Re: Re clip will not work on new Windows 98 installation

["Robert Holmgren" holmgren@xxxxxxxx]

** Reply to message from Harry Binswanger  on Sat, 04 Sep 2004
21:49:29 -0400


> I see the message "Type EXIT to return to XyWrite" flash by on
> the Command Line (a message that should appear at the DOS prompt)

Wrong. It's embedded in Editor, & issued before shelling. Suppress with
DO[S]/NV.

> The problem is that CLIPW has some DOS/nv/x/z calls
> in it. I can't shell to DOS at all in VPC-Win98 on the Mac...
> The weird thing is that shelling to DOS works in VPC-WinXP.
> Note: even weirder--the DO command works.

> Robert, I'm kinda hoping you will have some ideas of how to isolate the
> shelling out problem.

How to isolate them? You mean, how to overcome them? Hmmm. Well, as I said,
I don't have VPC. However, off the top of my head, to fix CLIPW* -- with a
technique that possibly can be extended to other situations as well -- I'd try
the following.

Consider what the DO command can and cannot actually "do". It can run a COM or
EXE executable. It cannot run any of the commands built-in to a command
processor, e.g. DIR or COPY.

Doesn't that suggest the solution?

Be careful about syntax:
DOS[/NV/X/Z] /C action
 is replaced by
DO[/NV/X/Z] action

So a statement like:
DOS/NV/X/Z /C dir *.* /p
 can be replaced by
DO/NV/X/Z COMMAND.COM /C dir *.* /p

_Try_ that exact command under VPC! If it works (and it certainly should as
long as COMMAND.COM is in the DOS PATH -- it works fine under *real* Win98),
then, well, FIRST, and in principle, I would NOT use COMMAND.COM, I'd instead
use KMD.EXE -- the NT command processor that works in 9x, which I have often
discussed, which you probably DLed a year or so ago, but is available here:
 http://users.datarealm.com/xywwweb/WIN95CMD.ZIP
Why? Because it's Win32 OpSys-blind, and much more powerful than COMMAND.COM.
But, whatever...

SECOND, in frame CLIPW* you'll find three instances of the "DOS" shell command.
The first two call EXEs, so just change the DOS to DO, and delete the " /C"
switch. The third instance of "DOS" performs a COPY command, so change it from:
dos/nv/x/z /c copy /a+ /b
 to
do/nv/x/z kmd.exe /c copy /a+ /b

Be SURE to put KMD.EXE in the *first* directory in the PATH, probably \WINDOWS
or \WINDOWS\COMMAND, so the OpSys doesn't have to go scrounging around to find
it.

Let me know.

-----------------------------
Robert Holmgren
holmgren@xxxxxxxx
-----------------------------