ShortCut (tm)

Version 1.20
Mossy Rock Systems




By Dana S. Jeffries
P. O. Box 420876
Sacramento, Ca. 95841



(c) Copyright Mossy Rock Systems 1985 All Rights Reserved






ShortCut (tm)

Version 1.20
Mossy Rock Systems


(c) Copyright Mossy Rock Systems 1985 All Rights Reserved


Unmodified copies of the ShortCut distribution diskette
containing both the program ShortCut and this documentation
may be copied and shared. User groups may charge a fee not
to exceed $7.50 to distribute the program and documentation.
No one else may charge a fee. If any business organization
distributes unregistered copies of ShortCut, the recipients
of the program must be told that their copy is not yet
registered. Permission to use the program ShortCut is
granted for a short period of time for examination. If you
find ShortCut useful, license full use of your copy of
ShortCut by sending $25.00 to Mossy Rock Systems. See the
section titled For Registered Users Only for registration
benefits. Licensed personal users of ShortCut may use it on
any machine, but only on one machine at a time. Business
users may license use of ShortCut on all machines in their
possession at a fee of $50.00 for each increment of three
machines. Contact us if you desire any other arrangement.


DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITIES

We at Mossy Rock Systems have taken considerable time
and care preparing the program and documentation, including
research, program development, and testing to ensure their
correctness. However, we make no express or implied warranty
of any kind in regards to the program or the documentation.
In no event shall the author be held liable for damages in
connection with the use of this program. Much of the infor-
mation on the operation of DOS and COMMAND.COM has been
gathered through experimentation and may be somewhat machine
specific.

ShortCut is a Trademark of
Mossy Rock Systems

PC-DOS and IBM are Registered Trademarks of
International Business Machines Corporation

MS and Microsoft are Registered Trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation

Sidekick is a Trademark of
Borland International Inc.

ii





TABLE OF CONTENTS


Section Page


AN INTRODUCTION TO SHORTCUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

LEARNING HOW TO USE SHORTCUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

STARTING SHORTCUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

MOVING AROUND THE SHORTCUT SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . . 6

THE DIRECTORY WINDOW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

LIMIT ON DIRECTORY WINDOW ENTRIES . . . . . . . . . . . 11

MARKING FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

CHANGING SUBDIRECTORIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

DISPLAY DRIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

DEFAULT DRIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

SORT ON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION DISPLAYED . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

TOGGLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

SAVING YOUR PRESENT CONFIGURATION OF SHORTCUT . . . . . 20

COMMAND BAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

SHORTCUT COMMANDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
CMND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
RUN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
COPY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
EDIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
TYPE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
PRINT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
ERASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
MKDIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
RENAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
VOLUME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
PATH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
REDO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
DATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

iii





TIME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
BREAK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
SETUP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
RMDIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
VERIFY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
FORMAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

FOR REGISTERED USERS ONLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

REGISTERED USER FORM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48









































iv





AN INTRODUCTION TO SHORTCUT

ShortCut is a RAM resident program that interfaces with
DOS and gives you access to many DOS functions with a minimum
of keystrokes. Several of the functions ShortCut offers work
on multiple files, thus saving you keystrokes and time.
Although ShortCut is useful for all systems, it really shines
when used with a fixed disk because it greatly simplifies the
handling of subdirectories and files. No longer will you
have to type in file or subdirectory names. With ShortCut
you just point at what you want with the screen arrow and hit
the Space Bar.

The ShortCut screen continuously displays the current
directory or subdirectory along with other disk and machine
information. You can perform actions on any of these
displayed files by pointing the screen arrow at the file you
want and pressing the Space Bar to "mark" it, and then
selecting your desired command from the Command Bar and
pressing the Enter key. ShortCut will also let you mark more
than one file before you give a command. For example, if you
want to copy several files to another drive or subdirectory,
you can mark all of them and then use the COPY command just
once. ShortCut will copy all of your marked files, one after
another.

In addition to simplifying file operations, ShortCut has
several other features. You can easily change the system
time or date, change a disk volume label, execute a program,
access your favorite text editor or word processor with just
a couple of keystrokes, sort the displayed files on the
screen in several ways, make and remove directories, format a
disk, print ASCII files, and more. ShortCut also allows you
to see current information on the disk and computer you are
using at a glance.


















1





SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

ShortCut requires the following:

* IBM-PC, IBM-PC/XT, IBM-PCjr, or true compatible
* 80 column display
* minimum of 128K of memory
* PC-DOS or MS-DOS version 2.xx or greater
* 1 disk drive

ShortCut uses about 50K of memory. If you are using a
128K machine using DOS 2.0, you will have about 52K of free
memory (less on the PCjr). Some of the features of ShortCut
are not available from DOS; therefore, ShortCut must use
actual memory addresses. This may hinder its operation on
machines that are not truly compatible.

ShortCut runs on single and dual floppy disk drive
systems, but it is designed to be particularly useful for
machines using fixed disks.


LEARNING HOW TO USE SHORTCUT

Because ShortCut offers you so many features, it may be
confusing to sit down and read through this entire manual
from start to finish. We suggest you learn ShortCut bit by
bit. We have divided the information you need to know into
four lessons. You may proceed through them at whatever pace
feels comfortable to you.

We feel the best way to learn is to start ShortCut up
and work with it while you are reading through these pages.
You might want to try out some of the commands on diskette
files that you no longer need. That way you can create and
remove directories, erase and rename files, etc. without fear
of harming data important to you.

Within each lesson plan listed below, you will see
section names to read followed by numbers. These numbers
refer to the paragraph numbering system that begins after
this section. Each number refers to a specific paragraph.
You should read those paragraphs referred to by the numbers
for each lesson, but it is not necessary to read the whole
section in every case. Some information will not be neces-
sary at the time, but will be picked up in a later lesson.

Lesson 1 contains a lot of material that is important to
understand before you go on. Pay particular attention to the
section called the Directory Window. This is the core of
ShortCut and you must have a good understanding of how it
works to use the program effectively.

2





LESSON 1

Starting ShortCut 1 - 7
Moving Around the ShortCut Screen 8 - 12
Directory Window 13 - 19
Marking Files 21 - 23
Changing Subdirectories 25 - 26
Display Drive 29 - 31
Sort On 34 - 37
Additional Info. Displayed 38 - 41
Toggles 43 - 45
Command Bar 54 - 58
ERASE 82 - 83
RENAME 86
VOLUME 90
FORMAT 119 - 120
DATE 96
TIME 97
RUN 65 - 67
COPY 68 - 74
QUIT! 93


LESSON 2

Toggles 46 - 50
Saving Your Present Configuration 51 - 53
Marking Files 24
EDIT 75 - 76
PRINT 79 - 81
SETUP 100 - 113

LESSON 3

Default Drive 32 - 33
MKDIR 84 - 85
RMDIR 114 - 116
TYPE 77 - 78
CMND 59 - 64

LESSON 4

Limit on Directory Window Entries 20
Changing Subdirectories 27 - 28
PATH 91 - 92
RENAME 87 - 89
REDO 94 - 95
Additional Info. Displayed 42
BREAK 98 - 99
VERIFY 117 - 118



3





STARTING SHORTCUT


1. Before using ShortCut for the first time, you need
to make a working copy. To do this, insert your DOS
diskette in drive A and type "A:DISKCOPY A: B:" (without
the quotes) and hit the Enter key. Insert the ShortCut
distribution diskette in drive A and a blank diskette in
drive B. If your system has only a single floppy
diskette drive, you will need to follow the DOS
prompts. The ShortCut distribution diskette will be the
source diskette, and the blank diskette will be the
target diskette. Press the Enter key to begin the
copying process. When you are through copying ShortCut,
put your ShortCut distribution diskette away in a safe
place. Use it to make additional working copies and
copies to share with others.

2. ShortCut is a RAM resident program and must be
started from COMMAND.COM. It attaches itself to
COMMAND.COM and intercepts all calls to fill
COMMAND.COM's input buffer. What this means to you is
that ShortCut replaces the normal DOS command line
prompt ( A> on drive A ) with the display of its own
screen instead.

3. To start up ShortCut, first boot up your system
using DOS. Type "SHORTCUT" (without the quotes) and
press the Enter key. If ShortCut is not on the default
drive, don't forget to include the drive specifier.
ShortCut's screen will appear on your monitor.

4. If you are using a monochrome monitor with a
graphics board, before you bring up ShortCut, run the
DOS program MODE.COM to set the screen to 80 columns in
black and white. The command to give is:

MODE BW80

5. ShortCut must be the last RAM resident program you
load. If you use Sidekick, you know that Borland
suggests that Sidekick be loaded last. However,
ShortCut and Sidekick will not work together properly
unless ShortCut is loaded last. You can then use
Sidekick along with ShortCut by bringing up Sidekick in
the usual manner, although Sidekick does take a bit
longer to respond. Continue to hold down the proper
keys until it appears on your screen.





4





6. Since ShortCut will now stay in your computer's
memory until the computer is turned off, rebooted, or
you exit from ShortCut, you will no longer need the
ShortCut diskette. You may want one file, SHORTCUT.DAT,
found on the ShortCut diskette, however, if you want to
save your present configuration. See SAVING YOUR
PRESENT CONFIGURATION OF SHORTCUT for further informa-
tion on this.

7. If you have followed these directions, you should
be looking at the ShortCut introductory screen. Press
any key to get to the regular ShortCut screen. The
Directory Window on the left side displays the files on
the drive from which ShortCut was started. If you have
removed the ShortCut diskette, you may replace it with
any diskette you wish. Press the Space Bar to display
its files.




































5





MOVING AROUND THE SHORTCUT SCREEN


8. In the Directory Window on the left side of the
screen you will see a small arrow which we will call the
screen arrow from now on. Learning to move the screen
arrow around the screen is not difficult, but it will be
easiest if you actually try it out while reading these
directions. You can move the screen arrow to five
different places on the screen using the keyboard cursor
keys.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
! !
! The NUM indicator must be off in order to !
! move the screen arrow. !
! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


9. Within the Directory Window you can move the screen
arrow up or down using the up and down arrow cursor
keys. If you press the right arrow cursor key from
anywhere in the Directory Window, the screen arrow will
jump up and over to the additional file information box
to the right of the EXT header for the Directory
Window. From this box, pressing the right arrow cursor
key again will move the screen arrow right to the
Display box, and pressing the left arrow cursor key
will move it back to the Directory Window. From the
Display drive box you can move the screen arrow in any
of three directions. The up arrow cursor key will move
it up to the additional file information box, the down
arrow cursor key will move it to the Default drive box,
and the left arrow cursor key will move it directly back
to the Directory Window. From the Default drive box you
can move the screen arrow back up to the Display drive
box, down to the Sort On box, or left to the Directory
Window. Finally, from the Sort On box you can move the
screen arrow back up to the Default drive box or left to
the Directory Window once again.

10. A quick way to move from the Directory Window to
the Sort On box is to press the Ctrl - right arrow
cursor keys.

11. Don't worry about moving in a wrong direction.
ShortCut will beep at you if you make a mistake.






6





12. At the bottom of the ShortCut screen you will find
the Command Bar. You cannot move the screen arrow
itself to the Command Bar but you do need to access the
Command Bar to use the commands on it. To do this, use
the function keys or shifted function keys. Pressing
any of these keys will highlight one of the commands on
the Command Bar. You can move left or right to other
commands with the left or right arrow cursor keys.
Pressing the Esc key will cancel the Command Bar
selection any time before you hit the Enter key.
See the COMMAND BAR section for more information about
getting to and moving along the Command Bar.










































7





THE DIRECTORY WINDOW

13. The heart of ShortCut is the Directory Window.
Whenever a file is displayed here, you can perform
actions on it using the features of ShortCut. The
Directory Window always displays what we will call the
Current Displayed Directory. The path that DOS used
to reach this subdirectory is the first thing that is
displayed in the Directory Window. The window lists the
root directory at the top and each subdirectory
displayed after the root is the next step in the path
through which DOS must travel to reach your Current
Displayed Directory. The Current Displayed Directory is
always highlighted. The disk volume label will occupy
the root directory slot if a volume label exists. If it
does not, the first entry will say NO LABEL. All files
contained in the Current Displayed Directory are listed
following the current path. If the Current Displayed
Directory has any subdirectories belonging to it, then
these are shown after the last file entry. This
separation of the subdirectories belonging to the
current path and the subdirectories belonging to the
Current Displayed Directory by the files should help you
see clearly where you are. You always know that all the
subdirectories displayed at the top of the Directory
Window are part of the path that got you to the Current
Displayed Directory which will be highlighted. All
subdirectories displayed at the bottom of the Directory
Window are branches from the Current Displayed
Directory.

14. Let's see what all this means. Suppose your
Directory Window displays the following:

FILENAME EXT DATE

FIXED DISK root directory as volume label
LEVEL1 <sub>a subdirectory of the root
LEVEL2 a subdirectory of LEVEL1
SHORTCUT DOC 4-16-1985 a file in subdirectory LEVEL2
SHORTCUT DAT 3-27-1985 a file in subdirectory LEVEL2
SHORTCUT EXE 5-13-1985 a file in subdirectory LEVEL2
WILDTIME TXT 11-22-1984 a file in subdirectory LEVEL2
LEVEL3A a subdirectory of LEVEL2
LEVEL3B a subdirectory of LEVEL2

Fig. 1






8






15. The entry LEVEL2 will appear high-
lighted on your monitor, as it is the Current Displayed
Directory. The first three entries represent a
subdirectory path equivalent to the DOS path \FIXED
DISK\LEVEL1\LEVEL2. The four files are contained in the
Current Displayed Directory. Following these are
subdirectories belonging to the Current Displayed
Directory, LEVEL2. Figure 2 shows another way to
visualize this path as a tree.


FIXED DISK
|
LEVEL1
|
LEVEL2
|
------------------------------
| |
LEVEL3A LEVEL3B

Fig. 2

16. Note that there is ALWAYS only one path back to the
root directory from whatever subdirectory you are in,
but there may be any number of paths leaving from your
Current Displayed Directory.

17. Since only 16 files and subdirectories may be shown
at one time in the Directory Window, you need a way to
see the rest. ShortCut gives you several ways to do
this using the cursor control keys, PgUp and PgDn, Home,
End, and Scroll Lock.

Down Arrow - Moves the screen arrow down one line. When
the arrow is at the bottom of the window and more
entries exist, pressing the down arrow will scroll
the entries up one at a time until the last entry
is reached.

Up Arrow - Moves the screen arrow up one line. When the
arrow is at the top of the window and more entries
are above the screen arrow, pressing the up arrow
will scroll the entries down one at a time until
the root directory entry is reached.







9





Scroll Lock - Turning on Scroll Lock affects how the up
and down arrow keys work. With Scroll Lock
engaged, the screen arrow will remain stationary
while the entry names will scroll around it. You
will hear a beep when ShortCut cannot scroll up or
down any more.

Home - Moves the screen arrow to the top entry in the
Directory Window.

End - Moves the screen arrow to the bottom entry in the
Directory Window.

Ctrl-Home - Moves the screen arrow to the first entry
(the root directory) and positions that entry at
the top of the window.

Ctrl-End - Moves the screen arrow to the last entry and
positions that entry at the bottom of the window.

PgDn - Displays the next 16 entries in the Directory
Window. ShortCut will not move below the last
entry so a partial PgDn will occur if there are
less than 16 entries below the current window.

PgUp - Displays the previous 16 entries in the Directory
Window. ShortCut will not move above the root
directory so a partial PgUp will occur if there are
less than 16 entries above the current window.

18. ShortCut provides a Locate File feature that gives
you a quick way to position the screen arrow near any
file you want. Press ALT-L, and ShortCut will prompt
you for the first letter of the filename. As soon as
you type your letter, ShortCut will sort the files in
the Directory Window so that they are in alphabetical
order by filename. The files beginning with the letter
you selected will be at the top of the window. If the
screen arrow was in the Directory Window when you hit
ALT-L, it will be pointing to the first filename
beginning with the letter you wanted. You can use
Locate File with any ShortCut command. If you hit ALT-L
and change your mind, hit the Esc key and the files will
not be resorted and a search will not occur. See SORT
ON for information on how this feature works if your
files are sorted by EXTension.







10





19. Besides file names, their extensions, and sub-
directories that you can see all of the time, ShortCut
can display the date a file was created or last edited,
the time of day the file was created or edited, and the
size of the file in bytes. Because of the Directory
Window size, only one piece of this additional file
information can be shown at any one time. The current
piece of information shown is displayed to the right of
the EXT header and is highlighted. Moving the screen
arrow to this area will allow the type of information
displayed to be changed. The choices are DATE, TIME,
and SIZE. Select the one you want by pressing the first
letter (either upper or lower case) of your choice.



LIMIT ON DIRECTORY WINDOW ENTRIES

20. To save memory, the number of slots available for
file and subdirectory names in the Directory Window has
been limited to 150, excluding the root directory. If
more entries exist, only the first 150 will be displayed
by ShortCut. If you have need to display more than 150
entries and you are a registered user, you may request a
copy of ShortCut that will permit as many entries as you
want. Keep in mind that each additional slot for a
Directory Window entry will take up 24 bytes of RAM.


























11





MARKING FILES

21. Certain commands on the Command Bar at the bottom
of the screen can operate on multiple files. These
commands are: COPY, PRINT, ERASE, RENAME, and PRINT.
Before giving these commands, you must tell ShortCut
which files you wish to have the command act on by
"marking" the files.

22. Marking files is easy. Simply point the screen
arrow at the file you wish to mark and press the Space
Bar. The filename will become highlighted to indicate
that it has been "marked". ShortCut always checks to
see that the file still exists on the display drive
prior to marking it. If ShortCut does not find the
file, it assumes the disk has been changed, it will
display a message, and then it will get the new disk
directory. As you mark files, ShortCut displays in the
Disk Status box how many bytes are in the marked files.
This information is handy to determine how many bytes of
disk space will be released after using an ERASE
command, or if there is sufficient space to COPY files
during a COPY.

23. If you make an error while marking files, pressing
the Space Bar when the screen arrow points at a marked
file will unmark it. ShortCut removes the file name
from its list of marked files, and you will see the file
name return to the normal color. You may unmark all
marked files by moving the screen arrow to the Current
Displayed Directory entry and pressing the Space
Bar. This has the effect of getting a fresh copy of the
directory with all marking removed.

24. The EDIT command is the only file command that will
work on only one marked file. If more than one file is
marked, only the first file will be sent to the editor.
See the section on EDIT for more information.















12





CHANGING SUBDIRECTORIES

25. Changing the Current Displayed Directory is
easy. Point the screen arrow at the desired subdirec-
tory and press the Space Bar. This subdirectory will
then become the Current Displayed Directory, and
therefore, it will be highlighted. Any subdirectory
that appears in the Directory Window can become the
Current Displayed Directory in this manner.

26. If the subdirectory you wish to make the Current
Displayed Directory is not on the current Display
drive, you must move the screen arrow to the box marked
Display by using the cursor keys. Choose the drive you
wish to see displayed in the Directory Window by
pressing the letter corresponding to that drive. You
can then move the screen arrow back to the Directory
Window with the left arrow cursor key. As before, move
the screen arrow to your desired subdirectory and make
it the Current Displayed Directory by pressing the
Space Bar.

27. ShortCut provides a "shortcut" to move to a desired
directory or subdirectory. You may "tag" the Current
Displayed Directory by pressing ALT-T (Tag Directory).
You may return to this tagged directory from any drive
or other subdirectory at any time by pressing ALT-G
(Goto Directory). The directory you tagged will once
again become the Current Displayed Directory. This
directory will remain tagged until you tag another
directory or until you exit ShortCut.

28. For example, suppose the Current Displayed
Directory is a subdirectory on your fixed disk. You
want to copy a few files you have stored on a floppy
diskette to this subdirectory. You can tag your Current
Displayed Directory by pressing ALT-T. Move to the
floppy diskette drive and mark the files you want to
copy. Press F3 and Enter to start the copy process.
Now you need only press ALT-G to move back to the tagged
subdirectory on your fixed disk making it the Current
Displayed Directory once again. Press F3 to complete
the copy process.










13





DISPLAY DRIVE

29. The Display drive box marked Display shows the
drive that you have selected to be displayed in the
Directory Window. When you first bring up ShortCut,
this will be the default drive, but you can change it to
any drive on your system. The selected drive is shown
in the Display drive box as a highlighted capital
letter.

30. All of ShortCut's commands that work on files
operate on the drive that has been designated as the
Display drive. This does not apply to the CMND command
because it is a direct interface with COMMAND.COM and
bypasses ShortCut's functions. The CMND command uses
the default drive.

31. To select the drive to be displayed, once you are
in the Display drive box, you need only press the letter
of the drive you wished displayed (A for drive A, B for
drive B, etc.). The letter may be typed in either
uppercase or lowercase. ShortCut will not switch to a
drive that does not exist on your system. The total
number of drives on your system is displayed in the
Equipment Installed box on the right side of the
screen. This is the number of drives known by DOS and
it will include all floppy drives, fixed disks, and RAM
disks. If your system has more than 8 drives, the
drives above drive H cannot be accessed. Registered
users can request a version of ShortCut capable of
addressing more than 8 drives.






















14





DEFAULT DRIVE

32. This is the drive used by DOS as the default. DOS
searches for a file on the default drive if the filename
is not prefixed with a drive specifier. (Starting with
DOS version 2.0, DOS also searches for files along the
specified path. See your DOS manual.) ShortCut does
not use the default drive as most of its commands work
on the Current Displayed Directory and it will preface
the commands it sends to DOS with the correct letter
automatically. If you use the CMND command, you
are actually bypassing ShortCut and using DOS. DOS will
use your default drive to search for files if you do not
specify a drive. ShortCut's FORMAT and EDIT commands
are exceptions to this rule, so be sure to read the
discussions of these commands.

33. The drive selected as the default drive is shown by
a highlighted capital letter in the box marked Default.
To change which drive DOS will use as the default
drive, move to the this box using the cursor keys.
Press the letter of the drive you want. ShortCut has a
limit of 8 drives. If your system has more than 8
drives and you are a registered user, you may request a
version of ShortCut capable of addressing more drives.




























15





SORT ON

34. The files in the Directory Window may be displayed
sorted or unsorted. By default, the files will be
unsorted, which means they will be displayed in the
order in which they are found on the disk drive. You
may choose to sort the files by NAME, TIME, SIZE, or
EXTension, in either ascending (As) or descending (Ds)
order. When the files are sorted by TIME, they are
first sorted by their dates, and then by the time on
that date. Files sorted by EXTension are first sorted
by extension, then by filename.

35. To select the field to SORT ON, move the screen
arrow to the SORT ON box and press the first letter of
the sort type desired: N for NAME, E for EXTension, T
for TIME, S for SIZE, and U for UNSORTed. In addition,
press A for ascending (As) sorts and D for descending
(Ds) sorts. The letter pressed may be in either
uppercase or lowercase.

36. When you use Locate File (ALT-L) to search for
filenames beginning with a letter you specify, ShortCut
will resort the displayed filenames by NAME in ascending
order. If the files were sorted by TIME, or SIZE, or
they were UNSORTED or sorted by NAME in descending
order, you will see a change in the SORT ON box when you
use this feature.

37. If, however, the filenames are sorted by their
EXTensions when you press ALT-L, enter the letter of the
EXTension type you wish to find. ShortCut will place
the filenames with the first letter of their extensions
matching your letter at the top of the Directory
Window. This will help you find the file type you want
very quickly.

















16





ADDITIONAL INFORMATION DISPLAYED

38. ShortCut displays additional information that will
be of general use to you. You can find information
relating to the current Display drive located near the
top center of the screen in the Disk Status box. This
information includes the total amount of bytes available
on the disk, the number of bytes being used, and the
number of bytes still free for your use. ShortCut also
shows you the total number of files in your Current
Displayed Directory along with the number of user files
(read/write or read only files), and the number of
hidden files. In addition, if there are marked files in
the Directory Window, the total number of bytes in all
the marked files is displayed and highlighted.

39. Below this information ShortCut displays how much
total memory is available for your computer system and
the amount of this memory that is still free for future
use.

40. Beneath the memory status information you will see
four boxes. Three of these boxes show the states of
various modes which are related to the Command Bar.
These modes are VERIFY, BREAK, and PAUSE. The fourth
box indicates which type of monitor card you are using
to drive your monitor, a monochrome or color card.

41. The right hand column displays the date and time.
Below this is some information about your system's
configuration. Among this information is the number of
disk drives on your system. This is the number of
drives that are known to DOS and that can differ from
your computer's equipment switch setting if you are
using an XT or RAM disks. If your system has a single
floppy drive, the number of disks will be shown as two
drives. This allows for the copying of files using just
the one drive. The system configuration information
also shows you the number of parallel and serial ports,
whether a game port exists, and the version of DOS you
are using.












17





42. There is one other small bit of information that
is quickly displayed at the time you bring up ShortCut
or after you give the REDO command. ShortCut reads the
machine identification byte located at the top of the
ROM BIOS as well as the copyright date in the ROM BIOS
and displays this information on the message line of the
screen very briefly. This information does not exist on
some non-IBM machines, but this will not interfere with
the operation of the program as it is a read only
operation. In this case, ShortCut might display a bunch
of meaningless junk. This information is displayed for
only a fraction of a second, so you must be quick if you
hope to see it.


TOGGLES

43. The boxes called toggles reflect the condition of a
few of the keyboard modes of your computer. These
keyboard mode indicators are CAPS, NUM, PRN, INS, SCRL
LOCK. If the condition is active, the name will be
highlighted and capitalized. If it is not, the name
will appear in the same color as the frame and in small
letters.

44. When the CAPS mode is on, all letters entered at
the keyboard are converted to capital letters. If the
INS indicator is on, then the characters entered are
inserted into the internal buffer at the current
position and any characters originally there are pushed
to the right. The CMND command resets this indicator to
off, but restores its original condition when the
command is completed. You can toggle the CAPS mode on
and off by pressing the Caps Lock key, and you can do
the same with the INS mode with the Ins key.

45. The NUM indicator shows the condition of the
numeric input pad. If the indicator is on, a key
pressed on the numeric pad will cause a number to be
entered. If the NUM indicator is off, then the cursor
keys will be active. To toggle the NUM mode on or off,
press the Num Lock key.


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
! !
! The NUM indicator must be off in order to !
! move the screen arrow and to move among the !
! boxes on the Command Bar. !
! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


18






46. Pressing ALT-P will toggle the PAUSE mode on or
off. Whenever ShortCut sends a command to DOS or runs a
program, the ShortCut screen disappears and the normal
DOS output is displayed. When DOS completes its job,
the ShortCut screen reappears. If the command or
program uses screen output as in a DIR command, or
perhaps as a result of running CHKDSK.COM, the screen
will flip back to the ShortCut screen before you have a
chance to read this output. If you set PAUSE on,
ShortCut will pause after the DOS output is displayed,
ask you to press any key to continue, and wait for your
key press before returning to the ShortCut screen.
You can determine if the PAUSE mode is on or off by
looking for the PAUSE indicator displayed just below the
Memory Status box. If PAUSE is set on, the letters
will be highlighted and capitalized. If PAUSE is off,
the letters will be lowercase and the same color as the
frame. The default mode is on.

47. ShortCut also allows you to see the normal DOS
output screen at any time by pressing ALT and F simul-
taneously. Pressing ALT-F again will flip you back to
the ShortCut screen.

48. The PRN indicator displays the condition of the DOS
printer echo function. If this is on, then all input
from the keyboard and all output to the screen to and
from DOS and your software will also be sent to your
printer. The ShortCut screen itself will not be
printed. To turn this indicator on or off, press the
Ctrl key and the PrtSc key simultaneously.

49. The SCRL LOCK indicator shows the current condition
of the Scroll Lock key. Turning on Scroll Lock affects
how the up and down arrow keys work. With Scroll Lock
engaged, the screen arrow will remain stationary
while the entry names will scroll around it. You
will hear a beep when ShortCut cannot scroll up or
down any more.

50. ShortCut has a CHIME function available that beeps
on the hour if the ShortCut screen is displayed at that
time. Toggle CHIME on and off by pressing ALT-C. A
small musical note appears in front of the time when
CHIME is set on.







19





SAVING YOUR PRESENT CONFIGURATION OF SHORTCUT

51. When ShortCut starts up, it looks for a file called
SHORTCUT.DAT, and, if it finds this file, it configures
itself according to the information contained within
it. ShortCut tries to locate this file by first
searching the default directory and then searching along
DOS's path (see the discussion on PATH) until it finds
the first file named SHORTCUT.DAT.

52. You may save your current configuration at any time
by pressing ALT-S and typing a Y in response to the
question "Save current configuration (Y/N)?". ShortCut
will search the path until it finds a copy of
SHORTCUT.DAT, if one exists, and it will update this
file to reflect your current configuration. If the file
does not exist, ShortCut will create it in the default
directory. It is up to the user to ensure that ShortCut
is able to find the correct configuration file when it
starts up by having the desired version of SHORTCUT.DAT
on the default drive or along DOS's search path. If you
keep more than one configuration file, ShortCut will use
the first one it finds for starting up or updating. No
provision has been made to change to another configura-
tion file after starting up ShortCut, although you
may always save the current configuration.

53. The following parameters are saved in SHORTCUT.DAT:

Which piece of information to display
about a file (DATE, TIME, SIZE)
How to sort the displayed files (TIME,
SIZE, EXT, NAME, UNSORTED, As, Ds)
PAUSE on or off
CHIME on or off
The editor to be used with the EDIT command
The default file to be edited
A leading printer string for the PRINT command
A trailing printer string
The number of lines per page to be printed
Whether to expand tabs when printing
How many spaces to expand tabs
SCREEN BLANKING on or off
Get directory on return from DOS
What BASIC to use
Confirm before erasing file

For more information about the editing and printing param-
eters, screen blanking, getting the directory on return from
DOS, and what BASIC to use, see the SETUP command.



20





COMMAND BAR

54. The Command Bar is located at the bottom of the
screen. Several of these commands operate on files
marked in the Directory Window. To reach the Command
Bar, press any of the function keys or the shifted
function keys. The cursor left arrow and right arrow
keys will allow you to move along the Command Bar
one box for each key press. The Command Bar is a wrap
around bar. If you move left (or right) off the ends of
the visible Command Bar, a second Command Bar will
replace the first one giving you a choice of ten more
commands.

55. There is a quick way of reaching the command box
you desire. As there are ten command boxes on the first
Command Bar, each box has its own function key associ-
ated with it moving sequentially from left to right.
The function key for the first box, CMND, is F1, and
each box to the right is one function key greater. The
next ten command boxes of the second Command Bar use the
same sequence, but the shift key must be pressed along
with the function key. For example, the DATE command
box is accessed by pressing SHIFT F4. Whenever you
press the Shift key, the second Command Bar will be
displayed. When you remove your finger from the Shift
key, the first Command Bar will return.

56. Certain commands can operate on multiple files, if
you choose. These commands are COPY, TYPE, PRINT,
ERASE, and RENAME. These commands require you to mark
the files you want to act upon before using the com-
mands. (See MARKING FILES). Although EDIT works only
on one file, as with the above commands, you must first
mark the file you want to edit. After you have marked
the desired file(s), move to the command box you want
and hit the Enter key. Actually you can move to the
appropriate command box before marking a file, but a
file must be marked before you hit the Enter key.

57. Pressing the Esc key any time you are on the
Command Bar and before you hit the Enter key will take
you off the Command Bar. After you have already hit
Enter, the command will execute unless ShortCut prompts
you for a response first. In this case, you can change
your mind and get out of the command by pressing
Ctrl-Esc.

58. Here are the names of the commands available on the
Command Bars, a brief description of each, and the
ShortCut key to access them.


21





KEY NAME DESCRIPTION

F1 CMND Acts like the standard DOS command line.
F2 RUN Runs the file being pointed at
F3 COPY Copies marked file(s)
F4 EDIT Edits a marked file. Uses an external
editor of your choice
F5 TYPE Writes contents of marked file(s) to
the screen
F6 PRINT Sends the marked file(s) to the printer
F7 ERASE Deletes the marked file(s)
F8 MKDIR Creates a subdirectory below the current
subdirectory
F9 RENAME Renames the marked file(s)
F10 VOLUME Change/create a volume label on the
display drive
Shift F1 PATH Shows and sets the path used by DOS
Shift F2 QUIT! Exits ShortCut; removes it from memory
Shift F3 REDO Rewrites the screen
Shift F4 DATE Sets the current date
Shift F5 TIME Sets the current time
Shift F6 BREAK Sets Control Break checking on or off
Shift F7 SETUP Customizes ShortCut; edit & print
options
Shift F8 RMDIR Removes a subdirectory
Shift F9 VERIFY Toggles the verification of data after
it is written to disk on or off
Shift F10 FORMAT Formats the diskette in drive B

























22





SHORTCUT COMMANDS


CMND

59. The CMND command (F1) provides the same service as
the standard DOS input line. When you press F1 and hit
Enter, the message line will disappear and you will see
what looks like the normal DOS prompt waiting for you to
type in a command. Type in any DOS command and hit
Enter.

60. ShortCut acts as a line editing buffer for this
command. Your command is sent directly to COMMAND.COM
without being acted upon by ShortCut. The ShortCut
screen disappears and you will see the DOS screen with
your command following the normal DOS prompt and then
the normal screen output that DOS displays when
executing its commands. When DOS is finished, the
ShortCut screen will reappear. This will happen very
quickly and you may not be able to read all of the DOS
screen output. If you wish, you may use the Pause
feature to keep the DOS output screen until you press
any key. See TOGGLES for more information.

61. The DOS editing keys that you may use when using
the CMND command consist of the function keys F1 through
F5, the Ins key, the Del key, the right arrow cursor
key, and the Esc key.

F1 - Copies one character from the template (the
template is normally the last command sent to
DOS).

F2 - Waits for the next typed character and then copies
all characters up to the first matching occurrence
in the template. If the character is not in
the template, nothing happens.

F3 - Copies all the remaining characters from the
template. You can use this to recall the last
command you sent to DOS.

F4 - Waits for the next typed character and then skips
over all characters in the template until it
reaches the first matching occurrence of the
character you typed.

F5 - Copies the current command line as the new
template, clears the line, and allows continued
editing of this new template.


23





Esc - Aborts the current command line and begins a new
one. The current template remains the same and
restarts at the first character.

Ins - Inserts all the following characters you type to
be inserted without advancing the template
pointer.

Del - skips over characters in the template without
advancing the cursor.

See your DOS manual for a full description of the
editing keys. You can use these keys any time ShortCut
prompts you for information, not just with the CMND
command.

62. When you try to type beyond the right edge of the
screen, the command line will scroll to the left for
each character typed. You may enter no more than 128
characters including spaces. If you do, ShortCut will
beep at you once for each additional key stroke.

63. A quick way to type a filename on the command line
accurately if the filename is visible in the Directory
Window is to point the screen arrow at the filename.
Hit F10 and the filename will appear on the command
line. Try this with Locate File (ALT-L) to move the
screen arrow to the filename quickly.

64. Commands that you give using the CMND function will
use the default drive unless you preface filenames with
a drive specifier.





















24





RUN

65. The RUN command (F2) executes the file at which the
screen arrow is pointing as long as the file has an
extension of .COM, .EXE, .BAT, or .BAS. After you hit
F2, ShortCut will tell you on the message line if the
file at which the screen arrow points can be executed.


66. If the file extension is .BAS, ShortCut will load
BASICA.COM and the filename will be passed to BASICA so
that your program will begin running without any further
input from you. For this to occur, BASICA must be
accessible to DOS in either the default directory or in
a directory specified by the path. You may specify a
different BASIC by using the SETUP command. Whenever
you are running a BASIC program and you want to return
to ShortCut, use the BASIC "system" command.

67. The ShortCut screen will disappear and you will see
normal DOS output to the screen before your program is
run. When your program is finished, your monitor's
screen will flip back to the ShortCut screen automatic-
ally unless the PAUSE mode is set on. In this case,
ShortCut will prompt you to press any key to return to
the ShortCut screen. Using PAUSE will allow you to see
output from programs such as CHKDSK.COM. See TOGGLES
for more information on setting the PAUSE mode on.

























25





COPY

68. The COPY command (F3) may be a little more
complicated to use than other ShortCut features. First,
mark the file(s) you want to copy from the Current
Displayed Directory and then press the COPY F3 function
key. Hit Enter to begin the COPY process. ShortCut
will then ask you to make the subdirectory to which you
want to copy the file(s) the Current Displayed
Directory. When you have done this, hit the F3 key
again and ShortCut will begin copying the file(s). As
the files are being copied, you will see the disk status
change and the filenames will appear in the Directory
Window below all the files and subdirectories. They
will be highlighted and they will not fill their proper
slots in the Directory Window until all files have been
copied.

69. If there is insufficient space on your diskette to
copy a file after you have given the COPY command, DOS
will display an isufficient space message and the file
will not be copied. ShortCut will display the "Press
any key" message. If you have marked several files to
copy and there is not sufficient space for one, DOS will
try to copy the others that you have marked. If you
decide you do not want any of the marked files copied at
this point, press Esc, and no further files will be
copied.

70. Pressing the Esc key prior to pressing the F3 key
the final time will stop the COPY function and return
the screen arrow to the Directory Window unmarking all
files.

71. The Command Bar will be cleared during the execu-
tion of COPY to allow for additional prompts and
information from DOS. After you have marked your
file(s), pressed F3, and hit Enter, this message will
appear on your screen:

Currently 'COPY'ing files....Press Esc to abort
Make the directory you want to copy the files to the Current Directory by
displaying its files in the Directory Window, then press the key 'F3'

72. This message is telling you to move to the sub-
directory to which you want to copy the file(s). If
the subdirectory is on the same disk, position the
screen arrow so that it points at the subdirectory you
want. Press the Space Bar to make it the Current
Displayed Directory and then press F3 to complete the
COPY command.


26





73. If the subdirectory is not on the same disk drive,
move the screen arrow to the Display box and type the
letter of the drive you want the file(s) to be copied
to. Make the desired subdirectory your Current
Displayed Directory as above.

74. The COPY command also works on systems having only
one floppy drive, but it will flip from ShortCut's
screen to the DOS screen before it gives DOS the COPY
command. ShortCut does this because DOS gives you
numerous prompts to change diskettes, and these prompts
would destroy the appearance of ShortCut's screen.


EDIT

75. The EDIT command (F4) is used in conjunction with a
word processor or text editor. By default, the editor
used is EDLIN.COM, the one accompanying the DOS package.
You can change this at any time by calling up the Setup
screen using the SETUP command.

76. To use the EDIT command, move to the EDIT command
box and press Enter. Your editor or word processor must
be in the default directory or along the path (see PATH)
unless the name of the editor includes a drive speci-
fier. If there is a particular file you want to edit,
mark that file before you give the EDIT command. This
filename will be passed as a parameter to the editor or
word processor. Then when you give the EDIT command,
your editor or word processor will be called up and you
will be editing the file that you want. If you do not
mark a file, ShortCut will pass the filename SCRATCH.PAD
to your editor. You may change this name using the
SETUP command.


TYPE

77. The TYPE command (F5) will tell DOS to display the
marked file(s) on your screen. The output from TYPE is
very fast. You may want the output to pause so that you
can read it. Press Ctrl and Num Lock. Your screen
display will stop scrolling. Press any key to continue
with the display.

78. If you have marked more than one file, ShortCut
will immediately start displaying the next file as soon
as the first is completed unless PAUSE is on. In this
case, the next file will not be displayed until you
press a key.


27





PRINT

79. The PRINT command (F6) differs from the DOS print
command. ShortCut's PRINT command sends marked file(s)
to the printer and inserts a page feed after every 60
lines. It is provided as a convenient method of
printing unformatted text only. If you wish to use the
background printing que of the DOS print command, you
can always use it through the CMND command.

80. ShortCut gives you a few printing options when
using the PRINT command. See the SETUP command for a
complete discussion of these printing options.

81. To use PRINT, you may mark the file(s) you want
printed first, then move to the PRINT command box, or
you may mark them once you are already there. Make sure
your printer is all ready to go, then hit the Enter
key. Your printer will print out the files you request-
ed. You can stop printing by pressing the Esc key.


ERASE

82. The ERASE command (F7) will delete all file(s) that
you have marked in the Directory Window from your disk.
ShortCut will go through the list of marked files and
ask you if you want to erase that particular file.
This gives you a chance to change your mind if you have
made a mistake. Answer ShortCut with a "Y" for Yes or
an "N" for No. You may enter the letter in either
uppercase or lowercase. If you respond with a "Y" for
Yes, the file will be erased from your disk and Short-
Cut's display will be updated. If you reply with
an "N" for No, the file will not be erased. If you
press any other key, ShortCut will display an error
message on the message line and the file will not be
erased.

83. If you prefer, you can have ShortCut erase the
marked file(s) without seeking your confirmation. See
SETUP for instructions on how to do this.











28





MKDIR

84. The MKDIR command (F8) is used to create a new
subdirectory. Subdirectories are an important part
of organizing a fixed disk or even a diskette. This
function will make a subdirectory that belongs to the
Current Displayed Directory. The new subdirectory
(and any other subdirectories belonging to the Current
Displayed Directory) will be displayed at the end of
all the files listed in the Directory Window.

85. To make a new subdirectory, move to the MKDIR
command box and press the Enter key. ShortCut will
prompt you for the name of the new subdirectory. The
name must be no more than 8 characters and may include
an extension of 3 letters or less for a total length of
11 characters maximum. Do not include a path if you are
adding a subdirectory to the Current Displayed
Directory, as ShortCut will do this automatically. You
can create a subdirectory for somewhere other than the
Current Displayed Directory. In this case you must
include the path along with the subdirectory name.
After the Enter key is pressed, ShortCut will create the
subdirectory and update its Directory Window.





























29





RENAME

86. When you use the RENAME command (F9), you must mark
the file(s) you want to rename. Move to the RENAME
command box and hit Enter. ShortCut will display the
first marked file name and ask you to type the new name
for the file. You may use wildcard characters if you
wish. DO NOT INCLUDE A DRIVE SPECIFIER IN THE NAME.
When you have entered the new name, ShortCut will
continue in the same manner with the next marked file if
there are any. ShortCut's RENAME command works only on
the Current Displayed Directory. If you wish to
RENAME a file in another subdirectory, you must make
that the Current Displayed Directory first or you can
use the CMND command and have DOS do it.

87. You can also use ShortCut's RENAME command to move
a file from one subdirectory to any other subdirectory
on the SAME DISK. To do this, include the path (which
must exist) when you enter the new file name. The file
name may be changed and wildcards are accepted in the
file name but not in the path. The file actually stays
in the same place on the disk, but it will now be shown
in the Directory Window as belonging to another sub-
directory.

88. For example, suppose you wish to move some files in
your Current Displayed Directory to another subdirectory
called LETTERS. Mark the files that you wish to move
then press F9 and hit Enter. Now when ShortCut prompts
you for the new name, enter the complete path excluding
a drive specifier followed by a backslash (\) and then
an asterisk, a period, and another asterisk. Your
command might look like this:

\EDIT\LETTERS\*.*

ShortCut will substitute the marked filename for *.*.
The result will be that this file will now be moved to
the LETTERS subdirectory, but the filename and extension
will remain the same. Press F3 and Enter each time
ShortCut prompts you for a new name until all marked
files are moved to the LETTERS subdirectory.

89. You might want to use the RENAME function to rename
the file SHORTCUT.EXE to SC.EXE on your working copy of
the ShortCut diskette. Then, instead of typing SHORTCUT
to load the program, you can just type SC. Please
do not share ShortCut with the name modified this way.
Only use the name SHORTCUT.EXE so that people will
recognize the program name.


30





VOLUME

90. ShortCut provides a feature that was lacking in DOS
prior to version 3.0. The only time DOS would allow you
to create a volume label was at the time a disk was
formatted. ShortCut permits you create or change a
volume label at any time. Move to the VOLUME command
box, hit the Enter key, and type in the volume label in
response to the ShortCut prompt. The label can be no
more than 11 characters in length. When you hit Enter,
you will see the new name at the top of the Directory
Window in the root directory position. Volume labels
are handy for identifying the disk being used without
having to remove it from the disk drive.


PATH

91. The PATH command (shift F1) gives you access to the
DOS path function. DOS has a feature whereby it will
search for an executable file on other drives and in
other directories in addition to that of the default
drive. This is called the PATH. Moving to the PATH
command box and pressing the Enter key will display the
current path and allow you to change or set it, if you
wish. For example, if the current path is set as
"A:\;B:\;C:\UTILITY", DOS would look for a file by first
checking the default drive, then searching the root
directory of the drive A, then searching the root
directory of drive B, and finally searching for the file
in the UTILITY subdirectory on drive C. Of course, if
DOS finds the file for which it is looking before it
reaches the end of the path, it will not go on with the
next step. See your DOS manual for more information
about using the DOS path command.

92. Note for advanced users: Because ShortCut actually
attaches itself to the copy of COMMAND.COM that loads
ShortCut and sends the DOS commands to that particular
copy of COMMAND.COM, any changes made to the environment
are made to that copy of COMMAND.COM. If you then use
that copy of COMMAND.COM to load programs, the changes
made will be passed on to these programs.










31





QUIT!


93. The QUIT! command (shift F2) allows you to exit
ShortCut. If you no longer want to use ShortCut or you
need to regain the memory it is using (about 50K), move
to the QUIT! command box and press the Enter key.
ShortCut will not let you QUIT! if you have loaded any
RAM resident program after loading ShortCut.


REDO

94. The REDO command (shift F3) rewrites the screen.
Occasionally, ShortCut's screen can be overwritten or
damaged. This could happen if a critical error occurs
because you left a drive door open or inserted an
unformatted diskette in a drive the computer was trying
to access. You can get a fresh copy of the screen by
using REDO. Move to the REDO command box and hit the
Enter key. You can also rewrite the screen by pressing
Ctrl-Break.

95. This function does some internal housekeeping that
basically restarts ShortCut. Therefore, you will find
yourself back on the drive and in the directory from
which ShortCut was started if you were using a different
drive and subdirectory when you gave the REDO command or
pressed Ctrl-Break. Also, if you had tagged a
subdirectory, it will no longer be tagged. Fortunately,
you will need to use REDO or Ctrl-Break very seldom, if
at all.


DATE

96. The DATE command (shift F4) allows you to change
the system date which is the date that ShortCut dis-
plays. Move to the DATE command box and press the
Enter key. ShortCut will prompt you for the new date.
Enter the date in this format:

mm-dd-yyyy or mm-dd-yy

The numbers may be separated by any non-numeric char-
acter. If you enter a date ShortCut considers improb-
able, you will see an error message and be prompted to
try again. Pressing Enter without typing any other
characters will keep the date that is currently dis-
played.



32





TIME

97. The TIME command (shift F5) can be used to change
the system time displayed on ShortCut's screen. Move to
the TIME command box and hit the Enter key. ShortCut
will display the current time and prompt you for the new
time. Enter the time in this format:

hour:minute:second

Use military style in which the p.m. hours are figured
by adding 12 to the current hour. The hours, minutes,
and seconds may be separated by any non-numeric
character. It is not necessary that you enter the
minutes or the seconds; ShortCut will assume a zero
value for them. If you enter an invalid time, ShortCut
will give you an error message and let you try again.
Pressing Enter without typing any other characters will
keep the time that is currently displayed.


BREAK

98. The BREAK command (shift F6) permits you to decide
if you want DOS to check for a control break when you
are running a program. DOS normally checks for a
control break only when it is doing standard input or
output functions or Asynchronous Communications Adapter
operations. If the DOS break function is on, DOS will
check for a control break whenever a program requests
any DOS function. This will slow down the execution of
the program a bit, but it does give you better control
of your system.

99. This is a toggle function. When you have moved to
the BREAK command box and pressed the Enter key, the
state of the DOS break function will be changed. You
can always see what the current state is in the break
display box near the middle of the screen just above the
Command Bar. The word "break" will be highlighted if
the function is active, and it will be the color of the
frame if it is not.












33





SETUP

100. ShortCut was written to help people use their
computers. As each person is an individual, we all do
things a bit differently. Therefore, the author allows
you to customize ShortCut to meet your special needs.
In the section titled SAVING YOUR PRESENT CONFIGURATION,
we saw that the SHORTCUT.DAT file contained several
parameters that you can set as you wish. These param-
eters are reprinted here for your convenience.

Which piece of information to display
about a file (DATE, TIME, SIZE)
How to sort the displayed files (TIME,
SIZE, EXT, NAME, UNSORTED, As, Ds)
PAUSE on or off
CHIME on or off
The editor to be used with the EDIT command
The default file to be edited
A leading printer string for the PRINT command
A trailing printer string
The number of lines per page to be printed
Whether to expand tabs when printing
How many spaces to expand tabs
SCREEN BLANKING on or off
Get directory on return from DOS
What BASIC to use
Confirm before erasing file

101. If you have read all the documentation so far and
worked with ShortCut a bit, you probably realize that
you already know how to change which piece of informa-
tion to display about a file, how to sort the displayed
files, and how to toggle PAUSE and CHIME on and off.
You can save the way you have set up the ShortCut screen
with these features by pressing ALT-S as explained in
SAVING YOUR PRESENT CONFIGURATION. Then, the next time
you start up ShortCut, the screen will appear the way it
was for these variables at the time you saved it.
Pretty handy, you may say, but this is just a beginning.

102. ShortCut has a special Setup screen that gives you
several more options on how ShortCut will behave. Call
up this Setup screen by moving to the SETUP box (shift
F8) and pressing the Enter key. The ShortCut screen
will be replaced by the Setup screen. It will look like
this:






34





1 Editor to be used = EDLIN

2 Default edit file = SCRATCH.PAD

3 Leading printer code =

4 Trailing printer code =

5 Page size = 60

6 Tab size = 8

7 Expand tabs = Y

8 Blank screen after 5 min. of inactivity = N

9 Get directory on return from DOS = Y

10 BASIC to be used = BASICA

11 Verify before erasing file = Y


Enter number of item to change or press ENTER to exit: _


103. The settings that you now see are the default
settings; that is, the way ShortCut is set up when you
run it the first time. You can change any of these
settings by entering the number of the item you wish to
change and hitting the Enter key. ShortCut will prompt
you for the new information. When you have typed in
your change and pressed the Enter key, the first prompt
will reappear. When you are through making any changes,
hit the Enter key once more and you will return to
the ShortCut screen. ShortCut will beep at you to call
your attention to the message line. You must answer the
question "Save current configuration (Y/N)?". If you
respond with a "Y", any changes will be saved in the
SHORTCUT.DAT file and they will be in force the next
time you start up ShortCut as long as this SHORTCUT.DAT
file is the first one found by ShortCut at boot up
time. If you reply with an "N", the setting changes
will remain in effect until you exit ShortCut.

104. You may change the editor to be used by ShortCut
for the EDIT command by entering the command you would
normally use for calling up your editor or word proces-
sor. For example, you might type WP for WordPerfect, ED
for PC-Write, or WS for WordStar. Although you may
precede the editor's name with a drive specifier, don't
include a subdirectory path. For example, if A is the

35





default drive and you want to use EDLIN which will
always be on drive B, enter this command in response to
ShortCut's prompt:

B:EDLIN

105. When you are using the EDIT command and you have
not marked any files to edit, ShortCut will pass a
default file name to your editor or word processor. The
name of this file is SCRATCH.PAD which you can change
with the Setup screen to any file name you wish. This
feature was designed to serve as a memo file to your-
self, etc. A string of up to 40 characters may be
entered in this form:

[drive:][path]filename[.ext]

The information contained within the brackets is
optional. In order for ShortCut to give a filename to
your editor, your editor must be capable of accepting
the filename as a passed parameter. Consult your editor
manual if you are unsure. For example, if you mark a
file on drive C called MYFILE.TXT and you use EDLIN as
your editor, ShortCut will send this command to
COMMAND.COM:

EDLIN C:MYFILE.TXT

See EDIT for more information on this feature.

106. The next option on the Setup screen is the leading
printer code which is used when ShortCut executes the
PRINT command. When you first use ShortCut, nothing
will be entered here. You can enter a code to control
how your printer will print anything you send to it.
For example, a leading printer code could be specified
that would change the print font to 12 characters per
inch, or to have the printout printed in correspondence
quality print. The options available will depend on
your printer. Consult your printer manual for the
correct printer codes to use. To enter decimal printer
codes less than 32 or greater than 127, you must use the
ALT key and the numeric key pad. Press the ALT key and
keep it depressed while you enter the number you want on
the numeric key pad. When you release the ALT key, you
will see that you have entered a character that you will
not find on your keyboard. You may enter one or a
series of printer codes before you press the Enter key.
If you don't want to send any leading printer code to
your printer, you must enter a minus sign (-), not a
blank space.


36





107. The trailing printer code is a code sent to the
printer after a file has been printed. ShortCut uses it
in the PRINT command. The default setting is a page-
feed, a character that looks like the female symbol.
You can view it on the Setup screen, but we could not
include it on our example of the ShortCut screen printed
here or it would have caused your printer to skip to a
new page. You may change this code in the same manner
as you would change the leading printer code. Remember,
if you don't want a trailing code, enter a minus sign
(-).

108. The next Setup option is the page size. The
default setting is 60 which means that 60 lines of text
will be printed before your printer skips to a new
page. A page is usually 66 lines long, so printing 60
lines of text will allow 3 empty lines on both the top
and bottom of the page. You may change the number of
lines printed to any number you wish. It is up to the
user to ensure that the paper in the printer is properly
aligned. In other words, ShortCut does not provide for
top or bottom margins.

109. The next two options work together. The first one
sets the number of spaces your printer will move when it
encounters a Tab. As you can see, the default setting
is 8. The second tells the printer if you want the Tabs
expanded to spaces or just sent to the printer as the
tab character. A "Y" response to the ShortCut prompt
will expand the Tabs, an "N" will not.

110. The eighth option is Screen Blank, a feature
designed to save the screen on your monitor. If you
have chosen "Y" for this option, when you have the
ShortCut screen on your monitor and you do not press any
key on your keyboard for 5 minutes, your monitor screen
will go blank. To get your screen display back, hit any
key. You might want to get in the habit of hitting the
ALT key to avoid doing something with ShortCut you did
not intend to do. Another way to activate this feature
is to press ALT-B when you are on the ShortCut screen.
Striking ALT-B again will turn off Screen Blank. You
will see the current status of this feature displayed
briefly on the message line of the screen after it is
toggled on or off. When ShortCut first starts up,
Screen Blank is off. Screen Blank does not work on the
PCjr and may not work on some other system configura-
tions.





37





!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
! !
! WARNING!!!! !
! !
! There are reports that some screen saving !
! routines may damage some monitors. To the best !
! of the author's knowledge, this is not true !
! with ShortCut. However, use this feature at !
! your own risk. !
! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

111. Usually when the ShortCut screen reappears after it
flips back from the DOS output screen, ShortCut will
update the display in its Directory Window by reading
the Current Displayed Directory on the disk. This
does not take long, but if you wish to stop this getting
of the directory, you may set option 9 to off by typing
"N" at the prompt. If you do this, remember that the
Directory Window may not be correct. In this case, the
Directory Window will not be updated until the next time
ShortCut goes out to read your disk. You may also
toggle this feature on or off by pressing ALT-D. The
current status will be displayed briefly on the message
line.

112. The next option on the Setup screen is which BASIC
you want to use when running a BASIC program using the
RUN command. The default is BASICA which is the
advanced version of Microsoft BASIC included with the
IBM PC. You may enter a different BASIC. The name must
be entered as if you were normally calling it up at the
DOS prompt.

113. The final option allows you to decide how cautious
you want to be when you are erasing any files. Anytime
you use the ERASE command, ShortCut will ask you if you
want to erase each marked file before it is actually
deleted. If you do not want this extra degree of
protection, change the setting for this option to N.
ShortCut will then erase all marked files without
seeking your confirmation.











38





RMDIR

114. The RMDIR command (shift F8) allows you to remove a
subdirectory that belongs to the Current Displayed
Directory. Before removing a subdirectory, you must
first delete all files belonging to it if there are
any. You cannot delete the Current Displayed Directory
or any subdirectory that is part of its path. In
other words, the subdirectory you want to delete must be
listed after the files, if any, in the highlighted
Current Displayed Directory.

115. Move to the RMDIR command box and point the screen
arrow at the subdirectory you wish to remove. Strike
the Enter key. ShortCut will delete the subdirectory
and update the Directory Window.

116. If you wish to remove a subdirectory that does not
belong to the Current Displayed Directory, you must
first make the desired subdirectory's parent the Current
Displayed Directory. Then you can proceed as above.


VERIFY

117. The VERIFY command (shift F9) is used to toggle the
DOS function of the verification of data after it is
written to disk. When VERIFY is on, DOS will verify
that the data written on a disk can be read. See you DOS
manual for more information on verify.

118. To toggle VERIFY, move to the VERIFY command box
and hit the Enter key. ShortCut's screen will always
let you know if VERIFY is on or off. The Verify mode
indicator is located just to the right of the Break
mode indicator and to the left of the monitor card box.
When VERIFY is on, the word "VERIFY" will be highlighted
and capitalized; when it is off, it will appear the same
color as the frame in small letters.














39





FORMAT

119. The FORMAT command (shift F10) allows you to format
a diskette in drive B. For this command to work, the
DOS program FORMAT.COM must be on either the default
drive or in a directory specified by the path. This
command is fairly inflexible in that you can only format
a diskette in drive B. This was done to minimize the
possibility of reformatting the fixed disk and losing
all your files on it. If you need to format a diskette
in another drive or use other formatting options, you
can always use the CMND function.

120. Move to the FORMAT command box and press the Enter
key. ShortCut will ask you if you want to put the
system files on the diskette (COMMAND.COM and the two
hidden files used by DOS called IBMBIO.COM and
IBMDOS.COM) and if you want to create a volume label.
After you answer these two questions, the ShortCut
screen will disappear and you will see the normal DOS
output screen as DOS handles the formatting. When
you respond with an "N" to the DOS prompt "Format
another (Y/N)?", the ShortCut screen will reappear.






























40





FOR REGISTERED USERS ONLY

If you like ShortCut and find it useful, we feel you
will benefit from becoming a registered user. For the very
modest fee of $25.00, you will gain the following:

Telephone support

ShortCut, the next updated version

The right to request a special feature of ShortCut
in your next update that can display more than
150 entries in the Directory Window, and/or a
version that can access more than 8 drives

The satisfaction of supporting the development of
quality software at prices any one can afford
- we cannot continue without your help


We at Mossy Rock Systems are already working on Short-
Cut, version 2.0. Here are some of the things that will be
included.

We will further optimize the code so that ShortCut does
not grow too much as new features are added.

We think ShortCut looks beautiful on a color monitor,
but perhaps you would prefer we had used other colors.
Actually, we could not come to agreement among ourselves as
to which colors looked best and were the most useful. (She
said magenta clashed with red; he said a fourth bright color
was needed on the screen. ShortCut is distributed with only
three colors. Guess who won?) Version 2.0 will include a
program that will allow you to color your copy of ShortCut
anyway you wish.

ShortCut, version 2.0 will include a third Command Bar
that you will be able to customize for yourself with the
names of the programs you use most. For example, if you
"install" Lotus 1-2-3 on our third Command Bar, you will be
able to bring up 1-2-3 by moving to the proper Command Bar
box and hitting the Enter key.

Version 2.0 will include a SEARCH command to help you
locate a file if you have forgotten which subdirectory it is
in.

Version 2.0 will also include extensive help screens and
new MOVE and DCOPY (diskcopy) commands.



41






Future versions of ShortCut will include these features:
You will be able to call up ShortCut from any other
program and use many of the ShortCut features.

A calculator-like feature. This should lessen the need
for other RAM resident programs somewhat and free up more
memory for your use if you use such desktop programs.

These are just some of the ideas we are working on. We
think you will agree that ShortCut with all these added
features will be a real bargain for $25.00 (shipping includ-
ed). Version 2.0 and any future versions will be available
to registered users. They will not be distributed through
the Shareware concept as is version 1.20. We will charge a
fee for any updates after your first one.

If you wish to become a registered user, send your name
and address with $25.00 to:

Mossy Rock Systems
P. O. Box 420876
Sacramento, Ca. 95841
(916) 334-5542*

Also, we would like to hear from you about what you like
or don't like about ShortCut and what features you want
to see in the future. With your help, we feel we can make
ShortCut an even better product.

















*Please call between the hours of 6 p.m. and
10 p.m. weekdays and after 8 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays
Pacific Time. (Do not get discouraged if you can't get
through at first. We have a teenage daughter.)



42





INDEX

Additional file information
DATE 11
in Directory Window 6
SIZE 11
TIME 11
Additional information
break mode 17
date 17
disk status 17
memory status 17
monitor card 17
pause mode 17
time 17
verify mode 17
ALT-B 37
ALT-C 19
ALT-D 38
ALT-F 19
ALT-G 13
ALT keys for printer codes 36
ALT-L 10, 16
ALT-P 19
ALT-S 20, 34
ALT-T 13

BASIC 20, 25, 35, 38
BREAK
as a command 22, 33
mode 17

Changing subdirectories 13
Using ALT-T 13
Using the Space Bar 13
CMND command 14, 15, 18, 23, 24, 28, 30, 40
Color card 17
Command Bar 1, 7, 12, 17, 18, 21, 26
Configuration file
SHORTCUT.DAT 5, 20, 34, 35
Configuration parameters 20, 34
Confirm before erasing file 20, 35, 38
COPY 12, 21, 22, 26
Ctrl-Break 32
Ctrl-End 10
Ctrl-Esc 21
Ctrl-Home 10
Ctrl-PrtSc 19
Current Displayed Subdirectory 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, 26,
29, 38, 39
Cursor keys 6, 13, 15, 18


43





DATE
additional file information 11, 20
command 22, 32
Default drive 4, 14, 15, 20, 31, 40
default drive box 6
selecting the 15
used by CMND command 14, 24
Del key 23
Delete files 28
Delete subdirectories 39
Directory Window 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 21, 26, 29, 31, 38, 39
Limit on entries 11
Sorting files in 16
update the 28, 38
Disk Status box 12, 17
Display drive 13, 17
display drive box 6, 14
selecting a 14
DOS 1, 2, 4, 8, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 23, 25, 31, 33, 39
DOS editing keys 23
DOS print command 28
DOS prompts 23, 26, 38, 40
DOS screen 19, 23, 27, 38, 40
DOS Programs
CHKDSK.COM 19, 25
COMMAND.COM 4, 14, 23, 31, 36, 40
FORMAT.COM 40
MODE.COM 4
Down arrow 9

EDIT 12, 15, 20, 21, 27, 34, 35
Editor
Text editor with EDIT 35
End 10
ERASE 12, 21, 28
Esc 7, 21, 24, 26

File Find
sorted by extension 16
Fixed disk 1, 2, 14, 29, 40
FORMAT 15, 22, 40
Function key 21
Function keys 7, 21

Goto a directory 13
Graphics board 4

Home 10

Locate File 10

Machine identification 18

44





Marked files
number of bytes in 12, 17
Marking files 1, 12, 26, 27, 30
MKDIR 22, 29
Monochrome 4, 17
Moving subdirectories with RENAME 30
Multiple files 1, 12, 21

Numeric key pad 36

Path 8, 9, 15, 20, 22, 25, 27, 29, 30, 31, 35, 40
setting the 31

PgDn 10
PgUp 10
PRINT 12, 20, 21, 28, 34, 36
Printer echo 19
PRN indicator 19

QUIT! 22

RAM resident program 4, 32
REDO 18, 22, 32
RENAME 12, 21, 30
moving a subdirectory 30
RMDIR 22, 39
Root directory 8, 9, 11, 31
RUN 22, 25

Save configuration 5, 20, 34, 35
Screen arrow 1, 6, 12, 13, 16, 24, 39
moving the 6, 18, 26
Screen blank 37
Scroll lock 10
Using arrow keys with Scroll Lock 19
SETUP 22, 25, 27, 34
Setup options 35
BASIC to be used 35, 38
blank screen 35, 37
default edit file 35
editor to be used 35
expand tabs 35, 37
get directory on return from DOS 35, 38
leading printer code 35, 36
page size 35, 37
tab size 35, 37
trailing printer code 35, 37
Setup screen 27, 34, 36, 38
Shift key
To see second Command Bar 21
ShortCut diskette 5
Sidekick 4

45





Sort displayed files 1, 16, 20
by Extension 16
by Name 16
by Size 16
by Time 16
in ascending order 16
in descending order 16
in unsorted order 16
Sort On box 6, 16
Space Bar 1
to change subdirectories 13
to display files on disk 5
to mark files 12
to unmark files 12
Subdirectories
as part of the path 8
changing 13
making subdirectories 29
moving to a subdirectory 13
removing subdirectories 39
System configuration
game port 17
number of disk drives 17
parallel port 17
serial port 17
version of DOS 17

Tabs, expanding 20, 35, 37
Tag a directory 13
Text editor with EDIT 12, 20, 22, 27, 35
TIME
additional file information 11, 20
as a command 22, 33
sort files on 16, 20
Toggles
BREAK 33
CAPS 18
CHIME 19
Flip screen 19
Get the directory 38
INS 18
NUM 18
PAUSE 19, 23, 25
PRN 18
SCRL 18
VERIFY 39
TYPE 21, 27

Unmarking files 12, 26
Up arrow 9



46





VERIFY
as a command 22, 39
mode 17
VOLUME 22, 31
Volume label 8, 22, 31

Word processor with EDIT 27, 35














































47





REGISTERED USER FORM
Version 1.20


To become a registered user of ShortCut, fill out this
form or send your name and address along with $25.00 to:

Mossy Rock Systems
P. O. Box 420876
Sacramento, Ca. 95841

This information will be used only by us and will not be
released.

Name _______________________________________________________

Address ____________________________________________________

City ___________________________ State ____ Zip _________

Phone number (optional) ____________________________________

Serial # ________________
(Find this on ShortCut's opening screen)

Please take a moment to answer the following questions
about your system configuration. This will help us in
future product development.

Type of computer ______________________________

Amount of memory _____________K

Number of drives: Diskette __ Fixed __ RAM __

Monitor type: Monochrome __ Color __

Monitor card type: Monochrome __ Color __


Suggestions and comments:













8</sub>