.

Alternatively, you might choose to load PopUp to simply provide a
DOS shell (make DOS memory-resident). You could use a command such
as this to do so:

POPUP -M100 -PC:\ -HAC:D

This tells PopUp to make 100K of memory available when it is
popped up, to store itself in the root directory of drive C: if
there is insufficient XMS and/or EMS memory to do so, and to popup
using the hotkey --. Note that the absence of the -C
command is what tells PopUp to make DOS memory-resident.

See "Command Options" for a more complete description of the
available options. These options are very important to understand
since they are the key to getting the most out of PopUp.

























-
PopUp User's Guide 5




Using PopUp


Once loaded, to invoke PopUp simply press - (the plus
sign on the numeric keypad). If you used the -H command option to
change the hotkey, use the hotkey you specified.

If you didn't use a -C command option when you loaded PopUp you
will go directly to the DOS prompt (in effect, you have made DOS
memory-resident). When you have finished running programs from
the DOS prompt, type "exit" to return to your original program.

If you did use a -C command option when you loaded PopUp, the
program you named will be immediately executed when PopUp pops-up.
In fact, you won't actually see PopUp at all. When you are done
with the "PopUp" program, exit it as you normally would and you
will immediately return to your original program.

There are some practical limitations to what you can run as a
"PopUp" program. You must not specify a program that is already a
TSR (such as Sidekick) with the -C command option. Furthermore,
if you make DOS memory-resident with PopUp, and you load a RAM-
resident program at the DOS prompt, you must unload that RAM-
resident program before you use "exit" to return to your original
program. PopUp assumes that it will be able to recover all of the
memory that the "PopUp" program used. If a RAM-resident program
is left in memory when you attempt to return to your original
program, your PC will almost definitely lockup.

The other main limitation is how much memory is available when
PopUp is invoked. By default, PopUp will give you 30K of
available RAM to run the "PopUp" program in. This is really only
enough memory to run some simple DOS commands; most programs
require more memory. You may increase this amount by using the -M
parameter described below.

























-
PopUp User's Guide 6




Memory and Disk Considerations


There are five intertwined issues that relate to PopUp's memory
and disk usage:

o what type of medium will be used to store most of PopUp;
XMS memory, EMS memory, or disk (RAM-disk or a physical hard
disk),

o the data transfer speed of that medium,

o the available space on that medium,

o using 1 or 2 files to store PopUp, and

o how much RAM you would like PopUp to free when it's popped-
up.


Storage Medium

By default, if sufficient space is detected, PopUp will allocate
space for itself in the following order: XMS, EMS, and disk (which
includes RAM-disks). This behavior can be modified using the -E,
-O, and -X command options. The -P command option allows you to
select which disk and the directory path (RAM-disks included) to
use if the file(s) will be stored on a disk.


Storage Medium Speed

In order of fastest to slowest data transfer "speed", the various
mediums rank as follows: XMS, EMS, RAM-disk, disk. XMS, EMS, and
RAM-disks are all very fast as compared to a hard disk, but there
is a noticeable difference between XMS and EMS. If you have the
option, always use XMS for PopUp storage.


Available Medium Space

What PopUp considers sufficient space for itself can vary. If
PopUp will be using two files (the default setting), sufficient
space will be about twice the amount of RAM PopUp will free (30K
by default), plus the amount of RAM PopUp needs to run in (approx.
twice the size of POPUP.EXE). If you use one storage file (using
the -1 parameter), this number shrinks to just the amount of RAM
PopUp will free plus the RAM PopUp needs to run in.

Note that using a single storage file is only valid for XMS or
disk (including RAM-disks). PopUp will let you know if there
isn't enough space for the file(s).








-
PopUp User's Guide 7




Using One Storage File or Two

As indicated above, one consideration for choosing to use one
storage file instead of two is that of media space. The other
consideration is that of popup/popdown speed. Using two files is
noticeably faster than using one. However, the amount of RAM you
set PopUp to free, the media type, and the amount of the media
which is available will determine just what the speed penalty of
using one file is. If all else fails, try using one file (using
the -1 option). If it's too slow for your liking, go back to
using two.

Again, note that using a single file is only valid for XMS or disk
(including RAM-disks).


How Much RAM PopUp Will Free

As indicated in the section on the -M option, you may increase the
amount of RAM PopUp will free as you see fit, upto the available
RAM when PopUp is first loaded (minus the RAM PopUp needs to run
itself in). Keeping the memory size small presents no particular
problem, except that you won't be able to run very large programs
from within PopUp.

However, when increasing the memory size, remember that the
storage file(s) that are written to the media will be larger,
thereby taking up more space. Also, the time it takes for PopUp
to popup and popdown will increase. On the other hand, if you're
trying to make a particular program memory-resident, you'll have
to tell PopUp to free at least enough memory for the program to
run in.

If you have plenty of XMS, EMS, a large RAM-disk, or a very fast
hard disk with plenty of free space, or you just aren't too
concerned with a little longer popup/popdown time, by all means
increase the memory that PopUp will free.

To maximize the amount of RAM that can be made available, load
PopUp before other memory-resident programs (like Sidekick).
Remember, when popped-up, at most PopUp will only be able to free
as much memory as was available when PopUp was loaded. The only
stipulation is that you must load it AFTER all drivers, especially
LAN and MOUSE drivers.
















-
PopUp User's Guide 8




Command-line Options


Command-line options are parameters that follow PopUp when you
load it into memory. These options allow you to tell PopUp what
you want it to do.


-1 Syntax: -1

This command tells PopUp to use a single storage file
instead of two. There are some advantages and disadvantages
to doing this. If you setup PopUp to store itself to a hard
disk, using one file will cut PopUp's disk space
requirements in half, but it will take quite a bit longer
for PopUp to popup (and popdown). However, if PopUp will be
swapping to fast XMS or a RAM-disk, the 50% cut in memory
requirement is a very welcome compromise since the
performance degradation will be slight.

Note that the -1 command increases PopUp's conventional
memory size by 4K (to 10K).

This parameter does not have any effect when swapping to
EMS.

See the section "Memory and Disk Considerations".


-4 Syntax: -4

PopUp will normally only popup over 25-line text mode
screens. However, using this command-line option allows
PopUp to also popup over 43-line (EGA) and 50-line (VGA)
text mode screens.


-A Syntax: -A

When PopUp uses a hard disk as it's storage medium, it
normally creates it's storage files as hidden files. If you
would prefer to have these storage files written to disk as
normal "archive" files, use this command option. Just be
sure not to delete these files while PopUp is loaded in
memory!


-C Syntax: -C

Example: -CC:\NORTON\NE.COM

-C"C:\HELLO.BAT JOHN"

By default, PopUp will make DOS memory-resident (you will
see the DOS prompt when it is popped-up).

This command option allows you to specify a particular
program to be executed automatically when you invoke PopUp.


-
PopUp User's Guide 9




You may specify any .EXE, .COM, or .BAT file.

The first example above would load and run the program
NE.COM, which is in the directory \NORTON. Note that you
must give the full path and filename of the program,
including the extension.

The second example shows how to enter the name of a program
that requires command-line parameters of it's own. Simply
enclose the entire command within double quotes. In this
example, the batch file HELLO.BAT will be executed with a
command-line parameter of JOHN.

Caution: never specify a RAM-resident program with the -C
option. If you do, your PC will lockup as soon as you press
the hotkey.


-D Syntax: -D

Normally, PopUp doesn't load a second copy of COMMAND.COM
under which to execute a program you may have specified with
the -C parameter, unless you have specified a batch file. If
you happen to know that the program you have specified with
the -C command requires it's own copy of COMMAND.COM to
execute properly, use this parameter.


-E Syntax: -E

PopUp's normal order of preference for storage file space is
XMS, then EMS, and finally disk (RAM-disk or normal).

This command tells PopUp NOT to use EMS to store itself,
even if you have enough EMS RAM to do so. You might want to
do this if you have another program which needs most or all
of your EMS RAM. If you use this command, PopUp will only
use XMS memory or disk to store itself.

See -X to disable use of XMS memory.


-H Syntax: -H:

Example: -HA:Z

-HACL:#84

PopUp's default hotkey is - (the plus sign on
the numeric keypad).

This command option allows you to set the hotkey that PopUp
will use.

The characters between the -H and the colon indicate the
shift key(s) to be used:




-
PopUp User's Guide 10




A = Alt key
C = Ctrl key
L = Left Shift key
R = Right Shift key
N = None

You may use any combination of the first four shift key
identifiers that you like, and you may specify them in any
order.

The no shift key ('N') identifier is a special case. Be very
careful when using it, since it results in a single-key
hotkey (the hotkey will consist entirely of the key you
specify after the colon; see below). The 'N' should not be
mixed with any of the other shift key identifiers.

The character (or number) following the colon indicates the
character key you will use in combination with the shift key
sequence. You may express the character in two ways; enter
the character directly, as in the first example, or enter a
'#' followed by the ASCII value for the character, as in the
second example.

In the first example the hotkey is -, while the
second example shows the hotkey as ---
.


-L Syntax: -L

When you press a hotkey, PopUp normally clears the screen
before popping up. If you would prefer that the screen not
be cleared, use this command option.


-M Syntax: -M

Example: -M200

By default, PopUp will free 30K when popped up. This
command allows you to set the amount of RAM (in K) that
PopUp will make available when you pop it up. The example
above would tell PopUp to make 200K (approx.) available when
you pop it up. Obviously, this means you can run larger
programs from PopUp.

It is very important that you use this command when you use
the -C command. You must tell PopUp how much memory the
program specified in the -C command will need.

Note that PopUp cannot free more RAM than is available at
the time it is loaded (not popped-up). If you specify a
number larger than the RAM available at load-time, PopUp
will adjust the number downward to make as much RAM
available as possible.





-
PopUp User's Guide 11




-N Syntax: -N

When PopUp is popping up or down, it normally displays a one
line message at the bottom of your screen telling you that
it is "swapping" itself. This is done so that if PopUp
takes more than a brief moment to popup or popdown, you have
an indicator that it is doing something.

This command option allows you to disable this message if
you find it annoying.

Note that if PopUp determines that the popping-up and
popping-down processes will occur quickly enough, it will
disable the "swapping" message itself.


-O Syntax: -O

As mentioned above, PopUp's normal preference for storage
space is XMS, then EMS, and finally disk. This command
option tells PopUp to use EMS over XMS for the storage
file(s), if sufficient EMS is available. In effect, this
command changes the order of preference to EMS, XMS, then
disk.


-P Syntax: -P

Example: -PD:\

This command option allows you to specify the path where
PopUp will store itself, if it doesn't find enough XMS or
EMS memory to do so (or you've disabled use of XMS and/or
EMS). You must specify a drive and directory, but no
filename. If PopUp determines that it must use a disk for
storage space, and you haven't specified where the file(s)
should be placed, PopUp will put the file(s) in the same
directory as the PopUp program file (POPUP.EXE).

(See Memory and Disk Considerations, above).


-S Syntax: -S

Example: -SPROGNAME

By default, PopUp's signature is "PopUp".

This command allows you to set the signature for a
particular loading of PopUp. The only time you need to
specify a new signature is if you are going to make the same
program memory-resident (via the -C command) more than once.
Each time you load the program, after the first, you must
specify a unique 1 to 8 character signature. The signature
must follow the same rules as for a DOS-legal filename.
This also applies if you are going to install multiple "DOS
shells" (no -C command).



-
PopUp User's Guide 12




Note that if you specify a signature upon loading of PopUp,
the correct signature must be specified on the command-line
to unload the same installation of PopUp.

The signature is used to locate a particular copy of PopUp
in memory.


-U Syntax: -U

This command unloads PopUp from memory (and deletes the swap
files, or releases any allocated XMS or EMS memory) if it is
possible. If other RAM-resident programs have been loaded
after PopUp, it won't be possible. That is a limitation of
DOS.

If you specified a command to execute upon popup (-C
command), you must also specify it when unloading PopUp.
However, if you specified a signature (-S command), include
that command instead.


-X Syntax: -X

As mentioned above, PopUp's normal order of preference for
storage space is XMS, then EMS, and finally disk.
This command option tells PopUp not to use XMS memory for
storage, even if sufficient XMS memory is available.


-? Syntax: -?

This command option causes PopUp to display a brief listing
of the available command options. PopUp will not load into
memory if this command is used.

























-
PopUp User's Guide 13




Command-line Option Summary


Option Syntax Definition

-1 -1 Use 1 storage file instead of 2.
-4 -4 Enables 43/50-line display support.
-A -A Create storage file(s) as "archive"
files.
-C -C
program name> program upon popup.
-D -D Load a second copy of DOS before
executing a program specified with the
-C parameter.
-E -E Disable use of EMS for storage
file(s).
-H -H: Change PopUp's
hotkey.
-L Disable clearing of the screen upon
popping up.
-M -M Set how much RAM PopUp will make
available when popped-up. Default is
30K.
-N -N Disable swapping message.
-O -O Make EMS preferred over XMS for
storage file(s).
-P -P Set the path
where PopUp should store itself.
-S -S Change PopUp's
signature.
-U -U Unload PopUp, if possible.
-X -X Disable use of XMS for storage
file(s).
-? -? Displays brief command option list.


























-
PopUp User's Guide 14




Sample Option Configurations


Below are some hypothetical PopUp usage situations and possible
PopUp option configurations to address them. When you determine
the best option sequence for a particular use of PopUp, you will
probably want to put the PopUp load command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT
file.

1. Given: a PC with 640K of memory and a hard disk (C:), you
would like to have PopUp provide you with the
capability to access DOS and use any DOS commands
from within any program.

Answer: DOS commands generally don't require large amounts of
memory in which to run. The main exceptions are
CHKDSK, DISKCOPY and XCOPY, which work best with lots
of free memory. Assuming you can do without these
commands, try loading PopUp with this command:

POPUP -m40 -pc:\

This tells PopUp to provide 40K of free memory, and
to place the storage files in the root directory on
drive C if PopUp doesn't find enough XMS or EMS for
storage (which it won't in this example).

2. Given: a 286, 386, or 486 PC with 2MB of RAM and a hard
disk, you would like to make Professional Write (a
word processor) memory-resident.

Answer: The first thing you need to do is establish how your
extended memory (the 2nd megabyte of memory) will be
accessed; as XMS, EMS, or a RAM-disk. If your PC
uses the Chips and Technologies chip set (check your
users manual), or a similar chip set, then it very
likely came with a utility to setup that portion of
memory as EMS.

Alternatively, you could use a XMS driver called
HIMEM.SYS to make your extended memory accessible as
XMS. HIMEM.SYS can be downloaded from Compuserve and
many other bulletin board systems.

Finally, DOS 3.3 includes a device driver called
VDISK.SYS that you can use to establish a RAM-disk in
extended memory.

When deciding which method to use, remember that XMS
is fastest, then EMS, then RAM-disks, although
they're all pretty fast.

The following commands would suit each situation
best:

XMS:

POPUP -m450 -cc:\pwrite\pw.com -hac:p -1 -n


-
PopUp User's Guide 15




These command options tell PopUp to free 450K of
memory when popped up, execute pw.com upon popup,
popup when --

is pressed, use one swap
file, and to disable the "Swapping..." message during
popping up and popping down.

EMS:

POPUP -m450 -cc:\pwrite\pw.com -hac:p -n

The only difference between this list of command
options for EMS and the ones for XMS is that the -1
option is not available when using EMS.

RAM-Disk:

POPUP -m450 -cc:\pwrite\pw.com -hac:p -n -pd:\

These command options are very similar to the ones
for EMS, except that the path for the RAM-disk (drive
D: in this example) has been specified as the media
for the storage files.

3. Given: a PC of any type, which is connected to a Novell
Netware LAN, and you use cc:Mail (an electronic mail
program for LANs). You like to use the TSR version of
the cc:Mail program for it's convenience, but after
you load the network drivers and cc:Mail, you don't
have enough free memory to run your database or word
processing programs. What do you do?

Answer: Use PopUp to make the normal (non-TSR) version of the
cc:Mail program memory resident. Not only will it
only use 6K of conventional memory (compared to 70K-
100K for the TSR version), but the normal version is
more feature-rich!

Somewhere in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file you probably have
some statements such as:

IPX
NET3

These commands load the drivers that allow you to use
the LAN. When you add a line to make cc:Mail memory-
resident with PopUp, make sure you add it AFTER the
LAN driver statements. You might also have a LAN
driver called NETBIOS in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
Make sure this command also appears before you load
PopUp to make cc:Mail resident.










-
PopUp User's Guide 16




General Configuration Tips


1. Never load PopUp after Sidekick, Sidekick Plus, or Sidekick
2.0. Although PopUp contains some special code to deal with
being loaded after Sidekick, it is nevertheless inadvisable to
do so.

2. If PopUp will be storing itself in XMS, EMS, or on a RAM-disk,
use the -N command.

3. Under any of the following conditions try the -1 command:

- the storage file will be stored in XMS,
- less than 350K will be freed by PopUp and the storage
file will be stored on a RAM-disk, or
- less than 100K will be freed by PopUp and the storage
file will be stored on a hard disk.

4. If you have a 386 or 486-based PC, purchase and use an
expanded memory manager such as QEMM from Quarterdeck. A
memory manager such as QEMM can provide XMS and EMS from the
same pool of memory, thereby allowing all programs to use
their preferred type of memory.

5. If you will be loading multiple copies of PopUp into memory
(to make different programs memory resident, usually), don't
forget to give each copy of PopUp a different hotkey using the
-H command option.

6. If you will be loading multiple copies of PopUp to run the
same program (or just DOS), make sure you give the second and
subsequent copies unique signatures using the -S command
option.


























-
PopUp User's Guide 17




Limitations


Since PopUp must interact with your system at a very low level,
and given the variety of software available, there is always a
small chance that PopUp will not work from within a particular
application due to the manner in which the application was
written. If PopUp detects one of these situations, it will beep
(and possibly display an error window) and refuse to popup.



















































-
PopUp User's Guide 18




Utilities


Hotkey

Hotkey is a very simple utility to help you with setting up the -H
command option. If you decide to use the "#ASCII Value" option for
specifying the second portion of the hotkey, Hotkey can provide
you with the ASCII value for the key you want to use.

To use Hotkey, simply enter "HOTKEY" at the DOS prompt and press
[Return]. Hotkey will display some instructions. Now press the key
you want the ASCII value for, and it will be displayed in a small
window. If you would like the ASCII value for another key, press
[Return] to repeat the process. Otherwise, press [ESC] to exit
back to DOS.


PopItUp

Normally, the only way to get PopUp to popup is for you to press
it's hotkey on the keyboard (- by default). However,
the ability to have a program or batch file make PopUp popup is
useful too. Most RAM-resident programs have no way to accomplish
this feat. Not so with PopUp!

Once you have a copy of PopUp loaded in memory, simply run
PopItUp, and PopUp will popup. If you specified a program for
PopUp to run upon popping up (using the -C command option), use a
command option of the program name (without the drive, directory,
and file extension) with PopItUp. If you gave PopUp a new
signature (using the -S command option), use the signature
instead. See the example below.

If you are having a little difficulty thinking of where you might
want to use such a feature, consider this example:

Suppose you use a communications program which has the capability
of integrating an external word processor. Let's assume you want
to use Professional Write. Typically, the way you integrate two
programs like this is to specify what program the communications
program should run when you select "Word Processor" from a menu.
For Professional Write you would have it run PW.COM.

Most likely, the communications program will only be able to give
you 300K or less of memory in which to run your external word
processor. Unfortunately, Professional Write requires at least
440K to run. What do you do?

Make Professional Write memory-resident with PopUp, that's what!
Then have the communications program run POPITUP.EXE instead of
PW.COM when you select "Word Processor", causing Professional
Write to popup. POPITUP will run in just 8K of memory!







-
PopUp User's Guide 19




Specifically, you would want a command similar to the following in
your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to make Professional Write memory-resident:

POPUP -CC:\PW\PW.COM -M450

You would tell your communications program to run:

POPITUP PW


If you need to have the communications program pass some command-
line parameter(s) to Professional Write, such as the name of an
existing file you want to edit, you would simply tack them on the
end of the PopItUp command:

POPITUP PW FILE.TXT

Note: If you have loaded a copy of PopUp into memory without using
a -C command (so PopUp will function as a DOS shell), and
you want to have PopItUp make it popup and run a particular
program immediately, run PopItUp like this (continuing with
the Professional Write theme):

POPITUP - C:\PW\PW.COM

The hyphen is used to tell PopItUp that you didn't load the
resident copy of PopUp with a -C or -S command option.


































-
PopUp User's Guide 20




Glossary


EMS Expanded Memory Specification. This type of memory
can be used in PC, XT, AT, PS/2, or compatible
computers. Memory outside of the upto 1MB of
conventional memory is switched in and out of a
selected memory region (the "page frame") between
the 640K and 1MB memory boundaries. The EMS
specification provides a standard programming
interface for the manipulation of these memory
pages.

Hotkey A TSR or Swapping TSR is "popped-up" using a
Hotkey. A Hotkey is usually a combination of a
shift-type key (Alt, Ctrl, LeftShift, RightShift)
and a normal letter, number, or symbol key. For
example, by default PopUp's Hotkey is -
(the plus sign on the numeric keypad).

Swapping TSR A swapping TSR is a RAM-resident program which only
occupies a small region of memory when not active.
Upon activation, the TSR copies the region of
memory it needs for it's own use to a storage
media, and then copies itself into that now vacant
memory. Upon exit from the swapping TSR, the
events are reversed and the original program is
restored to exactly the point at which it was
interrupted. PopUp is an example of a Swapping
TSR. See TSR below.

TSR Terminate-and-Stay-Resident program. A TSR is a
RAM-resident program that may be used at any time,
regardless of the current application you might be
using. A TSR occupies a certain amount of memory
at all times.

XMS eXtended Memory Specification. This type of memory
can be used in PC's based on '286, '386, and '486
processors. Extended memory is the region of
memory above the 1MB boundary which can only be
directly addressed in the protected mode offered by
these processors. The XMS specification provides a
standard manner in which to allocate and deallocate
extended memory, thereby eliminating conflicts
between XMS-compliant programs.














-
PopUp User's Guide 21