines at the bottom of the list.
If you select this Sort option while viewing the Applications
listed in a Folder, you will be asked if you want to sort the
App's in this Folder. If you answer with a 'Y' (Yes), fastmenu
will sort all Applications listed in this Folder in
alphabetical order and place all blank lines at the bottom of
the list.
Available options while in the Text/System File Editor.
=====================================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Esc................ Use this option to exit the phone book
module.
F1=Menu............ Use this option to access the Command
Menu.
Available options while at the Command Menu.
===========================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Esc................ Returns control to the editor.
F10=Run Batch...... This option allows you to execute DOS or
batch file commands. When you select this
option, all lines in the current text file
will be executed at the DOS level as if
they were executed from a batch file.
A>- Save....Return. After selecting this option, the current
filename will be displayed in an editor
box. You may edit the existing filename
and then press enter to save it. After
saving, you will be returned back to the
editor.
B>- Save......Exit. This option works just like the A>- option
above with the exception of, you will be
returned to DOS after saving the file.
C>- Open..Existing. After selecting this option, you will be
presented with a field that you can edit
the file spec for files that you want
listed for opening. DOS wild cards are
permitted here. After entering the file
spec, all files in the current path that
match the file spec will be listed in a
scrollable window for you to select from.
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NOTE ! If you currently have a text file loaded and have
made any changes to this file, you will be asked if
you want to save changes before opening a new file.
D>- Create.....New. After selecting this option, you will be
presented with a field to enter a new
filename. Any legal DOS filename can be
used.
NOTE ! If you currently have a text file loaded and have
made any changes to this file, you will be asked if
you want to save changes before creating a new file.
E>- Change....Path. This option allows you to change the
current drive and directory that will be
used for saving and opening text files
from.
After selecting this option, you will be
given a scrollable window with a list of
the drives on your system. Simply move the
fighlight bar to the desired drive and
press the enter key.
After selecting the drive, you will be
given a scrollable window with a list of
the directories on your system. Simply
move the highlight bar to the directory
you want and then press the enter key.
After selecting the directory, you will be
returned to the editor and the new path
will be listed at the top of your screen.
Any future Saves or Opens will be
performed from this new path.
F>- Tab......(4 ).. This option provides you with a way of
changing the number of spaces the cursor
moves to the right every time you press
the Tab key.
NOTE ! Pressing the Shift key plus the Tab key will move the
cursor in the left direction.
G>- Margin...(255). This option provides you with a way of
setting the right text margin. The right
margin may be set anywhere from 10 to 255.
Setting the margin to 0 will cause a 255
character right margin. Wordwrap will
occur at the right margin setting.
H>- Print.....File. Selecting this option will send the
currently opened text file to any printer
connected to printer port LPT1.
I>- Clear...Editor. Selecting this option will clear all text
from the editor.
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NOTE ! If you currently have a text file loaded and have
made any changes to this file, you will be asked if
you want to save changes before clearing the text.
J>- Delete....Line. Selecting this option will delete the line
at the current cursor location.
NOTE ! Every time you delete a line with this option it is
saved and replaces any text that is currently in the
paste buffer. You can replace any deleted line by
placing the cursor on a blank line and then
selecting the Insert option.
Just remember, if you have text saved in the paste
buffer, it will be replaced with any text from a
deleted line.
K>- Insert....Line. Selecting this option will insert a blank
line at the current cursor location.
L>- Copy........... Selecting this option will save any marked
block of text to the paste buffer.
You must first mark a block of text before
this option can be used.
Marking a block of text can be done by
holding the Shift key down while moving
the cursor with the arrow keys or by
holding your left mouse button down and
dragging the mouse cursor. The block will
be marked with dashed lines.
M>- Delete......... Selecting this option will delete any
marked block of text.
Any text that has been deleted with this
option will be saved to the paste buffer.
Marking a block of text can be done by
holding the Shift key down while moving
the cursor with the arrow keys or by
holding your left mouse button down and
dragging the mouse cursor. The block will
be marked with dashed lines.
N>- Paste.......... Selecting this option will paste any block
of text that has been saved to the paste
buffer. The block of text will be pasted
at the current cursor location.
O>- Print.......... Selecting this option will send any block
of text that has been previously saved to
the paste buffer to any printer connected
to printer port LPT1.
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Editor hot keys and commands.
============================:>
Insert............ Toggles between insert and overtype mode.
Red cursor designates insert mode.
~~~
White cursor designates overtype mode.
~~~~~
Tab............... Moves cursor right (tab spaces).
Shift+Tab......... Moves cursor left (tab spaces).
Delete............ Removes the character at the cursor
location.
Home.............. Moves cursor full left of text at cursor
line.
Ctrl+Home......... Moves cursor to top of screen.
End............... Moves cursor full right of text at cursor
line.
Ctrl+End.......... Moves cursor to bottom of screen.
PgUp.............. Moves text up 25 lines each press.
Ctrl+PgUp......... Moves to top of text file.
PgDn.............. Moves text down 25 lines each press.
Ctrl+PgDn......... Moves to bottom of text file.
Up/Dn Arrows...... Moves cursor up/down on line each press.
Right/Left Arrows. Moves cursor right/left one space each
press.
Ctrl+Y............ Delete the line at cursor location.
Ctrl+N............ Insert a blank line at the cursor location.
BLOCK OPERATIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ctrl+Arrow Keys... Mark a block of text.
Ctrl+Delete....... Delete a block of text.
Ctrl+Insert....... Insert a block of text.
Pressing any key except the Esc key will save a marked block.
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Calendar/Notepad Module.
=======================:>
Opening menu options and commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you first enter the Calendar/Notepad module you will be
presented with a calendar of the current month with the
current date highlighted in red.
To change the current date you can either click your mouse on
another day or press or click on the up or down arrow keys
Icons.
To change the month, simply press or click on the left or
right arrow keys or icons.
The menu at the right side of your screen under 'Select
Options' has several more options that allow entering/editing
notes or printing them.
To enter a note for a certain day or date, by using the
up/down or left/right arrow keys, move the highlight to the
date that you want to post a note for and then click on the
"D" Icon or simply press the 'D' key on your keyboard.
D>- Clicking on the "D" button will post a note for the
current day only.
W>- Clicking on the "W" button will post a note that will
be displayed every week on that day of the week.
M>- Clicking on the "M" button will post a note that will be
displayed every month on the selected day.
Y>- Clicking on the "Y" button will post a note that will be
displayed yearly on the selected day and month.
N>- Clicking on the "Note" button will allow creating and
editing general notes that are not associated to any
particular calendar date or phonebook data entry.
At this time you will be taken to the note editor where you
can proceed to enter the text for the note. The editor options
are as follows:
F1=Save......... Use this option to save your note to disk
when it is completed.
F2=Clear........ Using this option will totally clear the
editor of any existing text.
F3=Delete....... Use this option if you want to totally remove
a note from the system.
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-
F4=Copy......... Before using this option you must first mark
a block of text that you want to copy. You
can do this by holding your left mouse button
down while dragging your mouse to a new
location. You will notice a broken line box
being drawn as you move your mouse cursor,
inside this box represents the text that you
want to copy. After marking your text, simply
click your mouse on the F4 function key icon.
You may also mark a block of text using the
Shift+arrow keys found on your numeric pad.
F5=Paste........ After copying a block of text to the buffer,
you may paste it to a new location in this
note or to a newly created note by placing
the cursor at the location you want the text
located and then clicking or pressing the F5
key or Icon.
F6=Print........ Selecting this option will display a small
menu that has the following options:
A>- Print ALL.... Using this option will send the currently
loaded note to any printer connected to
port LPT1 on your system.
B>- Print Buffer. Using this option will send any text that
has been copied to the paste buffer to
any printer connected to port LPT1 on
your system.
F7=Dial......... Selecting this option will present the user
with a window that can be used to manually
enter a number to send to your modem.
You may also mark any number in the currently
opened note, using the block mark method and
then select the F7=Dial option to dial it.
NOTE !! Modem parms for this dialer are set
through the PhoneBook module under
the 'Parms' option.
NOTE ! All keyboard hot keys that are valid in the Fax/Text
file editor are also valid in this editor.
Print .. option
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will bring up a small menu with several
print options.
A>- Print Date... Selecting this option will print any note
found at the currently highlighted date
on the calendar.
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-
B>- Print Week... Selecting this option will print any note
found on the currently highlighted
calendar date plus any notes found on the
next seven calendar days.
C>- Print Month.. Selecting this option will print any note
found on the currently highlighted
calendar date plus all notes found for
all days in the rest of the month.
D>- Print Year... Selecting this option will print any note
found on the currently highlighted
calendar date plus all notes found for
all days in the rest of the year.
Esc.............. This option will return you to the
opening calendar menu.
Erase .. option
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option provides a means of removing several notes with
a single pass.
After selecting this option, you will be presented with a
scrollable tag menu with all notes listed. To delete notes
from this menu, you must tag the notes that you want deleted.
Tagging notes from this menu can be done either of three ways.
Simply click your left mouse button on the notes you want
tagged, move the highlight bar to the note you want to tag
and press the enter key, or by clicking your left mouse button
on the up/dn arrow icons and clicking on the enter icon.
After you have all notes tagged that you want deleted, simply
select the Delete icon from this menu. You will be asked to
verify this delete.
NOTE !! This Calendar/Notepad module saves all notes in
separate disk files and as a result you may have
quite a few files created and on disk at any one
time. For this reason I recommend creating a sub
directory your hard drive to store these files in.
The Setup module accessed from the fastmenu GOLD main
menu has options for selecting a sub directory for
the Calendar/Notepad to use.
Using separate files for each note drastically speeds
up the display of any note and also results in using
less disk space due to not needing to maintain a
index file along with the data files.
All notes saved to disk files are pure text files
with no formatting characters embedded. Most
wordprocessors or text file editors will have no
problem reading these files. Your Fax Modem will also
have no problem reading these files.
Page 32
-
The Tab Icon and how it works
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
fastmenu GOLD now has a new Icon located at the upper right
of your screen 'Tab'. This Icon is present in almost all
utility modules and screens.
Pressing this 'Tab' Icon at the main menu screen will force
fastmenu GOLD into screen blanking.
Pressing this 'Tab' Icon from any other module or screen will
immediately return you to the main menu.
NOTE !! If you are using the user ID and activity logging
option, pressing this 'Tab' Icon from any screen
or module will force fastmenu GOLD into screen
blanking.
Setting up the user ID and logging
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A new feature has been added to fastmenu GOLD that allows for
setting up user ID access to fastmenu GOLD and along with
this option you can also select to log all user activity.
This user ID and logging is setup through the Setup module,
through option 'C>- Add/Edit/Delete System Passwords' and then
option 'E>- Setup User ID And Activity Logging'.
While at this user ID setup screen, notice, in the window at
left you will see slots for up to 20 user names and ID's. By
pressing the up/dn arrow keys you can move between three
windows, allowing up to 60 users total.
To enter user names and ID's, simply press the Edit Icon, you
will be placed inside the window where you can begin entering
or editing users. In the Users Name fields, enter each users
complete name, at the associated ID field, enter that users
password or ID that he will use to access the system.
After entering all users, simply press the Esc key to quit.
If all is OK with the names and ID's and you want to save
them to disk, simply press the Save Icon.
After pressing the Save Icon, you will be asked if you want to
log all user activity. If you select to log all user activity
you will also be asked as to how large you want to allow the
log files to become before the current one is closed and a new
one is created. A suggested size for these files is around
340kb. This allows copying or saving them to 360kb diskettes.
These log files can be viewed or deleted at any time from the
Setup module options 'J' and 'K'.
NOTE !! This user activity logging can be turned on or off
at any time by returning to this setup menu and
selecting the Log On/Off Icon. This Icon will toggle
logging on or off.
Page 33
-
ALSO You may return to this user ID setup menu at any time
and add/edit/change user names and passwords.
Executing applications from the Folder Titles page.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Select a blank folder title line.
2>- Answer Yes to adding another Folder Title.
3>- Enter the title or name of the application you want to
execute at the Title name field and press enter.
4>- At this point you will be taken to a blank Folder list.
Select blank line number #1 or A.
5>- Answer Yes to adding a application to this line.
6>- At this point, you should be taken to the application edit
screen.
7>- At the Title field, enter a carat character (^). This
character is entered by pressing your shift key and the
number 6 key at the same time. fastmenu GOLD will
automatically execute an application when it encounters
this carat character as the last character in a Title.
8>- At the rest of the fields (Drive, Directory, etc) add the
necessary information for accessing this application.
9>- After all fields have been edited, press the Save option.
After pressing the Save option this application will be
automatically executed for testing. After exiting the
application, you will be returned to the main menu of fastmenu
GOLD and your new application will be ready to run from the
Folder Titles page.
NOTE !! If you need to change or edit this new Title, simply
click your right mouse button on the Folder Title
and then select Z=Edit Folder.
You may also do the same thing with the keyboard by
holding the Ctrl key down and then press the letter
associated with this Title.
Trouble Shooting.......................
======================================:>
VGA Problems...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
fastmenu GOLD has built-in VGA detection that will prevent it
from being run on any system that is not equipped with a VGA
color card and monitor.
New VGA Color cards are coming out every day from new and
existing manufacturers, due to this, you may experience some
problems getting fastmenu GOLD to run on these new cards.
Page 34
-
If you know that you do have a full VGA system and yet you
still cannot get fastmenu GOLD to run, a way has been built-
in to fastmenu GOLD to bypass this VGA detection.
Create a file named: SKIP-VGA.DAT
This file should have only one line in it and that line
should read: VGA You may use any text editor or wordprocessor
to create this file.
This SKIP-VGA.DAT file should be copied to the same directory
that you have installed fastmenu GOLD to.
Input Runtime Module Path:.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
fastmenu GOLD uses a runtime module at various times during
operation and must be able to locate it.
This runtime module is in a file named: BRUN45.EXE.
For proper operation you must have a path statement in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file telling DOS where to locate this file. Also
you should have a path statement to the ROOT directory and the
directory that your DOS (DOS, DRDOS, NDOS, DOS50) files are
located in.
An example of the minimum path statement would be:
PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\GOLD
fastmenu GOLD drops out after executing a batch file...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With this version, you are required to include the file
extension at the Run File field when executing batch files.
If you are having this problem, simply enter the Edit
Applications module for the page that this application is
listed on, select to Add/Edit, then select the application you
are having problems with, move the cursor to the the Run File
field and add '.BAT' to the end of the run filename.
Can't find C:\GOLD\FAST1234.BAT file......
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This prompt may show up at exit time from fastmenu GOLD if you
are running a DOS version other that MS-DOS or PC-DOS.
To correct this problem, simply create a file named:
"FAST1234.IFO". Place this file into the directory that you
installed fastmenu GOLD to. This file does not have to have
any information in it and can be of 0 size.
Page 35
-
This version of fastmenu GOLD was written and compiled using
MicroSoft QuickBASIC v4.5.
About 30% of the code is in QuickBASIC including all of the
VGA screens and windows. The rest of the code is comprised
of super fast compiled assembly language routines.
New Version and Update Policy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Registered users of fastmenu GOLD can obtain a copy of any
updated version by sending $12.00 to the below address. New
updates are sent out on HD 3 1/2 in disks. A full manual
(on disk) is included with each update.
DISCLAIMER
Users must accept this disclaimer of warranty: This
application supplied as is. The author disclaims all
warranties, expressed or implied, including, without
limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness
for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages,
direct or consequential, which may result from the use of this
manual or the application it describes. jwh: SoftWare
6947 Haggerty Road
Hillsboro, Ohio 45133
Phone (513) 393-2402
fastmenu GOLD is a product and copyright (c) 1990-95 by:
jwh: SoftWare. All rights reserved.
MicroSoft QuickBASIC is a product and copyright (c) by:
The Microsoft Corporation.
PKZIP, PKUNZIP, PKZIPFIX, and ZIP2EXE are all products and
copyright (c) by: PKWARE, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 36
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A complete desktop application that includes
a full featured hard drive menuing system,
a complete Disk/File/Zip File Utility, a full
featured Address/Phonebook/Dialer, a Calendar
Notepad, 11 Digit Tape Calculater, and a full
featured Text File Editor. Full point and
click mouse support. Totally drops out of
memory during application execution.
fastmenu GOLD (tm)
Version 7.0b
Copyright (C) 1990-95 by:
jwh: SoftWare
6947 Haggerty Rd
Hillsboro, Ohio 45133
Phone: (513)393-2402
Distributed By:
Kathi J Hildenbrand
jwh:SoftWare
6947 Haggerty Rd
Hillsboro, Ohio 45133
Phone: (513)393-2402
-
Table of contents. Page
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
Why fastmenu GOLD?......................................... 2
Applications Main Menu..................................... 4
Edit Applications Module................................... 5
Setup/Configuration Module................................. 7
Editing the Logo File...................................... 10
Setting up timed application/batch execution............... 10
Installation Instructions.................................. 11
Re-Assigning the Function Key Icons........................ 12
11 Digit Calculator........................................ 12
DOS/Disk Utility........................................... 12
Disk Utility File List Screen.............................. 15
Working with ZIP files..................................... 19
Phone Book/Dialer.......................................... 20
Entering multiple commands at the Command field............ 23
Displaying PCX picture files during screen blanking........ 25
Executing batch files before & after screen blanking....... 25
Sorting Folder Titles or Applications Listed in a Folder... 25
Text/System File Editor.................................... 26
Calendar/Notepad module.................................... 30
The Tab Icon and how it works.............................. 33
Setting up the user ID and logging......................... 33
Executing applications from the Folder Titles page......... 34
Trouble Shooting........................................... 34
New Version and Update Policy.............................. 36
NOTE !!!!! IN ORDER FOR THIS PROGRAM TO OPERATE PROPERLY YOU
MUST HAVE A PATH STATEMENT TO THE ROOT DIRECTORY,
YOUR DOS DIRECTORY, AND THE FASTMENU GOLD
DIRECTORY. THIS PATH STATEMENT SHOULD BE IN YOUR
AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE.
EXAMPLE: PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\GOLD
Page 1
-
Over the years that computers have been with us, they have
gone from very large and complicated units to small desktop
and very powerful pieces of equipment. Along with that growth,
computers have become an almost must in every business, school
and now are becoming a standard in most homes. Also the coming
of the ever popular Hard Drive has made computing even more
popular among every computer owner from business to home use.
Storage capacities of Hard Drives have risen from around one
megabyte to now well over 300 megabytes of storage, enabling
the user to store and use numerous applications without the
need of using floppies for every day applications and data
storage.
One problem that has arisen from these very large Hard Drive
units is that it has become very hard for the user to remember
the names of all the directories and the names of all the
executable files that start the different applications that
they have stored on their Hard Drives. Also, in an office or
home situation where there are numerous people that use the
same computer to do different tasks and with different ideas
about how to setup access to their application, a Hard Drive
can become very messy and hard to find your way around in.
Also in most business situations the need for fast access to
applications is becoming more and more important.
As most of us know, since the Hard Drive was born, there has
been numerous menu programs written to help deal with this
problem, from small applications menuing systems to very large
and memory consuming applications. However, there seems to be
a very large gap, the small ones being to small and not
adequate for most needs and the larger windowing systems
needing more computer than most office and home users have at
hand. For this reason fastmenu GOLD was created.
What fastmenu GOLD can do for you:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
o.. Fast one or two key strokes to your applications.
o.. Consumes no memory during applications execution.
o.. Allows up to 80 folders up to 20 applications per folder.
o.. Allows quick editing of the applications lists.
o.. Can be operated with a Mouse.
o.. Built in Auto Mouse Detection.
o.. PassWord protection on any or all outside applications
execution, Module operations and DOS exits.
What you need to run fastmenu GOLD:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
o.. IBM PC/XT/AT or Compatible with DOS 2.2+.
o.. 512Kb of memory.
o.. A Hard Drive and at least one floppy.
o.. VGA Color Card and Monitor.
Page 2
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QUICK INSTALLATION AND STARTUP.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Make a backup copy of your original disk.
2>- Insert your backup disk into any drive.
3>- Move to that drive and type: INSTALL
4>- Follow onscreen instructions to complete the installation.
5>- Make sure you have a PATH statement in your AUTOEXEC.BAT
to your ROOT,DOS, and GOLD directorys.
6>- After installation, type 'GOLD' to start fastmenu GOLD.
7>- Add 'GOLD' as the last line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file if
you want fastmenu GOLD to automatically start when you
turn your computer on.
ADDING A APPLICATION.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- After you have gotten fastmenu GOLD up and running, at the
main menu screen you will see a window with twenty lines
lettered A to T. The letters on these lines will be blue.
These lines represent the folder titles. Before adding any
applications you must first create a folder (some sample
folders may already have been created for you) and give it
a title. To create folder #1, simply press the 'A' key and
at this point you will be given a place to enter the
folder title and then press the enter key.
2>- After entering the title for folder A, you will be taken
to a blank folder A. At this time you will also see two
new prompts, Title and Edit Applications. At this point we
want to add a application to this folder, so choose option
Edit Applications or click your mouse on a blank line.
3>- After selecting the Edit Applications option, you will be
taken to the applications editor. To Add an application,
from the opening menu, select the Add/Edit option by
choosing option 'A'.
4>- After selecting the Add/Edit option, an Applications List
window will be displayed. We will Add an application to
line A, so move the highlight bar to line A, press enter.
5>- After selecting line A, you will be presented with a data
entry screen to fill out. At the first field, enter the
title or name of the application that you want to execute
with this line.
6>- At the Drive field, press the PgDn key and select the
drive that this application resides on. At the directory
field, press the PgDn key and select the directory that
this application resides in. At Run File field, press PgDn
and select the file that runs this application.
Page 3
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7>- If you want this application password protected, enter a
'Y' at the Password field. If you are running DOS Version
3.3 or later, answer the Fast Run field with a 'Y'. If you
want fastmenu GOLD to pause before execution and ask you
for command line parameters, answer the Command Line Parms
field with a 'Y'. NOTE ! If you answer this field with a
'Y' then you must also include a (+) plus sign directly
after the run filename at the Run File Field.
9>- At this time you will be presented with two more fields.
if you enter any information in these fields, it will be
displayed at application execution or exit. If you do not
want any prompt displayed, simply leave these fields
blank. When you are finished with these two fields, press
the Esc key to exit the edit mode.
10>- At this time you may save this entry by pressing the 'S'
key or abort and not save it by pressing the Esc key.
fastmenu GOLD Applications Main Menu.
====================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Exit.............. Selecting this option will exit you to DOS.
NOTE ! If you want, you may have fastmenu GOLD execute a
batch file or application upon exit by clicking
your right mouse button (or CTRL+X) on the Exit
button and filling out the path information.
Y=Setup........... This option should be used the very first
time you use fastmenu GOLD.
Here you will set the program parameters that will make
fastmenu GOLD work properly. This option may be accessed
by pressing the letter 'Y' or by pointing the mouse at
the prompt icon and then pressing the left mouse button.
1 through 6....... Used to access the built-in utilities.
F1 through F10.... Used as hot keys to Applications.
Up-Dn Arrow....... Pressing the up or down arrow keys will
page through the Folder Titles or Folders.
=................. Pressing this icon will access the Folder
or Applications listed on a folder and give
you the option of sorting them.
*................. Pressing this Icon will toggle between the
3D or flat fonts.
?................. Press this Icon to display registration
information.
Tab............... Pressing this Icon will force fastmenu GOLD
into screen blanking.
Page 4
-
fastmenu GOLD Edit Applications Module.
======================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ESC=Exit.......... Using this option will return you back to
the fastmenu GOLD main menu.
Add/Edit.......... This option allows you to add or change
programs or applications on this folder.
Any application that can run in DOS can be started or executed
with fastmenu GOLD, either through the applications menu or
through the (S)tart option from the file list menu.
Adding a new application.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Choose option Add/Edit from the edit applications menu
prompt list then from the applications list select the
application or the line that you want to Add/edit. You
will be presented with seven questions to answer.
2>- The first question will be asking you for the title or
name of the program that you want to run. This title or
name can be anything you want it to be, and is only used
as a reference.
3>- The second question will be asking you for the name or
letter of the drive that this program will be running
from. Examples would be: A, B or C. Pressing the PgDn
key will list all available drives on your system.
4>- The third question will be asking you for the name of
the directory that this program is in. Always separate
multiple directory entries with a backslash (\).
Press the PgDn key to list all available directories on
your system.
NOTE ! If you are running this new program from a floppy
and/or the program is in the root directory, just
press
5>- The fourth question will be asking you for the name of
the file that you normally have to type in to run the
program (The executable file). You may also enter any
command line switches or parameters here. This is a
scrollable edit field that allows entering up to 255
characters.
NOTE ! Multiple commands may be entered at this field.
This is explained further later in this manual.
ALSO This file will normally have an extension name
of either .EXE, .COM, or .BAT.
Page 5
-
6>- The fifth question will be asking if you want to
password protect this program. If you do not want
password protection, just answer this question with a
'N'. If you want password protection for this program,
answer this question with a 'Y'.
7>- The sixth question will be asking if you want to use the
Fast Load method of launching this application. This
method is recommended, but may cause some problems with
early versions of DOS.
8>- The seventh question will be asking if you want fastmenu
GOLD to pause before execution of this application so
you may enter a variable DOS command line parameter.
9>- At this time you will be presented with two more fields.
If you enter any information in either of these fields
it will be displayed with a pause during application
execution or exit. If you do not want any prompt
displayed, simply leave the field blank.
After completing these fields, and pressing Esc, you will be
asked either (Y)es or (N)o to saving the changes. Pressing
the 'S' key will save this entry to disk.
11>- At this time, if you chose to password protect this
program, you will be given a place to enter the
password that you want to use to access this program.
You are allowed up to six characters or numbers in this
password. After entering this password, you will be
prompted to verify it's validity.
CAUTION !!! Be sure to remember this password, it cannot
be removed from a program listing unless you
know the password. This password is totally
scrambled before it is written to file and
would be very hard to unscramble.
Delete App's...... This option is used to delete or remove an
existing application.
Deleting a listing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Choose option Delete application from the menu list.
2>- After choosing this option, all applications listed on
this page will be listed to screen. Select the one that
you want to delete with the highlight bar and then press
enter. You will be asked to verify your delete
List.............. This option will list to screen, all
applications or programs that are on this
page.
Edit Title........ This option will allow you to change the
Title or Name that is presently being used
used for this page.
Page 6
-
Delete This Folder.. Choose this option if you want to delete
this page from the menu.
Update Directory Tree.. This option will update the directory
tree list that you see when you press
the PgDn key to list the directories.
Password Protection
for this Folder...... Selecting this option will give you the
option for entering or removing password
protection for this entire Folder.
fastmenu GOLD Setup Module.
==========================:>
This module offers several options for customizing fastmenu
GOLD.
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ESC=Quit.......... This option will return you to the fastmenu
applications menu.
A >-- Select System Fonts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will take you to a screen with all
available fonts listed for your selection. Select a font by
clicking your left mouse button on the desired font or press
the letter associated with the desired font.
B >-- Setup Default program parameters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SUB MENU
~~~~~~~~
A >- Default Path (Fax/Text File Editor)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will allow you to setup a default
drive and directory that the fax/text file editor will use
at startup.
B >- Default Filespec (Fax/Text File Editor)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will allow you to set a default file
spec that the fax/text file editor will use.
C >- Default Path (Phonebook/Dialer)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will allow you to set a default path
for the Phonebook/Dialer to use.
D >- Default Path (Calendar/Notepad)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will allow you to set a default path
for the Calendar/Notepad to use.
Page 7
-
E >- Folder/Applications Sort Option (ON/OFF)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will give you the option of turning
on or off the ability to sort the folders or applications
listed in a folder from the main menu screen.
F >- Display Logo At Screen Blanking (ON/OFF)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will give you the option of turning
on or off the display of the logo during screen blanking.
G >- Setup Automatic Execution At Startup
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will provide you with a input screen
that you may type in the Title, Drive, Directory, and Run
File of the application you want executed at fastmenu GOLD
startup. If you setup an application at this screen, it
will be executed at startup and after exeting this
application you will be returned to fastmenu GOLD.
H >- Edit/Change The Default Command Line Parms Prompt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will display the default command
line parms prompt in a editing field. You may edit or
change this prompt to read any thing you want. This prompt
is the prompt that is displayed to the user if thay have
selected an application from the main menu that has been
setup to ask the user for command line parms.
I >- Display Prompt Before & After Execution (On/Off)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
During execution of an application, fastmenu GOLD displays
a user prompt message telling the user the name of the
application being executed, after exiting the application,
another prompt message is displayed telling the user,
Returning to fastmenu GOLD Please Wait !!. These prompts
can be turned off with this option.
C >-- Add/Edit/Delete System Passwords
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A >- Password Protect Exit To DOS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may exit
fastmenu GOLD and go to DOS with or without a password.
B >- Password Protect The Setup Module
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may enter
the Setup module with or without a password.
C >- Password Protect The Edit Applications or F keys
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may enter
the Edit Applications Module or edit any of the function
key applications with or without a password.
Page 8
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D >- Password Protect The Calendar NotePad Module.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may
access the calendar notepad.
E >- Password Protect The Address/PhoneBook Module.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may
access the address/phonebook.
F >- Password Protect The DOS/Disk/Zip Utility Module.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may
access the DOS/Disk/Zip utility.
G >- Password Protect The Text/System File Edit Module.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may
access the Text/System file edit.
H >- Password Protect The 11 Digit Tape Calculator Module.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may
access the 11 Digit Calculator Tape.
I >- Setup User ID And Activity Logging
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup ID and password protection at
startup of fastmenu GOLD. This option also provides user
activity logging options. More detail is given on these
options later in this manual.
D >--- Update Directory Tree Files at Startup
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you answer this option with a 'N', fastmenu GOLD will
startup much faster, skipping the opening screen and updating
the directory tree files. You will need to update the
directory tree files manually if any directory maintenance is
done outside the fastmenu GOLD environment.
E >- Toggle Screen Blanking On/Off
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to select whether you want screen blanking or
not. This option will present you with one question that can
be answered by either a 'Y' if you want screen blanking.
NOTE ! fastmenu GOLD can also be setup to display PCX picture
files during screen blanking. This option is explained
in more detail later in this manual.
ALSO ! This screen blanking only has an effect on fastmenu
GOLD's main menu screen and will not interrupt your
applications in any way. During screen blanking, a
logo will dance around on your screen, letting you
know that fastmenu GOLD is ready to go at any time by
pressing any key on your keyboard or moving the mouse.
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If you have chosen to use the screen blanking option,
you will then be asked to enter the amount of time
(seconds) that fastmenu GOLD waits before going into
screen blanking. The time can be any number of seconds
between 1 and 999.
F >------- Set Opening Screen Mode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
fastmenu GOLD will run in either of two screen modes.
Mode 1 >- In this mode fastmenu GOLD will display the page
titles on the first screen, at startup.
Mode 2 >- In this mode fastmenu GOLD will display any of the
application folders on the first screen, at startup.
You may select the folder that is first displayed.
When you select option 'F' from this setup menu, you will be
asked if you want the folder titles displayed first. If you
answer this prompt with a 'N', then you will also be asked to
enter the folder title number that you want displayed at
startup. You may enter any folder number between 1 and 40.
G >----------- Edit User Logo File
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to edit or change the FASTLOGO.IFO file. This
file contains the information that you will see moving about
during screen blanking. Also the information in this file is
listed to screen on the main menu. After choosing this option
you will be presented with a screen that has this file listed
in a small editing window. You may make any changes you want
to this file and then press F1 to Save or Esc to exit.
H >-------- View User Activity/Password Log File
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to view the user ID and password log files. If
you have chosen to have any of the passwords logged, then they
will be listed in this file.
I >------ Delete User ID and Password Log Files
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to delete or completely remove all logged
user ID or password use. You will be presented with a list of
these log files to choose from. You will be prompted to verify
your choice.
J >--- Timed Application execution
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will take you to a menu where you may
select any timed event to create or edit from A to J (10). If
you want to setup a new timed event, just select a blank line
and you will be asked to give a description for this event.
After entering the description, you will see it listed as a
selection, just select it and you will be taken to the timed
event editor.
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Selecting this option will open a window with data fields for
you to fill in. At the first field, enter the time in 12 hr
format (civilian time) that you want the application or batch
file executed.
NOTE ! From midnight to 12:59 afternoon is considered AM and
from 12:59 afternoon to 11:59 afternoon is considered
PM.
At the Date field enter the date that you want this
application or batch file to be executed.
NOTE ! If you want this execution to be on a daily basis,
leave this Date field completely blank. Then answer
the Yes/No weekday prompts to tell fastmenu on what
days you want this application/batch file to be run.
At the remaining three fields, enter the Drive, Path, and the
name of the executable file. After completing all fields,
press the Esc key to exit then press the 'S' key to save them.
At this field, you are allowed to enter multiple commands up
to 255 characters in length.
fastmenu GOLD installation instructions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE ! Before you install fastmenu GOLD I strongly recommend
that you make backup copies of your original disk.
Consult your DOS manual on making backup copies or
using DISKCOPY on your machine.
fastmenu GOLD is not a complicated program to setup and does
not require a lot of work to get running. The following three
steps is all that is needed to insure proper operation.
1>- Insert your fastmenu backup/distribution disk into any
drive, move to that drive and type: INSTALL
Follow on-screen instructions to install fastmenu GOLD.
2>- Make sure your AUTOEXEC.BAT file contains a path statement
to the ROOT, DOS, and GOLD directories on your hard drive
An example of the path statement: PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\GOLD
3>- If you want fastmenu GOLD to startup automatically, add to
the end of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file the following line: GOLD
NOTE ! This line must be the last line in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
This should complete the setup procedure for fastmenu GOLD.
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Assigning applications to the function key prompts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To assign a application to one of the function key prompts,
simply press the Ctrl key plus the corresponding function key
down or click the right mouse button on the function key
prompt. If the Function Key button is currently blank, you
may simply click your left mouse button on it.
fastmenu GOLD 11 Digit Calculator.
=================================:>
This calculator works somewhat different than most people are
used to, in that you first need to enter a number and then
enter the operator. To start a calculation you first need to
type in the first number and then press the enter key then
enter the second number followed by the operand. Continue a
chain calculation by entering the number and then the operand.
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BackSp............ This option will delete the number at the
cursor location and move the cursor left
one position.
1 to 0............ This option will enter the chosen number to
the calculator.
/................. This option is used to divide numbers.
*................. This option is used to multiply numbers.
-................. This option is used to subtract numbers.
+................. This option is used to add numbers.
Enter............. This option is used to end a calculation.
P................. This option toggles printer on/off.
Up Arrow.......... Use this key to enter numbers to memory.
Down Arrow........ Use this key to pull numbers from memory.
C................. Press this key to clear the tap.
M................. Press this key to clear memory.
DOS/Disk/Zip File Utility Module.
===============================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Format Diskettes.. Use this option to format new diskettes or
floppies.
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NOTE ! For reasons of compatibility between computers, this
program uses the standard DOS format program found
in your DOS directory. For proper operation, your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file must contain the path to your DOS
files.
Formatting diskettes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- After choosing the Format Diskettes option, you will
be asked to choose whether you want to format a Non
Systems Disk or DOS Systems Disk (Boot Disk). If you
choose to format a systems disk, after the format
process, the necessary DOS files will be copied to it,
creating a bootable DOS diskette.
2>- After choosing the format type you will be asked to
choose the drive that you want to format from.
3>- After choosing the drive you will be presented with
four more options.
A>- The first option in this list will be used if you
want to format a disk to the same capacity that
is standard for your disk drive unit.
B>- The second option in this list will be used if you
have a high density 1.2 Meg 5 1/4in. drive and you
want to format a low density 360Kb disk.
C>- The third option in this list will be used if you
have a high density 1.5 Meg 3 1/2in. drive and you
want to format a low density 720Kb disk.
D>- The fourth option will be used if you want to type
in a format switch. You will be presented with a
user input field for editing the format command
and command switches.
4>- After choosing the format density you will be asked
to insert a disk in the chosen drive and press any
key to begin formatting.
Single Pass DiskCopy. Use this option to copy a floppy disk in
one pass without the need of switching
disks back and forth during the copy of
high density disks.
File Maintenance..... Use this option if you want to perform
any of the following: Copy, Delete,
Rename, View, Edit, or Start files. You
may also do directory maintenance from
this option.
1>- After choosing this option, you will be asked to choose
the drive that you want to perform file maintenance on.
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2>- After choosing the drive, fastmenu GOLD will check the
drive to see if it has any directories. Select the
directory you want and then press enter. At this time
you will be presented with the file list that was found
on this drive. If no files are found you will be
returned to the directory menu. Choosing a directory is
done by moving the highlight bar to the directory you
want with the Up and Down arrow keys and then pressing
the enter key.
3>- After choosing the directory, you will be taken to the
file list menu. Help with the file list options can be
found later in this manual.
Creating a new Directory from the Directory Tree screen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After choosing the File Maintenance option, you will be asked
asked to choose the drive that you want to work with. After
choosing the drive you will be taken to the directory tree
screen. From the directory tree screen, you will move the
highlight bar to the location that you want this new directory
placed. You can do this by moving the highlight bar up or down
the directory tree and then pressing enter.
NOTE ! To place a new directory from the root directory, you
will want to highlight the ROOT option on the
directory tree list. If you want to place a new
subdirectory off from an existing directory, just
highlight that directory.
After choosing the directory location, press the 'C' key,
enter the name of the new directory and then press enter.
Deleting Existing Directories from the Directory Tree Screen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option can be reached from the Directory Tree Screen,
after choosing the File Maintenance option from the DOS/Disk
Utility Menu and the drive from the Drive Menu.
NOTE ! A directory cannot be deleted without first deleting
any files it may contain.
Choose the directory that you want to delete by moving the
highlight bar to that directory then press the 'D' key. You
will be asked to verify your choice.
Renaming Existing Directories from the Directory Tree Screen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Select the directory that you want to rename by moving the
highlight bar to that directory and then press the 'R' key.
You will be presented with the directory name in an editor
field, simply edit the existing name and then press enter.
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Printing the Directory list to your printer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the directory tree screen, you may choose to send a copy
of this directory tree information to your printer by pressing
the 'P' key.
NOTE ! You must have your printer connected to port LPT1.
Sorting the directory tree screen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting the Sort option from the directory tree screen will
present you with a scrolling menu that allows selecting
whether you want the directory list sorted or not.
NOTE ! Sorting this directory tree list does not change how
your directories are actually list on disk.
Update Directory File. Using this option will manually update
the directory tree mirror files.
NOTE ! fastmenu GOLD automatically updates the directory
tree files if any directory maintenance is done with
the utility module.
If you select not to have fastmenu GOLD update the
the directory tree files at startup from the Setup
module and you perform any directory maintenance
outside of the fastmenu GOLD environment, you may
need to use this option to update the directory tree
files manually.
Set System Date/Time
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option gives you a way to reset the system Date & Time.
Set Mouse Sensitivity
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will allow you to adjust the sensitivity or
movement ratio of your mouse.
Keyboard cursor speed and delay rate
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option provides a way to adjust the speed of cursor
movement and the amount of time before continious movement
from holding a cursor keys down.
fastmenu GOLD Disk Utilities File List.
======================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(ESC)............. Using this option will return you to the
previous menu.
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(F)ile Sort....... Selecting this option will present you with
a scrolling menu with options to select how
you want the file list sorted. You may sort
by filename, file extension, file size, or
file date. After selecting the sort field,
you will then be asked how to sort, either
by ascending or descending order.
(Up/Dn)........... Use these options to move the highlight bar
up and down the file list.
One key press will move the highlight bar up or down one file.
Holding the key down will fast advance the highlight bar
until you release the key or the end of the file list is
reached.
(Home/End)........ Pressing the End key will advance the
highlight bar to the end of the file list.
Pressing the Home key will move the
highlight bar to the beginning of the list.
(-/+/enter)....... Use these options to mark all files for
later maintenance. An asterisk will appear
to the left of the file name of every file
that has been marked.
Marking and Un-Marking Files.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Move the highlight bar to the file you want to mark and
then press the enter key. If this file has already been
marked it will be un-marked. After using the enter key to
mark or un-mark a file, the highlight bar will advance to
the next file in the file list.
2>- Pressing the plus key will mark all files in the file
list.
3>- Pressing the minus key will un-mark all marked files in
the file list.
(Q)uery........... Use this option to query the file list. DOS
wild cards are valid here.
NOTE ! The main purpose for including this option was to
give you a convenient way of copying or deleting
certain groups of files. For example if you wanted
to copy all the files with the .DAT extension, you
would first query the file list by entering [*.DAT]
at the File Spec. prompt. Then mark all these files
by pressing the plus key, then choose the (C)opy
option to copy all marked files.
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Querying the file list with (Q)uery option.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- After choosing this option, you will be given a place to
enter your query instructions and then press enter. After
which the file list will again be presented with only the
files that meet your query instructions listed.
Query Examples:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[*.*]....... This query would list all files.
[*.EXE]..... This query would list files with the EXE
extension.
(U)pdate.......... Use this option to update or re-list the
files from the present drive or directory.
NOTE ! You may change a disk while you are at the file list
screen. After changing to the new disk, just use the
(U)pdate option to list the files from the newly
inserted disk.
(S)tart........... Use this option to run applications outside
fastmenu GOLD.
This option was added to give you a way to test run an
application or to run applications or games from floppy
drives. Any program, game or application that can be run from
the DOS prompt can also be run through this option.
NOTE ! This option will only accept files with the extension
of .EXE, .COM or .BAT. Before you can use this option
option, you must first mark the file that you want to
run. After marking this file, just choose the (S)tart
option to run it.
(V)iew............ Use this option to read or view text files.
Before you can use this option, you must first mark the file
that you want to read or view. After marking this file just
choose option (V)iew to view it.
(E)dit............ Use this option to edit or create any ASCII
text file.
To edit an existing file you must first mark it from the file
list menu. After marking it, just choose option (E)dit from
the file list menu.
To create a new file, just choose option (E)dit without
marking any files. After entering the editor you will be asked
to enter the name for the new file. You may use any DOS legal
name except names that have extensions of .EXE or .COM.
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NOTE ! This editor has the ability to edit files with lines
up to 255 characters long. When you first enter the
editor, the right margin will be set to 255. If you
are editing a 80 column document you may want to
reset the right margin before you begin.
(C)opy............ Use this option to copy a file or group of
files from this directory or disk to
another directory or disk.
Before using this option, you must first mark the file or
group of files you want to copy, using the (Up/Dn) and (-/+/
enter) keys.
1>- After marking the files you want to copy just choose
option (C)opy to start the copy process.
2>- You will be asked to choose the Target Drive (the drive
that you want to copy these files to). After choosing the
Target Drive, fastmenu GOLD will check that drive for any
existing directories.
3>- If any directories are found, you will be asked to choose
which directory you want to copy these files to.
4>- If no directories exist or after choosing a directory, you
will be asked to verify the copying of these files.
NOTE ! If you have marked more files than will fit on the
Target Drive, fastmenu GOLD will copy as many
files to the Target Drive as will fit and then
prompt you to insert a new disk. After which will
continue to copy the remainder of the files marked
to this disk. fastmenu GOLD will continue this
process until all marked files have been copied.
This copy routine was added to give you a means of
backing up entire directories or groups of files
to floppies without the worry of running out of
disk space on the Target Drive.
(D)elete.......... Use this option to delete or remove a file
or groups of files.
Before using this option, you must first mark the file or
group of files you want to delete, using the (Up/Dn) and
(-/+/enter) keys.
1>- After marking the file or group of files you want to
delete, just choose option Delete to start the deletion
process.
2>- At this time you will be asked if you want to verify each
file before delete or continue without verifying.
(R)ename.......... Use this option to rename a file.
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After marking the file that you want to rename, just choose
the Rename option, you will be shown the old file name in a
edit field. Edit or change and then press the enter key.
(P)rint........... Use this option to send a copy of all
marked files to your printer. You must have
your printer connected to printer port LPT1
(A)ttribute....... Selecting this option will allow you to
reset the attributes for the selected file.
After selecting this option, you will be
presented with a screen that has the
selected file listed along with four icons
that can be used to toggle the different
file attributes on or off. An asterisk in
the box at the right of each icon means
that that attribute is turned on.
NOTICE !!! Unexperienced users should use extreme caution
using this option. Changing attributes on system
files could cause a complete system lockup.
(Z)IP Menu........ This option is explained on page 38.
This new option provides a complete front end menu for the
popular archiving utilities provided by PKWare.
NOTE !!! In order for this option to operate properly, you
must have a copy of PKWare's archiving utilities
(PKZIP, PKUNZIP, PKZIPFIX, and ZIP2EXE) located
in a directory included in your DOS path.
Zipping a list of files
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- From the files list menu, tag the files you want included
in the ZIP file.
2>- Select the 'Zip-Up' option.
3>- Enter the filename you want the ZIP file to be.
4>- Edit the ZIP command switches or press enter for defaults.
5>- Select the drive you want the ZIP file placed.
6>- Select the directory you want the ZIP file placed.
At this point, all files that were tagged will be archived
together and copied to the drive and directory you selected.
Un-Zipping an archived file (ZIP or EXE)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- From the files list menu, tag the archived files you want
to un-zip.
2>- Select the Un-Zip option.
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NOTE !! If you tag only one archived file, you will be
presented with a list of all files included in the
archived file. At this point you must tag all files
you want extracted from the archived file.
3>- Edit the UN-ZIP command switches or press enter.
4>- Select the drive you want the extracted files placed.
5>- Select the directory you want the extracted files placed.
At this point, if you have selected only one ZIP file, all
tagged files will be extracted to the drive and directory you
selected. If you selected more than one ZIP file, all zipped
files selected will be un-zipped to the drive and directory
that you selected.
ZIP to EXE
~~~~~~~~~~
This option will create a self extracting archived file from
a previously archived file. To use this option, simply tag
the ZIP file you want converted, select the ZIP to EXE option,
edit or except the ZIP command options.
View Zip
~~~~~~~~
This option will display all file data on any archived file
that you have tagged.
Test Zip
~~~~~~~~
This option will test for any corrupt files listed in a zipped
file.
Fix Zip
~~~~~~~
This option will attempt to fix any file found to be corrupt
in a ZIP file.
ZIP Options
~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will provide options to edit or change the default
ZIP file command switches used during all ZIP options.
fastmenu GOLD Phone Book/Dialer.
===============================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Esc............... Use this option to exit the phone book
module.
(N)ote............ This option works in two different ways,
depending of whether you have highlighted a
phonebook entry or not.
Page 20
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1>- If the highlight bar is at bottom of file when you
select this option, you will be taken to the
calendar note pad module where you may enter or
edit notes tagged to any calendar date.
2>- If the highlight bar is located on a phonebook
entry at the time you select this option, you will
be taken to a free form note editor that you may
use to enter a note that will be tagged only to
this phonebook entry.
NOTE !! If a note has been tagged to a phonebook entry,
when the highlight bar is located on that
entry, a icon located just to the right of the
Note icon will be highlighted a green color
and will display a less than (<) sign.
(I)nsert.......... Use this option to insert a new record to
the phone book.
The new record will be inserted just above the highlight bar.
If the highlight bar is at bottom of file, the new record
will be added to the end of the file. If you want, you can
insert a new record ahead of an existing record by moving the
highlight bar to that record, then choosing the insert option.
After choosing the insert option you will be given a new slot
to enter the information for this record. You can move between
fields with the Up/Down arrow keys. When finished press the
Esc key to save it.
(C)hange.......... Use this option to change or correct an
existing record.
To change a record, just move the highlight bar to the record
that you want to change, then choose the (C)hange option.
After selecting this option, you may move freely between
fields with the Up/Down arrow keys.
(D)elete.......... Use this option to remove an existing
record from the phone book.
To remove a record, just move the highlight bar to the record
that you want to remove, then choose the (D)elete option. You
will be prompted to verify this deletion.
(S)ort............ Use this option to sort all records on any
field.
After choosing the (S)ort option you will be asked to choose
the field that you want to sort on. Do this by moving the
highlight bar to that field and then press enter. After
selecting the field, you will be asked how you want to sort,
from Memory or from Disk. Sorting from memory is a much faster
sort method, with this method, all records are loaded into
memory then sorted. After the sort, all records are saved back
to disk. Sorting records from disk can be aborted at any time
with the Esc key but sorting takes much longer to complete.
Page 21
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(Q)uery........... Use this option when you want to locate a
record or group of records from the phone
book database.
A menu will present options for either a
global search or search by field.
The global search provides a single text
entry field. Any text entered here will
be used for making a global search of all
fields in the database.
The search by fields will present a screen
with all fields listed. Text entered at
a field will only be search for that field.
NOTE !! Leaving the search fields blank
will cause all records to be
included in the queryied list.
Records found that match your search
instructions will be listed to screen in
a scrolling list. You may then select to
Print, Dial, or Sort.
(R)............... Selecting this option will re-dial the last
number that was dialed.
(D)ial............ To dial a listed number, simply highlight
the entry that you want to dial and then
press the 'D' key. At the same time pick up
the phone receiver and after the number has
been dialed just press any key to close the
modem port.
NOTE !! You may also dial a number simply by clicking your
right mouse button on the entry that you want to
be dialed.
ALSO !! If you select this option when the highlight bar
is at bottom of file, a input field will be
presented for you to manually enter a number for
dialing.
After a phone number is dialed, the dialer goes on
standby, if you need to enter further numbers or
information, you can do so at this time. Pressing
the space bar will close the comm port and return
you to the phone book list.
(P)arms........... Use this option to setup optional modem
parms. Consult your Modem Setup Manual
on available command options.
(F)iles........... This option will display a pick list menu
with the following options.
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Open....... Use this option to open an existing phone book
database file. Upon selecting this option, you
will be presented with a list of existing
database files that you may open.
Create..... Use this option to create or open a new phone
book database file. Upon selecting this option,
you will be presented with a field to enter the
name of the new file.
NOTE ! do not include a file extension, fastmenu will
automatically append a ".FON" file extension.
Delete..... Use this option if you want to delete an
existing phone book database file. Upon
selecting this option, you will be presented
with a list of existing files to select from.
NOTE ! You may not delete a currently open file.
Up-Dn............. These options represent the up and down
arrow keys.
Using them will move the highlight bar up or down one record
at a time. Continuing to hold one of these keys down will
cause the highlight bar to scan until you release the key.
PgUp-PgDn......... These options represent the Page Up and
Page Down keys.
Using them will move the highlight bar up or down a full page
at a time. Continuing to hold one of these keys down will
cause the highlight bar to rapid scan until you release the
key.
NOTE ! The phone book module uses a file oriented database
and is limited in the number of records only by your
disk size.
Entering more than one command at the Command field.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A new option has been added to fastmenu GOLD that allows
entering more than one command at the Command field when
adding applications to the menu. The following commands are
now allowed at the Run File field:
* Any legal DOS command line command.
* Any legal DOS batch file command.
* Any legal and existing executable file name.
* The keyboard character ^ (carat key) Shift+6
* The keyboard character + (plus key)
* The letters: DROP
Page 23
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This option will allow doing away with those small batch files
you sometimes need to execute an application with. In other
words, if you have an application that you want to backup
after every time you run it you could enter the following
command:
Drive: C
Directory: CHOICE
Command: FIRST+^ECHO Insert backup disk.^PAUSE^COPY *.DAT A:
The above command list would first move to drive C, change to
the CHOICE directory, run the executable file FIRST, at exit
of the application it would prompt you to insert a backup
disk, pause for you, copy the DAT files to drive A, and then
return to fastmenu GOLD.
Notice the carat character (^) between each command. Also
notice that you can mix DOS command line commands and batch
file commands.
Also notice the plus character (+) after the 'FIRST' command
name. This plus character tells fastmenu GOLD to also ask the
user for a command line parameter at execution. You may have
more than one plus character. You will be asked for a command
line parm for each plus character you have entered.
NOTE ! Before this plus character will be active, you must
also switch the Parms: Y/N field to 'Y'.
If you want fastmenu GOLD to drop to DOS after executing a
command, then add the '^DROP' command at the point you want
to drop to DOS.
Any number of commands can be executed, just make sure you
separate each command with the carat character (^).
If you experience a problem of fastmenu dropping out after
executing a batch file, you might try adding the CALL
statement just before the batch file name or always include
the file extension with the executable filename.
Example:
Drive: C
Directory: PCTOOLS
Command: PCTOOLS^CD\BAT^CALL BATCH
The above example would switch to the PCTOOLS directory,
execute the PCTOOLS executable file, switch to the 'BAT'
directory, execute a batch file named BATCH, and then return
to fastmenu GOLD.
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-
Example:
Drive: C
Directory: DOS
Command: CHKDSK+^PAUSE
The above example would first ask you for a command line
parameter, switch to the DOS directory, execute the CHKDSK
application with your command line parameter, pause for you to
press enter, and then return to fastmenu GOLD.
Displaying PCX picture files during screen blanking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
During screen blanking fastmenu GOLD now first looks for a
script file named PCX.DAT. If this file exists, fastmenu will
display the PCX files according to the way you have them
listed in this script file. You may also include a time
parameter with each PCX file that tells fastmenu how long to
display each PCX file. The format of this file is as follows:
PCX.DAT < FileName of the script file.
4 < The first line is a number representing
MOUNTANS.PCX 10 \ the number of PCX files listed in this
HOUSE.PCX 10 \ file
UNICORN.PCX 5 > < All remaining lines are used to list
RACECAR.PCX 15 / the PCX files along with the time
(seconds) to display the PCX file.
All PCX files and the PCX.DAT file must be located in the same
directory that you have fastmenu GOLD in.
NOTE ! If this PCX.DAT file does not exist, fastmenu GOLD will
still display all PCX files found in the directory.
ALSO ! If you want, you may also have fastmenu GOLD display
any PCX file you want during start up. Simply rename
the PCX file you want displayed to OPENING.SCR.
Executing batch files (*.BAT) during screen blanking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you like, fastmenu will execute a batch file either before
or after screen blanking. To use these options, simply create
the batch file and copy it to the drive and directory that the
fastmenu files are located in. If fastmenu finds a batch file
with the name 'BEFORE.BAT', it will be executed just before
going into screen blanking. If a 'AFTER.BAT' file is found, it
will be executed after screen blanking. If a 'INSTEAD.BAT'
file is found, it will be executed instead of screen blanking.
These batch files may be used to execute applications or do
any system maintenance you would like done at this time.
Sorting Folder Titles or The Applications listed in a Folder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Sort option has been added to fastmenu GOLD's main menu to
give you a means of sorting the Folder Titles or the
Applications listed in a folder simply by selecting Sort from
the main menu.
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If you select this Sort option while viewing the Folder
Titles, you will be asked if you want to sort the Folder
Titles. If you answer with a 'Y' (Yes), fastmenu will sort all
the Folder Titles in alphabetical order and place all blank
lines at the bottom of the list.
If you select this Sort option while viewing the Applications
listed in a Folder, you will be asked if you want to sort the
App's in this Folder. If you answer with a 'Y' (Yes), fastmenu
will sort all Applications listed in this Folder in
alphabetical order and place all blank lines at the bottom of
the list.
Available options while in the Text/System File Editor.
=====================================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Esc................ Use this option to exit the phone book
module.
F1=Menu............ Use this option to access the Command
Menu.
Available options while at the Command Menu.
===========================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Esc................ Returns control to the editor.
F10=Run Batch...... This option allows you to execute DOS or
batch file commands. When you select this
option, all lines in the current text file
will be executed at the DOS level as if
they were executed from a batch file.
A>- Save....Return. After selecting this option, the current
filename will be displayed in an editor
box. You may edit the existing filename
and then press enter to save it. After
saving, you will be returned back to the
editor.
B>- Save......Exit. This option works just like the A>- option
above with the exception of, you will be
returned to DOS after saving the file.
C>- Open..Existing. After selecting this option, you will be
presented with a field that you can edit
the file spec for files that you want
listed for opening. DOS wild cards are
permitted here. After entering the file
spec, all files in the current path that
match the file spec will be listed in a
scrollable window for you to select from.
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NOTE ! If you currently have a text file loaded and have
made any changes to this file, you will be asked if
you want to save changes before opening a new file.
D>- Create.....New. After selecting this option, you will be
presented with a field to enter a new
filename. Any legal DOS filename can be
used.
NOTE ! If you currently have a text file loaded and have
made any changes to this file, you will be asked if
you want to save changes before creating a new file.
E>- Change....Path. This option allows you to change the
current drive and directory that will be
used for saving and opening text files
from.
After selecting this option, you will be
given a scrollable window with a list of
the drives on your system. Simply move the
fighlight bar to the desired drive and
press the enter key.
After selecting the drive, you will be
given a scrollable window with a list of
the directories on your system. Simply
move the highlight bar to the directory
you want and then press the enter key.
After selecting the directory, you will be
returned to the editor and the new path
will be listed at the top of your screen.
Any future Saves or Opens will be
performed from this new path.
F>- Tab......(4 ).. This option provides you with a way of
changing the number of spaces the cursor
moves to the right every time you press
the Tab key.
NOTE ! Pressing the Shift key plus the Tab key will move the
cursor in the left direction.
G>- Margin...(255). This option provides you with a way of
setting the right text margin. The right
margin may be set anywhere from 10 to 255.
Setting the margin to 0 will cause a 255
character right margin. Wordwrap will
occur at the right margin setting.
H>- Print.....File. Selecting this option will send the
currently opened text file to any printer
connected to printer port LPT1.
I>- Clear...Editor. Selecting this option will clear all text
from the editor.
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NOTE ! If you currently have a text file loaded and have
made any changes to this file, you will be asked if
you want to save changes before clearing the text.
J>- Delete....Line. Selecting this option will delete the line
at the current cursor location.
NOTE ! Every time you delete a line with this option it is
saved and replaces any text that is currently in the
paste buffer. You can replace any deleted line by
placing the cursor on a blank line and then
selecting the Insert option.
Just remember, if you have text saved in the paste
buffer, it will be replaced with any text from a
deleted line.
K>- Insert....Line. Selecting this option will insert a blank
line at the current cursor location.
L>- Copy........... Selecting this option will save any marked
block of text to the paste buffer.
You must first mark a block of text before
this option can be used.
Marking a block of text can be done by
holding the Shift key down while moving
the cursor with the arrow keys or by
holding your left mouse button down and
dragging the mouse cursor. The block will
be marked with dashed lines.
M>- Delete......... Selecting this option will delete any
marked block of text.
Any text that has been deleted with this
option will be saved to the paste buffer.
Marking a block of text can be done by
holding the Shift key down while moving
the cursor with the arrow keys or by
holding your left mouse button down and
dragging the mouse cursor. The block will
be marked with dashed lines.
N>- Paste.......... Selecting this option will paste any block
of text that has been saved to the paste
buffer. The block of text will be pasted
at the current cursor location.
O>- Print.......... Selecting this option will send any block
of text that has been previously saved to
the paste buffer to any printer connected
to printer port LPT1.
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Editor hot keys and commands.
============================:>
Insert............ Toggles between insert and overtype mode.
Red cursor designates insert mode.
~~~
White cursor designates overtype mode.
~~~~~
Tab............... Moves cursor right (tab spaces).
Shift+Tab......... Moves cursor left (tab spaces).
Delete............ Removes the character at the cursor
location.
Home.............. Moves cursor full left of text at cursor
line.
Ctrl+Home......... Moves cursor to top of screen.
End............... Moves cursor full right of text at cursor
line.
Ctrl+End.......... Moves cursor to bottom of screen.
PgUp.............. Moves text up 25 lines each press.
Ctrl+PgUp......... Moves to top of text file.
PgDn.............. Moves text down 25 lines each press.
Ctrl+PgDn......... Moves to bottom of text file.
Up/Dn Arrows...... Moves cursor up/down on line each press.
Right/Left Arrows. Moves cursor right/left one space each
press.
Ctrl+Y............ Delete the line at cursor location.
Ctrl+N............ Insert a blank line at the cursor location.
BLOCK OPERATIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ctrl+Arrow Keys... Mark a block of text.
Ctrl+Delete....... Delete a block of text.
Ctrl+Insert....... Insert a block of text.
Pressing any key except the Esc key will save a marked block.
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Calendar/Notepad Module.
=======================:>
Opening menu options and commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you first enter the Calendar/Notepad module you will be
presented with a calendar of the current month with the
current date highlighted in red.
To change the current date you can either click your mouse on
another day or press or click on the up or down arrow keys
Icons.
To change the month, simply press or click on the left or
right arrow keys or icons.
The menu at the right side of your screen under 'Select
Options' has several more options that allow entering/editing
notes or printing them.
To enter a note for a certain day or date, by using the
up/down or left/right arrow keys, move the highlight to the
date that you want to post a note for and then click on the
"D" Icon or simply press the 'D' key on your keyboard.
D>- Clicking on the "D" button will post a note for the
current day only.
W>- Clicking on the "W" button will post a note that will
be displayed every week on that day of the week.
M>- Clicking on the "M" button will post a note that will be
displayed every month on the selected day.
Y>- Clicking on the "Y" button will post a note that will be
displayed yearly on the selected day and month.
N>- Clicking on the "Note" button will allow creating and
editing general notes that are not associated to any
particular calendar date or phonebook data entry.
At this time you will be taken to the note editor where you
can proceed to enter the text for the note. The editor options
are as follows:
F1=Save......... Use this option to save your note to disk
when it is completed.
F2=Clear........ Using this option will totally clear the
editor of any existing text.
F3=Delete....... Use this option if you want to totally remove
a note from the system.
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F4=Copy......... Before using this option you must first mark
a block of text that you want to copy. You
can do this by holding your left mouse button
down while dragging your mouse to a new
location. You will notice a broken line box
being drawn as you move your mouse cursor,
inside this box represents the text that you
want to copy. After marking your text, simply
click your mouse on the F4 function key icon.
You may also mark a block of text using the
Shift+arrow keys found on your numeric pad.
F5=Paste........ After copying a block of text to the buffer,
you may paste it to a new location in this
note or to a newly created note by placing
the cursor at the location you want the text
located and then clicking or pressing the F5
key or Icon.
F6=Print........ Selecting this option will display a small
menu that has the following options:
A>- Print ALL.... Using this option will send the currently
loaded note to any printer connected to
port LPT1 on your system.
B>- Print Buffer. Using this option will send any text that
has been copied to the paste buffer to
any printer connected to port LPT1 on
your system.
F7=Dial......... Selecting this option will present the user
with a window that can be used to manually
enter a number to send to your modem.
You may also mark any number in the currently
opened note, using the block mark method and
then select the F7=Dial option to dial it.
NOTE !! Modem parms for this dialer are set
through the PhoneBook module under
the 'Parms' option.
NOTE ! All keyboard hot keys that are valid in the Fax/Text
file editor are also valid in this editor.
Print .. option
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will bring up a small menu with several
print options.
A>- Print Date... Selecting this option will print any note
found at the currently highlighted date
on the calendar.
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B>- Print Week... Selecting this option will print any note
found on the currently highlighted
calendar date plus any notes found on the
next seven calendar days.
C>- Print Month.. Selecting this option will print any note
found on the currently highlighted
calendar date plus all notes found for
all days in the rest of the month.
D>- Print Year... Selecting this option will print any note
found on the currently highlighted
calendar date plus all notes found for
all days in the rest of the year.
Esc.............. This option will return you to the
opening calendar menu.
Erase .. option
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option provides a means of removing several notes with
a single pass.
After selecting this option, you will be presented with a
scrollable tag menu with all notes listed. To delete notes
from this menu, you must tag the notes that you want deleted.
Tagging notes from this menu can be done either of three ways.
Simply click your left mouse button on the notes you want
tagged, move the highlight bar to the note you want to tag
and press the enter key, or by clicking your left mouse button
on the up/dn arrow icons and clicking on the enter icon.
After you have all notes tagged that you want deleted, simply
select the Delete icon from this menu. You will be asked to
verify this delete.
NOTE !! This Calendar/Notepad module saves all notes in
separate disk files and as a result you may have
quite a few files created and on disk at any one
time. For this reason I recommend creating a sub
directory your hard drive to store these files in.
The Setup module accessed from the fastmenu GOLD main
menu has options for selecting a sub directory for
the Calendar/Notepad to use.
Using separate files for each note drastically speeds
up the display of any note and also results in using
less disk space due to not needing to maintain a
index file along with the data files.
All notes saved to disk files are pure text files
with no formatting characters embedded. Most
wordprocessors or text file editors will have no
problem reading these files. Your Fax Modem will also
have no problem reading these files.
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The Tab Icon and how it works
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
fastmenu GOLD now has a new Icon located at the upper right
of your screen 'Tab'. This Icon is present in almost all
utility modules and screens.
Pressing this 'Tab' Icon at the main menu screen will force
fastmenu GOLD into screen blanking.
Pressing this 'Tab' Icon from any other module or screen will
immediately return you to the main menu.
NOTE !! If you are using the user ID and activity logging
option, pressing this 'Tab' Icon from any screen
or module will force fastmenu GOLD into screen
blanking.
Setting up the user ID and logging
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A new feature has been added to fastmenu GOLD that allows for
setting up user ID access to fastmenu GOLD and along with
this option you can also select to log all user activity.
This user ID and logging is setup through the Setup module,
through option 'C>- Add/Edit/Delete System Passwords' and then
option 'E>- Setup User ID And Activity Logging'.
While at this user ID setup screen, notice, in the window at
left you will see slots for up to 20 user names and ID's. By
pressing the up/dn arrow keys you can move between three
windows, allowing up to 60 users total.
To enter user names and ID's, simply press the Edit Icon, you
will be placed inside the window where you can begin entering
or editing users. In the Users Name fields, enter each users
complete name, at the associated ID field, enter that users
password or ID that he will use to access the system.
After entering all users, simply press the Esc key to quit.
If all is OK with the names and ID's and you want to save
them to disk, simply press the Save Icon.
After pressing the Save Icon, you will be asked if you want to
log all user activity. If you select to log all user activity
you will also be asked as to how large you want to allow the
log files to become before the current one is closed and a new
one is created. A suggested size for these files is around
340kb. This allows copying or saving them to 360kb diskettes.
These log files can be viewed or deleted at any time from the
Setup module options 'J' and 'K'.
NOTE !! This user activity logging can be turned on or off
at any time by returning to this setup menu and
selecting the Log On/Off Icon. This Icon will toggle
logging on or off.
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ALSO You may return to this user ID setup menu at any time
and add/edit/change user names and passwords.
Executing applications from the Folder Titles page.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Select a blank folder title line.
2>- Answer Yes to adding another Folder Title.
3>- Enter the title or name of the application you want to
execute at the Title name field and press enter.
4>- At this point you will be taken to a blank Folder list.
Select blank line number #1 or A.
5>- Answer Yes to adding a application to this line.
6>- At this point, you should be taken to the application edit
screen.
7>- At the Title field, enter a carat character (^). This
character is entered by pressing your shift key and the
number 6 key at the same time. fastmenu GOLD will
automatically execute an application when it encounters
this carat character as the last character in a Title.
8>- At the rest of the fields (Drive, Directory, etc) add the
necessary information for accessing this application.
9>- After all fields have been edited, press the Save option.
After pressing the Save option this application will be
automatically executed for testing. After exiting the
application, you will be returned to the main menu of fastmenu
GOLD and your new application will be ready to run from the
Folder Titles page.
NOTE !! If you need to change or edit this new Title, simply
click your right mouse button on the Folder Title
and then select Z=Edit Folder.
You may also do the same thing with the keyboard by
holding the Ctrl key down and then press the letter
associated with this Title.
Trouble Shooting.......................
======================================:>
VGA Problems...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
fastmenu GOLD has built-in VGA detection that will prevent it
from being run on any system that is not equipped with a VGA
color card and monitor.
New VGA Color cards are coming out every day from new and
existing manufacturers, due to this, you may experience some
problems getting fastmenu GOLD to run on these new cards.
Page 34
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If you know that you do have a full VGA system and yet you
still cannot get fastmenu GOLD to run, a way has been built-
in to fastmenu GOLD to bypass this VGA detection.
Create a file named: SKIP-VGA.DAT
This file should have only one line in it and that line
should read: VGA You may use any text editor or wordprocessor
to create this file.
This SKIP-VGA.DAT file should be copied to the same directory
that you have installed fastmenu GOLD to.
Input Runtime Module Path:.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
fastmenu GOLD uses a runtime module at various times during
operation and must be able to locate it.
This runtime module is in a file named: BRUN45.EXE.
For proper operation you must have a path statement in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file telling DOS where to locate this file. Also
you should have a path statement to the ROOT directory and the
directory that your DOS (DOS, DRDOS, NDOS, DOS50) files are
located in.
An example of the minimum path statement would be:
PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\GOLD
fastmenu GOLD drops out after executing a batch file...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With this version, you are required to include the file
extension at the Run File field when executing batch files.
If you are having this problem, simply enter the Edit
Applications module for the page that this application is
listed on, select to Add/Edit, then select the application you
are having problems with, move the cursor to the the Run File
field and add '.BAT' to the end of the run filename.
Can't find C:\GOLD\FAST1234.BAT file......
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This prompt may show up at exit time from fastmenu GOLD if you
are running a DOS version other that MS-DOS or PC-DOS.
To correct this problem, simply create a file named:
"FAST1234.IFO". Place this file into the directory that you
installed fastmenu GOLD to. This file does not have to have
any information in it and can be of 0 size.
Page 35
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This version of fastmenu GOLD was written and compiled using
MicroSoft QuickBASIC v4.5.
About 30% of the code is in QuickBASIC including all of the
VGA screens and windows. The rest of the code is comprised
of super fast compiled assembly language routines.
New Version and Update Policy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Registered users of fastmenu GOLD can obtain a copy of any
updated version by sending $12.00 to the below address. New
updates are sent out on HD 3 1/2 in disks. A full manual
(on disk) is included with each update.
DISCLAIMER
Users must accept this disclaimer of warranty: This
application supplied as is. The author disclaims all
warranties, expressed or implied, including, without
limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness
for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages,
direct or consequential, which may result from the use of this
manual or the application it describes. jwh: SoftWare
6947 Haggerty Road
Hillsboro, Ohio 45133
Phone (513) 393-2402
fastmenu GOLD is a product and copyright (c) 1990-95 by:
jwh: SoftWare. All rights reserved.
MicroSoft QuickBASIC is a product and copyright (c) by:
The Microsoft Corporation.
PKZIP, PKUNZIP, PKZIPFIX, and ZIP2EXE are all products and
copyright (c) by: PKWARE, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 36
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Contents of the README.1ST file
FASTMENU GOLD v7.0b Desktop/Graphics Menu
A complete desktop application that includes
a full featured hard drive menuing system,
a complete Disk/File/Zip File Utility, a full
featured Address/Phonebook/Dialer, a Calendar
Notepad, 11 Digit Tape Calculater, and a full
featured Text File Editor. Full point and
click mouse support. Totally drops out of
memory during application execution.
fastmenu GOLD (tm)
Version 7.0b
Copyright (C) 1990-95 by:
jwh: SoftWare
6947 Haggerty Rd
Hillsboro, Ohio 45133
Phone: (513)393-2402
Distributed By:
Kathi J Hildenbrand
jwh:SoftWare
6947 Haggerty Rd
Hillsboro, Ohio 45133
Phone: (513)393-2402
-
Table of contents. Page
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
Why fastmenu GOLD?......................................... 2
Applications Main Menu..................................... 4
Edit Applications Module................................... 5
Setup/Configuration Module................................. 7
Editing the Logo File...................................... 10
Setting up timed application/batch execution............... 10
Installation Instructions.................................. 11
Re-Assigning the Function Key Icons........................ 12
11 Digit Calculator........................................ 12
DOS/Disk Utility........................................... 12
Disk Utility File List Screen.............................. 15
Working with ZIP files..................................... 19
Phone Book/Dialer.......................................... 20
Entering multiple commands at the Command field............ 23
Displaying PCX picture files during screen blanking........ 25
Executing batch files before & after screen blanking....... 25
Sorting Folder Titles or Applications Listed in a Folder... 25
Text/System File Editor.................................... 26
Calendar/Notepad module.................................... 30
The Tab Icon and how it works.............................. 33
Setting up the user ID and logging......................... 33
Executing applications from the Folder Titles page......... 34
Trouble Shooting........................................... 34
New Version and Update Policy.............................. 36
NOTE !!!!! IN ORDER FOR THIS PROGRAM TO OPERATE PROPERLY YOU
MUST HAVE A PATH STATEMENT TO THE ROOT DIRECTORY,
YOUR DOS DIRECTORY, AND THE FASTMENU GOLD
DIRECTORY. THIS PATH STATEMENT SHOULD BE IN YOUR
AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE.
EXAMPLE: PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\GOLD
Page 1
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Over the years that computers have been with us, they have
gone from very large and complicated units to small desktop
and very powerful pieces of equipment. Along with that growth,
computers have become an almost must in every business, school
and now are becoming a standard in most homes. Also the coming
of the ever popular Hard Drive has made computing even more
popular among every computer owner from business to home use.
Storage capacities of Hard Drives have risen from around one
megabyte to now well over 300 megabytes of storage, enabling
the user to store and use numerous applications without the
need of using floppies for every day applications and data
storage.
One problem that has arisen from these very large Hard Drive
units is that it has become very hard for the user to remember
the names of all the directories and the names of all the
executable files that start the different applications that
they have stored on their Hard Drives. Also, in an office or
home situation where there are numerous people that use the
same computer to do different tasks and with different ideas
about how to setup access to their application, a Hard Drive
can become very messy and hard to find your way around in.
Also in most business situations the need for fast access to
applications is becoming more and more important.
As most of us know, since the Hard Drive was born, there has
been numerous menu programs written to help deal with this
problem, from small applications menuing systems to very large
and memory consuming applications. However, there seems to be
a very large gap, the small ones being to small and not
adequate for most needs and the larger windowing systems
needing more computer than most office and home users have at
hand. For this reason fastmenu GOLD was created.
What fastmenu GOLD can do for you:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
o.. Fast one or two key strokes to your applications.
o.. Consumes no memory during applications execution.
o.. Allows up to 80 folders up to 20 applications per folder.
o.. Allows quick editing of the applications lists.
o.. Can be operated with a Mouse.
o.. Built in Auto Mouse Detection.
o.. PassWord protection on any or all outside applications
execution, Module operations and DOS exits.
What you need to run fastmenu GOLD:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
o.. IBM PC/XT/AT or Compatible with DOS 2.2+.
o.. 512Kb of memory.
o.. A Hard Drive and at least one floppy.
o.. VGA Color Card and Monitor.
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QUICK INSTALLATION AND STARTUP.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Make a backup copy of your original disk.
2>- Insert your backup disk into any drive.
3>- Move to that drive and type: INSTALL
4>- Follow onscreen instructions to complete the installation.
5>- Make sure you have a PATH statement in your AUTOEXEC.BAT
to your ROOT,DOS, and GOLD directorys.
6>- After installation, type 'GOLD' to start fastmenu GOLD.
7>- Add 'GOLD' as the last line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file if
you want fastmenu GOLD to automatically start when you
turn your computer on.
ADDING A APPLICATION.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- After you have gotten fastmenu GOLD up and running, at the
main menu screen you will see a window with twenty lines
lettered A to T. The letters on these lines will be blue.
These lines represent the folder titles. Before adding any
applications you must first create a folder (some sample
folders may already have been created for you) and give it
a title. To create folder #1, simply press the 'A' key and
at this point you will be given a place to enter the
folder title and then press the enter key.
2>- After entering the title for folder A, you will be taken
to a blank folder A. At this time you will also see two
new prompts, Title and Edit Applications. At this point we
want to add a application to this folder, so choose option
Edit Applications or click your mouse on a blank line.
3>- After selecting the Edit Applications option, you will be
taken to the applications editor. To Add an application,
from the opening menu, select the Add/Edit option by
choosing option 'A'.
4>- After selecting the Add/Edit option, an Applications List
window will be displayed. We will Add an application to
line A, so move the highlight bar to line A, press enter.
5>- After selecting line A, you will be presented with a data
entry screen to fill out. At the first field, enter the
title or name of the application that you want to execute
with this line.
6>- At the Drive field, press the PgDn key and select the
drive that this application resides on. At the directory
field, press the PgDn key and select the directory that
this application resides in. At Run File field, press PgDn
and select the file that runs this application.
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7>- If you want this application password protected, enter a
'Y' at the Password field. If you are running DOS Version
3.3 or later, answer the Fast Run field with a 'Y'. If you
want fastmenu GOLD to pause before execution and ask you
for command line parameters, answer the Command Line Parms
field with a 'Y'. NOTE ! If you answer this field with a
'Y' then you must also include a (+) plus sign directly
after the run filename at the Run File Field.
9>- At this time you will be presented with two more fields.
if you enter any information in these fields, it will be
displayed at application execution or exit. If you do not
want any prompt displayed, simply leave these fields
blank. When you are finished with these two fields, press
the Esc key to exit the edit mode.
10>- At this time you may save this entry by pressing the 'S'
key or abort and not save it by pressing the Esc key.
fastmenu GOLD Applications Main Menu.
====================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Exit.............. Selecting this option will exit you to DOS.
NOTE ! If you want, you may have fastmenu GOLD execute a
batch file or application upon exit by clicking
your right mouse button (or CTRL+X) on the Exit
button and filling out the path information.
Y=Setup........... This option should be used the very first
time you use fastmenu GOLD.
Here you will set the program parameters that will make
fastmenu GOLD work properly. This option may be accessed
by pressing the letter 'Y' or by pointing the mouse at
the prompt icon and then pressing the left mouse button.
1 through 6....... Used to access the built-in utilities.
F1 through F10.... Used as hot keys to Applications.
Up-Dn Arrow....... Pressing the up or down arrow keys will
page through the Folder Titles or Folders.
=................. Pressing this icon will access the Folder
or Applications listed on a folder and give
you the option of sorting them.
*................. Pressing this Icon will toggle between the
3D or flat fonts.
?................. Press this Icon to display registration
information.
Tab............... Pressing this Icon will force fastmenu GOLD
into screen blanking.
Page 4
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fastmenu GOLD Edit Applications Module.
======================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ESC=Exit.......... Using this option will return you back to
the fastmenu GOLD main menu.
Add/Edit.......... This option allows you to add or change
programs or applications on this folder.
Any application that can run in DOS can be started or executed
with fastmenu GOLD, either through the applications menu or
through the (S)tart option from the file list menu.
Adding a new application.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Choose option Add/Edit from the edit applications menu
prompt list then from the applications list select the
application or the line that you want to Add/edit. You
will be presented with seven questions to answer.
2>- The first question will be asking you for the title or
name of the program that you want to run. This title or
name can be anything you want it to be, and is only used
as a reference.
3>- The second question will be asking you for the name or
letter of the drive that this program will be running
from. Examples would be: A, B or C. Pressing the PgDn
key will list all available drives on your system.
4>- The third question will be asking you for the name of
the directory that this program is in. Always separate
multiple directory entries with a backslash (\).
Press the PgDn key to list all available directories on
your system.
NOTE ! If you are running this new program from a floppy
and/or the program is in the root directory, just
press at this prompt.
5>- The fourth question will be asking you for the name of
the file that you normally have to type in to run the
program (The executable file). You may also enter any
command line switches or parameters here. This is a
scrollable edit field that allows entering up to 255
characters.
NOTE ! Multiple commands may be entered at this field.
This is explained further later in this manual.
ALSO This file will normally have an extension name
of either .EXE, .COM, or .BAT.
Page 5
-
6>- The fifth question will be asking if you want to
password protect this program. If you do not want
password protection, just answer this question with a
'N'. If you want password protection for this program,
answer this question with a 'Y'.
7>- The sixth question will be asking if you want to use the
Fast Load method of launching this application. This
method is recommended, but may cause some problems with
early versions of DOS.
8>- The seventh question will be asking if you want fastmenu
GOLD to pause before execution of this application so
you may enter a variable DOS command line parameter.
9>- At this time you will be presented with two more fields.
If you enter any information in either of these fields
it will be displayed with a pause during application
execution or exit. If you do not want any prompt
displayed, simply leave the field blank.
After completing these fields, and pressing Esc, you will be
asked either (Y)es or (N)o to saving the changes. Pressing
the 'S' key will save this entry to disk.
11>- At this time, if you chose to password protect this
program, you will be given a place to enter the
password that you want to use to access this program.
You are allowed up to six characters or numbers in this
password. After entering this password, you will be
prompted to verify it's validity.
CAUTION !!! Be sure to remember this password, it cannot
be removed from a program listing unless you
know the password. This password is totally
scrambled before it is written to file and
would be very hard to unscramble.
Delete App's...... This option is used to delete or remove an
existing application.
Deleting a listing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Choose option Delete application from the menu list.
2>- After choosing this option, all applications listed on
this page will be listed to screen. Select the one that
you want to delete with the highlight bar and then press
enter. You will be asked to verify your delete
List.............. This option will list to screen, all
applications or programs that are on this
page.
Edit Title........ This option will allow you to change the
Title or Name that is presently being used
used for this page.
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Delete This Folder.. Choose this option if you want to delete
this page from the menu.
Update Directory Tree.. This option will update the directory
tree list that you see when you press
the PgDn key to list the directories.
Password Protection
for this Folder...... Selecting this option will give you the
option for entering or removing password
protection for this entire Folder.
fastmenu GOLD Setup Module.
==========================:>
This module offers several options for customizing fastmenu
GOLD.
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ESC=Quit.......... This option will return you to the fastmenu
applications menu.
A >-- Select System Fonts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will take you to a screen with all
available fonts listed for your selection. Select a font by
clicking your left mouse button on the desired font or press
the letter associated with the desired font.
B >-- Setup Default program parameters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SUB MENU
~~~~~~~~
A >- Default Path (Fax/Text File Editor)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will allow you to setup a default
drive and directory that the fax/text file editor will use
at startup.
B >- Default Filespec (Fax/Text File Editor)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will allow you to set a default file
spec that the fax/text file editor will use.
C >- Default Path (Phonebook/Dialer)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will allow you to set a default path
for the Phonebook/Dialer to use.
D >- Default Path (Calendar/Notepad)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will allow you to set a default path
for the Calendar/Notepad to use.
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-
E >- Folder/Applications Sort Option (ON/OFF)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will give you the option of turning
on or off the ability to sort the folders or applications
listed in a folder from the main menu screen.
F >- Display Logo At Screen Blanking (ON/OFF)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will give you the option of turning
on or off the display of the logo during screen blanking.
G >- Setup Automatic Execution At Startup
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will provide you with a input screen
that you may type in the Title, Drive, Directory, and Run
File of the application you want executed at fastmenu GOLD
startup. If you setup an application at this screen, it
will be executed at startup and after exeting this
application you will be returned to fastmenu GOLD.
H >- Edit/Change The Default Command Line Parms Prompt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will display the default command
line parms prompt in a editing field. You may edit or
change this prompt to read any thing you want. This prompt
is the prompt that is displayed to the user if thay have
selected an application from the main menu that has been
setup to ask the user for command line parms.
I >- Display Prompt Before & After Execution (On/Off)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
During execution of an application, fastmenu GOLD displays
a user prompt message telling the user the name of the
application being executed, after exiting the application,
another prompt message is displayed telling the user,
Returning to fastmenu GOLD Please Wait !!. These prompts
can be turned off with this option.
C >-- Add/Edit/Delete System Passwords
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A >- Password Protect Exit To DOS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may exit
fastmenu GOLD and go to DOS with or without a password.
B >- Password Protect The Setup Module
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may enter
the Setup module with or without a password.
C >- Password Protect The Edit Applications or F keys
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may enter
the Edit Applications Module or edit any of the function
key applications with or without a password.
Page 8
-
D >- Password Protect The Calendar NotePad Module.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may
access the calendar notepad.
E >- Password Protect The Address/PhoneBook Module.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may
access the address/phonebook.
F >- Password Protect The DOS/Disk/Zip Utility Module.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may
access the DOS/Disk/Zip utility.
G >- Password Protect The Text/System File Edit Module.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may
access the Text/System file edit.
H >- Password Protect The 11 Digit Tape Calculator Module.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may
access the 11 Digit Calculator Tape.
I >- Setup User ID And Activity Logging
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup ID and password protection at
startup of fastmenu GOLD. This option also provides user
activity logging options. More detail is given on these
options later in this manual.
D >--- Update Directory Tree Files at Startup
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you answer this option with a 'N', fastmenu GOLD will
startup much faster, skipping the opening screen and updating
the directory tree files. You will need to update the
directory tree files manually if any directory maintenance is
done outside the fastmenu GOLD environment.
E >- Toggle Screen Blanking On/Off
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to select whether you want screen blanking or
not. This option will present you with one question that can
be answered by either a 'Y' if you want screen blanking.
NOTE ! fastmenu GOLD can also be setup to display PCX picture
files during screen blanking. This option is explained
in more detail later in this manual.
ALSO ! This screen blanking only has an effect on fastmenu
GOLD's main menu screen and will not interrupt your
applications in any way. During screen blanking, a
logo will dance around on your screen, letting you
know that fastmenu GOLD is ready to go at any time by
pressing any key on your keyboard or moving the mouse.
Page 9
-
If you have chosen to use the screen blanking option,
you will then be asked to enter the amount of time
(seconds) that fastmenu GOLD waits before going into
screen blanking. The time can be any number of seconds
between 1 and 999.
F >------- Set Opening Screen Mode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
fastmenu GOLD will run in either of two screen modes.
Mode 1 >- In this mode fastmenu GOLD will display the page
titles on the first screen, at startup.
Mode 2 >- In this mode fastmenu GOLD will display any of the
application folders on the first screen, at startup.
You may select the folder that is first displayed.
When you select option 'F' from this setup menu, you will be
asked if you want the folder titles displayed first. If you
answer this prompt with a 'N', then you will also be asked to
enter the folder title number that you want displayed at
startup. You may enter any folder number between 1 and 40.
G >----------- Edit User Logo File
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to edit or change the FASTLOGO.IFO file. This
file contains the information that you will see moving about
during screen blanking. Also the information in this file is
listed to screen on the main menu. After choosing this option
you will be presented with a screen that has this file listed
in a small editing window. You may make any changes you want
to this file and then press F1 to Save or Esc to exit.
H >-------- View User Activity/Password Log File
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to view the user ID and password log files. If
you have chosen to have any of the passwords logged, then they
will be listed in this file.
I >------ Delete User ID and Password Log Files
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to delete or completely remove all logged
user ID or password use. You will be presented with a list of
these log files to choose from. You will be prompted to verify
your choice.
J >--- Timed Application execution
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will take you to a menu where you may
select any timed event to create or edit from A to J (10). If
you want to setup a new timed event, just select a blank line
and you will be asked to give a description for this event.
After entering the description, you will see it listed as a
selection, just select it and you will be taken to the timed
event editor.
Page 10
-
Selecting this option will open a window with data fields for
you to fill in. At the first field, enter the time in 12 hr
format (civilian time) that you want the application or batch
file executed.
NOTE ! From midnight to 12:59 afternoon is considered AM and
from 12:59 afternoon to 11:59 afternoon is considered
PM.
At the Date field enter the date that you want this
application or batch file to be executed.
NOTE ! If you want this execution to be on a daily basis,
leave this Date field completely blank. Then answer
the Yes/No weekday prompts to tell fastmenu on what
days you want this application/batch file to be run.
At the remaining three fields, enter the Drive, Path, and the
name of the executable file. After completing all fields,
press the Esc key to exit then press the 'S' key to save them.
At this field, you are allowed to enter multiple commands up
to 255 characters in length.
fastmenu GOLD installation instructions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE ! Before you install fastmenu GOLD I strongly recommend
that you make backup copies of your original disk.
Consult your DOS manual on making backup copies or
using DISKCOPY on your machine.
fastmenu GOLD is not a complicated program to setup and does
not require a lot of work to get running. The following three
steps is all that is needed to insure proper operation.
1>- Insert your fastmenu backup/distribution disk into any
drive, move to that drive and type: INSTALL.
Follow on-screen instructions to install fastmenu GOLD.
2>- Make sure your AUTOEXEC.BAT file contains a path statement
to the ROOT, DOS, and GOLD directories on your hard drive
An example of the path statement: PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\GOLD
3>- If you want fastmenu GOLD to startup automatically, add to
the end of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file the following line: GOLD
NOTE ! This line must be the last line in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
This should complete the setup procedure for fastmenu GOLD.
Page 11
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Assigning applications to the function key prompts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To assign a application to one of the function key prompts,
simply press the Ctrl key plus the corresponding function key
down or click the right mouse button on the function key
prompt. If the Function Key button is currently blank, you
may simply click your left mouse button on it.
fastmenu GOLD 11 Digit Calculator.
=================================:>
This calculator works somewhat different than most people are
used to, in that you first need to enter a number and then
enter the operator. To start a calculation you first need to
type in the first number and then press the enter key then
enter the second number followed by the operand. Continue a
chain calculation by entering the number and then the operand.
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BackSp............ This option will delete the number at the
cursor location and move the cursor left
one position.
1 to 0............ This option will enter the chosen number to
the calculator.
/................. This option is used to divide numbers.
*................. This option is used to multiply numbers.
-................. This option is used to subtract numbers.
+................. This option is used to add numbers.
Enter............. This option is used to end a calculation.
P................. This option toggles printer on/off.
Up Arrow.......... Use this key to enter numbers to memory.
Down Arrow........ Use this key to pull numbers from memory.
C................. Press this key to clear the tap.
M................. Press this key to clear memory.
DOS/Disk/Zip File Utility Module.
===============================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Format Diskettes.. Use this option to format new diskettes or
floppies.
Page 12
-
NOTE ! For reasons of compatibility between computers, this
program uses the standard DOS format program found
in your DOS directory. For proper operation, your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file must contain the path to your DOS
files.
Formatting diskettes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- After choosing the Format Diskettes option, you will
be asked to choose whether you want to format a Non
Systems Disk or DOS Systems Disk (Boot Disk). If you
choose to format a systems disk, after the format
process, the necessary DOS files will be copied to it,
creating a bootable DOS diskette.
2>- After choosing the format type you will be asked to
choose the drive that you want to format from.
3>- After choosing the drive you will be presented with
four more options.
A>- The first option in this list will be used if you
want to format a disk to the same capacity that
is standard for your disk drive unit.
B>- The second option in this list will be used if you
have a high density 1.2 Meg 5 1/4in. drive and you
want to format a low density 360Kb disk.
C>- The third option in this list will be used if you
have a high density 1.5 Meg 3 1/2in. drive and you
want to format a low density 720Kb disk.
D>- The fourth option will be used if you want to type
in a format switch. You will be presented with a
user input field for editing the format command
and command switches.
4>- After choosing the format density you will be asked
to insert a disk in the chosen drive and press any
key to begin formatting.
Single Pass DiskCopy. Use this option to copy a floppy disk in
one pass without the need of switching
disks back and forth during the copy of
high density disks.
File Maintenance..... Use this option if you want to perform
any of the following: Copy, Delete,
Rename, View, Edit, or Start files. You
may also do directory maintenance from
this option.
1>- After choosing this option, you will be asked to choose
the drive that you want to perform file maintenance on.
Page 13
-
2>- After choosing the drive, fastmenu GOLD will check the
drive to see if it has any directories. Select the
directory you want and then press enter. At this time
you will be presented with the file list that was found
on this drive. If no files are found you will be
returned to the directory menu. Choosing a directory is
done by moving the highlight bar to the directory you
want with the Up and Down arrow keys and then pressing
the enter key.
3>- After choosing the directory, you will be taken to the
file list menu. Help with the file list options can be
found later in this manual.
Creating a new Directory from the Directory Tree screen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After choosing the File Maintenance option, you will be asked
asked to choose the drive that you want to work with. After
choosing the drive you will be taken to the directory tree
screen. From the directory tree screen, you will move the
highlight bar to the location that you want this new directory
placed. You can do this by moving the highlight bar up or down
the directory tree and then pressing enter.
NOTE ! To place a new directory from the root directory, you
will want to highlight the ROOT option on the
directory tree list. If you want to place a new
subdirectory off from an existing directory, just
highlight that directory.
After choosing the directory location, press the 'C' key,
enter the name of the new directory and then press enter.
Deleting Existing Directories from the Directory Tree Screen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option can be reached from the Directory Tree Screen,
after choosing the File Maintenance option from the DOS/Disk
Utility Menu and the drive from the Drive Menu.
NOTE ! A directory cannot be deleted without first deleting
any files it may contain.
Choose the directory that you want to delete by moving the
highlight bar to that directory then press the 'D' key. You
will be asked to verify your choice.
Renaming Existing Directories from the Directory Tree Screen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Select the directory that you want to rename by moving the
highlight bar to that directory and then press the 'R' key.
You will be presented with the directory name in an editor
field, simply edit the existing name and then press enter.
Page 14
-
Printing the Directory list to your printer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the directory tree screen, you may choose to send a copy
of this directory tree information to your printer by pressing
the 'P' key.
NOTE ! You must have your printer connected to port LPT1.
Sorting the directory tree screen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting the Sort option from the directory tree screen will
present you with a scrolling menu that allows selecting
whether you want the directory list sorted or not.
NOTE ! Sorting this directory tree list does not change how
your directories are actually list on disk.
Update Directory File. Using this option will manually update
the directory tree mirror files.
NOTE ! fastmenu GOLD automatically updates the directory
tree files if any directory maintenance is done with
the utility module.
If you select not to have fastmenu GOLD update the
the directory tree files at startup from the Setup
module and you perform any directory maintenance
outside of the fastmenu GOLD environment, you may
need to use this option to update the directory tree
files manually.
Set System Date/Time
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option gives you a way to reset the system Date & Time.
Set Mouse Sensitivity
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will allow you to adjust the sensitivity or
movement ratio of your mouse.
Keyboard cursor speed and delay rate
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option provides a way to adjust the speed of cursor
movement and the amount of time before continious movement
from holding a cursor keys down.
fastmenu GOLD Disk Utilities File List.
======================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(ESC)............. Using this option will return you to the
previous menu.
Page 15
-
(F)ile Sort....... Selecting this option will present you with
a scrolling menu with options to select how
you want the file list sorted. You may sort
by filename, file extension, file size, or
file date. After selecting the sort field,
you will then be asked how to sort, either
by ascending or descending order.
(Up/Dn)........... Use these options to move the highlight bar
up and down the file list.
One key press will move the highlight bar up or down one file.
Holding the key down will fast advance the highlight bar
until you release the key or the end of the file list is
reached.
(Home/End)........ Pressing the End key will advance the
highlight bar to the end of the file list.
Pressing the Home key will move the
highlight bar to the beginning of the list.
(-/+/enter)....... Use these options to mark all files for
later maintenance. An asterisk will appear
to the left of the file name of every file
that has been marked.
Marking and Un-Marking Files.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Move the highlight bar to the file you want to mark and
then press the enter key. If this file has already been
marked it will be un-marked. After using the enter key to
mark or un-mark a file, the highlight bar will advance to
the next file in the file list.
2>- Pressing the plus key will mark all files in the file
list.
3>- Pressing the minus key will un-mark all marked files in
the file list.
(Q)uery........... Use this option to query the file list. DOS
wild cards are valid here.
NOTE ! The main purpose for including this option was to
give you a convenient way of copying or deleting
certain groups of files. For example if you wanted
to copy all the files with the .DAT extension, you
would first query the file list by entering [*.DAT]
at the File Spec. prompt. Then mark all these files
by pressing the plus key, then choose the (C)opy
option to copy all marked files.
Page 16
-
Querying the file list with (Q)uery option.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- After choosing this option, you will be given a place to
enter your query instructions and then press enter. After
which the file list will again be presented with only the
files that meet your query instructions listed.
Query Examples:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[*.*]....... This query would list all files.
[*.EXE]..... This query would list files with the EXE
extension.
(U)pdate.......... Use this option to update or re-list the
files from the present drive or directory.
NOTE ! You may change a disk while you are at the file list
screen. After changing to the new disk, just use the
(U)pdate option to list the files from the newly
inserted disk.
(S)tart........... Use this option to run applications outside
fastmenu GOLD.
This option was added to give you a way to test run an
application or to run applications or games from floppy
drives. Any program, game or application that can be run from
the DOS prompt can also be run through this option.
NOTE ! This option will only accept files with the extension
of .EXE, .COM or .BAT. Before you can use this option
option, you must first mark the file that you want to
run. After marking this file, just choose the (S)tart
option to run it.
(V)iew............ Use this option to read or view text files.
Before you can use this option, you must first mark the file
that you want to read or view. After marking this file just
choose option (V)iew to view it.
(E)dit............ Use this option to edit or create any ASCII
text file.
To edit an existing file you must first mark it from the file
list menu. After marking it, just choose option (E)dit from
the file list menu.
To create a new file, just choose option (E)dit without
marking any files. After entering the editor you will be asked
to enter the name for the new file. You may use any DOS legal
name except names that have extensions of .EXE or .COM.
Page 17
-
NOTE ! This editor has the ability to edit files with lines
up to 255 characters long. When you first enter the
editor, the right margin will be set to 255. If you
are editing a 80 column document you may want to
reset the right margin before you begin.
(C)opy............ Use this option to copy a file or group of
files from this directory or disk to
another directory or disk.
Before using this option, you must first mark the file or
group of files you want to copy, using the (Up/Dn) and (-/+/
enter) keys.
1>- After marking the files you want to copy just choose
option (C)opy to start the copy process.
2>- You will be asked to choose the Target Drive (the drive
that you want to copy these files to). After choosing the
Target Drive, fastmenu GOLD will check that drive for any
existing directories.
3>- If any directories are found, you will be asked to choose
which directory you want to copy these files to.
4>- If no directories exist or after choosing a directory, you
will be asked to verify the copying of these files.
NOTE ! If you have marked more files than will fit on the
Target Drive, fastmenu GOLD will copy as many
files to the Target Drive as will fit and then
prompt you to insert a new disk. After which will
continue to copy the remainder of the files marked
to this disk. fastmenu GOLD will continue this
process until all marked files have been copied.
This copy routine was added to give you a means of
backing up entire directories or groups of files
to floppies without the worry of running out of
disk space on the Target Drive.
(D)elete.......... Use this option to delete or remove a file
or groups of files.
Before using this option, you must first mark the file or
group of files you want to delete, using the (Up/Dn) and
(-/+/enter) keys.
1>- After marking the file or group of files you want to
delete, just choose option Delete to start the deletion
process.
2>- At this time you will be asked if you want to verify each
file before delete or continue without verifying.
(R)ename.......... Use this option to rename a file.
Page 18
-
After marking the file that you want to rename, just choose
the Rename option, you will be shown the old file name in a
edit field. Edit or change and then press the enter key.
(P)rint........... Use this option to send a copy of all
marked files to your printer. You must have
your printer connected to printer port LPT1
(A)ttribute....... Selecting this option will allow you to
reset the attributes for the selected file.
After selecting this option, you will be
presented with a screen that has the
selected file listed along with four icons
that can be used to toggle the different
file attributes on or off. An asterisk in
the box at the right of each icon means
that that attribute is turned on.
NOTICE !!! Unexperienced users should use extreme caution
using this option. Changing attributes on system
files could cause a complete system lockup.
(Z)IP Menu........ This option is explained on page 38.
This new option provides a complete front end menu for the
popular archiving utilities provided by PKWare.
NOTE !!! In order for this option to operate properly, you
must have a copy of PKWare's archiving utilities
(PKZIP, PKUNZIP, PKZIPFIX, and ZIP2EXE) located
in a directory included in your DOS path.
Zipping a list of files
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- From the files list menu, tag the files you want included
in the ZIP file.
2>- Select the 'Zip-Up' option.
3>- Enter the filename you want the ZIP file to be.
4>- Edit the ZIP command switches or press enter for defaults.
5>- Select the drive you want the ZIP file placed.
6>- Select the directory you want the ZIP file placed.
At this point, all files that were tagged will be archived
together and copied to the drive and directory you selected.
Un-Zipping an archived file (ZIP or EXE)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- From the files list menu, tag the archived files you want
to un-zip.
2>- Select the Un-Zip option.
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NOTE !! If you tag only one archived file, you will be
presented with a list of all files included in the
archived file. At this point you must tag all files
you want extracted from the archived file.
3>- Edit the UN-ZIP command switches or press enter.
4>- Select the drive you want the extracted files placed.
5>- Select the directory you want the extracted files placed.
At this point, if you have selected only one ZIP file, all
tagged files will be extracted to the drive and directory you
selected. If you selected more than one ZIP file, all zipped
files selected will be un-zipped to the drive and directory
that you selected.
ZIP to EXE
~~~~~~~~~~
This option will create a self extracting archived file from
a previously archived file. To use this option, simply tag
the ZIP file you want converted, select the ZIP to EXE option,
edit or except the ZIP command options.
View Zip
~~~~~~~~
This option will display all file data on any archived file
that you have tagged.
Test Zip
~~~~~~~~
This option will test for any corrupt files listed in a zipped
file.
Fix Zip
~~~~~~~
This option will attempt to fix any file found to be corrupt
in a ZIP file.
ZIP Options
~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will provide options to edit or change the default
ZIP file command switches used during all ZIP options.
fastmenu GOLD Phone Book/Dialer.
===============================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Esc............... Use this option to exit the phone book
module.
(N)ote............ This option works in two different ways,
depending of whether you have highlighted a
phonebook entry or not.
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1>- If the highlight bar is at bottom of file when you
select this option, you will be taken to the
calendar note pad module where you may enter or
edit notes tagged to any calendar date.
2>- If the highlight bar is located on a phonebook
entry at the time you select this option, you will
be taken to a free form note editor that you may
use to enter a note that will be tagged only to
this phonebook entry.
NOTE !! If a note has been tagged to a phonebook entry,
when the highlight bar is located on that
entry, a icon located just to the right of the
Note icon will be highlighted a green color
and will display a less than (<) sign.
(I)nsert.......... Use this option to insert a new record to
the phone book.
The new record will be inserted just above the highlight bar.
If the highlight bar is at bottom of file, the new record
will be added to the end of the file. If you want, you can
insert a new record ahead of an existing record by moving the
highlight bar to that record, then choosing the insert option.
After choosing the insert option you will be given a new slot
to enter the information for this record. You can move between
fields with the Up/Down arrow keys. When finished press the
Esc key to save it.
(C)hange.......... Use this option to change or correct an
existing record.
To change a record, just move the highlight bar to the record
that you want to change, then choose the (C)hange option.
After selecting this option, you may move freely between
fields with the Up/Down arrow keys.
(D)elete.......... Use this option to remove an existing
record from the phone book.
To remove a record, just move the highlight bar to the record
that you want to remove, then choose the (D)elete option. You
will be prompted to verify this deletion.
(S)ort............ Use this option to sort all records on any
field.
After choosing the (S)ort option you will be asked to choose
the field that you want to sort on. Do this by moving the
highlight bar to that field and then press enter. After
selecting the field, you will be asked how you want to sort,
from Memory or from Disk. Sorting from memory is a much faster
sort method, with this method, all records are loaded into
memory then sorted. After the sort, all records are saved back
to disk. Sorting records from disk can be aborted at any time
with the Esc key but sorting takes much longer to complete.
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(Q)uery........... Use this option when you want to locate a
record or group of records from the phone
book database.
A menu will present options for either a
global search or search by field.
The global search provides a single text
entry field. Any text entered here will
be used for making a global search of all
fields in the database.
The search by fields will present a screen
with all fields listed. Text entered at
a field will only be search for that field.
NOTE !! Leaving the search fields blank
will cause all records to be
included in the queryied list.
Records found that match your search
instructions will be listed to screen in
a scrolling list. You may then select to
Print, Dial, or Sort.
(R)............... Selecting this option will re-dial the last
number that was dialed.
(D)ial............ To dial a listed number, simply highlight
the entry that you want to dial and then
press the 'D' key. At the same time pick up
the phone receiver and after the number has
been dialed just press any key to close the
modem port.
NOTE !! You may also dial a number simply by clicking your
right mouse button on the entry that you want to
be dialed.
ALSO !! If you select this option when the highlight bar
is at bottom of file, a input field will be
presented for you to manually enter a number for
dialing.
After a phone number is dialed, the dialer goes on
standby, if you need to enter further numbers or
information, you can do so at this time. Pressing
the space bar will close the comm port and return
you to the phone book list.
(P)arms........... Use this option to setup optional modem
parms. Consult your Modem Setup Manual
on available command options.
(F)iles........... This option will display a pick list menu
with the following options.
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Open....... Use this option to open an existing phone book
database file. Upon selecting this option, you
will be presented with a list of existing
database files that you may open.
Create..... Use this option to create or open a new phone
book database file. Upon selecting this option,
you will be presented with a field to enter the
name of the new file.
NOTE ! do not include a file extension, fastmenu will
automatically append a ".FON" file extension.
Delete..... Use this option if you want to delete an
existing phone book database file. Upon
selecting this option, you will be presented
with a list of existing files to select from.
NOTE ! You may not delete a currently open file.
Up-Dn............. These options represent the up and down
arrow keys.
Using them will move the highlight bar up or down one record
at a time. Continuing to hold one of these keys down will
cause the highlight bar to scan until you release the key.
PgUp-PgDn......... These options represent the Page Up and
Page Down keys.
Using them will move the highlight bar up or down a full page
at a time. Continuing to hold one of these keys down will
cause the highlight bar to rapid scan until you release the
key.
NOTE ! The phone book module uses a file oriented database
and is limited in the number of records only by your
disk size.
Entering more than one command at the Command field.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A new option has been added to fastmenu GOLD that allows
entering more than one command at the Command field when
adding applications to the menu. The following commands are
now allowed at the Run File field:
* Any legal DOS command line command.
* Any legal DOS batch file command.
* Any legal and existing executable file name.
* The keyboard character ^ (carat key) Shift+6
* The keyboard character + (plus key)
* The letters: DROP
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This option will allow doing away with those small batch files
you sometimes need to execute an application with. In other
words, if you have an application that you want to backup
after every time you run it you could enter the following
command:
Drive: C
Directory: CHOICE
Command: FIRST+^ECHO Insert backup disk.^PAUSE^COPY *.DAT A:
The above command list would first move to drive C, change to
the CHOICE directory, run the executable file FIRST, at exit
of the application it would prompt you to insert a backup
disk, pause for you, copy the DAT files to drive A, and then
return to fastmenu GOLD.
Notice the carat character (^) between each command. Also
notice that you can mix DOS command line commands and batch
file commands.
Also notice the plus character (+) after the 'FIRST' command
name. This plus character tells fastmenu GOLD to also ask the
user for a command line parameter at execution. You may have
more than one plus character. You will be asked for a command
line parm for each plus character you have entered.
NOTE ! Before this plus character will be active, you must
also switch the Parms: Y/N field to 'Y'.
If you want fastmenu GOLD to drop to DOS after executing a
command, then add the '^DROP' command at the point you want
to drop to DOS.
Any number of commands can be executed, just make sure you
separate each command with the carat character (^).
If you experience a problem of fastmenu dropping out after
executing a batch file, you might try adding the CALL
statement just before the batch file name or always include
the file extension with the executable filename.
Example:
Drive: C
Directory: PCTOOLS
Command: PCTOOLS^CD\BAT^CALL BATCH
The above example would switch to the PCTOOLS directory,
execute the PCTOOLS executable file, switch to the 'BAT'
directory, execute a batch file named BATCH, and then return
to fastmenu GOLD.
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Example:
Drive: C
Directory: DOS
Command: CHKDSK+^PAUSE
The above example would first ask you for a command line
parameter, switch to the DOS directory, execute the CHKDSK
application with your command line parameter, pause for you to
press enter, and then return to fastmenu GOLD.
Displaying PCX picture files during screen blanking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
During screen blanking fastmenu GOLD now first looks for a
script file named PCX.DAT. If this file exists, fastmenu will
display the PCX files according to the way you have them
listed in this script file. You may also include a time
parameter with each PCX file that tells fastmenu how long to
display each PCX file. The format of this file is as follows:
PCX.DAT < FileName of the script file.
4 < The first line is a number representing
MOUNTANS.PCX 10 \ the number of PCX files listed in this
HOUSE.PCX 10 \ file
UNICORN.PCX 5 > < All remaining lines are used to list
RACECAR.PCX 15 / the PCX files along with the time
(seconds) to display the PCX file.
All PCX files and the PCX.DAT file must be located in the same
directory that you have fastmenu GOLD in.
NOTE ! If this PCX.DAT file does not exist, fastmenu GOLD will
still display all PCX files found in the directory.
ALSO ! If you want, you may also have fastmenu GOLD display
any PCX file you want during start up. Simply rename
the PCX file you want displayed to OPENING.SCR.
Executing batch files (*.BAT) during screen blanking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you like, fastmenu will execute a batch file either before
or after screen blanking. To use these options, simply create
the batch file and copy it to the drive and directory that the
fastmenu files are located in. If fastmenu finds a batch file
with the name 'BEFORE.BAT', it will be executed just before
going into screen blanking. If a 'AFTER.BAT' file is found, it
will be executed after screen blanking. If a 'INSTEAD.BAT'
file is found, it will be executed instead of screen blanking.
These batch files may be used to execute applications or do
any system maintenance you would like done at this time.
Sorting Folder Titles or The Applications listed in a Folder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Sort option has been added to fastmenu GOLD's main menu to
give you a means of sorting the Folder Titles or the
Applications listed in a folder simply by selecting Sort from
the main menu.
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If you select this Sort option while viewing the Folder
Titles, you will be asked if you want to sort the Folder
Titles. If you answer with a 'Y' (Yes), fastmenu will sort all
the Folder Titles in alphabetical order and place all blank
lines at the bottom of the list.
If you select this Sort option while viewing the Applications
listed in a Folder, you will be asked if you want to sort the
App's in this Folder. If you answer with a 'Y' (Yes), fastmenu
will sort all Applications listed in this Folder in
alphabetical order and place all blank lines at the bottom of
the list.
Available options while in the Text/System File Editor.
=====================================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Esc................ Use this option to exit the phone book
module.
F1=Menu............ Use this option to access the Command
Menu.
Available options while at the Command Menu.
===========================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Esc................ Returns control to the editor.
F10=Run Batch...... This option allows you to execute DOS or
batch file commands. When you select this
option, all lines in the current text file
will be executed at the DOS level as if
they were executed from a batch file.
A>- Save....Return. After selecting this option, the current
filename will be displayed in an editor
box. You may edit the existing filename
and then press enter to save it. After
saving, you will be returned back to the
editor.
B>- Save......Exit. This option works just like the A>- option
above with the exception of, you will be
returned to DOS after saving the file.
C>- Open..Existing. After selecting this option, you will be
presented with a field that you can edit
the file spec for files that you want
listed for opening. DOS wild cards are
permitted here. After entering the file
spec, all files in the current path that
match the file spec will be listed in a
scrollable window for you to select from.
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NOTE ! If you currently have a text file loaded and have
made any changes to this file, you will be asked if
you want to save changes before opening a new file.
D>- Create.....New. After selecting this option, you will be
presented with a field to enter a new
filename. Any legal DOS filename can be
used.
NOTE ! If you currently have a text file loaded and have
made any changes to this file, you will be asked if
you want to save changes before creating a new file.
E>- Change....Path. This option allows you to change the
current drive and directory that will be
used for saving and opening text files
from.
After selecting this option, you will be
given a scrollable window with a list of
the drives on your system. Simply move the
fighlight bar to the desired drive and
press the enter key.
After selecting the drive, you will be
given a scrollable window with a list of
the directories on your system. Simply
move the highlight bar to the directory
you want and then press the enter key.
After selecting the directory, you will be
returned to the editor and the new path
will be listed at the top of your screen.
Any future Saves or Opens will be
performed from this new path.
F>- Tab......(4 ).. This option provides you with a way of
changing the number of spaces the cursor
moves to the right every time you press
the Tab key.
NOTE ! Pressing the Shift key plus the Tab key will move the
cursor in the left direction.
G>- Margin...(255). This option provides you with a way of
setting the right text margin. The right
margin may be set anywhere from 10 to 255.
Setting the margin to 0 will cause a 255
character right margin. Wordwrap will
occur at the right margin setting.
H>- Print.....File. Selecting this option will send the
currently opened text file to any printer
connected to printer port LPT1.
I>- Clear...Editor. Selecting this option will clear all text
from the editor.
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NOTE ! If you currently have a text file loaded and have
made any changes to this file, you will be asked if
you want to save changes before clearing the text.
J>- Delete....Line. Selecting this option will delete the line
at the current cursor location.
NOTE ! Every time you delete a line with this option it is
saved and replaces any text that is currently in the
paste buffer. You can replace any deleted line by
placing the cursor on a blank line and then
selecting the Insert option.
Just remember, if you have text saved in the paste
buffer, it will be replaced with any text from a
deleted line.
K>- Insert....Line. Selecting this option will insert a blank
line at the current cursor location.
L>- Copy........... Selecting this option will save any marked
block of text to the paste buffer.
You must first mark a block of text before
this option can be used.
Marking a block of text can be done by
holding the Shift key down while moving
the cursor with the arrow keys or by
holding your left mouse button down and
dragging the mouse cursor. The block will
be marked with dashed lines.
M>- Delete......... Selecting this option will delete any
marked block of text.
Any text that has been deleted with this
option will be saved to the paste buffer.
Marking a block of text can be done by
holding the Shift key down while moving
the cursor with the arrow keys or by
holding your left mouse button down and
dragging the mouse cursor. The block will
be marked with dashed lines.
N>- Paste.......... Selecting this option will paste any block
of text that has been saved to the paste
buffer. The block of text will be pasted
at the current cursor location.
O>- Print.......... Selecting this option will send any block
of text that has been previously saved to
the paste buffer to any printer connected
to printer port LPT1.
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Editor hot keys and commands.
============================:>
Insert............ Toggles between insert and overtype mode.
Red cursor designates insert mode.
~~~
White cursor designates overtype mode.
~~~~~
Tab............... Moves cursor right (tab spaces).
Shift+Tab......... Moves cursor left (tab spaces).
Delete............ Removes the character at the cursor
location.
Home.............. Moves cursor full left of text at cursor
line.
Ctrl+Home......... Moves cursor to top of screen.
End............... Moves cursor full right of text at cursor
line.
Ctrl+End.......... Moves cursor to bottom of screen.
PgUp.............. Moves text up 25 lines each press.
Ctrl+PgUp......... Moves to top of text file.
PgDn.............. Moves text down 25 lines each press.
Ctrl+PgDn......... Moves to bottom of text file.
Up/Dn Arrows...... Moves cursor up/down on line each press.
Right/Left Arrows. Moves cursor right/left one space each
press.
Ctrl+Y............ Delete the line at cursor location.
Ctrl+N............ Insert a blank line at the cursor location.
BLOCK OPERATIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ctrl+Arrow Keys... Mark a block of text.
Ctrl+Delete....... Delete a block of text.
Ctrl+Insert....... Insert a block of text.
Pressing any key except the Esc key will save a marked block.
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Calendar/Notepad Module.
=======================:>
Opening menu options and commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you first enter the Calendar/Notepad module you will be
presented with a calendar of the current month with the
current date highlighted in red.
To change the current date you can either click your mouse on
another day or press or click on the up or down arrow keys
Icons.
To change the month, simply press or click on the left or
right arrow keys or icons.
The menu at the right side of your screen under 'Select
Options' has several more options that allow entering/editing
notes or printing them.
To enter a note for a certain day or date, by using the
up/down or left/right arrow keys, move the highlight to the
date that you want to post a note for and then click on the
"D" Icon or simply press the 'D' key on your keyboard.
D>- Clicking on the "D" button will post a note for the
current day only.
W>- Clicking on the "W" button will post a note that will
be displayed every week on that day of the week.
M>- Clicking on the "M" button will post a note that will be
displayed every month on the selected day.
Y>- Clicking on the "Y" button will post a note that will be
displayed yearly on the selected day and month.
N>- Clicking on the "Note" button will allow creating and
editing general notes that are not associated to any
particular calendar date or phonebook data entry.
At this time you will be taken to the note editor where you
can proceed to enter the text for the note. The editor options
are as follows:
F1=Save......... Use this option to save your note to disk
when it is completed.
F2=Clear........ Using this option will totally clear the
editor of any existing text.
F3=Delete....... Use this option if you want to totally remove
a note from the system.
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F4=Copy......... Before using this option you must first mark
a block of text that you want to copy. You
can do this by holding your left mouse button
down while dragging your mouse to a new
location. You will notice a broken line box
being drawn as you move your mouse cursor,
inside this box represents the text that you
want to copy. After marking your text, simply
click your mouse on the F4 function key icon.
You may also mark a block of text using the
Shift+arrow keys found on your numeric pad.
F5=Paste........ After copying a block of text to the buffer,
you may paste it to a new location in this
note or to a newly created note by placing
the cursor at the location you want the text
located and then clicking or pressing the F5
key or Icon.
F6=Print........ Selecting this option will display a small
menu that has the following options:
A>- Print ALL.... Using this option will send the currently
loaded note to any printer connected to
port LPT1 on your system.
B>- Print Buffer. Using this option will send any text that
has been copied to the paste buffer to
any printer connected to port LPT1 on
your system.
F7=Dial......... Selecting this option will present the user
with a window that can be used to manually
enter a number to send to your modem.
You may also mark any number in the currently
opened note, using the block mark method and
then select the F7=Dial option to dial it.
NOTE !! Modem parms for this dialer are set
through the PhoneBook module under
the 'Parms' option.
NOTE ! All keyboard hot keys that are valid in the Fax/Text
file editor are also valid in this editor.
Print .. option
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will bring up a small menu with several
print options.
A>- Print Date... Selecting this option will print any note
found at the currently highlighted date
on the calendar.
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B>- Print Week... Selecting this option will print any note
found on the currently highlighted
calendar date plus any notes found on the
next seven calendar days.
C>- Print Month.. Selecting this option will print any note
found on the currently highlighted
calendar date plus all notes found for
all days in the rest of the month.
D>- Print Year... Selecting this option will print any note
found on the currently highlighted
calendar date plus all notes found for
all days in the rest of the year.
Esc.............. This option will return you to the
opening calendar menu.
Erase .. option
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option provides a means of removing several notes with
a single pass.
After selecting this option, you will be presented with a
scrollable tag menu with all notes listed. To delete notes
from this menu, you must tag the notes that you want deleted.
Tagging notes from this menu can be done either of three ways.
Simply click your left mouse button on the notes you want
tagged, move the highlight bar to the note you want to tag
and press the enter key, or by clicking your left mouse button
on the up/dn arrow icons and clicking on the enter icon.
After you have all notes tagged that you want deleted, simply
select the Delete icon from this menu. You will be asked to
verify this delete.
NOTE !! This Calendar/Notepad module saves all notes in
separate disk files and as a result you may have
quite a few files created and on disk at any one
time. For this reason I recommend creating a sub
directory your hard drive to store these files in.
The Setup module accessed from the fastmenu GOLD main
menu has options for selecting a sub directory for
the Calendar/Notepad to use.
Using separate files for each note drastically speeds
up the display of any note and also results in using
less disk space due to not needing to maintain a
index file along with the data files.
All notes saved to disk files are pure text files
with no formatting characters embedded. Most
wordprocessors or text file editors will have no
problem reading these files. Your Fax Modem will also
have no problem reading these files.
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The Tab Icon and how it works
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
fastmenu GOLD now has a new Icon located at the upper right
of your screen 'Tab'. This Icon is present in almost all
utility modules and screens.
Pressing this 'Tab' Icon at the main menu screen will force
fastmenu GOLD into screen blanking.
Pressing this 'Tab' Icon from any other module or screen will
immediately return you to the main menu.
NOTE !! If you are using the user ID and activity logging
option, pressing this 'Tab' Icon from any screen
or module will force fastmenu GOLD into screen
blanking.
Setting up the user ID and logging
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A new feature has been added to fastmenu GOLD that allows for
setting up user ID access to fastmenu GOLD and along with
this option you can also select to log all user activity.
This user ID and logging is setup through the Setup module,
through option 'C>- Add/Edit/Delete System Passwords' and then
option 'E>- Setup User ID And Activity Logging'.
While at this user ID setup screen, notice, in the window at
left you will see slots for up to 20 user names and ID's. By
pressing the up/dn arrow keys you can move between three
windows, allowing up to 60 users total.
To enter user names and ID's, simply press the Edit Icon, you
will be placed inside the window where you can begin entering
or editing users. In the Users Name fields, enter each users
complete name, at the associated ID field, enter that users
password or ID that he will use to access the system.
After entering all users, simply press the Esc key to quit.
If all is OK with the names and ID's and you want to save
them to disk, simply press the Save Icon.
After pressing the Save Icon, you will be asked if you want to
log all user activity. If you select to log all user activity
you will also be asked as to how large you want to allow the
log files to become before the current one is closed and a new
one is created. A suggested size for these files is around
340kb. This allows copying or saving them to 360kb diskettes.
These log files can be viewed or deleted at any time from the
Setup module options 'J' and 'K'.
NOTE !! This user activity logging can be turned on or off
at any time by returning to this setup menu and
selecting the Log On/Off Icon. This Icon will toggle
logging on or off.
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ALSO You may return to this user ID setup menu at any time
and add/edit/change user names and passwords.
Executing applications from the Folder Titles page.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Select a blank folder title line.
2>- Answer Yes to adding another Folder Title.
3>- Enter the title or name of the application you want to
execute at the Title name field and press enter.
4>- At this point you will be taken to a blank Folder list.
Select blank line number #1 or A.
5>- Answer Yes to adding a application to this line.
6>- At this point, you should be taken to the application edit
screen.
7>- At the Title field, enter a carat character (^). This
character is entered by pressing your shift key and the
number 6 key at the same time. fastmenu GOLD will
automatically execute an application when it encounters
this carat character as the last character in a Title.
8>- At the rest of the fields (Drive, Directory, etc) add the
necessary information for accessing this application.
9>- After all fields have been edited, press the Save option.
After pressing the Save option this application will be
automatically executed for testing. After exiting the
application, you will be returned to the main menu of fastmenu
GOLD and your new application will be ready to run from the
Folder Titles page.
NOTE !! If you need to change or edit this new Title, simply
click your right mouse button on the Folder Title
and then select Z=Edit Folder.
You may also do the same thing with the keyboard by
holding the Ctrl key down and then press the letter
associated with this Title.
Trouble Shooting.......................
======================================:>
VGA Problems...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
fastmenu GOLD has built-in VGA detection that will prevent it
from being run on any system that is not equipped with a VGA
color card and monitor.
New VGA Color cards are coming out every day from new and
existing manufacturers, due to this, you may experience some
problems getting fastmenu GOLD to run on these new cards.
Page 34
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If you know that you do have a full VGA system and yet you
still cannot get fastmenu GOLD to run, a way has been built-
in to fastmenu GOLD to bypass this VGA detection.
Create a file named: SKIP-VGA.DAT
This file should have only one line in it and that line
should read: VGA You may use any text editor or wordprocessor
to create this file.
This SKIP-VGA.DAT file should be copied to the same directory
that you have installed fastmenu GOLD to.
Input Runtime Module Path:.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
fastmenu GOLD uses a runtime module at various times during
operation and must be able to locate it.
This runtime module is in a file named: BRUN45.EXE.
For proper operation you must have a path statement in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file telling DOS where to locate this file. Also
you should have a path statement to the ROOT directory and the
directory that your DOS (DOS, DRDOS, NDOS, DOS50) files are
located in.
An example of the minimum path statement would be:
PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\GOLD
fastmenu GOLD drops out after executing a batch file...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With this version, you are required to include the file
extension at the Run File field when executing batch files.
If you are having this problem, simply enter the Edit
Applications module for the page that this application is
listed on, select to Add/Edit, then select the application you
are having problems with, move the cursor to the the Run File
field and add '.BAT' to the end of the run filename.
Can't find C:\GOLD\FAST1234.BAT file......
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This prompt may show up at exit time from fastmenu GOLD if you
are running a DOS version other that MS-DOS or PC-DOS.
To correct this problem, simply create a file named:
"FAST1234.IFO". Place this file into the directory that you
installed fastmenu GOLD to. This file does not have to have
any information in it and can be of 0 size.
Page 35
-
This version of fastmenu GOLD was written and compiled using
MicroSoft QuickBASIC v4.5.
About 30% of the code is in QuickBASIC including all of the
VGA screens and windows. The rest of the code is comprised
of super fast compiled assembly language routines.
New Version and Update Policy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Registered users of fastmenu GOLD can obtain a copy of any
updated version by sending $12.00 to the below address. New
updates are sent out on HD 3 1/2 in disks. A full manual
(on disk) is included with each update.
DISCLAIMER
Users must accept this disclaimer of warranty: This
application supplied as is. The author disclaims all
warranties, expressed or implied, including, without
limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness
for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages,
direct or consequential, which may result from the use of this
manual or the application it describes. jwh: SoftWare
6947 Haggerty Road
Hillsboro, Ohio 45133
Phone (513) 393-2402
fastmenu GOLD is a product and copyright (c) 1990-95 by:
jwh: SoftWare. All rights reserved.
MicroSoft QuickBASIC is a product and copyright (c) by:
The Microsoft Corporation.
PKZIP, PKUNZIP, PKZIPFIX, and ZIP2EXE are all products and
copyright (c) by: PKWARE, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 36
-
=========== fastmenu GOLD (tm) v7.0b ============
Copywright (c) 1990 - 95 by: jwh: SoftWare
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE ! fastmenu GOLD is a hard drive menuing application
and should not be run on a floppy only system. You
must also have a VGA color card and monitor installed
to operate fastmenu GOLD.
ALSO If you give a copy of this software to a friend, PLEASE
do not just make a copy from your hard drive. It must
be installed with the INSTALL.EXE file to run properly.
DISK VENDERS The fastmenu GOLD install program (INSTALL.EXE)
will install from multiple floppies. Simply
copy all files to multiple disks in the same
order that they appear in this README.1ST file.
The following is a list of files needed to run fastmenu GOLD.
If you received fastmenu GOLD in it's archived form or downloaded
it from a BBS, you should have one file:
GOLD70.ZIP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After un-zipping, insert into drive A or B, move to
that drive and type: INSTALL
NOTE !! fastmenu GOLD MUST be installed from the DOS level
and NOT through a DOS shell of any kind.
ALSO, fastmenu GOLD cannot be executed through a
DOS shell or through another menu system or batch
file.
After installing, you should have the following files located
in a directory on your hard drive. The default directory name
will be "C:\GOLD".
Name Ext Size Date
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INSTALL .EXE 38731 02/01/95
FASTFONT.IFO 2055 02/01/95
GOLD .KEY 142 02/01/95
BRUN45 .EXE 77440 02/01/95
VGAFAST .EXE 109546 02/01/95
VGAPASS .EXE 9755 02/01/95
VGAFEDIT.EXE 61675 02/01/95
FASTTREE.EXE 5597 02/01/95
VGASETUP.EXE 151614 02/01/95
VGAFUTIL.EXE 81880 02/01/95
FASTREAD.EXE 13469 02/01/95
FASTWORD.EXE 89819 02/01/95
VGAFPHON.EXE 131116 02/01/95
VGAFDIAL.EXE 15435 02/01/95
VGAFDISK.EXE 160194 02/01/95
VGAFNOTE.EXE 69499 02/01/95
GOLD001 .EXE 36382 02/01/95
GOLD002 .EXE 18679 02/01/95
FILE_ID .DIZ 399 02/01/95
SYSOP .DOC 2683 02/01/95
SITE .DOC 2566 02/01/95
INVOICE .DOC 2011 02/01/95
DISCLAIM.DOC 1992 02/01/95
REGISTER.DOC 640 02/01/95
UPDATES .DOC 4075 02/01/95
MANUAL .DOC 103799 02/01/95
README .1ST 3614 02/01/95
-----------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE ! For proper operation please follow the installation
provided in the manual.
To start fastmenu GOLD, from the DOS prompt, type: GOLD
FOR HELP OR MORE INFORMATION CALL: 513-393-2402
Thank you; jwh: SoftWare
end:
A complete desktop application that includes
a full featured hard drive menuing system,
a complete Disk/File/Zip File Utility, a full
featured Address/Phonebook/Dialer, a Calendar
Notepad, 11 Digit Tape Calculater, and a full
featured Text File Editor. Full point and
click mouse support. Totally drops out of
memory during application execution.
fastmenu GOLD (tm)
Version 7.0b
Copyright (C) 1990-95 by:
jwh: SoftWare
6947 Haggerty Rd
Hillsboro, Ohio 45133
Phone: (513)393-2402
Distributed By:
Kathi J Hildenbrand
jwh:SoftWare
6947 Haggerty Rd
Hillsboro, Ohio 45133
Phone: (513)393-2402
-
Table of contents. Page
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
Why fastmenu GOLD?......................................... 2
Applications Main Menu..................................... 4
Edit Applications Module................................... 5
Setup/Configuration Module................................. 7
Editing the Logo File...................................... 10
Setting up timed application/batch execution............... 10
Installation Instructions.................................. 11
Re-Assigning the Function Key Icons........................ 12
11 Digit Calculator........................................ 12
DOS/Disk Utility........................................... 12
Disk Utility File List Screen.............................. 15
Working with ZIP files..................................... 19
Phone Book/Dialer.......................................... 20
Entering multiple commands at the Command field............ 23
Displaying PCX picture files during screen blanking........ 25
Executing batch files before & after screen blanking....... 25
Sorting Folder Titles or Applications Listed in a Folder... 25
Text/System File Editor.................................... 26
Calendar/Notepad module.................................... 30
The Tab Icon and how it works.............................. 33
Setting up the user ID and logging......................... 33
Executing applications from the Folder Titles page......... 34
Trouble Shooting........................................... 34
New Version and Update Policy.............................. 36
NOTE !!!!! IN ORDER FOR THIS PROGRAM TO OPERATE PROPERLY YOU
MUST HAVE A PATH STATEMENT TO THE ROOT DIRECTORY,
YOUR DOS DIRECTORY, AND THE FASTMENU GOLD
DIRECTORY. THIS PATH STATEMENT SHOULD BE IN YOUR
AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE.
EXAMPLE: PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\GOLD
Page 1
-
Over the years that computers have been with us, they have
gone from very large and complicated units to small desktop
and very powerful pieces of equipment. Along with that growth,
computers have become an almost must in every business, school
and now are becoming a standard in most homes. Also the coming
of the ever popular Hard Drive has made computing even more
popular among every computer owner from business to home use.
Storage capacities of Hard Drives have risen from around one
megabyte to now well over 300 megabytes of storage, enabling
the user to store and use numerous applications without the
need of using floppies for every day applications and data
storage.
One problem that has arisen from these very large Hard Drive
units is that it has become very hard for the user to remember
the names of all the directories and the names of all the
executable files that start the different applications that
they have stored on their Hard Drives. Also, in an office or
home situation where there are numerous people that use the
same computer to do different tasks and with different ideas
about how to setup access to their application, a Hard Drive
can become very messy and hard to find your way around in.
Also in most business situations the need for fast access to
applications is becoming more and more important.
As most of us know, since the Hard Drive was born, there has
been numerous menu programs written to help deal with this
problem, from small applications menuing systems to very large
and memory consuming applications. However, there seems to be
a very large gap, the small ones being to small and not
adequate for most needs and the larger windowing systems
needing more computer than most office and home users have at
hand. For this reason fastmenu GOLD was created.
What fastmenu GOLD can do for you:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
o.. Fast one or two key strokes to your applications.
o.. Consumes no memory during applications execution.
o.. Allows up to 80 folders up to 20 applications per folder.
o.. Allows quick editing of the applications lists.
o.. Can be operated with a Mouse.
o.. Built in Auto Mouse Detection.
o.. PassWord protection on any or all outside applications
execution, Module operations and DOS exits.
What you need to run fastmenu GOLD:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
o.. IBM PC/XT/AT or Compatible with DOS 2.2+.
o.. 512Kb of memory.
o.. A Hard Drive and at least one floppy.
o.. VGA Color Card and Monitor.
Page 2
-
QUICK INSTALLATION AND STARTUP.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Make a backup copy of your original disk.
2>- Insert your backup disk into any drive.
3>- Move to that drive and type: INSTALL
4>- Follow onscreen instructions to complete the installation.
5>- Make sure you have a PATH statement in your AUTOEXEC.BAT
to your ROOT,DOS, and GOLD directorys.
6>- After installation, type 'GOLD' to start fastmenu GOLD.
7>- Add 'GOLD' as the last line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file if
you want fastmenu GOLD to automatically start when you
turn your computer on.
ADDING A APPLICATION.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- After you have gotten fastmenu GOLD up and running, at the
main menu screen you will see a window with twenty lines
lettered A to T. The letters on these lines will be blue.
These lines represent the folder titles. Before adding any
applications you must first create a folder (some sample
folders may already have been created for you) and give it
a title. To create folder #1, simply press the 'A' key and
at this point you will be given a place to enter the
folder title and then press the enter key.
2>- After entering the title for folder A, you will be taken
to a blank folder A. At this time you will also see two
new prompts, Title and Edit Applications. At this point we
want to add a application to this folder, so choose option
Edit Applications or click your mouse on a blank line.
3>- After selecting the Edit Applications option, you will be
taken to the applications editor. To Add an application,
from the opening menu, select the Add/Edit option by
choosing option 'A'.
4>- After selecting the Add/Edit option, an Applications List
window will be displayed. We will Add an application to
line A, so move the highlight bar to line A, press enter.
5>- After selecting line A, you will be presented with a data
entry screen to fill out. At the first field, enter the
title or name of the application that you want to execute
with this line.
6>- At the Drive field, press the PgDn key and select the
drive that this application resides on. At the directory
field, press the PgDn key and select the directory that
this application resides in. At Run File field, press PgDn
and select the file that runs this application.
Page 3
-
7>- If you want this application password protected, enter a
'Y' at the Password field. If you are running DOS Version
3.3 or later, answer the Fast Run field with a 'Y'. If you
want fastmenu GOLD to pause before execution and ask you
for command line parameters, answer the Command Line Parms
field with a 'Y'. NOTE ! If you answer this field with a
'Y' then you must also include a (+) plus sign directly
after the run filename at the Run File Field.
9>- At this time you will be presented with two more fields.
if you enter any information in these fields, it will be
displayed at application execution or exit. If you do not
want any prompt displayed, simply leave these fields
blank. When you are finished with these two fields, press
the Esc key to exit the edit mode.
10>- At this time you may save this entry by pressing the 'S'
key or abort and not save it by pressing the Esc key.
fastmenu GOLD Applications Main Menu.
====================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Exit.............. Selecting this option will exit you to DOS.
NOTE ! If you want, you may have fastmenu GOLD execute a
batch file or application upon exit by clicking
your right mouse button (or CTRL+X) on the Exit
button and filling out the path information.
Y=Setup........... This option should be used the very first
time you use fastmenu GOLD.
Here you will set the program parameters that will make
fastmenu GOLD work properly. This option may be accessed
by pressing the letter 'Y' or by pointing the mouse at
the prompt icon and then pressing the left mouse button.
1 through 6....... Used to access the built-in utilities.
F1 through F10.... Used as hot keys to Applications.
Up-Dn Arrow....... Pressing the up or down arrow keys will
page through the Folder Titles or Folders.
=................. Pressing this icon will access the Folder
or Applications listed on a folder and give
you the option of sorting them.
*................. Pressing this Icon will toggle between the
3D or flat fonts.
?................. Press this Icon to display registration
information.
Tab............... Pressing this Icon will force fastmenu GOLD
into screen blanking.
Page 4
-
fastmenu GOLD Edit Applications Module.
======================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ESC=Exit.......... Using this option will return you back to
the fastmenu GOLD main menu.
Add/Edit.......... This option allows you to add or change
programs or applications on this folder.
Any application that can run in DOS can be started or executed
with fastmenu GOLD, either through the applications menu or
through the (S)tart option from the file list menu.
Adding a new application.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Choose option Add/Edit from the edit applications menu
prompt list then from the applications list select the
application or the line that you want to Add/edit. You
will be presented with seven questions to answer.
2>- The first question will be asking you for the title or
name of the program that you want to run. This title or
name can be anything you want it to be, and is only used
as a reference.
3>- The second question will be asking you for the name or
letter of the drive that this program will be running
from. Examples would be: A, B or C. Pressing the PgDn
key will list all available drives on your system.
4>- The third question will be asking you for the name of
the directory that this program is in. Always separate
multiple directory entries with a backslash (\).
Press the PgDn key to list all available directories on
your system.
NOTE ! If you are running this new program from a floppy
and/or the program is in the root directory, just
press
5>- The fourth question will be asking you for the name of
the file that you normally have to type in to run the
program (The executable file). You may also enter any
command line switches or parameters here. This is a
scrollable edit field that allows entering up to 255
characters.
NOTE ! Multiple commands may be entered at this field.
This is explained further later in this manual.
ALSO This file will normally have an extension name
of either .EXE, .COM, or .BAT.
Page 5
-
6>- The fifth question will be asking if you want to
password protect this program. If you do not want
password protection, just answer this question with a
'N'. If you want password protection for this program,
answer this question with a 'Y'.
7>- The sixth question will be asking if you want to use the
Fast Load method of launching this application. This
method is recommended, but may cause some problems with
early versions of DOS.
8>- The seventh question will be asking if you want fastmenu
GOLD to pause before execution of this application so
you may enter a variable DOS command line parameter.
9>- At this time you will be presented with two more fields.
If you enter any information in either of these fields
it will be displayed with a pause during application
execution or exit. If you do not want any prompt
displayed, simply leave the field blank.
After completing these fields, and pressing Esc, you will be
asked either (Y)es or (N)o to saving the changes. Pressing
the 'S' key will save this entry to disk.
11>- At this time, if you chose to password protect this
program, you will be given a place to enter the
password that you want to use to access this program.
You are allowed up to six characters or numbers in this
password. After entering this password, you will be
prompted to verify it's validity.
CAUTION !!! Be sure to remember this password, it cannot
be removed from a program listing unless you
know the password. This password is totally
scrambled before it is written to file and
would be very hard to unscramble.
Delete App's...... This option is used to delete or remove an
existing application.
Deleting a listing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Choose option Delete application from the menu list.
2>- After choosing this option, all applications listed on
this page will be listed to screen. Select the one that
you want to delete with the highlight bar and then press
enter. You will be asked to verify your delete
List.............. This option will list to screen, all
applications or programs that are on this
page.
Edit Title........ This option will allow you to change the
Title or Name that is presently being used
used for this page.
Page 6
-
Delete This Folder.. Choose this option if you want to delete
this page from the menu.
Update Directory Tree.. This option will update the directory
tree list that you see when you press
the PgDn key to list the directories.
Password Protection
for this Folder...... Selecting this option will give you the
option for entering or removing password
protection for this entire Folder.
fastmenu GOLD Setup Module.
==========================:>
This module offers several options for customizing fastmenu
GOLD.
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ESC=Quit.......... This option will return you to the fastmenu
applications menu.
A >-- Select System Fonts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will take you to a screen with all
available fonts listed for your selection. Select a font by
clicking your left mouse button on the desired font or press
the letter associated with the desired font.
B >-- Setup Default program parameters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SUB MENU
~~~~~~~~
A >- Default Path (Fax/Text File Editor)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will allow you to setup a default
drive and directory that the fax/text file editor will use
at startup.
B >- Default Filespec (Fax/Text File Editor)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will allow you to set a default file
spec that the fax/text file editor will use.
C >- Default Path (Phonebook/Dialer)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will allow you to set a default path
for the Phonebook/Dialer to use.
D >- Default Path (Calendar/Notepad)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will allow you to set a default path
for the Calendar/Notepad to use.
Page 7
-
E >- Folder/Applications Sort Option (ON/OFF)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will give you the option of turning
on or off the ability to sort the folders or applications
listed in a folder from the main menu screen.
F >- Display Logo At Screen Blanking (ON/OFF)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will give you the option of turning
on or off the display of the logo during screen blanking.
G >- Setup Automatic Execution At Startup
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will provide you with a input screen
that you may type in the Title, Drive, Directory, and Run
File of the application you want executed at fastmenu GOLD
startup. If you setup an application at this screen, it
will be executed at startup and after exeting this
application you will be returned to fastmenu GOLD.
H >- Edit/Change The Default Command Line Parms Prompt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will display the default command
line parms prompt in a editing field. You may edit or
change this prompt to read any thing you want. This prompt
is the prompt that is displayed to the user if thay have
selected an application from the main menu that has been
setup to ask the user for command line parms.
I >- Display Prompt Before & After Execution (On/Off)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
During execution of an application, fastmenu GOLD displays
a user prompt message telling the user the name of the
application being executed, after exiting the application,
another prompt message is displayed telling the user,
Returning to fastmenu GOLD Please Wait !!. These prompts
can be turned off with this option.
C >-- Add/Edit/Delete System Passwords
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A >- Password Protect Exit To DOS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may exit
fastmenu GOLD and go to DOS with or without a password.
B >- Password Protect The Setup Module
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may enter
the Setup module with or without a password.
C >- Password Protect The Edit Applications or F keys
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may enter
the Edit Applications Module or edit any of the function
key applications with or without a password.
Page 8
-
D >- Password Protect The Calendar NotePad Module.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may
access the calendar notepad.
E >- Password Protect The Address/PhoneBook Module.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may
access the address/phonebook.
F >- Password Protect The DOS/Disk/Zip Utility Module.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may
access the DOS/Disk/Zip utility.
G >- Password Protect The Text/System File Edit Module.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may
access the Text/System file edit.
H >- Password Protect The 11 Digit Tape Calculator Module.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup whether or not a user may
access the 11 Digit Calculator Tape.
I >- Setup User ID And Activity Logging
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to setup ID and password protection at
startup of fastmenu GOLD. This option also provides user
activity logging options. More detail is given on these
options later in this manual.
D >--- Update Directory Tree Files at Startup
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you answer this option with a 'N', fastmenu GOLD will
startup much faster, skipping the opening screen and updating
the directory tree files. You will need to update the
directory tree files manually if any directory maintenance is
done outside the fastmenu GOLD environment.
E >- Toggle Screen Blanking On/Off
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to select whether you want screen blanking or
not. This option will present you with one question that can
be answered by either a 'Y' if you want screen blanking.
NOTE ! fastmenu GOLD can also be setup to display PCX picture
files during screen blanking. This option is explained
in more detail later in this manual.
ALSO ! This screen blanking only has an effect on fastmenu
GOLD's main menu screen and will not interrupt your
applications in any way. During screen blanking, a
logo will dance around on your screen, letting you
know that fastmenu GOLD is ready to go at any time by
pressing any key on your keyboard or moving the mouse.
Page 9
-
If you have chosen to use the screen blanking option,
you will then be asked to enter the amount of time
(seconds) that fastmenu GOLD waits before going into
screen blanking. The time can be any number of seconds
between 1 and 999.
F >------- Set Opening Screen Mode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
fastmenu GOLD will run in either of two screen modes.
Mode 1 >- In this mode fastmenu GOLD will display the page
titles on the first screen, at startup.
Mode 2 >- In this mode fastmenu GOLD will display any of the
application folders on the first screen, at startup.
You may select the folder that is first displayed.
When you select option 'F' from this setup menu, you will be
asked if you want the folder titles displayed first. If you
answer this prompt with a 'N', then you will also be asked to
enter the folder title number that you want displayed at
startup. You may enter any folder number between 1 and 40.
G >----------- Edit User Logo File
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to edit or change the FASTLOGO.IFO file. This
file contains the information that you will see moving about
during screen blanking. Also the information in this file is
listed to screen on the main menu. After choosing this option
you will be presented with a screen that has this file listed
in a small editing window. You may make any changes you want
to this file and then press F1 to Save or Esc to exit.
H >-------- View User Activity/Password Log File
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to view the user ID and password log files. If
you have chosen to have any of the passwords logged, then they
will be listed in this file.
I >------ Delete User ID and Password Log Files
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use this option to delete or completely remove all logged
user ID or password use. You will be presented with a list of
these log files to choose from. You will be prompted to verify
your choice.
J >--- Timed Application execution
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will take you to a menu where you may
select any timed event to create or edit from A to J (10). If
you want to setup a new timed event, just select a blank line
and you will be asked to give a description for this event.
After entering the description, you will see it listed as a
selection, just select it and you will be taken to the timed
event editor.
Page 10
-
Selecting this option will open a window with data fields for
you to fill in. At the first field, enter the time in 12 hr
format (civilian time) that you want the application or batch
file executed.
NOTE ! From midnight to 12:59 afternoon is considered AM and
from 12:59 afternoon to 11:59 afternoon is considered
PM.
At the Date field enter the date that you want this
application or batch file to be executed.
NOTE ! If you want this execution to be on a daily basis,
leave this Date field completely blank. Then answer
the Yes/No weekday prompts to tell fastmenu on what
days you want this application/batch file to be run.
At the remaining three fields, enter the Drive, Path, and the
name of the executable file. After completing all fields,
press the Esc key to exit then press the 'S' key to save them.
At this field, you are allowed to enter multiple commands up
to 255 characters in length.
fastmenu GOLD installation instructions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE ! Before you install fastmenu GOLD I strongly recommend
that you make backup copies of your original disk.
Consult your DOS manual on making backup copies or
using DISKCOPY on your machine.
fastmenu GOLD is not a complicated program to setup and does
not require a lot of work to get running. The following three
steps is all that is needed to insure proper operation.
1>- Insert your fastmenu backup/distribution disk into any
drive, move to that drive and type: INSTALL
Follow on-screen instructions to install fastmenu GOLD.
2>- Make sure your AUTOEXEC.BAT file contains a path statement
to the ROOT, DOS, and GOLD directories on your hard drive
An example of the path statement: PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\GOLD
3>- If you want fastmenu GOLD to startup automatically, add to
the end of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file the following line: GOLD
NOTE ! This line must be the last line in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
This should complete the setup procedure for fastmenu GOLD.
Page 11
-
Assigning applications to the function key prompts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To assign a application to one of the function key prompts,
simply press the Ctrl key plus the corresponding function key
down or click the right mouse button on the function key
prompt. If the Function Key button is currently blank, you
may simply click your left mouse button on it.
fastmenu GOLD 11 Digit Calculator.
=================================:>
This calculator works somewhat different than most people are
used to, in that you first need to enter a number and then
enter the operator. To start a calculation you first need to
type in the first number and then press the enter key then
enter the second number followed by the operand. Continue a
chain calculation by entering the number and then the operand.
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BackSp............ This option will delete the number at the
cursor location and move the cursor left
one position.
1 to 0............ This option will enter the chosen number to
the calculator.
/................. This option is used to divide numbers.
*................. This option is used to multiply numbers.
-................. This option is used to subtract numbers.
+................. This option is used to add numbers.
Enter............. This option is used to end a calculation.
P................. This option toggles printer on/off.
Up Arrow.......... Use this key to enter numbers to memory.
Down Arrow........ Use this key to pull numbers from memory.
C................. Press this key to clear the tap.
M................. Press this key to clear memory.
DOS/Disk/Zip File Utility Module.
===============================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Format Diskettes.. Use this option to format new diskettes or
floppies.
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NOTE ! For reasons of compatibility between computers, this
program uses the standard DOS format program found
in your DOS directory. For proper operation, your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file must contain the path to your DOS
files.
Formatting diskettes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- After choosing the Format Diskettes option, you will
be asked to choose whether you want to format a Non
Systems Disk or DOS Systems Disk (Boot Disk). If you
choose to format a systems disk, after the format
process, the necessary DOS files will be copied to it,
creating a bootable DOS diskette.
2>- After choosing the format type you will be asked to
choose the drive that you want to format from.
3>- After choosing the drive you will be presented with
four more options.
A>- The first option in this list will be used if you
want to format a disk to the same capacity that
is standard for your disk drive unit.
B>- The second option in this list will be used if you
have a high density 1.2 Meg 5 1/4in. drive and you
want to format a low density 360Kb disk.
C>- The third option in this list will be used if you
have a high density 1.5 Meg 3 1/2in. drive and you
want to format a low density 720Kb disk.
D>- The fourth option will be used if you want to type
in a format switch. You will be presented with a
user input field for editing the format command
and command switches.
4>- After choosing the format density you will be asked
to insert a disk in the chosen drive and press any
key to begin formatting.
Single Pass DiskCopy. Use this option to copy a floppy disk in
one pass without the need of switching
disks back and forth during the copy of
high density disks.
File Maintenance..... Use this option if you want to perform
any of the following: Copy, Delete,
Rename, View, Edit, or Start files. You
may also do directory maintenance from
this option.
1>- After choosing this option, you will be asked to choose
the drive that you want to perform file maintenance on.
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2>- After choosing the drive, fastmenu GOLD will check the
drive to see if it has any directories. Select the
directory you want and then press enter. At this time
you will be presented with the file list that was found
on this drive. If no files are found you will be
returned to the directory menu. Choosing a directory is
done by moving the highlight bar to the directory you
want with the Up and Down arrow keys and then pressing
the enter key.
3>- After choosing the directory, you will be taken to the
file list menu. Help with the file list options can be
found later in this manual.
Creating a new Directory from the Directory Tree screen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After choosing the File Maintenance option, you will be asked
asked to choose the drive that you want to work with. After
choosing the drive you will be taken to the directory tree
screen. From the directory tree screen, you will move the
highlight bar to the location that you want this new directory
placed. You can do this by moving the highlight bar up or down
the directory tree and then pressing enter.
NOTE ! To place a new directory from the root directory, you
will want to highlight the ROOT option on the
directory tree list. If you want to place a new
subdirectory off from an existing directory, just
highlight that directory.
After choosing the directory location, press the 'C' key,
enter the name of the new directory and then press enter.
Deleting Existing Directories from the Directory Tree Screen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option can be reached from the Directory Tree Screen,
after choosing the File Maintenance option from the DOS/Disk
Utility Menu and the drive from the Drive Menu.
NOTE ! A directory cannot be deleted without first deleting
any files it may contain.
Choose the directory that you want to delete by moving the
highlight bar to that directory then press the 'D' key. You
will be asked to verify your choice.
Renaming Existing Directories from the Directory Tree Screen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Select the directory that you want to rename by moving the
highlight bar to that directory and then press the 'R' key.
You will be presented with the directory name in an editor
field, simply edit the existing name and then press enter.
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Printing the Directory list to your printer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the directory tree screen, you may choose to send a copy
of this directory tree information to your printer by pressing
the 'P' key.
NOTE ! You must have your printer connected to port LPT1.
Sorting the directory tree screen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting the Sort option from the directory tree screen will
present you with a scrolling menu that allows selecting
whether you want the directory list sorted or not.
NOTE ! Sorting this directory tree list does not change how
your directories are actually list on disk.
Update Directory File. Using this option will manually update
the directory tree mirror files.
NOTE ! fastmenu GOLD automatically updates the directory
tree files if any directory maintenance is done with
the utility module.
If you select not to have fastmenu GOLD update the
the directory tree files at startup from the Setup
module and you perform any directory maintenance
outside of the fastmenu GOLD environment, you may
need to use this option to update the directory tree
files manually.
Set System Date/Time
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option gives you a way to reset the system Date & Time.
Set Mouse Sensitivity
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will allow you to adjust the sensitivity or
movement ratio of your mouse.
Keyboard cursor speed and delay rate
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option provides a way to adjust the speed of cursor
movement and the amount of time before continious movement
from holding a cursor keys down.
fastmenu GOLD Disk Utilities File List.
======================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(ESC)............. Using this option will return you to the
previous menu.
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(F)ile Sort....... Selecting this option will present you with
a scrolling menu with options to select how
you want the file list sorted. You may sort
by filename, file extension, file size, or
file date. After selecting the sort field,
you will then be asked how to sort, either
by ascending or descending order.
(Up/Dn)........... Use these options to move the highlight bar
up and down the file list.
One key press will move the highlight bar up or down one file.
Holding the key down will fast advance the highlight bar
until you release the key or the end of the file list is
reached.
(Home/End)........ Pressing the End key will advance the
highlight bar to the end of the file list.
Pressing the Home key will move the
highlight bar to the beginning of the list.
(-/+/enter)....... Use these options to mark all files for
later maintenance. An asterisk will appear
to the left of the file name of every file
that has been marked.
Marking and Un-Marking Files.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Move the highlight bar to the file you want to mark and
then press the enter key. If this file has already been
marked it will be un-marked. After using the enter key to
mark or un-mark a file, the highlight bar will advance to
the next file in the file list.
2>- Pressing the plus key will mark all files in the file
list.
3>- Pressing the minus key will un-mark all marked files in
the file list.
(Q)uery........... Use this option to query the file list. DOS
wild cards are valid here.
NOTE ! The main purpose for including this option was to
give you a convenient way of copying or deleting
certain groups of files. For example if you wanted
to copy all the files with the .DAT extension, you
would first query the file list by entering [*.DAT]
at the File Spec. prompt. Then mark all these files
by pressing the plus key, then choose the (C)opy
option to copy all marked files.
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Querying the file list with (Q)uery option.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- After choosing this option, you will be given a place to
enter your query instructions and then press enter. After
which the file list will again be presented with only the
files that meet your query instructions listed.
Query Examples:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[*.*]....... This query would list all files.
[*.EXE]..... This query would list files with the EXE
extension.
(U)pdate.......... Use this option to update or re-list the
files from the present drive or directory.
NOTE ! You may change a disk while you are at the file list
screen. After changing to the new disk, just use the
(U)pdate option to list the files from the newly
inserted disk.
(S)tart........... Use this option to run applications outside
fastmenu GOLD.
This option was added to give you a way to test run an
application or to run applications or games from floppy
drives. Any program, game or application that can be run from
the DOS prompt can also be run through this option.
NOTE ! This option will only accept files with the extension
of .EXE, .COM or .BAT. Before you can use this option
option, you must first mark the file that you want to
run. After marking this file, just choose the (S)tart
option to run it.
(V)iew............ Use this option to read or view text files.
Before you can use this option, you must first mark the file
that you want to read or view. After marking this file just
choose option (V)iew to view it.
(E)dit............ Use this option to edit or create any ASCII
text file.
To edit an existing file you must first mark it from the file
list menu. After marking it, just choose option (E)dit from
the file list menu.
To create a new file, just choose option (E)dit without
marking any files. After entering the editor you will be asked
to enter the name for the new file. You may use any DOS legal
name except names that have extensions of .EXE or .COM.
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NOTE ! This editor has the ability to edit files with lines
up to 255 characters long. When you first enter the
editor, the right margin will be set to 255. If you
are editing a 80 column document you may want to
reset the right margin before you begin.
(C)opy............ Use this option to copy a file or group of
files from this directory or disk to
another directory or disk.
Before using this option, you must first mark the file or
group of files you want to copy, using the (Up/Dn) and (-/+/
enter) keys.
1>- After marking the files you want to copy just choose
option (C)opy to start the copy process.
2>- You will be asked to choose the Target Drive (the drive
that you want to copy these files to). After choosing the
Target Drive, fastmenu GOLD will check that drive for any
existing directories.
3>- If any directories are found, you will be asked to choose
which directory you want to copy these files to.
4>- If no directories exist or after choosing a directory, you
will be asked to verify the copying of these files.
NOTE ! If you have marked more files than will fit on the
Target Drive, fastmenu GOLD will copy as many
files to the Target Drive as will fit and then
prompt you to insert a new disk. After which will
continue to copy the remainder of the files marked
to this disk. fastmenu GOLD will continue this
process until all marked files have been copied.
This copy routine was added to give you a means of
backing up entire directories or groups of files
to floppies without the worry of running out of
disk space on the Target Drive.
(D)elete.......... Use this option to delete or remove a file
or groups of files.
Before using this option, you must first mark the file or
group of files you want to delete, using the (Up/Dn) and
(-/+/enter) keys.
1>- After marking the file or group of files you want to
delete, just choose option Delete to start the deletion
process.
2>- At this time you will be asked if you want to verify each
file before delete or continue without verifying.
(R)ename.......... Use this option to rename a file.
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After marking the file that you want to rename, just choose
the Rename option, you will be shown the old file name in a
edit field. Edit or change and then press the enter key.
(P)rint........... Use this option to send a copy of all
marked files to your printer. You must have
your printer connected to printer port LPT1
(A)ttribute....... Selecting this option will allow you to
reset the attributes for the selected file.
After selecting this option, you will be
presented with a screen that has the
selected file listed along with four icons
that can be used to toggle the different
file attributes on or off. An asterisk in
the box at the right of each icon means
that that attribute is turned on.
NOTICE !!! Unexperienced users should use extreme caution
using this option. Changing attributes on system
files could cause a complete system lockup.
(Z)IP Menu........ This option is explained on page 38.
This new option provides a complete front end menu for the
popular archiving utilities provided by PKWare.
NOTE !!! In order for this option to operate properly, you
must have a copy of PKWare's archiving utilities
(PKZIP, PKUNZIP, PKZIPFIX, and ZIP2EXE) located
in a directory included in your DOS path.
Zipping a list of files
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- From the files list menu, tag the files you want included
in the ZIP file.
2>- Select the 'Zip-Up' option.
3>- Enter the filename you want the ZIP file to be.
4>- Edit the ZIP command switches or press enter for defaults.
5>- Select the drive you want the ZIP file placed.
6>- Select the directory you want the ZIP file placed.
At this point, all files that were tagged will be archived
together and copied to the drive and directory you selected.
Un-Zipping an archived file (ZIP or EXE)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- From the files list menu, tag the archived files you want
to un-zip.
2>- Select the Un-Zip option.
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NOTE !! If you tag only one archived file, you will be
presented with a list of all files included in the
archived file. At this point you must tag all files
you want extracted from the archived file.
3>- Edit the UN-ZIP command switches or press enter.
4>- Select the drive you want the extracted files placed.
5>- Select the directory you want the extracted files placed.
At this point, if you have selected only one ZIP file, all
tagged files will be extracted to the drive and directory you
selected. If you selected more than one ZIP file, all zipped
files selected will be un-zipped to the drive and directory
that you selected.
ZIP to EXE
~~~~~~~~~~
This option will create a self extracting archived file from
a previously archived file. To use this option, simply tag
the ZIP file you want converted, select the ZIP to EXE option,
edit or except the ZIP command options.
View Zip
~~~~~~~~
This option will display all file data on any archived file
that you have tagged.
Test Zip
~~~~~~~~
This option will test for any corrupt files listed in a zipped
file.
Fix Zip
~~~~~~~
This option will attempt to fix any file found to be corrupt
in a ZIP file.
ZIP Options
~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will provide options to edit or change the default
ZIP file command switches used during all ZIP options.
fastmenu GOLD Phone Book/Dialer.
===============================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Esc............... Use this option to exit the phone book
module.
(N)ote............ This option works in two different ways,
depending of whether you have highlighted a
phonebook entry or not.
Page 20
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1>- If the highlight bar is at bottom of file when you
select this option, you will be taken to the
calendar note pad module where you may enter or
edit notes tagged to any calendar date.
2>- If the highlight bar is located on a phonebook
entry at the time you select this option, you will
be taken to a free form note editor that you may
use to enter a note that will be tagged only to
this phonebook entry.
NOTE !! If a note has been tagged to a phonebook entry,
when the highlight bar is located on that
entry, a icon located just to the right of the
Note icon will be highlighted a green color
and will display a less than (<) sign.
(I)nsert.......... Use this option to insert a new record to
the phone book.
The new record will be inserted just above the highlight bar.
If the highlight bar is at bottom of file, the new record
will be added to the end of the file. If you want, you can
insert a new record ahead of an existing record by moving the
highlight bar to that record, then choosing the insert option.
After choosing the insert option you will be given a new slot
to enter the information for this record. You can move between
fields with the Up/Down arrow keys. When finished press the
Esc key to save it.
(C)hange.......... Use this option to change or correct an
existing record.
To change a record, just move the highlight bar to the record
that you want to change, then choose the (C)hange option.
After selecting this option, you may move freely between
fields with the Up/Down arrow keys.
(D)elete.......... Use this option to remove an existing
record from the phone book.
To remove a record, just move the highlight bar to the record
that you want to remove, then choose the (D)elete option. You
will be prompted to verify this deletion.
(S)ort............ Use this option to sort all records on any
field.
After choosing the (S)ort option you will be asked to choose
the field that you want to sort on. Do this by moving the
highlight bar to that field and then press enter. After
selecting the field, you will be asked how you want to sort,
from Memory or from Disk. Sorting from memory is a much faster
sort method, with this method, all records are loaded into
memory then sorted. After the sort, all records are saved back
to disk. Sorting records from disk can be aborted at any time
with the Esc key but sorting takes much longer to complete.
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(Q)uery........... Use this option when you want to locate a
record or group of records from the phone
book database.
A menu will present options for either a
global search or search by field.
The global search provides a single text
entry field. Any text entered here will
be used for making a global search of all
fields in the database.
The search by fields will present a screen
with all fields listed. Text entered at
a field will only be search for that field.
NOTE !! Leaving the search fields blank
will cause all records to be
included in the queryied list.
Records found that match your search
instructions will be listed to screen in
a scrolling list. You may then select to
Print, Dial, or Sort.
(R)............... Selecting this option will re-dial the last
number that was dialed.
(D)ial............ To dial a listed number, simply highlight
the entry that you want to dial and then
press the 'D' key. At the same time pick up
the phone receiver and after the number has
been dialed just press any key to close the
modem port.
NOTE !! You may also dial a number simply by clicking your
right mouse button on the entry that you want to
be dialed.
ALSO !! If you select this option when the highlight bar
is at bottom of file, a input field will be
presented for you to manually enter a number for
dialing.
After a phone number is dialed, the dialer goes on
standby, if you need to enter further numbers or
information, you can do so at this time. Pressing
the space bar will close the comm port and return
you to the phone book list.
(P)arms........... Use this option to setup optional modem
parms. Consult your Modem Setup Manual
on available command options.
(F)iles........... This option will display a pick list menu
with the following options.
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Open....... Use this option to open an existing phone book
database file. Upon selecting this option, you
will be presented with a list of existing
database files that you may open.
Create..... Use this option to create or open a new phone
book database file. Upon selecting this option,
you will be presented with a field to enter the
name of the new file.
NOTE ! do not include a file extension, fastmenu will
automatically append a ".FON" file extension.
Delete..... Use this option if you want to delete an
existing phone book database file. Upon
selecting this option, you will be presented
with a list of existing files to select from.
NOTE ! You may not delete a currently open file.
Up-Dn............. These options represent the up and down
arrow keys.
Using them will move the highlight bar up or down one record
at a time. Continuing to hold one of these keys down will
cause the highlight bar to scan until you release the key.
PgUp-PgDn......... These options represent the Page Up and
Page Down keys.
Using them will move the highlight bar up or down a full page
at a time. Continuing to hold one of these keys down will
cause the highlight bar to rapid scan until you release the
key.
NOTE ! The phone book module uses a file oriented database
and is limited in the number of records only by your
disk size.
Entering more than one command at the Command field.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A new option has been added to fastmenu GOLD that allows
entering more than one command at the Command field when
adding applications to the menu. The following commands are
now allowed at the Run File field:
* Any legal DOS command line command.
* Any legal DOS batch file command.
* Any legal and existing executable file name.
* The keyboard character ^ (carat key) Shift+6
* The keyboard character + (plus key)
* The letters: DROP
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This option will allow doing away with those small batch files
you sometimes need to execute an application with. In other
words, if you have an application that you want to backup
after every time you run it you could enter the following
command:
Drive: C
Directory: CHOICE
Command: FIRST+^ECHO Insert backup disk.^PAUSE^COPY *.DAT A:
The above command list would first move to drive C, change to
the CHOICE directory, run the executable file FIRST, at exit
of the application it would prompt you to insert a backup
disk, pause for you, copy the DAT files to drive A, and then
return to fastmenu GOLD.
Notice the carat character (^) between each command. Also
notice that you can mix DOS command line commands and batch
file commands.
Also notice the plus character (+) after the 'FIRST' command
name. This plus character tells fastmenu GOLD to also ask the
user for a command line parameter at execution. You may have
more than one plus character. You will be asked for a command
line parm for each plus character you have entered.
NOTE ! Before this plus character will be active, you must
also switch the Parms: Y/N field to 'Y'.
If you want fastmenu GOLD to drop to DOS after executing a
command, then add the '^DROP' command at the point you want
to drop to DOS.
Any number of commands can be executed, just make sure you
separate each command with the carat character (^).
If you experience a problem of fastmenu dropping out after
executing a batch file, you might try adding the CALL
statement just before the batch file name or always include
the file extension with the executable filename.
Example:
Drive: C
Directory: PCTOOLS
Command: PCTOOLS^CD\BAT^CALL BATCH
The above example would switch to the PCTOOLS directory,
execute the PCTOOLS executable file, switch to the 'BAT'
directory, execute a batch file named BATCH, and then return
to fastmenu GOLD.
Page 24
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Example:
Drive: C
Directory: DOS
Command: CHKDSK+^PAUSE
The above example would first ask you for a command line
parameter, switch to the DOS directory, execute the CHKDSK
application with your command line parameter, pause for you to
press enter, and then return to fastmenu GOLD.
Displaying PCX picture files during screen blanking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
During screen blanking fastmenu GOLD now first looks for a
script file named PCX.DAT. If this file exists, fastmenu will
display the PCX files according to the way you have them
listed in this script file. You may also include a time
parameter with each PCX file that tells fastmenu how long to
display each PCX file. The format of this file is as follows:
PCX.DAT < FileName of the script file.
4 < The first line is a number representing
MOUNTANS.PCX 10 \ the number of PCX files listed in this
HOUSE.PCX 10 \ file
UNICORN.PCX 5 > < All remaining lines are used to list
RACECAR.PCX 15 / the PCX files along with the time
(seconds) to display the PCX file.
All PCX files and the PCX.DAT file must be located in the same
directory that you have fastmenu GOLD in.
NOTE ! If this PCX.DAT file does not exist, fastmenu GOLD will
still display all PCX files found in the directory.
ALSO ! If you want, you may also have fastmenu GOLD display
any PCX file you want during start up. Simply rename
the PCX file you want displayed to OPENING.SCR.
Executing batch files (*.BAT) during screen blanking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you like, fastmenu will execute a batch file either before
or after screen blanking. To use these options, simply create
the batch file and copy it to the drive and directory that the
fastmenu files are located in. If fastmenu finds a batch file
with the name 'BEFORE.BAT', it will be executed just before
going into screen blanking. If a 'AFTER.BAT' file is found, it
will be executed after screen blanking. If a 'INSTEAD.BAT'
file is found, it will be executed instead of screen blanking.
These batch files may be used to execute applications or do
any system maintenance you would like done at this time.
Sorting Folder Titles or The Applications listed in a Folder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Sort option has been added to fastmenu GOLD's main menu to
give you a means of sorting the Folder Titles or the
Applications listed in a folder simply by selecting Sort from
the main menu.
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If you select this Sort option while viewing the Folder
Titles, you will be asked if you want to sort the Folder
Titles. If you answer with a 'Y' (Yes), fastmenu will sort all
the Folder Titles in alphabetical order and place all blank
lines at the bottom of the list.
If you select this Sort option while viewing the Applications
listed in a Folder, you will be asked if you want to sort the
App's in this Folder. If you answer with a 'Y' (Yes), fastmenu
will sort all Applications listed in this Folder in
alphabetical order and place all blank lines at the bottom of
the list.
Available options while in the Text/System File Editor.
=====================================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Esc................ Use this option to exit the phone book
module.
F1=Menu............ Use this option to access the Command
Menu.
Available options while at the Command Menu.
===========================================:>
Option Reaction to option
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Esc................ Returns control to the editor.
F10=Run Batch...... This option allows you to execute DOS or
batch file commands. When you select this
option, all lines in the current text file
will be executed at the DOS level as if
they were executed from a batch file.
A>- Save....Return. After selecting this option, the current
filename will be displayed in an editor
box. You may edit the existing filename
and then press enter to save it. After
saving, you will be returned back to the
editor.
B>- Save......Exit. This option works just like the A>- option
above with the exception of, you will be
returned to DOS after saving the file.
C>- Open..Existing. After selecting this option, you will be
presented with a field that you can edit
the file spec for files that you want
listed for opening. DOS wild cards are
permitted here. After entering the file
spec, all files in the current path that
match the file spec will be listed in a
scrollable window for you to select from.
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NOTE ! If you currently have a text file loaded and have
made any changes to this file, you will be asked if
you want to save changes before opening a new file.
D>- Create.....New. After selecting this option, you will be
presented with a field to enter a new
filename. Any legal DOS filename can be
used.
NOTE ! If you currently have a text file loaded and have
made any changes to this file, you will be asked if
you want to save changes before creating a new file.
E>- Change....Path. This option allows you to change the
current drive and directory that will be
used for saving and opening text files
from.
After selecting this option, you will be
given a scrollable window with a list of
the drives on your system. Simply move the
fighlight bar to the desired drive and
press the enter key.
After selecting the drive, you will be
given a scrollable window with a list of
the directories on your system. Simply
move the highlight bar to the directory
you want and then press the enter key.
After selecting the directory, you will be
returned to the editor and the new path
will be listed at the top of your screen.
Any future Saves or Opens will be
performed from this new path.
F>- Tab......(4 ).. This option provides you with a way of
changing the number of spaces the cursor
moves to the right every time you press
the Tab key.
NOTE ! Pressing the Shift key plus the Tab key will move the
cursor in the left direction.
G>- Margin...(255). This option provides you with a way of
setting the right text margin. The right
margin may be set anywhere from 10 to 255.
Setting the margin to 0 will cause a 255
character right margin. Wordwrap will
occur at the right margin setting.
H>- Print.....File. Selecting this option will send the
currently opened text file to any printer
connected to printer port LPT1.
I>- Clear...Editor. Selecting this option will clear all text
from the editor.
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NOTE ! If you currently have a text file loaded and have
made any changes to this file, you will be asked if
you want to save changes before clearing the text.
J>- Delete....Line. Selecting this option will delete the line
at the current cursor location.
NOTE ! Every time you delete a line with this option it is
saved and replaces any text that is currently in the
paste buffer. You can replace any deleted line by
placing the cursor on a blank line and then
selecting the Insert option.
Just remember, if you have text saved in the paste
buffer, it will be replaced with any text from a
deleted line.
K>- Insert....Line. Selecting this option will insert a blank
line at the current cursor location.
L>- Copy........... Selecting this option will save any marked
block of text to the paste buffer.
You must first mark a block of text before
this option can be used.
Marking a block of text can be done by
holding the Shift key down while moving
the cursor with the arrow keys or by
holding your left mouse button down and
dragging the mouse cursor. The block will
be marked with dashed lines.
M>- Delete......... Selecting this option will delete any
marked block of text.
Any text that has been deleted with this
option will be saved to the paste buffer.
Marking a block of text can be done by
holding the Shift key down while moving
the cursor with the arrow keys or by
holding your left mouse button down and
dragging the mouse cursor. The block will
be marked with dashed lines.
N>- Paste.......... Selecting this option will paste any block
of text that has been saved to the paste
buffer. The block of text will be pasted
at the current cursor location.
O>- Print.......... Selecting this option will send any block
of text that has been previously saved to
the paste buffer to any printer connected
to printer port LPT1.
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Editor hot keys and commands.
============================:>
Insert............ Toggles between insert and overtype mode.
Red cursor designates insert mode.
~~~
White cursor designates overtype mode.
~~~~~
Tab............... Moves cursor right (tab spaces).
Shift+Tab......... Moves cursor left (tab spaces).
Delete............ Removes the character at the cursor
location.
Home.............. Moves cursor full left of text at cursor
line.
Ctrl+Home......... Moves cursor to top of screen.
End............... Moves cursor full right of text at cursor
line.
Ctrl+End.......... Moves cursor to bottom of screen.
PgUp.............. Moves text up 25 lines each press.
Ctrl+PgUp......... Moves to top of text file.
PgDn.............. Moves text down 25 lines each press.
Ctrl+PgDn......... Moves to bottom of text file.
Up/Dn Arrows...... Moves cursor up/down on line each press.
Right/Left Arrows. Moves cursor right/left one space each
press.
Ctrl+Y............ Delete the line at cursor location.
Ctrl+N............ Insert a blank line at the cursor location.
BLOCK OPERATIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ctrl+Arrow Keys... Mark a block of text.
Ctrl+Delete....... Delete a block of text.
Ctrl+Insert....... Insert a block of text.
Pressing any key except the Esc key will save a marked block.
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Calendar/Notepad Module.
=======================:>
Opening menu options and commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you first enter the Calendar/Notepad module you will be
presented with a calendar of the current month with the
current date highlighted in red.
To change the current date you can either click your mouse on
another day or press or click on the up or down arrow keys
Icons.
To change the month, simply press or click on the left or
right arrow keys or icons.
The menu at the right side of your screen under 'Select
Options' has several more options that allow entering/editing
notes or printing them.
To enter a note for a certain day or date, by using the
up/down or left/right arrow keys, move the highlight to the
date that you want to post a note for and then click on the
"D" Icon or simply press the 'D' key on your keyboard.
D>- Clicking on the "D" button will post a note for the
current day only.
W>- Clicking on the "W" button will post a note that will
be displayed every week on that day of the week.
M>- Clicking on the "M" button will post a note that will be
displayed every month on the selected day.
Y>- Clicking on the "Y" button will post a note that will be
displayed yearly on the selected day and month.
N>- Clicking on the "Note" button will allow creating and
editing general notes that are not associated to any
particular calendar date or phonebook data entry.
At this time you will be taken to the note editor where you
can proceed to enter the text for the note. The editor options
are as follows:
F1=Save......... Use this option to save your note to disk
when it is completed.
F2=Clear........ Using this option will totally clear the
editor of any existing text.
F3=Delete....... Use this option if you want to totally remove
a note from the system.
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F4=Copy......... Before using this option you must first mark
a block of text that you want to copy. You
can do this by holding your left mouse button
down while dragging your mouse to a new
location. You will notice a broken line box
being drawn as you move your mouse cursor,
inside this box represents the text that you
want to copy. After marking your text, simply
click your mouse on the F4 function key icon.
You may also mark a block of text using the
Shift+arrow keys found on your numeric pad.
F5=Paste........ After copying a block of text to the buffer,
you may paste it to a new location in this
note or to a newly created note by placing
the cursor at the location you want the text
located and then clicking or pressing the F5
key or Icon.
F6=Print........ Selecting this option will display a small
menu that has the following options:
A>- Print ALL.... Using this option will send the currently
loaded note to any printer connected to
port LPT1 on your system.
B>- Print Buffer. Using this option will send any text that
has been copied to the paste buffer to
any printer connected to port LPT1 on
your system.
F7=Dial......... Selecting this option will present the user
with a window that can be used to manually
enter a number to send to your modem.
You may also mark any number in the currently
opened note, using the block mark method and
then select the F7=Dial option to dial it.
NOTE !! Modem parms for this dialer are set
through the PhoneBook module under
the 'Parms' option.
NOTE ! All keyboard hot keys that are valid in the Fax/Text
file editor are also valid in this editor.
Print .. option
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selecting this option will bring up a small menu with several
print options.
A>- Print Date... Selecting this option will print any note
found at the currently highlighted date
on the calendar.
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B>- Print Week... Selecting this option will print any note
found on the currently highlighted
calendar date plus any notes found on the
next seven calendar days.
C>- Print Month.. Selecting this option will print any note
found on the currently highlighted
calendar date plus all notes found for
all days in the rest of the month.
D>- Print Year... Selecting this option will print any note
found on the currently highlighted
calendar date plus all notes found for
all days in the rest of the year.
Esc.............. This option will return you to the
opening calendar menu.
Erase .. option
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option provides a means of removing several notes with
a single pass.
After selecting this option, you will be presented with a
scrollable tag menu with all notes listed. To delete notes
from this menu, you must tag the notes that you want deleted.
Tagging notes from this menu can be done either of three ways.
Simply click your left mouse button on the notes you want
tagged, move the highlight bar to the note you want to tag
and press the enter key, or by clicking your left mouse button
on the up/dn arrow icons and clicking on the enter icon.
After you have all notes tagged that you want deleted, simply
select the Delete icon from this menu. You will be asked to
verify this delete.
NOTE !! This Calendar/Notepad module saves all notes in
separate disk files and as a result you may have
quite a few files created and on disk at any one
time. For this reason I recommend creating a sub
directory your hard drive to store these files in.
The Setup module accessed from the fastmenu GOLD main
menu has options for selecting a sub directory for
the Calendar/Notepad to use.
Using separate files for each note drastically speeds
up the display of any note and also results in using
less disk space due to not needing to maintain a
index file along with the data files.
All notes saved to disk files are pure text files
with no formatting characters embedded. Most
wordprocessors or text file editors will have no
problem reading these files. Your Fax Modem will also
have no problem reading these files.
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The Tab Icon and how it works
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
fastmenu GOLD now has a new Icon located at the upper right
of your screen 'Tab'. This Icon is present in almost all
utility modules and screens.
Pressing this 'Tab' Icon at the main menu screen will force
fastmenu GOLD into screen blanking.
Pressing this 'Tab' Icon from any other module or screen will
immediately return you to the main menu.
NOTE !! If you are using the user ID and activity logging
option, pressing this 'Tab' Icon from any screen
or module will force fastmenu GOLD into screen
blanking.
Setting up the user ID and logging
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A new feature has been added to fastmenu GOLD that allows for
setting up user ID access to fastmenu GOLD and along with
this option you can also select to log all user activity.
This user ID and logging is setup through the Setup module,
through option 'C>- Add/Edit/Delete System Passwords' and then
option 'E>- Setup User ID And Activity Logging'.
While at this user ID setup screen, notice, in the window at
left you will see slots for up to 20 user names and ID's. By
pressing the up/dn arrow keys you can move between three
windows, allowing up to 60 users total.
To enter user names and ID's, simply press the Edit Icon, you
will be placed inside the window where you can begin entering
or editing users. In the Users Name fields, enter each users
complete name, at the associated ID field, enter that users
password or ID that he will use to access the system.
After entering all users, simply press the Esc key to quit.
If all is OK with the names and ID's and you want to save
them to disk, simply press the Save Icon.
After pressing the Save Icon, you will be asked if you want to
log all user activity. If you select to log all user activity
you will also be asked as to how large you want to allow the
log files to become before the current one is closed and a new
one is created. A suggested size for these files is around
340kb. This allows copying or saving them to 360kb diskettes.
These log files can be viewed or deleted at any time from the
Setup module options 'J' and 'K'.
NOTE !! This user activity logging can be turned on or off
at any time by returning to this setup menu and
selecting the Log On/Off Icon. This Icon will toggle
logging on or off.
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ALSO You may return to this user ID setup menu at any time
and add/edit/change user names and passwords.
Executing applications from the Folder Titles page.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1>- Select a blank folder title line.
2>- Answer Yes to adding another Folder Title.
3>- Enter the title or name of the application you want to
execute at the Title name field and press enter.
4>- At this point you will be taken to a blank Folder list.
Select blank line number #1 or A.
5>- Answer Yes to adding a application to this line.
6>- At this point, you should be taken to the application edit
screen.
7>- At the Title field, enter a carat character (^). This
character is entered by pressing your shift key and the
number 6 key at the same time. fastmenu GOLD will
automatically execute an application when it encounters
this carat character as the last character in a Title.
8>- At the rest of the fields (Drive, Directory, etc) add the
necessary information for accessing this application.
9>- After all fields have been edited, press the Save option.
After pressing the Save option this application will be
automatically executed for testing. After exiting the
application, you will be returned to the main menu of fastmenu
GOLD and your new application will be ready to run from the
Folder Titles page.
NOTE !! If you need to change or edit this new Title, simply
click your right mouse button on the Folder Title
and then select Z=Edit Folder.
You may also do the same thing with the keyboard by
holding the Ctrl key down and then press the letter
associated with this Title.
Trouble Shooting.......................
======================================:>
VGA Problems...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
fastmenu GOLD has built-in VGA detection that will prevent it
from being run on any system that is not equipped with a VGA
color card and monitor.
New VGA Color cards are coming out every day from new and
existing manufacturers, due to this, you may experience some
problems getting fastmenu GOLD to run on these new cards.
Page 34
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If you know that you do have a full VGA system and yet you
still cannot get fastmenu GOLD to run, a way has been built-
in to fastmenu GOLD to bypass this VGA detection.
Create a file named: SKIP-VGA.DAT
This file should have only one line in it and that line
should read: VGA You may use any text editor or wordprocessor
to create this file.
This SKIP-VGA.DAT file should be copied to the same directory
that you have installed fastmenu GOLD to.
Input Runtime Module Path:.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
fastmenu GOLD uses a runtime module at various times during
operation and must be able to locate it.
This runtime module is in a file named: BRUN45.EXE.
For proper operation you must have a path statement in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file telling DOS where to locate this file. Also
you should have a path statement to the ROOT directory and the
directory that your DOS (DOS, DRDOS, NDOS, DOS50) files are
located in.
An example of the minimum path statement would be:
PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\GOLD
fastmenu GOLD drops out after executing a batch file...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With this version, you are required to include the file
extension at the Run File field when executing batch files.
If you are having this problem, simply enter the Edit
Applications module for the page that this application is
listed on, select to Add/Edit, then select the application you
are having problems with, move the cursor to the the Run File
field and add '.BAT' to the end of the run filename.
Can't find C:\GOLD\FAST1234.BAT file......
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This prompt may show up at exit time from fastmenu GOLD if you
are running a DOS version other that MS-DOS or PC-DOS.
To correct this problem, simply create a file named:
"FAST1234.IFO". Place this file into the directory that you
installed fastmenu GOLD to. This file does not have to have
any information in it and can be of 0 size.
Page 35
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This version of fastmenu GOLD was written and compiled using
MicroSoft QuickBASIC v4.5.
About 30% of the code is in QuickBASIC including all of the
VGA screens and windows. The rest of the code is comprised
of super fast compiled assembly language routines.
New Version and Update Policy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Registered users of fastmenu GOLD can obtain a copy of any
updated version by sending $12.00 to the below address. New
updates are sent out on HD 3 1/2 in disks. A full manual
(on disk) is included with each update.
DISCLAIMER
Users must accept this disclaimer of warranty: This
application supplied as is. The author disclaims all
warranties, expressed or implied, including, without
limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness
for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages,
direct or consequential, which may result from the use of this
manual or the application it describes. jwh: SoftWare
6947 Haggerty Road
Hillsboro, Ohio 45133
Phone (513) 393-2402
fastmenu GOLD is a product and copyright (c) 1990-95 by:
jwh: SoftWare. All rights reserved.
MicroSoft QuickBASIC is a product and copyright (c) by:
The Microsoft Corporation.
PKZIP, PKUNZIP, PKZIPFIX, and ZIP2EXE are all products and
copyright (c) by: PKWARE, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 36
-
=========== fastmenu GOLD (tm) v7.0b ============
Copywright (c) 1990 - 95 by: jwh: SoftWare
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE ! fastmenu GOLD is a hard drive menuing application
and should not be run on a floppy only system. You
must also have a VGA color card and monitor installed
to operate fastmenu GOLD.
ALSO If you give a copy of this software to a friend, PLEASE
do not just make a copy from your hard drive. It must
be installed with the INSTALL.EXE file to run properly.
DISK VENDERS The fastmenu GOLD install program (INSTALL.EXE)
will install from multiple floppies. Simply
copy all files to multiple disks in the same
order that they appear in this README.1ST file.
The following is a list of files needed to run fastmenu GOLD.
If you received fastmenu GOLD in it's archived form or downloaded
it from a BBS, you should have one file:
GOLD70.ZIP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After un-zipping, insert into drive A or B, move to
that drive and type: INSTALL
NOTE !! fastmenu GOLD MUST be installed from the DOS level
and NOT through a DOS shell of any kind.
ALSO, fastmenu GOLD cannot be executed through a
DOS shell or through another menu system or batch
file.
After installing, you should have the following files located
in a directory on your hard drive. The default directory name
will be "C:\GOLD".
Name Ext Size Date
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INSTALL .EXE 38731 02/01/95
FASTFONT.IFO 2055 02/01/95
GOLD .KEY 142 02/01/95
BRUN45 .EXE 77440 02/01/95
VGAFAST .EXE 109546 02/01/95
VGAPASS .EXE 9755 02/01/95
VGAFEDIT.EXE 61675 02/01/95
FASTTREE.EXE 5597 02/01/95
VGASETUP.EXE 151614 02/01/95
VGAFUTIL.EXE 81880 02/01/95
FASTREAD.EXE 13469 02/01/95
FASTWORD.EXE 89819 02/01/95
VGAFPHON.EXE 131116 02/01/95
VGAFDIAL.EXE 15435 02/01/95
VGAFDISK.EXE 160194 02/01/95
VGAFNOTE.EXE 69499 02/01/95
GOLD001 .EXE 36382 02/01/95
GOLD002 .EXE 18679 02/01/95
FILE_ID .DIZ 399 02/01/95
SYSOP .DOC 2683 02/01/95
SITE .DOC 2566 02/01/95
INVOICE .DOC 2011 02/01/95
DISCLAIM.DOC 1992 02/01/95
REGISTER.DOC 640 02/01/95
UPDATES .DOC 4075 02/01/95
MANUAL .DOC 103799 02/01/95
README .1ST 3614 02/01/95
-----------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE ! For proper operation please follow the installation
provided in the manual.
To start fastmenu GOLD, from the DOS prompt, type: GOLD
FOR HELP OR MORE INFORMATION CALL: 513-393-2402
Thank you; jwh: SoftWare
end:
December 16, 2017
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