Re: Setting paths in NT

["Robert Holmgren" holmgren@xxxxxxxx]

** Reply to message from "Patricia M. Godfrey"  on Tue, 08
Aug 2006 18:26:27 -0400


>> Why do you need
>> to set paths to GS? You enter the paths to GS/GSView
>> in U2's REG file, and that's the end of it.

> Well, back when I was first having problems with Xy2PDF
> (12/05-1/05), we discovered that it was because GSView
> WASN'T in the path.

That shouldn't be. In GSView Options --> Advanced Configure, have you got the
Ghostscript Include Path set up right? It should be something like
 f:\gs\gs8.53\lib;f:\gs\fonts;f:\gs\gs8.53\Resource;C:\WINNT\fonts;
and the GS DLL box should point at e.g.
 f:\gs\gs8.53\bin\gsdll32.dll

> If you set the path in
> Control Panel, doesn't that then hold true for ALL DOS
> sessions?

Yes -- unless you SETLOCAL ... ENDLOCAL. But it is still rarely necessary to
start an app with special Paths. What app is the "OTHER DOS app"?

> But of course I don't--cannot, as far
> as I know--call a pif directly.

Actually, you can -- but it's a bad idea.

>> What is
>> different about XyWrite that you can't establish
>> in the normal way, and thus need a BATfile?

> On some of my boxes, Xy is in a directory on drive d:
> So I need to
> cd d:\xydir
> d:
> editor
> Plus also setting the path to include the GS
> directories. IN 9x, I have the shortcut pointing
> directly to d:\xydir\editor.exe, but also specify a
> batfile (c:\runxy.bat) that includes the path
> statements and the first two commands above.

The first two commands above are satisfied via the "Start in" line in the
Shortcut's Properties. (Wouldn't it be simpler/more logical to say:
 d:
 cd \xydir
? Why CD before you're logged onto the drive?) But much better is a
STARTUP.INT that *begins* by establishing your d:\path -- then you have a
location-blind Xy installation -- you can run from anywhere just by commanding
"EDITOR" (as long as Editor's dir is in the DOS Path, as it should be -- this
is the only DOS Path statement that you really do need). Here's the way my INT
begins:

XPLeNCODE v2.0
b-gin [UNTITLED]
{<}SX650,{<}VA$ED1{>}{>};*;{<}LA850{>}[cr|lf]{<}SX01,{<}VA$ED
{>}{>}{<}SV02,{>}{<}SV03,\{>}{<}LBA{>}{<}XS01,03,04,,05{>}{<}
SX02,{<}IS02{>}+{<}IS04{>}+"\"{>}{<}IF{<}IS05{>}{240}"\"{>}{<
}SX01,{<}IS05{>}{>}{<}GLA{>}{<}EI{>}{<}SX03,{<}IS02{>}{>}{<}I
F{<}VA|02{>}>3{>}{<}SX02,{<}IS02{>}+"\"{>}{<}SV01,\\{>}{<}XS0
2,01,01,,05{>}{<}SX02,{<}IS01{>}{>}{<}EI{>}{<}SX01,{<}VA@02:2
{>}{>};*;[cr|lf];*; [255+065+069]SV650[255+065+070]==XyW Edit
or Drive[cr|lf];*; [255+065+069]SV03[255+065+070]==d:\XyWpath
\[cr|lf];*; [255+065+069]SV02[255+065+070]==d:\XyWpath[cr|lf]
;*; [255+065+069]SV01[255+065+070]==\XyWpath[cr|lf][BX_]{<}PV
650{>}:[Q2_];*;[cr|lf][BX_]cd {<}PV01{>}[Q2_];*;[cr|lf][BX_]d
 dr={<}PV03{>}BTFONTS\[Q2_]{<}SX04,{<}VADR{>}{>};*;[cr|lf][BX
_]dos/nv/x/z /c del {<}PV04{>}*.TMP[Q2_];*;[cr|lf][BX_]dos/nv
/x/z /c C:\WINNT\system32\CHCP.COM 850[Q2_];*;[cr|lf];*; This
 can be commented out, without complaints:[cr|lf][BX_]login R
JH[Q2_];*;[cr|lf][BX_]dos/nv/x/z /c del {<}PV03{>}X739X*.SAV[
Q2_];*;[cr|lf][BX_]dos/nv/x/z /c del {<}PV03{>}*.TMF[Q2_];*;[
cr|lf][BX_]d gp={<}PV03{>}PICTURES\[Q2_];*;[cr|lf];*;[BX_]d l
x={<}PV02{>}[Q2_];*;[cr|lf][BX_]d nl={<}PV03{>}[Q2_];*;[cr|lf
][BX_]d ol={<}PV04{>}[Q2_];*;[cr|lf][BX_]d ww={<}PV03{>}FILTE
RS\[Q2_];*;[cr|lf][BX_]d xy={<}PV03{>}BTFONTS\[Q2_];*;[cr|lf]
[BX_]es 1[Q2_][BX_]load {<}PV03{>}settings.dfl[Q2_][BX_]es 0[
Q2_];*;[cr|lf][BX_]d zx=0[Q2_];*;[cr|lf][BX_]load {<}PV03{>}a
ccents.prn[Q2_];*;[cr|lf][BX_]load {<}PV03{>}ibm.kbd[Q2_];*;[
cr|lf]etc.[cr|lf]
-nd
XPLeNCODE

If you DECODE that, you'll see that it's going to work on any machine, any
drive, any dir -- without changing anything. Perfect for shlepping a complete
installation around on a memory key. I mean, why be manual? Let XyWrite do
the thinking. Every INT ever displayed here has a long list of repetitive
manual specs:
 LOAD C:\XY4\XYWWWEB.U2;*;
 LOAD C:\XY4\SETTINGS.DFL;*;
 LOAD C:\XY4\XY4-3.KBD;*;
 etc etc
(and always on the C: drive too -- you gotta ask yourself, it's like talking to
a wall...). Totally unnecessary. The ONLY thing that I need to hard code in a
100% portable INT is the "PR=d:\path\LJ4.BIN,L4" line required by H-P PCL PRNs
-- and there are numbers of ways to manage that (DOS DEBUG, if nothing else
works, e.g. XyWrite's APFIL or RPLFIL commands), e.g.:

XPLeNCODE v2.0
b-gin [UNTITLED]
{<}SX05,{<}IS03{>}+"HPLJ-4.PRN"{>}[BX_]ca/100 {<}PV05{>}[Q2_]
[BX_]wait[Q2_][BX_]se/f LJ4.BIN,L4[Q2_]{<}IF@NOT({<}ER{>}){>
}[DF_][BX_]seb =[Q2_][CR_][DF_][DN_]{<}GT03{>}[BX_]sa/nv[Q2_
][BX_]wait[Q2_]{<}EI{>}[BX_]ab/nv[Q2_][BX_]wait[Q2_];*;[cr|lf
]
-nd
XPLeNCODE

Long post about all this is at:
 http://xywrite.org/msg01781.htm

> Simply put: Is there any way in W2K that you can set
> separate paths for different VDMs?

Different AUTOEXECs is one way, but admittedly not different than a BATfile
(because a BATfile). But again, what's that other DOS app, and why do you need
it? Look, there's nothing wrong with long-ish DOS Path environments as long as
they are ordered correctly. If you have system32 first, that's going to catch
almost everything, and the OpSys isn't going to plough through all the other
paths because it already found what it wants.

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