PCjs Machines
Home of the original IBM PC emulator for browsers.
PC-SIG Diskette Library (Disk #1537)
[PCjs Machine "ibm5170"]
Waiting for machine "ibm5170" to load....
Information about “PROCON UTILITIES”
PROCON UTILITIES is a handy collection of memory resident utilities
from Down Under -- Australia that is!
~ BLANKS -- Automatically blanks the screen after 1 to 9 minutes
of no keyboard or screen activity to preserve your monitor. Works with
Mono/Hercules and CGA.
~ HERCULES -- Permits CGA graphics on a PC with a Hercules card.
Works with many programs, including PC-PAINT, PRINTMASTER, and FLIGHT
SIMULATOR (minus the Esc screen)!
~ CLOCKON -- A memory resident on-screen clock that works in all
CGA modes and can be turned on and off from the key board.
~ CLOCKSET, CLOCKGET, SETCLOCK -- Quick fixes for the Real Time
Clock bugs of the MM58167 RTC (leap year and year counter) chip
and its interface with the system clock in your PC! Use to
replace Timer.Com.
~ SWAP, SCREEN, DUALS -- Programs for PCs with two display
cards and monitors. SWAP will toggle the active display and
SCREENS will ensure both displays are initialized at boot-up.
DUALS permits dual screen functioning from GWBASIC and is very
useful for graphics demonstrations and debugging.
BLANKS.DOC
BLANK Screen by P.E.King
This program automatically blanks the screen after 1 to 9 minutes
of no keyboard or screen activity. This will save your screen
since displays will often become permanently etched into the
screen if they remain for long periods of time. The time delay
may be set by using 'BLANKS /n' on the command line, where n may
be 1 for one minute to 9 for nine minutes. If '/n' is not given
the time defaults to three minutes. Pressing any key, including
the Alt or Shift keys will restore the screen - without affecting
the executing program. This program is memory resident and
should only be invoked ONCE. It can be included in the AUTOEXEC
file.
The program works with both the MONO/HERCULES cards and the CGA
card and blanks the entire screen - including the border!
(C) 1988, Procon Software, Box 43, Essendon, 3040, AUSTRALIA.
CLOCK.DOC
REAL TIME CLOCK ROUTINES
========================
The files CLOCKSET.COM, CLOCKGET.COM and SETCLOCK.BAT were developed to
overcome some of the limitations of the Real Time Clock(RTC) programs that
utilize the MM58167 RTC chip. This chip unfortunately does not have a YEAR
counter and does not correct for leap years (i.e. the 29th of Feb does not
exist). The above programs allow the RTC to be set from the system clock,
it automatically rolls over the year counter (the program TIMER has this bug
in it) and it automatically adjusts for leap years. A feature of these
programs is that they automatically search all the commonly used addresses
of the RTC until one is found. e.g. These programs work with the Persyst
Time Spectum card and most of the cheap RTC cards available.
SETTING THE REAL-TIME CLOCK
---------------------------
Enter SETCLOCK and press RETURN. You will be asked to set the systems date
and then time. The CLOCKSET.COM program will automatically set your Real
Time Clock (RTC) - if you have one!
SETTING THE SYSTEM TIME/DATE AUTOMATICALLY
------------------------------------------
You may already have an AUTOEXEC.BAT file on your System disk, if not create
one using the COPY command or Editor (i.e. EDLIN). Insert the word CLOCKGET
into the file, this will automatically set the systems time/date to the Real
Time Clocks when you start-up the system. If you already have an AUTOEXEC
file then delete DATE and TIME and insert CLOCKGET. You will no longer need
to set the time and date AND it will always be correct when you power up.
SPECIAL NOTE
------------
The RTC may need to be re-adjusted again for DAY-LIGHT SAVING time and
occationally when it is corrupted if the system crashes. Simply run the
SETCLOCK Batch(BAT) program again to reset it. If your time and date from
the RTC is corrupted often, try changing the cards address.
SYSTEM FILES
============
The CLOCK.SYS device driver is provided to allow the DATE to be
incremented when the TIME clocks over to 00:00:00.00. This is done
already in DOS version 3 but not in version 2. It is also useful in DOS
version 3 because some programs (i.e. on-screen clocks etc) may 'steal'
the timer flag indicating that the clock has passed 24 hours. Also, since
this driver monitors the system timer continually, date increments cannot
be lost when the time is not read for 24 hours. To install the driver
simply copy CLOCK.SYS to your boot disk and include DEVICE = CLOCK.SYS
in your CONFIG.SYS file. If one does not exist then copy the one on
this disk to your boot disk.
(C) COPYRIGHT 1988, PROCON SOFTWARE, P.O. BOX 43, ESSENDON, AUSTRALIA.
CLOCKON.DOC
CLOCK ON-screen by P.E.King
This program provides an on-screen clock display in the top
right-hand corner. It will work in all MONOCHROME and CGA screen
modes and may be toggled on and off by pressing the Shift-ALT-
Caps Lock keys. The blinking colon also provides confirmation
that interrupts are on and the computer has not crashed! This
program is memory resident and should only be invoked once. It
can be included in the AUTOEXEC file.
(C) 1988, Procon Software, Box 43, Essendon, 3040, AUSTRALIA.
DUALS.DOC
DUAL SCREEN PROGRAMS
====================
The programs SWAP.COM, SCREEN.COM and DUALS.COM are intended for
use with a dual screen system. That is a system that has BOTH
the mono (or mono-graphics) card and the color graphics adapter
(CGA) card installed. You may wonder why one should do this?
Well ... for someone like myself, who's constantly developing
programs for the IBM-PC, it allows me to test programs written
for the different video interfaces simply by swapping screens
using the SWAP command. Some programs have even been written for
dual screen use. One, which is useful to me, is Microsoft's CODE
VIEW. I can now debug a graphics program, with it's display
being on the color monitor whilst CODE VIEW displays all the
program lines and register contents etc. on the monochrome
screen. Other programs, such as AUTOCAD, can do the same thing.
Graphics can be displayed on the color screen whilst text is
entered on the mono screen.
One of the problems encounted with the standard IBM-PC system is
that it does not initialize both screens when powering-up. The
SCREEN program can be inserted in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to
provide this initialization and blanking of screens (including
turning off the blinking cursor) automatically.
The SWAP command allows you to swap from one screen to the other.
This command automatically determines what screen is being used
and swaps to the other. The originating screen is cleared and
its cursor is blanked, whilst the destination screen is cleared
and its cursor turned on. i.e. You always know which screen
you're on by the blinking cursor!
The DUALS program was written to allow the two screens to be used
from a GWBASIC or BASICA program as no programming langauage
(that I'm aware of) supports dual screen operation. DUALS is a
memory resident program that should only be executed ONCE. After
it has been executed, invoke GWBASIC and you will find that you
can simply swap from one screen to the other by selecting either
the text mode (0), black & white (0) for the the mono screen and
text mode (0), color enabled (1) for the color screen. e.g.
execute SCREEN 0,0 for mono and SCREEN 0,1 for color. By-the-way
selecting any graphics mode (1 or 2) switches automatically to
the color graphics screen. The destination screen is blanked.
This allows information to be written to one screen then you can
change to the other and write more information (allowing text on
one screen and graphics on the other for example).
One important feature of DUALS is that it has been designed to
allow you to 'fool' GWBASIC into believing that it is in the
graphics mode whilst text i/o is being conducted on the mono
screen. Simply invoke the graphics mode required (i.e. 1 or 2)
then execute SHELL "SWAP" (make sure command.com and swap.com are
available). The graphics screen will be blanked and then the
cursor will re-appear on the monoscreen. You can now enter
graphics commands directly and watch what they do on the graphics
screen (without annoying text appearing). It's great from
demonstrating and experimenting with the graphics commands in
BASIC.
(C) COPYRIGHT 1988,PROCON SOFTWARE,BOX 43,ESSENDON 3040,AUSTRALIA
FILE1537.TXT
Disk No: 1537
Program Title: PROCON UTILITIES version 1.10
PC-SIG version: 1
PROCON UTILITIES is a handly collection of memory resident utilities
from Down Under----Australia that is! Hav a G'day, Mate!
o BLANKS - Automatically blanks the screen after 1 to 9 minutes
of no keyboard or screen activity to preserve your
monitor. Works with Mono/Hercules and CGA.
o HERCULES - Permits CGA graphics on a PC with a Hercules card.
Works with many programs, including PC-PAINT,
PRINTMASTER, and FLIGHT SIMULATOR (minus the Esc
screen)!
o CLOCKON - A memory resident on screen clock that works in all
CGA modes and can be turned on and off from the key
board.
o CLOCKSET, CLOCKGET, SETCLOCK - Quick fixes for the Real Time
Clock bugs of the MM58167 RTC (leap year and year counter) chip
and its interface with the system clock in your PC!. Use to
replace Timer.Com
o SWAP, SCREEN, DUALS - Are programs for PCs with two display
cards and monitors. SWAP will toggle the active display and
SCREENS will ensure both displays are initialized at boot-up.
DUALS permits dual screen functioning from GWBASIC and is very
useful for graphics demonstrations and debugging.
Synopsis: TSR (memory resident) programs that put a clock on your
CGA screen, lets your Hercules run color, screen saver blanks both
mono & CGA, and a fix for real time clock bugs (such as leap year).
Usage: Utilities/CGA Emulation/Clock/Dual Screen/Screen Saver.
Special Requirements: None.
How to Start: Type GO (press enter).
Suggested Registration: $20.00
Authors: Peter E. King, ProConn Software, Australia.
File Descriptions:
BLANKS COM Screen saver.
CLOCKGET COM Retrieve real time.
CLOCKON COM Memory resident clock.
CLOCKSET COM Set real time.
DUALS COM Dual mode display.
HERCULES COM CGA emulator for hercules.
HERCULES DOC Documentation for hercules.
SCREEN COM Screen initailizer.
SWAP COM Switch active display.
??????? DOC Documentation (4 files).
CLOCK SYS Special RTC driver.
CONFIG SYS Sample system configuration.
ORDER DOC Order form.
NEW DOC New programs available from PROCON
README DOC This file
The PC-SIG Library
1030D E. Duane Avenue
Sunnyvale Ca. 94086
(408) 730-9291
(c) Copyright 1989 PC-SIG, Inc.
HERCULES.DOC
HERCULES Version 1.00
Copyright (C) Peter E. King, 1987
Requirements: Hercules or Mono-graphics card with graphics
paging capability (64K bytes RAM). Your computer should be
hardware and software (BIOS) compatible with the IBM-PC. The
program works by redirecting the video interrupt (INT 10H) and
the timer interrupt (INT 8H) and installing a new video parameter
list (INT 1DH). The program maps the 640x200 CGA screen into the
720x340 hercules screen, thus providing a smaller display area -
This is normal!
WARNING:
Not all programs will be compatible with HERCULES, try to test
them one at a time, particularly other memory resident programs.
This program will, however, allow many CGA programs such as PC-
PAINT, PRINTMASTER, FIGHT SIMULATOR (minus the Esc screen) and
many PUBLIC DOMAIN programs to execute without any noticeable
difference.
Copying and distribution:
ProCons HERCULES may be copied and distributed as a SHAREWARE
program. That is the program file may be copied and
distributed to others provided that the documentation file
(HERCULES.DOC) accompanies it. The program may NOT be used
as a value added product and NO FEE MAY BE CHARGED. If
distributed along with other P.D. software a maximum charge of
$10 Australian or $6 U.S. must apply for copying and handling.
The copyright notices are to preserve my options, and to protect
you from the untoward modifications of others. It is NOT
intended to prevent the public distribution of the HERCULES
program, subject to the above limitations.
If you are a subscriber (Bless your little hearts), I'll gradly
answer any questions that you may have. If NOT (Oh Dear!) then
please send a stamped S.A.E. and I'll try to get back to you.
Overseas letters, however, may take a bit longer.
If you would like the latest version of HERCULES.COM, it is
provided only on ProCons MAHJONG games disk. Please send a
personal cheque or money order for $25 Australian ($20 U.S.) to
the address shown below. The later version will allow more
programs to execute including; GWBASIC, QuickBASIC and others.
Please note, HERCULES.COM may only be separated from disk
provided that HERCULES.DOC accompanies it. It may be used by
other P.D. programmers BUT MUST NOT BE USED FOR COMMERCIAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL (GOVERNMENT) PURPOSES WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT.
(C) 1987, ProCon Software, P.O. Box 43, Essendon, 3040, AUSTRALIA
NEW.DOC
PROCON SOFTWARE
===============
ProCon is solely owned and run by yours truly, Peter King. I am
a professional engineer with many years experience with micro-
computers. New products are continually being developed and
released, here is just a few:
MAHJONG Version 2.24 is a games program which provides an easy
means of learning this Chinese card game. It can also help to
improve your speed and skill in the game.
User Comments:
'I really, really love your game. I've gotten a lot of pleasure
from your program'. Debbi Reid, Texas.
'The wife is driving me crazy - she is well and truly hooked on
it (mahjong).' J. Cairns, New Zealand.
Cost $25 AUS ($20 U.S.), requires CGA, EGA or Hercules card.
=================================================================
HERCULES USERS! Provided on the mahjong games disk is the latest
version of 'hercules.com', this is a memory resident program
which allows many C.G.A. programs to run on the Hercules graphics
card. Yes! Even Flight Simulator and GWBASIC will run using
this program. Now you can have your cake ...
=================================================================
PROCON CONTROL Version 1.00 is a remote control program utilizing
any printer port you can control up to eight relays for robot or
model control, switch a radio or tape recorder on and off and SO
MANY other things. A memory resident program allows you to
switch these eight outputs whilst running other programs. AND a
BASIC program allows you to switch them at ANYTIME - night or day
- automatically! One more program allows you to operate your
computer as a simple Programmable Controller, with eight inputs
and eight outputs, nothing could be simpler for control purposes
than AND X1, OR X2, OUT Y1 etc. Cost $30 AUS ($25 U.S.)
PROCON UTILITIES Version 1.0 is a collection of useful utilities
with full SOURCE code provided. The collection includes; on-
screen clock that works in ALL CGA modes including graphics
modes. Blank screen program that blanks the screen after 1 to 9
minutes (user selected) - it can even beep you automatically
after finishing a time-consuming task (e.g. compiling a program).
Cost: $25 AUST. ($20 U.S.)
Soon to be released:
PROCON BASICaides Version 1.0 is a collection of useful assembler
coded routines and BASIC programs to make your BASIC programming
easier and faster. Provides quick sort routines and supports
dual screen operation (i.e. Pictures can be displayed on one
screen whilst text is displayed on another! All under BASIC
control). Cost T.B.A.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: 10% of all monies received (NOT PROFIT) go to help
local and overseas charities. ProCon is also dedicated to
providing assistance to the physically handicapped by developing
programs to make the IBM-PC more accessible. All enquiries may
be directed to Box 43, Essendon, 3040, AUSTRALIA.
=================================================================
ALL PRICES INCLUDE PACKING AND POSTAGE WORLDWIDE. ALL PROGRAMS
PROVIDED ON 5.25 INCH DISKS ONLY. PAYMENT BY PERSONAL CHECK IN
YOUR LOCAL CURRENCY IS ACCEPTABLE. CANADIANS, PLEASE DO NOT PAY
IN US DOLLARS, SIMPLY CONVERT THE PRICE TO CANADIAN DOLLARS AND
SEND THAT AMOUNT - NO PROBLEMS! THANKS FOR YOUR CO-OPERATION.
=================================================================
ORDER.DOC
PROCON UTILITIES
================
If you would like to receive the lastest version of UTILITIES
with all the goodies mentioned, including full USER SUPPORT write
to the address shown below and include your personal check or
money order for $20 Australian or $20 U.S. (U.S. orders - please
allow 2 weeks for delivery). This price includes packaging and
handling, worldwide! INCREDIBLE! NO! ProCon Software is
committed to the concept of good, cheap software being readily
available and without copying restrictions. Your money
will encourage the development of this product and other value
products by ProCon.
Send To: Peter E. King
ProCon Software
P.O. Box 43
Essendon, 3040
AUSTRALIA
-----------------------------------------------------------------
ORDER FORM
-----------------------------------------------------------------
YES, I like the UTILITIES disk and would like to receive the
full source code and instructions. I enclose a check/money
order* of [ ] being for [ ] subscription(s).
MY NAME: _____________________________________
ADDRESS: _____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
STATS: My Computer is a ______________________________________.
I run DOS version _____. I have UTILITIES version _____.
I obtained my copy of UTILITIES from ___________________.
* Payable to: PROCON SOFTWARE, Box 43, Essendon 3040, AUSTRALIA.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
README.DOC
PROCON UTILITIES Version 1.10 7/12/1988
Copyright (C) Peter E. King, 1988
ADDRESS: ProCon Software
P.O. Box 43
Essendon
Victoria, 3040
AUSTRALIA.
(This is a Down Under product)
Requirements:
IBM-PC or compatible with 1 or more disk drives. DOS version 2.1
or greater. DUAL screen system required to run SWAP.COM,
SCREEN.COM and DUALS.COM. Your system must be BIOS compatible
with the IBM-PC to run these programs.
Copying and distribution:
PROCON UTILITIES may be copied and distributed as a SHAREWARE
program. That is the disk may be copied and distributed to
others provided that ALL files on this disk are copied
unmodified (with the exception of HERCULES.COM and HERCULES.DOC).
It may only be distributed on BBS provided that all files are
downloaded using XMODEM. The program may NOT be used as a
value added product and NO fee can be charged except for a disk
and handling charge of up to $10 Australian or $6 U.S.
The copyright notices are to preserve my options, and to protect
you from the untoward modifications of others. It is NOT
intended to prevent the public distribution of PROCON UTILITIES
subject to the above limitations.
These programs may NOT be utillized for business use (including
government, semi-government and corporations) without the payment
of the prescribed fee (excepting written permission from Procon
Software).
INTRODUCTION
============
Contained on this diskette are a collection of the most useful
utilities that have been written by me. Yes! I have the
original assembler source code for ALL these programs. They have
taken many months of work, in writing, testing and debugging. If
you find them useful then a small contribution would be
appreciated, if you send $20 or more (Overseas subscribers send
$20 U.S.) you will receive the latest version of UTILITIES,
together with the source code for all the programs (except
HERCULES). As a BONUS you will receive the EXECUTIVE DECISION
MAKER (EDM), a fun pop-up program that allows you to make those
all important YES-NO decisions with ease. Should I go out with
susan? Should I buy more Acme shares? It's easy, It's fun!
P.S. Although other similar utility programs are available
in the public domain, these programs generally should be
looked upon with suspicion. Many have been written by in-
experienced people who do not fully understand the operation of
the IBM-PC. So, if your system is randomly CRASHING... take
a close look at some of the memory-resident utilities you are
using! AND DON'T LET ANY VIRUS INFECT YOUR SYSTEM!
Suppport:
If you are a contributor , I'll most happily help you with
any difficulties encounted. Mail is the preferred method of
exchange, but you may also contact me by telephone on (03)
3364956. That's in AUSTRALIA folks.
If you are not a contributor (oh dear!), please send a stamped
SAE, and I'll try to get back to you. Remember, there's no such
thing as a free lunch!
PROBLEMS AND ENHANCEMENTS
=========================
I am most certainly interested in any problems or bugs with the
programs. And, indeed, if you have any suggestions or have
produced any enhancements to these programs I would be interested
in hearing from you. Please READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY
before reporting any problems.
I am continually improving these programs. Your contribution
will aid the development of further programs and enhancements.
LIST OF FILES
=============
HERCULES.COM Memory resident CGA simulator
HERCULES.DOC Documentation for HERCULES.COM
BLANKS.COM Memory resident automatically blanks screen
BLANKS.DOC Documentation for BLANKS.COM
CLOCKON.COM Memory resident on-screen clock
CLOCKON.DOC Documentation for CLOCKON.COM
CLOCKSET.COM Set real-time-clock from system clock
CLOCKGET.COM Set system clock from real-time-clock
SETCLOCK.BAT BATch file for CLOCKSET
CLOCK.SYS Clock system call for auto. date rollover
CONFIG.SYS Configure system file for CLOCK.SYS
CLOCK.DOC Documentation for CLOCK/SET/GET.COM/SYS
SWAP.COM Swaps from one screen to the other
SCREEN.COM Use with IBM.PC to initialize screens
DUALS.COM Provides dual screen functioning
DUALS.DOC Documentation for SWAP/SCREEN/DUALS.COM
NEW.DOC New programs available from PROCON
ORDER.DOC Order form for PROCON UTILITIES
README.DOC This file
BLANKS.COM /BLANKS SCREEN
=========================
This program automatically blanks the screen after 1 to 9 minutes
of no keyboard or screen activity. This will save your screen
since displays will often become permanently etched into the
screen if they remain for long periods of time. The time delay
may be set by using 'BLANKS /n' on the command line, where n may
be 1 for one minute to 9 for nine minutes. If '/n' is not given
the time defaults to three minutes. Pressing any key, including
the Alt or Shift keys will restore the screen - without affecting
the executing program. This program is memory resident and
should only be invoked ONCE. It can be included in the AUTOEXEC
file.
The program works with both the MONO/HERCULES cards and the CGA
card and blanks the entire screen - including the border!
CLOCKON.COM /CLOCK ON-SCREEN
============================
This program provides an on-screen clock display in the top
right-hand corner. It will work in all MONOCHROME and CGA screen
modes (including GRAPHICS modes) and may be toggled on and off
by pressing the Shift-ALT-Caps Lock keys. The blinking colon
also provides confirmation that interrupts are on and the
computer has not crashed! This program is memory resident and
should only be invoked once. It can be included in the
AUTOEXEC file.
REAL TIME CLOCK ROUTINES
========================
The files CLOCKSET.COM, CLOCKGET.COM and SETCLOCK.BAT were
developed to overcome some of the limitations of the Real Time
Clock (RTC) programs that utilize the MM58167 RTC chip. This
chip unfortunately does not have a YEAR counter and does not
correct for leap years (i.e. the 29th of Feb does not exist).
The above programs allow the RTC to be set from the system
clock, it automatically rolls over the year counter (the program
TIMER has a bug in it) and it automatically adjusts for leap
years. A feature of these programs is that they
automatically search all the commonly used addresses of the RTC
until one is found. e.g. These programs work with the Persyst
Time Spectum card and most of the other RTC cards available.
SETTING THE REAL-TIME CLOCK
---------------------------
Enter SETCLOCK and press RETURN. You will be asked to set the
systems date and then time. The CLOCKSET.COM program will
automatically set your Real Time Clock (RTC) - if you have one!
SETTING THE SYSTEM TIME/DATE AUTOMATICALLY
------------------------------------------
You may already have an AUTOEXEC.BAT file on your System disk, if
not create one using the COPY command or Editor (i.e. EDLIN).
Insert the word CLOCKGET into the file, this will automatically
set the systems time/date to the Real Time Clocks when you
start-up the system. If you already have an AUTOEXEC file then
delete DATE and TIME and insert CLOCKGET. You will no longer
need to set the time and date AND it will always be correct when
you power up.
SPECIAL NOTE
------------
The RTC may need to be re-adjusted again for DAY-LIGHT SAVING
time and occationally when it is corrupted if the system
crashes. Simply run the SETCLOCK Batch(BAT) program again to
reset it. If your time and date from the RTC is corrupted
often, try changing the cards address.
SYSTEM FILES
------------
The CLOCK.SYS device driver is provided to allow the
DATE to be incremented when the TIME clocks over to
00:00:00.00. This is done already in DOS version 3 but not
in version 2. It is also useful in DOS version 3 because
some programs (i.e. on-screen clocks etc) may 'steal' the
timer flag indicating that the clock has passed 24 hours. Also,
since this driver monitors the system timer continually, date
increments cannot be lost when the time is not read for 24
hours. To install the driver simply copy CLOCK.SYS to
your boot disk and include DEVICE = CLOCK.SYS in your
CONFIG.SYS file. If one does not exist then copy the one on this
disk to your boot disk.
DUAL SCREEN PROGRAMS
====================
The programs SWAP.COM, SCREEN.COM and DUALS.COM are intended for
use with a dual screen system. That is a system that has BOTH
the mono (or mono-graphics) card and the color graphics adapter
(CGA) card installed. You may wonder why one should do this?
Well ... for someone like myself, who's constantly developing
programs for the IBM-PC, it allows me to test programs written
for the different video interfaces simply by swapping screens
using the SWAP command. Some programs have even been written for
dual screen use. One, which is useful to me, is Microsoft's CODE
VIEW. I can now debug a graphics program, with it's display
being on the color monitor whilst CODE VIEW displays all the
program lines and register contents etc. on the monochrome
screen. Other programs, such as AUTOCAD, can do the same thing.
Graphics can be displayed on the color screen whilst text is
entered on the mono screen.
One of the problems encounted with the standard IBM-PC system is
that it does not initialize both screens when powering-up. The
SCREEN program can be inserted in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to
provide this initialization and blanking of screens (including
turning off the blinking cursor) automatically.
The SWAP command allows you to swap from one screen to the other.
This command automatically determines what screen is being used
and swaps to the other. The originating screen is cleared and
its cursor is blanked, whilst the destination screen is cleared
and its cursor turned on. i.e. You always know which screen
you're on by the blinking cursor!
The DUALS program was written to allow the two screens to be used
from a GWBASIC or BASICA program as no programming langauage
(that I'm aware of) supports dual screen operation. DUALS is a
memory resident program that should only be executed ONCE. After
it has been executed, invoke GWBASIC and you will find that you
can simply swap from one screen to the other by selecting either
the text mode (0), black & white (0) for the the mono screen and
text mode (0), color enabled (1) for the color screen. e.g.
execute SCREEN 0,0 for mono and SCREEN 0,1 for color. By-the-way
selecting any graphics mode (1 or 2) switches automatically to
the color graphics screen. The destination screen is blanked.
This allows information to be written to one screen then you can
change to the other and write more information (allowing text on
one screen and graphics on the other for example).
One important feature of DUALS is that it has been designed to
allow you to 'fool' GWBASIC into believing that it is in the
graphics mode whilst text i/o is being conducted on the mono
screen. Simply invoke the graphics mode required (i.e. 1 or 2)
then execute SHELL "SWAP" (make sure command.com and swap.com are
available). The graphics screen will be blanked and then the
cursor will re-appear on the monoscreen. You can now enter
graphics commands directly and watch what they do on the graphics
screen (without annoying text appearing). It's great from
demonstrating and experimenting with the graphics commands in
BASIC.
(C) COPYRIGHT 1988,PROCON SOFTWARE,BOX 43,ESSENDON 3040,AUSTRALIA
Directory of PC-SIG Library Disk #1537
Volume in drive A has no label
Directory of A:\
BLANKS COM 516 2-05-88 11:23p
BLANKS DOC 1024 2-05-88 1:46a
CLOCK DOC 2944 1-01-80 12:58a
CLOCK SYS 429 1-02-80 1:02a
CLOCKGET COM 458 12-03-87 5:58p
CLOCKON COM 713 2-05-88 11:13p
CLOCKON DOC 640 2-05-88 1:46a
CLOCKSET COM 256 12-03-87 6:00p
CONFIG SYS 20 11-25-87 4:03p
DUALS COM 540 12-03-87 10:28p
DUALS DOC 3456 12-07-88 5:13p
FILE1537 TXT 2439 8-10-89 4:48p
GO BAT 42 8-10-59 4:53p
HERCULES COM 756 12-08-87 12:07p
HERCULES DOC 2688 12-14-87 1:10p
NEW DOC 3712 11-17-88 10:44p
ORDER DOC 2176 6-25-88 2:23p
PAGE COM 325 1-06-87 4:21p
README DOC 12672 12-07-88 5:13p
SCREEN COM 54 10-21-77 1:54p
SETCLOCK BAT 128 1-01-88 12:01a
SWAP COM 190 11-27-88 8:39p
22 file(s) 36178 bytes
117760 bytes free