Category : Windows 3.X Files
Archive   : WINCMD76.ZIP
Filename : HISTORY.TXT

 
Output of file : HISTORY.TXT contained in archive : WINCMD76.ZIP

HISTORY FILE FOR WCL
--------------------


Version 7.60a (July 1994)
-----------------------
This is a maintenance release.


Version 7.60 (July 1994)
-----------------------
1. New commands "TOPMOST" and "NOTOPMOST". TOPMOST makes the WCL window
always on top. NOTOPMOST returns it to a normal window.

2. New command "DRIVEINFO" - gives some information about your hard disk
drives. Some types of drive may be identified wrongly.

3. New messages added to the list of messages that can be sent to an
active window with the SENDMESSAGE command.
TOPMOST : makes that window the topmost window
NOTOPMOST : restores the window to normal
NOTITLE : tries to remove the title bar (may result in a
"funny" window - use at your own risk)
RETITLE : tries to restore the window (may result in a "funny"
window - use at your own risk)

4. New feature in the SENDMESSAGE command. Instead of suppyling the
numeric ID of the window that you want to send the message to, you
can now use its title instead. In this case, the title should be
enclosed in quotation marks (note: this is NOT case sensitive).

e.g., SENDMESSAGE "PROGRAM MANAGER" HIDE

This feature is primarily for those who wish to send messages via
WCL batch files (in which case it will not be possible to know the
numeric IDs of active applications in advance).

5. You can now associate the extension "ZIP" with WCL. You can then
unzip a ZIP archive through WCL by just clicking on the file (in
File Manager) or by just typing its name at the WCL prompt.

6. New switch "/DATE=" added to the COPY command. This serves to limit
the files which should be copied to those which match the specified
date. This switch *MUST* be the LAST parameter passed to the COPY
command.

The "+" or "-" sign can be used to specify files AFTER or BEFORE the
specified date. If neither is used, then only files created ON the
specified date will be copied. For files created on the CURRENT day
you can use "TODAY" instead of a numeric date.

NOTE: if you have turned on the US date format setting, then the
dates must be expressed in mm-dd-yyyy format, else, it should be
in dd-mm-yyyy format.

examples;
COPY *.DOC C:\DOCS /DATE=TODAY (today's files)
COPY *.DOC C:\DOCS /DATE=+28-04-1992 (files AFTER 28 April '92)
COPY *.DOC C:\DOCS /DATE=-22-10-1994 (files BEFORE 22 Oct. '94)
COPY *.DOC C:\DOCS /DATE=-TODAY (files BEFORE today)

7. For networked users, more than one copy of WCLCFG can now be run.

8. New limited support for the "IF" command. The only permutations
supported at this stage are;
IF EXIST
IF NOT EXIST
IF CONFIRM "question"

These can be used from the command line or from within a .CBF batch
file.

9. New command "TIMED-RUN"; for timed execution (scheduling) of
commands. You can schedule a maximum of 20 commands. As each one is
executed, it is taken out of the list, and the count reduces. If
the maximum is reached, any attempt to schedule another command will
replace the last one on the list (you can see the list by just typing
"TIMED-RUN" with no parameters).

When WCL loses the input focus, the scheduler may sometimes become
inactive. I am looking into this. Presently, the only work-around is
to pass the mouse cursor over the WCL window at least once when WCL
loses the input focus.

Also, this feature will not work if WCL is in the background when
running under OS/2. The only way to fix this is to stop the yielding
of the WCL counter under OS/2 (see [10] and [11] below).

10. New command "OS2-YIELD-TIMER [OFF]" for those running WCL under OS/2.
By itself, it makes the system timer counter yield under OS/2
when WCL is in the background. If the "OFF" switch is used,
it stops the timer from yielding - which is necessary for command
scheduled with "TIMED-RUN" (they would not be able to run otherwise)
- but it is bad for OS/2 multi-tasking when WCL is in the background,
since WCL's counter will be eating CPU cycles..

11. New entry in wcl.ini "YIELD-TIMER-IN-OS2" - to control the WCL timer
count under OS/2. Turn this setting OFF to stop yielding under OS/2.
Unless the setting is turned OFF manually, WCL will always default to
yielding under OS/2 (see also, [10] above).

12. New entry in wcl.ini "SHOW-RESOURCES" - this is only valid for the
"small" version of WCL. If turned OFF, then the normal display of
the system resources and free memory will be turned off.

13. New command "CLOSE-ALL-AND-EXITRUN". This does the same thing as the
EXITRUN command, but is different in that it will close ALL active
Windows sessions, close down Windows itself, run the specified DOS
program, and restart Windows again. You will receive NO WARNING
before all these take place. Therefore, this command should be used
with GREAT care. I will not be responsible for the loss of any
unsaved work when you run this command. In fact, I am only providing
this command (against my better judgment) because some users demanded
it. This is why I have made the name of the command as long as
possible, both to discourage use of it, and to prevent accidental use.

NOTE: you should close DOS sessions manually before running this
command. Although the command will attempt to close DOS sessions as
well as Windows sessions, you will get unpredictable results if you
use it to close DOS sessions.

14. Some bugs in the "TYPE" command fixed.

15. The "big" WCL window now has a maximise button.


Version 7.50 (June 1994)
-----------------------

1. New feature: the "small" WCL window can now be set to be always in
the foreground (by a new setting in WCL.INI = "TOPMOST-WINDOW=").

2. Enhanced support for networked users. Each user on a network can
now have his/her own WCL INI file, and KEYS file - this is implemented
with a new command-line parameter "/WCL$=". There are a
number of ramifications;
[a] a new command "CFG" or "WCLCFG" has been introduced - when this
command is run, it loads the WCL configuration program, with access
to the correct user INI file (if you just run WCLCFG.EXE from Program
Manager, it may be reading/writing from/to the wrong INI file).
[b] a new command "WCLMAP" has been introduced - to MAP and UNMAP
drives on a Novell Netware network only. If you are not on a Netware
network, please do NOT try to use this command. Also, the command
might still be a bit buggy - so please use it with care!
[c] the SPAWN command now creates its temporary batch file in the same
directory as that in which the user INI file resides - to prevent
one user overwriting another user's temporary batch file.
[d] WCL will first look for the WCL.INI file in the Working Directory
(specified in Program Manager) before looking anywhere else
[e] the file specified in the "/WCL$=" parameter will take priority
over any other INI file - it does not need to have the extension
.INI.
[f] the "/WCL$=" parameter can be used for WCL.EXE, BIGWCL.EXE, and
WCLCFG.EXE. If it is used for any of them, then it MUST be used
ALL three of them. Otherwise you may get each of them pointing to
a different INI file.
[g] WCL will first look for the KEYS.WCL file in the directory where the
INI file resides, before looking elsewhere.
[h] If you wish to see which INI file is being used for the current WCL
session, type "SET".
[i] the UNZIP, ENCODE, DECODE, and WCLMAP commands, and WCLCFG.EXE, can
only be used by one copy of WCL at a time - because of shared
memory in the DLLs.


3. New support for multiple commands on a single line (each separated by
a semi-colon (";"). If WCL finds *any* semi-colon in the transmitted
command line, it assumed that multiple commands are being transmitted.

Restrictions;
* you cannot include a command alias on any of the commands
* the line is evaluated after the FOREACH command (which can also take
the semi-colon).

4. Bug in the implied CD feature fixed (when no matching directory was
found, the user was always dumped in the root directory).

5. Support for copying the contents of the WCL window to the clipboard
added. In BIGWCL, this is a new command "CLIP". This copies all the
contents of the scroll back buffer. In the "small" version, this
feature replaces copying the screen to the printer (when you click
on the "print window" menu item).

If you supply a file name as an argument to "CLIP", then the contents
of the file get copied the the clipboard, as text.
e.g., "CLIP FILENAME.TXT" - copies that file to the clipboard.

6. The output of the DIR command can now be redirected to the Windows
Clipboard, by supplying "CLIP" as the filename.
e.g, "DIR *.EXE > CLIP"

7. New setting "SEARCH-DRIVE=" introduced in WCL.INI. This setting
determines whether the "implied CD" feature will search the whole
drive for any directory that is supplied at the WCL prompt. This
feature is turned ON by default - meaning that anything in that
setting other than a "0" or "OFF" will be interpreted as "ON". If the
setting is turned OFF, then only the "path" will be searched for a
matching directory.

This setting was introduced because searching through the whole drive
all the time may be time-consuming on large or networked drives.

8. New command "RUNHIDDEN" introduced - to run a program in a hidden
state. The program will not show up in the task list - you need WCL's
LISTWIN and SENDMESSAGE commands to perform operations on such a hidden
program.

e.g., RUNHIDDEN FAXSERV.EXE

9. New command "EXITRUN" introduced - to close down Windows, run a DOS
program, and restart Windows again when you finish with the DOS
proggram.

e.g., EXITRUN DOOM.EXE

Note: do NOT attempt to run DOS batch files with this command. You
are certain to get an unwanted reboot if you do so.

10. New command "MOVE" introduced - to move files from one place to
another. This is basically a file copy, and then a file delete (if
the copy was successful). This command takes the same parameters as
the COPY command.

e.g., MOVE *.DLL \WINDOWS\DLLS


Version 7.40a (May 1994)
-----------------------

Fixed a little bug which resulted in an error message in a dialog box
appearing twice.


Version 7.40 (May 1994)
-----------------------

CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE TO SETTINGS IN WCL.INI
*********************************************

1. The effect of the "WINDOW-BORDER" setting in WCL.INI has been
changed. It should now be turned ON normally. If it is turned OFF,
then the WCL window ("small" version only) will have no title bar,
no minimize button, and no system menu - and it will not be moveable.

2. The effect of the "WINDOWHEIGHT.BIG" setting has been changed. Before,
it determined both the height of the BIGWCL window and the scroll back
buffer size. Now it only determines the height of the BIGWCL window
(i.e., the default height of the window, when the program is started
- it can always be resized afterward). BIGWCL has some internal
defaults depending on driver resolution.

When you exit BIGWCL, the current height of the window is saved in
this setting - so you can just resize the window to whatever suits
you, and then type "SAVE", or just quit and start the program again.

3. A new entry in WCL.INI - "WINDOWHEIGHT" has been introduced. This
determines the height of the "small" WCL window. Similar principles
apply to this setting as to "WINDOWHEIGHT.BIG" (above).

4. A new entry in WCL.INI - "INSERT-MODE" has been introduced.
If this is turned ON, then the default state of the insert mode in the
doskey emulation will be ON (instead of the normal default to over-
write mode).

5. A new entry in WCL.INI - "US-DATE-FORMAT" has been introduced.
This is to allow the date and time stamps on files to be listed
in the American format (mm/dd/yy) instead of the default (dd/mm/yy).

6. A new entry - "DIRCMD" has been added to WCL.INI, for greater
compatibility with DOS. Any switch which is valid for the DIR
command can be put in this setting, and such switches will
automatically be applied to all DIR commands.

e.g
DIRCMD=/L /OD

to do the DIR listing in lowercase letters, and sort by date.


OTHER NEW FEATURES
******************
Apart from more than 100 internal enhancements, there are several new
features in this release;

1. A configuration program (WCLCFG.EXE) is now provided. This saves
having to make changes to the WCL.INI file manually. It covers most,
but not all, of the possible settings in the INI file.

2. You can now assign a command to Ctrl-C (formerly it was not allowed).
CTRL-C is set in the KEYS.WCL file to "EXIT" by default. You can
change this by editing the file.

3. WCL will now save the last co-ordinates of the WCL window (this works for
both the "big" and "small" versions), and also optionally save the
Windows desktop, when you quit from the system menu, or by pressing
Alt-F4 (i.e., assuming that the Save-Desktop feature is ON, and that WCL
is the Windows shell).

4. The "PROMPT" command has been revamped for greater compatibility with
the DOS "prompt" command. It can now take parameters such as
$T, $D, $V, $Q, and $L, in addition to $P and $G.

5. The "DECODE" command is now much faster than before. Both the ENCODE
and DECODE commands can now handle Unix format UUencoded files. To
UUencode a file in the Unix format, use the new command "UNIXENCODE".
Unix files are decoded automatically with the "DECODE" command.

6. An interface has been provided to WCL to allow Windows programmers to
add user extensions to the internal command set. The interface files
and documentation are in WCL_EXT.ZIP, which is now supplied as part
of the WCL package. This interface has resulted in the addition of
another DLL (WCL_EXT.WXX) to the package. The interface is provided
"AS IS" - so use it at your own risk.

7. The maximum number of COMMAND ALIASES has been increased from 30
to 40.

8. The maximum number of lines in WCL batch files (.CBF files) has been
increased from 30 to 150.

9. A *limited* subset of the Unix FOREACH command has been introduced,
for operations involving multiple files, without resorting to creating
batch files, or to transimtting commands one by one.

RESTRICTION: this command is only supported in BIGWCL.EXE. See fuller
documentation in the help file.

10. A limited subset of the GREP command has been introduced - to search
for strings inside a text file.

The syntax is GREP [-n -c -v]

11. The "TYPE" command (to display the contents of a file) can now take
wilcards (eg TYPE *.TXT).

12. The "REN" command has been revamped in many ways.
[a] It can now be used to rename files and directories whose names
are regarded as illegal by DOS (eg because they have spaces in
their names). In such cases, enclose the SOURCE file name in
quotes - eg REN "FRED DY" FREDDY

[b] It can now take wildcards - but you MUST use the wildcards
in both the SOURCE and TARGET file names
eg REN *.DOC *.TXT
REN WCL*.TXT *.WCL

- the TARGET file name in such cases MUST be a wildcard that
begins with "*".

eg REN WCL*.TXT FRED*.TXT - this is NOT valid.

13. A new command "DU" (for "disk usage") has been introduced. This
command tells you how much disk space is occupied by the files in
a directory (and all its subdirectories), without going through a
directory listing. The command can take one parameter - the name
of the directory whose disk usage you want. If "DU" is typed
without any parameter, it will process the current directory.

14. A new switch for the "DIR" command has been introduced. This is
"/Q" - for "quick" display. When this switch is used, the default
behaviour of pausing for a keypress after each screen is overridden.

15. A new command "REPLACE" has been introduced. This is for searching
for a string in an ASCII file, and replacing all occurences of that
string with another one.

Please do NOT attempt to use this command on a binary file.

16. A bug in the scolling on the command line has been fixed.

17. Support has been introduced for associating file extensions with
an application. If you type the name of a file at the WCL prompt,
and the file's extension has an application associated with it in
the "Extensions" section of WIN.INI, WCL will execute the relevant
application, with the file loaded.

18. Limited support for filename completion has been added. If the user
types part of a file/directory name and then presses TAB, WCL will
attempt to complete the file/directory name from the list of files
and directories in the CURRENT directory.

Note that this feature only works if both the DOSKEY emulation and
command-line editing are enabled.

19. Changes have been made to the way in which the STARTUP lines in WCL.INI
and the AUTOEXEC.CBF file are handled. Formerly, the programs on the
STARTUP lines, and the AUTOEXEC.CBF file were only executed if WCL was
the Windows SHELL. From this version, they will be executed, when WCL
is started, whether or not WCL is the Windows SHELL.

20. Automatic directory changing ("implied CD") has been introduced.
If you type the name of a directory at the WCL command line, and
then add a backslash to it, the program will attempt to change
to that directory, without your having to type "CD" first. In this
respect, WCL first searches the "path", and then the whole disk, for
a matching directory. If you have a large/slow disk, this may take
some time.

21. The scroll bars have now been removed from the "small" WCL window.
What is left now is a much smaller window, which is even less
unobstrusive. The window can now be resized (reduced in size) to
as small as you want.


22. A new command "WMCLOSE" has been introduced. This command shuts WCL
down, WITHOUT ANY QUESTION. Some users have complained about being
asked whether they really want to quit. This command is for such users.
It is also useful for closing down WCL from a non-interactive batch
file.

You may even create a command alias for it, using the name of any of
the WCL exit commands - and this will then take priority;

e.g. NEWCOMMAND ESC WMCLOSE

with this command alias, anytime you press ESC, WCL will close without
further reference to you.


[Details of early versions have been chopped out of here, because this
file was getting too big.]


(c) 1994, Dr. A. Olowofoyeku
268 Horwood,
Newcastle,
Staffs ST5 5BQ
ENGLAND.

E-mail:
[email protected]
[email protected]



  3 Responses to “Category : Windows 3.X Files
Archive   : WINCMD76.ZIP
Filename : HISTORY.TXT

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