Re: Setting default save directory

["Judd Antin" JDA@xxxxxxxx]

Thanks to all of you for your help! This all comes up because I am trying to support a user who is not exactly computer proficient, but has been using XyDos III+ in exactly the same way for years. She's been keeping all her working files in the XyWrite program directory, which I suggested to her was a bad idea for several reasons. So I wanted her to be able to SAve and STore in the same way she always has but do it to a different directory (without having to type the directory string). Carl's suggestion is useful because it can show her exactly what directory she is in.

Even though I'm no XyWrite expert myself, I think it's an interesting question: how to provide the
convenience and power of XyWrite's many customizable features to a user who doesn't necessarily
understand even the basics of the program. Several users in my department work extremely well with
procedures they've learned over the years through Suzuki method, which is effective but doesn't
tolerate change very well.

Thanks again. (and sorry for the babble!)

--Judd

>>> cld@xxxxxxxx 07/22/02 09:25PM >>>

Reply to note from Robert Holmgren  Mon, 22 Jul
2002 22:00:59 -0400

> If you want to establish more-or-less permanently a different
> directory as your default dir and SAve dir, then just add a
> couple of commands at the bottom of STARTUP.INT, ...
>
> ... Thereafter, at any time, change the default dir, if you wish,
> per Fred Gross's msg.

Here's another command that Judd may wish to add to STARTUP.INT
("BC " is, again, a function; the command ends with a carriage
return):

BC cm d,p,w

This replaces the reverse-video "CM" on the CoMmand line with the
current drive, and the reverse-video "PRMPT" on the PRoMPT line with
the current path (the default directory), which together tell you at
a glance where a file will be saved upon commanding SA filename
without specifying a path.

(The third CM parameter, w, is for Window number. Without it, a
singularly unhelpful reverse-video "NM" appears to the left of the
fileNaMe.)

--
Carl Distefano
cld@xxxxxxxx
http://users.datarealm.com/xywwweb/