
 (Note: this is the second public release of Markmenu. The documentation
 is a still a bit skimpy, but I hope it will provide enough information
 to get the system up and running).
 
 
 Photo.bat/Markmenu by Mark David Bowman

  Photo.bat is a batch file that I have been adding to scince late 1995.
 Originaly, it was only ment to take a snapshot of the computers
 system files, and a few other things but has turned into a multi featured 
 program. When I first wrote it, it was only 1000 bytes long, and had no 
 options. Now, it has a whole bunch of options :) . Some of the features 
 include:

  *New* The ability to insert commands between the lines of
  Photo.bat, and to jump to any point in the program. This enables
  you to modify and rearrange the subroutines using set j_)#=goto jmp#
  statements

  *New* Skins/Shell replacements: Replace the default Markmenu menu with
      your own custom shells! Example included.

  A menu program, that can load it's own config files.
  A console that allows you to type incommands
  A (crude) dialer program
  Logging
  Built in debugging features
  Built in memo "email" system (it's not really email in the sense
 that you can email other people on other computers. It's more like a 
 local message center :)
 And much much more!!!



 Note: ANSI.SYS or a compatable ansi driver must be loaded for photo.bat 
 to work properly. Usualy it's done through a line in CONFIG.SYS. 
 For example:

 DEVICE=C:\directory\ANSI.SYS  where "directory" is the directory 
 which ANSI.SYS is located in.

 Also, this program requires MS-DOS or PC-DOS 3.3 or above,or Windows
 95, 98, ME. May run with other Doses as well that support 

 Starting photo.bat 
 
 Make a directory on your c: drive called ptobat (directory must be
 in root (\) ).
 
 Unzip or copy allof the photo.bat files

 Type lphoto at the dos prompt to begin. You'll be taken to Markmenu.
 Type ^ at markmenu to get to the console. Once at the console
 type photo, and you'll have access to all of photo.bat's command line 
 parameters through a console "gateway". For a list of basic photo commands, 
 type "help" at the prompt for a list of some of the basic commands. Also, 
 just hiting enter will scroll you through a couple screens. After hitting 
 Y at the Yes/No prompt, you'll be shown a list of some more of the commands. 
 When you get to the minimenu, select console, than type photo to use the 
 commands.


 If you type help at the photo commandline gateway you'll be returned to the main console after it's
 displayed. Type photo to return to the photo commandline "gateway"
 and type in the photo command line parameter. At both the "gateway"
 and the console, typing hep will give a breif list of commands for both
 systems.

 config files

 Photo.bat uses several config files in it's operation Here is a list of
 the files used for photo.bat. The files themselves are fully commented,
 and will tell you what each item is for, and what they do.

 markmenu.bat -  menufile
 p_ini.bat - config file for lphoto.bat
 binds.bat - menu key/console bindings




 Disclaimers:

While I doubt photo.bat will cause your computer to crash it's
hard drive, melt down, blow up, etc, I am not liable for any damage that this
program could cause to your computer. This program is Public Domain software,
and there are no warranties either expressed or implied for it. There is
no guaranteed tech support for this software, but if you find a serious bug,
or have an interesting idea, I'd like to hear about it. My email is:

  balanco010101@hotmail.com You must include "cab_email_in" the subject
  line (done to stop spam).

Note: This program is still in alpha stage, (after all of these years, I know <:}
and there are still many bugs in it, though there are no damaging
ones that can pop "out of the blue" that I know of. Some commands allow
you to define file names for certain things, and it is possible to overwite
existing files if you give them the same name as the ones already on your 
hard disk (such as autoexec.bat). Be cafeful while experementing. Also,
photo.bat creates it's own files while running. Check the list of file names 
bat the end of this readme, If you find any files with the same names on your 
hard disk *before* running Photo.bat/Markmenu for the first time, make sure that 
photo.bat won't be able to overwrite them.

Mini Faq:

Q : It runs slowly


A: Batch files run slower than compled programs, because they have to 
be interpreted into instructions the computer can underdstand. Also, 
they are read line by line from the hard disk, and slow/severly 
fragmented hard disks can slow the batch filedown if the batch file itself
is fragmented. (fragmentation is when parts of a file are stored in different 
areas of the disk. This is normal, because when a file is too big to fit 
into a continous block of freespace, it is divided into peices and the 
peices are put in the next available block of freespace. Unfortuinately, this 
causes the drive's heads to have to move around more, thus slowing it down). Your best bet is to defrag 
your disks, or set up your system to load  photo.bat and it's files into a 
ram disk when booting (you'll have to make some changes to photo.bat
config/start files to point to it's new directory.

Q. Why a batch file? 


A. I happen to like batch files, and I like to push the language as far as it
can be pushed (though other people have pushed it way farther than this :).
Also, batch files are easier to programand debug, and there is no compiling
to have to mess with (though many compilers for other languages do come 
with interpreters allow you to run your code in source code form).

Q: Errr.why does this menu program have a console?

A: Because like consoles,and consoles are often easier to use than menus/guis
for certain functions in complex programs. Plus they are neat :)


Q: How come the dialer won't work on my system?


A: Either you are using the wrong comport, or you have a Winmodem. Usualy,
a dos program won't be able to use a Winmodem (even from within Windows!),
and may even hang the machine if it tries to use it. I 
don't know of any work arounds for this (I don't own a Winmodem, so I
don't know if some divers have settings that will allow Dos programs
to access it. Also, with some modems/ comports, the dialer will work once, 
but then not work again untill the machine is reset. I'm not sure what 
causes this, but a utility designed to reset/set comports might fix this. 
I'll have to check on this some time later

Q: The time logging/capture to enviroment function hung my computer in DR-DOS.

A: Unfortunately, there is a difference between the MS-DOS and DrDos
time/date messages that cause this :( This function is really a crude hack
that used the output of the time/date command to log/capture the time
in an enviroment variable. It's possible to write a work around for this,
but I havent gotten around to doing it. Markmenu does not log the time
if the OS variable is set to DRDOS.


Q: Why do i get files with variants of the name markstat.mdb on my
disk when typign in long messages  (example markstat.m, marksta)



A: If a message that is directed to the log file becomes too long, often
the line that logs the message gets amended, and cuts off part of the file
name. This is due to a limit in the number of characters that can be typed on 
the command line. This also applies to lines in batch files. Windows 95/98 
allows you to lengthen this some what,  but there is still a limit. There is 
no real work around for this other than to make sure that the command you type is not too long,or use 
a shell that supports more characters :\ . While this won't happen in most
situations, sometime sit can happen (example, typing a really long command string
or message line). 

Q: I love this program!! Where can I get updates?


A: I'm glad you like it :).  You can get any released updates by going to 
www.geocities.com/balanco01/index00.htm (the main page on my site) for news on updates.
www.geocities.com/balanco01/photo_update.zip will let you download the file 
immediately, though I recommend that you check the homepage first
before doing this

Note. Typing update at the photo.bat comandline gateway while connected
to the internet and running Windows 95, 98,or (presumably) Windows ME 
will automaticly download the file! Typing homepage will take you to 
the main page of my website.



Q: I didn't like this program


A: I'm sad to hear that :(. However the program is a batch file, and
mostly an experement. Don't take it too seriously (after all it's less
than 400k zipped :)


Q: Is this program going to ruin my hard drive?


A: It shouldn't, and I don't put malicous code in my programs. Unfortunately,
there are some people out there who like to stick destructive commands in
batch files and upload them. My advice is to check the program for any 
suspicous code. If in doubt, download only from reputable sites (this goes 
for any file). Archive sites like Simtel.net, ftp.cdrom.com, and  download.com 
normaly check files for viruses/malicous code before releasing them to the public,
and should be safe. Also, this program has features that could overwrite 
other files if not used carefuly (see disclaimer).

Another note: This program does contain a formatting shell, but the user has to input
drive letter/etc inorder to format. Also, there are ansi codes that 
change some of the Fkeys to execute photo.bat functions when pressed,
when photo.bat is run from the start (type ^ at makemenu, type
photo at console, hit enter does this). With the package I've provided here, 
those key reassignments disappear when the program is exited, but
it is posible to configure photo.bat where this is not the case. Anyway,
these features may set off a warning in a batchfile or ansi file "anti virus"
program, but should be nothing to worry about.




List of files photo.bat creates during normal operation:

markstat.new - used in log file functions
memnum.bat - lasts  dialed phone number
rebotmp.com - used to reboot computer
message.tmp - message file
recall.bat - recall command
temp.bat - temporary file
callog.log - called numbersloged
cmdlst.dat - list of entered commands
enter.tmp - used in time logging/capture
current.bat - used in time logging capture
 
"Permanant" files photo.bat uses:

batch.com - input single character
password.com -input multiple characters
speed.com - used in one of the prompts



