Category : Windows 3.X Files
Archive   : SSHELL.ZIP
Filename : SMISHELL.WRI

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SmilerShell

Windows Command Line Utility




Table of Contents

Introduction 2
The Shareware Concept: If You Like It, Pay For It 2
Why Is This A Shell? 2
Installing SmilerShell 3
Uninstalling SmilerShell 3
What Happens When You Start SmilerShell 4
A Quick Tour Of The Menus 4
The File Menu
The Edit Menu
The Options Menu
The Help Menu
The System Resources Menu Item
Submitting Commands 6
Using Arrows To Retrieve Previous Commands 6
Editing Commands 7
Size Of Window 7
Getting Rid Of Inactive Windows 7
About Internal DOS Commands 7
Aliases 8
DC: Directory Change The Fast Way 9
Command Stack Files 9
The Initialization File 10
Parameters
Aliases
Command Line Parameters 12
The Default PIF File 13
Contacting The Author 13
Notices 14





BARDON DATA SYSTEMS
1023 Key Route Blvd. Albany, CA 94706 (510) 526-8470
Introduction

SmilerShell is a handy Windows utility that puts a command line on your Windows desktop, letting you run DOS or Windows commands from within Windows. Unlike Program Manager's Run command, it supports pipes and redirection, and you can run anything: DOS programs, Windows programs, or DOS internal commands.

There's a built-in command line editor, which saves all submitted commands in a command stack. This allows you to get back a previously-submitted command, change it, and re-submit it. You can have SmilerShell search for a previous command of interest; no need to scan them all yourself to find the one you want. You can load a command stack from a file automatically when you start SmilerShell, or at any other time. You can save the current command stack to a file, suitable for loading later or editing as needed.

You can set up aliases with SmilerShell, short commands that are replaced with longer commands of your choosing. Aliases can be like regular commands, just type them in. Or they can be attached to function keys, hit the F-key and it happens, no need to press Enter.

SmilerShell has a fast directory-change utility built in, called DC. Just type DC and the first few characters of the endpoint directory you want to be in, and SmilerShell takes you right there. If your command is ambiguous, a list window pops up, letting you choose which directory you want. This works across as many multiple drives as you tell it to be aware of.

SmilerShell is clipboard-aware. It has menu choices to keep it always on top of all other windows, to show the current directory in its title bar, to display a clock in its title bar, or to display Windows free memory and resources in its menu bar. It can directly manipulate the inactive windows that remain when you run DOS commands from Windows, or toggle the systemwide setting so that such windows never appear in the first place. SmilerShell takes up very little space on your screen, but to save more space you can even remove the menu entirely.


The Shareware Concept: If You Like It, Pay For It

SmilerShell is shareware. It is not free, or in the public domain. You are welcome to try SmilerShell for a week or two. If you find it useful and you continue to use it, send in the $11 registration fee. You'll get a registration number that will turn off the signon screen. Registration will also entitle you to printed documentation, support, update notices, all the usual whatnot. An additional $5 gets you a disk with the most recent version.


Why Is This A Shell?

The word shell is sometimes used for a wrapper that surrounds another application and hides it. SmilerShell is the opposite of that. It makes all the power of the command line available from an environment in which that power is not otherwise accessible. But since it makes things more visible, rather than less visible, why is it called a shell?

It's a shell in another sense. Maybe you've seen programs that let you "shell out" to DOS, for example WordPerfect's Ctrl+F1 command, Shell. When you "shell out" it's like having a window into another environment, a pathway to a different level of functionality. That's what SmilerShell is, and that's why it's a shell.


Installing SmilerShell

SmilerShell comes as a self-extracting archive that will expand into these files:

smishell.exe the program
smishell.wri the documentation, in Windows Write format
smishell.hlp the help file

smishell.ini sample initialization file
smishell.stk sample command stack file
readme.txt overview and installation instructions
file_id.diz 45 column x 10 line text description, for BBS uploads
invoice.wri invoice for companies that need one to disburse, in Windows Write format
vendor.txt gives distribution permission

To install SmilerShell:

1) Copy the files to a convenient directory on your hard disk.

2) Put the SmilerShell icon into a program group. To do this, bring up File Manager and set it to the convenient directory you chose in the previous step. Then drag-and-drop smishell.exe into your favorite Program Manager group. The SmilerShell icon should appear there.

3) Optionally, set up an initialization file. See The Initialization File. But if you start without an initialization file, SmilerShell will offer to create one and fill it with reasonable values, then let you edit it in Notepad before proceeding.

4) Optionally, set up the command line. See Command Line Parameters.

5) Optionally, create a command stack file, a list of commands you want pre-loaded into SmilerShell when you start. See Command Stack Files.


Uninstalling SmilerShell

SmilerShell tries to be considerate of the rest of your Windows system. It does not put any files in any directory other than the directory you've installed it into. To purge it from your system, simply delete the SmilerShell icon from your Windows desktop and delete the SmilerShell files from the directory you put them. If you have used SmilerShell's DC command, you will also need to delete the file "smishell.dir" from the same directory.

The one global change SmilerShell may make to your system is the Inactives Stay Visible flag in the file "_default.pif" in your Windows directory. This flag controls whether, after you run a DOS program or command from Windows, the results are displayed in an inactive window in your desktop. You can change it back by editing "_default.pif" with the Windows PIF editor. Toggle the PIF editor's checkbox Close Window On Exit. Of course, you can also toggle this flag back to where you want it with SmilerShell.
What Happens When You Start SmilerShell

When you start SmilerShell, it first reads the initialization file "smishell.ini." Values are set, based on your entries in this file. If you start SmilerShell without an initialization file, you'll be asked if you'd like SmilerShell to create one and fill it with reasonable values, then let you edit it in Notepad before proceeding.

Next, SmilerShell looks at parameters set on the command line. Command-line parameters can be set using the Properties dialog in Program Manager. In general, SmilerShell command-line parameters override analogous ini file parameters.

Then SmilerShell looks at the "_default.pif" file in your Windows directory, to see whether it's set to make DOS windows on your desktop stick around or go away. It resets this "_default.pif" flag if you've indicated a preference in smishell.ini with the showinactives parameter. You can also toggle this flag and change the behavior on-the-fly from SmilerShell's Options menu.

Finally, SmilerShell looks for the file "smishell.dir" in the same directory as the SmilerShell program. This file contains information used by SmilerShell's fast directory-change utility DC.


A Quick Tour Of The Menus

SmilerShell has four menus: File, Edit, Options, and Help. You can also toggle a fifth menu item onto the menu bar: a real-time report of available Windows memory and resources.

The File Menu
The File menu starts with the traditional items New, Open, Save, and Save As. These items let you manipulate your current command stack (list of stored commands). Next on the File menu are the items DOS Box, List Aliases, Scan Directories, and Edit Ini File.

New clears your command stack. That is, it makes your list of previously issued commands go away.

Open lets you choose a command-stack file and read it in . It clears the current command stack, and reads in a new command stack from the file. If you tell it to read an ini file (i.e., give a filename with the extension "ini"), SmilerShell assumes the ini file has a section called [SmilerShell Params] with an entry called cmdstack= that contains commands to read in. If you tell it to read a file with any extension other than ini, SmilerShell assumes that it's an ASCII text command-stack file, with one command on each line.

Save saves your current command stack to a file using the most recently set command-stack or ini file name. If it's an ini file, the entry is saved in a section called [SmilerShell Params] in an entry called cmdstack=. If not, the commands are saved in a plain text ASCII file, one command per line. There is a 300-character limit on ini file command stacks.

You set a command-stack file name (to be used by the Save item) by specifying one in the Open or Save As dialogs during the current session, or by setting the cmdfile= parameter in your ini file. If you haven't explicitly set a name yet, the default file name "smishell.stk" is used.

Save As asks for a filename, then saves the current command stack to that file. If it's an ini file, the entry is saved in a section called [SmilerShell Params] in an entry called cmdstack=. If not, the commands are saved in a plain text ASCII file, one command per line. There is a 300-character limit on ini file command stacks.

DOS Box gives you a full screen DOS session. Type Exit at the DOS prompt to return to SmilerShell.

List Aliases shows you what command substitutions are currently in effect. It shows both your command-line aliases and your function-key aliases. If you don't like the way they look, there's an Edit Ini File pushbutton. You can also run an aliased command from here by clicking on it.

Scan Directories generates an internal list of all directories on each drive listed by the scandrives= parameter in your ini file (default is to just scan drive C), and saves this internal list to the file "smishell.dir" in the same directory as the SmilerShell program. This list is used by the fast directory-change command DC.

Edit Ini File sets you up to edit your initialization file in Notepad.

Finally, the File menu has an Exit item which terminates SmilerShell.

The Edit Menu
The Edit menu starts with five standard Windows features: an Undo item, Cut, Copy, and Paste items for sending information to and from the Windows clipboard, and Clear to delete selected text in the input window.

There is also a Remove Inactives item, which searches out and closes all the "(Inactive..." windows on your desktop. If you've toggled the Options menu item Inactives Stay Visible to display inactive DOS windows after their command terminates, you'll find that these windows accumulate quite rapidly. Remove Inactives (or its keyboard equivalent Alt+R) makes them all go away.

The Options Menu
The Options menu items toggle on and off various SmilerShell features.

Clock (Alt+C) puts an hour:minute clock in the title bar.

System Resources (Alt+S) shows system resources in the menu bar. Currently available memory, GDI, and User resources are shown.

Directory (Alt+D) show the current directory in the SmilerShell title bar.

Topmost (Alt+T) makes SmilerShell a topmost window, so even when inactive, it sits on top of other windows.

Menu (Alt+M) hides the menu bar. This saves screen space. When the menu bar is hidden, a "Show SmilerShell Menu" item is added to the System menu. Or use Alt+M to get it back. The other keyboard accelerators (Alt+C, Alt+D, etc.) also continue to work properly when the menu is hidden.

Inactives Stay Visible (Alt+I) toggles the value in your systemwide "_default.pif" file that controls whether, after you run a DOS command, the command's inactive window sticks around or goes away. Keeping those inactive windows around can be quite handy, letting you see the results of previous commands, but they do eventually clutter your screen. True, you can make them all go away using the Remove Inactives item on the Edit menu (or simply type Alt+R). But if you don't want to see them in the first place, you can simply toggle Inactives Stay Visible off. For more details on this, see The Default PIF File.

The Help Menu
The Help menu has two items: Help and About SmilerShell. You use the Help item to get on-line help about SmilerShell. It uses the standard Windows help system. The other item, About SmilerShell, is a typical About box. It shows SmilerShell version number, contact information, and your registration number, if you are a registered user.

The System Resources Menu Item
When you toggle this on, using the Options menu item System Resources, the System Resources Menu Item provides a report on three key Windows resources: bytes of available memory, GDI resources, and User resources. It changes in real time to show your currently available resources. Although it is on the menu bar, it has no menu associated with it.

You may wonder why the System Resources menu item doesn't display System resources, such as is displayed in the Program Manager About box and other places. It turns out that System resources is just Windows shorthand for "the smaller of User and GDI resources." Why take up screen space with information you've already got?

Submitting Commands

When SmilerShell has the input focus, simply type any command, just as you would at the DOS prompt. You can run Windows programs, DOS programs, or DOS internal commands like DIR or TYPE. You can use CD or CHDIR to change SmilerShell's current directory. (Or you can change directory a lot faster with the built-in SmilerShell command DC.)

If you have toggled Inactives Stay Visible to allow it, then after SmilerShell runs a submitted DOS command, the final results are displayed in an inactive window. That is, a window titled "(Inactive SOMETHING)".

When an "(Inactive..." window gets the focus as a result of running a command, SmilerShell actively takes the focus back again, so you can continue running commands from SmilerShell. Because Windows requires it, SmilerShell pauses briefly before attempting to take back the focus. By default this pause is 1000 milliseconds (1 second), but you can set it by using the ini file's restoretime= parameter. How fast can you get away with on your system?

You can use the Edit menu option Remove Inactives (or simply press Alt+R) to destroy all the "(Inactive..." windows on your desktop.


Using Arrows To Retrieve Previous Commands

When you submit a command by pressing Enter, SmilerShell stores it internally in a command stack. To retrieve a command, press the up/down arrow keys until the command you seek is displayed. Press the up-arrow to see the previous command, or the down-arrow to see the next command.

You can search for a particular previous command to be displayed. Say you want to find the command "dir \windows\system\*.ini /p" that you ran before. Just type D before you press the up-arrow. SmilerShell will find the most recent command that started with D. You are not limited to just the first letter; you can type as much of the previous command as you need to specify the match you want. If the first match isn't the command you are looking for, press that arrow key again until the command you want comes up. The same match-string is used until you type something that changes a displayed command. Matches are not case-sensitive.

To simply retrieve all commands in order, just make sure the command line is blank when you first press the arrow key. You can clear the command line by pressing Escape.


Editing Commands

The normal editing keys allow you to move within the command line. Use Home, End, left-arrow and right-arrow to move within the command line. Ctrl+left-arrow move one word to the left, and Ctrl+right-arrow move one word to the right. You can clear the command line by pressing Escape.


Size Of Window

SmilerShell will accept commands of up to 128 characters (the DOS command line limit). You can make the command line as wide as you like. However, there is never any need to make it more than one line high! If you try, it snaps back.


Getting Rid Of Inactive Windows

If you have toggled Inactives Stay Visible to allow it, each DOS command ends by firing up its own "(Inactive..." window. This is handy, letting you see the results of previous commands, but it does eventually clutter your screen. To make them all go away, use the Remove Inactives item on the Edit menu, or simply type Alt+R.


About Internal DOS Commands

Aside from things like CD and CHDIR, SmilerShell runs DOS commands in a subshell. For the internal DOS commands that affect the working environment, this is tricky. The subshell starts up with a copy of the parent's environment, things like current directory, environment variables, settable DOS version, etc. If you alter an environment variable or change directory in a subshell, the parent shell's information does not change. SmilerShell can support all the internal DOS commands you're likely to want. And, yes, when SmilerShell does a CD, it changes the parent directory, not the subshell directory.

There are three "semi-supported" internal DOS commands: SET, PATH, and VER. In DOS, these can both set and show environment values. If you enter one of these, SmilerShell will show their current value. However, because you are in a subshell, not your actual environment, you cannot change these values in your actual working area through SmilerShell (or through Windows generally).

To summarize:


Supported Internal DOS Commands are: CD, CHDIR, COPY, DATE, DEL, DIR, MD, MKDIR, REN, RENAME, RD, RMDIR, TIME, TYPE, VOL

Semi-supported Internal DOS Commands are: SET, PATH, VER

Unsupported Internal DOS Commands are: CTTY, EXIT, VERIFY and the batch file commands.


Aliases

An alias is a short command that is replaced with a longer command. Some people call them macros. There are two kinds of aliases in SmilerShell. In the first kind of alias, you type a (typically, short) command line and press Enter, and the first word of the line is replaced with another (typically, long) string. The rest of the original command line is tacked on after the replacement string. You can define up to about 100 of these type-in aliases. In the second kind, you press a function key and a predefined command is submitted. You can define one of these function-key aliases for each of F2 through F12 (F1 is reserved for Help).

Let's look at the first kind. Say you set up the alias:

dirprog=dir c:\develop\source\*.*

Whenever you enter the command "dirprog", SmilerShell will replace it with, and actually submit, the command "dir c:\develop\source\*.*" to be run. This saves wear and tear on your typing fingers.

You can put parameters on this kind of alias. In our example, you could enter "dirprog /o /p" and SmilerShell would run the command "dir c:\develop\source\*.* /o /p" by adding the original parameters after the substituted alias.

A typed alias is used just like any other command; type it in (with parameters if any) and press Enter. SmilerShell looks at the first word on each command line to see if it's an alias.

To avoid alias checking for a particular command, start it with an equals sign. For example, if you had a program called "dirprog" that you wanted to run instead of the alias defined above, you could submit this:

=dirprog

Because the command line starts with an equals sign, SmilerShell skips the alias testing for this command.

The second kind of alias is where you attach a command to a function key. Just press the function key and the command is submitted. You don't need to press Enter to submit it. Function keys F2 through F12 can be set up this way.

For example, let's say you have set up the alias:

(F5)=copy c:\develop\source\*.* b:\

Now, whenever you press F5 in SmilerShell, the command "copy c:\develop\source\*.* b:\" will be submitted. It's very handy, no need to press Enter.

Aliases are defined in the smishell.ini initialization file, in the section [SmilerShell Aliases], one per line, in the form alias=replacement. Function-key aliases have the key name in parentheses, as in the example above. Typed aliases can be whatever you like, as long as the alias-part has no embedded spaces. See Initialization File Options for more details.


DC: Directory Change The Fast Way

DC (Directory Change) is a built-in alias that lets you change directory very quickly. Instead of having to type in the entire pathname, you only need to give it the first few letters of the endpoint (leaf-node) directory you want. For example, instead of typing "cd \c7\mfc\samples\fileview" you could type "dc fi" and press Enter. If "fi" is enough to unambiguously specify one directory, DC takes you right there. If what you typed is ambiguous (maybe there's more than one directory whose name starts with "fi") a window pops up, showing all your possible matches in alphabetical order. The first possible match is highlighted. If there was no possible match, nothing is highlighted. Double-click on your choice, or single-click and press OK. There's a button to re-scan the directory list as well.

If the endpoint directory is on a different drive, DC will first change drives, then change to the desired directory. There's no need for you to manually change drives first. DC does it for you.

The DC data is stored in the file "smishell.dir" in the same directory as the SmilerShell program. It contains the name of every directory on each drive you wanted scanned. To indicate what drives you want scanned, set the smishell.ini parameter "scandrives." For example, if this is in your ini file:

scandrives=cdm

then SmilerShell will generate a list of all directories on your c, d, and m drives the first time you use DC, or whenever you use the File menu item Scan Directories.

Maybe you have some other program called DC that you'd like to run? Since SmilerShell's DC acts like an alias, you can bypass it by starting the command line with an equals sign.


Command Stack Files

If you have a set of commands you'd like to be able to load into SmilerShell, create a command stack file. This is simply an ASCII file with one command per line. By convention a command stack file has the extension ".stk" but you can use any name or extension you want.

You can load in a command stack file automatically when you start SmilerShell by putting the file's name in the "cmdfile=" line of your ini file. Or you can load in a command stack file when you start by indicating the command stack file as a command-line parameter when you start SmilerShell.

Command stack files can also be loaded or saved at any time from the File menu.

If you want to preload just a few commands when SmilerShell starts, you can use the "cmdstack=" ini file parameter to specify the commands right in the initialization file.


The Initialization File

You can initialize SmilerShell by setting parameters in an initialization file. This is a plain-text file, so use Notepad or another ASCII text editor to edit it. A convenient way of getting to your Ini file is to use the Edit Ini File item on the File menu. This sets you up to edit your initialization file in Notepad. If you started SmilerShell without an initialization file, you'll be asked if you'd like SmilerShell to create one before proceeding. Then you'll have a chance to edit it in Notepad.

Unless you indicate otherwise (on the command line using a full path description), the ini file is named "smishell.ini" and it is in the same directory as the SmilerShell program. It's set up just like every other ini file in Windows. For each section, there's a section header in brackets, under which are entries that are set to values. For SmilerShell it looks like this:

[SmilerShell Params]
cmdfile=smishell.stk
cmdstack=command1;command2;command3;command4;...
confirmexit=TRUE
prevposition=
restoretime=400
scandrives=bcde
showclock=FALSE
showdir=FALSE
showinactives=TRUE
showmenu=TRUE
showresources=TRUE
topmost=TRUE
winwidth=500

[SmilerShell Aliases]
TypedAlias1=Replacement1
TypedAlias2=Replacement2
TypedAlias3=Replacement3
(F2)=Replacement4
(F3)=Replacement5
(F12)=Replacement6
etc...

You can make this a separate file, or add these blocks to an existing ini file and specify its name on the command line. You don't have to have all of the parameters. They don't have to be in the order shown above. If you don't specify a parameter, the SmilerShell default is used for it. If you specify a parameter, you can comment it out by putting a semicolon at the beginning of its line.

The defaults, and the parameter meanings, are:

cmdfile=
File from which to pre-load the command stack. Default is no command file name specified, so no commands pre-loaded. If a file name without a path is given, it is assumed to be in the current directory, that is, the SmilerShell startup directory. The "cmdstack=" setting takes precedence over the "cmdfile=" setting. That is, if a command stack is specified here, it replaces any commands read in from a command file specified in the ini file. However, note that the command-line option to load a command file takes precedence over both.
cmdstack=
You can specify the commands to be pre-loaded right in the ini file. By default, no command stack is specified, so no commands are pre-loaded. Commands to be pre-loaded are all on one line, separated by a semicolon. The ini-file command stack is a convenience feature. You can have up to 300 characters in this entry. If you need more commands loaded, use a command file.
confirmexit=TRUE
If this is TRUE (the default), you'll be asked to confirm that you really do want to exit from SmilerShell.
prevposition=number, number, number, number
You can set winwidth=PREV, indicating that you want SmilerShell to come up next time in the same size and place as it ended this time. If you have, then the system creates the prevposition parameter and saves its current location there. The four numbers are the x, y, height, and width in screen coordinates. If you've set winwidth to PREV but there's no prevposition parameter at startup, SmilerShell acts as if winwidth wasn't specified.
restoretime=1000
How many milliseconds to pause before trying to regain the focus from an "(Inactive..." window. Windows needs a little pause here. How little can your system get away with? Default is one second (1000 milliseconds).
scandrives=c
By default, only the C drive is scanned for directory names to be used with SmilerShell's DC command. DC can change to endpoint directories on other drives. Here is where you tell it what drives you want it to be aware of.
showclock=FALSE
By default, the hour:minute clock on the title bar is not displayed.
showdir=TRUE
By default, the current directory is displayed as part of the SmilerShell window's title.
showinactives=TRUE or FALSE; default is whatever the "_default.pif" flag is set to.
After a DOS command ends, do you want to see the inactive results window or just have it vanish? If you don't specify a preference, the current systemwide value, found in the file "_default.pif" in your Windows directory, is the initial setting. If you do specify a value here, then at startup SmilerShell sets the systemwide "_default.pif" flag to match it. This parameter governs the initial setting of the Inactives Stay Visible item on the Options menu.
showmenu=TRUE
By default, the menu bar is displayed. If you have set winwidth to PREV, indicating that you want SmilerShell to come up next time in the same size and place as it ended this time, the showmenu parameter will be updated when SmilerShell exits. This is because the menu affects the size of the window.
showresources=FALSE
By default, resources are not displayed.
topmost=FALSE
By default, SmilerShell is not always on top of other windows
winwidth=either PREV or a number
The initial width of the SmilerShell window, in Windows device units. If you don't specify a winwidth, SmilerShell sets it wide enough to show the menu items. This works out to about 500 Windows device units if showresources is TRUE, 300 if it's FALSE. You can also set winwidth to PREV, indicating that you want SmilerShell to come up next time in the same size and place as it ended this time. If you have, then at exit the system updates the showmenu parameter (because the menu affects the size of the window), and saves its current location as the prevposition parameter. If you've set winwidth to PREV but there's no prevposition parameter, SmilerShell acts as if winwidth wasn't specified.


Alias Specification
Aliases are specified one per line, in the form:

alias=replacement

The alias-part is a single word, with no embedded spaces. Function-key aliases have the key name (F2 through F12) in parentheses. You can define up to about 100 type-in aliases, depending on their length. You can define one function-key aliases for each of the keys F2 through F12. For either kind of alias, the replacement-part can be any number of words, anything you can type on one line, up to the DOS limit of 128 characters per submitted command.


Command Line Parameters

Many things that can be set in the initialization file can also be set on the startup command line. Setting a command-line parameter overrides any analogous ini file option.

The easiest way to give these command-line parameters in Windows is to edit the SmilerShell icon's Properties using Program Manager's Properties dialog (it's under the File menu). The command line can be set with any of the following:

/ini=complete path and filename of ini file
What file to look in for initialization parameters. If this file is not in the same directory as the SmilerShell program, you must give the full path to this file, for example "/ini=c:\dir1\subdir2\myfile.asc".
/top
Set SmilerShell as a topmost window
/-top
Set SmilerShell as a non-topmost window
/menu
Show the menu bar
/-menu
Hide the menu bar
/clock
Show the clock on the title bar
/-clock
Don't show the clock on the title bar
/resources
Show system resources on the menu bar
/-resources
Don't show system resources on the menu bar
/dir
Show the current directory in the SmilerShell title bar
/-dir
Don't show the current directory in the SmilerShell title bar
/restoretime=number
How many milliseconds to pause before SmilerShell tries to regain the focus from an "(Inactive..." window. Some systems can get away with a shorter pause than others.
/winwidth=number
The initial width of the SmilerShell window, in Windows device units. About 400-600 is a good size.
/cmdfile=filename
File from which to pre-load the command stack. If a file name without a path is given, it is assumed to be in the current directory.

The command line can have spaces only between parameters, never within a parameter

Example: c:\util\smishell.exe /top /-menu /restoretime=750 /cmdfile=c:\util\cmishell.stk


The Default PIF File

When you use SmilerShell, you may find it quite convenient to turn on the Inactives Stay Visible switch on the Options menu. This will edit your systemwide "_default.pif" file, in your Windows directory, so that inactive DOS windows stick around after their command terminates, allowing you to see the results of DOS commands you run from Windows. SmilerShell can easily clean up such windows using its Remove Inactives (Alr+R) command. For your information, here is a discussion of what it's all about.

A PIF (program information file) indicates how you want Windows to behave when running a particular DOS program under Windows. If you have provided no PIF for some DOS program or other, Windows uses a default PIF called "_default.pif" - note the leading underbar! It is in your Windows directory. Now, most DOS programs don't come with Windows PIFs, and most people don't bother to write PIFs for their DOS programs. So "_default.pif" winds up controlling how most of your DOS programs behave on the Windows desktop.

One of the behaviors is this: after the DOS program terminates, do you want its window to vanish, or do you want it to stick around so you can see the results of what you ran? By default, "_default.pif" tells Windows to make such windows vanish.

When you toggle this behavior with the Inactives Stay Visible switch, SmilerShell edits the systemwide "_default.pif" in your Windows directory, setting the value that controls what you want the system to do. It's exactly the same as if you edited "_default.pif" by hand with Windows PIF Editor and set the checkbox Close Window On Exit.

If you specify the showinactives parameter in your ini file, SmilerShell uses it as the initial value for the Inactives Stay Visible toggle, and sets "_default.pif" to this value at startup. If you don't specify a value, then at startup Inactives Stay Visible is set to match the current value of the "_default.pif" flag.


Contacting The Author

It's probably not surprising that the author of the SmilerShell is named Barry Smiler. He (that is to say, I) can be contacted at Bardon Data Systems, 1023 Key Route Blvd., Albany CA 94706. The phone number is (510) 526-8470. If I'm not there, leave a message.

Through Bardon Data Systems, I do office automation analysis, productivity consulting, system design, and softwaredevelopment as well as SmilerShell.


Notices

VERSION: SmilerShell version 1.1a, released August 1993

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: Complete functionality under Microsoft Windows 3.1 or better. Partial functionality under earlier versions of Windows.

SOFTWARE LICENSE: The evaluation version of SmilerShell may be distributed, only in its entirety, for others to evaluate. None of the evaluation files may be modified or deleted. Software distribution companies that distribute shareware or user-supported software may distribute the evaluation version of SmilerShell and charge a disk copying fee not to exceed $10.

After it has been registered, your copy of SmilerShell may not be distributed. Only one user is authorized to use this program, on one computer. It may not be used in a multi-user setting without first obtaining a site license. It may be duplicated only for the purpose of making a reasonable number of backup copies.

DISCLAIMER: The author of this software package, Barry Smiler, has used his best efforts in producing this software and documentation. These efforts include the research, development, and testing of the software, and production of the documentation.

WARRANTY: The author makes no warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, with regards to the software or the documentation. The author shall not be liable in any event for incidental or consequential damages in connection with, or arising out of, the furnishing, performance, or use of this software package.

COPYRIGHT: All SmilerShell software and documentation copyright 1993 Barry Smiler. SmilerShell was compressed into a self-extracting archive with LHA, copyright 1988-1991 Haruyasu Yoshizaki.

PRICING: All prices subject to change without notice.
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