Xywrite + Windows 2000

[Thomas J Hawley tjh@xxxxxxxx]

Further to the discussion of how to get Xy4Dos to run on Windows 2000, here are
a few useful details from Windows 2000 Expert Companion by Stinson an Siechert
(Microsoft Press 2000), Chapter 10: "Using Programs Written for Other Operating
Systems."

There are two Properties dialogs where settings for a DOS program can be made:

Program Properties, reached by right clicking on the icon which starts Xywrite
(8 tabs: General, Security, Summary, Program, Font, Memory, Screen, Misc); and

Console Properties, reached by right clicking on the program name in the
taskbar (at the bottom of the desktop) while Xywrite is running (4 tabs:
Options, Font, Layout, Colors).

The first thing to note is that a number of Program Properties "settings" have
no effect whatsoever on Windows 2000 and are there to "provide compatibility
with Windows 9x." These dummies are listed below; don't bother tweaking them as
they are ignored by W2K.


Program tab: Batch File and Run fields

Font tab: "Selecting a font here is effective only when you run the program
under Windows 9x, not while you're running Windows 2000." In W2K, you set the
font in Console Properties (and only for a windowed session, of course.)

Memory tab: "The Initial Environment and MS-DOS Protected Mode (DPMI) Memory
settings on this tab have no effect in Windows 2000. They are effective only
when you run the PIF [program information file, where the properties are saved]
in Windows 9x.

Screen tab: Initial Size and Restore Settings at Startup

Misc tab: Foreground, Mouse, Background, Termination.


Console Properties all appear to work in Windows 2000, but are relevant only to
a windowed (not full screen) session.

The thing I cannot figure out is why Xywrite, when it is run full screen, only
fills the top of the screen and looks so rough. As I've mentioned earlier, this
can be overcome by Ultravision, but why won't Windows 2000 run it properly
without assistance?

Windows screen resolution seems to have nothing to do with it; the appearance
of Xywrite full screen is the same whether the Windows 2000 desktop is set for
640x480 or 1024x768.

One workaround (without using Ultravision) is to load Xywrite in a windowed
session, and then put it into Graphics View. This will force the session to go
to full screen, since Windows can't handle the DOS graphics display in a window.
Then, in Xywrite, switch to Draft View. You'll still be full screen, and now
Xywrite will fill the screen as it is supposed to and it looks decent (although
not as good as UV!). You can switch out to the desktop, run something else, and
then go back to Xywrite and it will still be filling the full screen as it
should.

A few other Windows 2000 tips:

1. If you're on a network and want to print from Xywrite to a network printer,
enter NET USE LPTn \\computer_name\printer_name at the W2K command line, where
LPTn is the local port (usually LPT1) which Xywrite is sending to, computer_name
is the UNC name of the computer to which the network printer is attached, and
printer_name is the share name of the network printer. See Microsoft
Knowledgebase article ID Q245017 for details. The net command has to be issued
each time the Xywrite computer is booted; you can put it in the operating
system's startup file or the autoexec for the Xywrite PIF.

2. You can specify custom autoexec and config files for Xywrite in its Program
Properties (go to the Program tab, then click Advanced). These can have any
names and be located anywhere you specify. It's best to start with copies of
the W2K defaults, which are %SystemRoot%\system32\autoexec.nt and config.nt
(this is where you can load Ultravision, etc.) Do not check "Compatible timer
hardware emulation" at the bottom of the Advanced dialog where you specify the
filenames.

3. Xywrite may begin running very, very slowly under Windows 2000. This seems
to be a function of the computer's video system; my Dell workstation has never
had the problem but my IBM ThinkPad T21 suffered considerably. The culprit will
be something in your Xywrite display mode settings; one that I tracked down and
fixed was in the Default CR (cursor type) values: 0,112,119,0 brought on
extreme slowness whenever a dialog box was displayed by Xywrite, and could be
cured only by reloading Xywrite. Changing CR to 0,0,119,0 fixed this.


As all of the above illustrates, Xywrite can be run successfully in Windows
2000 but it is not a DOS-friendly environment and information is not easy to
come by. I have no experience with Windows XP, but hear from several sources
that Xywrite can be made to function there. However, it seems likely that
declining DOS support will one day force Xywrite off of mainstream machines.

I had a recent experience with IBM ThinkPad support which involved some bios
issues on the parallel port. I was explaining to the rep how the port would
lock up when printing from a DOS application, although Windows applications
worked OK. We were not getting anywhere. It suddenly occurred to me that the
rep had no idea what DOS was; he had grown up with Windows and never knew
anything else. Explaining to him that IBM still sold DOS was like explaining
that IBM still sold OS/2; the typical rep is just clueless about such things.

We are indeed fortunate to have the collective support and experience of this
List; without it, Xywrite could not endure.


Tom Hawley
tjh@xxxxxxxx